Daily Free-Write March 30, 2021: Stupid Bet Pt. 4

Note: I will probably leave this story here unless it's voted on in the free-write story poll. It's a fun story, but it went a little off the rails from what I planned (I'm too  nice to my characters!) and there's just so many other stories I know people are waiting for. But if you want to see more, and you can vote, then this will be on tomorrow's free-write poll!

Continuation of March 29, 2021, “Stupid Bet Pt. 3”

A young man in a baseball shirt with close-cropped black hair bounded in holding a remote control. “Hey, Dad! Come check out the new drone… Oh, hi!” He stopped when he saw hunter and Nicky on the floor.

Hot on his heels came a muscular guy in a much louder shirt with a backwards cap and sunglasses. He promptly crashed into the back of the first brother. “Dude! Why’d you stop?!”

“I’m sayin’ hi to Nicky’s boyfriend. Come on, man. Be polite.”

“Sorry, sorry,” said the second man bending down to shake Hunter’s hand. “Nice to meet you, I’m Roy.”

“Uh… hi, Roy,” said Hunter. Even he felt a little awkward getting a handshake in the middle of changing Nicky.

“I’m Alex,’ said the other one. “Hi, Nicky,” he added, waving at the boy on the ground.

Nick was completely mortified. Here he was in the middle of the living room on an open diaper, crotch covered in powder, while the whole family just hung out. He whined into his pacifier in frustration, drawing everyone’s attention. Hunter spoke up first.

“Nicky, hush. You’ll be all padded up in just a second.”

“What’s he all wound up about?” asked Roy.

“Oh, he’s still convinced he’s potty trained and he’s embarrassedto be seen like this.”

“Oh my god, Nicky. Seriously? Give it up, already, diaper butt. We all know you need diapers.”

“Knock it off,” said Alex, wagging his finger at Roy, “he’s just a baby. Be nice to him. …But to be honest,” he added, “I don’t see what the fuss is about either. I didn’t realize he ever stopped wearing them.”

“Boys, why don’t you go show your father your new toy,” said Judy, looking exasperated.

“It’s not a toy, mom, it’s a drone,” said Alex.

“Whatever. Toy drone. Go show your father. Now.”

Frank looked disappointed. “Aww, but honey, I was enjoying the show!”

“Now. All of you!”

The three men sheepishly walked out to the back yard, and Nicky mentally thanked the heavens for small favors.

“It’s like high school all over again, I swear,” she said. “Now you won’t have the distraction of three noisy boys in the house.”

Hunter smiled and blushed slightly. “Sorry, I’m not used to doing this in front of people…”

“Oh, don’t worry, you’ll get used to it. But I wouldn’t worry about it too much. Everyone is equally responsible for changes around here, so he might get changed by Roy or Alex, or his father or me. Whoever happens to notice his soggy didees first.”

“Moooom!” groaned Nick.

“Oh hush, baby. We don’t mind and neither should you. You just relax and let your boyfriend put you in a fresh didee, sweetheart.”

Nick just groaned and laid back, his red face hidden in his hands, sucking on his paci for dear life. Mercifully, Hunter soon had the diaper taped up. The plastic pants were next.

“Okay, kiddo, legs up, here they come,” said Hunter, threading the adorable rubber pants over Nicky’s feet and up his legs. “Butt up, baby boy!”  he said, once they were past his knees, and he finally slid them all the way up over his butt, running his fingers around the elastics to make sure it had a nice seal.

Nicky giggled and squirmed. “Tickowes!!!” he said.

“What a silly wiggly little boy,” said Hunter, smiling and moving on to give Nicky some belly kisses. “I think I heard someone say… MORE tickles!”

Nicky giggled, but then remembered he was supposed to be angry and stopped.

Judy smiled and kissed both the men on the head.

“Such good boys. Now, I’m going to check on dinner. You’ve got about 20 minutes you two. Nicky can watch his shows if he wants, since he’s been such a good boy. And here’s Nicky’s favorite blankie,” she said, taking out a small, faded pastel blanket with a scene of a baby cartoon elephant playing with blocks. She laid it down on the floor and pointed to it. Nicky immediately crawled over and sat down on top of it.

