Chapter 7
Over the next several days, Koa felt unmoored. His schedule had picked up. There were things at the club that needed his attention.
Things he couldn't just pass off to his bestie to handle because she was already neck deep in the waters too.
Between checking in with vendors and reviewing applications, it was utter chaos. Koa longed for a few minutes alone to himself. Even more so, he wanted time to hunt down his Daddy.
Because he just knew that one cuddle with him would make everything better. It would be like its own stress relief.
But he didn't really have a choice. It was go, go, go.
He was three pages deep into a vendor contract he'd already read twice without retaining a single word when Briar appeared in his doorway.
She didn't knock. She never knocked. It was her office too, technically, even if she'd long since claimed the bigger one down the hall.
She leaned against the frame with her arms crossed and looked at him the way she always did when she was deciding whether to be his business partner or his best friend.
"You've been in here for six hours," she said.
"I'm aware."
"You haven't eaten."
"I'll eat later."
She was quiet for a moment. Then she pushed off the doorframe and came inside, closing the door behind her. That was the tell. Briar only closed doors when something was about to be said that she didn't want the club to overhear.
She pulled the chair across from his desk out and sat down, folding her hands on the surface like she was preparing for battle.
"Talk to me," she said.
Koa opened his mouth to say he was fine. That it was just the backlog, just the vendors, just the usual chaos that came with running a place like this. The words were right there, easy and familiar, the same ones he always reached for when he didn't want to be a bother.
But Briar was looking at him with that steady, patient expression she reserved for the moments she already knew he was lying, and he was so tired. Tired of the spreadsheets and the emails and the noise in his own head that wouldn't quiet down no matter how much work he buried it under.
"I don't know what's wrong with me," he admitted quietly. "Everything is fine. The club is fine. Manny is—" He stopped, pressing his lips together. "Everything is really good. So why do I feel like I'm running from something?"
Briar didn't rush to answer. That was one of the things he loved most about her. She never filled silences just to fill them.
"Because you're not used to things being really good," she said finally. "And that scares you more than any of the hard stuff ever did."
Koa stared at her. His throat felt tight.
"You've been white-knuckling this place for days," she continued, her voice losing the last of its business edge. "Koa. You built something here. It's not going anywhere. And neither is he." She tilted her head slightly. "You're allowed to put the work down and just be happy."
He didn't trust himself to speak for a moment. He looked down at the contract in front of him, the words still blurring together.
"I know," he murmured.
"Do you?" She raised an eyebrow.
He let out a breath that was almost a laugh. "I'm working on it."
Briar stood, smoothing her jacket with the same efficient motion she used to close every conversation. But before she turned to leave, she reached across the desk and squeezed his hand once, firm and brief.
"Go home on time tonight," she said. "That's not a suggestion."
She was already out the door before he could respond.
Later that day Koa was in his office staring at spreadsheets but not really seeing them when there was a knock at the door.
He looked up to find the man he'd been thinking of all day there. His Daddy held a container and had a large blanket draped over his arm.
"Hey sweetheart," he said softly.
"Daddy," Koa whispered. He pushed away from the desk and rose, moving across the room before he truly knew what he was doing.
He wrapped Manny in a hug, squeezing tight. Like he was afraid this was just a dream, and he'd wake up still buried under paperwork.
But the feel of his Daddy's heart beating beneath his ear and his strong hand pressed against Koa's back was enough to let him know this wasn't another one of his vivid daydreams.
This was real. He pulled back to look up at the other man.
"What are you doing here?"
His Daddy smiled. "I know you've been busy with work. The rumor mill is that someone decided to mess with the planets or something. Anyway, I figured you needed to eat and could maybe use a cuddle?"
The last part was said as a question. Not that he was unsure about it more like he wanted to get consent.
Koa smiled widely and he realized as his cheeks ached with the movement that it was the first time he'd done so in a while. Probably since he'd last seen his Daddy.
He hadn't even been able to attend any of the mixers and events at the club. Those had always been something he prided himself in experiencing.
