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Pete hummed quietly to himself, interested in the picture book he was reading. He vaguely registered the feeling of someone touching his arm, but they weren’t disturbing him, so he didn’t mind. It did, however, become a problem when the person started scratching at a scab and peeling it off.
“Ow!” He whined, turning to see who the culprit was. Unsurprisingly, it was Joe, looking at him sheepishly. Pete growled, swatting at him angrily. Before long, both boys were swinging clumsily at each other, catching the attention of one of the daycare’s caregivers.
“Hey, hey! What’s happening here?” Travie asked calmly, pulling them apart. “Why aren’t we being nice to each other?”
“I was readin’ and then he started scratching at my arm right here!” Pete whined, pointing dramatically at the place where the scab had been. Now, though, the small wound was open and a dot of blood was collecting. When Pete registered that he was bleeding, he started tearing up. Travie glanced over at Joe, who looked just as distressed over it.
“Petey’s bleeding!” Joe shouted, and Pete growled again.
“And who’s fault is that?” He grumbled, reaching over to shove the other little, but Travie stopped him. “I want my daddy…” Pete whined.
“I think Patrick’s busy right now, but why don’t you go find Andy so he can give you a bandaid while I talk to Joe?” Travie said, standing up and then lifting Pete effortlessly to set him on his feet and nudge him towards where Andy was. Pete ignored him, glancing around the room trying to locate Patrick. The sound of someone loudly crying caught his attention, and his head snapped over to the direction of the cubby room doorway, where he couldn't see the person crying, but he could see his daddy, seeming to be talking to someone out of sight.
Pete quickly crossed the room, dodging the other littles scattered around as he ran over to the cubby room, ignoring Travie reminding him to not run inside.
“Daddy! Daddy! Joe scratch me!” Pete said loudly over the sound of the cries, tugging anxiously on Patrick’s sleeve.
“Hold on, angel, I’m a little busy, can it wait a moment?” Patrick dismissed him, not even looking at him.
“No!” Pete whined, tears in his eyes. He already didn’t like sharing his daddy with the others, but now he wasn’t even most important?
Pete looked over to see what could possibly be more important, and quieted himself down out of pure confusion. There was a very tall man standing in the hallway by the cubbies. He looked very nice, and had very curly hair. What really caught Pete’s attention, though, was the person that the nice man was carrying in the same way Travie carries Pete before nap time. The person had their face buried in the nice man’s neck, and Pete realized that he was the one crying loudly. Maybe the person was crying because they were tired? It would explain why the nice man with the curly hair was holding him.
“What do you need, Pete?” Patrick asked, turning his full attention to his little. Pete pointed to the small dot of now-drying blood on his arm. Patrick hummed, then told him to get a bandaid from Andy, the same way Travie did. Well, if two adults were saying it, then it was probably a good idea. Pete couldn’t argue with that logic, so he nodded, turning and heading back into the main daycare room in search of the daycare’s owner.
Patrick smiled to himself as he watched Pete, glad that he wasn’t too upset about having to share his favourite person. Patrick knew that it would be hard for Pete to adjust when he started volunteering at the daycare, but his attitude seemed to be improving.
Patrick was pulled out of his thoughts by a muffled sob, realizing it had come from the little that was currently being dropped off for the first time.
“Sorry about the crying, he’s a little upset. It’s his first time being away from me, he’s not a fan of new people.” The caregiver, Patrick believed he said his name was Ray, said, adjusting his hold on the sobbing little in his arms.
“Don’t worry, I totally understand! Separation can be hard.” Patrick responded lightheartedly, glancing into the other room briefly. “I’ve got my own, and his separation anxiety was so bad that I signed him up for the daycare so he could still be around me while I worked.”
Ray smiled at hearing that. It was nice to know that the people he was leaving his baby with were good people who knew what they were doing, and were willing to take him at the last minute.
“Okay Gerard,” Ray said, shifting the boy in his arms again, this time moving to set him on his feet. “It’s time to go in there now, okay? This very nice guy is gonna take care of you, and you can make some friends too!”
