His nose scrunched up in the cutest way.
“Hurry, Daddy. I don’t want to be all wrinkly. I want to look cute in my pictures.”
“You always look cute, Cupcake.” That got me another of his beaming smiles that brightened up his whole face. Then he raised his head in expectation of a kiss. Who was I to deny him? Or myself, for that matter. I bent down and kissed him gently on his sweet, soft lips. His reaction to my kisses was adorable. It didn’t matter where I kissed him on his head, his nose, or his lips. Henry always reveled in it. “Let’s take some pictures so I can clean you up.”
Cleaning him up took much longer than I expected. By the time we finished, the water had started to cool, and nearly all the bubbles were gone. I touched his cheek to get Henry to look up at me. “Okay, Cupcake. Let’s get you out and ready for bed.”
“But we’re going to watch a movie, right?”
“Yes. We’re going to cuddle up, watch a movie, and you can have another bottle.”
“With the yummy milk?”
“No, no, sweet milk before bedtime.” I helped him out of the tub and wrapped him in a towel. Henry pouted but didn’t argue. Instead, he wiggled as I dried him off. Henry giggled when I reached a ticklish spot and winced a little when I touched his scars. I hoped that in time he’d learn that I didn’t mind them. It hurt my heart to see the reminder of what his brother had done to him. But now was not the time to think about it.
When Henry was dry, I put the towel away and looked at Henry. “Okay, let’s get you in a fresh diaper and your jammies, and then I’ll clean the tiles.”
To my surprise, Henry frowned and tilted his head. “But no blowing raspberries.”
“Why not? It’s fun.”
“Nooo. It tickles.”
“Yes, but it’s fun.” Laughing, I reached for my Boy to show him exactly how much fun it was. But before I could get a hold on him, Henry turned and ran. The last thing I saw as he fled the bathroom was his cute, naked, wiggling butt.
“You need to catch me first.”
Ah, so it was like that. Laughing, I shook my head and gave him a few seconds to run and probably hide. All the while, hoping that he didn’t hurt himself while running through his apartment. But if he wanted to play hide and seek, I would happily look for him. Okay, let’s be honest here, I’d do pretty much anything to make my Boy happy.
When I walked out of the bathroom, Henry’s blond curls peeked out of the blanket fort, but I decided to ignore it. Instead, I took my time looking around the apartment, making sure to brush the sides of our blanket fort as I walked by. Every time I did that, Henry giggled, and I swear to God, it was the most adorable sound ever. The sound warmed my heart. He sounded so carefree and I loved it.
After ten minutes, I decided that enough time had gone by. Even if Henry was in the blanket fort, he was naked, and I didn’t want him to get cold. I pulled back the linen door, and there he was. Sitting cross-legged on a pillow and grinning like a mad man.
“Excuse me, Sir. I’m looking for a Little Boy. Have you seen him?”
“It’s meeee, Daddy.”
“Nope. Can’t be. The last time I saw him, he was all blue and yellow and green.”
“But you cleaned me. Look, all clean again.”
I pretended to look him over thoroughly. Henry giggled so hard he snorted.
“Huh, you do look very clean, and you do smell very sweet.”
“Because I’m your sweet Boy.”
“Maybe I need to taste you to be sure.” I crawled closer, and Henry erupted into bursts of laughter. But then he went still and got so red that I feared he would pass out. Worried, I stopped our game. “What’s wrong?”
“Go away.”
“What?” Shocked, I pulled back and stared at him. His face was still red, and his whole body seemed to be tense, and then the tears started to fall. “What’s wrong, sweet Boy?”
“P-Please…just…go away…”
Henry hiccupped the last words, and he seemed terrified. What the hell just happened? We were having fun. Suddenly a distinct ammonia smell reached my nose. Oh shit. My poor Baby. When I’d taken his diaper off before the bath, it was dry, and it had been hours since his last change. We were so focused on his bath and having fun I forgot about his needs.
“Oh, my sweet Boy, I’m so sorry.”
“W-What?” Blinking like an owl, Henry stared back at me with tears in them.
“I’m your Daddy, right? It’s my job to take care of you, and I didn’t.”
“B-But…”
“No. No buts, Cupcake. Come on, let’s get you to the nursery so I can clean you up and take better care of you.” I held out my hand, and after a long moment, Henry reached out and let me help him out of the fort. He turned and tried to reach back for the pillow he’d wet, but I held him back. Gently turning his face, I kissed him on his nose. “Leave it, Cupcake. I’ll take care of it after I get you snuggled in bed with the movie.”
Henry opened his mouth, but then he closed it again and raised his shaking hands instead. “But I peed on it.”
“Look at me, Henry, please.” I waited till he looked up. Then I gently took his face in my hands. “Do you still want me to be your Daddy?” Henry nodded so quickly more tears streaked down his cheeks. “A Daddy takes care of his Boy, right?” Again, a quick nod. “Do you agree with me that it means that since you want me to be your Daddy that I take care of your medical conditions as well?”
“But this is different from changing diapers,” Henry whispered so
