Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Watching the sky change just before sunrise from the beautiful French windows of the nursery was a new experience for Izzy. In the two weeks he had been living in Papa's home, he had gone to bed at around 9pm and woken up at 8am, effectively getting the best sleep he had ever gotten.

Izzy was a man (baby) on a mission, though. He couldn't let himself be distracted by beautiful things, not today. He took in a deep breath and started to work.

The latches were tricky to undo from the inside of the crib. Izzy, however, had been preparing himself for this moment for days. One coloring pencil here (I don't like the way crayons feel in my hands, Papa!), one rubber band there (My match the memory cards can't get messy, Papa, I'll lose them!) and Izzy was ready. Through trial and error, he managed to reach around the bars and loop the rubber band on the latch on one side, then on the other. He was such a sneaky little boy.

Carefully and slowly, Izzy slid the crib side down. He made sure that his crutches were in the bedroom before going to bed - he could only make sure his plan would work if he had his crutches since Papa had taken away his prosthetic leg. His leg did hurt less without it, but his ability to move freely had diminished drastically. Izzy climbed down the side of the crib, making sure of holding tight onto it when he swung his good leg over it and making sure of using his remaining leg to the best of his ability.

Once out of the crib, he put himself on his hands and knee on the floor, crawling towards the door, where he could support himself and get his crutches, which were left on the support Papa had Ed install for them just there.

With everything ready for his escape, Izzy opened the nursery door and, trying to avoid the crutches' clicking noise as well as he could, he started his descent down the stairs very carefully. If he fell, everything would be over and Papa would catch him before it was time.

Izzy was absolutely out of practice, only using his crutches three or four times in the past two weeks. But he managed to get downstairs, even if it took him a good twenty minutes to do so.

Now, he had to reach the kitchen: that was the main goal. The staircase was located in the hall, so he had to limp his way through the enormous formal living room to get to his destination. He made it. He had a goal in his mind, and Papa would see what would happen, Izzy thought to himself excitedly. He would see it good.

Izzy got one of the sturdy kitchen chairs, and pushed it around the kitchen island with the help of his crutches, in a clumsy manner, and left it near the sink, right under a ceiling beam. It would be easy to remember. He was not that worried about making noise anymore, because Papa's bedroom was plenty away from the kitchen.

Then, he started looking around the cutlery drawers, finding everything he needed, with sort of a manic gleam in his eyes. It was almost dawn, so he had very little time to accomplish his goal.

He would put everything together before it was too late.

Everything he needed was, now, within reach. His reading was not the best when he was little (especially because he wasn't wearing his reading glasses, which still had to be retrieved from his apartment), but Papa thankfully had very big, beautiful, printed labels on most things.

He had the flour, the salt, the baking powder, the milk, and the sugar. He didn't have the eggs, they ran out last morning when Papa made himself a soft-boiled egg, but Izzy thought eggs were just sticky, so he'd do fine without them.

He had the cooking spray, the pan, and the spatula.

He had the big floral ceramic bowl Papa used in the standing mixer, on the rare occasions he baked anything. It was quite pretty, actually, and matched some of the china Papa had.

Izzy's face was twisted in a serious frown. He could do this.

As an adult, he was a competent cook. The things he made were not Michelin-star-chef-like, but they were plenty edible.

Having been properly regressed for two days now, he was just adorably clumsy.

These were the facts: about a week before, a very impressionable baby Izzy had watched a few episodes of Little Bear, having become absolutely enchanted by the story. When he got to the Father's Flying Flapjacks episode, he wore an astonished look on his face, his little mind running a mile a minute.

Little Bear was making flapjacks for Mother Bear. Little Izzy would make flapjacks for Papa!

Of course. As an adult, Izzy was almost a mastermind of management. As a baby, his planning abilities were scant at best, so he forgot he could ask another adult for help. Eddie had been staying around more - always supervised by Papa -, and he was learning. He could have asked Eddie. He was more of a fun big brother than a Daddy, truth be told, and Izzy liked it. It still felt odd to be alone with him, though.

Eddie was a bad cook, so wouldn't be able to help, anyway - he was helpless, Izzy decided.

If anyone asked, the kitchen island countertop could have gone through a tornado by the time Izzy finished mixing all of the ingredients. His coordination as a baby also wasn't the best, and while the crutches helped him to stay up, they didn't help him with the use of his hands. The final mixture did resemble something like pancake batter, so Izzy was happy. He had already turned on the induction stove - it was just pushing a button -, and had left the pan heating there since he began mixing the batter.

Now, with the batter ready, came the most important part: making the individual flapjacks, and, most importantly, making them fly!

How do you test the batter of the flapjacks, you could ask?

Well, that is easy in Izzy's book. You scoop it with a spoon, add it to the searing hot pan, and wait for it to... To, well, turn into a flapjack. To be safe, Izzy thought it was good enough to flip, so he did just like Father Bear did in the cartoon: he held the frying pan's handle--

"WAAAAAAAAH!" Izzy screamed, sending the frying pan flying to the floor, bumping into the bowl batter (which was much too close to the edge of the island) and effectively smashing it into the floor. It had been too hot, Izzy left in the heat for too long, and it was not one of the insulated pans, it was one of the oven-safe ones that had the metal handle. In the mess, one of his crutches slipped and he fell painfully. His soggy nappy was not enough to soften the blow.

He was crying his little heart out, but less out of pain and more because he ruined everything like he always did. He kept punching the floors, sending even more batter and ceramic shards everywhere.

Papa got there in a blink. Izzy didn't know if he was already up or if he fucked up even further and woke Papa.

"Izzy, Israel, peanut, oh my--- EDWARD! Edward, COME HERE!"

Stede hardly ever lost it. He considered himself to be a calm and collected man.

Upon seeing his baby downstairs, on a dirty floor full of ceramic shards, crutchless, with the palm of one hand glowing in an angry red and the other bleeding from a few considerable cuts, Stede could say that he lost it.

He could hear in the distance the sounds of Edward scrambling, but his focus was solely on the baby. Right. The plan: removing the baby from the situation, cleaning him up, calming him down, and giving him the talking to of a lifetime.

Maybe a spanking.

Definitely a spanking.

Stede scooped the baby from the floor in a bridal carry, thanking his lucky stars he himself was not barefoot, as Izzy was, and took the baby to the downstairs master bathroom.

"Oh, Israel, you gave Papa such a big scare! You could have hurt yourself so much worse!" He couldn't not scold the baby, but his heart (and his ears) broke a little from the intensity of the baby's crying. He had to keep pulling Izzy's hands away from his face, once they got to the bathroom. This boy would not hurt himself anymore.

"Israel, stop right now." His voice was downright stern now, no trace of sweetness anywhere to be seen. "You have already done enough for today, don't you think?"

He sat Izzy down on the toilet, taking in a deep breath and running his hands through his own disheveled hair, trying to calm himself down, now that the baby was out of direct harm's way.

Izzy was still wailing, but that was not important now. He crouched in front of the baby, clinically taking his hurt hands on his own, and slapping the back of one of them when Izzy tried to pull away. He then commanded. "Behave. Or else."

Papa had never talked to Izzy like that. He had never lost his patience or yelled, or had been mean. Izzy's hands were hurting, but his chest was hurting worse. He just wanted to make Papa a surprise, like Father Bear and Little Bear had made for Mama Bear!

Izzy tried to control his crying, only sniffling now and stopping from pulling his hands away or from trying to hurt himself further, because that made Papa really mad.

Ed entered the bathroom in a frenzy, after having passed by a virtually destroyed kitchen, eyes wider than they naturally were. Gravely (read: bitchily), Stede said, eyebrows shot up. "No use for it now. Suck it up and get my first aid kit, please, Edward."

Papa fixed both of Izzy's hands. The burnt one had only a first-degree burn, so it was treated with a couple of cold compresses and a sufficient coat of petroleum jelly. The second one required more attention. The ceramic shards needed to be fished with a pair of tweezers, and he needed stitches on the cuts - Stede thanked his lucky stars once more for having taken a first aid course and volunteered at hospitals when he first started being an active caregiver, therefore, being able to suture his baby himself. Izzy would have a fit if they had to go to the hospital. He was the most concentrated he had ever been, making sure to check in with Izzy for his pain while he clinically sewed the baby's hand up, wrapping it in a bandage right after.

Edward was absolutely useless, puttering about worriedly and either cussing at the baby or imagining terrible scenarios out loud. Stede sent him back to the kitchen at once to begin the cleanup, both as a punishment to him and as a respite for himself.

Izzy was absolutely mute. He was holding in his sniffles, and not a single word left his mouth since Stede began taking care of his wounds.

He had wet himself in fear when Papa began sewing up his cuts, though, and a little bit had leaked on top of the toilet lid, but Stede didn't allow that to faze him. He would take care of things in an orderly manner.

Stede disposed of the medical gloves he was wearing. He took a deep breath and crouched in front of the baby once again.

He had been harsh, and he had been mean in a way that Izzy had not seen before, not from his sweet, loving Papa.

The boy was so afraid.

"Israel." No answers. "Israel, please. Will you look at Papa?" He didn't feel too nice, but he willed his voice to be as sweet as possible. "Darling, you have frightened Papa beyond belief. You could have hurt yourself even worse than you already have. Can you tell Papa what you were trying to do, angel? Please?"

Izzy took a long time to answer. They had time now, even though Stede could steadily feel the migraine building behind his eyes. "Izzy was making pancakes for Papa." Was all that he could say, with such a sad expression in his downcast eyes. "I's sorry, Papa, just wanted to make a nice s'prise. Like Little Bear."

Everything dawned on Stede. They had watched many episodes of Little Bear a few days ago, during Izzy's playtime, but he had noticed that this episode in special had caught his boy's attention, because he kept making up excuses to rewind it, like saying he hadn't seen it properly, or that he accidentally had his eyes closed during it, or that he was playing with his dollies and didn't pay attention.

Poor baby boy. Stede sighed. Who said caring for a little one would be easy?

"Angel, Papa understands. Papa is sorry for having been so cross. Didn't Little Bear have the help of an older bear, though?" A nod. "If you wanted to surprise Papa, Eddie could have helped you. He is big enough to help you in the kitchen, peanut. You are too little to do it on your own. Or to leave your crib on your own, or go downstairs! You could have fallen and hurt yourself so badly."

"But can be big!" Izzy protested, eyes welling up once more.

"But you are not, sweetheart. You just aren't. Now, Papa knows you wanted to make something nice, and Papa thanks you for that. Papa can help you make flapjacks, and even flip them in the air for you. Ok?"

"Really, Papa?" He whispered, full of wonder.

"Really, peanut. Pinky promise." He took one of Izzy's least injured pinkies to hook with his own. "But now, you need a change, breakfast and even though your intentions were good, Papa cannot let this slide. All of this debacle earned you a sound spanking, young man."

Chapter Text

Stede didn't want the baby's first spanking to be in one of his safe spaces - so not his nursery and not the playroom. He also didn't want it to be in a place that he would associate with only that, so not the office, the library, or the adult playroom. The living room seemed like the best choice: a place where he could remember what happened with disobedient little boys, but that wouldn't hold only bad memories for him.

Ed was there waiting for them, back from having cleaned the kitchen as best as he could. Stede would check it afterward when they were done with the baby's aftercare. He had proven himself quite the good helper, once they got him retested and discovered he was, indeed, a switch. With his life-long knowledge of Izzy and a little guidance, he was wonderful with the baby, acting like the best big brother any baby could have. In these situations, his Dominant side came in extremely handy. When he was alone with Stede, he could let go, and just sink into the subby headspace that was the most comfortable for him, even dipping sometimes into his little or pet sides. They were not living together (yet), but he did spend most of his time with his special boys, as he'd taken to call Stede and Izzy.

"Well. Mister Israel explained to Papa everything that happened, Ed. He had the best of intentions, to be sure, but he disobeyed the house rules by getting out of his crib alone, and hurt himself in the process, which earns him a spanking." Ed nodded, very serious, while Stede sat on the big couch in front of the fireplace, adjusting Izzy to sit on his lap comfortably. He wanted to talk it through before spanking him. He motioned for Ed to come closer, and he chose to sit right beside them.

His poor baby was in such bad shape. He couldn't stop shaking and was clearly afraid. He was trying so hard not to cry. If Stede didn't know better, he would have called the punishment off right then, but he knew that, once it was over and done, Izzy would feel better for being forgiven.

***

Papa ran his hand through Izzy's hair, letting it go down to rub soothing circles on his back. "Peanut, Papa is not going to hurt you. Your bum may get a bit red and sore for a little while, but that's just a reminder for you not to be naughty again. Ok?"

Izzy wanted to argue, to say he hadn't been naughty. Well, at least, he didn't want to be naughty. But he had been, hadn't he? And now he was all hurt and soggy and dirty. How was Papa even allowing him to sit on his lap?

Papa waited for his answer, but, when it didn't come, he just manhandled Izzy to lay across his lap. Ed was there, just on the other side, by his head, and he started petting Izzy's hair (which was growing back into the hairstyle he always favored). "Iz, bug, s'okay. Eddie's here, Papa's not gonna hurt you like Ben and those other assholes, ok? He always spanks me, it's fine!"

"Oh, for chrissake, language, Edward!" Papa exclaimed, and Ed comically shut his mouth, covering it with both his hands.

That made Izzy chuckle a bit, albeit a wet little sound, and mutter. "Language, Eddie!"

This interaction helped Izzy to settle down a bit. "That's right, little love! Eddie has got to mind his language, doesn't he?" Izzy nodded, and Eddie stuck his tongue out at Izzy when Stede wasn't looking. Papa undid his icky, soggy nappy and let it fall to the living room floor in a wet little thud, then took to explaining. "Papa will spank you ten times, peanut. I want you to say 'I'm sorry for scaring you, Papa' after every spank. Do you understand, dearheart?"

Izzy was unsure if he would be able to do what Papa wanted him to, nervous and shaky all over again, but he let out the tiniest "Yes, Papa" - it was the best he could do.

Papa straightened himself, stating. "No sense in dawdling then. Let us begin."

He didn't hold back. His spanks were precise, aimed mostly at Izzy's sitting spot. He spanked Izzy for the first time, and his baby wriggled in his lap but repeated what he was meant to in a strained voice. "I'm sorry for scaring you, Papa", he said. He was still holding back his tears, and he felt like there was a big knot in his throat, not letting his voice come through very proper.

Stede noticed that, and he wanted his baby to learn, but he didn't want him to suffer or to hold back his emotions. "Thank you, angel. It is ok to have a good cry if you need to, sweetheart. You can let go, Papa will catch you. Alright?"

Izzy noticed, then, that really only needed Papa's permission. He started crying in earnest, letting go of all he was holding back, and Ed thought it was a good moment to touch him further. He pulled Izzy's arm onto his lap, ever-so-gently holding him in place while also bringing his torso more over to his lap, giving Stede better access to the baby's bum, while being able to rub his back and soothe him a bit.

Stede kept spanking Izzy, alternating the sides in which he placed the blows, and always waiting for Izzy to repeat 'I'm sorry for scaring you, Papa' before continuing.

Izzy took the first nine blows quite well, although he kept crying through the whole process.

Papa reached down before the tenth blow and picked up his own slipper. He explained, never wanting to startle his baby. "Now, darling, the last one will sting a little bit more. It will really drive the lesson home, but afterward, all will be forgiven." A pause. "Do you trust Papa?"

The thing was: Izzy did. The spanking was stinging, of course, Izzy didn't like it at all, but Papa was not deliberately hurting him, and he had Eddie's support as well as Papa's. It took him a moment, but he nodded and said the sweetest little "Yes, Papa, I do", before Stede spanked him with the slipper.

Izzy let out a little scream and tried to wriggle his bum out of Papa's lap (which was not possible, by the means of Papa pinning his hips down). It took him a long moment to let out a wet-sounding 'I'm sorry for scaring you, Papa'.

The baby was all sticky (and probably itchy) from the dried piss on his bum and around his crotch, but his bum looked adorable in a pink and red gradient. Stede pulled him back up, with Ed's help, and made the baby sit back down on his lap.

"Owie, Papa! Hurts!" He complained, pouting and sniffling, but laying his head down on Stede's chest. He placed his own hands gently on Eddie's, who was reaching down to kiss both of his boo-boos. Papa kissed his face away, using the sleeve of the ruined dressing gown to dry Izzy's tears and his runny nose.

"Oh, baby boy, Papa is so sorry. Papa can be so mean, can't he? Yes, he can. All is forgiven now, ok? All is forgiven." He then addressed Ed, who was looking at both of them with equal parts wonder and fear. "Could you take him to the master bathroom and give him a thorough shower, avoiding wetting his hands, my love?"

Ed smiled, trying to project confidence. "Aye, aye, Cap'n! Course I can shower this little mite. He'll be nice and clean in no time!" Izzy giggled, for the first time this morning, it looked like, making grabby hands (as much as he could without making it hurt) towards Eddie.

"Oh, good boy, Edward! That's perfect. I will clean everything that is left, have a shower myself, and meet both of you in the kitchen in about half an hour. After all, we have some flying flapjacks to make, don't we, peanut?"

Izzy beamed. He loved his Papa so very much.

Chapter Text

About four days after the flapjacks shit show, Izzy woke up in his crib feeling absolutely empty. He did not feel little at all, no small fuzzy feelings. He had been regressed for about three weeks straight, so these feelings made him feel like his skin was all too tight for his body; like he was utterly and absolutely wrong.

He was so used to his routine, by now, all with his Papa managing his every step, that he just didn't consider... Calling.

Izzy kept staring rather blankly at the wall. He was feeling vulnerable; void.

That was how Stede found him, about one and a half hours after he woke up. Stede noticed, through the baby monitor, that his fussy sleeper was not making much noise, so he kept observing him through the camera for a little while.

Taking care of littles for so long, he knew to spot when they were having real bad feelings: not big feelings that tantrums or good cries could express, but unprocessed adult feelings that the little ones were hardly equipped to deal with. His lovely baby was in need of Mr. Stede Bonnet, the therapist, not his Papa right now. He would deliver whatever was needed.

He was much softer when he entered the nursery, keeping his bright smiles and sunny personality dialed down. He petted his baby's hair, once he got near the crib, combing it back with his fingers.

"Good morning, Israel. Let's get you changed?"

Izzy's voice was completely adult, as was his vocabulary. His voice was raspy and low, and he was quite polite - he knew Stede was still his Papa, and he felt like he couldn't risk a mouth-soaping right now. "Yes, please." He paused, adding promptly. "I'm not wet or messy." He could feel the back of his neck, his ears and his cheeks burning fiercely at the admission.

Stede just said "Of course, darling. I'll just wipe you to get rid of the baby powder and nappy cream, and we are going to get you dressed and go down to my office." Stede paused, considering carefully his next words. "I think you may be in need of a good talk. Does that sound about right?" he asked, kindly.

Izzy only nodded. He knew he would need all of his brainpower to handle the adult conversation they were about to have if that was what Stede thought was best.

Stede lifted him from the crib, like every day, but instead of heading to the changing table, he got Izzy his crutches and helped him to get balanced with them, ushering him towards the bathroom shortly after.

There, he undid Izzy's onesie and nappy, getting the wet wipes to wipe Izzy as swiftly as possible since he really had not used his nappy. Once done, he asked Izzy to wait and got him the simplest, most adult clothes in his closet: a simple set of underwear, jeans, and a t-shirt.

He still dressed Izzy because, out of practice, with crutches and legless (the prosthetic leg was not safe, in Stede's eyes, and Izzy would not be getting it back right now), he hardly would be able to do it alone safely.

Once Izzy was properly dressed, they headed to Stede's office.

"Why are you treating me normally?" Was the first thing Izzy asked, almost bitterly, once he was sat in Stede's office in one of the comfortable armchairs that faced each other. It occurred to Izzy he didn't know what Pap-- Stede did for a living.

"I would beg to differ. I am not treating you normally, I'm treating you in a very different manner than I usually would, and that would be because you need it, little bird. Were you feeling unwell when I got you?" Stede asked, his voice warm and honest.

Izzy thought it was best to be honest as well. "Yes... Papa?"

"When we are in a situation that is not regular or when you are in this room with me, you may call me Stede, Mr. Stede, or Mr. Bonnet, my darling." Stede offered, gently.

"Oh", said Izzy, very eloquently. "Stede. Mr. Bonnet. Mr Stede." Izzy muttered under his breath, and although Stede pretended not to hear it, he actually found it quite endearing. "Mr. Stede", he decided, a bit more sure.

"That's right, little one. Now, could you describe, in one or two words, how are you feeling?" Stede asked, calling Izzy's attention back to the matter at hand. He still had his pajamas and his golden robe on; it was not the first time he had to be his professional self so early in the morning, though. All little ones tended to need him like this at one moment or another.

Izzy took a moment, clearly thinking carefully before saying anything. "Wrong. Fraud." He said, tossing the words around as if testing them.

With that, Stede could see a path to helping him. "You're already doing so well." He praised. "Do you know what we do when we feel like this, dear?" Izzy shook his head. "We talk it through."

"But I don't know what to say, Stede!" No. Wrong. Feels wrong. "Mr. Stede." He amended, recoiling against the chair.

Stede chuckled. "Love, I didn't say I wouldn't help you." A pause, and, leaning towards Izzy, sustaining his gaze, he asked. "Do you know what I do for a living, Israel?"

Izzy considered it carefully. He'd never seen Papa working. Ed went to the studio almost every weekday, but Papa... Izzy shook his head.

"I'm a therapist, darling. Trust that I would know how to help you navigate this type of feelings that you are having." Stede reached out, offering one of his hands to Izzy.

Izzy looked quite impressed as he took Papa's hand, and his expression softened Stede's even further. "I feel..." Izzy began, searching for the words he wanted carefully. He was quite serious now. "What if I'm faking it? What if I don't feel really fucking little" Stede glared, and he amended. "Sorry. What if I don't feel really very little, or little at all, and am just acting like it because of the attention?"

If this poor traumatized little boy was not indeed little, Stede would eat his own fist. "Let us say that your consideration is true. That you are not 'really little' and are 'faking it'. Have you felt good about yourself and about your new life, since you moved in with Pa--" be professional, Stede, he reminded himself "with me?"

Izzy shrugged, taking his hand back to use both arms to hug himself, his voice a little bit defensive. "I like it here." The 'I don't want to go' went unsaid, but clear as day. Stede's heart broke a little. Something told him this part of the conversation wasn't new for his boy, but it probably has had catastrophic consequences before.

Matter-of-factly, Stede said, leaning back on his own chair. "That settles it, then, darling. Even if you were the most neutral creature to ever walk this earth, or a Dom, or anything else, I would still want you here with me and I would still take care of you as you presented yourself to me. We met by chance, but our paths were bound to cross soon." Stede gave Izzy a moment to absorb the depth of what was being said before continuing. "I understand where these feelings come from. You suppressed this part of you for the best part of 40 years, and you did it successfully," 'If you can count hurting and traumatizing yourself as success,' he thought "Without regressing once. Of course, you will find it odd, as if it is a piece of clothing that doesn't suit you quite well. These feelings will resurface again, but I will be here to reassure you of your place, of mine and Ed's love for you, and of your classification every time you need it. Even if you were doing it for the attention," he added, staring firmly at Izzy. "It would just mean that you need it very much."

Izzy could feel the tears streaming down his face, silently. He felt more like himself today, in his jeans, and his t-shirt, with his stubble starting to show, and longer hair. He also felt absolutely wrong. He didn't like being like this anymore. Wasn't that a thought?

"Mr. Stede", he hiccuped, after a little while. "Would you-- No, could you... Help me? To... Little?" He felt like he needed to explain himself. "I... I don't. No. I am not liking how I feel big. It feels... Cold. And empty." He paused, his voice no higher than a whisper. "I don't want to feel like this anymore."

Stede smiled as if Christmas had come earlier. He was so proud of his brave, brave boy. "Of course, peanut. Papa will take the best care of his little boy. You are so, so incredibly brave, my sweet baby. Papa is terribly proud of you."

Stede gave Izzy the necessary support for him to go up to the nursery. Once there, he sat Izzy on the rocking chair and pulled away his crutches, hiding them up with his prosthetic leg, in the closet. While there, he selected two items that could sound controlling or mean but were meant to really remove all possibility of choice from a little one and help them connect with their headspaces.

The first item was a pair of mittens, which wouldn't allow for much movement of his hands, making it so Izzy couldn't grab at anything and had to depend on Papa or Ed for most things. They were very, very soft, but quite slippery on the outside, because of their leathery texture. They also had the space for a segufix lock, which Stede hoped they wouldn't need to use since Izzy was asking for this. The other item was a pacifier gag, which would somewhat impede his speech without being completely alien or uncomfortable, helping him to feel more helpless, thus, more vulnerable and dependant on Papa, as he asked.

He brought the items back, crouching so he could present them to Izzy from a less threatening position. He really intended to help his little boy, not to impose himself and his wishes. Not this time.

Izzy immediately recoiled, eyes widening almost comically - one of the items, the mittens, he didn't understand. The other just looked plain bad.

Stede shushed him, soothingly. "Hey, hey, little bird, it's ok. These are just things that Papa's gonna use to help you!" He said, placing the soft mittens on Izzy's lap. "These will keep your little hands cozy and away from trouble, peanut. They are very, very soft and comfortable. The paci is just like yours, but it has a little strap to keep it in place, so it won't fall! You can still talk a bit with it, and you can always let Papa know with touches if you need anything else."

Izzy felt comfortable enough with Stede now to be frank with him. "I'm scared", he whispered, small and sweet, although not regressed at all.

Stede felt his heart squeeze. He knew how to handle his baby, he knew best; not forcing littles to do anything was key. "Peanut, Papa will only do it when you feel comfortable. You asked for help, you know what you would like. We are not leaving your nursery until you are tended to, but, little bird, you can take your time. There is no rush, absolutely none." He reached for Izzy's face, cradling it gently in one hand and soothing his thumb over Izzy's cheek. The baby leaned against it a little.

Izzy felt conflicted. Since the day he went on his own to the Bright Smiles Agency, about three weeks ago, he hadn't had to really make any decisions. Papa decided everything, handled everything, from the moment he woke up to the moment he went to sleep, which was easy on his baby brain, even though sometimes he didn't like Papa's decisions that much. Now, though, all of the weight was on him, and that was making him spiral. What if he took Papa's option and didn't like it? Worse, what if he took Papa's option and liked it, turning into a babbling, drooling baby for the rest of eternity? Would that be really that bad? Would Eddie and Papa still want him around if he couldn't talk or play with things?

Stede noticed Izzy's breath starting to quicken at an alarming pace, but he would not interfere unless the baby was really making himself sick. He had to understand that, if Papa made him an offer, that would always be the best option, because Papa knew best. This poor baby's mental health was absolutely shot, as anyone else's would be, after almost half a century of repression. Still, Stede stood his ground and waited, making sure Izzy could both see and touch him at will.

He kept looking at the items, eyeing them with a measure of distrust. He slid from the rocking chair to the floor, a bit afraid of falling from the unstable chair. He took in a deep breath, as if gathering courage. "Mr. 'Tede," he said, "What if I feel normal again? I can't tell you."

His baby's head was clearly running a mile a minute. "What if we had a safe object, peanut? Something you can hold onto with the mittens, something you could move on your own?"

That sounded safe. Izzy nodded, crawling closer to Papa and turning just a bit so that, now that Papa had sat on the rug, he could lean with his back against him. Just from this negotiation, Izzy could feel the fuzziness of his regression slowly creeping back. He caught the mittens in his hands, inspecting them. He then placed the items in his lap and grabbed one of Papa's hands with both of his, placing it on top of the mittens.

Papa knew what to do. Stede gently placed his free hand on top of Izzy's, maneuvering him so he could dress his hands with the items, making sure to fasten them up tightly enough so they wouldn't slip, but not so tight they would hurt. He did one of them and then whispered softly in Izzy's ear. "Does it feel safe, my sweet darling? Soft?"

"Yes, Mr. 'Tede." He whispered, in a breathy, raspy tone, as if he'd gotten a bit dazed. Papa waited for Izzy to give him his free hand, putting on the other mitten.

He incentivized Izzy to wiggle his fingers inside, knowing that he wouldn't be able to make a fist, for example, considering how the mitten was built. "Good boy! Now, you will not try to take them out on your own. If you really, really need them out, you will find Papa, and Papa will come take them off. Alright? If you are naughty, Papa will have to lock them, and we don't want that, do we?"

Izzy shook his head. He didn't want that. It would feel bad and mistrustful and naughty.

"Now," Papa continued, his arms around Izzy's waist, hugging the baby tight against his chest in a way that made Izzy think he wanted to be held just like that forever. "Papa is going to give you your paci. If you drool a bit, it's ok, you are just a baby and babies do that. If you feel like you're gagging, you can make a loud sound and Papa will come to help. Otherwise, it won't come off for anything other than food and brushing your teeth because Papa doesn't want a baby with cavities." Stede's eyebrows shot up comically at that, and the baby giggled a bit, shaking his head, as if saying that, no, they didn't want that.

Izzy just opened his mouth to receive the paci. Without making it too tight, Papa buckled it in place, and checked if everything felt just right. The fact that this paci in particular had the words 'mute button' printed on made it just that little bit funnier. "Can you try saying anything, peanut?"

Izzy rolled his tongue around the nipple of the pacifier. It was, actually, a little bit bigger than his usual one, but not uncomfortable. "Yiesh, Baba," His voice came out garbled, and absolutely childish. He looked at Papa over his shoulder, wide-eyed, and let out a little surprised giggle. With his normal paci, he could push it around to talk, even if he didn't drop it.

Stede was delighted to see his baby giggling. His speech was just so cute right now. "Baba?" He asked, very lightly tickling the baby's ribcage, making him squirm and squeal. "No, no. I'm Papa, little one! Who is this Baba you are talking about, hm?"

"No, no! Baba!" Izzy tried again, but the word just wouldn't come out right! He kept trying to evade Papa's tickling, but he was stronger. He leaned against Papa's chest, kicking his leg and eventually squirming to hide on his chest.

Once the baby had his face hidden and his bum kind of sideways, he patted it quite firmly, almost in a fun-spanky-kind-of-way. "We should get you in a nappy, my lovely baby, and in appropriate clothes. Do you want to stay here with Papa a little longer, or would you prefer to be changed and have a good cuddle with Papa and Eddie in Papa's bed?"

Izzy had absolutely no doubts about what he would like to do. "Baba's!" It would not be worth to try and say the whole thing. Papa was so good to him. He not only took care of him in the things a caregiver would but really helped him through the rough patches with such kindness and patience, Izzy could hardly believe it.

Before they got up from the floor, Eddie appeared at the door, hair all messy from sleep, wearing one of Stede's oldest pj sets and the pink flower-printed robe that Ed found particularly comfortable. "Wazzit, then?" He asked, non-committaly, rubbing his eyes. Stede knew he had lost the baby when Ed leaned against the doorframe.

"Dee, Dee, Dee, Dee, Dee!" Izzy squealed, making grabby hands (as much as possible, with the mittens on) to be picked up by Eddie. He couldn't say his whole nickname, but Eddie understood the message just fine. He came closer and leaned down for the little monkey to grab onto him, picking him up very easily. Izzy had put in a little bit of weight since moving in with Stede, but not much, really, not yet. At least he didn't look starved anymore.

"Can you take him to the changing table, lovely boy? Good morning." Stede asked, smiling sweetly as he got up from the floor, already working on gathering the supplies to change the baby, and, once that was done, going to the closet to choose an appropriate attire for Izzy's day.

"Course! You little tyke, what have you been up to? Why're you dressed like a big boy?" Ed asked, easily lifting Izzy and taking him to sit on the mat of the changing table. Izzy couldn't touch his hair like he liked, so he tried to rub his face a little against Ed's stubble, careful not to catch Ed's beard or hair on his gag buckles.

"Ed!" Stede exclaimed from the closet "Could you change the baby, please?"

"Sure thing, mate!" Ed yelled back, making Izzy pull a face and cover his ears, pouting. Ed laughed. "Such a drama queen, aren't ya? Come on, lay down proper for Eddie." If he could, Izzy would have stuck out his tongue. But he did lay down, and his changing mat was really comfortable. He still got a bit dizzy if he looked out the side of it while lying down, so he would just rather look up at the pretty moon and stars mobile that Papa got him.

Ed was surprisingly good at caring for the baby, Stede found. Once he learned how to change nappies, which was the only thing he really didn't know how to do, he was the best helper. He got Izzy out of his pants and underwear (which he really didn't think Stede kept in the house for Izzy), gave him a perfunctory cleaning, just to be safe, since Stede would have his hide if the baby got a rash, and started applying nappy cream to the whole area, making sure to coat his cock and balls quite well. He then added the baby powder Izzy liked, and got one of the cute everyday nappies to put on him. "Bum up, bug." He said, patting Izzy's hip, and, in a practiced movement, Izzy helped Ed along for him to slide the nappy under the baby. He taped everything in place, double-checking for the fit. "You're done, mate! Wanna come down until Papa comes with your clothes?" Izzy nodded, making grabby hands again to be picked up.

Ed rolled his eyes good-naturedly and picked Izzy up, squinting at him "You're just using me as transportation now". Ed took him back to the floor, so both could sit on the rug. "Ste?" Ed called. "Why is Iz wearing a gag and mittens?"