The boy, Gerard, only cried harder, immediately trying to climb back into Ray’s arms the second he was put down. “Mama!” He sobbed, grabbing desperately at his caregiver’s shirt. “Home!”
“Nope, you’ve gotta stay here for a little bit, okay? I’ll be back to pick you up today, I promise.” Ray said gently, taking the bag hanging off his shoulder and handing it over to Patrick. “Some of his stuff is in there. You know, a couple changes of clothes, a spare pacifier, his stuffed animal and blanket, which he can't fall asleep without, by the way. Oh, also, he’s in diapers so there's some in there, any wipes you have are fine! I think that’s everything…”
“Perfect! Thank you, he’s in good hands. What time will you be back?” Patrick asked, taking the bag and slinging it over his own shoulder.
“Not sure exactly, some time this afternoon, though.”
“Alright!” Patrick said, smiling politely.
Pete was sitting at one of the tables, papers and crayons spread out in front of him as he scribbled angrily. There was a spiderman bandaid on his arm, courtesy of Andy, and he was trying not to peel it off and play with it. He was feeling anxious and didn’t like that his daddy was giving another little attention, and he needed to keep his hands busy.
Speaking of Patrick and the other little, Pete whipped around at the sound of a loud cry, eyes landing on his daddy crouched over in the book corner. He stood up curiously, wandering across the daycare to find out what was happening.
“Hi daddy” Pete said, coming up behind Patrick and putting a hand on his shoulder. Why should this other guy get all the attention?
“Hi hun, remember what i said about how we have to share daddy’s attention when we’re at daycare? Do you mind if i come see you in a minute?” Patrick said, without even looking up at him.
“Why?” Pete whined, shifting from one foot to the other anxiously. He didn’t like this very much.
“Well, my new friend here is having a bit of a tough time.” Patrick said, gesturing to the crying little in front of him.
“Why?” Pete asked again.
“I think he’s a bit nervous, honey.”
“Why?”
“Well because it’s his first time here, and there’s a lot going on! Remember your first day when you were clinging to me the whole day because you were anxious?”
Pete nodded.
“Well it’s kinda like that!”
Pete hummed, thinking things over in his head for a moment. Without saying anything else, he moved over to the bookshelf and scanned the variety of picture books lined up before grabbing one. Patrick watched, confused, as he sat down next to Gerard and opened the book, starting to try his best to read it out loud. He held the book at an angle so that Gerard could see the pages as well, looking up to see if the boy was paying attention before flipping to the next page.
Patrick watched, dumbfounded, as the boy with the messy black hair slowly stopped crying, becoming interested in the book. With a final sniffle into his sleeve, Gerard moved closer, trying to get a better look at it. Pete just kept reading to the best of his ability pointing at some of the pictures.
“Well, you and Gerard seem to be okay over here, is it okay if i go help out some of the other kids?” Patrick asked, slowly standing up. Pete nodded, not looking up from the book.
Pete reached the last page of the picture book, giving the other little a chance to see it before closing it and setting it down in his lap.
“Your name… Gerard?” Pete asked, pointing to the other boy, who nodded slowly. Pete nodded back, then pointed to himself. “Pete.”
Gerard’s gaze flicked between Pete’s eyes for a moment, then over to the bookshelf right behind him, lifting his hand to point over Pete’s shoulder. Pete turned around too, and saw he was pointing at another picture book.
“You wanna read that one?” Pete asked, and Gerard nodded. Pete grabbed it and put the other one in its place, then settled back into where he was sitting.
The two of them continued that with book after book until they were interrupted by Andy calling out for snack time. Pete put the books away and stood up, offering Gerard a hand to help him up. The two of them walked over to the table together, sitting side by side as the other littles began to take up various seats around them. Pete sat at the seat closest to the end, and Gerard took the seat next to him. Pete always sat there because Patrick sat at the end of the table during snack time, and he wanted to be near his daddy.