He liked connecting with people, liked having time with them to get to know everyone and make sure the experience was enjoyable.
He never wanted anyone to come to the club and feel like they didn't have a place where they belonged.
Thinking about how little he'd been able to keep up, his normal routine made him frown for a moment. His Daddy chuckled and kissed his forehead and pushed him back into the room.
He closed the door behind them, then moved around the desk until he was seated in Koa's chair. The food was placed on the table along with a blanket.
Then his Daddy patted his lap. "Come have a seat, sweetheart.
I'm going to feed you and wrap you up in this wonderfully soft blanket. Then afterwards we're going to sit for a little bit and do nothing but enjoy each other's company. Afterwards you can go back to work if you need to. But for now, this is what’s most important. I won’t have you burning out.”
Tears welled in Koa’s eyes, because that was exactly what he needed. He needed a firm hand to step in and tell him that it was time for him to take it easy, to sit down and relax.
He pushed himself too hard.
Doing as his Daddy asked, he dropped into Manny's lap.
His body was wrapped in a blanket, not too tight, but it was firm enough that he wasn't going to be able to wiggle around.
Then Manny opened the lid to the container to reveal pizza bagels.
Koa gasped at the sight. "Oh, I love those."
His Daddy chuckled and reached inside and pulled that one, bringing it to Koa's lips.
"I know, sweetheart. You mentioned it before, and when I was preparing to come intervene, I knew it was the best choice to bring along.”
Koa nodded, opening his mouth obediently and taking a bite. At the flavor on his tongue, his eyes closed, and he whined loudly. His mind started to drift into his Little mind.
He could feel the stress slipping away as his Daddy pulled him closer and continued feeding him.
As it always did when he regressed, time moved in a weird sort of way. A small part of him knew he should be focusing, knew that he needed to keep an eye on the clock so that he didn't let the day get away from him.
But the bigger part of him, which ironically enough wasn't big in that sense, had decided to not pay attention at all.
There were too many good things in this moment to just stop between his amazing Daddy, the delicious food, and the coziness of being in his lap.
Koa was helpless. Why change anything? When he finished, Daddy took a napkin from his pocket and wiped Koa's face.
Then he turned Koa's face up to look him over. Koa could see the adoration in Manny's eyes. He could feel how much he cared for him.
"Thank you, Daddy," he said, voice soft and shy.
“Anytime, sweetheart," Manny replied. He pressed a gentle kiss to Koa's lips.
It wasn't heated or passionate. There was no intention behind it other than connection.
They sat there for a few more minutes before Koa got jittery. Even then, it wasn't that he wanted to return to work.
His Little mind wanted to get up and move to go out into the club and see his friends.
For a moment, he thought over the list of things he probably should be doing. The spreadsheets weren't going to sort themselves out.
Yet, he absolutely did not want to look at them. He was tired of work, tired of not taking care of himself.
So instead, he looked at his Daddy in the eye and asked for the one thing he knew he needed. "We play, Daddy?"
Manny raised his brows at the question, clearly shocked.
"We absolutely can, sweetheart. Are you going to be okay if we take the time off?"
Koa bit his lip and nodded slowly. "It can wait. I've missed you. I missed this. I shouldn't have been pushing too hard."
A bit of his Big side came out as he explained, but it quickly went away when Manny stroked a finger along his cheek.
The touch was gentle and sweet. It made Koa feel safe and protected and also proved how much Manny understood him.
"Then we should go see your friends, sweetheart. They've all missed you very much."
The pair left the office and went out into the main area. Friendly greetings rose up as everyone saw them together, fingers linked. Koa was surprised at how happy everyone was, at how things seemed to be running smoothly.
All of the panic he’d felt, the worry over whether or not things were being handled drifted away. Had he been creating problems where there were none, was he avoiding his Daddy in some way?
He didn't let himself dwell on it too much, partly because now wasn't the time, but also because they arrived at his favorite play area, and he saw his friends there.
Ethan and Dill cheered at his arrival. Briar was there as well, standing in the corner, a smirk on her face.