Stede came back from the closet holding a plain white t-shirt and a pair of octopus-printed dungarees, besides from a soft mouse doll they never used. "Izzy was feeling a little out of it this morning, and we had a good, long talk. He asked for help to handle himself, and we decided together it would be best for him not to have many possibilities to feel big for a little while. Right, peanut?"

Izzy nodded, very serious. He also immediately put his arms up for one of them to get him out of this kinda scratchy black shirt and into his soft clothes, thank you very much. Both his caregivers laughed, and Ed got him out of the shirt, shaking his head, while Stede kneeled in front of him to be able to dress him up in the t-shirt. He then gently pushed Izzy to lay down in the rug, so he would be able to slide the lower part of the dungarees up his legs, and sat Izzy back up to button the straps in place. He also added a complimentary sock on his foot, because he knew his baby hated having cold feet (well, foot).

He gave Izzy the little doll, and let him know. "If you give this back to Papa, I will know you need to be out of your gag and mittens. Ok?" Izzy nodded, understanding, and holding the little mouse tight to his chest. "Right! Good as new. Now, this is quite an early morning that I don't think any of us would like to have. What about we keep the agreement and go back to bed for at least a couple more hours?" Papa said, petting Izzy's hair, and looking at Ed.

"The little mite will nap with us in the big bed?" He asked, smiling and pulling Izzy onto his lap like a little ragdoll. Izzy nodded excitedly - he was not often invited into the big bed, because Papa said that little boys should sleep in their own bedrooms. "He kicks." Ed said, simply, shrugging and trying to evade Izzy's slaps - which were kinda ridiculous with the mittens on.

"Ah, ah, ah! Gentle hands, Israel, gentle hands!" Papa chastised, holding his wrists. "And you, Edward! Be nice to Izzy." He pinched the soft meat of Ed's thigh and sighed. "What am I to do with both of you? Let's go." Izzy and Ed looked at each other mischievously, and Stede knew he had his hands full.

Izzy felt like an Izzy sandwich, and he liked the feeling. He was smack-dab between Papa and Eddie, being cuddled from behind by Eddie and hiding his face in Papa's chest. Papa had his arm behind Izzy's head, petting Ed's lovely hair. They felt extremely cozy and comfortable together, and it made Izzy smile. Why would he want to ever go through being 'normal' again, if he had this? With these thoughts in his head, he drifted to sleep, between the people he loved the most in the whole wide world.

Chapter Text

From the people Izzy knew in his past life, before the accident, Fang was one of his favorites. They worked together at the bar since it opened (Fang was one of the first hires), so they knew each other forever. He was classified as a Master, and he always had a bunch of pets gravitating around him - life had always been easier for the higher classifications. Izzy always wanted to ask to play with him, but as a little, he thought he couldn't; that it wouldn't match.

Papa told him that this was not how it worked when he mentioned this in passing. Classifications were much more fluid than Izzy thought, and, when it came to people, it was much more about being kind and loving towards people you liked than fulfilling a classification standard.

So, he shyly asked Eddie if he still had Fang's contact information - Izzy had erased everyone's after the accident and changed his own number, keeping just Ed's because... Well, it was Ed. He would always want contact. He then asked Eddie and Papa if they could schedule a meet-up, to see if he could apologize for disappearing and cutting him off, and if they could start keeping in contact again.

He knew he would have a lot of explaining to do, of course, because no one at the bar (when they still had it) knew he was a little. It wasn't a piece of information he volunteered, and he never let on that it was the case.

Papa decided he would be the one to call: he had met Fang even before he met Ed because he fostered pets from Bright Smiles, so, although they weren't friends, they knew each other pretty well.

They agreed to meet on the next Saturday. Fang was going to come by Stede's house. Izzy had woken up at the crack of dawn, brimming in excitement and anxiety in equal measures. Ed was a bit nervous about it as well, because he also wasn't the guy that Fang knew from before anymore, and being seen by a long-lost friend (especially after having fucked them over with the bar's closing) was nerve-wracking. He saw Izzy was already up through the baby monitor, so he went to get the baby.

"Eddie, Eddie, Eddie!" Izzy exclaimed, always excited to see his favorite person. He immediately made grabby hands towards Edward, who unlatched the crib and got Izzy in his arms instantly, making a show of kissing his now-normal (read: with his goatee) face noisily.

"You're too full of energy for someone waking up so early, bud!" Ed mock-complained, squeezing at the baby clinging to him. He made sure to pat his bum to check his nappy, and it was surely soggy. He didn't even think twice before getting Izzy to the changing table, taking the initiative to care for Izzy. After discovering that he was a true switch, and understanding what Izzy needed from him with Stede's help, it had become quite natural for him to dip into caregiver mode.

Izzy, on his own account, was comfortable with that. He thought, in the beginning, he would feel quite ashamed to have Ed caring for him, especially seeing the 'disgusting' parts of him (he could feel Papa's glare just for thinking about this with these words), which he tried to hide for years, but that earned him such a Stern talking to from Papa that he let the thought go very quickly.

After properly cleaning the baby, and putting him on a fresh nappy, Ed got Izzy back on his arms, bouncing him a bit. That earned him a slap to the side of the head. "Knee, Eddie!"

Izzy was impossible, even when he was little. "What did your Papa tell you about gentle hands, mate? You can't slap!" At that, Izzy brattily stuck his tongue out at him. "Brat. Naughty little boy." Izzy just rolled his eyes and laid his head down on Ed's shoulder. If Stede told him anything like that, Izzy would be on the brink of tears. Since it was Ed, he just brushed it off.

"Playroom, Eddie?" He asked, gently getting a strand of Ed's hair and wrapping it around a finger, just to watch how pretty it curled. He had been allowed to brush Eddie's hair the other day, before bedtime, like Papa did. Papa showed him how, with the creams and everything.

When they got to the playroom, it became clear to both boys that they were both in a) a playful mode and b) that they had too much energy to spare. Both of them sat on the new cushioned playmat Stede had gotten Izzy, so crawling would be easier on his knees, and almost right away Izzy pushed Eddie to lay down and sat on top of him, bouncing in his lap and shoving him onto the floor repeatedly.

If they hadn't known each other since they were actual children, Eddie could be shocked, or offended, or have overall bad feelings about it. Since that was not the case, he just got a little bit of a manic glint on his eyes, and rolled them over, sitting himself on Izzy's thighs (careful to not put too much weight on him because of his bad leg, of course), and attacked him with tickles just under his ribs, which was Izzy's most sensitive spot.

Izzy downright squealed, squirming under him and trying to wiggle his way out of the situation. "Eddieeeee!" he exclaimed, turning belly down on the mat and trying to crawl his way out from under Ed.

Ed, of course, wouldn't have that, and he pinned Izzy's wrists down on the mat, with one hand, overstretching Izzy's arms, while he kept tickling the little boy's waist, now a bit lower, kind of closer to his bum.

Izzy noticed he was feeling a bit funny. Not bad funny, but... Different. As he moved his hips to try and wiggle away from Ed, to no avail, he started to hump the mat, and the physical stimulation of having Ed's pushing his hips against his bum, and his little cock against his nappy, pressed to the playmat, and his hands being pinned away from his own body... He didn't understand the things he was feeling, at all, because he was very much regressed, but he kept chasing the feeling.

During the play, Ed noticed himself feeling a bit little as well. As a little boy, Ed felt most of the time about 4 or 5, which was bigger than Izzy, who was a baby, but not very big at all. That made his brain turn to putty as well, and, feeling Izzy's hips against his own, with the softness of the onesie and the nappy through his thin pajama pants, he felt like chasing his own pleasure as well.

Neither of the boys was quite clear about what they were doing; Papa had never talked to them about this before, and none of them had regressed for enough time for it to have happened, Izzy began to moan a little while Ed was essentially riding him, both of them trying to find enough purchase in their movements to reach something.

Ed was the first to come, sensitive as he was. It was not a particularly intense orgasm, not really; he came in stunted little spurts, creaming his pants. Izzy reached his peak just a few moments after, feeling it in a much more intense manner, his little body spasming a little bit from the aftershocks of his pleasure.

Both boys felt like they could as well be falling from a building to hear Papa's voice just after they came, very much anchoring them to the present.

"Well, well, well. What do we have here?" Asked Papa. They didn't know since when, but he had been leaning against the doorframe, in his golden dressing gown, arms crossed across his chest. Now, he was walking towards the boys, who were scrambling to get off of one another. It was clear that their little mindset didn't allow for them to parse out what could be wrong about this situation, but they clearly thought they were in for a talking to, or worse.

That broke Stede's heart.

It was so important for little ones to be taken care of in all aspects of life. He tried not to initiate any sexual care until the little one at hand had shown interest in it, but every good caregiver knew that, although their biology made their mindset be one of a child, their bodies were still adult bodies, which needed care in all senses - and it is not like all beings aren't sexual beings, anyway.

Stede sat down on the ground, level with both boys. He, then, opened his arms, urging them to come along and sit by him, gentle as could be. He wanted to be hugging them for this, especially considering that Edward was also feeling quite small right now.

Edward, of course, was the one that went easier. Something in his mind knew that if Daddy was not yelling (Daddy was nice, he never yelled), it was safe. Izzy had a little bit more trouble believing that, but, then again, he had worse life experiences. He might not have trusted Stede wasn't going to punish them, but he did trust Eddie's judgment, so, slower than his... Sibling? His Eddie? His friend? He crawled towards Papa, face all red from both the orgasm and the shame he felt.

"There we go," Papa said, gently rubbing the boys' arms that were within his reach. "How are you feeling, Eddie?"

"I felt good, Daddy." Eddie said, in quite a small voice, nothing like his usually-boisterous-self.

"That is a good thing, lovely boy. What about you, Izzy? Did your wee-wee feel good to hump Eddie?"

Izzy felt like he would burst, and he said nothing, just nodded and hid his head on Papa's chest, hugging his torso with both arms, quite tightly.

Papa had to laugh a bit at that. "Oh, peanut, are you ashamed? Babies aren't supposed to feel ashamed of anything. Both of you boys, you just did what your bodies were telling you to. Next time, though, Papa will insist that you find him first; it's not very safe for little boys to pleasure themselves with no supervision." His tone was a little sterner at that, eyebrows raised. "Now, since you did it without supervision, Papa will have to check both of you, to make sure you haven't hurt yourselves. Then, we are all going to get clean and ready, because Uncle Fang will be here to see you very, very soon!"

Stede took pride in being quite the prepared man. He had, of course, changes of clothes for both his boys in the playroom (little ones get messy all the time), besides from changing supplies.

Since Eddie was a bit bigger than Izzy, Stede felt like he could wait a little longer. He whispered secretively in his boy's ear. "Can you get yourself a dolly to keep you company while Daddy changes Izzy, my lovely little prince?"

Ed melted at the way Daddy spoke to him. He nodded, and easily got away from Daddy, procuring his favorite doll in the basket, trying to entertain himself and ignore the sticky feeling in his thighs.

Once Ed was taken care of for the time being, Stede turned his attention to Izzy. "Can you lay down for Papa, little bird?" Izzy nodded obediently, not wanting to aggravate Papa - he was still not quite trusting in the fact that Papa was not mad at him. "Good boy! Oh, what a good boy you are, Israel. Now, Papa will check your nappy, yes?" He informed the baby. He noticed that Ed had changed Izzy, and he really just wanted to check the mess his little boy had made - he had no intention of changing him out of a perfectly good, mostly clean nappy. He was not wasteful, after all.

He opened the onesie's buttons, and rolled it up a bit, making sure to have Izzy's little tummy on display. He blew a few raspberries on it, knowing it would relax his little one. Once he could hear Izzy's giggles, he undid the straps of the nappy.

He could feel his own dick hardening.

His baby was covered in his own spend, gloriously sticky. He was indeed a healthy little boy, and it would not be a bad idea to allow him to get used to the feeling in his nappy, just like he had gotten used to the other feelings of his bodily fluids. It would be educational; especially because he was soon to be actively moving and playing. Without saying much, Stede hummed and closed Izzy's nappy back up, then his onesie, patting his hip and getting up himself to get the supplies to change Eddie.

"No clean, Papa?" Izzy asked, ever-so-sweetly.

"No need, peanut! You can go play now. Do you want Papa to turn on the TV?" Stede dismissed easily, making sure to come back close to the baby to gently ruffle his hair, so he would be sure that Papa was not mad.

"Izzy's sticky, Papa." He tried to argue, feeling just little enough to start chewing on his fingers. Eddie was watching the exchange like a little hawk, holding onto his dolly tight.

Stede gave a breathy chuckle. "Oh, poor Izzy! It is okay to feel a bit sticky sometimes, little love. Now Papa has to take care of Eddie, alright?"

Izzy pouted, uncomfortably wiggling in his nappy. Papa crouched back near him and pressed a hand to his crotch, rubbing at the front of his nappy and effectively smearing the stickiness further, but he had that no-nonsense attitude about it when he said "There, darling! All better. Now, it's Eddie's turn.", so Izzy just laid belly-down in his cushions, pouty, but settled. What else could he do?

Eddie, in turn, was still attentively watching Daddy, who was picking up a pair of adorable lilac shorts and a soft buttoned shirt that matched the shorts, as well as a pull-up. They had discussed pull-ups for Ed a few days ago, with Ed still big. He had told Stede secretively that, when he was little, he got a bit jealous of the things Izzy had, but he knew he wasn't as little, so Stede suggested the pull-ups and a few chewing toys in place of the diapers and pacifiers, and that seemed to settle Ed.

Stede approached his not-so-little boy. "Who do you have there with you, my lovely boy?"

"It's Gus, Daddy." He said, curtly, holding the doll tighter to his chest. Gus was the cloth doll dressed in the pirate suit. He even had a little parrot that came with him, which was probably in the bin that had the animal stuffed toys.

"Oh", said Daddy "Nice to see you again, Gus!" Stede waved at the doll, which was made to wave back by Ed. "Now, can you get up so Daddy can change you?"

Ed nodded. He was so obedient for Daddy. He and Stede had agreed that, at least for the first few times, had no intention of actually using his pull-up; he just wanted to feel smaller, and safe. Stede wouldn't bother with the nappy cream and the powder, then - if Ed ended up using his pull-up and got uncomfortable, he would know, and change him right away (properly, this time). Stede crouched in front of his boy with some wet wipes, pulled down his pj pants, and cleaned him thoroughly - he knew Izzy was glaring at them, but he didn't really care. Different boys asked for different treatments. Once clean, he opened the pull-up, making space for Ed to step inside of it, and pulled it up, making sure it wasn't too snug in the legholes. Right after, he did the same with the shorts, and, finally, got up to change Ed's pj shirt for the cute one he had chosen.

"All done!", Daddy exclaimed. "Now, I need to fix both of your hairs. Papa is going to go to the bathroom to get the supplies for Eddie's hair. Can you both behave until Papa comes back?" Both boys knew Papa was not actually asking, so both nodded. Izzy crawled closer to Ed, who sat down and pulled his little Izzy onto his lap so they could hug and snuggle until Papa was back like he had been doing with Gus. He couldn't help but pick up his phone and take a picture. They had about half an hour before Fang came by, so he decided to make bottles for both boys as a light breakfast.

In less than 15 minutes, Stede was back in the playroom with a basket full of haircare supplies and two warm bottles of adult formula - chocolate flavored, for Ed, and strawberry flavored, for Izzy (pink milk, like Lola's! he had said once). He handed the bottles to his boys - green for Izzy, purple for Eddie - and requested. "Izzy, love, you can lay down on Eddie's lap to take your bottle. Eddie, my little prince, you will have to stay sitting down so you can have yours while Daddy does your hair. Ok?"

Both the boys nodded. Izzy got settled lying on Eddie's lap, instead of sitting, and closed his eyes to take his bottle. He looked more comfortable now. Stede got a stool for himself, so he could sit a bit taller than Ed to braid his hair. A single French braid would look adorable, and make sure that his little boy didn't have his hair falling all over his own face while playing. Ed was a bit unsure of how to handle himself, but soon enough latched onto the formula bottle and leaned against Daddy's legs, relaxing as Stede combed and braided his hair.

Once both bottles were drained, and Ed's hair was done, Stede made the boys change places. Izzy's hair was getting a little bit too long for Stede's taste; he was due a haircut soon. To make sure he wouldn't have hair on his face while playing, Stede gently detangled the baby's hair and put a soft headband on his head, pushing his bangs back. It matched his greying hair pretty well, so he just looked adorable.

Once both boys were ready for the day, Stede turned on the TV for them (Bluey was playing, of course. It was always either Bluey or Little Bear or Charlie and Lola), and left for the kitchen to get himself some breakfast.

Chapter Text

When Fang came by, both the boys were ecstatic. So much so that the big guy was feeling about as overwhelmed as when he got a new pack of puppies to take care of. As he entered the playroom, Eddie jumped him, hugging his large frame and kissing his face sloppily, deep in regression. Because of the leg, Izzy couldn't do the same, and that frustrated him to no end, making him whine and make grabby hands at Fang, who ended up sitting on the throne of pillows the boys had put together. Papa entered the room after Uncle Fang, his face not expressing the beautiful, joyful expression it usually did. He sat in his reading chair, while the boys were all over Fang.

He looked really cuddly in his fluffy cream-colored sweater, soft sweatpants, and socks - Papa made him leave the boots outside of the playroom. Eddie was really excited to have Fang around, but he understood that it was important for Izzy to have some attention from the big guy, so, after assaulting him with hugs and kisses, he took his dolly and went to cuddle it by Daddy's feet, getting some really nice pets on his hair, the way he liked it.

Izzy looked absolutely smitten. "Hey, little guy! You look very different, you know?" Uncle Fang said, picking him up so, so easily and sitting him up on his lap. Izzy looked so little like this, engulfed by the larger man's arms.

"Miss chu." Izzy whispered; he really did like Fang, and he was one of the people Izzy was the most afraid of getting too close to, because he knew that if he let go of someone who would dote on him that much, he'd be done for. But now, now he could enjoy anything Uncle Fang wanted to give him.

Fang just about melted hearing Izzy. "Aw, baby! I missed you too. You're looking real good! Have you been good for your Papa?" He said, scratching lightly behind Izzy's ear like he would one of his puppies. The little boy let out a contended sigh, nodding.

"Yes! Izzy's a good boy for Papa!" He says, changing position a bit on Fang's lap. He positioned himself sitting on Fang's left thigh, his full leg in a kneeling-like position against the floor and his missing leg hanging on the other side. Like this, he could use his little arms to hug around Fang's large frame. He was so soft! Papa was soft as well but in a very different way. He started rubbing his face on Fang's sweater because he just smelled so good to Izzy.

From his chair, Stede kept looking. He wouldn't be the person to prune all of Izzy's connections, but he was, in fact, not liking at all how comfortable Izzy looked with Fang. Sue him; Izzy was his little baby.

He liked it even less when he saw that Izzy started moving against Fang's large thigh, hips sawing to and fro. He started quite slowly, so much so that Fang started bouncing his thigh as if Izzy wanted to play. He did, but not in the way Fang thought.

Stede had a horny baby in his hands today.

Actually, not literally in his hands. He wasn't usually a jealous person, because he never had reasons to, especially with his little ones; they always depend solely on him for everything. So, seeing his baby boy humping another men's thigh wasn't sitting quite well with him. Ed had stopped playing with his dolly and was looking at Izzy and Fang, transfixed.

Izzy hadn't felt so good in a very, very, very long time. Fang's thigh felt perfect, rubbing against his sticky nappy. He felt like he needed more friction, though, so he picked up the pace, using the impulse from his kneeling leg to help him. He was just doing what felt good, not all the way present in the way he was acting. Izzy soon started mouthing at Fang's sweater, right on his broad chest. If he was fully conscious of what he was doing, he would drop dead in shame; he barely spoke to Fang and went right into humping him. He wasn't completely there, though, acting on instinct.

Knowing how neglected Izzy had been in the past, Fang felt like he couldn't push this little boy away without causing irreparable damage; he could also feel Stede's gaze trained on him, burning holes in his being. Stede nodded, though, as an assent for him to allow Izzy to keep going, and he could feel his own cock stirring into life. "Puppy," he said, one of his big hands starting to guide Izzy's hips a bit more, and the other on his hair, grabbing just slightly. "Puppy, let Uncle Fang help you..."

Izzy liked role-play! The other day, he was playing kitties with Eddie. He could play puppies with Uncle Fang, he knew he liked little animals! Izzy let out a playful little barking noise and started pushing Fang's sweater and shirt up until he could nuzzle at his bare chest.

Fang, in turn, felt like he would pass out. The baby was so sweet, barking at him, nuzzling at him, just like a little puppy. If he had known before, Fang thought, he could have taken care of this little one so long ago. He startled, though, when Izzy latched onto one of his nipples. "Hey!", he said, and Izzy started to suckle. He was nursing, he realized. And humping him, a bit more frantically now. "Gentle, puppy. Be gentle, ok?"

Izzy hummed in assent. He could feel the same feeling before building up in his belly, so he kept going, kept humping, kept chasing his pleasure until he felt like he would explode. His legs were shaky around Uncle Fang's thigh, and he felt his soft hands trying to stabilize him, holding his waist, thumbs making pressure on his lower belly. With his body so lax, and not having gone potty earlier, Izzy ended up wetting himself in more ways than one, whining a little bit as he let go of Uncle Fang's nipple, drool coming out from his open mouth and eyes unfocused in the aftershocks of everything. His nappy was heavy with pee and come, and he leaned against Fang's chest, more relaxed than anyone in that room had ever seen.

Eddie was looking at the scene unsure of his headspace because he was feeling so many things at once. He wanted to be a kitty for Uncle Fang, he wanted Izzy to hump him just like that, he wanted Daddy to spank him for being a naughty boy and wanting all of those things.

Stede felt a white-hot rage engulf his body. He didn't act, didn't do anything, didn't throw Fang out, and spanked the hell out of his baby for being so slutty, as he wanted. He was, however, planning exactly on how to educate his little boy so something like this would never happen again.

Fang stayed over until lunchtime. After Izzy's mishap, he fell asleep on Fang's lap, making it a bit hard for him to give Eddie any attention, but not impossible. They talked, as much as Eddie could, and Fang told him both the boys were forgiven; things had been hard but had worked out fine. There were no hard feelings between them.

Izzy had to be woken up for Fang to be able to go when it was time, and he had to promise he would be back in a jiffy to play again for the boys to allow him to go.

Stede thought he couldn't have gone soon enough.

Once he saw Fang out, he came back to the playroom. He knew he had to act in a level manner; he didn't want the baby not to ever express his sexuality again, he just couldn't have him doing it with anyone else without his permission, ever again.

What he wanted to do was to take off Izzy's nappy and rub his face on it, as you would with a puppy that made a mess where they weren't supposed to. He wouldn't do that.

Since his baby was so horny today, he would be a helpful Papa. Before getting back into the playroom, Stede took in a deep breath and straightened his clothes.

Once he entered, he went straight to Ed, kneeling by the boy. He was so little today. "Little Prince", he said, voice honey-sweet. "Our Izzy is very active today. He just has missed very much feeling good. It's our job to help him, as much as we can." He waited for Ed to agree with him, before continuing, ever-so-patiently. "Daddy will need you to hold Israel down, very tight, so he doesn't move much while Daddy makes him feel better. Can Daddy count on his best boy for that? Are you the little one for the job, do you think?"

"Course I am, Daddy!" He exclaimed right away, trying to prove himself. "I can hold Iz!"

"Oh, little one" Stede sighed, sounding relieved "It is so good to be able to count on you! Daddy will help you feel good as well, okay? Don't you worry. Daddy will need to gather some supplies to help Izzy. Don't allow him to fall asleep, ok? Daddy will be right back." He affirmed, getting up.

Ed went straight to Izzy, ready to poke at him to keep him awake.

Stede went to the adult playroom. He kept the little toys in there as well; it was just safer that way, out of little hands. After all, Papa was the one who should take care of little ones.

For Ed, he got a pink cock-cage that he knew fit him and one of the vibrating eggs he really liked, the one that pushed perfectly against his prostate.

For Izzy, he got one of the biggest vibrating plugs he owned. Little boys should get their pleasure from their Papa, or not at all. Since he couldn't be trusted to play with his little cock, he wouldn't be allowed to for the foreseeable future; Papa could milk him dry instead.

Izzy was not understanding a lot of what was happening. Papa had made Eddie pull down his pull-ups and was putting something in his willy. And then he made Eddie bend and put something in his bum and adjusted something on his phone. And then pulled up his pull-ups (ha! Pull-ups!), and Eddie looked a bit off, but he was smiling a lot. So he must be happy.

Then, both of them came towards Izzy. Eddie sat open-legged behind Izzy, and gently pulled him to lay on his lap, holding his arms back and out of the way, as Papa sat between Izzy's open legs.

"Peanut", Papa said. His voice was the same as it always was, but his eyes looked different; a bit harder, maybe? "Papa has noticed that your body is feeling a bit different today. Is that right?" Izzy nodded, and put both is hands over his crotch, to sign where. "Here?" Papa asked, pressing Izzy's hands down. In doing that, he effectively smeared pee-pee and the other thing all over Izzy's crotch. It was all cold now, and even stickier than before. Izzy whined, and that got him a mean little pinch on his inner thigh, making him pout. "Behave", Papa warned. "Now, Papa and Eddie will help you feel better, darling. Don't you worry. You just have to relax! We will not leave until you are feeling all good."

Izzy got a chill right in his spine at that. But what could he do? Papa knew best, always knew best. If Papa said he would do something, it was because it was the best option.

Stede was pleased at the lack of complaints. His little boy was so smart, and he knew that Papa knew what was best for him. He didn't dawdle on it: he undid Izzy's nappy - not discarding it, though, just leaving it open around the baby's bum. He then coated the plug with plenty of lube, and, easily finding Izzy's entrance, he started pushing the narrow tip of the toy gently. "Papa has to do it like this, little love because that is how good boys get their special toys. If it burns just a little bit, it means you are a good little boy who hasn't been spoiled. Yes?" Izzy nodded. He didn't want to have been spoiled. The way Papa handled the toy put a lot of pressure on Izzy, but it didn't feel bad or hurty. Izzy closed his eyes, relaxing into Eddie's hold.

Gently (he didn't want to hurt the baby, after all), Papa got the plug fully into Izzy. Ed was very quiet, looking attentively at Stede, his focus fully on him.

At that, Izzy started whimpering and moaning, trying, once again, to chase his pleasure. Papa wouldn't have that. He held his hips still against the floor, turning on the vibrations of the plug. "Don't be naughty, Israel. You are going to get what Papa gives you, nothing more."

That he did. Adjusting the plug ever-so-often, Stede made his squirming little boy come one time, then another, then another one (this time dry, and a last one, until Izzy's body was convulsing a little, and the little one was a mess of fluids).

Ed was dumbfounded, frozen in place, struggling against his own pleaure-pain-pleasure-pain mantra.

Only then, Papa got his own pants open, just enough so he could have his rock-hard cock out. He stroked himself just enough so he could come right on Izzy's full-ish nappy, and, in a stroke of cruelty, peed on it a little as well. Since his boy liked playing puppies, he could stand to be scent-marked as well.

He wiped himself off and got decent again. Then, very gently, he closed Izzy's full nappy back up, making sure to secure it in place with the onesie. His little boy looked strangely soft, drooling, and with his gaze absolutely unfocused. He didn't swaddle him but made sure to keep Izzy very comfortable, burritoed in a blanket. He gave the little one a sweet kiss on the forehead, and whispered, voice gentle and eyes kind. He wasn't being mean, he was just teaching the baby. "All your pleasure is mine, my darling. Only Papa can make you feel good. Do you understand?"

"Yes, Papa." Izzy slurred, and Ed looked at Stede wide-eyed, whining a bit himself.

In between pants and hard breaths, he asked. "Me next? Please?"

Chapter Text

They had gone to the park in the morning, for the first time. Izzy had a lot of fun exploring, and he wanted to touch everything. Everything Izzy could get away with, he would put in his mouth. When they got home, Papa had put Izzy down for a nap, because he complained of being tired until he tired Papa as well - even though it was not naptime. He woke up about an hour later, not feeling so good.

Izzy never called Papa when he woke up. He would always stay nested among his blankets - now he had, besides the weighted blanket, about three more in the crib - waiting to be picked up by Papa. He would sometimes stay there for a couple of hours, daydreaming, chewing on his stuffies, teethers, and dollies, or just playing pretend.

Today, however, it wasn't like this. He woke up feeling very sick, and he knew that if Papa didn't get him out of the crib, he would get everything icky. He felt dizzy, and his nappy felt full in the worst way.

"Papa!" He cried, whining. "Papa, help, please!"

Papa heard him, and he was the quickest he could be in getting to his baby; he had been in the garden, at the far end of the property, tending to some of his roses and hydrangeas, so it took him a little longer than usual to get to the nursery.

The scene that greeted him was pitiful. His lovely little boy was absolutely dirty, most of his blankets covered in his puke, and the poor boy crying his little heart out. He was pale, and quite sweaty, clearly running a fever.

"Oh, peanut!" Papa said, already unlatching the crib's side to be able to get Izzy, gardening gloves forgotten in the floor. "Are you feeling quite poorly?" The baby nodded, his fists curling and uncurling, clearly wanting to make grabby hands at Papa, but refraining himself. Stede didn't care. He did wrinkle his nose a little at the sour smell that was coming from the crib, but that would never get in the way of caring for his little boy, especially when he was clearly feeling so sick.

When he got Izzy in his arms, he could feel that his nappy was quite full as well. Straight to the bathroom, it was: he needed a good, relaxing bath and to lay down properly. "Sh, sh, sh, little angel, it's ok... Papa will take care of you, peanut. I'm so sorry, so sorry you are so unwell..." And Stede kept on whispering sweet nothings to the baby until they got to the bathroom. He sat the baby down in the shower chair, to be able to fill up the bathtub, foregoing the strong-smelling baby products in favor of milder ones.

When the bathtub was halfway full, poor Izzy only had time to exclaim "Papa!", before getting up, all wobbly in one leg and launching himself at the sink, emptying his stomach there.

'If he doesn't get better, I will have to get him to the doctor's ', Stede thought. Izzy had volunteered to him in the first week they were living together that he had strong triggers related to doctor's appointments, that he hated hospitals and clinics, and asked his Papa to please, please never take him there. He already disliked such places, but after his accident, after having to go through a limb-removal surgery on his own, having to take care of himself during the recovery period, and having to go to doctor's appointments so constantly, he just couldn't do it again - that if he didn't count the period of his childhood where he was constantly sick.

Stede was unsure of how to keep this promise, though.

He kept rubbing Izzy's back while the poor little one was still sobbing and retching, his nose running so much he was having trouble breathing.

"Why, Papa?" He asked, so softly and so sad. "Izzy bad?"

Stede hug him fiercely, not quite caring he would get dirty. Dirty clothes are easily cleaned, but his sick little boy needed love now. "Never, little bird! Never, never bad. Sometimes our bodies get in contact with bad things and try to protect us, that's all. Your body is working very hard to expel all bad things as quick as possible, so you can feel better really soon. Let's get you in the bathtub, baby? Can Papa pick you up?"

Izzy nodded. He had to be undressed, and Stede did just that, being careful not to get the baby even dirtier when taking off his shirt and his nappy. He gave Izzy a quick wipe-down, just to clean the worst of it. Papa then picked him up so, so carefully. He was lowered into the warm water, and he whined once again, but he did feel the ache in his muscles subside a little.

Izzy had his little eyes closed, and, as the warm water enveloped him further, he started letting out pained little noises. Stede felt so... Useless, at that. He could give him meds, but with his stomach even more sensitive than usual, he was sure he wouldn't be able to hold on to them enough for them to work.

The bath was quicker than what they did for their usual routine. Stede was very, very worried about the next steps of this situation. He imagined that, by Izzy's symptoms, he probably only had a stomach flu, and he would probably be fine in a couple of days. With Izzy's preexisting health conditions, however, he couldn't risk it. The question was: how to get the baby out of the house, and into the clinic?

Stede wanted to thank this little boy. After the bath, and after cleaning himself, he dressed Izzy (being careful to put on one of his nighttime nappies and thick nappy cover) in a very light onesie and a pair of shorts, and asked him if he wanted to go for a car ride around the block with Ed and Papa. Izzy really, really enjoyed going for quick car rides because his car seat was really comfortable, he liked to look at the scenery and the car noises were like the noises from his white noise machine, so he often fell asleep, even if only for a little nap. Stede called Ed into the nursery, whisking him away to the closet while the baby lay on the floor, away from the rug, trying to keep himself cool.

"Ed," Stede whispered. "Izzy is sick, the poor thing. We will need to get him into the doctor's office. I will need you to drive us, so I can go in the back with the baby. I am sending the clinic a message right now to schedule the appointment. Izzy can't notice where we are going."

Ed winced at that. "Mate, he's not gonna like this. It's a bad idea. Can't we call the doctor to come here?"

Stede was very set in his ways. He knew what to do, what was best for the baby. Also, he did not believe in fostering behaviors that could be harmful. He had fixed most of Izzy's issues with medicines by not giving in, and standing his ground. This would be no different. "No, unfortunately, we can't, my love. And we can't leave him to suffer like this!" Stede took in a deep breath, looking at Ed with quite a serious expression. "If you are not going to help me, I will have to ask for you not to get in the way."