Today was Tuesday, meaning the snack was peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, which was one of Pete’s favourites! The plates were passed across the table, and Pete quickly picked up one of the sandwich halves and began eating it. He was so invested in his own snack that he didn’t notice Gerard’s situation at first.
Pete heard a whine from beside him, and turned to see what the problem was. Gerard was staring at the plate with tears in his eyes, hands waving anxiously at his sides. Pete wasn’t sure what was happening. Did Gerard not like the snack?
“Gerard, are you okay?” Patrick asked calmly, making Pete turn the other way to look at him. Gerard shook his head, whining again.
“What’s wrong?” Patrick asked. Pete was looking back and forth between the two, silently observing the rather one-sided conversation. Gerard still offered no verbal response, simply pointing to the sandwich. More specifically the crust. “Wrong!” He whined, pulling his hand away quickly. Pete’s eyebrows furrowed, wondering why his new friend was acting like that.
“The crusts? Do you want me to cut them off?” Patrick offered warmly, and Gerard nodded quickly, pushing his plate to the end of the table where the caregiver was sitting.
Patrick smiled gently at the distressed boy, then looked up to try and grab the attention of another caregiver so he wouldn’t have to get up. Andy was seated at the other end of the table, engaged in conversation with one of the kids, but Travie was leaning against the wall, quietly watching over everything.
“Hey, can you pass me a knife?” Patrick asked, grabbing his attention quickly. The knife was handed to him, and he cut the crusts off Gerard’s sandwich and handed the knife back, thanking Travie.
“Here you go, all better?” Patrick asked as he passed the plate back to Gerard, who nodded. Pete paused his chewing and looked over at him when he didn’t say anything in return.
“Hafta say thanks.” Pete mumbled around the food in his mouth, nudging Gerard’s arm with his elbow. Gerard just looked up at him nervously, clearly nonverbal.
“Oh, Pete, it’s okay-” Patrick tried to say, but was cut off by Pete letting out a frustrated growl and standing up from the table so quickly that his chair almost tipped over as he stormed out of the room. Patrick was about to run after him, conflicted between chasing after Pete and staying to try and calm Gerard, who was confused and on the verge of tears from Pete’s loud outburst right next to him. Thankfully, Travie noticed.
“I got it, ‘Trick.” He said, following Pete into the hallway. Patrick sighed, then turned to Gerard.
“Hey, Pete!” Travie called, picking up the pace when he saw Pete headed for the front doors. Pete had a tendency to run off when he was frustrated. He managed to grab the boy right as his hand made contact with the bar that opened the door.
“Where are we going, kid?” He said as he lifted Pete up and settled him on his hip. There was no hint of anger in Travie’s voice.
“Leavin’.” Pete pouted, turning his head away angrily. “All wrong…”
“What’s all wrong?” Travie asked, gently adjusting his hold to try and get Pete to look at him.
“Daddy not giving me attention, only giving Gerard… an’... an’ supposed to use m-manners, but Daddy not making Gerard use ‘em. He love Gerard more ‘an me.” Pete mumbled, and Travie didn’t miss the tears pooling in his eyes, even as he tried to appear angry rather than sad.
“Whaaat? Noooooooo, I don't think so! I think Patrick loves you a lot, buddy!” Travie said, gently rubbing Pete’s back in an attempt to stop him from spiralling. Pete rubbed his eye trying to push the tears away, but ended up yawning instead.
“M’sorry T’avie…”
“What for, kid?” Travie frowned.
“For bein’ bad… an’ runnin’ away… an’ bein’ jealous..” Pete mumbled, hiding his face in the caregiver’s neck.
“That’s okay, little man, you were frustrated. How about next time we try to stay inside, though, okay?”
Pete nodded, lifting his head back up to look at Travie again. He had one hand fisted tightly in the back of the caregiver’s shirt, and the other hand lightly traced the tattoos covering Travie’s arm.
