Chapter 20

Tate

"And then…and then…" Joel's yawn cut off his excited rambling but he didn't let it stop him for long. "And then the kraken will come out and eat them."

Dean looked like he couldn't decide if he was grossed out or had questions about the logic of Joel's scenario, but he took a breath before he said anything. "I don't think people would taste very good."

Joel shrugged. "My online friend read a book that said humans are crunchy. Maybe we're like popcorn?"

Dean just blinked at him.

I wasn't sure what my response was supposed to be but laughter was all I had at the moment.

It made Dean aim a frustrated glare at me, but Joel giggled. "Just like they said. Daddy keeps us from being naughty."

Whatever he was thinking was so funny he nearly slipped and barely caught himself before his legs nearly ended up over his head. "I'm safe, Daddy."

"Bull—" Dean barely caught himself before starting again. "Are you sure about that?"

Joel giggled but he didn't point out his Daddy's slip. He also didn't seem like he was going to answer the question because he smiled bigger and sat up on his knees so he could lean over the side of the tub and give Dean a cute cheek kiss. "You take such good care of me."

Yep, the adorable defense worked more than fifty percent of the time with his Daddy, so I didn't blame him for using that first.

"My mom liked that." Little Joel didn't have any hesitation about talking about his family no matter what headspace he was in. "She liked you, Daddy. She likes that you're taking care of me."

Bubbles and bathtub flirting had given Dean a chance to recover, so he wasn't as stressed as he'd been on the drive back. "I'm glad she likes that and I'm glad she's comfortable with our relationship."

Oh yeah.

Leaning even farther over so Joel could give me a kiss too, he made me start to regret sitting on the floor with Dean as water went everywhere. "They liked you too, Master."

Even when he'd called me Master in front of them.

"I'm glad too." Returning his kiss, I chuckled. "And I'm glad they like that you have a Daddy."

Our families were going to have a few more issues with it, but Joel's had been a more pressing concern, considering how often he talked to them and that he told them everything.

Wiggling his behind like a cute pup, he cocked his head in a very deliberately manipulative fashion that had Dean sighing. Joel didn't let that stop him from perfecting his craft, though. "Daddy's worried? But they like him."

"Worries are not always logical." I shrugged as he nodded sagely at my explanation. "He's glad they like him, but I'm pretty sure they just gave him stuff to think about."

"Hmm?" Tapping his chin, Joel made thinking look adorable. "Thinky not worry?"

"Yes." Giving our wet boy one last kiss, I reached into the tub. "And now you're going to get dry-y."

That had Joel giggling again but he tried to pout. "I'm not all done."

"Your bubbles are gone and we were going to put your cage on, remember?" I wasn't sure if that reminder would stress out Dean since he was already on edge, but he didn't seem to mind it. "You need more attention."

"Hmm…" Joel decided cute and dramatic would get him the best attention. "Yes. I do."

So he bounced up, nearly taking another dive headfirst into the tub before catching himself. "I'm safe."

Bullshit.

He knew that was what his Daddy wanted to say too, so he smiled at Dean as he held out his arms. "Help dry me, Daddy?"

Dean sighed but stood up and nodded. "Yes, we need to get you all dry."

He was such a sucker.

"Thank you, Daddy." Making exaggerated movements to brace himself on the wall and holding Dean's arm, Joel leaned in and gave Dean a cheek kiss. "I'm your good boy."

"Saying that over and over doesn't make it true." Frowning, Dean grabbed Joel's towel as I stood up. "If you fall in the tub, you won't get a bath…bubbles or the plain kind…for one month."

Oh, Daddy was starting to get stern.

Joel must've realized he'd reached Daddy's limit because he nodded. "Naughty boys don't get baths."

"They don't get spankings either." Chiming in to hopefully close a loophole for another fun activity, I raised one eyebrow as Joel sighed. "If you get a booboo, you won't be healthy enough to spank."

Joel scrunched his face up, clearly not approving of the idea, but I wasn't sure he'd figured out a way around it yet. "Being safe is important."

Hmm, not an agreement and definitely not pushback.

Smart cookie.

"It's very important." Daddy Dean had found something that he was willing to be a firm Dom about. "If you fall in the tub or hurt yourself doing something unsafe, I will make rules and I will also call your mother ."

Oh.

Joel's eyes went wide before he pouted. "Aww, Daddy…"

"No. Looking cute will not get you out of it. You were wiggling in the tub and not being safe. I told you before when you were trying to drown that whale that you needed to sit still."

I had a feeling that he still wasn't happy with the whale situation. Joel needed to torment scarier things unless he wanted to drive his Daddy insane.

"Yes, Daddy." Joel admitted defeat as Dean wrapped the towel around him and was extra careful as he stepped out of the tub.

He wasn't ready to stop manipulating his Daddy, though. He kept up his pout as he leaned in against Dean and snuggled into Dean's chest. "No bubbles would make me sad."

"Having you hurt would make me even sadder." Daddy Dean wasn't going to let the pout derail his rules about keeping his boy safe. "How would I feel if I had to call your mother and explain you got hurt in the tub?"

Embarrassed.

Joel went with another good answer, though. "You'd be big worried."

The adorable sigh that accompanied Joel's response had me trying not to smile. But Joel's Daddy was just as cute. "I would be big, big worried, so you're going to help me be not worried."

They were adorable.

And the fact that Dean being stern Daddy seemed to really make Joel's dick happy made it all even better.

Joel just couldn't help being cute because even as Dean still looked stern and slightly frustrated, he looked down his body as his Daddy stepped back. "Stop that. Daddy's worried."