Ed knew when to push Stede. Now was not the moment for it. If he wanted to offer Izzy some respite, he would have to go along. He just nodded and told Stede he would get the car keys and wait outside.

In the meantime, Izzy was drowsily lying on the floor, with his belly down, clearly quite unwell. He was never this quiet, and Papa just felt so bad for him. He kneeled by Izzy, petting his hair. "Hello, pretty boy... Let's go for our outing, peanut. It will make you feel a little better, I'm sure."

Izzy whined, turning belly up so it would be easier for Papa to pick him up. "Hurts, Papa!" He was clearly frustrated, and his eyes were welling up with tears once more. Papa picked him up, trying not to jostle him too much, and already starting to walk towards the stairs. Once Izzy was in the car already, he would go back up to get his documents and his diaper bag.

"Oh, my darling, Papa is so sorry! You will get a little bit of fresh air and will feel better soon, peanut, I'm so sorry." And Stede did feel sorry for the little boy. Although he had been a fostering caregiver for a great number of years, he hardly ever had to go through sicknesses with his littles. He would have to ask the doctor for some vitamins to boost the baby's immunity.

With Izzy in his arms, the baby's legs around his waist, his arms around his neck, and his face hidden in his chest, he started the descent as slowly as he could manage without completely stopping. Once they were halfway through, the baby started sobbing a bit, deep and hurt. "Forgot Louis, Papa."

Wasn't that heartbreaking? Cradling his head, Papa shushed him gently. "Papa will come back for him in a moment, my little sweetheart. It's ok, we're not forgetting Louis."

"Okay." Said Izzy, trying to put his fingers in his mouth, and being stopped by Papa right then. He produced a pacifier out of thin air, as far as Izzy was concerned, putting that in his mouth instead. "No, no, no, baby. Your little fingers are dirty, and your tummy is already very sore. We don't want to make you feel worse, do we?"

'Can it get any worse?', Izzy thought, as he was being strapped to the car seat. Eddie was already in the driver's seat, and he turned back to be able to reach for Izzy's remaining leg.

"You ok, bug? You don't look so hot." He said, wearing a sympathetic frown, while Stede closed the car door and got back inside for Izzy's things.

Ed was worried, of course he was; his baby was sick, after all. Thing was: he had seen Izzy like this a lot, especially when they were younger. Izzy always got the stomach flu, stomach bugs, and overall bad things that made him puke and whatnot. He could handle it, he didn't understand why he was so whiny this time when he usually just sucked it up.

Only then it dawned on Ed that this was the first time that he probably felt like he could allow himself to feel whatever feelings he was feeling; that he was safe and cared for. He would hate the doctor's visit, but it was probably the first time in the past two decades anyone had bothered enough to get him checked; Ed himself hadn't, not once.

"Eddie", he pouted, making Ed come back to reality "Why Izzy feels bad?" The baby looked defeated, his cheeks very ruddy, and he was clearly sweating. He was probably running quite a high fever, at this point.

"Oh, bubs, Eddie's so sorry. Your body is just trying to get'chu better." He then deflected, "Look! Papa's coming with Louis, he's gonna sit in the back with you! Isn't that fun, mate? Eddie's gonna be the driver today!"

"Driver sings?" Izzy asked hopefully. He really liked it when Eddie sang.

Ed smiled, as Stede entered the car. Their eyes locked through the rearview mirror, and Stede gave the slightest nod. Ed knew they would go to the clinic, and Stede probably had arranged the last-minute appointment already. "Anything for you, mate! What song do you want Eddie to sing?" He asked, already starting the car.

"Any song, Eddie!" Izzy thought that Eddie was a really good driver. He loved to be in the car when Eddie drove. He turned his head to the side to look at Papa, and, even though he was feeling really poorly, he pointed out. "Papa, seatbelt!"

Stede had to laugh as he passed Louis to Izzy and fastened his seatbelt. "Good job, peanut! Papa had forgotten and you remembered him. Good boy." He paused. "What about Eddie sings you Blackbird? You like when he sings it for you to sleep."

Izzy's eyes brightened a bit at the suggestion and his stuffy. His big self would have hated it, but little Izzy loved the Beatles' song.

Stede held one of Izzy's hands gently as Ed drove and sang, paying close attention to the baby who, as planned, fell asleep before they got out of their street to hit the road to the clinic.

Izzy had quite a fitful nap. Stede spent the whole way to the clinic fussing over the sleeping baby. "Oh, Ed," he would say "He is not feeling well at all!"

Stede hardly felt this out of control. He wanted to heal his little boy with hugs and kisses, but he knew it would probably take much more unpleasant ways to be able to make him feel better.

Once Ed parked, Stede had his mind made to get his boy without even getting the stroller and get him into the clinic as soon as possible. Of course, the odds were not in his favor at all - as soon as the car stopped, Izzy started stirring. Stede rushed Ed with a look - he was going to distract the baby, and Ed would carry him into the clinic, as he would probably be the one better able to hold Izzy without a lot of fuss.

"Inside home, Papa?" Izzy asked, sleepily, his voice raspier and weaker than Stede had ever heard. He had a wet coughing fit that looked like it hurt a bit.

On the one hand, Stede could use the fact that Izzy was distracted and still half-asleep to be able to get him into the clinic. On the other hand, if he did that, he wouldn't have either the tantrum (which he was hoping to avoid) or Izzy's trust - that wouldn't do. He undid his own seatbelt and got closer to the baby. "Sweetheart, you know that you are quite unwell, yes? Papa had to make a decision. We are here, at the clinic where Ed took his exams, so the nice doctor can take a look at you and tell Papa what to do to make you feel better."

Bracing himself, Stede waited for Izzy's answer. His little boy's eyes widened, and immediately Izzy started undoing (as much as he could) the buckles of his car seat, struggling, and shaking his head violently. His voice was neither sweet nor sleepy anymore. "No. No. No. I'm not fucking going in there. Fuck you, Papa, no. I'm not gonna." He started clawing at himself and at the car seat, struggling to open the door.

Stede had to choose which battles he was going to fight today. He wanted to slap Israel for the language, but he focused on holding his wrists - or trying to because the boy was starting to struggle and hiss like a wild tomcat. "That. Is. Quite. Enough, Israel." Stede said, not without difficulty, since his movements were kind of hindered by Izzy's struggle.

At that moment, Ed opened the passenger's door, putting his head inside the car. His register was purely dominant now, and Stede knew at once he had done it before. "That's enough, Iz. If you don't listen to Papa right this moment, mate, I don't care where we are or how sick you are, you are going over my knee. Got it?" His tone was not loud at all; he was not yelling, and yet he commanded attention.

Izzy, however, was in no condition to listen to anyone, amidst his panic. "No, no! Fuck you, fuck both of you, no clinic, no doctor!" Stede was sure he forgot completely about his missing leg, because his movement, once he was able to undo all the buckles, was to launch himself out of the car as if he was going to run - or try to, because he lost his balance instantly, and, if not for Ed right outside holding him, he would have fallen face first into the gravel.

Ed caught him by the armpits, and he was ready to throw Izzy over his shoulder in a fireman carry, but the little one grabbed the doorframe of the car with both hands, whole body struggling. Stede could see he was about to throw up all over himself and the car seat; he looked quite pale, and there was a green tinge under his skin.

Stede took it upon himself to unlatch Izzy's fingers from the door, not refraining from using force. At this point, it would be easier to care for him later than to prolong this ridiculous situation. He was not able to unlatch all of Izzy's fingers, but he was able to do it with enough of them for Ed to take Izzy away from the car door. He was mad at Israel, yes, because this behavior was unacceptable, but Ed seemed to be more.

True to his word, after getting the boy over his shoulder, Ed spanked his padded bum, and especially his thighs, in a manner that was sure to sting. "Are you fucking going to behave, you little brat? Your Papa and I just want to make you feel better. Do you fucking think we'd take you somewhere fucked?"

"Language, Edward!" Stede hissed, after having closed the car. Izzy was struggling, kicking and screaming over Ed's shoulder. He was also heaving, but there was not much that could be done if he did throw up. The three of them got into the clinic, which was blessedly empty.

"Good afternoon!" Said the receptionist. She winced sympathetically. "Oh. Fussy little one? You must be Mr. Bonnet." Stede nodded instantly. "Everything is ready for you, we have Israel's file as you e-mailed, Mr. Bonnet. You can take the hallway, and enter the third door to the right. It's a little examination room that only opens from the outside. Your little boy shouldn't be able to flee."

Stede struggled against the feeling of shame. It was not Israel's fault, he would need better input and more positive reinforcement like he did with the liquid meds. It was, however, hard to think of any of that in this situation. He thanked his lucky stars for having Ed carrying the baby; it was in this situation his strength made itself known. He was whispering threateningly in Izzy's ear: Stede didn't know what, but, whatever it was, it made the baby wail in a rather hurt tone. Stede noticed he went limp, though.

Chapter Text

Once they were in the examination room, which was locked, both adults relaxed minutely. Ed put a quite listless Izzy down in the hospital bed.

Izzy, in a surge of renewed energy, immediately slid down from it, clumsily trying to hide under the bed and somewhat failing, due to all of the bits and pieces that a normal bed simply wouldn't have. He started heaving more extremely now; Stede was quick in scanning the room and getting a clean bedpan from the stack of two or three, immediately kneeling by the boy and holding it in front of him just in time to be able to catch everything he threw up. With his free hand, he rubbed circles on Izzy's back, tutting disapprovingly all the while. "There, there, my little love... You are okay. See why Papa had to bring you here? You couldn't stay home, sick as you are..."

Izzy was not actively wailing anymore, but tears didn't stop running down his face, his shoulders shaking with the force of his tears. He was undoubtedly afraid, trying to make himself even smaller - even though the movement was not the best for his sore tummy. "Papa... Bad! Doctor bad, Izzy bad... Doctor hurt Izzy, Papa, don't wanna!"

Edward approached the bed, crouching by Stede's side. He reached out a hand to gently grab Izzy's face, making the boy look at him. "Iz, stop the drama. You're not with Ben anymore, the doctor will be super nice to you. If they aren't, I'll kick their ass myself. But now you gotta get out from under this damn bed, mate. If I have to get you from under there, you are not gonna like it. Got it?" Ed said, firmly, but not unkindly. His tone definitely brooked no argument, though.

Stede would have a proper talk to Ed later, but, as they say, if it ain't broke, don't fix it. They were working together, and undermining Ed's authority would do no one any good. Izzy was more likely to go to him for comfort right now, though, so he put the bedpan aside, and got Izzy from the floor, settling him on the hospital bed. His poor baby looked so tired.

Dr. Zheng was one of Stede's favorite little doctors. She had a very no-nonsense attitude about her, but her tact with little ones was incredible. Stede asked, when he called, for a) her to be Izzy's assigned doctor - he was willing to pay extra to have her and b) for her to be briefed about everything they knew about Izzy's current situation, as well as about his trauma regarding doctors. She was prepared.

When she entered the room, she looked as non-threatening as possible. She was wearing teddy bear printed scrubs, instead of a white coat, and her long hair was done in space buns, instead of any more severe hairstyle a doctor would have. She did come in carrying a cart of medical supplies, but even the cart was cutely decorated, so as not to be too scary for the little ones.

Izzy, however, didn't see any of these special details. He was cowering in bed, head covered by the bedsheet, when she approached.

Zheng assessed the situation, settling for a more playful attitude. "Ooooh, Mr. Bonnet... I don't think your little boy is here. Do you have any idea of where he could be?"

Stede wanted to laugh, more at the absurdity of his day than at anything else. He played right along. "I can't imagine where my Israel has gone to! He was here just now!"

"I see," Says Dr. Zheng. "It is such a pity because I had such a nice friend for him to meet! You see, Stede, Kitty here is sick. She really needs some lovies and cuddles, but now, she will have to be on her own." The doctor sighed mournfully, leaning against the bed just enough to try and tempt the little one with the kitten stuffy.

Ed wasn't in a good mood at all, at this point. He was leaning against a wall, arms crossed over his chest, monitoring the situation with sharp focus, ready to intervene if needed.

Izzy wasn't budging, though. He felt bad for Kitty, but it was every little boy for themselves here. Or every kitten. While Dr. Zheng and Papa were doing their theatricals, Izzy actually started to very slowly slide from the bed to the floor, being really careful in swinging his good leg first before going down, and hiding under the bed.

Or trying to.

Ed was onto him in a jiffy, as Papa would say, hoisting him up and onto the bed again with a measure of force. "You really are not as sick as you say if you can keep fucking playing these shitty games, Iz."

Papa was very unhappy with Eddie. "Edward, that is enough, please." Stede then turned to Izzy, who was as white as a sheet of paper, and looked like he could throw up again at any moment. "And you, young man. This is such appalling behavior can't even begin to describe it! Papa will sit with you, and hold you so Dr. Zheng can examine you. And you will let her. Am I making myself clear, Israel?" He said, positioning himself behind Izzy and encircling his waist, to make him lean back onto his chest. His little one was misbehaving, yes, but he was sick and quite scared. Ed also was clearly scared for Izzy, Stede could see it now, and was lashing out for it a bit, but he could only do so much for his boys at this moment.

Izzy couldn't stop crying, once he was held in place. He tried to make himself smaller against Papa, tears running down his face nonstop.

"Hi, Izzy. I'm Dr. Zheng. Your Papa brought you here so I can take care of you." Zheng said, her voice sweet and kind, sitting at the edge of the bed and offering Izzy her hand for him to hold.

"No!", he exclaimed weekly. "Don't like you!" Izzy pouted, looking away from the doctor.

"Izzy," Papa whispered, tightening his arms around Izzy's waist, but not so much as not to make him sick again. "That was not a kind thing to say. Let's try again, with gentle words?"

Izzy didn't want to be a bad boy. He didn't want to be unkind. Eddie was already very very mad at him, he was lucky to have Papa still being nice. He decided to be upfront and ask, his thumb firmly lodged in his mouth (until Papa caught it and took it away, remembering him it was dirty), looking at Dr. Zheng through his lashes. "Watchu gonna do t'Izzy?"

"That is a very good question, honey. I will touch you a little bit around your tummy, ask you a few questions, listen to your heart and take a look around your mouth and throat. Once I'm sure that you only have a stomach flu, I will hook you up to an IV, so you can get your fluids and meds. It's not very fun, lovely, but you will be right as rain in no time." A pause. "Are you a brave boy?" She asked, very kindly, reaching out her hand again so Izzy could take the initiative and hold it.

Izzy looked back at Papa, scared and whining; he remembered how much the last IVs he had hurt, how bruised he had gotten from the nurses' treatment. They were not gentle with him. But, overall, it didn't sound all that bad. This doctor was talking like Papa, and Papa never lied to him - besides from today, and Izzy knew he deserved that one. He took in plenty of deep breaths, and, pouting, reached for the doctor's hand, which was still outstretched for him. It was soft, much smaller than Papa's or Ed's; so very soft. "Will hurt?" He amended quickly. "Papa stay here?"

Dr. Zheng smiled. "Of course, Izzy. Papa stays with you. It may pinch a little when I put on the IV, but then it will not hurt anymore. I'm very good at what I do." She winked at him.

" 'Kay... Can do. Izzy's sorry Izzy was bad."

Ed answered before the doctor could, expression lighter. "You were just afraid, kiddo. You're ok."

Dr. Zheng was very quick and efficient. Papa held Izzy tenderly as she inserted the IV needle and, although Izzy cried a bit, it didn't interfere in the IV-insertion-process. He was wide-eyed during the process, but looked painfully familiar with it all. Stede made a mental note to make his little darling talk more about the period he spent in the hospital. 

Stede settled Izzy in a way he could be laying down fully, the IV dripping both the solution and the medication he needed. He kept running his hand soothingly through Izzy's hair, and Dr. Zheng carefully pulled up the covers, handing Izzy Kitty. "She will be just fine, like you." She booped Izzy's nose, making the boy giggle weakly before tiredly closing his eyes.

Once Izzy looked more asleep than not, Dr. Zheng told Stede in confidence she would need a stool sample to determine for sure it was a stomach flu, but they could deal with that later. For now, Stede was leaning against the pillows in the bed, with the baby laying down on his thigh, between his legs, the IV hooked into his left arm, looking finally a bit less pale and sick.

Ed sat at the foot of the bed, popping a clean paci he got from the diaper bag onto Izzy's mouth and petting at Izzy's remaining leg, finally allowing himself to breathe easier, finally seeing the baby relax. He would need to apologize to the baby at some point; he was not going to apologize for doing what needed to be done, though. Ed and Stede kept chatting idly to one another, the baby finally settled and taken care of. He would be ok.

Chapter Text

It was mid-afternoon when Papa came to get Izzy. For the first month and a half of their relationship, Izzy noticed he didn't quite know how to play with the toys that Papa gave him. He organized his cards, he scribbled on the paper, he kept hugging his dollies and stuffies... But he wasn't quite good at playing. When Eddie was little with him, they would roughhouse each other (which Papa really disliked), but they also wouldn't play together. They found, however, after Stede got Izzy a set of Sylvanian Families, that Izzy loved to play house. He had been having some tummy time on his new playpen, in the playroom, for the past hour and a half, talking to his little critters and making up stories - at this moment, Mommy Bunny was spanking Baby Bunny because he had not eaten all of his veggies, which was preposterous, seeing that he was a bunny rabbit.

Stede was in absolute love. He sneakily took a picture, before calling for his baby. "Iz-zy" Papa sing-songed his name "Let's wrap it up, little bird? Papa has to take you to the lab. Remember that we talked about it in the morning, that today you will get measured for your new leg?"

That got Izzy's attention. Papa had mentioned something over breakfast, but he was still too sleepy while taking his bottle, so he didn't pay a lot of attention.

"Leg?" Izzy confirms through his paci, and Papa nods. He is excited to just go already, but he absolutely hates mess, so he gets the basket in which Papa said they should keep these specific toys and gently puts them away, along with all of the accessories of his play.

Papa beams. "Oh, peanut, so gentle with your friends! That is a very nice thing to do."

Izzy smiles back at Papa, blushing a little, and reaches him the organized basket so he can put it away. He still isn't used to the praise. Papa gets the basket and bends to give him a forehead kiss, putting away the toys before coming back near the playpen. "Let's go?"

Stede took a while to find an appropriate manufacturer for Izzy's leg. He was not in a rush, anyway, creating a routine with his little boy, but, most of all, he wanted the best for Izzy. His situation was already too unfortunate to have him in constant pain.

He did find a very appropriate manufacturer a couple of towns over, that agreed to come to the Agency to take Izzy's measurements, so they wouldn't have to travel every time during the process. He was excited to see his little one running and playing as he should.

It took about three more weeks for the prosthesis to come, ready to use. They did have to go either to the agency or to the labs a few more times to make sure the fit was correct, that the limb-socket interface was working properly, and that the liner fit him well, but the day they went to get the final one, Izzy was more active and excited than Stede had ever seen him.

They got out of the labs with Izzy walking on his own two feet. He told Papa in confidence that he wanted to jump for joy a bit, but that he was afraid, so he would just wiggle happily. Izzy held Papa's hand all the way to the car, like a good boy should, absolutely unused to walking. It really was like learning it as a baby, although his muscle memory remained.

Getting home was an event. Ed hadn't gone with them to any of the appointments because he had been having a few very full weeks at work, with big tattoos to cover in plenty of sessions, but he was waiting for them when Izzy walked by Papa and entered the living room, taking in a deep breath before trying to run towards Ed.

Ed's smile was one of Izzy's favorite sights in the whole wide world. "Oh my God, Iz, you're walking! Come here, mate, let me see it, you look so good! Does it hurt any?" Ed asked, getting up from the couch to pick Iz by the waist, spin him around, and place him back on the floor.

"Doesn't hurt, Eddie. Papa chose really well!" Izzy said, smiling widely. He was a very serious little guy, so seeing his smile was always delightful for all the people involved. But then, his smile turned into a frown. He turned towards Papa, and, hugging him by his middle, hiding his face in Papa's chest. "Papa," Izzy asked, in a small voice. "Izzy will still baby? Papa still pick Izzy up?"

Stede felt like he would melt in a puddle right then and there. His little boy was so sweet! "Peanut, oh! Of course Papa will still pick you up, and you still will be Papa's little baby. Forever! You will wear your leg only when and if you feel like it, and if Papa says you should. But nothing will change, you will just have a few more possibilities to play and reach places." Stede squeezed his little boy further, teasing, now. "Do you want to be small forever, you little tyke? Is that it?" He peppered Izzy's face with kisses, making the little boy squirm.

"Papa!", he complained, pushing at his chest a bit, but unable to escape the kisses. Ed came from behind to hug him as well, effectively making an Izzy sandwich. "Sammich!", he exclaimed, noticing how much smaller he was, compared to both of them.

He was such a happy little boy.

The next day, the first thing Izzy did after Papa woke him up and changed him (not without a fuss; the cold wipes were bad!) was to ask for his leg. Papa just chuckled and went to get all of the supplies to make sure everything was working; the special powder for his remaining leg, the liner, and the leg itself. When Izzy reached to put it on himself, Papa batted his hands away, offering simply. "That is Papa's job, peanut."

Once everything was settled, he instructed. "Now, walk a little around the nursery so the sensors can adjust, ok? Then we can go down for breakfast, darling."

Izzy nodded. "Okay, Papa!" He still needed to support himself on the crib on his first steps because he had gotten very unused to walking with a prosthesis, but after a few moments, everything seemed adjusted enough, so he gave Papa a thumbs up. "Papa, Izzy's ready!"

It was not lost on Stede that Izzy had started talking in the third person, as he did when he was talking to him. It made him want to laugh and want to squeeze his sweet baby.

Izzy was helped downstairs, and he had his breakfast, his meds, a good cuddle with Papa in the playroom and Papa left him there, like every day, to play, color, and watch his cartoons; he had a patient today, and he trusted his baby would stay put, never having had trouble before.

Stede didn't count on Izzy's mobility, however. The baby was curious, and the last time he had done anything remotely naughty was the flapjacks incident, weeks ago. Izzy had surely forgotten what a spanked bum felt like. Izzy gave himself about a full episode of Pocoyo for Papa to settle and his patient to come in, and he set on explorer mode.

He made sure he had everything he needed: he asked for a water sippy, after breakfast, so he had water; he had the cereal bars that were always available as snackies in the playroom; he had the little backpack Papa always left him to put away his favorite toys and carry them around the playroom; he had Louis.

Izzy only knew a few rooms downstairs: mainly, Papa's office, which he liked, the master bathroom, the kitchen, the living room, and the playroom. But there were two wings full of rooms he didn't know. Papa said it was his house too, he wanted to know!

He pushed the baby gate - which Papa hadn't even locked - and got out of the playroom. Papa's office was over in the other wing, so he should be quite safe in his adventure on this side of the house. He also wasn't worried about Ed because he had sessions at the studio until night, he heard Eddie tell Papa yesterday, so he had slept at his apartment and probably wasn't going to come by today.

In Izzy's plan, the best idea was to go to the end of the hallway and come back looking at all the doors, since the playroom was the first door out of the living room to the hallway. Since there was only one door at the end of the path, on display, Izzy went there with all the surety a little boy could muster. His new leg was very silent, unlike his crutches, so he could sneak really well. He adjusted the straps of his little backpack as he went, and, getting there, he tried the door handle. It was unlocked.

It was... A very curious room. Izzy closed the door behind himself, and stopped by the door to look around. It was pretty and neat, like all rooms he knew in the house, but the contents of it were... Big. Like, big-people content. Adult content. Izzy never had seen Papa truly, truly mad (beside from the pancake incident day), but there were many, many things to use when you are mad on the walls, in display cases. He could also see a big bed, bigger than Papa's, in his room. A few furniture pieces were strewn purposefully in the room, like a big, big cross and a thing that looked like a wooden pony, but with no pony head or legs? It looked odd, to Izzy.

'No matter', he thought, with Papa's voice. He was an explorer, and explore he would. He started opening drawers around the room, finding many interesting things. He didn't want to make a mess because he was looking; these things weren't his, so he just looked, really, not touching a lot.

When he got to one of the drawers closer to the door, however, he couldn't resist; he recognized one of the toys that Papa used to play with him when he felt warm and itchy downstairs, and Papa had said that the toy he used was Izzy's. So... Technically, he could play with it? He took the vibrating plug from the drawer and turned it on, putting it on the floor. He didn't want to risk taking off his nappy, because he wouldn't be able to put it back on, and Papa would be really mad. So Izzy settled for humping the vibrating plug through the nappy, holding onto the drawers with his hands and kneeling over it, so he could go up and down, to and fro against it. He wasn't even particularly feeling big boy feelings, but the thrill of the situation excited him enough for the physical stimulation to do something for him. Since the nappy was in the way, his buildup was much slower than usual. Izzy got distracted.

Chapter Text

After a satisfying session, Stede saw his patient and their Daddy out, and he went straight to the playroom, feeling like he needed a good cuddle with his own baby. Sessions like the one he just had always left him feeling drained.

What was his surprise when he did not find his baby where he was left.

His first response was to become quite desperate and frantically look around - god forbid the baby running away! -, but, before he could yell Izzy's name through the house, he heard an unexpected noise (at least in his house): he heard quite loud moans.

It was not like he never had naughty little ones going places they were not supposed to. Usually, however, he had these issues before really knowing them, in the first one or two weeks of their stay. He's got complacent with Izzy and should have known he would try to explore, now that he had a bit more mobility back. And, of course, he would go and find the adult playroom right away. Stede allowed himself quite the bitchy eye roll at that.

Since things were already happening, Stede took a moment to calm himself down, sitting down in the playroom's reading chair and running his hands through his perfectly coiffed hair. He really didn't want to act in anger towards his baby, but boundaries would have to be set. Izzy had his rules about playing with himself, after all.

When Stede entered the adult playroom, he was looking very serious. He didn't look particularly cross, because he wasn't, but it didn't make his boy's actions ok. When he saw the little one had a backpack with him, his breath caught a bit - was he planning on running away? No sense in dawdling. With his voice as even as he could manage, he called. "Israel. What do you think you are doing?"

Izzy's face fell, and he stilled himself. He had come once already, and was chasing his second orgasm, but suddenly he felt like he had been doused with a bucket of ice-cold water. "Papa..." He muttered, dragging himself on his knees away from the plug, which was left vibrating feebly against the floor, trying to put more distance between Papa and himself.

The scene was, in all honesty, quite pathetic. Stede bent down, picked up the plug and turned it off, placing it on top of the chest of drawers. He then crossed his arms, unimpressed, and set on chastising Izzy. "It would do you good getting off of your knees, Israel. With your new prosthetics, you are bound to get hurt if you keep on like this." He gave himself a pause, pinching the bridge of his nose and taking off his glasses, pocketing them. Then, he placed his hands on his hips. "Well. How many house rules did you disobey with this little outing, Israel? Do you know?"

Honestly, the bratty side of Izzy had expected Papa to fuss over him, to be scared, even, to throw a tantrum himself. Seeing Papa all calm and collected and cold just made him feel ashamed and bad.

"Izzy... Went out of the room Papa left him in, and wandered 'lone, and played naughty games on his own, and used Izzy's things without permission." He listed his misdeeds dutifully. He didn't like it, but he knew his Papa well enough by now to know that, if he was in the wrong, it would be best to own up to it. If he tried to lie, when Papa could clearly see all that had happened, he would earn a mouth-soaping on top of everything. His headspace felt a bit odd, and a bit far away from little, right now, but little or big, he would have to answer for his actions.

Stede sucked his teeth, looking absolutely not amused. "That is quite the list, Israel. And what exactly were you trying to achieve with this?" Papa asked, taking enough steps to be able to look Izzy right in the eye, reaching a hand to hold his chin just enough to be able to direct the baby's gaze to his, looming over the baby, his free hand holding Izzy's wrist with a measure of tightness, but not enough to hurt.

Izzy felt a knot swelling in his throat. His voice was very small and a bit strained. "Wanted to explore, Papa!"

Papa was an understanding man. "That is fair, Israel. And what possessed you go through Papa's things, and use them on yourself, doing something you are not allowed to do on your own, without asking for permission?"

Izzy caught a bit of wind at that. "Papa said it was my toy!" He pouted, struggling to cross his arms and further his point.

"Oh! Wonderful, marvelous. It is your toy. And are you allowed to play on your own with this type of toy?" Stede's eyebrows were bound to touch his hairline by now.

Izzy deflated. "No, Papa."

Stede gave Izzy's wrist a bit of a hard squeeze, his voice dropping a few octaves. "Were you just my well-behaved little boy because you couldn't be naughty, Israel?"

At that, Izzy started to whimper. "No! Papa, no, Izzy's not bad, Izzy's good!"

Stede rolled his eyes once more, his mouth pinched in a tight line. "Oh, Israel, please. Throwing a tantrum will get you nowhere." He cut it off, shaking his boy very lightly, just enough for Izzy to come back to him.

Izzy was crying, and feeling quite hurt now, but his sobs subsided to sniffles soon enough, seeing his Papa was unmoved by the display. He allowed himself to be manhandled by Papa, until they got to a bench he had not seen before, where Papa sat and pulled Izzy over his lap. Papa's attitude was very no-nonsense at that. "Very well. Your tally is of 15 strikes on your bare bottom. 5 for having hidden, 5 for having played without permission and 5 for your behavior after being caught."

At that, he felt difficult, Izzy. He felt like struggling. He was already in trouble, and Papa already thought he was a very naughty boy, and his tally wasn't so high. So he said "No!" and started squirming earnestly in Papa's lap, but not making an actual effort to get out. He could run now, if he wanted to, but he wouldn't. He didn't want to. He felt like he needed to get out that frustrated energy, though.

Stede softened considerably. He held Izzy in place, but his voice was that much sweeter. "I see what is happening here", he said, gently pulling Izzy's shorts down and unfastening his cummy diaper. "Is my little boy having very big feelings?" He asked, not unkindly, one hand supporting Izzy's waist and the other running through his hair.

Izzy didn't know what to say. He was having big feelings indeed. So he struggled again, with more force, bumping his fists on the bench and yelling a little, legs wriggling in the air.

As it was Stede's MO, he wouldn't let it fester. He started spanking his boy's bottom at once, making sure to put a measure of force behind the blows so he would remember them later. He alternated between the cheeks, making sure to count out loud so his boy knew where were they, and paying special attention to Izzy's sensitive sitting spot.

Stede also made sure to wait between blows, spanking Izzy between hiccups, or when he got distracted by his tantrum. It was not the easiest holding him in place, but Stede was strong enough to handle the squirming boy in his lap. For the last five blows, Stede would have preferred to use the slipper or a paddle, to really drive the point home. He thought of going for different spots, but something a bit less nice sprung to his mind.

"Israel, are you ready to behave like a good boy, or will you keep throwing your little tantrum?" He asked, quite cooly.

Izzy whined at that. "Good, Papa!"

Stede pet Izzy's hair at that. "Wonderful. Since you like going through Papa's things so much, you are going to get one of the paddles for Papa, please. They are the ones just behind us. Choose any of them, quickly, please."

Even in his past adult life, Izzy had never been spanked like this before, let alone paddled. He waddled towards the display case, feeling so much smaller with his little shorts around his knees and his half-undone nappy still on him, the feeling of the dried come kind of gluing the padding to the front of his little cock, his bum bright-pink and already quite sore. Tears were still streaming down his face, and his shoulders were shaking from the barely contained sobs, but he tried to be quick, not to invite Papa's anger any longer. He went for a smaller, thinner paddle, with a few holes on it, that, in his head, would be less hurty than the thick, sturdy ones.

He handled Papa the paddle, hesitating before being tugged back to Papa's lap. Stede was surprised by the choice; he had chosen one of the meanest, stingiest paddles he owned. He, at this point, didn't feel quite merciful, though. Israel had, after all, gone places without permission, come without Papa, and thrown a nasty little tantrum. Everyone would feel better after the nice paddling that would wrap up the spanking. "Very well, thank you. Good job. Papa would like it if you tried to take these last five ones as quietly as possible."

Izzy nodded in acquiescence, not knowing exactly what he had agreed to. As soon as the first strike came raining down on his upper thighs, he yelped, choking on air a little and going instantly pale, out of breath. The pain was unlike anything he had ever felt. From then on, he didn't stop struggling for one moment, ugly crying at this point, but Papa didn't give in and didn't stop until the last 5 blows had been properly given, placed in a way that would be felt, but mostly at the moment. His poor little one was so far gone that, at some point between blows 3 and 4, he let go of his bladder (which he didn't even know he was holding), wetting his hanging nappy thoroughly.

Once he was done with the spanking, Stede put the paddle aside. He then pulled the nappy away completely, not caring if he got a bit wet by it, and manhandled the boy until he was sitting down on Papa's lap properly, snuggling the baby. Izzy was hissing at the pain of his freshly-spanked bum rubbing against Papa's scratchy trousers. He was not turning down a snuggle, though, his crying finally subsiding to hurt little sniffles.

Papa's voice felt normal again, once he spoke - all sweet and soft and nice. Izzy's face was being held by Papa very tenderly, and he peppered some kisses on his nose, forehead and eyes, thumbing away the stray tears gently. "You are forgiven, little one. You are okay."

Izzy held his breath at that, whispering in a small, strained voice, eyes away from Papa. "You still want Izzy, even walking? Even naughty?" That broke Stede's heart.