“You ready to go join everyone else and finish your snack? I’m sure Patrick wants to know you’re okay!” Travie said, but Pete looked hesitant.
“Daddy not mad?”
“‘Course not! He’ll understand, don't worry, bud.”
“M’kay…” Pete said, squirming as he tried to get out of Travie’s arms. Travie set him down, following close behind as he walked back into the playroom. Patrick smiled at them both from across the room, watching Pete cross the playroom back to his spot at the table. At this point everyone, including Gerard, had already gone back to eating, so nobody looked up at him other than Patrick.
Pete sat back down in his spot slowly at first, waiting for someone to tell him he was actually in trouble and had to spend time in the naughty corner, but when he was only met with his Daddy’s gentle smile, he wasn’t worried anymore. Still, he wanted to say sorry.
“Sorry daddy…” He mumbled timidly, looking over at Patrick and feeling guilty. His cheeks had a slight pink tint to them, embarrassed that he had caused a scene and disrupted snack time.
“Thank you for apologizing, honey. Are you feeling okay?” He responded sweetly, reaching over and feeling Pete’s forehead. Pete nodded, but didn’t pull away from the contact. When Patrick found that he wasn’t warm he shrugged it off.
Pete finished his snack sluggishly, starting to feel drained from a combination of the earlier events and the fact that it was almost naptime.
When Pete finished his snack, Patrick escorted him to the nap room, where everyone else was just starting to get ready for naptime. There were nice comfortable cots laying out across the floor, and most of the littles were already sitting or laying down on them, ready to sleep. Pete glanced around until he saw Travie, quickly making his way over to the man. Patrick followed behind, needing to talk to the other caregiver.
“Hey, Travie!” Patrick whispered, trying to make sure the littles stayed settled. “The new kid, Gerard, he needs to be held or he won’t sleep.”
“But i usually-”
“Yeah, i know, and i feel really bad because Pete’s already had a rough morning, but Gerard’s a lot littler and Pete can fall asleep without being rocked, it just takes him a bit longer. You’re also the only one tall enough to carry anyone.” Patrick explained, glancing over at Pete who had one hand grabbing Travie’s shirt impatiently but had gotten distracted and was now making faces at Joe across the room.
Travie sighed, but nodded, walking over to the cot that Gerard was sitting on with his blanket and stuffed bat. Pete realized that Travie was moving and followed, eyebrows furrowing when he saw him reach down to pick up Gerard.
“Up?” Pete asked, confused. Travie looked down at him sympathetically.
“I’m sorry, little dude, I wish I could rock you, but Gerard’s a lot littler and has more trouble falling asleep.”
“Bigger…” Pete muttered, pointing out that Gerard was taller than him by a fair amount.
“Not like that buddy,” Travie laughed, making Pete frown. Was he finding this situation funny? “Littler up here.” Travie said, tapping his index finger to the side of his head.
“Oh…” Pete said quietly, looking down in an attempt to not let anyone see that his eyes were stinging with tears. He had already had his Daddy’s attention taken away from him so much today, and now he can’t even be held before naptime anymore?
Pete nodded, walking over to his cot and laying down on it. He pulled his blanket up over him and rolled over to face the wall, sighing shakily and trying not to let his tears fall. His chest felt heavy, but he didn’t want to make a big fuss again, so he stayed quiet even though he knew he was supposed to tell someone when he was feeling bad.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, it couldn't have been more than a few minutes, before he heard someone approach his cot and crouch down behind him. The person was clearly waiting for him to roll over or acknowledge that they were there, but Pete didn’t have the energy. When he gave no response, he opened his eyes and saw something being gently waved right in front of his face. Pete gasped. It was none other than Donnie, his beloved stuffed dog.
Pete grabbed the toy out of the person’s hand quickly, before realizing he recognized the watch on the person’s wrist.
Daddy!
Pete rolled over quickly, using donnie’s back to wipe away his tears so Patrick wouldn’t know he was crying.