“Nicky, you remember the rules. No getting off your blankie unless a grown up comes and takes your hand.” She turned to Hunter, “He gets into so much trouble if he’s allowed to wander on his own. If there’s some way he can hurt himself, this boy will find it.”

When Hunter relayed the story of the crosswalk, Nick’s mom looked completely unsurprised.

“It’th not dat bad!” said Nicky, crossing his arms and pouting.

“Honey, sweetie, we love you, but you really are just a little boy. I hope you understand that these rules are for your own good.”

Nicky huffed, unmoved, but hunter just sat down, putting his legs around the smaller boy, and wrapping him in a big hug. “It’s okay if you don’t understand lil’ guy. Sometimes ya just gotta listen to the grown-ups.” He gave Nicky a kiss and a tickle on the neck, causing him to giggle.

“That’s better,” said Hunter, smiling. Then he looked up at Nicky’s mom. “What were you saying about his shows?”

Hunter sat with Nicky watching Blarney and Puppet Avenue until dinner was ready. At first Nicky was annoyed and bored, but little by little he got into the shows, and by the end, he was laughing and clapping, and Hunter encouraged it by laughing and clapping right along with him. By the time they were called to dinner, Nicky was in full little mode again, just as he was on their walk to the store.

He swung his legs in the chair and played with his food while the grown-ups talked.

The family passed a lovely dinner at the table where the boys talked about the videos they were going to make with their new toy drone, bickering about who would get to keep it after summer vacation, and Frank egging them on, until Judy said that she’d keep it if they couldn’t figure out a way to share.

Despite all the initial fuss, Nicky’s attire didn’t even qualify for a passing mention. It was so normal to them, they didn’t think twice. But eventually the topic came around to Hunter and the cute little boy at the table.

“It’s about maturity,” said Frank, covering his mouth with a hankie to catch a burp. “That little boy there is not ready to be a grown up just yet. If he was, he’d be mature enough to keep those pampers on his behind where they belong.”

“Well, maybe we won’t try potty training just yet then. What does my little man think?”

But little Nicky didn’t think anything. He had fallen fast asleep with a smile on his face and a full tummy. Hunter wiped his face off with the bib and turned to the family.

“I think it’s about time we took the little one home.”

“So soon?” asked Judy. “I still haven’t shown you all his baby pictures!”

“I’ve got quite a few of my own to show you,” said Hunter, smiling. “Next time?”

Judy agreed. “Next time.” She saw them out to the front door, leaving the boys in the kitchen, bickering again about who would get to keep the drone in the Fall.

Hunter loaded up the car with a sleeping boy and the box of all his things from the garage. He gave Judy one last hug and checked his pockets one last time to make sure he had everything. Judy thanked him for looking after her boy.

“Oh, and Hunter,” Judy said, putting her hand on the man’s shoulder. “Welcome to the family. If you can stand us.”

Hunter smiled. “I’m sure I can.”

After a quick diaper change at home, during which Nicky barely even woke, Hunter crawled into bed next to the little one. He now knew for certain he had made the right decision about babying his boyfriend. Tomorrow was another day. Another trip to the store, and a chance to play with all the fun things in Nicky’s baby boxes.

Meanwhile, just a few houses down, the man in the leather jacket was unpacking the last of his own boxes. He looked at the picture of him and another man and smiled, giving it a kiss. “Love you, babe.”

He looked at it for a while, lost in his memories, Then, hesitantly, he set it back in the box. It was like his friend Krysta said when he left. This move was his chance for a new start, a new life. Time for him to stop moping around, get off his sad butt and live. Maybe he’d take another walk to the corner store tomorrow. It wasn’t much but it was a startat least. And who knew, maybe he’d run into that hottie with the adorable little boy as well. He could dream, and he did, falling asleep with a smile on his face for the first time in a long time.