Voice gentle and full of emotion, he said. "When we first met you were able to walk, and you were pretty naughty, you silly goose. Papa would want you anyway. Sometimes you will need to push boundaries, and you will need to be reminded that Papa is still here, and will still care for you, no matter what. I will always provide that, little bird, and anything else you may need. This can't happen again, of course, but it's done, and you are forgiven now." He kissed Izzy's forehead tenderly, once again, and squeezing his baby a bit. "Now, this was quite a full morning. Do you want Papa to swaddle you for a nice, snug nap, and, when you wake up, we can explore the house together?"

Papa didn't need to ask Izzy twice.

Chapter Text

It was the first time in his two months living with Papa that they were going to go out for something fun. He had completed two months' worth of sticker charts for behaving well, taking his meds, keeping his toys neat and not fussing too much over nappy changes, so Papa told him he and Eddie would take Izzy to the mall. 

Izzy was not a shopper, he had never been; he'd never had the money for it. But he always really, really liked looking around and daydreaming, the bright colors making him secretly warm and fuzzy. Also, the malls he knew all had little playpens and little spaces, and he always dreamed about going to one of those; just to see if he could.

He was very excited to go. He didn't necessarily want to be seen as a baby, but any time he got to spend with Papa and Eddie tended to be good. He was waiting in his nursery, playing with some of his critters on the rug, while waiting for Papa to come put on his leg and change him. 

Stede thought his little boy was so sweet like this. He had been in deep regression for a while now, and he had become more and more comfortable with it - he was starting to show his more settled personality, which was very sweet, needy, and obedient, but also quite bossy, especially towards Eddie - which never stopped making Stede laugh. He would be like Papa's second in command, and it didn't matter if Eddie was big or small, submissive or Dominant; Izzy's word tended to be final. It was adorable.

"Where is my sweetest little bird?" Papa asked, knocking lightly on the door, already entering the room. He was looking super duper nice and cozy, Izzy thought, in his teal blue coat, white light sweater, and jeans pants. Izzy wanted to nuzzle at Papa, and rub his face all over him. 

"Papa, pretty! Izzy hug?" He asked, turning belly up, then sitting, making his signature grabby hands to be picked up. 

Stede melted. "Oooh, of course, peanut. Izzy can hug Papa!" He picked his boy up, giving him the tightest hug. Izzy was very tactile, he found, and very close to his Papa. 

Since Izzy was still in his nighttime onesie and nappy, Papa patted his bum to check him. He was having some actual trouble going on his nappy, especially with his bowel movements; Stede really didn't want to, but he would have to introduce some meds if the foods and drinks he'd been giving the little one didn't start making an effect soon.

"Do you need help going, darling?" Papa asked. Izzy still felt very, very ashamed, and Stede knew it, but he tried to treat such matters in the most natural way possible. 

Izzy made an embarrassed little noise but pushed to be able to pee a bit, to no avail. He didn't feel like going! He used to go much better in potty, but he was not going to argue with Papa, never argue with Papa. He did look up at Papa, though, with a pout. 

"Oh, darling, we can't go out if you don't go. Papa will lay you down and help you, ok?" Izzy  nodded. Lately, Papa would soak a little cloth with saline, and put it over his wee-wee, and push at his bladder from the outside to help him. Izzy didn't like it, but it was either this or Papa said they'd have to go visit Dr. Zheng and she'd have to put something up his willy. This was better. 

After Papa helped him exactly as he always did (which did provide Izzy with some relief he didn't know to expect), Papa did all the prep and put his leg on, then he put him in a fresh nappy, and in a matching pair of onesie and pants, as well as a soft sweater. It was not properly cold out, but it was quite chilly, and Izzy tended to run cold himself, so it was always better to snuggle him up.

Izzy got out of the changing table on his own, getting Louis and holding him tight, reaching for Papa's hand and saying, proudly. "I'm ready, Papa!" 

Stede kissed his sweet boy's temple. "Yes, you are, peanut! We will go get Ed at his apartment and then we'll go to the mall." 

***

They passed by Ed's apartment to get him, and he was looking so good, as well. Dressed in a quintessentially Ed fashion, with the leather jacket, dark pants, plenty of rings and necklaces and loose hair, Izzy sighed and commented, confidently as he sat on the passenger seat. "Eddie's pretty too!" 

Ed, who had entered the car leaning in to kiss Stede looked back at his best little mate, beaming. "Aw, bug, you gonna make me blush here! You're looking super good as well." He paused, reaching his hand back so Izzy could hold it. It was odd for him to be awake in the car. "Are you excited for our outing?"

Izzy was. He wanted to be so good, so Papa would know he could trust Izzy in outings that were not just the park. "Yes!", he exclaimed. 

Stede noted that his little boy sounded a lot more outgoing today, and he was quite pleased to see him coming out of his shell. 

***

The way to the mall was filled with happy I spy games on Izzy and Ed's side. Stede was a careful driver, so he didn't get involved in playing. 

When they got to the mall, Eddie went to free Izzy from the car seat, and asked. "Hey, mate, do you want your stroller or do you wanna walk?" 

Izzy considered it carefully. He waited for Papa to get near Ed and him, and decided to ask. "Papa, Izzy walks or stroller for Izzy?" 

Stede could have fainted right there. What a sweet little boy he had. "I think we can walk for a little while, peanut. If you feel your little legs hurting, will you tell Papa? Then Ed or me can come get your stroller."

"I tell." Izzy stated, offering both his hands to his caregivers. He wanted to be an Izzy sammich. 

***

They were at a clothing store, after having looked at many a little store; Ed had his hands full of packages of treats for both him and Izzy because Stede would instantly buy anything that caught the boys' eyes. 

Both Ed and Stede were entertained by a red cashmere scarf that would look incredible on Ed. Izzy was not holding anyone's hands at the moment, because he had been super well behaved and was distracted by all of the bright colors around him. 

He noticed, however, that there were a couple of guys (neutrals, by the looks of them) looking at Papa and Eddie. And they were pointing and laughing quite audibly.

'Fucking bigots', Izzy thought, and startled himself at that. It was the first proper adult thought he'd had in the past two months. Stede and Ed were quite distracted, and Izzy felt terribly protective. Slowly, silently, he approached the two guys. He had his little attire on, he looked sweet. 'Good', he thought. 

"Are you laughing at them?" Izzy asked. His voice was carefully neutral, as was his expression. 

"Fucking fags, hell yeah!" One of them said, making quite homophobic gestures. 

You see. That wouldn't do. Izzy hummed in understanding, and, bracing himself, he, threw a straight punch to the middle of the guy's face, hitting his nose spot on. Before the other guy could defend himself, he got a knee to the groin.

Izzy had worked in some pretty shitty places before they were able to open the bar, and even the bar didn't have the best of clienteles for the longest time. Now, Izzy was finally happy, and he was madly protective over the only people who ever acted like they loved him. The two punks were scrambling away, unprepared for the assault, although they were cursing up a storm, and the security from the store was already gathering up. "It would you both twats fucking good to not talk about anyone like this, you little bitches." Izzy spat. He was aware of how ridiculous he must have fucking looked, in his onesie and pants and prosthetic leg, but the attitude was enough to convey what he was feeling. 

Papa and Eddie were onto him in a moment. Eddie was pale, recognizing the speech pattern and the fact that Izzy was very much not regressed anymore. Papa was livid, the cashmere scarf forgotten over the other aisle. 

"Israel Basilica Bonnet, what do you think you are doing?" He hissed, getting both of Izzy's arms and turning the boy (the man?) to look at him. It was the first time Izzy was not fully regressed around Papa. He found that a) he still felt like Stede was very much his caregiver, even though not exactly 'Papa' right now and b) he felt like he should apologize immediately, but not for being protective over them. He took in a deep breath. 

"Mr. Stede, I'm sorry for making a scene. Those twats were pointing and laughing at you, calling you guys fags. I thought they were owed a lesson." He saw how much the way he spoke startled Papa. He didn't want to ruin their day, to startle anyone. Papa placated the security guards by putting his hands up and steering both Edward and Israel out of the store. He took both of them to a more secluded corner, usually used for little, sub and pet time-outs in public, and then spoke. His unawavering patience was something Izzy trusted in quite deeply. 

"Although I appreciate immensely your loyalty, Israel, you cannot do that. Ever. You left Papa and Edward without saying anything, and you got into a fight that you could have very much lost." Izzy really, really wanted to roll his eyes. No, he could not. But Papa didn't know that. "What if you had gotten hurt, or lost? You also jostled yourself out of your regression quite abruptly, and that is very bad for your mental health." Papa took in a deep breath, held Izzy's hands on his own, and made sure to look him in the eye. "I don't want you to think your loyalty is misplaced or unappreciated, but, my darling, this type of thing cannot happen again. I don't tolerate any type of aggression. You did not know that, we never talked about this before, but our trip is going to be cut short and we are going to talk about consequences at home." Izzy felt defeated. He wanted to kick the ground, to scream at Papa and throw a tantrum. It wasn't fair! He felt his eyes welling up instantly, and his hands starting to shake. "Darling. Look at me." Papa commanded, and his tone brooked no argument. "Thank you. We are still navigating a lot of change. It is a learning curve. Now, you are shaking. Ed, can you hug Israel from behind, please?" Ed, who was still staring, and, honestly ready to leave the both of them to end those fuckers, did exactly as he was told. Izzy relaxed into him, and he felt so cold.

Stede hugged both of them from the front, making an Izzy sandwich, as Izzy liked to call it. They stood like that for a little bit, before Stede decided it was time to go back to the car.

***

As they were walking, Izzy's hand was loose in his, and his demeanor was not babyish at all, but he was not trying to act big as well. It was somehow worse because he was probably stuck in his own head. Once they got to the car, Izzy opened his own door and got into the car seat himself, quite obediently, but dully. 

Stede shook his head and put his car keys on Ed's hands. "Lovely boy, could you drive us? You can drive around for a while, and, if you feel like the conversation is going well, please, take us to another mall. If Israel is not ok, or if we mention a consequence or punishment, you can take us home, but I don't think I will do that to our little one. Not right now, anyway. I know what I said, but... I can't see him like this." 

"He loves you, you know." Ed let it escape, in a wistful sigh. "He's only ever done something similar for me. Some of the people who worked at the bar always said Iz was my guard dog. He's a loyal little fucker." He smiled, sadly. "But I've got you, mate. Just don't be too hard on him, please. It will break the little tyke." And he left for the driver's seat, leaving a quite stunned Stede behind. 

'No use in dawdling, I suppose', Stede thought to himself. He went to buckle Izzy up, and went around the car, to sit by Izzy's side. 

***

Izzy looked defeated. He was regressing back, a bit, after having been buckled in his car seat, and getting to hug one of his car stuffies (the Kitty Dr. Zheng had given him, and that he loved very much, now), honestly afraid that it would be taken from him. When Papa sat on the back with him, he winced, hugging the stuffy even more unyieldingly. He cleared his throat, even though his eyes were welling up, and thought that if he began groveling now, maybe Papa would take pity on him. "You can take this one, Papa, but please, please let me keep Louis? He's my best friend..." His voice was very small and very tight. 

Stede could cry himself. He looked at Izzy, shocked; he had never threatened to do anything of the sort, he knew what it could do to his boy's already poor mental health. As it had happened a lot in the past two months, however, it dawned on him it probably had happened to Izzy before. 

"Little bird, Papa is not taking away any of your friends. You are ok. We are going to have to talk about this, and you are going to have a time-out so you can think about what happened, but that's it, peanut."

Izzy frowned, mistrustful. "But I punched and kicked two strangers." A pause. "No punishment?" 

"Kiddo", Eddie said from the driver's seat. "Your Papa and I are different from the people from when we were kids. Papa gets you, mate. We're not happy it happened, so you both will talk and have a consequence, but you won't be punished, Iz." The 'I won't let it happen' was left unsaid, but quite clear. 

Papa sat closer to him, reaching one arm to lay down over his thighs. "Eddie is right, angel. Papa will give you a consequence, but not a punishment. You are safe."

"But", he tried to counter, weakly "We left."

"We left, peanut, because that place was not appropriate for us. Eddie is driving us elsewhere, isn't he?"

"Sure am, mate. Gonna find us a better place to spend the day at."

"But", Izzy tried one more time. He was having such a hard time processing everything. Papa had called him by his full name at the store, and he was really mad, Izzy misbehaved. This doesn't make sense. "Izzy was bad." 

Stede had to count to ten in his head. "Izzy made a bad decision, yes, but Izzy wasn't a bad baby, dearheart. Did you want to hurt those mean boys just because you wanted to, or did you have a reason why you acted the way you acted?" Papa asked, directing Izzy's face to focus on him. 

"They were being mean about you." Izzy whispered, fiercely. 

"There you go. At home, later, we are going to talk about better ways of managing your feelings and acting when something like this happens, peanut. Violence is never the answer, and Papa doesn't like it when it is used. However, Papa had never given you any rules regarding this, so how could you know?"

His little one would need to have consequences, for sure. But now, the only thing Stede could think about was how much he loved both of these men.

***

Eddie did have to drive a bit further to find another mall with little activities, but they did find a very nice one. Izzy was allowed to play in the playpens which had the nice accessible slides, and Papa took many, many pictures. He got to have tasty ice-cream (even though his little face got all dirty, and Papa had to wipe it clean with a baby wipe), and Papa got him a bunch of trinkets, and clothes, and new bedsheets and blankets and pillows. When Izzy's legs got too tired, he got to piggyback ride on Eddie, and they did have a very, very nice day. 

***

Upon getting home, it was Eddie who marched Izzy to the corner of the adult playroom (since Izzy went there for a punishment already, they decided it was a good place to keep just for this), while Stede unloaded the car. His consequence was actually quite short, and he got to cuddle in the playroom with both Papa and Eddie until he fell asleep, afterward. Overall, he had a very good day.

Chapter Text

All in all, Edward was a curious person. When he first started dating Stede, he had explored the house up and down, making sure to leave no stone unturned. 

As a little boy, Eddie tended to be mischievous. Now that his Izzy could walk again, it only made for him to want to play... Differently. Play harder. After all, he was happy to have Izzy around, but he couldn't deny that his jealousy got the best of him some of the time.

Izzy was his first. He had been his since they were very young, and he had always listened to Eddie rather than to anyone else. Eddie was his north, his sun. Having Stede take this post was definitely not what Edward wanted. 

Stede was his first. Even when he fostered other littles when they were already dating, the relationship he developed with them was surely not as intense as the relationship he had with Izzy; he was never so loving or so fiercely protective of anyone else but Ed, before. 

In a day in which Ed woke up feeling quite little, but also naughty and moody, of course Izzy would take the brunt of it. Daddy had said, while leaving them on the playroom: "Papa needs to work a little bit more today. I will leave the playroom door unlocked, and you can pick up snacks and drinks in the kitchen, in the little fridge, if you need them, and if you want any of the toys in the downstairs bedrooms, you can get them. The adult playroom is off limits, and so is Papa's office, although you can come to the door get me if you need. Alright, my sweet boys?" 

Both of them had agreed with the sweetest "Yes, Papa/Yes, Daddy". Only, Izzy meant it. He already had gotten in enough trouble lately, and he was feeling very sweet and obedient; Papa had shaved him only this morning, all over, and the process had relaxed him quite a bit. He didn't use to like being shaved, but Papa made such a spa moment out of it that now Izzy asked for it to happen at least once a week.

Eddie knew how to take advantage of a situation when he saw one. Izzy was sitting in front of the TV, watching an episode of Charlie and Lola barely blinking, sipping a bit of watered juice, since his intake of liquids had to be doubled or tripled if he didn't want to go through a medical procedure to have a catheter inserted up his willy to help him pee.

"Iz-zy" He singsonged, walking closer to his little sibling. He knelt by him, receiving a glare and a slap, and tugged Izzy's hair a bit because of it. "Argh, my knee is fiiine! Iz, do you wanna play with me?" He asked, a malicious glint in his eyes.

Izzy always wanted to be near Eddie. If that was true when he was feeling big, when he was little he would do just about anything Ed wanted. A bit breathless to be even considered by his big brother, Izzy nodded. "Yes, Eddie, please! Izzy play?" 

Ed petted Izzy's hair, where he tugged, squinting and smiling. "Izzy play. Izzy will be Eddie's dolly!" 

"Okay", Izzy said, easily. They had a bunch of dollies, and they put them to bed, changed their nappies, gave them a bunch of sloppy kissies... He could be Eddie's dolly. Like Gus, the pirate dolly! "Pirate Izzy?" He asked. 

Gasping, Ed shook his head. "No, no no no. You are too babyish to be a pirate! They're fearsome, you're small and sweet. Itty bitty. No. You are going to be my baby!"

They both had gotten up by then, and Izzy was very pouty. He stomped his foot a bit. "Izzy's big, not sweet!" 

Ed cut him off at once. "You're what I tell you you are. I'm big and you're small. You are going to be my baby. Got it?" He tugged at Izzy's hair again, for good measure. 

Izzy whined, pouting, tears starting to form in his eyes. "Okay, Eddie, Izzy's small." He put his hand over where Ed had tugged, sniffling. "No hurt?" 

That was it. That was the compliant little brother Ed wanted. He caught Izzy in his arms a bit clumsily. "No hurt if you behave. I'm Dada now, and you'll be my baby girl!" Ed spun Izzy around, smiling brightly. 

"But I'm a boy, Eddie!" He complained, starting to get dizzy from being spun. 

"Stop complaining, oh my God, Iz! Now you'll be a girl because I want a dolly in a dress. I'll get the things to change you, you stay good or I'll spank your bum." Ed commanded and marched right out of the playroom and into one of the downstairs rooms, the pink ballerina one. He knew Daddy had a bunch of girl clothes in there, and he would for sure find a pink dress and some bows for Izzy's hair, and a pink paci and a diaper cover to match. This one had strings so it would stay in place, Ed thought. 

When he came back to the playroom with his haul, Izzy was lying belly-down in the playmat, thumb in his mouth. Daddy would be really mad if he saw that Izzy was sucking his thumb because after the stomach flu incident, he was really not allowed. At once, he spanked Izzy's bum once and shoved the paci unceremoniously on his mouth. "Bad baby, you can't suck your thumb! Paci for you." He shook his head, like a tired little Dada. It was hard work taking care of fussy babies. "Now," Eddie said "Dada's gonna help you, little lass. Get up!"

Izzy whined through the paci, and got up, but stomped his feet a bit. "Chu's mean, Dada!" He crossed his arms in front of his chest, shoulders sagging. 

With his best Stede voice, Eddie said. "Dada just wants what's best for you! Dada knows best, little girl." He threw all of his haul on the floor, and looked around. He got Izzy's sippy, which was still full of cold apple juice, and touched the front Izzy's nappy, to check him. He was dry, as expected. That wouldn't do, he couldn't play with a baby who didn't have a full nappy. 

Casually, Ed pulled the front of Izzy's nappy and poured the juice there, slowly enough to make sure it was actually absorbed. He was looking straight into Izzy's eyes, and, although Izzy was squirming and whining and his eyes were welling up, he didn't complain, because Dada knew what was best for him. He didn't like it, though, he really didn't like it. It was cold and sticky in his nappy! 

Once the cup was drained, he patted the front of Izzy's nappy for good measure, like Daddy usually did, and squished Izzy's willy on it a bit, effectively smearing further all of the stickiness. He then dressed Izzy in the frilly, pink nappy cover, pulling the strings tight and tying a bunch of knots, so Izzy couldn't get out of it. 

Now he was ready to begin. 

"Iz, sit down." He commanded, making Izzy sit on his full nappy. He wiggled, trying to get comfortable, but it was not comfortable. He shivered a bit. Eddie, then, with no technique at all, picked up two sections of Izzy's hair, which was still on the longer side, and made two pigtails, adorning them with a couple of bows each. 

He, then, made Izzy put his little arms up and slid off the t-shirt he was wearing, tossing it somewhere in the playroom, and slid down the also quite frilly pink dress. Izzy looked like a cupcake cotton-candy monstrosity hybrid, and he was very pouty. Ed said, though, very sweetly, holding Izzy's chin to make him look up. "You are such a pretty baby girl, you not gonna smile for Dada?" 

Izzy could never resist Eddie. He smiled, and he was feeling his willy tingle a bit, in contact with the wet nappy. But he didn't say anything. "Dolly?" He asked, stretching his arms in front of himself to be picked up. 

Now he was getting it, Ed thought. "Dolly! Upsie-upsie for you, baby?" Izzy nodded, and Eddie picked him up. He started patting his booty, bouncing the baby while walking through the playroom, like a very busy Dada. "Oooooh, what a full nappy, baby girl! I changed you just now, you little tyke!" 

Izzy made a complainy noise, hugging Eddie tighter and feeling his face heat up a lot. "Sowwy, Dada." 

"Don't let it repeat itself", Ed said, nose in the air, an arrogant air about him. He sat down in Papa's reading chair, placing Izzy on his legs and bouncing him a bit more, making the dress he dressed Izzy in go up and down, and Izzy's face was red as a beetroot, matching the dress quite well. "Now, Dada is gonna tell you a bedtime story."

Izzy squinted a bit. "But Eddie, it's sunny! It's day!" 

Ed gave Izzy's outer thigh a very mean pinch, which was sure to bruise. "If Dada says it's bedtime, it's bedtime! You bad girl, you don't know how to play pretend?" 

Izzy felt truly chastised at that. "Sowwy, Dada", he said again, laying his head on Eddie's shoulder and swinging his legs to the other side of his lap, so he could properly lay on Eddie. 

Ed, himself, kept thinking: what do stinking babies do? They sleep, they use their nappies and they cry. So, his to-do list had a few things to go. He had faked Izzy using his nappy, but he was sure he could make him use it for real. He was rocking the baby, so he could fake sleep soon. He had to make the baby cry a bit, for the acting's sake. 

He decided that if he could make the baby wet himself for real, he probably could make him cry as well. So he started doing as Daddy did, pressing over Izzy's bladder quite firmly, and wiggling his hand. 

"You've gotta wet now, Iz! Dada says!"

Izzy startles, letting out a pained whine. "Dada, hurts, Izzy can't!" He really thought he couldn't. He had drank plenty of fluids, Papa had been giving him at least two weekly IVs, but his bladder just wouldn't cooperate!

"Bull--" if he said anything improper, he was sure to summon Daddy with his slippers to slap his booty. "You've gotta do whatever Dada tells you. Feel how wet your nappy is!" Ed pressed, making the juice squeeze out of the nappy's padding a bit, and Izzy shivered at it. Ed adjusted Izzy on his lap, his back to Ed's chest, and leaned him back just enough to be able to press again and squeeze his little dick through the nappy for good measure. 

Izzy closes his eyes, and... Pushes. He tries to relax his lower body, he feels that his bladder is full, but he feels too nervous to let go. 

Eddie is not all mean. They're playing house and he's Dada, but he remembers that Izzy had this issue since they were actual kids. He tried to remember what he'd do to help, while still pressing.

'Tickles!', he remembered. Merciless tickles, until Izzy could barely breathe.

He changed positions, throwing Izzy on the foamy playmat and sitting on top of his legs. He warned, eyes dark. "Dada's gonna help. If you try to be naughty Dada will spank you until your bum... Falls." He says. If it was anyone else, Izzy would have whined, complained, or struggled. It's Eddie, Eddie's always right and Izzy always obeys Eddie even if he doesn't like it - and he doesn't like it. 

Ed starts to mercilessly tickle Izzy all over his sensitive spots - under his arms, over his ribs, on his tummy, on his neck, over his ribs again, reaching back for his knees and foot. 

Izzy squeals and laughs, struggling, but not trying to get away because he knows better. He's overwhelmed: the feelings are too intense, but Dada won't stop, won't stop. 

It's then that he relaxes just enough for his bladder to let go. He starts to wee in his nappy, a weak, little dribbly stream at first. He shivers, his cold nappy slowly becoming fuller and warmer. He closes his eyes and holds onto Ed's arms who, when noticing what's happening, stops the tickling and just holds the baby, patting his head. "Good baby, fill your nappy. Good baby." 

Izzy is so relieved by the release that he does start crying, just like Eddie planned. It's a quiet thing at first, that evolves into sobbing very soon. 

"Pretty girl, Dada's here!" Eddie pulls his baby girl sideways onto his lap, shushing Izzy and cradling him, "You super full, matey? All done?" 

Izzy shakes his head, still going. He can feel his nappy becoming overfull, it will leak. It will leak. In a despaired move, he tells Eddie "Dada, please! Izzy's nappy, full!" He's still crying, even harder than before. 

Ed pulls a face at that. " 'Tis supposed to!" He pulls Izzy's dress up a bit to look at the nappy becoming swollen between Izzy's legs, and pokes at it. "Pretty princess, full nappy like a good girl." He looks around. It's naptime now, so swaddle. He gets off of Izzy and gets one of the stretchy blankets Daddy always uses to swaddle the baby, but Eddie doesn't know how to swaddle. So he just rolls a struggling Izzy on top of the blankie, bodily pinning him down while he tied up the blanket with a bunch of weird knots, leaving Izzy no room for movement at all. He was more careful around his leg, though; he didn't want to have to take off the prosthethics. 

"Dada!" Izzy cried out, rolling from side to side, trying to loosen the knots. "Izzy's icky, not sleepy!" 

Ed rolls his eyes. It's such a hard job to be a Dada. He picks up the pink paci and shoves into Izzy's mouth, warning. "Dada says it's naptime now. So it's naptime now. You gonna nap." Ed sat back on the floor, pulling Izzy's head onto his lap. "I'm gonna tell you a story. It's about the little princess who got stuck in the tower. Once upon a time, there was a little princess who was very nosy and annoying and cried a lot. She got into a castle and got stuck in a tower because she was nosy." Ed stated, petting Izzy's hair roughly. "Then a pretty awesome king got into the castle and heard the crying princess. He got into the tower and saved the princess. He gave her a spankie 'cause she was nosy and whiny, then he put her to bed and she ni-nighted. The end." He stopped petting Izzy to ask. "Sleep yet?"

Izzy had an overfull nappy leaking into a tied-up nappy cover; he was 'swaddled' in a very, very tight manner and was being petted roughly. The person doing all of those things was Eddie, though. And Eddie was Dada now. Izzy allowed himself to relax, suckling hard on his paci and allowing himself to drift to sleep. It was okie, Eddie was there and Papa would come soon. He could sleep. 

***

From the office, Stede had watched the full interaction, unable to focus on work. His boys were such good boys, so sweet playing together. Stede couldn't help but adjust his trousers, uncomfortable at the newfound volume on them. He wanted to touch himself properly; he had a little boy to shower in praises, though. 

How sweet was being a Papa.

Chapter Text

Izzy was being allowed in the big bed with Stede and Ed a lot more since the last time he got sick (which is to say, at most twice a week, but considering that the first instance was 'never', Izzy felt good about it). He loved being allowed to sleep with them because he could nuzzle on Eddie and on Papa, he could nest on their things (Eddie would always find a way to lose his shirt during the night since they were kids), and, especially, he could wake them up with cuddles and kisses and nibbles. 

Papa had been trying to teach Izzy to be more gentle, but he was going through a puppy-play phase. He loved dogs, he only wanted to watch things that had dogs on them, and he wanted to play puppies all the time. Izzy would hump anything that stayed still for too long, he would lick people's faces and he would playfully bite everyone and everything - all of his rubber toys had teeth marks by now (and a few of the non-rubber ones as well). 

Stede was at his wit's end because of that; Izzy had such a predisposition to get sick, he couldn't stay putting everything into his mouth, all the time - that, and the bites he gave really hurt, even though he thought he was being as gentle as possible. The little one was just too excitable. 

To say he was unhappy to be awakened with a bite, was a little bit of an understatement. To say he was stunned to have his morning wood bitten and suckled at, was a lot of an understatement. 

"Israel!" He exclaimed, getting his little one by the scruff of the neck, but not pulling because he was still nibbling on his dick through his pajama pants. 

Izzy understood the exclamation as something good (Papa had a very distinctive Izzy-don't-do-that voice), so he kept nibbling on Papa, wiggling his bum as if he had a tail to wag.  

Stede had quite the conflicting feelings about this. On the one hand, he didn't want to entertain anything similar to what was happening, or what his mind was supplying that his little one could do for him in this position. On the other hand, his body was absolutely ready to allow his little boy to milk him dry. "Israel", he said, more firmly. "Israel, Papa's boy bits are not a bone!" A 'boner, more likely' his mind unhelpfully supplied. "If you don't let go right now, you are going to get a thorough spanking!" 

Izzy let go, sitting back on his knees, being careful about his remaining leg. He was pouting now, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "But Papa! Izzy playing!" 

Stede sat up himself, rubbing at his face. His body couldn't let go of the sensation of his baby nibbling on his dick as the first order of business in the morning. His voice was gentle, but there was a bit of steel under it - it had to have. "Israel, Papa can touch you all over without asking because Papa takes care of you, Papa knows what you need. You, however, have to ask Papa first if you want to touch Papa, especially in his private bits. Do you understand me, little bird?"  

Izzy deflated a little more. He licked his lips, making grabby hands towards Papa. "But 'twas good, Papa's tasty!" He huffs. "How can Izzy be puppy with no play?" 

Stede considers it. Well. He supposes he could allow his sweet little boy to play, not to discourage his creativity and regression, and then teach him the consequences of playing without Papa's permission. That was always a possibility. "Alright, alright." He acquiesces, beckoning his little one closer. Once he is sure all of Izzy’s attention is on his words, he says. "Papa can let Puppy play now, but Puppy has to know that there will be a few consequences for playing without asking Papa first. Do you think we have a deal, Puppy?" His face was quite solemn while offering the options, but his voice was gentle as always. He really did not want to discourage Izzy's playing. Especially this type of playing. It was healthy for the baby, he just needed to draw the lines, Stede told himself. 

Izzy sighed, contently. Papa was so nice. Puppy could play! Papa was right, he didn't ask for permission, but even when he got consequences, he got his hugs and kissies after, so it was ok. He really, really wanted to play. With that in mind, he nodded. "Okay, Papa!” Impatiently, though, he asked. “Puppy plays now?" He was wiggling his padded bum again, and Stede made a mental note to buy him a nice, fluffy puppy tail and floppy puppy ears if this phase went on for longer. 

Stede then laid back down, and winked at Izzy, signaling he was ready to play. He pretended to be asleep again, making some obnoxious snoring sounds. 

Izzy felt giddy. He got on all fours on the bed, and, in an impulse, pulled Papa's pants down a bit, so he could really play. Stede felt dizzy at that. Izzy got closer to his bone, and turned his head sideways, starting to nibble on the longer part of Stede's cock - Izzy had a lot of space to work with -, making sure to be careful not to bite too hard; Izzy’s gotta be gentle, Papa always said. Izzy's gotta be gentle. 

Holding back the moans was on his top three most difficult things about this play for Stede. The other two things were not shoving his baby's head on his dick and not fucking his mouth until he was nothing but a drooling mess. He kept reminding himself that he had Edward for that. 

The baby was so sweet in his nibbling, though. He felt like he would explode when, along with the small bites, Izzy started lapping at his cock, licking up all of the pre-come that was dribbling freely from the very tip of his dick. "Tasty!" he muttered, and fake-barked, as he continued nibbling, now doing so where the 'tasty' fluid was coming from. Izzy moved on the bed, laying on top of Papa's legs and effectively humping them, his full nappy making the friction all the better for both parties involved. 

Stede couldn't even let his little one know what was going to happen, so surprised he was by the punch his orgasm packed. His come spurted out of his dick, and Izzy, instead of being disgusted, or pulling away, or even being scared, just exclaimed, with bright eyes and a smile "Milkies, Papa! For Izzy!" and latched right onto his cock, effectively sucking him dry. 

His little darling would be the death of him. 

Stede had thoroughly cleaned both of them, making sure they were both in comfortable, practical everyday clothing. After sucking him dry, Izzy was a bit drowsy, thoroughly relaxed, as if he had done the day's work, so Stede settled on the bed with his little one laying on his lap, cuddling him sweetly and petting his disheveled hair. 

"Is my Puppy feeling well? Ready to start the day?" Papa asked with a smile. 

Izzy gave a big, big yawn and stretched a bit, holding onto Papa's legs and hiding his face on Papa's belly. "No start, Papa, Izzy's... Sloth! Baby sloth, not Puppy." 

That startled a laugh out of Stede. The baby really was going through an animal phase. "Well, baby Sloth, I know you are feeling very, very lazy, but we have at least one matter to take care of. Could you please sit nicely so Papa can explain what is going to happen, my sweet little one?" 

Izzy wanted to forget this part of the agreement. But rules were rules, and he was obedient, not naughty, so he slowly sat upright, stretching his hand to catch Papa's. 

"Good boy, thank you, my little love." He said, allowing Izzy to hold one of his hands. "Papa loves to play with you, peanut. But it was very naughty to play with Papa without permission. Papa knows exactly how to handle little boys like you, lovey, that's why Papa can play with you without asking. You are still very little, and you could hurt yourself, or Papa, starting to play without asking. Also, biting is sort of a naughty thing to do, and Papa would prefer if you didn't." Izzy was very attentive while looking at Papa, even if he was fidgeting with the rings in Papa's hand. He nodded his understanding. "There will be two consequences for what happened in the morning, and then we can go on with our day. Okay?" Izzy nodded again. "Papa needs your big boy words, please, darling."

"Okay, Papa... What will happen to Izzy?" He asked, a little nervous. He knew that even if the consequences hurt, Papa always forgave him. He just... Disliked the process very much. 