“Hi, sweetheart…” Patrick said, moving from crouching to sitting, giving Pete a little hope. Maybe he was gonna stay! “You feel okay?”
“Not sick.” Pete said, remembering how his daddy had asked him the same thing earlier. Why did he think he was sick?
“Not like that, baby.” Patrick said, reaching over to gently card his fingers through Pete’s hair. “Do you feel sad?”
Pete was quiet for a moment, trying to decide if he should be honest or not. He didn’t want to cause any more trouble than he already did, but Daddy always said it was important to tell someone if his chest was hurting like this.
He nodded, eyes stinging again. He tried to wipe them away again but it didn’t really work.
“Oh, honey…” Patrick cooed, gently wiping under Pete’s eyes with his thumb. “Talk to me, what’s got you upset?”
Pete took a second to collect his thoughts and put them in a sentence, then took a deep breath.
“Feel like… feel like you not loving me anymore. An’ you love Gerard because he’s lil’er an’ i not being good, an’ you always tells me to say p’ease an’ thank you but Gerard don't have to b’cause you love him more an’ not me…” Pete rambled into Donnie's fur until he was out of breath, then added on more. “An’ now t’avie holding Gerard for naptime an’ not Petey, but that Petey and t’avie time, not Gerard and t’avie time… an’ nobody love me..”
Patrick was quiet for a moment, processing everything Pete had said to him. When he started taking too long Pete whined, breath catching in his throat as he moved to roll over and face the wall again. He thought telling daddy how he was feeling would fix it, but his chest hurt more now because daddy wasn’t saying anything. His chest was tight and he felt like he couldn't breathe.
“Hey, no, hold on-” Patrick said in a hushed voice, gently grabbing Pete’s shoulder to stop him. “I’m sorry, honey, I was just thinking.” He soothed, running his fingers through Pete’s hair again.
“You’re having a rough morning, huh?” Patrick said, and Pete nodded with a quiet whimper under his breath. “I had a feeling that you were upset because of this, and I'm so sorry… I wish there was more I could do, honey. Andy already doesn’t appreciate how I spend more time with you than the other kids, I'm trying my best to give you all the proper amount of attention. I know it’s hard for you to have to share, but please try to understand that when we go home you have me all to yourself, but when we’re here I've got other kids to help out too, okay? I came over here because I could tell you were upset and figured you weren’t going to come tell me yourself, and also because you never got a chance to grab Donnie from your cubby before naptime and he was very lonely without you.”
Pete let out a long shaky breath. He felt a lot better after that, mostly because he was tired and his Daddy’s voice was lulling him to sleep. His eyes were nearly starting to fall shut against his will when he spotted Travie approaching out of the corner of his eye.
“Hey, Petey!” Travie said in a loud whisper, grabbing Pete’s attention. In his arms was Gerard wrapped in a blanket, out cold and snoring softly. “I wanna thank you for being such a good sport about this, even though I know it's really hard for you. Also, Gerard needs a cuddle buddy while he naps and I think he likes you a lot, do you wanna?”
Pete nodded sleepily, not fully processing what was being said to him. He understood enough of it, and it sounded fine, so he shuffled over in his cot and pulled the blanket out of the way, making room for Gerard. Travie smiled, bending over and gently laying the sleeping little down next to Pete. “Thanks, buddy, you’re a real good friend.”
Pete nodded again, eyes starting to shut again no matter how hard he tried to keep them open. He pulled the blanket back up, covering both of them with it and then throwing an arm around the other boy. Just as he was seconds from drifting off, he felt his daddy’s hand in his hair again, pulling him under the rest of the way.
When Pete woke up an hour later, he was pleasantly surprised to see Patrick still sitting beside him. Gerard was also curled up next to him, still asleep. Pete looked him over, noticing how he had a pacifier in his mouth, and was holding both his own stuffed animal, and Donnie. Pete didn’t really like that, Donnie was his.
