13. HENRY

If anyone asked me to describe my perfect date, I would’ve told them today. It was one long date where I was able to wake up in Daddy’s bed, eat pancakes in the shape of teddy bear heads, and then have the most cozy day possible. It was rounded out perfectly with the tree lighting and ice skating, but after all that excitement, my stomach was a grumbling pit of noises.

We didn’t live too far from each other, so I was able to grab another bag to take to his place with me. I packed it with the essentials: teddies, including Arnold, a handful of coloring crayons thrown into the bottom of the bag, and a coloring book. Of course, thrown on top of it all was my reindeer onesie with the ears. I hadn’t shown him it yet, and I wondered if he remembered we’d talked about it earlier.

“Nuggets are in the oven,” he said. “I’ve got a timer on. How’s your belly?”

“It’s fine, just grumble grumble,” I said, placing both hands on my belly and jiggling it. “I wish I could speak grumbles.”

“How about you go change into something comfortable, and then we can flick through the TV listings and see what we can watch.”

“Good idea.” I grabbed my entire bag and headed to the bathroom. Daddy quickly course corrected me, telling me to use his bathroom this time instead. He hadn’t told me to last time because he was trying to hide the surprise toy. The toy I hadn’t repacked again this time, there was no way I’d be able to fit two of those toys inside me at the same time. I might’ve affectionately and seasonally called my ass a stocking for Santa’s surprise to load itself into.

In the bathroom, I saw that I’d actually left my toothbrush behind. It was a spare, but it was nice to see that he’d added it to the holder suctioned to the tile. I got dressed in the reindeer onesie, making sure my antlers were on just right with the hood. I never engaged in reindeer play, I’d heard about it, but I never engaged in it like I would with elf play. There was just something more fun about being an elf.

Surprising Daddy in the kitchen, I crawled around on my hands and knees on the laminate and tile flooring. He didn’t even notice me until I was right there at his feet, pushing the ends of the plush antler’s against his leg.

“And where did you come from?” he asked.

I neighed, assuming that was the sound reindeer made.

“Ah, you’re looking to help fly my sleigh,” he said. “Well, I have a pretty full roster of reindeer flying me right now. But I guess if you asked nicely, I could consider you for another position.”

Again, neighing at him and butting his ankle with my antlers.

“Oh, you want to help me deliver toys up front. That’s something I might be able to help you out with.” He dipped to a squat in front of me. I nuzzled my face into his hands. “I think I’m going to keep you. I’m guessing you don’t mind that. I can treat you right little one.”

“Thank you,” I offered in squeaks.

He stroked a hand to his chin. “I know I don’t look it right now, but I’m Daddy Santa, so I can actually communicate telepathically with reindeer. I know exactly what you’re thinking—”

And he didn’t need to guess what I was thinking because my stomach growled at him. It was pretty evident I was waiting on something to eat. There was only so many candy canes and chocolate drinks one could have in a day, even a self-indulgent little like myself.

Pulling the reindeer hood down, I yawned and laid on the floor, looking up at him. “I’m a tired reindeer too.”

“We have had a very busy day. I wonder if you’ll make it through a full movie,” he said.

Once food was ready, we sat in the living room on the sofa and put on a Christmas movie. We’d seen this one together before, not so physically close, but over email. I finished my nuggets, spaghetti Christmas shapes and potato waffles fast, while Daddy ate the same. It was nice to see us sharing like this, usually a Daddy would have something like a steak, or something that said I’m a Daddy to it. We shared some white wine, and before I could even finish the first glass of it, and get through half the movie, I was fast asleep on Daddy with Arnold tucked under my arm.

Yep. Today was the perfect day, sprinkled with smaller dates and pockets of fun.

I woke briefly while being carried to bed and I asked for my other stuffies. Daddy brought them to me, scattering them at my side of the bed. And very quickly, I overheated to the point I stripped naked to sleep beside Daddy’s warm furry body.

“Thank you for today,” my sleepy voice let out.

