"They're not? Don't people call them Koala bears, though?"
"They are called marsupials." I pronounce each syllable slowly. I hold up Koka and Kola and look between both of them. "Do you want Barry to join you?"
"Yes, please!" I crack up when Remi goes a high pitched voice for one of the koalas. "We need a real bear to protect us."
I look at Remi, giving him a once over, and laughing again. I turn back to the stuffies in my hands. "Bears are quite nice to have around, if I say so myself."
This time, it's Remi that laughs at the joke. I set them back down on the floor, all in a huddle.
“Oh, okay. I think I get it now. Your stuffies sure do have interesting lives.” I watch Remi reach out toward one of them, pausing until I give a slight nod that he’s okay to pick it up. He picks up Koka. “Don’t tell the others, but I think Koka is the cutest.”
I gasp and snatch up the other stuffies. In a quick second thought, I lean forward to snatch Koka away too but Remi istoo fast. He holds the stuffie above his head and laughs. “You can’t say that around them, Remi! They’re all cute. You might hurt their feelings.”
“Actually, you know what?” He sets Koka to the side and then places his hands on my arms and tugs to let the other stuffies fall to the floor around us. I look at them and then back up at Remi. He’s smiling and I smile back. Then I start giggling because Remi’s fingers trail down my arms and land on my inner thigh with how I’m sitting. It tickles. “I think you are the cutest of all of them.”
I laugh more when Remi’s fingers find the sensitive spot on my hip that is super ticklish. I tilt my body a little too far and quickly, his hands go from tickling to pulling me back upright so I don’t hit my head on the floor. From a sitting position it wouldn’t have hurt too bad bumping it on the rug, but I’m grateful either way.
A sudden urge hits me and I straighten up, struggling to stand up quickly. “I gotta potty. I’ll be right back.”
“Wash your hands!” Remi calls after me. I race across the floor and barely make it to the bathroom. Usually I get a little more warning between urge and urgency. It pulls me out of my Little headspace just a bit to question why.
It dawns on me when I tuck myself back into my briefs. I was almost always diapered when I was in Little space. My mind must have just kept that assumption.
Embarrassment rushes through my body at that and I can feel my cheeks flush and tears sting my eyes. I’m trying to wipe them clear when I walk out of the bathroom.
“Austin? What’s wrong, sweetie?” Remi is in front of me in a second. I look up at him and try to smile.
My voice is wobbly when I speak. “I almost had an accident. My brain thought—” I trail off, not wanting to say it out loud. “I’m sorry.”
“Hey, there is nothing to be sorry for. Accidents happen. Do you want to keep playing or maybe we can watch a movie? It’s getting pretty late already. We don’t have to wake up early tomorrow, so you can stay up as late as you want for tonight. But just tonight, okay?”
“Can we cuddle on the couch and watch a movie?” He nods easily and I wrap my arms around him again in a hug. I like hugging Remi. I count to ten in my head, slowly, before letting him go. He grabs the blanket and sits first. He pats the spot beside him, but that isn’t the kind of cuddling I want.
I plop down onto his lap without warning and smile when he lets out a surprised grunt. “Sorry.” I do feel a bit bad, but not enough to move. “I just wants to be closer.”
“I’m okay with that,” he says easily. “Just remember you have a bony tush, Austin. Need to be careful plopping down on my lap.”
I rock my hips side-to-side in his lap and it gets a laugh out of him. His hands land on my hips and stills me. “Alright, alright. Grab the remote for me and then we can cuddle up for the night.”
I stand quickly to grab it from the other end table while Remi reclines the seat back. He shifts just slightly and I fit my body in the space between him and the arm rest. He’s warm and smells like a spicy cologne. My other Daddy always smelt like a rainstorm. I like both of them. Instead of feeling sad about that, it makes me smile.
“Comfy?” Remi asks once the blanket is tucked around both of us. His left arm wraps around my back, fingertips dancinglightly over the fabric. It’s soothing. His other hand is holding the remote toward the TV. My right arm is kind of trapped between our bodies, but my left hand moves to stroke against his beard.
“Comfiest,” I respond. “I like your beard.”
“Well thank you,” he says. He turns his head slightly and his beard brushes against my face where my head is resting on his shoulder. “Do you still like it?”
I giggle and blindly reach up to turn his face away from me. I let my fingers trail down his beard once more and then dance over his chest. I draw patterns on his shirt: hearts, rockets, letters. It’s just a plain white t-shirt but it’s tight across his chest. I laugh to myself and poke where I can see his nipple through the thin fabric.
“Hey now!” Remi calls out and moves his hand from my back to tickle at my sides. “What’s that for?”
I shrug. “You’re taking too long to pick a movie.”
“If you would look at the screen instead of me, you could help me pick one out.”
I sit up slightly, letting out an unexpected yawn. Going from playing to cuddling is already making me sleepy. “Oh, the one with the birdie please! I love that movie.”
“I don’t think I’ve seen this one,” Remi says. He chooses it and we wait for it to load. I settle back down against his body. I’m cocooned in a blanket of warmth, both from the actual blanket and from him. “Do you promise to not spoil everything for me?”