"Such a good boy for asking. Because you have been biting a lot, and many times, not gently, Papa will spread a little bit of a hot sauce Papa saves for naughty boys only all over your mouth. You won't be allowed to wipe it clean, and if you do, you are going to get a very stingy spanking. For playing with Papa without permission, the consequence will be something called a figging. Do you know what that is, peanut?"

Izzy was already shaking a bit because of the hot sauce. He didn't do well with anything spicy, so he would hate that. He shook his head because he didn't know what a figging was. 

"You will find out when Papa shows you, then, peanut. Now, we should get going with all of this. Would you like to stay here, in Papa's bedroom, while you wait, or would you like to put on your leg and go down with Papa to gather everything we need?" Stede asked sweetly, pulling his little one closer so he could hug him and pepper his face with soft kisses. 

Izzy reveled in the touches and took a moment to really think. Papa didn't like it when he answered without consideration. "Can Izzy stay in Papa's bed? Smell like Papa, and Eddie. Izzy likes." 

Stede chuckled, and squeezed the sweet boy in his arms, rocking him a little bit. "Of course you can, peanut! Papa will take ten minutes downstairs. You can look at the TV, Papa can leave the clock on for you to check. Deal?" 

Izzy nodded. "Deal, Papa."

***

Papa was always very good with time management. When the clock was marking 7 seconds left for ten minutes to end, he entered the room, carrying a tray with a bunch of things. There were clearly breakfast things, Izzy's formula bottle and other nibbles, but also Izzy could see a spoon full of a dark red, viscous liquid and something that looked like Izzy's play plug, but much smaller and... Knobby. 

"Alright, peanut, no dawdling now. Papa will do your figging first, then the hot sauce treatment. You will stay with both on for ten minutes and then everything will be forgiven." 

Izzy looked like a baby owl, all covered by Papa's comforters, just his wide eyes visible. 

He was a very nice boy, however, and Papa had softened him some already, with the cuddles, and the milkies and the kisses. He got out from under the covers, taking care not to get his remaining leg caught, and asked Papa. "What Izzy do?"

"Very good, little one. Papa's very pleased. You can lay with your belly down, and Papa will undo your nappy. Even if it burns, Papa doesn't want any squirming. Okay?"

Izzy nodded, solemnly. He then put himself into the position Papa requested. Papa pushed his legs apart and put a pillow under his hips, and undid his fresh nappy. 

The insertion process of the ginger root was, actually, quite ok. Izzy was very relaxed, and Papa took his time stretching the boy before inserting it. Once the flared base of it was the only thing out - and Stede made sure to carve it very widely -, Papa closed his nappy again and made Izzy sit up. 

He didn't tell the boy what he was about to feel. 

"Now," Papa said, after having Izzy sitting at the edge of the bed "I need you to be very brave. Can you be my brave little angel?" Papa asked, caressing Izzy's face tenderly, the spoon of hot sauce in hand.

Izzy was starting to feel a warm feeling blooming in his bottom. The spoon was not a tablespoon; it was just a teaspoon. He could do that. He nodded, then. "Papa hold Izzy?" He asks, for good measure. 

"Oh, peanut, of course! Open very wide for Papa now, please." Without waiting too much, as soon as Izzy opened his mouth, Stede fed him the hot sauce. "Swallow now, lovey." Izzy did because his other option was to spit and he didn't feel too bratty at all, with his bum starting to actually burn; just as much as his mouth. 

Stede put aside the spoon and hugged his little boy, who had his mouth fully open, trying to diminish the terrible burning sensation in his mouth. 

It didn't take too long for Izzy to start to full-on cry, hugging his Papa for dear life. He was wiggling his bum, trying to expel the... Thing from it (to no avail: his nappy was thick and tight, and was keeping most of the ginger root in place, or worse, just pushing it back inside. At the same time, he had his tongue out, just like a drooly puppy, and had taken to fully sob. Quite a bit of snot was running from his nose (even a bit into his mouth, to Stede's absolute disgust), and he was crying heartily. Everything burned so much; he underestimated the hot sauce, and he just wanted all of the feelings out, out, out!

His little boy looked so pretty, Stede thought. 

He held Izzy in place, rubbing soothing circles on his back, for the next ten minutes, as promised. "There, there, little angel... That's what happens to naughty boys, but you are doing so well! Just a little longer, now..." 

***

Izzy's situation was pitiful once Papa undid his nappy to take away the ginger root, noticing how his little cock was interested in the proceedings, and held a monogrammed handkerchief to his nose, so he could blow. He was sweaty, and felt like he was all on fire! He was also quite breathless and thirsty, unable to talk much, since he felt his tongue had swollen at least two sizes. 

Stede meticulously put everything related to the punishment away, and very, very carefully cleaned up his little one. He then retrieved the cold bottle of formula and manhandled the baby onto his lap. 

"Will you bite Papa, or play with Papa without permission again, my favorite little darling?" He asked, pushing Izzy's hair gently away from his sweaty forehead. 

Izzy shook his head, feeling quite unable to talk. 

"That is quite right, little one. Milky time now, you will feel right as rain in a moment." He allowed the little one to latch onto the bottle, soothing him. He would like his cold bottle today, with the special addition Papa had mixed into it. His beloved little one loved everything that came from Papa, after all.

Chapter Text

Izzy absolutely hated the rain. When it was just a weak shower, it was annoying. When it was a fully-flushed storm, it was scary.

As a child, especially in the two or three times he ran away from the system, storms were the scariest thing that could happen. There was nowhere safe from the water and, even more so, the thunder.

He used to wet himself thoroughly because of the sound, every time. When he became an adult, he knew just to ride down storms in the bathroom, to keep the mess to a minimum.

Ed also disliked storms, but not as much as Izzy. He tried to be nice and comfort his baby, but he was not too good at that before Stede showed him how.

Stede had no issues with rains and storms, having always been safe from them, but he had met many a little who disliked it.

None of them, however, cowered as Israel did at the mere mention of rain.

The first time they went through a rainy day together, Stede was actually quite excited, because he had so many rainy day activities he wanted to do with his baby. They would make Play-Doh together, get out the costumes to play pretend, read and cuddle cosily near the fireplace, watch a nice movie drinking a nice bottle of cocoa... Stede got to the playroom with his arms full of craft supplies, but what he found, instead of the sleepy, relaxed baby he left watching Little Bear, was a cowering, trembling mess of a baby, hiding under all of the quilts and blankets he could find.

That, of course, would never do. It was nothing but a little bit of spring rain, a very light shower with barely any lightning at all, and no thunder.

Papa wouldn't undermine his little darling's trauma responses, but he could care for him. He left all of the supplies he was carrying near the door and went near the blanket pile. "The rain is not that much fun, is it, peanut?" He said, gentle, pulling just the corners of the blankets, just enough to be able to see a trembling little hand.

The blankets shook in a way that Papa interpreted as a 'no'.

"I know, little love. Papa didn't know you didn't like the rain. Do you want to come sit on Papa's lap?"

Izzy made a few movements under the blankets, stalling as the patter of water in the windows became stronger. "Papa will protect you from everything, my dearest love. It's ok. You can bring your blankets."

Slowly, through a lot of coaxing and cooing, Izzy ended up sitting on Papa's lap. He had his legs around Stede's waist, and he was hiding his face on his Papa's chest. When he finally spoke, it was the saddest little sound. "Why rains, Papa? Bad, Izzy don't like it!"

"Oh, my love! It needs to rain for so many reasons! So many things in nature need the rain to work properly... The rain is not bad, it's a friend!" Papa explained, hugging his little boy quite tightly to his chest and petting his lovely hair. It did look much better when cropped; it made his baby look even smaller.

"But Izzy doesn't care 'bout silly nature." He grumbles, half-heartedly and quite pouty.

Stede gasps theatrically at that, slapping at the baby's thigh. "Oh, that is such a mean thing to say! I won't have an unkind baby."

"Owie, Papa!" He whines, scrambling to put some distance between Papa and himself. "Hurt Izzy!"

Stede, of course, doesn't let Izzy get too far. "What has made my sweet boy so sour?" He is holding his baby in a way that allows him to look properly at his face.

"... 'Fraid of rain, Papa." He mutters, after a moment. Izzy pulls his hands to his front, between Papa's chest and his tummy, and starts picking at Papa's shirt buttons.

"I see", Stede says, in an understanding register. "And what has made my darling so afraid of a little bit of silly water?" He asks, his mouth twisted in a concerned moue.

"Too much, Papa." Izzy scours his brain for better ways of telling Papa that he has spent many a night absolutely unprotected from the rain, and that the noise scares him, and that he has seen too many a little animal get killed by lightning. He just manages, eloquently. "Little Izzy, on the rain."

Stede feels like he understands it, but he does want to help his little one to express himself better. "You went in the rain, dearheart?" He pats Izzy all over. "You are not wet, my love; don't lie to Papa!"

Izzy grunts in frustration. "Nooooo, Papa! Little Izzy, small!"

"Darling, you are small." Papa says, evenly. "Do you mean young, peanut? You went in the rain when you were younger?"

Izzy nodded, relieved. "Yes, Papa! Young!" He resumed his story. "Izzy ran, bad people. Rain, rain, lots, and... Kabooms!"

Stede maneuvers Izzy so his boy is basically laying on his lap, like they do for bottle time. He, then, clarifies. "You ran away when you were younger because of bad people - bad foster parents, little bird?" Izzy nods. "And then you spent time in the rain, and it was scary because of the thunder. Is that what you mean to tell Papa?"

Izzy sighs in relief, and nods.

Papa's pinky moved with feather-light strokes along the bridge of Izzy's nose, each touch so soft, like he does when he wants Izzy to become sleepy. "Papa is so sorry that has happened to you, darling. Do you know what we can do to make the rain stop?"

Mollified, Izzy shakes his head. "Dunno, Papa... What?"

Stede smiles softly. "There is a little song they goes like this: rain, rain, go away, come again another day! Little Izzy wants to play, rain, rain, go away! Do you want to sing with Papa, to help the rain to find another place to go?" He asked, as he kept caressing Izzy's face, rocking him ever-so-gently.

In the sweetest little voice, tugging his blankets over himself, Izzy asks. "Papa sings? Make rain go?"

Stede beamed. "Of course, my favorite little baby. Papa will make the rain go away."

***

It kept raining all throughout the week. Stede had gotten better at managing Izzy's fear, making sure to always have a distraction ready to go for when it drizzled on the outside. He discovered that Ed also disliked the rain, but not quite as much as Izzy did, so he made sure to have the curtains always drawn while it rained, and to have any sounds playing loudly (but unobtrusively) enough to drown out the sound of the rain. Izzy was particularly fond of the rain song, now.

He was not counting on a summer storm at the beginning of spring.

He had been working in the office when the first bout of thunder boomed, lightning making the whole house blink. He had left Izzy in his nursery since he had taken a liking to playing in there, making the space more his. It would be an absolute disaster if he tried to run downstairs on his own, afraid, not yet completely used to his prosthetics.

When Stede got upstairs, to the nursery, his baby wasn't there. "Izzy?" He called, already looking in the bathroom - although a baby had no business in there without Papa -, and then into the closet. He couldn't find his baby.

Stede was worried, of course, but he ran for his baby as soon as he heard the thunder because he knew it would scare the daylights out of him. He tried for the two other bedrooms near Izzy's, looking around and calling for him in a sing-song manner, to no avail. He tried his own bedroom, which was much bigger and had many more hiding spots, but he didn't get any responses. He went into his auxiliary wardrobe and his own bathroom, and they were just as he left them. Only one option was left, which was the library.

If Stede told anyone that having to frantically look for the baby didn't annoy him, it would be a lie - it did, of course it did. But Izzy was such a good boy that Stede didn't mind having to deal with this; most of the times in which he did anything naughty were a trauma response, anyway. He would care for his baby, and that would be it.

As soon as he entered the dark library, his figure was ominously illuminated by lightning, followed by another crash of thunder. He didn't have the time to look for his baby, because, at the sound, Izzy scrambled on the floor to hug Papa's legs, sobbing uncontrollably, his little face twisted in a sorrowful frown.

Stede crouched immediately, trying to gather his puddle of a baby in his arms. "Oh, there, there, little one! Papa's here, Papa's found you. Do you think Mr. Thunder is very angry? Yes, yes, I do too..." He inanely muttered, trying to distract his darling. He got up, pulling Izzy upright and noticing the weirdest thing; his onesie was open, and his nappy lay forgotten on Stede's wooden floors, leaking and overused. You see; it couldn't have been something that happened on the spot, not with how overused it was. Izzy knows to find Papa or Eddie if he feels like he used his nappies too much, and he knows he is absolutely not allowed to touch them.

Izzy is blinking owlishly at Papa, looking like the proverbial deer in the headlights. He knows that he shouldn't have touched his nappy, but it was too heavy, to uncomfortable after he had an accident because of the thunder! And how would he find Papa if he was hiding? But it was heavy, and itchy, and he-- He had to take it off!

"Israel, darling" Papa said evenly. "Why is your nappy on the floor?" He asked, directing Izzy's face to look at him quite gently. He could see Izzy was welling up already, grabbing at his shirt in a way that was sure to wrinkle terribly. He didn't answer, not with words, but he looked at Papa pleadingly.

Did his little boy do it on purpose to be punished?

They had been talking, in their family talking sessions, about coping mechanisms, and Izzy, as much as he could, had volunteered that, anytime he fucked up or that he was afraid, he tried to get someone to hurt him - mostly Ed.

Papa would not hurt him. However, while he would prefer not to encourage this type of harmful behavior, he couldn't allow for this to go unpunished, and his boy did need the distraction. Later, when Izzy had his bum thoroughly warmed and had an appropriately thick nappy on, he would talk to him about why that was absolutely not proper and why that could never happen again; he could ask Papa for anything without having to be a naughty little brat.

"Very well. Israel, go fetch your soggy nappy from the floor. Bring it to Papa, please, and march your bottom to Papa's bedroom at once." He said, looking straight into his little boy's eyes, combing a hand through his hair to push the short strands away from his face affectionately. Obediently, Izzy went, picked up his heavy, soggy nappy from the floor, and marched himself to Papa's bedroom, with Papa right behind him. Once they were both in the cozy room, he handed Papa the nappy, and kept pacing a small square of carpet, little cock hanging limply and arms hugging himself. "Papa will throw away your dirty nappy and wipe you clean. Then, you will have a very important meeting with Ms. Brush over Papa's lap, little boy." Izzy gulped, but nodded. "Well, then! Come along."

***

Izzy was thoroughly wiped by Papa with the warm wipes he kept in most bathrooms and changing rooms. He was then taken by the hand and sat down at the foot of Papa's bed, and Papa took his sweet time to turn on the fireplace and put on the TV one of those ambient sound videos that he liked - for the looks of the image on the video, it looked to be a library one.

Once everything was ready, Papa sat on the bed by Izzy and took his hand. "Very well, peanut. Do you know why you are getting a hairbrush spanking today?"

Izzy answered right away. " 'Coz Izzy's naughty and bad and took away nappy without Papa."

Stede chuckled, slapping Izzy's hand mildly. "No. Don't talk like that about my baby boy, please and thank you. You are getting a spanking because, in your own way, you asked Papa. You are always allowed to ask Papa for what you feel like you need, my darling. Of course, Papa will make the final decision if he thinks that is what you need, but you will never be ignored. You don't need to be naughty in order to get what you need. Now, if you were afraid of the thunder, why didn't you come get Papa? You knew where I was."

Izzy looked down into his lap, kicking at the floor idly. "Too scared, Papa... Didn't think, then--" He made an adorable water sound, to say that he wet himself. "Then took off, cause t'was leaky." He amends, quickly. "Sowwy, Papa."

Stede had been noticing how much Izzy's speech pattern had been changing. That was always an interesting thing to observe in little ones, but he never had a little that regressed quite so much. Interesting. "Thank you for being open with Papa, little bird. You are still going to have your little bottom very much spanked, but after you are nice and diapered again, you can watch a movie, cuddling with Papa, in Papa's bed. How does it sound? Eddie should be here soon, as well."

Izzy went pale. "Eddie's in the rain?"

***

It took Stede ten more minutes to calm down his trashing baby. Izzy threw an almighty tantrum, babbling incoherently something about Ed, and Stede was at his wits' end. He manhandled Izzy so his little boy was over his lap, and started raining blows of his hand until Izzy settled enough.

He then got the hairbrush. He had hardly ever spanked Izzy with anything but his hand and his slipper, so he was careful to gauge the baby's reaction after the first blow. Izzy startled, and grabbed onto the comforter, but didn't say anything, just bit his lower lip, bracing for the next bout of impact.

That wouldn't do, of course. Gently, Stede pried his lip away from his teeth, saying "You are not to hurt yourself, Israel, no-no-no. You can cry as much as you need, but none of that nonsense now. You have nine strikes to go, and I would like if you counted, please."

"O-one, Papa!" He hiccuped, hiding his face at another thunder sound. Stede soothed him a bit by rubbing his back before hitting him once more, and once again, and one more time. By the fourth or fifth hits, Izzy was already quite unable to properly form the words, equal parts relaxed into the spanking and further regressed - unlike the day they used the paddle, for example, even though the types of pain were somewhat similar.

"Go on," Papa prompts gently. "You can say 'five, Papa'!"

" 'Ive, Baba" Izzy slurs, wiggling his sore booty. The impact of the hairbrush was different from what he was used to from Papa's hand. His brain felt way too fuzzy, and, even though it hurt, Izzy felt like he was floating above it, watching the scene unfold from a distance.

Stede made quick work of finishing the spanking, prompting Izzy to count quite half-heartedly. He could see that his little one was in a bit of a different headspace, and that was not a bad thing.

***

Once the spanking was quite finished, Papa rubbed his bum firmly. "Are you feeling a little better, my little lamb?" He asks, adjusting Izzy so his bum is hanging between Papa's thighs and he's cradled to Papa's chest.

The rain had subsided, and so had Izzy's anxiety.

"Yesh, Baba..." He answers, eyes hazy and unfocused.

"Oh, goodness gracious! Little one, you are feeling so small, aren't you?" Papa rubs Izzy's tummy, making him squeal, delighted. Papa feels a surge of affection, attacking his little boy with hugs, and kisses, and squeezies. Izzy is all pliant and meek, trying to kiss Papa back. "Dear lord, Papa could simply eat you up! Let's take your little leg off, change Izzy and cuddle very tight until Eddie comes home?"

"Dee home!" Izzy squeals, showing Papa his leg so he can unhook everything and take Izzy to be changed.

***

In less than 15 minutes Izzy is bundled up in the cutest kitty cat footsie pj's, nicely diapered, hidden under Papa's thick covers while tightly hugging his Papa, and being hugged back, sucking absent-mindedly on his paci.

Rainy days are not so bad, after all.

Chapter Text

In the months in which Izzy had been living with Stede, his Papa was never out of the house without him. Any time he needed to run an errand, he took his little boy right along with him - when he couldn't borrow anyone's time to do it for him. 

Today, however, he would need to do an at-home call to a patient who was really needing to talk, but unable to come over. Ed offered to take Izzy to the studio, to spend the day with him, like in old times.

Stede wasn't exactly thrilled to have the baby in the studio alone with Ed, but Frenchie was unable to babysit and he felt like he should trust his lover a bit more; he had helped to keep Izzy alive for the past few decades ('In what condition?' His brain supplied unhelpfully). 

Izzy himself was thrilled, bouncing around excitedly asking if it was already 'Eddie time'.

Stede tried not to feel jealous. Both of them were effectively his, his lover and his baby, dependent on him, the loves of his life. But to think they had decades together before they even met him made something sour boil in his gut. 

'No matter', he thought, while finishing dressing his little one in a quite colorful pair of overalls that Izzy himself was not the biggest fan of, but that Stede thought looked adorable on him. 

***

Getting to the studio, Izzy all but ran to Ed's arms, basically leaving Stede behind. Of course, he came back to cuddle and kiss his Papa, but it didn't feel the same. With a clear expression of distaste, Stede left. 

***

Izzy wanted to play with Ed's tattoo guns. In his past life, he was the one to tattoo most of Ed's designs where he couldn't reach to do it himself, so he was itching to play, upon seeing all the new things Ed had, and the beautiful new inks Stede had bought him. 

Ed was quick to notice the look on Izzy's face. "Do you wanna doodle Ed, baby?" He asked, delighted to have Izzy for himself for a bit, unsupervised. 

Izzy squealed through his paci, wiggling excitedly in the stool he was sitting on, legs swinging in the air. "Yesh! Doodle Eddie, doodle Eddie! ...Daddy!" 

Ed choked a bit. He heard it wrong, right? He was Izzy's big bro at most, and Izzy never gave him a title. "Daddy?" He asked, as if to check. 

Izzy thought for a bit. Then, he nodded, smiling behind his paci, confidently. "Daddy! Izzy's Daddy! Papa and Daddy!" He squinted a bit. "You... Wanna be Daddy, Eddie?" 

Ed decided to run with it, heart full of emotion. After everything that happened, Izzy still wanted him around, and wanted to consider him for such a position? He tried to emulate Stede's confidence right away. "Daddy's gonna get all ready then." 

Quickly enough, Ed had gathered the single-needle gun, a bunch of colors, and had turned around on the table to show Izzy his lower back, so he could doodle there. He then prepared the baby as well with gloves and he spread the numbing gel where he could, making sure everything was safe. 

"You remember what to do, mate?" He asked, ready to instruct him again if necessary. Izzy shook his head, looking very serious and concentrated.

"Lay down, Daddy! Izzy's in charge." He said, making Ed snort a laugh, but lay down properly. Izzy, on his side, was not the most coordinated as a baby, but the muscle memory from years tattooing Ed kicked in quite quickly.

He wrote Izzy + Dada in his childish scrabble, adding a bunch of little hearts around it, and doodled a stick figure that looked like Papa when he was sternly telling them off, his golden hair and teal coat quite recognizable.

Izzy got bored very soon, though, and asked Ed, handing him the gun. "Dada, do Izzy now!"

Ed felt a chill running down his spine, refusing to hold the gun right away. Stede would have his hide if he tattooed the baby. 

Unless...

"Da can't do any new designs without your Papa's say-so, but I can redo one of the older ones. How does that sound, baby?" He offered. All the three of them always forgot that whatever Ed said, was the most valid option for Izzy. So, of course he would agree.

The baby squealed and nodded. "Star! Do Izzy's star?"

It was fading, indeed. He could redo it, and Stede wouldn't even notice. "Sure! Hop on the table, bunny-boy." 

Easily, he redid the inking in Izzy's little face star, which was really fading. Instead of crying at the pain of the needle scraping at his skin, the little freak was actually giggling and wiggling his foot - not too much as not to make Daddy make a mistake, but just enough to let out the giddy energy he was feeling. 

It was the first tattoo Ed did at all, on anyone. It was his claim on a very young Izzy. It felt appropriate to redo it now, Ed felt.

Izzy was quite relaxed laying on the table, sucking on his paci and holding onto the stuffie he had brought with him (Louis was not allowed outside since Izzy almost lost him at the park the other day). They had come so far, Izzy thought absented-mindedly. He liked his new life quite a lot. 

***

When Stede got to the studio, he felt a little better, a little bit less jealous. Having to handle a patient in crisis had put in perspective his own feelings about his own life.  

Ed and Izzy were already doing something else when he entered the studio; it was hard to ignore his shirtless boyfriend with fresh, childish ink on his lower back, however, and the glowing red around the ink-black star on Izzy's face. 

Harder still to ignore was how Izzy was clinging to Edward, and calling him 'Daddy'. You see; with Edward being Stede's partner, it was wonderful that his-- their little boy considered Edward as a parental figure. To have that happen without him around, out of his control, was less than ideal. 

"Hem, hem." Stede cleared his throat quite prissily, hands folded in front of himself. With all that he could see that had happened, the boys would, both, be in for a big punishment.

Both Ed and Izzy startled a bit, but not for long. Izzy, barefoot, to Stede's absolute chagrin, ran towards Papa, latching onto him like a limpet and peppering whatever he could reach of Papa's face with kisses. "Papa, Papa! Miss'chu!" 

Ed was quick to join the fold, holding both of his loves in a warm embrace - partly because he missed Stede, and partly to divert his attention from Ed's misdeeds. " 'Twas not the same without you, love. We missed you!" 

Stede was not about to allow himself to be swayed by their sweet attentions. "I did miss both of you quite a lot as well. I am under the impression, however, that you may have played with things that were not quite proper." 

Both of them had the decency to blush. Izzy was about to start talking, but Ed was quicker. "Baby wanted to play with the guns, so I let him doodle on me. It's fine, Stede! He knows how to do it, he did a pretty good job; didn't you, bug?" He finished with a smile, ruffling Izzy's hair affectionately as the boy nodded. 

"That is quite fine, Edward, but a tattoo gun is not an appropriate thing for a little one to play with. Also; did you tattoo his face?" Stede asked, testily, holding Izzy's face and turning it to see it better. He knew that the horrible star was there already, but it was thankfully very faded; now his baby had a very visible face tattoo. Wonderful. 

Izzy shook his head, protectively changing his hold from Stede to Ed, and mumbling, pouty. "S'pwetty, Papa. Dada's star!" 

"Well." Stede tsked, breathing in deep. "Have you finished your workday, Ed, dear?" 

"Yeah, I've got no clients today." Ed answered, eyebrows knit in doubt. 

"Very good. Let us go home, and we will talk there. How does that sound?" Although it was technically a question, both knew that going home was not up for discussion. Quietly, they nodded and got everything ready to go to the car. 

*** 

Stede asked Ed to drive home, needing a quiet moment to think. What he wanted was to have both of the boys over his knee for a sound spanking. He understood, however, that acting purely on emotion would be quite prejudicial to their relationship as a whole, and to Ed and Izzy's relationship. For example, in the mindset that Ed and Izzy were, punishing Ed near Izzy would just trigger the tantrum of the century. 

A light time-out for the little one, and a well-hashed punishment for Ed later, once he was made to feel more submissive would be best. 

That was exactly what he did. Upon getting home, he asked everyone to sit in the living room. He pulled Izzy to his lap, gently holding both his hands on one of his, the other one rubbing soothing circles on his back. "Darling," he started. "Do you understand why you earned a time-out?"

Izzy, quite childishly, but quite honestly, shook his head. "Uh-uh, Papa", he said, sweetly. 

Stede nodded. "That is alright, Papa can explain. You earned a punishment because, even though your Daddy allowed you to doodle on him, you know that you cannot make changes or enhancements to your body without consulting Papa. Papa was just a text message away, but both of you decided to forgo that. Daddy loves you very much, but you are Papa's sole responsibility, so those decisions are mine. Yes?" Izzy nodded. "Big boy words now, please, peanut." 

"I 'derstand, Papa." He mumbled, holding back onto Papa's hand. "You gonna spank Izzy?" 

Stede shook his head vehemently. "No, my dear, a spanking is not a proper consequence for this. You are going to have a little bit of corner time, and, once you are done, I want you to tell Papa and Daddy why this should not have happened. Ok?" 

Izzy nodded. He pointed to the corner by the staircase and asked. "Dat one, Papa?" 

Papa kissed his temple sweetly and helped him up. "That's right, little bird. That corner, with your hands behind your head and nose on the wall. Papa will give you fifteen minutes. Up you go." 

Once Izzy was properly settled, Stede sat by Ed, speaking in hushed tones. "We are going to have a very thorough talk later, love. I have things to tell you, feelings to discuss, and I think we both do agree that this warrants a punishment. Right?" 

Ed shrugged. "Yeah, I s'pose. He was so happy, though, and he calls me Daddy now. I couldn't say no." 

Stede guffawed. "If you are to be his Daddy, my dear, you will have to learn how. But no matter now. Can I see what he doddled?" 

Ed let out a chuckle, peeling off his t-shirt. "He's a natural, mate. An artist." 

He could tamper his own jealousy, Stede thought. Instead of making any mean comments, he just said. "It's quite beautiful, dear." 

***

Upon the end of the 15 minutes, Stede went to get his boy. Izzy was crying a little, shoulders shaking by the suppressed little whimpers he was trying to hide. Papa sat on the staircase, opening his arms so Izzy could come closer and get a very long, very tight hug from Papa. "So, my love? What do you have to tell Papa?"

"Uh-uh-Iz's body i-is for Pa-Papa to cha-change." He said, making Stede's chest swell with pride. "Sowwy, Papa, not do again." He nuzzled further on Stede's collarbone, in the way he's taken to do when upset, rubbing his little face on Stede's chest, between his pecs. 

"Oh, little love, there, there. All is forgiven now. You know what can and what cannot be done, you are forgiven." He petted Izzy's hair gently, encouraging the nuzzling. "Do you want to go upstairs with Papa and Daddy and nurse a little bit? Do you think it would make you feel better for your misbehavior?" 

Izzy nodded, looking up at Papa. "Can, plees?"

"Of course, little one. Ed, my love, let's go upstairs to cuddle our baby boy? He wants to nurse on Papa for a bit." He called out, beckoning Ed to come closer. 

*** 

Once the three of them were settled on the big bed (not before Stede thoroughly cleaning Izzy's foot and taking his prosthetics, which tended to get caught on the blankets), Ed put on one of Stede's Nocturnes playlists and turned on the fireplace, since it was quite a chilly night, and Izzy sprawled himself in both their laps, both arms hugging Louis while he lapped gently at Stede's tits, trying to incite the lactation sooner. 

Stede chuckled at that. "Let Papa get you ready, you little menace." Stede then proceeded to position Izzy, guiding him to latch properly. Only then, with Izzy's gentle suckling, he managed to get some milk, eyes drifting close almost instantly. Stede had one of his arms supporting the baby's back, and the other over Ed's shoulders, allowing him to be closer to them. Ed, in turn, had one of his arms on Stede's waist, and the other gently petting Izzy's hair. 

There would be hell to pay later, Ed knew; he was in deep shit with Stede, but that didn't matter, if he got to have both of them together. 

Chapter Text

Izzy got really excited when Papa told him they would be able to use the pool today. He had seen the pool guy come by through his nursery's window, and watched the whole cleaning process absolutely giddy, barely able to concentrate on his toys, or his plays. It was the first really warm day of spring, and Izzy wanted nothing more than to play duckies and sharks and fishies with Papa in the pool; after all, he had never had the opportunity to swim while regressed. 

He was quite a strong swimmer, that being one of the only things he had access to growing up, as an extracurricular activity, since the public pool was really close to the protective custody center where he and Ed used to stay. Ed also learned how to swim, but he preferred to laze around the pool like a starfish, and Izzy liked nothing more than to attack him, dunk him in the water, and altogether bother his lazy Ed.

"Come here, little lamb!" Papa called brightly, getting into the nursery and heading straight for the closet, to be able to pick Izzy's swimming attire. Izzy went quite happily to wait by the changing table, that being the place where Papa changed his clothes every day. Papa himself was already changed, looking quite funny to Izzy's eyes in only shorts and flip-flops, although Izzy did want to nuzzle Papa's chest, rub his little shaven face all over and nurse on his tits very much, thank you. 

When Papa came out of the closet, he spread his choices on the changing table. He had chosen to put him in cloud and teddy-bear patterned swimming trunks, and Izzy frowned; they wouldn't be the best to swim in, but he learned long ago not to rebuke Papa's sartorial choices. He would have preferred swim briefs ('adult ones', his brain unhelpfully supplied). 

The use of swimming nappies was something else entirely. He knew he could hold his bladder long enough to play in the pool! And even if he didn't, it was all water, after all! "Papa, no nappies!" Izzy exclaimed, refusing to get up on the changing table. 

Stede crossed his arms, nappy still in hand, his eyebrows shot up to his hairline. "I am so very sorry, peanut. Papa didn't know you had been put in charge!" Papa's tone was amused, as he went to manhandle Izzy up into the changing table. 

Izzy stepped away, and actually sprinted towards the bathroom, closing the door and hiding behind it. Since he began walking, Papa didn't leave the key at the door anymore because it would just be hazardous with little ones around, but Izzy at least could use his weight to lean against the door and get in the way of Papa entering. "No nappies, Izzy swim with no nappies, Papa!" 

Papa, of course, was baffled by the display. His sweet boy never did this sort of thing. He got closer to the door, willing to give Izzy a chance. "Are you going to be a naughty little brat, darling, or are you going to get out of this bathroom, apologize to Papa, and come put on your swimming nappies like a good little boy?" His tone was stern, carefully emotionless, and quite soft, so Izzy had to strain a little against the door to properly hear it. 

"Izzy not gonna swim in nappies!" He yelled from the bathroom, letting out a long grunt of frustration that easily turned into slamming the door with his fists and stomping the ground like an enraged baby elephant. That was all Papa needed to get into the bathroom, of course, looking the crossest Izzy had seen him. Wordlessly, he picked Izzy up and laid him down on his crib - not without difficulty in managing the little one's movements since he wouldn't stop writhing and wriggling. 

As soon as he could manage, dodging kicks and punches, Stede unlatched Izzy's leg, making sure it was far enough for him not to be able to get it alone from the crib. Before he could scold Izzy, the boy sat up and pushed at his chest, shrieking. "Give back my leg! It's mine, give it back!" 

It was enough for Stede to use all of his strength to turn Izzy and to pin him down to the mattress of his crib, taking one of his flip-flops to purposefully spank his bottom and thighs. 

