Free-Write January 7, 2021

Continued from January 6, 2021 "Room for Rent Part 2"

Colt set the plate down on the kitchen counter in front of Rob. 

"One fresh grilled burger, and one box of apple juice! Here ya go!" 

"Thank you!" said Rob, blushing slightly as Colt once again took the liberty of putting the straw in his juice box for him. "It looks delicious! I can do that myself ya know." 

Colt smiled.

"Thanks. Tell me how it tastes when you eat it. By the way, have you washed your hands?"

Rob's eyes went wide and he shook his head, the color on his cheeks rising. 

"Go wash 'em!" said Colt, pointing to the sink. He looked on in approval as Rob jumped up and did as he was told. "Good boy. Don't forget to sing happy birthday twice." he said, as Rob washed his hands. "I can't hear you! How do I know you did it if you don't sing it out loud?" 

"Come on, really?" asked Rob, feeling childish enough as it was. Colt did not look like he was going to give in, so Rob sighed and began to sing out loud. 

Colt's smile grew. He liked how obedient Rob was. He was a good boy - he just had a few bad habits, like trying to act grown up because of what other people might think. Colt loved to put cute guys into diapers, sure, but this one actually might get more than just a little fun out of it. It might actually change Rob's life. the idea was exciting to Colt. As Rob returned Colt's attention turned to the Teddy that had been dropped beside him on the table. 

"That doesn't look very comfortable for Mr. Cuddles. Don't you think he might want to eat too?" 

"Oh, gosh," said Rob, grabbing the teddy and kissing him. "I didn't even think about that.... Well... Hm..." Rob sat the teddy in the tall kitchen chair next to his but the teddy's head barely cleared the counter. "I think we need a book or something for him." 

"Oh gosh, well I guess you could grab the coffee table book or some of the magazines in the living room. But hurry up or your burger will get cold. Does teddy like anything in particular or should I just give him some teddy food?" 

Rob smiled big at this idea, "Teddy food! Okay, I'll be right back." 

"Hey! No running." called Colt as the excited boy hurried to get a seat for the Teddy. 

Rob stopped and slowed his pace. When he got into the living room he had a look at his options. There was a cool looking Battlemon encyclopedia, which looked too nice to use, and a bunch of magazines on similar topics. One caught his eye, as it had been folded open. It was an article titled Littles: Embracing their inner child. He only caught a few glimpses managing only to catch a few words like comfort, diaper, safe, relax, and the featured picture, which was a smiling guy in overalls sucking a pacifier and hugging his teddy. He didn't even have time to really register what he saw before Colt called him back. 

"Rob! Are you lost? Got over here, our food's getting cold!" 

Rob set the magazine down on the table and grabbed the encyclopedia. Better than stacking a bunch of slippery magazines. 

"Here we are! I have it. It really looks too nice to be a booster seat, though. Teddy's a messy eater so can we put a towel down over it?"

Cold smiled. "Yes, that would be good, besides, Teddy's not wearing any protection, so he could have an accident. We'll have to find a more permanent solution for him soon."

"Hehe, yeah," said Rob, thinking about his own night time problems. He quickly changed the subject. "Oh, is that milk for him?"

He saw a tall glass of milk on the counter next to his box of apple juice.

"It sure is. I know that teddies love thier milk, so I put it right there. And I expect it to be empty by the end of lunch, because good teddies drink their milk!" 

Rob nodded. This made sense to him. He would have to drink the milk and pretend it was the Teddy doing this. This game was fun.  

Colt and Rob chatted more throughout the meal, getting to know each other a bit better. 

Rob was the youngest child in his family, and only now getting to be on his own. He was always treated as the baby of the family and he enjoyed his new independence but had a hard time with the trade-offs, like not being able to take his teddy when he went to work. He also drank the milk and made comments to his bear, which made colt chuckle to himself every time. 

Colt was an entrepreneur and made a good amount of money off of something he came up with when he was in high school. He was the oldest child, and so naturally had to help raise his younger siblings. He missed it sometimes, being the big brother, and he told Rob he can carry his Teddy as much as he wanted, because in a way he already felt like a younger brother to Colt. 

"For that matter," Colt added, "If there's anything else you wear, do, or say that you think grown-ups aren't supposed to, you just go right aheand and do it. I'll even help, if I can. I want you to be completely comfortable here, because it's your home now. Is there anything else you wanted to tell me that you think I should know about that?"

The word diapers immediately sprang to Rob's mind, before he replaced it with pull-ups. No, night time protection. Why did he think diapers? Must have been that article...

"Hello? Earth to Rob? Looks like you were thinking pretty hard there. What did you want to tell me."

"N-no, it's nothing," said Rob, blushing for the hudredth time that day. He wasn't ready for Rob to know about his night time protection. Besides, it would only be for a few days til he was adjusted, or so he hoped. 

Colt shrugged, knowing full well what Rob was hiding. 

"Okay. If you say so. Finish your burger. Mr. Cuddles is beating you!" 

Rob quickly finished his lunch and patted his full belly after.

"You're looking a little sleepy there, buddy. Do you need a nap?"

Rob rubbed his eyes.  

"Oh, I always get tired after lunch. I'm fine."

"Hey, if you're tired just rest. You haven't even tried your bed out yet, have you? The mattress is so soft you'll sink right into it. 

"Really? Wow that sounds nice. My last mattress was just a cheap one that came with the bed I had. Maybe I will try it out."

"Yeah go for it, just don't forget to brush your teeth before you nap." 

"Oh... uh... right." Rob usually didn't do that but he knew he should. He washed the dishes as promised then headed upstairs to do that.