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As the couple arrived at Mafuyu's apartment for their playdate, Shizusumi had to wrangle Hiiragi in by the back of his collar like always before he had the chance to run off. Without a word he adjusts the boy's leather collar so that the buckle was towards the back and unbuckles it from his neck. It helped him ground into littlespace better when there was a signal. A transition that told his brain when the collar came off, so did big boy responsibilities. With that, its weight shifted the air surrounding them. Hiiragi's turns towards him, hands scrunched at the front of his shirt to pull him down for a sweet kiss. His Papa gave him a chaste peck in return.
"Hiiragi, remember to be gentle with Mafuyu. He's very small right now." Shizusumi said, securing the collar in his bag. Patting Hiiragi's hair he pushed him forward to his friend.
"'kaaay!"
He watched him run off to join Mafuyu before joining Ritsuka on the couch behind the boys to watch over them as they played. He looked forward to all of the cute pictures the night could bring. There was something bittersweet about not being able to share this side of themselves on social media, but another side of him held onto them with greed. His sweet boy was a gift very few would get to see in full within their lifetime. Shizusumi smiled with fondness and sat back, taking the first picture of the night.
-
Hiiragi rushed over to where Mafuyu sat on the floor, playing with his blocks. He was building a tower that looked just like candy! He gawked at how amazing that sounded. A kingdom of candy? What a cool place to live. The soft chut chut of Mafuyu's pacifier skipped a beat in its rhythm at the sudden rush of energy from the bigger boy.
"Woaaah, I love it!" Hiiragi said, sitting down across from him. "Can I play too?"
Mafuyu nodded and held out a block for his friend to share. They were gonna make an amazing tower together! Mafuyu continued his gathering of blocks once the one offered was taken. He liked separating them by color first before adding them where it felt right. Hiiragi left him to it to get a scope out on the place. He noticed the front of the tower was wide open. That couldn't be good. What if the alligators from the mote got inside?
"Oh, let's make a draw bridge for the front!" He took three long blocks and stacked them up against the opening on the front to make the door.
"It's closed right now." He held up two mini dog figurines from a pile Mafuyu organized and grinned. "We should make these guards at the door!"
Mafuyu clapped his hands and nodded, excited hands reached out at one of the dogs to help. His quick moves made the tower to wobble something scary. Squealing, Hiiragi rushed to catch the tower from tumbling over. His tower could've been gone forever if Hiiragi hadn't swooped in. Knowing Mafuyu, being as little he is, would have cried lots over it.
"Mafu, be careful!" He scolded, crossing his arms. "You're gonna mess it all up!"
Mafuyu let out a long, muffled whine and covered his face with the back of his hands. Before Hiiragi could even react Ritsuka rushed over from his place on the couch to the little ones side. The man had to guide his hands away from rubbing at his eyes too hard as he cried. In a moment of frustration, the man gave Hiiragi deadly glare.
"Now who's the fuck up here?!" He yelled.
The joined cries of Hiiragi snapped him out of his own stubborn head. Despite seeming apologetic, Shizusumi was already had a tight grip on the mans shoulder for escalating the situation further. It wasn't the time or place to fight. With that in mind, he jerked his head to Mafuyu before guiding Hiiragi into a hug.
"Hey now, it's okay." He whispered, one hand rubbing his back with the other ruffling at his hair. "We just need to be gentle with our words too, yeah?"
"Yeah..." He sniffled into his shirt, flinching as he hiccupped. Pulling back he noticed he left a big wet spot where he'd buried his face. "Sorry Papa.."
Shizusumi pulled his sleeve over his hand to wipe away his tears and blow the boys running nose. He'd had more egregious fluids of his on his clothes before, so snot was nothing worth fussing over.
"How about we go and say sorry to Mafuyu instead?" He asked, offering his hand to hold in support. Hiiragi nodded and took it. He just wanted to play again, but here he was, hiding behind his Papa. Messing up was one of the big things that made his loud personality more shy. He hated when he lashed out, but his Papa said the making up after is what was most important sometimes. He reassured himself with this as the walked over.
Mafuyu was sat on Ritsuka's lap, hiding his face in the crook of the mans neck. He seemed more calm now, if not a little scared like Hiiragi was of having to make up. Both boys hid for a good few minutes, enough to make Ritsuka give a nervous laugh and nudge Mafuyu out of hiding.
"Hey, look here. I think your friend has something to say to you." He looked up to the boy with a knowing look. "Hiiragi?"
The prompt made Hiiragi flinch, whining as his Papa dragged him out from behind to face his friend. The longer the confrontation took, the bigger he was feeling. He shuffled his feet and looked to the side, away from their gaze.
"m'sorry..." As a long pause filled the room, it was broken by a yelp from the boy. He looked up to his Papa with a pout, not appreciating the elbow to his side. He gestured to Mafuyu as if to say 'And?' Hiiragi didn't bother arguing. He wanted to apologize anyhow, he was just having trouble voicing it. "I just.. Really liked your tower and didn't wanna see it fall. I'm sorry I yelled at you."
"It's okay."
Hiiragi jerked his head up and over to Mafuyu, shocked to hear him speak. He almost never spoke in littlespace. The boy was just too little to do it most of the time. Maybe he messed up so bad that he was bigger now? That would just be a total wreck of a playdate, wouldn't it?
"Are you sure?"
Mafuyu was smiling as he nodded up to his friend with a 'yep'. His expression was peaceful, something that made Hiiragi's tense shoulders ease up a bit. It was reassuring in itself, but also made him uneasy. He messed up, it felt strange to not be in the hotseat as bad as he'd imagined. His Papa must've noticed that his brain was going into overdrive, because his hair was ruffled with a roughness that jarred him out of his racing thoughts.
"You did good. We'll talk later, okay?"
'Talking later' was code for negotiation. Hiiragi held a lot of guilt and needed some extra release from it sometimes. Shizusumi knew how to help with it like the back of his hand. Well, more like with the back of his hand. He could use a good cry, so he nodded. They'd talk later.
"It seems like everyone's feeling a lot bigger now. How about a movie to wind down and we come back to the tower later?" Ritsuka suggested, looking down to his partner for input. Mafuyu nodded then pressed a kiss to his jaw. The boy looked so smug at reaction he got. Despite having been together for years, Ritsuka was still a bit frazzled over affection from his partner with company. Skin warmed and limbs became fidgety. The only difference was he didn't push him away anymore. He brought him in close for a quick snuggle and pressed a kiss to his temple.
"They're going to want to watch Wreck It Ralph again." Shizusumi said.
Both boys raised their arms and cheered at the groan both men gave in return. Knowing their boys they'd stay awake long enough to hear the Sugar Rush theme song and Rihanna before drifting off on the couch. To be fair, they almost always had to have their playdates late into the night due to their busy schedules, but on the other hand any time the movie would try to be changed one of the two would become coherent enough to whine about it. It was their playdate and you'd get an earful all about it from the very recesses of a grouchiest part of their minds.
As the night drew to a close with Shizusumi and Ritsuka scrolling on their phones, their arms full of their drooling littles, a shared glance said that they'd have it no other way.