“No, thank you for today.” His warm lips caressed my forehead with a kiss. “Good boy.”

“Good Daddy,” the words elongated as I yawned before falling into a deep sleep.

My dreams were always so vivid when I was in a state of Christmas bliss and happiness. It was nice to take it all in, I didn’t want to wake up too soon though because then it would mean it was Sunday, and our last day together before work tomorrow.

I was woken early by some movement in bed, and then a second time with Daddy’s hand brushing at my head and a breakfast tray off at the side with more pancakes and no sign of jam. “Hey, sleepyhead,” he said. “I don’t know what you want to get today, but I’d love to just stay inside and have fun with you.”

“Mhmm,” I let out as I stretched in the bed, my leg muscles kicking in and jolting with motion. “I like the sound of that.”

“And breakfast,” he said. “Of course. You can’t forget breakfast. Bananas, strawberries, and Nutella. And of course, I’d love it if you were willing to share with me. I ran out of pancake batter.”

“Of course, Daddy,” I said with another big yawn. “And Arnold will share too,” I said, tugging him free from the position he’d gotten himself stuck in under my body.

Daddy chuckled. “Those things get everywhere. I woke up in the middle of the night because I was laid on one of them. I don’t know how because I made sure they were all on your side.”

Giggling, I briefly recalled collecting them in my arms and moving them in the space between us so they could get some of Daddy’s warmth too. “They have a mind of their own,” I said. “You can never know what they’re going to do. Just be glad you didn’t hurt any of them.”

“Oh no, what would’ve happened if I hurt any of them?” he asked.

“They would be sad and upset, and you wouldn’t want that, would you?” I asked, pouting at him. “I hope you wouldn’t like that.”

“You’re absolutely right,” he said. “I would not like that. I was also thinking we could have another big bubble bath as well. Not to change the topic, but while it’s still fresh in my mind.”

I nodded with a big smile. I didn’t have to be asked twice about that whirlpool tub he had in there. It was an absolute dream, almost ripped from the foundations of a fancy hotel. “I’m very excited about that, and all the toys again. Oh. I should’ve brought some of my toys for the tub. I have loads.”

He took the tray and placed it over my lap. “That just gives us another reason to have more bath time together. Don’t you think?”

“You’re right. Lots more bath time together.”

“And all the bubbles.”

“Oh, every singe bubble bath liquid I have,” he said.

After we ate breakfast together, we cuddled in bed a little. It was always so much fun to see him in his apron and nothing underneath it, he’d always looked so comfy in it, I really wanted to climb under and inside the apron with him. Although that might not have been ideal because it was probably his favorite and we would definitely rip it if that happened.

“Ok, so we can do whatever we want today,” he said. “I’m not saying that so we can just sit in bed all day, because we absolutely could just sit in bed together all day, I’m saying that because I want us to both appreciate every single second and moment we are spending together. At least, that’s what I’ll be doing.”

I cuddled up a little more to his chest. I didn’t want to leave his skin. I didn’t want to stop cuddling and being away from him. I knew I would probably have to come away from his skin eventually, but not until I had taken enough of his body scent on me. Granted, it would probably be gone the minute we were in the bath, but then I’d get to smell even more like him once I was in all of his fragrant shampoos and body washes. They were divine.

“We could have a little tea party with all my friends,” I said. “If you want to do that. It’s not essential, we don’t have to, because I don’t have my tea set with me, but it’s a—”

He stroked the back of my head and neck. “Just want you to know that I have a tea set, it’s real China, a gift from a work white elephant party a couple years back,” he said. “You don’t have to entertain it if you’d like, we can just go to your place and grab yours.”

My mouth wide, I gasped. “You have a real China tea set?”

“Still in the original box,” he said.

My mom had a real China tea set as well, she only used that when my grandma, her mom in law came over. That meant I was never allowed to use it, or even look at it sometimes, but granted, those were things I was told as a kid. I could’ve easily afforded my own now, but little space probably wasn’t a good place to have fancy things, especially not around Fallon, he was a little clumsy.

