15. Donovan

The first day of training back at the academy was tough with a capital T.

Despite Donovan and Taine now being a thing, it was pretty clear that Taine wouldn't be taking it easy and letting Donovan get away with any crap. In fact, Donovan had the distinct impression that Taine had gone extra-hard on him just to make a point.

Donovan felt pooped out. His body was sore, and he could feel the fatigue in his powerful quads even more than after a tough game on the ice. But fortunately, Donovan had the perfect way to unwind after a hard day at the academy, and that came in the shape of a playdate at his apartment with Tommy and Oliver.

The three of them were all in their rompers and were surrounded by stuffies, wooden toys, and a selection of coloring books with the requisite big box of coloring pens too.

‘So… Taine's your Daddy now?' Tommy asked, sitting down on the play mat in Donovan's apartment and holding his sippy cup in both hands.

‘Yeah, I think so,' Donovan replied, not quite knowing how to answer Tommy. ‘I mean, I call him Daddy and he seems to like it.'

‘Of course he likes it!' Oliver giggled, rolling onto his back and kicking his feet into the air.

Donovan smiled and took a big gulp from his tropical juice drink.

It was fun hanging out with Tommy and Oliver outside of the academy. Both of them were a few years younger than him and were only just starting out on their hockey careers. For them, the Ice Bears were the first step in what would hopefully be a long journey. They could be patient and feel grateful for a chance to be in the academy as a way of making it on the ice eventually.

For Donovan though, he knew that at twenty-eight years of age, he needed to be playing. Donovan knew that he was too good of a player to be in the academy for much longer. The problem though was that finding a way to get in touch with Danilo wasn't easy. Typically Danilo would only show up when he had something to say or some orders to give – and even then he would often do it via someone else.

‘Poo! I want to be on the ice,' Donovan said, his frustration boiling over.

‘Could you ask your Daddy for help?' Tommy asked, reaching over and putting his hand on Donovan's shoulder. ‘I'm sure Taine would do anything for you.'

And with perfect timing, Taine happened to walk into the bedroom from the living area…

‘Oh, would I?' Taine chuckled, a somewhat puzzled look on his face. ‘First I'd need to know exactly what I was helping with.'

Donovan blushed and initially didn't want to speak on the matter in front of his friends. The fact that he and Taine weren't one hundred percent official yet was probably a factor, as was the delicate nature of the subject.

‘Come on, darling boy, talk to Daddy,' Taine said, crouching down so that he was closer to Donovan. ‘You can ask me anything. I can't promise to have the answers, but I'll try.'

‘I… I… I… I just want to play hockey!' Donovan said, kicking his heels against the floor. ‘It's not that I don't enjoy spending time with you, but I'm a hockey player. I'm Donovan Pitt!'

Donovan felt a wave of relief wash over him.

Clearly, this had been something that had been bubbling up inside him more and more, and it felt good to get it out into the open and verbalize it. And the way that Taine had helped Donovan to do that was just perfect too.

‘I hear you,' Taine said, leaning over and kissing Donovan on his forehead. ‘But you know Danilo… he does things his way. I guess that's part of being an Ice Bear. Let me talk to him though. No promises. But I'll try. How does that sound?'

Donovan smiled sweetly and nodded.

‘That sounds good, Daddy,' Donovan said, blushing slightly as he suddenly remembered that Tommy and Oliver were both there too, watching with big grins on their faces.

‘Okay, boys, how about some fresh drinks?' Taine asked. ‘I could make you some hot apple juice?'

‘Yay!' Donovan cheered. ‘Want! Want!'

With that, Taine turned and went back to the kitchen, leaving the boys alone to play.

‘You're so lucky,' Oliver said. ‘He soooo loves you.'

‘He loves you a million-billion-times to the moon and back,' Tommy added. ‘And he's so hot too.'

Donovan blushed furiously and rolled over onto his side to try and hide from his friends. But no sooner than he had done that, both Tommy and Oliver had climbed on top of him and the three of them were having a romper wrestle.

‘We're two little unicorns and you're the big friendly dragon,' Tommy said, whinnying like a unicorn as he clambered across Donovan.

‘Watch out, I might breathe some fire!' Donovan giggled, swiftly switching into a roar as he unleashed a wave of make believe fire.

Tommy and Oliver rolled off Donovan and crawled across the mat and hid behind the other side of the bed. Donovan continued to parade around on all fours, breathing fire and acting like the biggest dragon in the kingdom.

‘Come out little unicorn friends,' Donovan said. ‘Big dragon want to play-play!'

‘Play!' Oliver and Tommy said in unison, the pair of them crawling out from behind the bed and joining Donovan. ‘Unicorn and dragon fwiends now.'

The three Littles continued to play and sink further into Little Space. With their combined imaginations, the dragon and his two unicorn buddies went on all kinds of adventures together and met many exciting characters.

However suddenly, a big, strong knight appeared from nowhere…

‘What do I see here?' Taine said. ‘From the sounds coming through to me in the kitchen, I'm guessing dragons and… unicorns?'

The three Littles all giggled and stared up at Taine as he stood in the doorway.