Joel's dick just couldn't behave.

Dean looked confused so I decided to be helpful since I wasn't needed for the practical bits. "He liked it when you got stern and were very serious about taking care of him."

"Oh." Frowning, Dean studied Joel to make sure I had it right, and when Joel nodded, his expression shifted to looking confused. "I guess I should've expected that response."

That wasn't really how Dean's brain saw things like that and it definitely wasn't what his dick responded to, so I wasn't surprised he was confused.

"You're good at taking care of me and my penis likes it too." Shrugging, Joel was just honestly reacting that time and not trying to manipulate his Daddy. "He knows it's cage time, though, Daddy, and he's going to be good."

No, he wasn't.

Dean's lips twitched but he didn't call out the blatant lie. "I'm glad he's trying to be good, and I think it's normal for you or your penis to like it when I take care of you."

We got to say the best stuff with Joel as our sub.

"He likes it a lot." Joel parted his towel and frowned down at his dick again. "He likes it lots and lots. But he needs to be good and stay little and cute."

"We'll figure it out." Dean didn't seem to know how he was going to accomplish that but he made it sound reasonable. "Then we'll get pajamas on and we'll have fun."

Doing something.

Dean still seemed to have a lot going on in his head and it wouldn't have surprised me if that was distracting him and keeping him from figuring out what Joel needed. Or what Dean needed. He got just as much out of this part of their relationship as Joel did, so I wanted both of them to get fully recharged.

Maybe it was time for Master to step in a bit?

"Are you all dry?" Rubbing the towel over Joel's arms, I grinned and did my best to make him smile. "No drips on the carpet, water or naughty drips."

Giggles exploded out of Joel and he raced out of the bathroom, nearly taking me down as he flew. "Drip. Drip. Drip. I'm so fast."

And still very hard.

Dean glared at me but I just shrugged and wrapped my arms around him. "Come here. Daddy is still stressed about something."

He shrugged but didn't deny it as he leaned into me and rested his head on my shoulder. "It's okay that he's planning our future? What he said in the car…"

Yep, it'd been interesting.

"Are you saying you're not ready to move into a big house with us? I want a three-person tub." Dean's groan said he knew I was teasing. "But Joel's right. A two-person tub will work too."

Letting out a dramatic sigh, Dean dropped his voice. "Aren't you…isn't that…"

I knew what he was trying to say but I shrugged and kept my voice just as quiet. "No. Joel doesn't have any kind of filter when it comes to us and he just said what he wants. Us in his life going forward. That idea doesn't scare me because it's you guys."

Nothing about them scared me.

"Do we have to know all the answers now? No." Kissing Dean's head as he relaxed in my arms, I held him tighter. "Do we have to start planning what our big house will look like? No."

We had a fuck ton of little things to plan before we got to that point.

Parents.

Graduating.

Jobs.

Surviving the next dinner with Joel's family.

Hell, just figuring out how we were going to work the summer so we weren't apart that long was higher on my to-do list of things to worry about.

"But if we're moving in that direction?" Dean seemed to need me to spell it out, so I gave him another kiss as his mind tried to wrestle with his vaguely asked question.

"Yeah, we're moving in the direction of a collar for our boy and plans for the future together where we'll fight about what anniversary we're supposed to celebrate next year and all that fun stuff." My response had Dean fighting between laughter and a sigh.

"I'm just going to go with whatever date means the most to Joel and you are too, so don't even pretend that it's up for debate." Dean's dry response said he wasn't too worried any longer.

Grinning, I shrugged and gave him a peck on the lips as he straightened. "Alright, I'll give you that one but only because I like making both of you happy."

Rolling his eyes, Dean straightened. "Some things just aren't worth arguing over and some things are."

"Like how much that garden tub apartment you guys are planning will cost." I huffed. "You guys aren't planning on going cheap."

Getting into the swing of it, Dean glared at me. "Are you saying we're not worth it?"

Keeping my expression just as stern as his, I gave a vague half-shrug. "I don't know. A garden tub. A bedroom big enough for a king-sized bed. And whatever else the brat will talk you into? I don't know if your worth that…but I can be negotiated with."

Barely holding back a laugh, Dean stepped around me and headed out of the bathroom. "Joel, did you know Master Tate doesn't think we're special?"

Oh, he played dirty.

"It seems like Daddy Dean is trying to prove he's a naughty boy too." My response had giggles flooding the apartment.

It seemed like Joel enjoyed his Doms' drama and didn't believe it in the slightest.

"Is Daddy being naughty?" Joel barely got the sentence out between rounds of giggles as we made our way to his room. "Oh no. Daddy needs a spanking."

Dean's shocked inhale got another round of laughter from Joel, and it took Dean a second to find a reaction that included words. "I don't know what nonsense I'm hearing but that sounds ridiculous."

Joel loved that response and we found him naked as a jaybird and laughing as he lay spread-eagle on his bed. "Naughty Daddy."

"Silly boy." Dean wasn't willing to admit the naughty part in the slightest but he was walking lighter and smiling at Joel's excited happiness as he shook his head. "You and your Master say the silliest things."

Bouncing up on his knees so his dick bobbed around begging for attention, Joel looked lighter too as he saw his smiling Daddy. "No sillies. Naughties."

And he tipped over, barely keeping himself on the bed as he laughed again. "Naughty Daddy."

Happy Daddy too.

He'd find something else to worry about sooner or later, but for the time being he wasn't worried about the future, so I was counting it as a win for the head Dom.