“I promise to be really gentle with it,” I said.

“Perfect, I can’t wait to play with you.”

An absolute dream, and I didn’t want to wake up from it. We went from bed to the bathroom where I grabbed all the bath toys and threw them in the tub so they could float around and splash while it was filling up. The next step was deciding on the bubbles. There were a lot of scents that smelled like the inside of gentlemen’s club with a spicy rum and tobacco. I avoided that one, my face physically wincing at the smell. I settled on the sweeter smelling ones, fruity, especially the strawberry one which I had to tell myself not to taste.

“Not for consumption,” Daddy also added, seeing the way my eyes grew so wide it broke the unclaimed sleep from the corners of my eyes.

Bath time was always my favorite time. I didn’t have baths often because I could’ve spent an entire day in one, even after getting all pruned, I would’ve been in a bath. When I was actually little I would’ve sat in the bath while the water drained and still had the most fun. It’s kinda where my mind went during bath time, to that space of having so much fun splashing around in the draining water, and seeing how much of it I could keep trapped either behind me or in my legs.

Daddy tried the water before I was allowed in, making sure the water was just right. We were both standing naked around each other, the comfort I felt around him was unmatched. There was the inescapable want to be wrapped up in him, at all times, I was fighting the urge to jump on him, wrapped my legs around his waist and rub up against his hairy fur.

“You can get in now,” he said. “I’m gonna get extra towels before I get in.”

“Ok. I promise not to use all the bubbles up before you get back.”

“You promise?”

I held my pinky out, so he definitely knew I was being serious.

In the tub with the jets active, but on the lowest setting to create a little amount of bubbles. I was in my element, giving myself a little bubble beard and then a large coif of bubble hair. By the time Daddy came back to see me, I was practically unrecognizable from all the bubbles I was covered in, and from the amount of liquid I’d added to the water, they were going to keep filling the tub until the jets were turned off. He laughed, folding the towels over the warming rail.

“What have you done with Henry?”

“Who is Henry?” I asked, making my voice deeper.

“I guess we’ll never know,” he said, walking over, he combed a hand through my hair, removing the bubbles. “Ah, well, it seems someone has tried to dupe me because you look just like Henry with—well, with a beard, but a white beard, at such a young age, I’m not sure if that’s—” he took another hand and removed the bubbles from my mouth and chin. He gasped. “You are Henry!”

“It’s me!” I announced, lifting a toy from the tub and squirting him with it. “Surprise.”

“Oh are we playing that came again?” He laughed, cupping a hand with water and splashing me.

We played together in the bath for a while. I hadn’t even checked the time on my phone when I woke up, so I didn’t know when we got out, but my toes were all wrinkled and my skin was the softest it had been in a while. That might’ve had something to do with the potions I’d been making by mixing up all the different liquids together.

Occasionally, flashes of remembering hit me, knowing it was Sunday and tomorrow I would be back in adult mode. Worse, I would be back to being colleagues with Daddy instead of the closeness we had right now where he was naked and towel drying me.

“You smell delicious,” he said, nuzzling into my body and gently giving me tiny bites. “You best hope nobody else wants a bite of you, otherwise there might not be anything left.”

“Don’t bite too much, Arnold is in the bedroom, and he’ll tell you off.” My raggedy lion teddy was my protector, in the space of a Daddy for the longest time, but he was ok with sharing me with a warm-blooded Daddy rather than another stuffed animal one.

There was no schedule to the day. I thrived better on a schedule, but I wasn’t given one. We went from bath time to exercising proper oral hygiene, and then getting dressed in my onesie before playing in front of the Christmas tree. I colored pages while the cartoon channels played in the background. Nothing beat the weekend morning cartoons from my childhood, but the background noise of the current day ones were ok. I laid on my belly with Arnold under one arm, a candy cane in my mouth, and my legs swinging back and forth to the playful tunes I caught with each new episode.

Daddy was in the kitchen, preparing a surprise. I had an idea of what it was considering we’d already talked about it.

A tea party was imminent.