He's Just a Baby

Food and Feelings

Daryl's legs quaked as he slowly made his way down the wooden stairs of the house, some occasional drops of water still dripping from his washed hair. His back was aching and his head was throbbing, and he was so scared to see what Eric and Aaron would say to him when he got downstairs.

He knew they had seen the scars, and the cuts, and the large bruise. And most importantly, he knew that they knew that he was a young little, one who had been pushing away his headspace practically his whole life. No matter how much he wished the couple would just drop everything and leave him be, and that they could go back to like before...he knew that wouldn't happen now. He knew it.

And he wasn't sure if that was a good or bad thing.

A sweet aroma enveloped the house as Daryl made his way to the first floor, slowly walking towards the kitchen. He heard talking, the familiar voices of Aaron and Eric, but he couldn't make out what the hushed voices were saying. Walking closer, Daryl tried to tune into their conversation. Taking soft steps, he made his way next to the doorway of the kitchen and hid behind the wall.

"...wonder what he's thinkin'."

"Yeah, it's probably a lot to proce-"

The couple's conversation abruptly stopped at the sound of the wood floor creaking loudly.

Daryl scowled in response and looked down at the floor beneath his feet.

Stupid floor.

Sighing, he pushed himself off of the caramel-colored wall and turned to enter the kitchen, when he ran right into Aaron.

Stumbling backwards in surprise, Daryl braced himself to fall against the cold wood floor.

But instead, two strong arms wrapped around his frame and hauled him back up to his feet.

"It looks like someone was spying on us," Aaron's soft voice spoke from above as Daryl was pulled into his chest. The caregiver's hormones were still spilling out uncontrollably, and it scared Daryl how nice they made him feel.

After a moment, Aaron pulled away with a small "sorry," probably realizing that Daryl didn't want to be coddled. However, the caregiver did sofly brush a hand against Daryl's bottom, and the man's eyes noticeably lit up, probably realizing that Daryl had put the pullup on.

"...hi," Daryl spoke softly, meeting eyes with Aaron, and then Eric who was over at the counter, pulling out plates from the cabinet above him.

"Good morning Daryl, did ya sleep alright?" Eric spoke with a light smile on his face, although Daryl could see the worry in his eyes.

He bit his lip in response, shifting on his feet.

"Um..."

He felt Aaron's hand being placed on his shoulder.

"Why don't you go sit down at the table over there," Aaron spoke, gesturing over to the kitchen table. "We'll have some breakfast...well, more like lunch now, and then we can talk."

All Daryl could muster was a small nod in response, and he slowly made his way over to the table, taking a seat at the circular table. His whole body still felt fuzzy, and the padding of the pullup on his bottom plus the suffocating caregiver hormones were making it worse.

Aaron walked over a moment later, placing a cup full of water, and two pills in front of Daryl. "Those should help with the pain," Aaron muttered sadly, and watched as Daryl eyed them carefully. After a moment, the little picked them up and held them in his hand, before looking back up at Aaron.

"Don't worry, there is more than enough medicine to go around."

Satisfied, Daryl quickly shoved the pills in his mouth, washing them down with a big gulp of water. Some of the liquid seeped down his chin and he hastily wiped it away, blush creeping up his cheeks as he prayed that Aaron didn't see the childish behavior.