"What is the meaning of this appalling behavior, Israel? Dear lord! That is not the little boy I know! This is a wretched brat that will not get anything from Papa but consequences!" He admonished, once his arm had tired from the spanking. "Papa was trying to give you a very nice day at the pool, and that is how you thank Papa?" 

Izzy lost quite a bit of steam at that. He was a bit unsure of why he reacted so strongly to the idea of swimming nappies - he wore nappies every day, after all. At that point, without his leg, with his thighs and bum stinging fiercely, he could only sorrowfully sob, rubbing at his eyes until they were red. 

"Well, Israel? What do you have to say for yourself, young man?" Papa was clearly expecting an apology, looking quite disheveled himself. 

Izzy had to take a few deep breaths, and dry his face and nose with the backs of his hands in a way that made Papa wince in disgust before muttering a very heartfelt "Sowwy, Papa, Izzy-- Big boy." He finished, lamely, quite aware that he was not looking like a big boy at all, but every inch the sorry little boy that he was. 

Stede shook his head and rolled his eyes, unimpressed. "I still will take you to the pool, but be assured that your behavior chart will be wiped clean, mister. What ghastly behavior, Israel, honestly." 

*** 

He still fussed throughout the nappy change in a way he hardly ever did, trying to half-heartedly kick at Papa. That earned him a strong ear twist and yet another stern talking to. He fussed a bit less when Papa dressed him in a long-sleeved swimming shirt, afraid, at this point, of not being allowed near the pool at all.  

Papa didn't give him his leg back, as a consequence of his behavior, and carried him downstairs and into the backyard instead. Once they got to the sparkling clean pool, he saw a quite offending set of flamingo floaties. Surely, they were just there. They couldn't be for him, Izzy thought.

Izzy was honestly not expecting to have floaties attached everywhere Papa could attach one, even though he should. 

"Pa-pa!" Complained Izzy, hissing like a kitty, trying to shove away the floaties that Papa was trying to put on his arms. 

Stede was quite done with this behavior, at this point. "Oh, for god's sake, peanut, Papa knows what he is doing! You are simply not getting in the water without protection! Don't you trust Papa anymore, is that it? Do you know best now?" 

He wouldn't say 'yes', or else Papa would be furious. "Papa, but I know how to swim!" He rolled his eyes, grunting, annoyed at Papa's display. He could swim safely just fine! He didn't need pink flamingo floaties!

"I don't want to hear it, Israel! If your behavior is going to be so affected by this activity, maybe we should forgo it and play with buckets instead." Papa said quite pointedly, hands firmly planted on his own waist, the poster image of parental authority. 

Izzy huffed, rolling his eyes. His bum, his thighs, and his ear were still quite hurty. "Fiiiiiine." 

"Thank you. Let us try without the cheek now, please?" Stede asked, his voice almost mockingly sweet.

Izzy was already feeling defeated. "I'm sorry, Papa. It's fine, Papa."

"Much better, thank you!" He kept fussing with the floaties, until he got them just right. They were hideous. "Now, we just need the sunscreen!"

Izzy felt like he could scream. And he did. He startled Papa into dropping the sunscreen in the pool.

Papa slapped his thigh instantly, leaving the sunscreen floating forgotten in the pool. He took Izzy's face in a vice grip, making the boy look at him. "Israel. You are not a big boy anymore. You could have learned how to swim before, but you have never done it regressed, and certainly not minus a leg. You may not feel all that regressed now, but what if you go in the water, and drown? And the most important thing: Papa is saying you are going to have a nappy, floaties, and sunscreen. There is no discussion to be had. Do I make myself clear, little boy?" 

Izzy's eyes welled up with tears. Papa was never that straightforward. He was never mean when he spoke to Izzy. Stede went to fish the sunscreen from the water, unceremoniously opening the tub and starting to slather Izzy's face and leg with it, vigorously rubbing until his skin had absorbed most of it.

He started crying once Papa picked him up, lowering him to the shallow side of the pool, under the shade of a couple of beautiful flamboyant trees. 

Papa didn't understand his crying; he wasn't quite understanding any of the tantrums, actually, so got in himself, sitting by Izzy in the water and thrusting a couple of pool toys in his hands. 

He then caressed Izzy's face very tenderly, wiping away a few stray tears. "Are you feeling too many big feelings, little lamb? Papa brought you outside to have fun, not to feel this bad!"

Izzy threw away one of the toys half-heartedly and muttered, mulishly. "Wanna swim."

"You can swim here, my little love!" Stede said, moving one of his hands under the water.

Izzy whined, high-pitched. "Not the same, Papa!" 

Stede counted to ten in his head, trying to keep his voice neutral now. They already had a few very hard moments today. "What if Papa takes you to the deep end and holds your hand? Would you be less pouty?"

"Yes please thank you Papa", Izzy blurted, knowing very well that it would probably be the best offer he got. 

"What a polite little one I have now! I hope you keep up this behavior." Carefully, he brought his little one by the hands to the deep end of the pool.

***

Stede discovered that Izzy could, indeed, swim. He was still extremely cautious, but they swam after each other, Stede caught Izzy countless times, tickling and throwing Izzy around in the water. They stopped to reapply sunscreen a few times, and had, in general, an incredible afternoon. 

Once they were back inside, changed and clean, Izzy spent a good hour with his sore bum hanging in time-out after a paddle spanking and lost his leg privileges for the week. His whole body ached pleasantly from the activities, and he felt very, very small by the time Papa came back for hugs and kissies. 

Tantrums were not that bad, Izzy thought, but even better was to have Papa's good attention on him.  

Chapter Text

Izzy woke up low-energy. When Papa came to get him, he whined, trying to hide under all his blankets, even doing as much as to hold onto the bars of his crib.

Izzy, since day one, had been sweet and pliant waking up, always happy to see Papa. Stede considered that he probably was used to waking up early in his past life. Seeing a shapeless, whiny form was out of the ordinary. 

Stede put down the side of the crib, and sat on the mattress by the shapeless lump, rubbing at what he thought could be his back. 

"Peanut... Good morning! Don't you want to have a very tasty brekkie with Papa and Eddie?" 

Once he felt the touches, and the dip into his mattress, Izzy crawled, taking a few of his blankets with him, until he was sitting squarely on Papa's lap, hiding his face on his chest and basically entering his dressing gown. 

Stede let out an 'oof' of surprise at the lapful of baby he got, but did his best to hug him. "Oh, my darling! What is going on, hm? Did you wake up needing Papa?" 

Izzy grunted affirmatively, hugging Papa tighter. 

Stede chuckled softly. "Oh, baby, that's ok. It is alright to feel a bit clingy and needy sometimes! But we should get cozy somewhere else, somewhere that fits everyone. Can Papa carry you?" Izzy nodded, cold little nose starting to nuzzle at Papa's chest and neck. "Papa's bedroom or living room?" 

Izzy's voice was very small. "Be'rum!" 

"Oh, perfect choice, peanut! Grab Louis, please, and we'll go." Izzy chose to grab not only Louis, but also Kitty and his doggy, Sissy. Papa bundled him up in a light blanket, and started to walk towards his own bedroom. 

***

Once there, he called out. "Ed!" Stede put Izzy down on the bed (under complaints and little cries), using a now-free hand to shake Ed's leg. "Edward, dear, wake up, please!" 

As he didn't move, Stede decided to unleash his little Kraken upon his Daddy. "Go snuggle up to Daddy, dear. Papa will get a few supplies to change you and I will be right back!" Papa promised, but Izzy wasn't ready to let go of him, trying to trap Papa - who was still standing - in a koala hug. 'It's going to be one of these days', Stede thought fondly. "Peanut, Papa can't carry both you and your things. I promise I will be extra quick, little bird!" Stede tried, affectionately petting his baby's unkempt hair. 

"Izzy crawls." The baby announced, already letting go of Papa and getting down from the bed - and almost giving his Papa a heart attack in the process, because Stede's bed was really tall. 

Stede noticed that the baby wanted him, not Daddy, and he couldn't say that it didn't bring him a level of satisfaction to be chosen over Ed. "Very well", he said, gathering the baby from the floor. "Papa can change you there, then we'll come back together." 

***

Izzy was gently put on the mat of his changing table, and Papa gave him a chewing toy to keep him distracted. He was going through quite the oral phase recently, so it was important to always keep him entertained, else he would bite himself or others. 

Stede would have preferred choosing a cute outfit for the day, but it was not that type of day. He got one of the onesies and a pair of pants from the changing table, deciding on a cute diaper instead of the plain blue or white ones he usually favored.  

He was quite unhappy to see nothing but a little dribble on Izzy's night nappy, and no bowel movement at all. He had at least been wetting appropriately over the past two or three days. That wouldn't do. It made sense for the baby to be so moody today, as well; having an impacted bowel would do that. 

Stede considered his options while pressing gently his hand to the baby's tummy and rubbing soothing circles on it. He kept the flap of his nappy down, covering his little cock, in case he ended up wetting. "Little o-one..." He sing-songed, his free hand coming up to take away the chewing toy and, once it was put aside, to gently caress his sweet face. He would need a shave today or, at most, tomorrow, Stede thought.

"Papa?" The baby sweetly replied, distracted by the sensations on his body. His tummy was all hard and bothering him, so having Papa rubbing felt so good. His bladder also felt quite full, but he couldn't push much without feeling an icky burning sensation. He decided to just look, and tried to reach Papa's face to run his knuckles gently on Papa's cheek as well. 

"Papa thought of something that could help you so, so, so very much with these bad, yucky feelings your body is giving you, little lamb! Do you trust Papa to take care of you?" Papa asked, in his sweetest voice, looking earnestly at his baby. 

Izzy nodded instantly. "Papa help?" 

Stede cooed at Izzy. "Oh, darling! Papa always will help you! Now, Papa thinks you may not like the feelings of the process of helping. Do you promise that, even if you dislike the sensations, you still will behave like the good boy Papa knows you to be?" 

That gave Izzy pause. If Papa was warning him beforehand, instead of allowing him to find out on his own, it must be a bit serious. But he was feeling so moody, whiny, needy and uncomfortable, that he would allow Papa to do anything to him if it meant he would stay close. He decided to clarify. "Papa stay with Izzy?" A pause. "Is meds?" 

Papa took a more serious approach at that, since his baby was being so cooperative. "No, darling, it's not more meds. Papa knows you don't like those. And Papa will stay with you through it, of course! I would not leave my best little one on his own." His voice was gentle and soothing, and he didn't stop the movements of his hands, which seemed to be keeping his baby grounded. "Papa will take you to the downstairs bathroom, and we are going to do everything we need from there. Alright, peanut?" 

Izzy nodded. He allowed Papa to close back his old nappy, clinging to him as he filled a hand-held basket with the changing items he had selected. Everything he would need to give his baby an enema was downstairs already. 

***

All things considered, Stede thought it was a better option to give Izzy the enema in the playroom and only move him to the uncomfortable bathroom when it was time to release it. At least he could stay in Papa's lap, watching something as the cramps hit him. 

Stede left the basket of supplies in the playroom, and, with a giant amount of fussing, managed to let Izzy down in the playpen - which he locked -, just to go to the storage room to gather the rest of the supplies he would need. 

Izzy was wailing the entire time, of course - but the most damage it could do would be to wake Ed up, and Ed should have been up already anyway. Stede gathered everything as quickly as possible, and went to the kitchen to warm the water that would go in the enema bag. Izzy's pole was already in the playroom anyway, since his IVs were being given to him there. 

Once Papa was back, Izzy was red in the face from all of the crying, almost heaving from it. Papa came to free him from the playpen, cooing. "Oh, baby! It was just a couple of minutes, Papa is right here! No need for all this crying. What is it going to do, hm? Just give you the hiccups, silly-boo. There, there-- All good now." He kept softly talking while coaxing the baby to lie down in the plastic mats that were always laid on the floor, nearer to the door, in case of big accidents. Papa then started undoing Izzy's nappy, and got up for just a moment, just to hook a bag of warm saline to the pole. Izzy didn't like the IVs very much, but he was used to them by now, so he gave Papa his arm, making Papa chuckle. "Oh, goodness, no, no. Not right now, at least, precious. Papa is not going to give you an IV, Papa is going to give you an enema. Do you know what it is?" 

Izzy shook his head, frowning. His head was pounding a bit from all of the crying, and he felt all wet and snotty and gross. 

"Well", Papa started, while putting a weird nozzle at the end of the tube, like the one he used for gardening, but also kinda like the plug he used to play with Izzy? "Do you see this part, dove?" He pointed at the nozzle, drizzling it in the unscented lube he kept in the playroom for Izzy. "This will go in your little bum, like when we play! But it will allow all of that liquid to get in as well. It will swell your tummy a bit, and Papa is not gonna lie - it is going to hurt a little. But then, Papa will take you potty, like the big boy you are not" Papa winked at that, tickling lightly over Izzy's exposed tummy. "And your belly will feel all better. Papa will have a nice, relaxing bath with you, and we will start our day. If you want some nummies after bath, Papa can give you a bottle, milkies or whatever you want to eat!" Stede took his hand to gently guide Izzy's face by his chin, so he could look at him. "Can you be a very good boy for Papa?" 

Izzy squirmed away a little at the full description of what was about to happen to him. He was shivering a little, scared by the perspective of pain. What could he do, though? Papa had everything prepared, and he had said he would behave. "Izzy watch Bluey?" 

Stede had to chuckle at that. "Of course, love. Papa will turn the TV on for you, and then Papa will start. You will barely feel it!" 

*** 

Stede turned the TV on, putting on an episode of Bluey he knew Izzy liked. He waited a few moments, just until something caught Izzy's attention on the TV, and pulled his legs up, in diaper position, guiding Izzy to hold his legs in place. He then, very gently, smeared lube around Izzy's asshole, concerned at how dry he looked. Poor boy. The insertion of the nozzle happened slowly and gently, but, once it was all in, Stede allowed the liquid to flow. 

It was kind of mesmerizing to watch the baby's belly swell up. He guided Izzy's legs back down and went behind him, so he could have Izzy's head on his lap, and easy access to keep rubbing his tummy. Izzy started groaning and silently crying as the pressure increased, but he was keeping his promise of being a good boy for Papa. 

It took about fifteen minutes, with the flow Stede had set, for the bag to be emptied on Izzy's belly. Once it was all done, Stede shut the nozzle and took away the tube, whispering sweet nothings to his little one while they both waited for the time of release. 

Stede also closed the nappy back, just in case anything leaked - and it was a good thing he did, because Izzy wet thoroughly because of the pressure, although screaming and complaining because of the burning. Stede would have to call Dr. Zheng promptly. Still, it was a relief to see that something was working. 

"Papa", Izzy breathed, a bit out of it. He was crossing his eyes a little, and Stede noticed he was humping his nappy against nothing. "Papa, can Izzy go? Now? Hurts, Papa!" 

Stede tsked, not stopping the soothing petting of his hair. "Not yet, my love. You still have five more minutes of holding, for it to work properly. Ok? Only five minutes more and Papa will take you potty." 

The whine Izzy let out was pitiful; it was a shame Papa couldn't do anything for him. 

***

The rush for Izzy to release everything was very real. But once he was potty, he felt much better, although the whole ordeal left him sweaty, aching and crying his little heart out. 

Papa stayed by him the whole time, rubbing his tummy, telling him about how brave he was being and promising him the world. 

He entered the bath with the baby after quickly rinsing him, holding him tenderly, playing with the bubbles and singing silly songs until Izzy giggled. 

Once they were both out of the bath, changed and clean, Stede asked Izzy about what he wanted to eat. 

Needy as he was (although much less grumpy now), he asked for his nummies, and Stede took him back upstairs to be able to nurse him in the bedroom. 

Ed was waking up by the time they got there, and helped carrying Izzy (Stede's back was bound to give out), cuddling both of his loves, blissfully unaware of the eventful morning they had. 

Chapter Text

Stede was in the middle of feeding Izzy his lunch - a hearty bowl of Mac and Cheese, which they now knew Izzy could eat, if in small amounts - when he got Lucius' call. 

Izzy didn't quite understand what was happening, but at seeing his Papa's beautiful face turn into a distasteful frown, he noticed something was wrong. 

"I do not want to have any other little ones around right now, Lucius!" He exclaimed, voice deeper than what he used with Izzy or Ed, and clearly annoyed.

Izzy squinted. That sounded a lot like Mr. Ben. Papa never sounded like Mr. Ben. 

"Oh, hell. Fine. I'll send Ed to pick her up." He hung the call, and turned back to Izzy apologetically, looking sweet as pie, as always. "I'm so sorry, peanut! Papa is so sorry for the language and for the interruption. Let us finish our tasty meal?" 

"Papa", he started, turning his head from the forkful of pasta. "I don't care if we have other babies. Ok?" 

Stede cooed. "Oh, my lovely little one! So selfless! It will be only for a little while, ok?"

Izzy shrugged. "I don't mind, Papa. You go get the baby?" He actually would like to have another baby around, now that Ed wasn't feeling little so often. 

"No, no. Ed will. I will send him a message." Stede's tone wasn't the most caring, not at that. He resumed lunch, making all sorts of funny little noises so Izzy would be interested in eating. It was a lovely lunch. 

***

Stede did send Ed a message after eating his own lunch. Forgetting, of course, to check if the message actually went through or if Ed had his phone on him or, altogether, not lost. 

As far as he was concerned, they would get there when they got there. 

***

Lucius had set Emma up in one of the little rooms. Although she had not been regressed for a while, she had regressed before. 

As a little himself, Lucius felt quite bad when he heard her story. She had had a caregiver for a long time, for almost a full decade; in the beginning, everything was great. With the years, however, her Daddy got tired of caring for her, unable to help her and allow her to regress safely. That, coupled with her mental health issues, his mental health issues, and their financial problems, led to a breakup that left the little one on her own. She tried for almost a full year to care for herself, but she was unable to. She gained a lot of weight, and her self-care was just inexistent; her pretty strawberry-blonde hair was quite matted, and her clothes didn't look to be in the best condition. Lucius made her take off her ballet slippers because they were almost disintegrating. 

Lucius thought Stede was going to be the perfect fit for her; he tended to be great at taking in and rehabilitating little ones who had gone through this sort of traumatic situation. He was quite shocked to hear from him that he was unwilling to. A little cajoling got him to agree, however, so he gave Emma the news. 

"Hi, cupcake! There will be someone to pick you up here really soon, ok? Do you want something specific to play with while you wait?" He asked, keeping in mind the way he'd like to be treated in her situation. 

She shook her head, and minding her manners, answered. "No, thank you, I can wait quiet, mister."

Lucius crouched near the little table she had coloring pictures spread on. "Don't you want to give me your backpack, honey? Mister Olu will come back to check on you in a bit." 

She held the straps a bit tighter, and shook her head. "No, thank you, mister."

He tucked one strand of her hair behind her ear and got up. "Ok, princess. You just let me know if you need anything, ok? We are a bit low on volunteers today, but I'll be at the front desk or in one of the little rooms." 

"Okay, mister, thank you." She nodded meekly, and kept looking at the coloring pages in front of her, looking a bit afraid of touching them.

*** 

Emma spent about two hours without being checked on. It was a succession of mistakes, really; Olu had to go back home because Jim and Archie were both a bit sick and regressed, and Lucius was left to manage the Agency. Neither Frenchie nor John were available, and Fang, Mrs. Jackie, and Stede were just a no-no today. It was easy to forget a quiet little one in a far-off room. 

Upon looking for Lucius everywhere she dared, It dawned on Emma that there was no hope for her. She shouldn't have left home, it was very silly of her thinking anyone would come for her. 

She left the agency and started walking home; even though it was a bit far, she couldn't get the bus without her caregiver anyway; not after having had one and having all of her documents saying she was a taken little.

*** 

Ed got to the agency by dinnertime, when they were about to close. He hadn't seen the message before; he had a big watercolor tattoo to finish coloring on a client. He came as soon as he could. 

Lucius paled to see Ed, because Stede had told him he would come by to get Em, but he forgot her unfed and alone in the little room. He ran towards it, not really very surprised to see it empty. "Fucking shit." 

"Where's the little one?" Ed asked, smiling upon seeing Lucius back. 

"So..." He started, twirling a short lock of hair around a fingertip. "She's gone? We were terribly understaffed today, and she... Is gone?"

Ed winced. He remembered being a kid, waiting for foster parents that didn't come. It didn't feel great. "Dickfuck. She's alone? Like... Around?" 

Lucius all but whimpered. "I don't fucking know, ok? I don't even know when she got out! She was so quiet!"

***

Ed called Stede, before setting off with Lucius. "She ran away, Ste."

Stede sighed, clearly relieved. "Oh, thank God. It was probably bad news to have her around, then." 

Ed felt a chill run down his spine. "Mate, that's no way to talk! We're going after her, and if you don't take her in, I will!"

Stede rolled his eyes and tried to put on a smile, so it would be conveyed in his voice. "... Of course, if you find her, you can bring her over, dear. You wouldn't be able to take in a little one, after all."

"At least I'm fucking willing." Ed said, quite coldly, and hung up on Stede.

***

It was almost 11pm when they found Emma. She had gotten a bit confused with the paths and got lost on the way home. So she just sat in a swing set, in a very small park, hugging her backpack, cold, barefoot and afraid, ready to just... Stay there. 

Lucius froze upon the sight. It was the type of thing that they avoided like the plague at Bright Smiles.

He took Ed's hand, tugging him along-- he was bold and feeling not so big himself. "Hey, Em... Where did you go? We were looking for you, sweetcheeks!"

"Home," she said, simply. She shrugged, eyes welling up a bit, and voice wavering. "Got lost. Can't find home." 

Ed, being the closest thing to a bigger-minded person, got closer to the two little ones and reached his hand to the girl. "Hey, mate! I'm Ed. If you come with me, I can take you to a nice place. S'not your home, but could be!"

***

They leave Lucius at his apartment, and Ed takes Emma to Stede's house. Before allowing her in, he tells her gently he has to let Stede and Izzy know they got home. Izzy should have been in bed already, but he was still bouncing around, waiting for the new baby. Stede's face looked dreadfully sour.

"Did you find the girl, deary?" The contempt in his voice was palpable, but Stede knew he couldn't let Izzy really get it or they would have another little spat. 

Ed was not liking this whole situation at all. Stede was not like this; he had seen him taking care of other littles before Izzy. Why was he being so hard on a girl he didn't even know? "I did, yeah. She got lost trying to get home, was sitting alone in a park. Can you have something for her to eat, Ste? She hasn't got any food today, Lucius forgot to feed her lunch." 

At that, Stede stopped. He didn't want any new littles in his house at present, but that wouldn't do. "Of course. I will heat up some Mac and Cheese-- Can she eat properly, or does she need baby food?" 

Before Ed could answer, Izzy came by. "I feed the baby! I give her food. Put her in the chair, ok?" He was so ready not to be the smallest baby in the house! That made Ed chuckle, and hug his little one. 

"Hey, mate, I'm not sure she's that small... I'll go get her and you can ask her if you can feed her, deal?" He encircles Izzy's waist, placing a noisy, wet kiss on the baby's cheek, making him squeal happily. 

Izzy rolled his eyes, though, when he processed what Daddy had said. "Course I can, Dada. Big brother now." 

Stede sneered a little at that. "Let's meet her first, shall we?" 

***

Ed took so long inside that Emma honestly thought she had been forgotten yet again. The car was warm, though, and felt safe, so even though she was really, really hungry, she laid down on the seat to wait, sucking her thumb - even though it was really dirty - and hugging her backpack. 

Once Ed came to get her, she was fast asleep. He couldn't carry her, though; it was already a struggle to haul Izzy around. She was a bit shorter than him, but chubbier. He winced at having to wake the poor thing. Gently, he shook her arm, keeping an inside voice. "Hey, bug... We need to go in now. You can go to bed as soon as we get in if you wanna, but we have to get you out of the car." 

Emma stirred awake instantly. She wanted to whine and say no, but she knew plenty well that she couldn't do it. She was already skating on thin ice as it was. She rubbed her eyes and got out of the car, taking the hand Ed had offered. The house was dauntingly big, from the outside, but it didn't compare to how it looked inside. 

When they stepped into the hall, Izzy came running (he was getting so much better with his prosthetics) to say hello. "I'm Israel, you can call me Izzy or Iz. I'll be your big brother!" He offered his hand, quite professionally, to be shaken by Emma. 

She wanted to hide behind the pretty man, but she didn't know if she could, so she just shook Izzy's hand, and whispered, in a very shy little voice. "Hi, Iz, I'm Em-- I'm Emma." 

Stede came right behind Izzy, looking the girl up and down in a measuring gaze. It was not her fault he didn't want to foster any other littles right now. He would just have to go down his contact list to see who could take her. In the meantime, he could be nice. He plastered on his best caregiver smile, and got closer, tipping her chin up so he could see her better. "Hello, dear. I'm Stede. You can call me Mr. Bonnet, for now, alright?" She nodded, quickly, brown eyes (like Ed's, he noticed) wide and scared. "Great! We will get along just fine. Now, are you hungry or are you too sleepy to eat, sweetheart?" 

Izzy interrupted, stomping. "Babies don't go to bed in empty bellies, Papa!" 

Stede had to laugh at that. "I know, peanut. It's just that Emma had a very hard day, so we can make an exception if she is too tired." 

She gave it an honest thought. The little boy at least looked eager to have her around. She was hungry, but she didn't want to be a bother, and Mr. Bonnet didn't quite look like she wanted to feed her. 'Too fat, anyway', she echoed in her mind, in the voice of her last caregiver. "Can I rest please, Mr. Bonnet?" 

"Of course. I will suppose you don't have any of your clothes with you, so I will take you down to your room, we are going to change you and tomorrow morning we will start bright and early." Stede's smile was sickeningly sweet as he steered the girl to the ballerina room downstairs. He had a girl's nursery upstairs, but he didn't want to use it just yet. 

***

Stede was not a monster. He helped the little girl into a pair of pull-ups (no little bums unpadded in the house) with no fuss at all, and a pair of bunny footsie jammies. Ideally, he would have sent her to shower, but the little one did look quite tired. He tucked her into bed and allowed Izzy to come to say ni-night. He was very affectionate - which wasn't usual for Izzy to be with people he didn't know - giving Emma slobbery kisses and tucking her in some more, to make sure she wouldn't get cold or fall from bed since she didn't have a nice crib like he did. 

Once his baby was out of the room, he dimmed the lights and instructed, giving her the stuffy she brought with her. "Please, don't leave the room until I come get you for breakfast in the morning. Alright, dove? If you need potty, you can go in your pull-up." 

She meekly agreed. "Yes, Mr. Bonnet. I'll wait." 

His voice was very quiet, and not unpleasant. "That's the ticket! Have a good night, Emma." With that, he closed the door and left. No bedtime stories, or kisses, or anything; Emma supposed she didn't deserve it anyway, and that she should be grateful for whatever she got.

Once she was on her own, Emma allowed herself a good, quiet cry. The bed was comfortable, the house was beautiful, but... She was still unwanted, just as much as when she had been with Daddy, and then when she'd been alone. With an empty, hurty tummy, she cried herself to sleep. 

Chapter Text

Stede was deliberate in getting out of bed later than usual, and dragging out Izzy's morning routine for as long as he could. He didn't want to have to deal with his routine change, with the little girl he was left with (Ed went back home, seeing as he had to work early the next day), with his baby's affections being so clearly divided.

He really didn't have anything against this little girl in special, or any little ones; he just felt quite possessive over Izzy, he found, and over Edward. He was not ready to share them, but, especially, not to have to share his own attention. He selfishly wanted to give his lovely baby everything. 

So, Stede took about three more hours than usual to come down with a still lazy Izzy. They came downstairs holding hands and playing a little bit of I spy to come wake Emma up. When they got to Emma's room, however, the bed was perfectly made (with hospital corners!), and there was a crayon-scribbled note on top of it. 'Sorry for bothering', it read.  

'Well, shit.', Stede tought. 

***

Izzy was feeling unwell. This could have been him, he realized. If he was the one to come to Papa's house when he had another little, he would be the one left aside, excluded. Again. He felt like a movie was going behind his eyes from all of the years he and Ed had been rejected or, when accepted by foster parents, left aside and mistreated. 

It jolted him out of regression like an electric shock. Like it never had happened before. 

He walked out of the baby bedroom, pushing at Stede, and went into the downstairs master bathroom, locking it before his stunned Papa could do anything. He took off the nappy, the pacifier clip, and any other babyish things he could from his clothing (he had a plainer t-shirt and a pair of doggy-patterned sweatpants on today because Papa had been too distracted to come up with better sartorial choices), and, when he came out of the bathroom, he was fully on top of his game. He felt disdainful, full of contempt. He didn't feel like he liked his Papa very much right now. 

"Bonnet", he hissed, getting on his Papa's face, even if he had to get on his tiptoes to do it properly. "You are going to fucking find that little girl, and if you can't bother taking care of her, you can't bother taking care of me as well. I'm fucking leaving. Do you fucking copy?" 

"Israel!" He exclaimed, absolutely shocked. "This is no appropriate language to use, no way to talk to Papa! Where is your nappy?" Stede felt dizzy. "Oh, God!" 

"Fuck the fucking nappy, the fucking language, and fuck you, you fucking poncey twat." Izzy hadn't used such language in months; it felt sour in his mouth, but he didn't know how else to speak in this situation to convey how disappointed he was. "What the fuck do you think you are even doing?" 

"I don't know." Stede challenges, trying to keep his cool, parental tone. "What are you doing?" 

Izzy didn't really want to say what he was about to, but he knew that if he didn't threaten Papa, he would just do whatever he wanted, as always. Because 'Papa is always right.' Bullshit. "I'm fucking leaving and I'm not coming back until you get the girl back. If you don't treat her fucking nice and proper, I'm gone. For good." 

Stede's eyes went wide and scared at that. His tone was much lower now, and he was not using his talking-to-the-baby voice. He was using the voice he used on the phone, with Lucius, yesterday. "You are not allowed to, Israel." 

Izzy had to laugh at that, a bitter, loud chuckle. "Look to see if I fucking care, Bonnet. You've got the day. I'm going to Edward's. I want my phone." 

Stede blanked. He had gotten rid of Izzy's phone on the first day he was at the house. He was dumbfounded by the whole display, the situation completely out of control. 

"Where is it? Come on, give it to me." Izzy pressed, reaching out his hand to further his point.

"I, ah..." Stede offers, eloquently. "I left it with Edward." 

Izzy looked at him absolutely unimpressed. "So call me a fucking Uber to get there. Scram." 

***

Stede had time to measure his actions once Israel was safely at Ed's apartment. He made sure to follow the Uber path through his app, and call a very pissed Ed to check if Izzy had gotten there safe - he had and had regressed back down. They were both incredibly upset at Stede; of course they were. What had gotten into him? He had never treated a little one like that; let alone a placement! Lucius came to him first exactly because he was the best option, and he knew that. His reputation was absolutely on the line, and he had no idea of why. He could easily have gotten the girl yesterday and had a lovely day with two sweet little ones. 

He couldn't imagine what could be going on in any of the littles' heads. Israel was clearly mad and disappointed; so much so he came out of regression in a way Stede had never seen, certainly not from him; Edward was not answering any of his contacts, after the first call, and had left him the longest audio message chewing him up for the way he treated Emma and for allowing Izzy to get big; Emma herself felt so unsafe at his house she ashamedly ran away (again, he must add!) and was probably alone, regressed and terrified trying to get home, god knows where. 

He had to get his act together. He was acting like a true Bonnet, alright, being so selfish and self-entitled; a fat load of good did that do to anyone. 

'No matter', Stede thought, as he gathered little supplies in a diaper bag, added a lovely light pink car seat to his car beside Izzy's, and set off to search the neighborhood for the little girl. She mustn't have gotten too far. 

***

She really had not gotten far at all. In Stede's fancy neighborhood, they had a community orchard only a couple of blocks away from the house, and he found the little girl there, looking quite scared while eating an apple that looked like it had seen better days. 'You stupid man', he chastised himself 'you left a baby hungry because you didn't want to share your attention!', he thought. There was a lump in his throat at that, which he tried to swallow around, to no avail. 

He approached the trees, but, before he could say anything, Emma was already scrambling to get up and apologize, frightened by his presence, letting her half-eaten apple fall to the leaf-covered ground. "I-I'm sorry, Mr. Bonnet, I will give your things back, I-- I was just gonna launder them first." 

He felt his heart breaking at that. How could he? With all of his experience, with all he knew? He rehabilitated traumatized littles, not traumatized them further! He got closer, trying to appear confident, and softly said. "Oh, no, no, dove! You don't need to worry about that. I got worried about you! When I went to get you in the morning, dear, you were not there. Don't you want to go back home, with me?" He offered, speaking most soothingly, as if talking to a spooked animal. 

Her shoulders sagged. "I wanna go back to my home, Mr. Bonnet. I didn't mean to bother you... I heard you in the phone with Mr. Lucius yesterday, I really didn't wanna be a bother, or cause any trouble. But... I don't know how to get to my home from here. I walked and walked, but I don't know the way..." She spoke very softly, looking down with eyes puffy and red from crying, and a flushed face, as if embarrassed. 'But she is just little'/, Stede thought, albeit late in his conclusion. 'How could she go home, and stay there on her own?'

