Chapter 24

Joel

They were going to have to keep me better so people stopped being weird. I was going to tell them too. They needed to make people leave me alone so I didn't have to be rude. I marched right in the apartment but Dean popped my mad bubble. He was right there at the door and just ignored it.

"Once you're done with your homework, do you want to watch cartoons with me?" Dean didn't say anything about my bubble or my frown, but he did look down at my tummy when it rumbled. "Do you need a snack?"

"Yes." He was good to have noticed even though it was his job to notice. That was how it worked. My online friends had said so. "I accidentally smiled at someone and had to miss my lunch."

People were weird.

Dean went still and just blinked for a moment before pulling me into a big hug. "I'm sorry. That sounds stressful."

"It was." Being happy was dangerous. "And girls are weird."

That made him laugh but I couldn't blame him. Even Dean knew how weird they were and it was just funny. But he was a good something and hugged me tighter before kissing my head. "Do you want to vent about that or just leave it outside and relax at home?"

Hmm.

"Leave it outside. I'll pick it up tomorrow when I leave for class." Maybe if I frowned more then that would keep people from being frustrating.

"Sounds like a good plan for the time being." Rubbing my back, Dean kissed my head again before taking my bag. "How much work do you have to do?"

"Reading and stuff." I was going to pout over that too. "I'm—"

"Gonna let me help?" Dean kissed my forehead and took my hand. "I think that's a great idea. Come sit down and I'll get you a drink and a snack."

Well, I could have a snack before I pouted.

"How about cookies? I made some." Dean's answer made me take a deep inhale and he laughed. "So now you noticed, huh?"

Cookies.

"I like cookies." I liked cookies a lot. "I'm big hungry."

So that meant I got lots of cookies.

"Let's fix that then." Dean lead me over to the table and set my bag down in the empty chair we never used. For some reason, tables and chairs only came in even numbers. "You get your stuff out and I'll get you a cookie."

"Lots. I need lots." I was starving. "Or I'll wither away and die. Honest."

Dean nodded and didn't tell me I was being dramatic. "I can help you with that so there's no reason for you to die."

"It just happens." I shrugged, but I sat down and reached over to grab my boring stuff. "I can't control it. So that's why you have to give me lots of cookies."

He made a thinking sound but didn't tell me I was wrong—so that meant he knew I was right. "I'm very sure we can find a good compromise. Let's start with cookies, though."

Two.

Starting with cookies meant I got two.

"Aww, I'm big hungry." And still kinda cranky. "That's not big hungry worth of cookies."

My lower lip came out on its own but I didn't tell it to behave. Dean didn't see it that way because he raised one eyebrow as he gave me two cookies on a napkin. "Are you sure that's how you want to respond?"

Ugh.

"Maybe?" I had to see if pouting would work first. "Thank you for my two cookies, even though I'm big hungry."

Dean sighed but he didn't tell me to be good. "Start on those."

Then I'd get more?

He was frowny and suspicious looking, so I wasn't sure how many more I'd get. One? Two? As I tried to decide how many cookies I'd get for one eye raise, I ate my first cookie. Oatmeal chocolate chip. I'd thought Dean was silly when he'd first polluted the chocolate chip cookies but they were good and so I let him make them for me a lot.

"I like cookies." Yep. "You make good cookies."

He liked making me stuff because I was special.

"Thank you." Dean's happy voice said I was going to get more cookies. "I like making cookies for you."

Because he liked taking care of his special boy.

The internet said so and they were right about most stuff. Maybe not the "why did I cough" stuff but they were always right about the sex and BDSM stuff. Those people just seemed to be smarter than the people who made the medical sites.

Maybe BDSM made people smarter?

I finished my other cookie trying to figure out how to get the medical people to submit to the BDSM people so they'd get smart enough to make good websites. I was still trying to work out the details when Dean came back to the table.

"Snacklebox on a plate." He put my cheese and crackers and veggies down right beside me. "Once you finish those, I'll bring you more cookies."

"How many more?" Just one might not be worth eating carrots. I didn't even know we had carrots or I'd have hidden them better.

Wait.

Had Dean hidden the carrots before I could hide them?

Ugh.

He was so sneaky.

"At least two but you might be able to have more if you don't pitch a fit." Dean did the eyebrow thing again when I sucked in a breath. "You're not being dramatic, are you?"

Maybe.

"I'm always your good boy." Always. Even when I pouted. "I'm not dramatic."

Dean was dramatic.

Even Tate said so.

"Where's Tate?" As I looked around the apartment to find where he was hiding, I started eating my cheese and crackers. "Is he being dramatic?"

Was he hiding because Dean was being stingy with the cookies?

"Bug guy needed help moving something." Dean frowned as he looked at the front door. "I'm still scarred, so I wasn't going to do it."

"We don't have to talk about it." Because it gave Dean nightmares…me too. "We're eating cheese and cookies and then watching cartoons."