“Daddy…” Pete whined, catching Patrick’s attention. “Gerard take Donnie…”
“I don’t think he did it on purpose, angel. It’s hard to control what we do when we’re asleep, right?” Patrick said gently, moving closer. “Kinda like how sometimes you punch Daddy in the face when you sleep but I don't get upset because you don't mean to?”
Pete nodded slowly, the last remnants of sleepiness leaving him. He watched as Patrick reached over and gently woke the other little, trying not to startle him.
“Sorry! Sorry!” Gerard whined when he awoke to see that he had taken Pete’s stuffed animal. He sat up quickly, shoving into the other boy’s lap.
“S’fine, Gerard…” Pete mumbled, yawning and rubbing his eyes. Gerard let out a relieved breath, but then he started shifting and squirming, seemingly unable to sit still. Pete was confused at first, then recognized it as the same squirmy thing his daddy always points out that he does when he needs a change…
“You need change?” Pete asked bluntly, pointing at Gerard, who’s cheeks were red. The boy squirmed again and glanced around nervously, then shook his head. Pete felt like Gerard was lying, and Pete knew what lying looked like because he lied all the time, even though daddy says its bad.
“My daddy good… he’s best changer, not gonna hurt you.” Pete smiled, trying to make Gerard less nervous. Gerard was quiet for a moment, then slowly nodded his head while keeping his eyes locked down at his lap. Finally, he spoke again.
“You come?” He asked quietly, looking up at Pete. Pete didn’t see any reason why he couldn’t, he just had to make sure it was okay with his daddy.
“Daddy, Gerard need change. He want me to come too.” Pete said, turning to Patrick. Thankfully, Patrick said it was okay, and the three of them headed to the bathroom.
Pete held Gerard’s hand the whole time he was being changed, and didn’t even complain when Gerard started squeezing his hand and whining about the wipes being cold. When it was all done and Gerard was happy and dry, Pete was ready to go play, but Patrick grabbed his arm and gently pulled him aside, making him whine.
“Do you need a change too, angel?” He asked. Pete had realized halfway through Gerard’s change that he was wet too, but didn’t want Patrick to have to do more work because he had already dealt with so many of Pete’s issues today.
Pete shook his head. Patrick didn’t seem satisfied with that answer.
“Are you sure? You usually need one after naptime…”
Pete shook his head again. He didn’t speak, worried that he would end up giving himself away if he did. He really didn’t want to make any more work.
Patrick sighed. No matter how much time he spent with the other kids, Pete was his, and he could always tell when the boy was lying.
“Okay, then you won’t mind if I check?” He asked, knowing he wouldn’t be allowed to do this to any of the other kids at the daycare. He watched with a little smile as the tips of Pete’s ears turned red.
“Need a change, daddy…”
“Thought so, come on.” Patrick said, motioning for Pete to follow him to get his things from his cubby.
Pete behaved while Patrick changed him, feeling relaxed knowing that he could trust his daddy to do the right things. It went by quickly, and Patrick kept Pete occupied by engaging him in a heartfelt conversation about octonauts.
When Pete returned to the playroom he quickly located Gerard because of his messy black hair, rushing over to where he was sitting on the carpet. He seemed to light up a little when he saw Pete coming.
“What you’re playing?” Pete asked, sitting down across from him and looking at the assortment of toys laid out.
“Ponies..” Gerard mumbled. Sure enough, there were a few My Little Pony figurines set out, and a few wooden blocks spread out as well. Pete wasn’t sure what the game was, but Gerard noticed him pointing at the wooden blocks. “Houses.”
“Ohhhh” Pete hummed, nodding, then pointing to himself. “I can play too?” He asked, to which Gerard nodded with more enthusiasm than Pete had seen him express all day.
Pete reached for the Fluttershy figurine, but Gerard whined, grabbing it before he could, gently petting her mane. It wasn’t that big of a deal, so Pete just grabbed a different one instead.
The two of them played Gerard’s game for a while, moving the ponies around and making them interact. Gerard didn’t seem to be much of a talker in general, but had no issue giving their little plastic pony characters voices, and when he got talking he didn’t stop.