"I reacted quite poorly, dear, to having another little one around. It does not mean I do not want to care for you, however; I was just not expecting to have to share my attentions so soon. It is by no means your fault, and you should not feel bad for my poor conduct." He said, getting closer to the little girl and finally reaching for her hands. They were so small, even compared to Izzy's. She didn't reach back, though. "I can't let you go back to your house, all on your own. We did start off on the wrong foot, sweetheart, but I do think we can fix that. What do you think?" 

Emma looked down, her pretty strawberry blonde hair falling over her eyes, looking quite unkempt and matted. Her jammies also looked a bit dirty from sitting on the ground, and her pull-up had clearly leaked. Stede noted with a start she had no shoes on; she had no shoes on since yesterday, probably having forgotten them at the agency. He winced. "Okie", she finally muttered, feeling quite like the lab rat, being so intently analyzed. 

Stede sighed in relief. "That's good, dove. Can I take your hand?" She nodded, a tad to eagerly. He finally held her chubby little hand in his and instructed. "Careful of your steps now, darling. We don't want you hurting your feet." 

Emma was chewing on her lower lip quite intently, trying to concentrate on following her instructions. She did feel more regressed than before, having an adult around. Once they got to Stede's car, she couldn't help but to comment, wide-eyed. "S'big, Mr. Bonnet!"   

He chuckled good-heartedly, opening the back door for her, to be able to help her into the car seat. "That it is, darling. Let's hop up?" She nodded, obediently, making a face at the squishiness of her pull-ups once she was properly sat. "I'm so sorry, princess. I will change you right away getting home, alright? Into proper nappies, too, not those silly pull-ups. They are for big girls." 

"M' not big." She mumbled, looking at her own hands. 

"No, dear, you are not! You are just little. But no matter, because you are not supposed to be big. Now, do you want a nice trail mix packet to eat on the way?" He offered, being the only option he had available in the car. Usually, he would never feed a little one something that was such a choking hazard, but needs must.

She nodded eagerly, being very, very hungry by now. Things were going to be ok, Stede thought. 

***

Upon getting home, Stede took the time to properly bathe the baby, a bit upset at how poor her self-care had been, taking her to the upstairs baby girl nursery (which was one of his very favorites in the house, all light pink and cream, full of baby animals in carousels) to change her into an appropriately fluffy nappy, do her freshly washed hair in two lovely little braids and dress her in an adorable yellow dress, guiding her to the kitchen, to be able to feed her a proper gyudon bowl, which had everything she would need to be properly fed.  

Only after that, and after sending both of them visual proof of his treatment of Emma, he convinced Ed and Izzy to come back. 

They were still very upset at him, but that could be talked through. 

***

Izzy and Emma got along fantastically well. He was always very little, but she was even more; over the days, he settled into his role as a big brother quite nicely, always looking out for her, sharing his toys willingly, and making sure she was changed first, fed first, and bathed first. 

Stede learned in that week's family time session that he used to do that a lot when he was fostered as a kid, so it came as second nature to him. 

Emma stayed with them for about a full week before a permanent placement for her. Stede didn't personally know this couple of caregiveres, but Olu and Fang vouched for them (Olu apparently knew one of them from college or something like that), so it was plenty ok. 

The goodbye was quite... Wet. Izzy and Emma cried a lot, and Stede swore they could have as many playdates as they wanted, as soon as they could. He had to read Izzy The Blanket Bears again that night, to help him along with the concept of little ones having different foster and forever families. 

Ed and Izzy let Stede know that there was just the matter of his punishment now. That was unexpected. 

Chapter Text

Stede had been antsy all day, during Izzy and Ed's preparation for his punishment. They needed to be sure that the situation with Emma was behind all of them, and that something like that would not happen soon (read: ever again). 

He had no idea of what was going to happen besides the fact that he was to be "little" for the night - which was already a stretch, but he gave them his word. Both Ed and Izzy were quite secretive all day, going back and forth between one of the downstairs nurseries and the adult playroom, making a couple of visits to his auxiliary wardrobe upstairs. 

***

Izzy and Ed had a plan. Ed was going to be Daddy for this; he was dressed very properly in one of Stede's monogrammed pajamas, the dark-blue one that looked fancy as hell, with the matching velvety robe and everything, hair put up in a lovely bun and a pair of glasses that looked like Stede's reading glasses (but were, in fact, just fake ones). It added to the character, though. He even brought the pipe from home!

Izzy was going to be a little boy - not a baby. A big brother, who was mean and who would absolutely ignore the baby, because he was mean and deserved to be just disregarded. He was also dressed very nicely, to contrast with Stede, who would be wearing nothing but mittens and a paci for this. Eddie had dressed Izzy up very nicely in a pair of jeans overalls and a green Kermit the Frog tee. He even had tennis shoes on, which was surprising all in itself, since Stede usually kept him in soft, fluffy socks only. 

Both of them made sure to keep Stede out of the loop for the day, to build anticipation. Truth be told, they were anxious as hell: Stede was always in control, only him. So flipping the tables, taking him out of his comfort position, was nerve-wracking; they needed to make sure Papa was forgiven, though. They needed to be able to let it go even more than Stede himself did.  

***

Izzy was left to wait in the adult playroom while Eddie got Stede ready. He was allowed (by Eddie, of course, Stede would probably die when he saw it) to play a game on Eddie's phone while he waited, laying on his belly on the big adult playroom bed. 

He couldn't hold the laughter when he saw Papa being marched into the playroom by Eddie dressed in a pretty dress, socks and the mittens Papa had used on him for his forced regression a few months earlier. Eddie was cruel and Izzy loved it; he hadn't told him he planned to turn Papa into a little girl himself! He thought Eddie was thinking about less clothes.  

Eddie sat on the bench, and pulled Stede over his lap quite carelessly, putting up his little dress over his bum. He quickly started lecturing Stede on his misdeeds, making clear why he was being punished - just like he always did -, while the 'baby' was being duly ignored by Izzy. Ed was a bit confused, overexcited about his position, but he managed to steady himself enough to be understood. 

Papa got a thorough spanking with his-- no, with Eddie's slippers, and had to count every one of the 36 spanks; according to Eddie, he had one spank for each hour that Eddie and Izzy were upset or worried about Emma. He then marched a very red-bottomed Papa to the spanking bench, making him stay there on his own, without the restraints. He went to get one of the thuddier canes from Stede's collection from the wall, and topped the spankings with five strikes of the cane. 

Papa then was made by Eddie to sit on the floor, on top of his stinging bum, and was given pen and a few sheets of paper to  write, in pretty penmanship, a hundred times the sentence "I will never be mean to another baby again." 

***

By the end of the punishment, Papa was crying, overwhelmed by the situation. He apologized profusely to both his boys; he definitely saw, now, the error of his ways. Only then he got to be cuddled by his loves, forgiven. 

He was never going to mistreat anyone again. 

Chapter Text

Over the past week or so, Izzy had become increasingly fussy over his bath. Stede couldn't place if it was because of the water, because of his mood, because of his leg or... Just because. He was not going to entertain a struggling baby who wanted to stay all dirty, though. Showers were even worse; Izzy would just cry his little heart out at that. 

He thought that, for today's bath he would pull out the bath crayons and enter the bathtub with him; maybe if he could cuddle up to Papa while being washed, he would allow Papa to actually clean him up.

"Hello, sweet boy!" Stede called, entering the baby's nursery. Izzy had asked to play in his crib and, while Stede usually maintained that the crib was for sleeping, not playing, he had been playing nests, so no stray toys were there. 

Upon seeing his Papa, Izzy hid under a heap of blankets. He knew it was bathtime, and he was not willing to go. 

Stede sighed, entered the bathroom to leave his basket of products there, and came back to the bedroom, unlatching Izzy's crib and sitting on the mattress. "Israel", he said. Although his voice was not stern yet, it was steely enough to catch the baby's attention. "It is time for your bath, now. Are you going to come nicely with Papa, like the good, sweet boy you are?" He asked, reaching out a hand for the baby. 

"S'cause Izzy's not diwty, Papa", he justified, voice high and whiny. "Play'd clean all day!"

"Izzy, that's not what defines being clean or not, peanut. Our bodies get dirty just by existing!" Papa explains, pushing away the cover enough to brush back his hair. "Feel that? You are all sweaty and sticky."

Izzy grumbles, but he does feel how sticky his skin is. "But Papa", he says, "Water's... Wet." He argues, quite lamely. 

Stede would have preferred to be unable to hear. "... Wow, sweetheart." He says, doing his very best to contain any bitchiness he could express. "Darling," his tone is a tad more stern now. "If you don't come willingly, I will have to take you. I have no issue strapping you to your shower chair. However, if you come nicely, Papa can go in with you and we can play with the bath crayons you like."

That gives Izzy pause. Papa had been starting introducing more bondage than only the swaddling lately, and Izzy didn't like that if it was used not to calm him down, but to make him do things he didn't want to. But having Papa in the bath with him sounded like something that could become a lot of fun; like going to the pool. "Okie", Izzy says, a bit mistrustful in agreeing, but doing so nonetheless. 

***

It's a struggle to undress Izzy. His boy didn't tell him an outright 'no' again, but he did try to start little nonsensical conversations and did not quite cooperate when Papa tried to pull up his shirt. A few swats to his bare bum sorted that right out. 

Stede undressed as well, having already left the water running and many of Izzy's favorite toys floating in there. He added Izzy's favorite bubbles to the bath and, without much warning or preparation, picked Izzy up and placed him in the water with a loud 'splash!'. "Papa! Papa, mean, no--" 

"Israel" Stede leveled him with a look. "Are you really going to tell Papa 'no', little one? Papa is not trying to maim you, you know; just trying to get you clean. Do you want to be a dirty boy? Will I have to exchange your nice playpen for a pigstye? Leave you in the garden, groveling in the mud?" Stede pauses, as he climbs into the bathtub. "Should I be called Daddy Pig now, because my little boy became Peppa?" 

Izzy did feel a little happy to be in the warm water. But he was going through a little bit of a rough patch, behavior-wise. He splashed his hands in the water, making it spill out of the tub, a bit. Papa was calling him dirty, a little piglet, in a pigstye! He didn't backtalk, but he did stick his tongue out at Papa brattily. 

He was feeling playful, Stede thought. He made sure his hand was coated with soap and quite quickly pinched Izzy's outstretched tongue between his soapy fingers. It was not a full mouth soaping, but it would do the trick. His bratty little boy started squirming, but Stede didn't let go; it was not a strong grip at all, but it was enough for Izzy to rethink what he was doing. "Oh, Israel. Are you really going to stick your tongue out to Papa? You must be feeling much smaller than Papa thought, Papa is so sorry for not having noticed, darling. We will have you double-diapered, swaddled, and having nice, quiet time in the crib in a jiffy, don't you worry!" with that, Stede let go of Izzy's tongue, wiping the drooly mess of his fingers on Izzy's shoulder. 

Izzy was stunned by Papa's move. He kept trying to talk, but his words came out all garbled, and the taste of the creamy, moisturizing soap on his tongue was terrible, it was coating everything now! He felt tears welling up in his eyes; he didn't want to have double-diapered swaddled quiet time in his crib, he wasn't small! He started to spit in the bathwater, and that got him a nasty pinch in his thigh. 

"Honestly, darling, that is just yucky! Come here." Stede turns Izzy gently, pulling his boy to lay against his chest, between his legs. He kept Izzy secure against him, chin on Izzy's shoulder as he whispered in his ear, voice warm and gentle. "You are such a good boy, sweetling, why are you being such a nasty little wretch? Are you trying to tell Papa something?" His hands are softly splayed over Izzy's belly, gently pressing him back. 

Izzy didn't know if he was trying to tell Papa anything. It did feel less worse being in the water against him, though, with Papa's grounding touch on his skin. Even if he was such a nasty little wretch, Papa still wanted him. "Don't... Don't like scrubbies, Papa" he gathers, being the most he is able to come up with - and clearly a bald-faced lie, because he always asks for Papa to scrub him clean. Stede even got some nice exfoliating lotions for Izzy, because he liked the feeling so much. 

"Oh, peanut, are you trying to get in trouble? You know what happens to bad boys who lie to their Papas." Stede casually states, using the cue to gather the soapy washcloth and start scrubbing away at Izzy's arms. 

Izzy startled at that. "No, no bad boy! Don't wanna spankie please thank you." He says in a rush to get all of the words out. He wiggles his bum in the water anxiously, and he feels that... There is some pokey thing behind him. It's probably Papa's daddy parts, like Eddie says! With a bit of a manic glint in his eyes, Izzy looks back and asks. "Papa, play now, wash later?"

"Absolutely not, Israel. Wash now, play later. But Papa can be quick, if you can cooperate." He says, offering a compromise, and Izzy nods. Stede uses the little cooperation he could get to make quick work out of scrubbing his boy, taking special care of his little cock, balls, and ass - Izzy had been getting some rather nasty rashes lately, if not very properly clean. Izzy whimpered and wriggled away during this part of cleaning, which one earned them a few more stern sounds and pinches from Papa. "Squeaky-clean, darling!" Papa announces, brightly. "You may play now. What do you want to play?" 

Izzy blushes when Papa tells him he's squeaky-clean. It sounds so... Babyish. "Su'marines, Papa!" Izzy says, and, without any warning, goes underwater. He can't keep his open because of the bubbles, it's not like the pool, but he can feel around until he gets the toy that he wants.  

Stede gasps, having to hold the borders of the tub in an iron grasp. The toy, it turns out, was Papa's half-hard (and going up) cock. "Gentle hands, Israel!", he says, as his boy starts tugging at his dick, fondling his balls underwater (what a fancy word, Stede thought to himself). Izzy was effectively tugging at Papa's balls, rolling them around and squishing them in his hands as if they were stress balls. Izzy tugged at Papa's cock as well, batting it around Papa's thighs as if it was a drumstick. Stede was stunned; besides when he played puppies and got punished for it, Izzy didn't tend to touch him like this without permission; he didn't tend to touch him like this with permission. 

Izzy, on his side, was having the time of his life. "Dis the best toy, Papa, Izzy loves!" he announces brightly. His head was above water now, and he kept tugging and pulling and squeezing roughly, ignoring completely Papa's instruction for gentle hands. His other bath toy floated forgotten in the water; this was his favorite, now. It was warm, and heavy, and-- It twitched! 

Stede threw his head back, leaning it on the ledge of the tub. Israel was going to be the absolute death of him. With Izzy's rough ministrations, his torturing, careless touches, Stede couldn't hold himself for much longer at all. He shot his load in the water with his whole body trembling, a sheer layer of sweat coating every part of him that was not submerged. "Israel", he chastises. "You cannot touch Papa like... Like this. Naughty boy." 

"T'was not Papa, t'was toy. Like... Like Izzy's Papa's dolly!" He says, crossing his arms in front of his chest, all self-righteousness. "And Papa was bad boy, Papa wasted milkies!" Izzy huffs, rolling his eyes. 

He would be in for such a long spankie. 

Chapter Text

"Jackie, I am so sorry to spring the boys on you like this. I really have to take this appointment." Stede says, apologetically, the double stroller with both little boys being soothingly moved to and fro at Jackie's door.

"No trouble, Stede, I'm sure these little boys will be sweet as pie for Mama." She winks, as Eddie hides his face, and Izzy squeals. None of them have had a Mama before! Just Papa! And Auntie Jackie was terribly scary. "Tell ya; take the day! My lil' boy is big an' at the club today, I can take care of the little monsters, ain't no big deal at all."

Stede looks at her suspiciously at first but sighs in relief. "Oh, Jackie, thank you! What a lifesaver. God knows I love my little ones, but it is quite hard work looking after the two of them all at once, and Edward has been regressed for two days, now... It will be lovely to catch up with some tasks. Can't pour from an empty cup, am I right?" Stede chuckles, good-naturedly, and Jackie just smiles at him, nodding.

"Go, Papa. I'll take good care of them." She says, hands on her hips as she waits.

Stede goes around the stroller and crouches, looking at the little boys intently. "You two: be good for Auntie Jackie. Whatever she says, goes. She knows what Papa allows and what he does not allow, so I expect the best behavior from the both of you. Yes, Edward, Daddy means you too. And I do not want to see any big boys when I come back. Do I make myself clear?" He says, the last part of his speech a little bit steelier than the rest, and the little boys nod.

Izzy has tears welling up in his eyes as he makes grabby hands towards Papa. "Miss chu, Papa, n-no go!", he says, but Stede is already up.

"Oh, peanut, Papa will be right back! You are going to have a lovely time with Auntie Jackie. Now", he bends to kiss Izzy's little nosey and Ed's forehead. "I will see you both at dinnertime!" And, with that, he's off.

Jackie gets behind the stroller to get it inside. "Mama's gonna give you lil' boys the best time. Come on, let's get in."

***

To Izzy, it was so easy to see Jackie as Mama, as she was calling herself. She was lovely and bigger than him, her skin so soft and her smell so yummy. She had put Eddie down for a nap instantly because he hadn't been able to have his morning nap, so he was awfully cranky.

Her house was quite scary, at first sight; being mainly a Domme, and the owner of a club, the house had a very dungeon-y vibe. She did have a few baby rooms, though, and those were lovely. Eddie was asleep in a little boy's room, lying on a railed bed. The baby monitor was on, so Mama took Izzy to her own bedroom. She had the most gorgeous yellow dressing gown own, and Izzy couldn't stop rubbing his hands over the silky fabric. He wanted to rub his little face on it as well, but he didn't know if it was proper.

Once in Mama's bedroom, Izzy was perched on her lap, and made to look at her. "Well, lil' Izzy. House rules: you'll call me Mama or Mommy, or nothing at all. You'll have your nappy on at all times; dunno if your Papa keeps you like this, but I won't have messy little boys dribbling 'round the house. You'll get a nice maintenance spankie over Mama's lap with her hairbrush just to get you going and you gonna count and thank Mama for each spank. Yeah?"

Izzy wanted to run, to squirm away and to hide. The thing was: Mama was incredibly magnetic. Her voice was entrancing; she could be Kaa, from the Jungle Book movie, for all he knew, her eyes swirling and hypnotizing him. When Izzy noticed what had happened, he was already willingly positioning himself thighs up over Mama's lap, feeling terribly soft and small as he hugged a pillow she'd given him.

Mama gave Izzy one of her hands to hold as well - the prosthethic one, which made Izzy feel quite seen, and even more comfortable. "Ain't you just a sweet little one, Izzy? Gonna be such a good girl for Mama, ain't ya?" She says, rubbing at Izzy's unpadded thighs. Her hairbrush is wooden and hefty, and Izzy knows it will hurt, but he can't bring himself to care. Mama knows how to care for little boys.

While she gets ready, it occurs to Izzy briefly that, a few months back, he would be wailing and screaming and trying to run away (if with his leg on). But now, Papa got him to a point where he is very well-mannered, and he knows his adults, his caregivers know best and have the right to care for him the way they see fit.

That does not mean, of course, that it is easy to be spanked. Upon the first hit of the brush, Izzy screeches and holds tightly onto Mama's hand and the pillow. He chokes a "F-fank'chu, M-mama", but he forgets something.

Jackie coos, patronizingly. "Did ya forget your numbers, little one? Mama will help. Uooh..?" She makes the sound of the first letter, dragging it humiliatingly. "You can do it, baby girl, come on. You are smart, right? Or are you Mama's dumb lil' baby?" Her tone is sweet, but the words... Are not. It's confusing.

"O-one, Mama, fank'chu." Izzy says; it infuriates him that her help made it indeed easier to remember the number. And her praise felt warm, like basking in a sunbeam for the afternoon nap, cuddled to his stuffies.

"Theeere we go. Good girl, Izzy. Goodest lil' girl Mama has. Next one, eh?" She says, and hits him again, hard and thuddy.

Tears spill from Izzy's eyes, as if forced out. "Fank... Chu, M-mama... Dunno" Izzy's voice gets shy and small. "Don't 'member next number, Mama..."

"Such a dumb little girl! It's fine, Mama will help you, Izzy-luv. Next one is tttth..?" She exaggerates the syllable, rubbing the sting into Izzy's skin.

Izzy just now notices Mama is calling him a little girl. He wants to protest; he is a little boy! But he can't dwell on it for too long, he has a task to fulfill. "Fwo, Mama", he breathes, lisping and clumsily forming his words. He feels so small and helpless.

Thing is: Mama is a force of nature. No other caregiver, not even Papa, would have Izzy over their lap for no reason other than to keep him pliant in less than half an hour of caring. But Mama would, and, surprisingly, that doesn't feel bad?

There are three more counted spankings until Mama feels satisfied. Izzy is crying by then, snotty and ugly. Mama undresses him from his dinosaur onesie and mops his little face, using the onesie as a hanky for him to blow his nose. "There, there... Ain't chu a lovely lil' girl for Mama? Course you are. C'mere." Mama maneuvers him. She has her dressing gown open now, laying Izzy over her chest and belly skin-to-skin, so the constantly-chilly baby can get warmer.

It feels heavenly. Izzy can hide his head on Mama's neck, feeling as small as anything, scenting her; she smells like a lovely treat, all cinnamon and cigars and patchouli, so different from Papa's clean, crisp scent. He rubs his chest against hers, and she purrs, rubbing Izzy's back.

"There we go, baby girl. Ain't you jus' lovely?" She says, pressing Izzy down tight against her bare chest.

Izzy is so relaxed he can feel his nappy filling up; wetting and messing lately have been achieved through coaxing and meds and water pills and suppositories and IVs; a catheter, a few times. It is shocking and surprising that he has filled up his nappy just under Mama's strict care.

Jackie feels the baby's crotch getting all warm, and pats the seat of his nappy, rubbing the front of it against her thigh. "What a good girl! Making yo' nappy all heavy for Mama. Gonna leave you on it for a bit." She informs.

They stay cuddling together for quite a bit, with Mama whispering sweet nothings in Izzy's ear, and Izzy basking in the attention. At some point, he slides down a bit, and starts nuzzling Mama's boobs; they are so different from Papa's pecks, all lovely and heavy and full. Her nipples are bigger, and Izzy wants to nurse, wants his nummies from Mama.

Jackie notices right away what the little girl wants. Stede did let her know that, when small, Izzy did love to nurse. She repositioned him into a better nursing position, and, supporting his back with one arm, she used the free hand to milk herself just a touch, just enough for milk to start coming out so she could guide her nipple to paint Izzy's upper lip with milk, so the little girl could lap at it, latching onto Mama.

She pinches his thighs right away, sternly warning. "No teeth, lil' love, or Mama's gonna take them all. Ya hear?" Izzy looks back at her, wide-eyed, but nods gently. Her milk is different from Papa's; it's sweeter, somehow heavier on his tongue, and just absolutely amazing.

Izzy falls asleep while nursing, free hand idly playing with Mama's long hair. He feels like he would be a happy baby forever, living like this, with Papa and with a Mama as lovely as Auntie Jackie.

Chapter Text

"Wakey-wakey, lil' Izzy", Mama sing-songs, gently tickling Izzy's ribs. She allowed him to sleep for about half an hour, knowing that any more than that would fuck up his sleeping schedule. No one fucks up Izzy's schedules. 

"No wakey Mama, fanks..." Izzy mutters, hiding his face in Mama's soft belly. He was so cozy and comfy! 

Jackie laughs, shaking her head. She gets up and pulls the little boy right up with her. "Up ya get, baby girl, ain't no little girls gonna get lazy on Mama." 

Izzy finds the nerve to tell her. "No' giwl, Mama, Iz's a boy." His pout and his frown are supposed to prove his point. 

Mama thinks differently. 

She runs her sharp nails over Izzy's stubbly jaw, and says. "Mama wants a little girl, Izzy, and that's what Mama's having. You in need of a good waxing, arent'cha? Your Papa told me you get all soft and sweet after a good one. Mama's gonna make you all soft and sweet." Jackie slaps the back of his thighs sharply, to remind him of the spanking from earlier, making Izzy yelp. 

Mama's too strict, Izzy thinks to himself. 

***

Mama takes him to a proper dungeon, instead of a bathroom. He is shaking in her arms, bothered and scared; everything is blackish and leathery and stony; even Papa's adult playroom is pretty and bright. 

She lays him down on a table, as caring as can be, and commands Izzy. "Stay, sweetie, or Mama will have to tie you down." 

Jackie doesn't lose the little shiver of pleasure that rakes Izzy's body. Such a rope bunny. She has got the wax all nice, ready and warm, as well as the paper strips, in no time. It makes Izzy feel squirmy; he is used to Papa waxing him his gentle way, not Mama. Jackie strips Izzy of everything, including his nappy, and wipes him down thoroughly with disinfectant wipes. 

"Lay belly down for Mama, princess." Mama instructs, and Izzy does just as he is told, lying belly down. "Good girl, so pretty! Now, Mama needs you to hold yourself all open, cause Mama needs to make your pussy all smooth for a lil' jewel she's got you. You need to hold." Her voice had been all nice and warm, but the last bit is spoken in quite a stern tone, so Izzy understands.

Jackie guides Izzy's hands back, in quite an uncomfortable position, holding his cheeks open so Mama can wax him. When Papa does it, Izzy just has to lay down and relax until it's hurty pulling time, but Mama is making him work for it. 

Izzy waits for a little while, assuming Mama is cooling down the wax a bit, like Papa does. 

Mama was not cooling down the wax. She, instead, places the terribly hot wax straight on his little hole, as if wanting to close it. Izzy... Was not ready. Not ready at all. The burning hot sticky thick sensation makes Izzy let go of his cheeks, and wail. 

Mama wails as well. "Israel Bonnet" Mama hisses "You little fucker, look at what you've done!" 

Izzy can't look at what he has done, but he can certainly feel it was the worst idea he could possibly have had, letting go. He feels as if he's been glued shut with superglue, and spread thin at the same time. He feels like he will never be able to be opened again. It's a painful, tugging sensation; Izzy managed to seal himself shut quite effectively. 

Mama does not hesitate in reaching for a cane that is lying forgotten nearby, and his only warning is a grunt to take away his hands if he doesn't want caned knuckles. Mama lays stripe upon careful stripe of the cane over his little bum, making the wax tug inside and just giving Izzy the most terrible, skin-splitting caning, all the while lecturing him on the dangers of little girls not listening to their Mamas. 

Izzy can't find it in himself to stop sobbing; he didn't know! He didn't know this could happen! Mama said not to let go, but he thought it was like when Papa says not to eat too fast; just something that she wanted! 

Once Mama is done with the caning, with all of the fifteen welts carefully placed over Izzy's bum and already-spanked-thighs, the wax has hardened completely, tugging at Izzy's skin and hairs painfully. "Serves you well, you naughty girl. Shoulda leave you like this." She says, still indignant, pinching a welt and making Izzy squeal, tears streaming down his face non-stop. "Now, I'm gonna have to claw away at this mess you've made, there's no way of getting this out without risking burning ya." She shakes her head, disappointed. "You better stay put, Israel, hands away from here." 

Mama does have to claw away at the dried, hardened wax. It's a painstakingly long process, where, when she thinks she is making progress, she just notices that there is a little more, and a little more of Izzy's skin is glued together. By the time Mama gets to his little hole, she manages to get that particular bit of wax out in one piece, like an old letter seal or something of the sort; Izzy wets himself in pain, as much as he can and for the second umprompted time in the day, absolutely exhausted, feeling as raw as his skin actually is. Jackie just mops after him; Stede would kill her if she punished Izzy for wetting, after all the trouble he is going through with the boy in this aspect. After that, Mama proceeds to quite clinically wax the rest of his body, taking her time to shave his face, making sure to leave him only with the hair in his head, which she puts into a few lovely little braids. 

Jackie is not very forgiving of the naughty little boy. She does spread an ointment over the welts, and a little bit of nappy cream where she waxed, but Izzy is fit with a lovely, pink, jeweled plug that pushes into his raw flesh, making him feel absolutely helpless; he will never forget again to follow Mama's instructions to a T. 

Izzy is made to crawl, still crying, never stopping his crying, to the room where Eddie is still sound asleep. Mama places him on the bed, next to Eddie, and changes him into a lovely pink bunny nappy, a frilly pink nappy cover and the cutest soft gingham pink dress; Izzy is non-verbal, feeling so, so, so small he can only babble and reach for Eddie and Mama, hissing in pain and sniffling, making his lovely little eyes look puffy and his little nose look all red. Such a pretty picture for Mama. 

***

When Stede comes to get the boys, Izzy is sound asleep in Mama's lap as Eddie runs towards his Daddy to tell him all about the fun day he had with Auntie Jackie, playing monsters and freight trains and catch. Stede catches a glimpse of how lovely his little girl looks in Jackie's arms, and reaches to get Izzy from her, keeping his Eddie close. "Was Izzy too much trouble?" 

"Ain't been no trouble at all", she smiles, all teeth and mischievousness. "Can have them over whenever you need, boo." 

Chapter Text

Some things are hard to remember, for Izzy. Not hard in the sense that he has no recollection of it, no-- that, unfortunately, is not the issue. Hard in the way that dredging up painful memories always is. But Papa insists he has got to purge the bad feelings he still holds regarding his littleness; all of which walk hand-in-hand with bad memories about Eddie.

"Eddie used to get drunk a lot." Izzy starts, after a long period of silence. They have started their therapy session right after lunch, today, and Izzy hasn't had his nap yet, which makes him cranky. "A lot, a lot. I don't drink much, it messes up my stomach, but Eddie always did. Especially when we were young. We didn't have a bar for nothing. And I used to have to go and pick him up from wherever he ended up being, to keep him safe." Izzy takes in a deep breath, rubbing his face roughly. No gentle hands, not right now. He tries, as he always do in session. "Papa-- Are you sure you don't want to ask him?"

Stede's voice is firm, but kind. "No, darling. Edward has his own therapy sessions. This is your turn now, yes? Papa needs you to be very brave. You have been doing so well. Go on; he used to get very drunk."

Izzy sighs, defeated. "I had to keep him safe from harm, Papa. But... He was mean, you know? He didn't want to be saved, he didn't want to be taken home. He-- He used to hit me. Ah. Full punches? A lot of kicking, too. It was not pretty. But I couldn't exactly hit him back, could I? He was not himself. He seemed to have fun with it, though. At least in the moment. He... He would mock my classification. Kick me until I had an accident, then belittle me for it. But... He didn't mean it. It was the liquor talking, not him."

Stede takes in a deep breath and adjusts his own glasses. Oh, Edward. His punishment tally will be so high by the end of this session. "You did not deserve it, Israel. Do you hear me? There are no excuses for this type of behavior."

Izzy duly ignores Papa. "When he woke up, every time, he would... He would get on his knees and beg for forgiveness. He'd ask me for a second chance; Eddie probably has gotten more second chances than anyone I know." Izzy chuckles, dry and sad. "But at night everything would be the same, the same song and dance. Sometimes I reacted, you know?" Izzy looks up to the ceiling; he looks so small in his huge, fluffy jacket, leggie hugged up to his chest. "But he would flip out when I did. Absolutely feral. I was so thankful that the bar was ours and the workers didn't ask why I'd been beaten black and blue." He takes in a deep breath. "Some officers tried to make me report him a couple of times. They called me a 'victim'; I told them to go fuck themselves and got arrested."

Stede shivers to think of Izzy in jail for any period of time. "Oh, darling", Stede starts, but Izzy shushes him.

"I loved him so much, Papa. But-- He could be so frustrating. Still can, but he is so much better with you. Both of us are. We... He was so nice, so tender when we got away from Ben for good. He was so delicate, so full of love, so accepting. I thought I could be little, with him. But soon... Soon it went back to how it had always been, the only difference being that, well... Now it was Eddie hurting me, and that hurt a thousand times more. He ruined everything for us. I'm not talking about my feelings, either -- We lost the bar twice before I got full-time big and started taking care of it. He would lie to my face about where he had been, about the drugs he had been taking. When he was high off his ass--" Izzy stops, chastised, at Papa's pointed look. "Sorry, Papa. When he was high as a kite, he would make jokes about me, about my littleness, about me being a baby... I felt empty. Hollow. Disgusting, and undeserving of anything. He sucked me dry, Papa. Until I had nothing else to give anyone, nothing but bitterness." Izzy shrugs, picking at the threads on his sweater. "But I loved him. I think he loved me too, but-- Responsibility, you know? He never dealt well with it."

Stede takes in a deep breath. He takes off his glasses, and adjusts himself in his armchair. They are in session now, he can't go there and hug his baby, cradle him, and keep him safe right now. "You were not at fault for anything that has happened, peanut. You know that, right? You were indeed a victim of this situation." He tries to explain it better at seeing Izzy's skeptical expression. "Edward is complex. He dealt with his traumas in a very... Compulsive manner. You should not have gone through so much of what you did when you were younger, darling, but this in specific... You trusted Edward, and he broke your trust. Do you feel like this made you neglect... No. Do you feel like these experiences made you reject your littleness?"

Izzy listens carefully, to give Papa an appropriate answer. He is already feeling itchy with the nappy, but they agreed he needed to be big for his sessions; which didn't, of course, unobligate him from keeping his nappy and baby attire. "Yes, Papa. I think so. Mister Ben, then Eddie and Jack... Yes. By the time we were stable, I had already buried it far too deep. It was only the accident that allowed me to get in contact with it, really, because I was too vulnerable."

Stede smiles, and walks over to Izzy's armchair. He is in Stede's arms in a blink. "You are safe, now. Cared for, and so, so very loved, darling. You will never need to hide again."