Dean looked over at me and frowned. "Did you leave something out?"

"No." Shaking my head, I leaned forward so he wouldn't see my stuff. "I got the important stuff."

He scoffed and rolled his eyes. "How about veggies and homework?"

Ugh.

"Nope. I don't need those." Hmm. "But thank you very much for asking."

Some of my online people said manners were very important, so I was glad I hadn't forgotten mine. Especially because they made Dean roll his eyes, but he didn't tell me I was naughty. So they'd helped.

"We'll see about that." Dean was trying to look stubborn, but I just gave him a big smile because everyone said that helped too.

He shook his head.

Hmm.

The internet clearly hadn't met Dean.

Trying to show him I was a good boy seemed like it would help, though, so I ate my cheese and crackers and my grapes and even some of my carrots.

"I ate some of my carrots. Can I have my cookies now?" One was some so that counted as telling the truth. "I need three more. I was really good. I might even need four."

Or five if he walked away from the stove for long enough.

He was kind of guarding the cookies and kept pretending to clean the kitchen over and over. Dean might've been patient but I was sneaky, so I knew I could get more.

Once he moved.

Ugh.

He moved closer to me.

Dean was stubborn and smart as he walked over and looked at my plate. "You started off with five carrots and you have four. You ate one."

"You counted my carrots? That's naughty." It was something. "It might be sneaky too. That's not nice."

Dean frowned and crouched down beside me. "Some Doms are spanking Doms that like their subs to kneel and they control things."

Nodding, I was subtle and pushed some of the crackers over the carrots to hide them. I didn't mind sacrificing crackers for the good of my cookies. "Like Tate."

"That's right." Dean reached up and unburied my carrots. "And there are some Doms who make sure you eat your veggies and buy bathtub toys."

"Like you." I tried to push a carrot overboard and hide it under my plate but Dean just picked it up and put it back. "Oops."

If I wasn't smarter, I was going to have to eat the carrots.

"That's right." Dean kissed my cheek instead of fussing at me about the carrots but that was just him trying to make me feel guilty.

I didn't have that about carrots, though.

"Have you heard of names for any Doms that like buying bathtub toys and who like buying fun pajamas for their boy's birthdays and Christmas?" Dean was confused and stubborn.

So I ate one of my carrots.

He was being patient.

Oh dear.

I ate another.

Dean was still being patient and I'd run out of carrots when Tate finally came home. "Did you know he's got—"

I was chewing slower and slower and it was all mushy in my mouth, but Tate was smart and shook his head as he shut the door and walked over before I gagged. "What are you two doing?"

Gagging.

I didn't even know I could do that but carrots were yucky.

"Well, we were having a discussion and then Joel decided that voluntarily eating his carrots would be better than answering my question." Dean wasn't frowning or sighing, but he made me want to wiggle.

I needed more carrots, but since those were gone, I grabbed the last of my grapes. I'd been going to save those since they were the best on my plate but I had to sacrifice them. It was worth it, though, because I didn't want Dean to worry.

Tate rolled his eyes and came over to sit at the table beside me. "Dean understands that he's a Daddy. Do you know he's a Daddy?"

Oh.

Chewing faster, I nodded and swallowed and didn't even choke. "The internet said he might not know he's a Daddy."

"He didn't at first but he figured it out." Tate shrugged. "We just weren't sure you knew you were a little."

"I wasn't but now I am." It happened. The internet said so. "I got a Daddy in my life, so it made me little."

Their heads cocked like cute puppies on the internet.

Oh, I wanted a tail.

Telling myself not to forget, I waited for them to think and nibbled on the last of my cheese like I was a cute little mouse.

Hmm, would I look cuter with a mouse tail or a puppy tail?

Puppy.

"Okay." Tate nodded, finally understanding how it worked. "That's right."

For some reason Dean had to sigh before he nodded but that might've just been a Daddy thing. The internet said they were confusing when they first figured things out and their littles were supposed to be patient.

I was very patient as long as cookies weren't involved…then I was just kind of patient.

"We're on the same page now, that's the important part." Dean looked lighter after realizing that so I nodded. I liked it when he was happy. "It might take us a while to figure out how that looks for us, though."

"Yes. I read that too." That was part of the reason why I was just a little bit behind on my boring reading. "We're supposed to say what makes us feel little and Daddy and we're supposed to be open to trying new things and you're supposed to buy me more toys."

That was my favorite part.

"But I've been saving my money to buy sex toys, so we can use some of that to buy regular toys." That seemed very reasonable.

Dean's head cocked again. "I think that makes sense, but I want to buy a few things for you too."

"Because that would make you feel more like a Daddy?" I knew I was right before he nodded but it was nice to know that I was smart. "What else would make you feel like a Daddy?"

Dean smiled and pointed to the table. "Helping make sure you get your homework done."

Ugh.

I was not smart.