‘And from what I can see, there's also three very full diapers on display,' Taine said, arching his eyebrow. ‘I can change your diaper Little Dragon. And I'm happy to change the two unicorn diapers too, if that's okay with everyone?'

Donovan nodded his approval.

He felt secure enough with Taine to allow him to change Tommy and Oliver's diapers too. In fact, it made Donovan feel all warm inside to know that he had such a kind, caring Daddy.

‘Okay, who's up first?' Taine said, returning to the room with all the necessary wipes, fresh diapers, and talcum powder. ‘Why don't the three of you lie in a row and I'll work through you one by one.'

‘Yes, Daddy,' Donovan said, proudly rolling onto his back and waiting for his Daddy to start proceedings.

Donovan cooed and giggled as Taine gently went about his business and freshened him up and got him all set in his new diaper. And he enjoyed seeing both Tommy and Oliver getting their new diapers too, the pair of them gurgling and giggling as Taine looked after them.

If Donovan had wondered whether Taine might be his Forever Daddy before, any doubts were seeming further and further from the front of his mind now. Taine could be tough, and he knew exactly what he wanted when it came to sex too. But it was Taine's naturally caring and gentle side that was making Donovan swoon in this moment.

I want Taine to be my Daddy until the end of time.

I could be his little baby dragon and he could be my Knight.

I can't think of anything more perfect in the whole kingdom…

After finishing their playdate at the apartment, Donovan, Tommy, and Oliver decided to extend their fun afternoon just a little bit longer.

The three of them got changed into their regular clothes and left the apartment for a trip to the new candy store that had recently opened and proclaimed itself as the most exciting candy store in the whole city.

And even though they had only just arrived, it was clear that Donovan and his friends were already very much into the vibe.

With its Japanese themed décor and a soundtrack of the cutest bubblegum pop playing overt the in-store sound system, this was a place that had been designed to perfection.

But of course, all the on point design in the world was meaningless without the candy being able to match it. Fortunately, that didn't seem to be a problem…

‘OMG, Taine would go nuts if he saw me buying this much candy,' Donovan giggled. ‘It's not exactly athlete fuel, is it?'

Tommy and Oliver burst into laughter and loaded their bags with the brightest, sourest, and most lip-smackingly tasty candy they could get their hands on.

‘Hey, guys, come over here,' Donovan said, barely able to contain his excitement as he discovered a chocolate fountain volcano that seemed to be pumping out melted marshmallows. ‘This is soooo awesome!'

But just as the three friends were marveling at the choco-mallow fountain together, the sound of a single gunshot filled the candy store.

‘Fuck! Get down,' Donovan said, crouching low and pulling Tommy and Oliver down with him.

The three of them stayed low as another shot followed.

‘Ice Bears… oh baby Ice Bears, where are you?' came the voice, followed by another shot, this time a deeper, more explosive sounding noise.

Donovan looked at Tommy and Oliver and held his finger to his lips.

This was a horrible situation to be in, but Donovan knew that the last thing they needed to do was panic. A wrong move or revealing themselves could prove fatal.

Donovan could see that both Tommy and Oliver had looks of pure terror on their face, so it was up to him to take control and guide them through the situation.

‘Stay low, stay quiet,' Donovan whispered. ‘We're unarmed, so there's no way we can take him on. And he might have others with him. We've been training for combat, but sometimes the best combat is actually to get the fuck out of Dodge.'

‘I'm… scared,' Tommy said, his bottom lip trembling.

‘I know, so am I,' Donovan replied, keeping his voice as low as possible as another gunshot made the three of them jump. ‘But we've got this. We're Ice Bears. And we're the first intake at the academy too. These guys don't know who the hell they're messing with.'

Fortunately, the candy store was big enough and full of so much stuff that it allowed the Littles to maneuverer and stay out of sight as the gunman continued to call for them.

Donovan and the others scrambled away from the choco-mallow volcano and hid behind the large jellybean display. It was a short term measure, but by staying on the move it gave them the best chance of working their way toward an exit.

There was also the fact that the gunman surely couldn't stay for too much longer.

With the gunshots ringing out through the store and the mall, the police would be on their way soon. And unless it was some kind of suicide mission, the gunman would need to turn and run very soon indeed.

‘Okay, let's move over there,' Donovan whispered, pointing toward a large candy-filled stuffie display. ‘You two go first, I'll hold this position.'

Donovan watched as Oliver and Tommy made their way to the giant stuffie and all the mini stuffies with candy in their tummies. With his heart racing and his mind doing its best to stave off any sense of panic, Donovan knew that with no exit in sight, they might need to try a different tactic.

But Donovan was running flat out of ideas. All it would take would be one shot from the gunman and his hockey career could be over. Not only that, but his life could be too.

Suddenly, Donovan began to feel himself pine for Taine. He was the one man who Donovan felt sure would know what to do and how to do it. But with Taine having coffee with Jack Steel, that option didn't appear to be on the table at all.

Daddy, I need you.

Please, please, please, tell me what to do.

Show me a sign. Anything. Or even better, magic yourself here to save us…