He spotted more familiar faces, Nia, Brooklyn, and Scar. His friends, who were regulars, but he didn't always get to spend time with, were all gathered. It felt like it was a party, like a celebration was going on, but Koa couldn't figure out who it was for.
He tugged the blanket around his shoulders tighter. The question was on the tip of his tongue. He just wasn't sure how to phrase it.
Manny could sense it, he assumed, because in the next second he explained, "We all wanted to help you relax, sweetheart. Briar called in reinforcements. She said that she wanted you back to normal, rather than this overbearing person you had pretended to be.”
Koa’s eyes whipped to Briar, who stood off to the side still. There was no way she could have heard what Manny said, but the smirk on her face and the way she wiggled her fingers to wave at him made it seem like she had.
Koa grinned back at her, shaking his head slowly. Gosh, he loved that woman, loved her to pieces.
Manny pressed a kiss against his temple, then with a hand against his back urged him forward, "Play with your friends for a little bit, sweetheart. I'll be right here. If you need me, just turn and look my way. My eyes will always be on you."
Koa nodded, then shuffled forward. The minute he was in reaching distance, the others practically tackled him. He was wrapped up in hugs and praise. It was perfect, wonderful.
He couldn't have asked for a better moment. Ethan moved in once everyone stepped back. His gaze was stern, yet there was still a lot of his Little side peeking through.
"You've been working too hard," Ethan said.
Koa snorted. "You're one to talk, Ethan. I remember having to bring you food because things were bad at work."
Ethan ducked his head for a moment before straightening and putting his hands on his hips. "True, but I listened and got better. You," he pointed at Koa, "have not been taking care of yourself. So now we play."
Koa nodded quickly. "We play," he repeated. The group gravitated towards the open space on the floor. There were toys already spread out, dolls and blocks, a few race cars, and some coloring books with a pile of crayons in the middle.
Koa wanted to do a bit of everything. He wanted to create a whirlwind of Little fun because he had missed it all. He hadn't even been taking care of himself at home.
His stuffies and blankets had been abandoned. His body too exhausted the moment he stepped inside to do anything but shower off the day's work and drop face down on the mattress.
He had to apologize to his babies later. They didn't deserve to be treated that way.
Ethan tugged him down to move beside their friend Dill, who was building a tall stack of blocks.
"Hey Dill," Koa whispered, not wanting to startle them.
Dill nodded, though they didn't look over.
"I, Koa, I build a tower." Koa eased beside them, then picked up a block to hand over.
Ethan laid down on his stomach across from them with his coloring book and started filling in the lines on the page.
The night moved on that way, the group shifting and changing with various toys and jokes and teasing.
The Daddies and Doms on duty brought over snacks and drinks. It was one big party and Koa was in heaven. He could not remember why work had seemed so important. He couldn't understand why he had buried himself in his paperwork when this existed. He'd much rather spend his time here.
At one point, the littles decided to wrestle. Koa was caught up in the mix and in a tangled heap of blankets and boy, he found himself disheveled. When he peeked his head out, it was to see his Daddy kneeling in front of him.
"Hey, sweetheart," he said.
Koa grinned and giggled, his toes wiggling as he watched his Daddy look him over.
"You've made a bit of a mess there with your hair," he pointed to the strands that hung loosely. Some covered Koa's face and the rest was still caught up in the ponytail holder he'd been wearing.
His Daddy lifted his hand to reveal a brush. It was Koa's brush, the one from the office that he would sometimes use when he needed to clean himself up.
"You want me to take care of that?"
It was said as a question, but Koa knew that wasn't what his Daddy meant. He knew that he needed to sit up and let the man have at it.
Besides, the longer he went without managing his hair, the worse the tangle would get.
And that’s how Koa ended up watching his friends play in the place he’d built with his bestie as his Daddy brushed out his long, blonde locks bit by bit.
Not once did it hurt, even when the tangles were thick and needed more time.
Koa didn't feel any discomfort.