Pete was suddenly interrupted by someone tapping on his shoulder. He turned around and saw that Joe was standing over him.
“Can I play?” He asked, waving a couple ninja turtle action figures in Pete’s face. Pete and Joe were pretty good friends because his daddy and Joe’s mama were good friends and both worked at the daycare. He nodded, and Joe sat down with him and Gerard.
Joe worked his figures into the game that Pete and Gerard had going, but as it progressed, Gerard couldn’t help but notice that it became mostly just Joe and Pete playing. He didn’t say anything, even though it upset him. Of course Pete had other friends, Gerard had only been there one day and he spent half the morning crying. He slowly stopped trying to engage with the other boys, clutching the fluttershy figurine in his hand as he tried to stop himself from crying again. All he ever did was cry, no wonder Pete would rather play with Joe and the boy action figures instead of the ponies.
Pete moved one of the ninja turtles around, clashing it against the one Joe was holding as the other boy used it to knock the block ‘houses’ around. Joe’s action figure was terrorizing the town and Pete was the fierce warrior trying to save the ponies. Speaking of the ponies…
Why isn’t Gerard playing anymore?
Pete looked over to Gerard, and recognized the look on his face quickly. Pete knew how it felt to be left out of things, and he never meant to make his new friend feel like that. He looked down at the toys for a moment, thinking hard.
“Hey Gerard!” Pete called, catching Gerard’s attention. “My guy not strong enough to beat the bad guy attacking the ponies, need a magic princess to help!”
Gerard smiled, sniffling and wiping his eyes as he grabbed the princess celestia figurine, holding it out to show it off. When he was met with Pete’s enthusiastic nod, he joined back into the game, helping Pete defend the ponies and their houses.
The three of them were having so much fun that the time seemed to fly by, and before they knew it, Patrick was coming over and telling Gerard that Ray was here to pick him up. Gerard was excited at first, because his mama was finally back! But he was having so much fun with his new friends…
“Hey, buddy, you can always come back if you want, we’ll all be here!” Patrick said, rubbing his back and smiling at him. “Come on, I’m sure you miss your mama a lot.”
Gerard stood up with some help from Patrick because his balance wasn’t the best, waving goodbye to Pete and Joe as Patrick took his hand and began leading him to the cubby room. Before he could get far, though, Pete stood up, running over and tackling him in a hug.
Gerard flinched a little at first because he wasn’t expecting it, but relaxed into it once he remembered Pete was safe. He even hugged back!
“Thank you…” Gerard mumbled when they separated, and Pete just smiled at him.
“Come back tomorrow, ‘kay?”
Later on, after all the other littles had gone home and it was just Pete and Joe left, Pete finally saw Patrick grabbing his things from the office that Pete wasn’t allowed in without permission. Pete knew that this meant it was time to go home. He liked making friends at daycare, but he was drained and really just wanted to go home and cuddle with his daddy now.
He said goodbye to Joe and Andy and Travie, gathered his things from his cubby, and held Patrick’s hand while they walked out to the car. Patrick helped him into the backseat and got in the front, starting the car. Once they were onto the road, Patrick began speaking.
“Hey, Pete,” He said, making Pete glance up from where he had his head rested against the window. “Thank you.”
“For what.”
“For being so good today! I know you had a bit of a rough morning, but I'm really proud of you for being so nice to Gerard and making him feel better, even though you missed out on some things because of it.” Patrick praised him, making Pete squirm. It always made him feel wiggly when his daddy said nice things about him, which was a lot.
“You know, I think he had a really good time today ‘cause of you, and who knows, he might even-” When Patrick glanced in the rearview mirror, he couldn’t help but smile at the fact that Pete was already out cold, chest rising and falling gently as he leaned against the window.
It was a good thing they were already almost home, because any further and Patrick would be worried about Pete messing up his sleep schedule by sleeping in the car.