Chapter Text

Izzy hasn't quite been himself lately, Stede has noticed. Since they resumed therapy, his baby has shown anger and frustration in a way that he hadn't seen before, not really. Which, all in all, is good: he is processing everything that has happened to him for so many years. After their last session talking about Eddie, who is away for a few days, Izzy has been trying to get Papa's attention in all ways he can think up, it seems.

Some things are simply unacceptable, though. Stede can get behind the crayons on the walls; he just made Izzy scrub them out a few hours ago. He can understand taking out his anger in his stuffies, though never Louis and the kitty Doctor Zheng gave him: stuffed animals are his friends and they should be treated as such, or else Stede will have Izzy punching his friends on the playground like he used to do at the bar. Now, having the baby pull out first edition children's books and fling them across the room is something he simply will not allow.

Stede sits himself down on his rocking chair. He crosses his legs and stares at the baby, hands primly folded on his lap. "Don't you dare completing this action, peanut", Stede's voice is even and so quiet Izzy would have to strain to hear, which he does. They lock eyes. Both of them look at the first edition of Beatrix Potter's stories he has in his hands. The air is thick with tension and expectation.

Israel is not usually a stubborn, cantankerous little. But sometimes... Well. Sometimes he's seeking pain. He's seeking corrections. He's seeking to make sure that the person who takes care of him will not brush him off, ignore him. So he throws the fucking book as far as it will go. It's a mess, too; the archival edition, carefully preserved for however many years, bursts apart as it hits a wall. There are pages flying, bent and ripped as it crashes against the hard surface. The cover is gone.

Stede purses his lips. He crosses his arms and waits. Ultimately, he can either get them restored or just source new books. What Izzy is going through, though, is something they can't put aside.

Izzy, seeing that he is not getting the attention he wanted, starts to escalate his tantrum, just as any toddler would. He picks more books, old and new alike, and throws them around. As Stede does not move, he starts to rip covers and pages on purpose.

"I would thread very lightly if I were you, little one." Stede's tone is still quiet and eerily creepy. They have a system; three warnings before Stede will act, and never, never ever out of anger.

Israel is in an opposing mood. Looking his Papa dead in the eye, he grabs the first marker he can find and starts scribbling over the pages of another antique; the Velveteen Rabbit this time.

What does Israel have against bunny rabbits today, Stede thinks to himself, amused? "Sweetling, this is your last warning. Let go of Papa's books, pretty please."

Izzy doesn't let go. Instead, he draws the biggest, more lewd dick he can remember how to.

Stede hums. "I think you may need a bath, little one." Stede gets up, stalks towards Izzy and crouches right in front of him. He holds his hands out to Izzy, and explains, gentle and teacher-like. "We are going to get up, walk to the main bathroom and have a very soothing bath, with your white noise machine on and hair washing, the way you like. Come to Papa, please, little one", he asks, and waits.

Izzy is positively seething. He doesn't even know where all the anger is coming from, he just. He wants a fight and Papa is not giving him one. He wants Papa to be like Eddie was and put him in his fucking place! No one puts him in his fucking place anymore, pathetic boy. He has to do everything himself, just like fucking always. Izzy pushes at Papa's chest, making him wobble slightly. Stede's tone grows stern. "Israel Bonnet, we do not push. Our hands are gentle. Come along", he says, and picks Izzy up, taking away his choice. He could crawl behind Papa -- he does not have his prosthetic on today --, but now it's Papa's decision.

The baby struggles all the way to the bathroom, of course, but Stede's grip remains unyielding. Probably out of pure experience, he manages to turn on the faucet to fill the tub while still carrying the baby. He sits Izzy down on the closed toilet lid and calmly starts undressing him. Izzy's grunts and screams are primal, but Stede is absolutely unfazed by it. He keeps humming little songs and making small talk to distract the baby.

Izzy can't hold onto the tantrum and the tension once he's in the warm water.

"Are you ready to behave, Israel?" Stede doesn't wait for an answer. He is already lathering a washcloth to clean up his baby. "What you did was incredibly disrespectful. Papa doesn't condone disrespect in his household. Papa is very cross with you."

Izzy's anger is slowing fizzing out, his resolve to tantrum and be bad. Papa is not ignoring him, he is not not punishing him, is he? Papa is just doing things in that patient way that he does. Izzy counters, with a bit more defiance than he thought he would be able to keep. "S'not my fauwt, Papa! Gotta -- gotta out, chu keep poking an' making Iz tawk, an' membew!" Izzy explodes, slapping his hands in the water and splashing water everywhere. "If wanna goo' baby, gotta stop poking!"

Stede laughs, of all things. He soon stops, not wanting to give the baby the impression his actions are ok because he is amused. Of course Izzy is bothered by not being able to bottle everything down. "Israel. Izzy, darling. Peanut, therapy is meant to poke and probe and make you think. That does not mean you have to mistreat people in your life or that you can take out your anger unsafely in Papa's personal possessions. Now" he says, as he starts pouring out a little bit of shampoo to start washing Izzy's hair. Stede sighs regretfully. "Papa has to punish you. But let it be known, any punishment that comes your way is for your actions, not for the way talking about your past makes you feel." Stede pauses for a moment, getting a little bit of water in a toy bucket to rinse Izzy's hair. "What should you have done instead of being naughty?" He asks softly.

Izzy knows the answer to this one by heart. When not in a obstinate mood, he always does it, too. "Shoulda haf ask'd Papa fow hewp cos Papa knows bettew", Izzy says, not looking up at Papa. The white noise Papa turned on after settling Izzy in the bathtub is making Izzy a little sleepy, too, but he can't fall asleep. Gotta be punished, see.

"Papa is very pleased to know that you remember, dearie. Not to worry, though! We will fix everything. Now, behave for Papa so we can get to it." Stede picks Izzy up and makes a baby burrito out of him with his hooded towel. He takes the baby to his nursery and pats Izzy dry, laying him down on his crib and moisturizing every inch of him. Stede doesn't like to go straight to hard punishments. He feels like he needs to talk things through, to settle the little one. But now, it's showtime. Quite literally.

Izzy is humming and babbling as he waits, wholly distracted by his mobile for quite a bit while Papa walks around gathering things. He startles a bit when Papa begins to talk.

"Very well", Stede starts. He considered carefully what to do with his boy. He didn't want Israel to feel constricted, as if he could not express his feelings, but he needs to drive the lesson home; their house is not meant to be destroyed in fits of rage after every therapy session. He has Israel sat in his crib, everything looking as nice as it can be. "Now that you are nice and clean and relaxed, we need to talk about your punishment. You have lost the right to use these handsies for the time being, dearie, and we will sing some songs that will help Izzy remember what Papa wants from him. Yes?" His tone is nice and cheery and cloying as he handles the straitjacket he picked for Izzy.

Izzy has been swaddled more times than be can count, and he loves it, too. He loves anything that constricts his movements, usually, and Papa is so proficient in baby bondage. "Dunno 'ny songs, Papa", Izzy whines, trying to pout his way out of a punishment. When he puts his eyes in the straitjacket, he glares and roars at Papa. "Am not cwazy! No need! Gonna send--" Izzy gasps, sliding backwards and hitting the railings on his crib. "Gonna ship 'way? T-to cwazy pwace?"

Stede puts the straitjacket down and scruffs his baby, bringing him closer. "No-no-no, Mister Israel. You made your bed, now you lie in it. Come now, let us get you settled." He picks Izzy up by his arms, and easily maneuvers him into the jacket. It's made of patent leather dyed in a dusty cornflower blue, and buttery soft inside. Only the best for his baby. His tone softens as he explains. "Papa is not shipping you away anywhere, sweetheart. This is just to put your naughty handsies away for your punishment! Doesn't it feel so nice? Papa knows how much Izzy likes to be cuddled, doesn't it feel like the tightest cuddle?" Stede boops the baby. Izzy is still having some issues with wetting, so a couple of water pills it is before diapering him in a thick nighttime nappy. A spreader bar whose cuffs match the straitjacket's leather right between his thighs is the final touch. Oh, who is Stede kidding, the final touch is a cute cornflower, thistle and periwinkle-printed bow on Izzy's hair to keep his bangs away from his eyes. They have been dabbling in cuter, more girlish accessories lately as per Izzy's demand.

Izzy is shaking. Nothing is hurting, per se -- nothing but whatever is left of his ego --, but being put in such a humiliating position and yet having Papa touch him so softly is far worse than any corporal punishment he could ever devise. Well. In Izzy's mind, of course.

All gets just a tad worse as Papa says "Give me just a moment, dearheart, Papa will grab some supplies!" Papa comes back shortly with a couple of the ruined books, a tripod and his cellphone. He sets everything properly, and, having sent a message to the caregiver group chat while Izzy was still destroying things, everyone is ready. "Hullo, friends! We have our little Izzy here -- Izzy-love, say 'hello' to our friends! He decided to act up today, instead of asking for Papa's help, and absolutely ruined some of Papa's first editions. Would you look at that?" Stede says, shaking his head, and showing his ruined books to the câmera. "Now, he has been safely bound and we are going to learn some cheers to help our little Izzy remember his manners! Cheer along if you know this one", Stede says, in his best influencer style, and winks at the camera. He kneels in front of Izzy, positioning them so the camera can record them on their side. "If Papa I disobey", he cheers loudly, waiting for Izzy to repeat it.

"If Papa I dis'bey", Izzy's voice is almost gone. He swallows around a lump, trying to keep his tears at bay.

"No, no, dearie! With gusto, peanut, come on!" Stede repeats himself. He so does love cheers. "If Papa I disobey the price I have to pay!"

Izzy repeats it all, eyes big as dinner plates and brimming with the tears he was trying not to shed. "So-so-sowwy, Papa, no need'a camewa, peese", he begs. Stede slaps his soft inner thigh sharply. He does not grace Izzy with a reply.

"If Papa I disobey the price I have to pay, my handsies are locked away", Stede gives Izzy a moment to repeat without forgetting . "Out of reach things stay!"

Izzy had such naughty handsies, hadn't he? So so bad, he destroyed Papa's property, didn't need to! If had asked Papa for help, might even have gotten a spankie to settle him, but no! Tried to know better, now look at him!

"Izzy", Papa sing-songs. "Out of reach things stay", he insists, hands set on Izzy's thighs, thumbs rubbing soothingly up and down so the baby knows Papa is there to support him.

"Outta weach fings'ay", Izzy mumbles half-heartedly, tears flowing freely down his face, which is as red as a beetroot both from the shame of his actions and the embarassment of the punishment. Izzy's sobs are loud and clear, yet the people watching them do not care at all. Messages from Fang, Lucius, Olu, Jim, Dr. Zhe are popping on Stede's screen cheering Izzy on.

"Good job! Next one goes like this: Papa loves me so much, he'll give me a hurty tush!" And to illustrate the cheer, he reaches to slap Izzy's outer thighs, near his booty.

That's too much. That is far too much. Izzy is wholly overwhelmed. "No" he yells, shaking his head. He can't do this. He is sorry, so so sorry, but he can't. This is far too much.

It's so easy for Papa to tip Iz forward and, indeed, make every visilble sliver of his tushie pink and black and blue and hurty. Stede doesn't spare de rod, either, so to speak. He reaches down for a slipper and spanks Izzy freely. Stede does clarify why Izzy is being spanked, though. "Do we say 'no' in Papa's house, Israel? Is that a word that is allowed? We will look at our friend's answers to this, but Papa thinks babies are not allowed to say 'no'. Such a naughty word!"

Once he's pulled up to sit on his calves again, tush burning, Stede repeats the cheer. "Papa wuvs me s-so mush, he'll give Iz a-a huwty tush!" Snot is dripping down his nose, but Papa cleans it up before it reaches his mouth. "S-s-sowwy, Papa, n-no gonna say 'n-no' 'gain, pwomise, pwomise, peese! Stop n-now? Iz d-done?" he manages to beg.

Stede is ecstatic. "Just a little more now, peanut! Papa is so proud. Just one more verse!" He bends to kiss Izzy's face softly, and goes. "Baby won't need to wail, Papa won't let him fail!"

Papa-- Papa won't let Izzy fail. Papa is there to guide Izzy all the way through it. "Buh-buh won' need'ta waiwl, Papa w-won' we-wet 'im faiw!"

A rain of congratulations appears in Papa's screen, but Izzy can't focus on that. His eyes are trained on Papa, and Izzy is ready to apologize properly. Papa won't let him fail, even when he has the biggest feelings. He's got a pink, hurty, warm tushie. His handsies are locked away. "Baba", he says quietly, trying to get the tears out of his voice. "I-I'm sowwy, was ba-bad, notty, notty, hu-huwt booksies", he says, and sniffles loudly. "F-fowgive?"

Stede brings his bound baby closer, undoes the spreader bar and pats his nappy, cellphone forgotten in the tripod. His baby is lovely and wet and warm. "Papa will always forgive you, silly-boo."

Chapter Text

Uncle Fang came to visit Izzy early in the morning. They were both enamored of each other, and that was old news, but seeing them together always made Stede quiver with jealousy. His go-to babysitter, Frenchie, however, was unavailable, and he had to take Eddie to a medical appointment they could not miss. The stressors of being at a hospital would push Izzy too far, so having his favorite Uncle over was just a plus. Stede and Fang had devised a careful plan of what would happen during Fang's time with Izzy. 

Stede wanted to have some modifications done, to try out a few new toys, but being the one doing it in case something went wrong would marr the trust that Izzy had in him. It was for the best that Fang did it. Would Stede be thinking about it all the time? Yes. Would he be watching every detail through the CCTV cameras he had in the playroom? He surely would. Would he punish his baby if he felt too good? Well. Not punish, of course, just. Course-correct.

***

Fang was sitting in the kitchen, seesawing the baby in his lap absent-mindedly and laughing heartily every time the little one clutched at him.

"You silly-willy wittwe baby, Uncle Fangie is not letting you fall! We are going to do sooo many fun thingies while Papa is away. We'll spend some time playing in the pool, and Uncle Fangie will show you a fun new thing he learned at the club, we can play puppies the way you like..." Fang trails off, bouncing his legs to make the baby giggle.

Stede and Eddie had already eaten their breakfast. Both of them move close to the baby for a kiss on each cheek. Stede holds Izzy's chin in the same hand he is holding his car keys in and kisses his nose and his forehead. "You behave properly for Uncle Fang, yes? 'No' is a naughty word to use with Uncle too, so you just be my sweet little lamb. Eddie and Papa won't take long to come back, it's just a checkup." Stede explains, voice soft and smiley, so the baby knows he has nothing to worry about. 

Izzy is a bit anxious for Eddie, but he nods at Papa, his tummy making little swoopy motions because the way Papa touches and talks to him is simply the best. "Gonna be'ave Papa, no wowwy! Dada, haf good, ah, 'pointment!"

Eddie chuckles and tickles Izzy's tummy as best as he can, considering the baby is currently plastered against Fang's chest. "Thank you, matey! Daddy will be back in a blink, just you watch." With a wink and a wave, Stede and Eddie set off. 

Fang bounces his... Ah. The baby. "Just us now, little boss! You need to finish your bottle, we don't want a weak scrawny baby, do we? No siree we don't!" He says as he adjusts Izzy with Izzy's back against Fang's chest, and he feeds Izzy his bottle until it is completely empty. 

Izzy is so utterly relaxed, honestly, in Uncle Fang's arms. There is the element of his massive crush on his Uncle, of course, but Fang is so soft and warm and lovely. Izzy wishes he had noticed that soon. That he had been noticed sooner. 

Once they are done, Fang pops Stede's new acquisition: a baby carrier for littles. It surely made having a baby in one's arms much easier. Cleaning up after breakfast was much quicker, and Fang felt like it was lovely to have Izzy's small figure pinned to his chest while he executed house tasks. He could do with having this more often. Once he is done, he dries his hands up on his own clothes and tells the distracted baby. "So, we'll play a bit inside first, and then we'll play in the pool."

Izzy nods sweetly. He will do anything Uncle wants him to do, honestly. The shepherd's sweetest little lamb. A wide array of things is set on the playroom floor, and Izzy frowns a little. There are a bunch of weird things. A tray with rods, gloves, lube and tape. And looots of puppy pads. He tugs at Uncle's soft soft soft shirt and asks. "Wha pway, Uncwe Fangie?"

Fang is more than happy to explain what will happen to the baby. He takes Izzy out of the carrier and sets him down, laying him over some of the puppy pads. "Your Papa allowed Uncle to play with your teeny-tiny willy, lovey!  Uncle Fangie thinks it will help relax you. After that, Uncle will clean you up quicker than quick and we'll go float on the pool until Papa's back!"

Izzy lays down more properly and opens his leggies as instructed, so Uncle can undo his nappy. Fang looks like a child at a candy store. You see, he loves to play with tiny willies, but his pups have proper men's dicks. A sounding session in a teeny-weeny little clitty? Oh-oh. That will be wonderful. And he knows Izzy will behave for him, he will make it so Izzy likes it. He doesn't want to hurt his favorite baby! "Right-o, honeybee. Can you stay put, handsies out of the way? Look, Uncle Fangie will get this little glass rod and he will slide it in Izzy's willy. It will help Izzy with his wees later and it will feel extra good, I promise!"

Izzy's eyes go owlishly wide. "I-in. Like. Inside my wiwwy?" He doesn't move. Best sacrificial little lamb. But. "S-stwech? Huwt?" 

Fang is a very perceptive guy. He leans forward and kisses Izzy's forehead, splaying a big hand on his tummy. "Just a little burning, lovey! Just a teeny-tiny bitsy, I swear. Then Uncle will make Izzy feel so, so nice! Uncle was so looking forward playing with Izzy, did you know that? Yeah! I bought these new fun toys just for you! We can't stop now, right? Uncle will if you are scared, but look! S'just me! No need to be scared."

Before there is any chance for Izzy to have a reaction, Fang leans down and takes all of Izzy's minuscule willy in his mouth, expertly suckling and making a mess out of his beard. You see, Izzy is not allowed this type of... Fun very often; even before he littled full-time, it's not like he had a line of people wanting to make him feel good, not with the scowl he wore to work every day. It takes nothing to have Izzy writhing and squirming under Uncle Fang's ministrations. Fang looks up for a moment.

"You need to behave now, bug! Be nice and still for Uncle Fangie, or else it can hurt but we don't want that at all, we want Iz to feel all the good feelings", Fang says softly, reaching to cup Izzy's face, his beard spit-slick and pre-cum drenched as he kisses Izzy's cheek. "Now there will be that burny bit that I told you, but it will be just fine, you'll feel so good again in a blinkey, yeah? Good." He pops a paci in Izzy's mouth for good measure, and hands Izzy one of the puppy stuffies he always carries around. 

Fang really looks like a child with a new toy. But-- there is something he really thought could happen. He feels like Izzy's unsightly balls are completely in the way. That can be easily fixed, of course; he was prepared for that. Fang has learned how to tuck while doing security gigs at a drag bar for a couple of summers. What? He's curious! Mm. But it would be better if Iz's little hole was plugged up, too, just to be safe. He reaches for the softest silicon plug he has on his bag, the thinnest one -- though with a widely flared base, no one wants to lose anything up a baby's bum. He lubes it up thoroughly, and works it into Iz, rubbing up and down his thighs with his free hand, leaning down for some extra sucking -- anything to make the baby feel nice and good and comfy. Everyone can ignore the moans and gasps; that can be trained out of the baby soon.

It is in easily, so now Fang can pick up the tucking tape (which is just medical grade tape, really, in a tone that matches Izzy's skin so it will look seamless). He is so gentle, so loving in the way he is handling Izzy. As if Izzy is precious, really. He cups Izzy's balls in one big hand, and uses the other one to push them back into their little channels, tucking them out of the way. He then tapes the two ugly flaps of skin that are left in a X that goes all the way up to Izzy's crack, leaving behind just smooth surface. He hums and snaps a picture. Maybe Stede should entertain the idea... Yeah. If anything, he will be jealous, and that is always fun. It would for sure make cleanup after diaper changes so much easier, indeed. He shows Izzy the picture. "Look, honeybee! Look at how good you look, oh! Maybe your Papa should keep you like this, soft and smooth, shouldn't he?" 

Izzy was distracted by his paci and by his stuffie while Uncle was tucking him. He's scarily used to people poking and probing downstairs, and this didn't even hurt like Auntie Jackie's waxing. But when he sees the picture, he bursts into tears, and his first reaction is to loudly say 'No!' -- which he cuts off at the last minute, franctically sucking his paci. No, is his, can't cut off! Can't hide, he already doesn't have a leggie, what the fuck else will these people take from him? Izzy gasps and covers his mouth with his handsies. No, bad thoughts, maybe Izzy should be punished. But he is not stupid. With all of these fun toys out, he doesn't want to be punished. Uncle Fang never punished Iz, but Izzy knows he is all sunshine and rainbows until you get on his bad side. Izzy doesn't want to get on his bad side. He swallows his words and breaks down, tears streaming freely.

"Oh, little boss, I didn't know you'd get so happy you'd cry! I'll talk to your Papa after we play, I promise! Now, here goes the good part, okie? Yeah? Just keep relaxed as you were, I'll take the best care of my best baby." Isn't that ominous, Izzy thinks to himself, but what choice does he have? He is still crying, crying so hard it's making his tummy hurt, but he keeps his leggies well in place as Fang dribbles lube down his weenie and over the thinnest rod. He holds Izzy's valiantly hard little prick, and peels back the foreskin. Hm, Fang thinks to himself. That should go too. He needs to text Jackie about it. She was yapping about how cute a little girl Izzy was for her when she came to play. Again, cleanup is so much easier when there isn't all of that extra skin on a baby. They should just take away everything that gets in the way. It's not like Izzy will miss any of it, after all. Well! It's hard to make his big hands work for such delicate practices, with such diminutive parts, but he manages to find Izzy's special wee-wee hole. It's so teeny-tiny that even the thinnest rod is a clear stretch for it. 

As Uncle Fang slides the rod down Izzy's dick, Izzy feels like a stuffed turkey. The fullness, the burning, the stretch are unbearably intense. He is not ready for it. He coughs and splutters behind his paci, wailing loudly -- especially because, in spite of it all, it feels good? Not good like eating proper food. Not good like cuddles. Good like Izzy-could-die-from-it good. Fang recognizes the look of blissful pleasure in Izzy's face, and smiles. "See? Oh, you're so good. You're so wonderful. If your Papa hadn't found you, Uncle Fangie would have you as his baby." Fang's eyes are trained on Izzy as he pushes the rod in, in, in... And slides it out. In, in, in... And out. He is effectively fucking Izzy's two-inch clitty, and Izzy is so ready to make a mess.

Izzy can feel the intense burning in his lower tummy growing, and growing, and growing, and Fang is so generous. "You tell Uncle Fangie when you're ready to make your sticky messies, love, yeah? We need words, and Uncle will tell you when he'll make his". Fang smiles. He's sweaty, hard and ready to mark the hell out of this pup. His voice is as sweet as warmed honey. "Uncle Fangie can make his messies in Izzy's tummy, can't he? So Izzy will be his? Marked as his?" How can Izzy say no to that?

Izzy's eyes are animal and dumb as he nods and nods. Mark. Mark Izzy, like puppy. Mark Izzy as his with his cummies. Izzy can't speak, not proper words, just sounds, just long whines to let Uncle know he's ready. Fang takes his dick -- now, that's a proper dick, a man's dick -- out and starts stroking himself to perfectly time their orgasms. The rod is out of Izzy's dick the moment Fang starts painting his tummy white. 

Izzy makes such a mess. It's not watery cummies that come out of his clitty, no-no. Izzy wets himself thoroughly, poor spent little clitty spasming painfully as Fang keeps touching and stimulating him. Thank god for the puppy pads. Fang leans down to scoop just a little bit of cum in his finger and feed it Izzy, just to see what the baby would do. Izzy laps at it hungrily. He has never felt anything better. 

***

Izzy loves the pool. He has learned his lesson, he knows he needs his floaties, so he doesn't fuss anymore. Not about the floaties, not about the sunscreen, not about anything. Right now, Izzy would really not fuss about a single thing. He is stretched out in the pool against Uncle Fang's chest as Uncle Fang swims rounds around the pool, carrying his floaty Izzy-bee in his bumblebee swimsuit, pigtails, swimming nappy and wing floaties attached to his arms. 

That is how Stede finds them. He has seen the pictures, of course, and the camera feed. Well. Maybe a visit to the Doctor's for Izzy will be in order soon. Also some fun times for the baby to remmeber who he really belongs to. Stede squats at the edge of the pool and reaches his hand out for them. "Papa!", Izzy squeals immediately, as soon as he has his eyes on Stede, and Fang laughs, swimming towards Stede. 

Stede is always pleased when his baby shows his preference for him. He smiles brightly and asks. "Did my sweet boy behave, Fang? Was he good for his Uncle?" Stede asks, holding one of Izzy's handsies and rubbing his thumb over the baby's knuckles. 

Fang lovingly kisses Izzy's forehead and tickles his ribs. "I can babysit whenever you need, Ste. He is perfect."

Chapter Text

Their days have been nice and calm for a while. They got in the groove of a routine, with Edward living with them full-time, Israel doing his therapy, Stede taking care of his boys. 

One evening, as Izzy sluggishly played with some bath toys in Stede's bed - the baby just wouldn't let go of his rubber duckies, and he was too cute to say no to -, Edward mentioned something that Stede did not see coming. 

"Daddy", he called Stede. Edward was going through a clingy phase of his own, and he was leaning littler. "I don't think the tattoos fit Izzy really well anymore. I was looking at the other kiddos in the park earlier, when I took him down to play, and. None of them have tattoos. Izzy looked--" Eddie lowers his voice and gets closer to Stede to be able to whisper in his ear, twisting his hands anxiously in his lap. "Dirty." 

Stede uses all the self-control that he has to even out his voice as he reaches to pet Eddie's beautiful long hair. He looks like a siren, with it cascading down his back in beautiful waves. "Does he?" Stede asks, neutral as can be. "I would never presume to know what they mean to him, my darling boy, but I must admit... Our Israel would look quite sweet, all cleaned up. They are yours, my love, and you recently reinforced the one on his face. Do you think we should erase them?" 

Eddie nods fiercely. He has screwed Izzy up in so many ways; he doesn't want to be the reason why the other littles squeal away in fear of how aggressive he still looks, no matter how good and sweet he is. "Yeah, mate. I think-- Yeah. It's for the best. We can take pictures? Before doing it?" Eddie takes a thumb to his mouth to chew on the nail and receives a sharp slap to the wrist for his troubles. 

"Naughty hands. Do you need mittens too, Edward?" Stede scolds. Then, his tone softens. "Of course we can take pictures, my love. They were so important for him. Keep an eye on our baby, please, my love. I have a few calls to make, some appointments to arrange." Stede kisses Eddie's forehead, stops by to coo at Izzy and kiss all over his sweet face, especially where the spot is marked, and walks out to his office. 

Eddie sighs in relief. He thought he was going crazy, but no. Daddy knows best, he will take care of things for Iz. He slides onto his tummy to lay side-by-side with Izzy, playing with the baby until they both fall fast asleep, before Stede can manage to get back to them. 

***

Since moving in with Papa, Izzy usually wakes up in the best of moods. He has a tight routine to follow, and that makes him feel wonderful from the get-go. Having spent the night on Papa's bed, nestled between Papa and Daddy, is the cherry on top. There are so many wet kissies all over his face that he wonders if he is being attacked by Uncle Fang's puppies. Izzy squeaks and forces his eyes open, giggling brightly at Papa's silly faces. "Papa!" Izzy squeals. "Goo' mowning", he yawns widely, rubbing his little eyes with mittened fists. 

Stede is so in love with this little boy that he feels like he is fit to burst every time he looks at him. "Good morning, my polite little love! Did you sleep so, so well? Did you? Cuddled by Papa and Daddy? Yes, yes you did!" He coos, tickling Izzy's soft tummy. "Of course my baby had the best sleepies! Uh-huh, yes he did. How is that nappy feeling, sweetling?" Stede asks, voice sweet and calming. 

Izzy closes his eyes to assess how his nappy is feeling. He has gotten so much better at it, too. He's been taking lots of fluids, and Uncle Fang's sounding helped him so much that Papa has it in his weekly routine, now. "S'wet, Papa, an. Ah. Um. Messy, Papa." He reports. He still feels utterly humiliated by it, but those are natural bodily functions, Izzy is *fine*. There is no reason for him to be embarrassed. Even though his face is burning hot, all dusted in pink.

Stede's smile is blinding. He reaches to firmly pat Izzy's nappy, front and back, so his baby really feels it. "Good job, peanut! Good job reporting to Papa. You barely woke up and you are already being Papa's best baby!", Stede says, sitting up properly and pulling Izzy into his lap. He holds the baby to his chest, positioned perfectly so Izzy can lay there. Stede is toying with Izzy's waistband - it had been such a warm night, he allowed his baby to sleep in only a nappy and a t-shirt. Eddie is splayed naked beside them, still fast asleep. ""Can we check our schedule for today, or are you far too sleepy, dearie?" 

Izzy rubs his face on Papa's chest, and tugs at his dressing gown to hide against the warmth of Papa's body. "Can check, Papa, peese", Izzy asks. 

Stede can't help himself. He squeezes Izzy against himself until the baby is making funny little noises. "I love you so much! Oh, gosh, Papa adores you so. My perfect baby-love. So! We will have a rushy morning, yes? We will have our brekkies and our meds, but we need to run some errands today. Papa will take Izzy our for a Spa Day! Such fun! We are going to get Izzy's skin all nice and clean and lovely, Izzy will get a massage to help with the pain... We can go grab some ice-cream later, since it is so hot, how is that? Or even have nummies out! Would you be so well-behaved at a restaurant?" Stede asks, and whispers conspiratorially. "I think you'll behave better than Eddie." 

Izzy giggles. "Bettew than than Dada!" Izzy claps his mittened handsies. "Okie, Papa! Wanna. Can-- Can do! An. An aftew? Wha' do?" Izzy asks. 

"In the afternoon, we will have lots of free time to play, watch your cartoons or color", Stede says. "I think the outing may be a bit tiresome, so Papa hasn't scheduled anything else. We can add a napnap, since I don't really think we will have time for those this morning, but my little darling gets sooo cranky without numnums and napnaps", Stede teases, and, as Izzy pouts, Stede reaches to kiss Izzy's pouty lips chastely. 

Izzy blushes furiously and kicks his leggie, hiding further in Papa's chest. Stede hushes and hugs him tight. He is so fond of his little boy. He will look so wonderfully good without his tattoos, with his hair trimmed short and his skin all cleared up, plump as he is. He will be made perfect. Papa will guarantee so. 

*** 

The whole trip to the SPA is a resounding success. Stede does not disclose to Izzy what will happen, so he receives a very relaxing massage first - Stede is considering some more intensive physical therapy for his baby, the poor thing is in so much pain so often -, some deep skin cleaning, which Eddie has along with Izzy, so they keep holding hands all the while (and Stede snaps as many pictures as he can), and then Izzy is stripped nakey for the tattoo removal session. No one bothers to tell Izzy what will happen, and, relaxed as he is from the previous treatments, he just goes along. The funny little glasses that protect his eyes from the lasers are put on, and he is not offered a mirror afterward. The ink is old and low-quality, so the lady tells Stede that in five sessions, tops, he will be all nice and clean. Of course, the laser burns a bit, but Stede keeps singing to distract the baby, and as soon as Izzy is eating ice-cream, he forgets it all. Beauty is pain and such things. 

*** 

Izzy does not have access to mirrors, in general, and during the weeks in which Izzy's tattoos are being removed, less so. His hands are always mittened, so he can't look at those either. Stede makes sure to add the spa appointments to their weekly routine, so, come every Friday, Izzy is very excited for his massage and facial cleansing and weird spot treatment. 

Stede, of course, could not be happier with the results. He has taken Izzy to the best place money could pay for, and the results are quite seamless. He has introduced even more liquids to Izzy's diet so he can expel the pigments with ease. 

One night, two or three days before Izzy's last session, Eddie puts him down for his nap and goes to find Stede, who is quickly speaking in another language with someone. Eddie kneels at Stede's feet and patiently waits to get Daddy's attention (read: he pokes and noms and wiggles at Daddy's feet until Stede acknowledges him). 

Stede says his goodbyes and hangs up after some five minutes, Eddie's hair in a fist as he gently tugs. "You know better than to be this naughty when Daddy is working, Edward. What do you need, sweetheart?" 

"Jus' wanned to say that Izzy is looking so good. He only has a tiny bit of the X left and he looks so sweet. I'm sad to see all of my ink go, but-- 'Tis better for him, right, Ste?" Eddie anxiously asks, looking up with the biggest doe eyes. 

Stede can't take the guileless look. He beckons Eddie up so his lover can sit on his lap, cuddling him close. "Of course this was for the best, Edward. Izzy is getting so many new chances... He already looks like a little one should. Not many scars to remind him of what was to be a big boy. He is just our little baby." Stede hums, kissing Eddie's temple. Just a baby. Theirs. 

***

The big reveal is planned to happen at lunch on the day of the last session. Stede has some business to handle at Bright Smiles, so he called all of their friends to be there waiting for them. The spa sessions are as good as they always are, and Stede throws the haircut in. It isn't a boy haircut, not really. It looks more like a girl's pixie cut, and Izzy is looking just precious in his sage-green overalls and lacey pink onesie. A couple of tiny bows make the look perfect, as well as the tiniest bitsy of strawberry lipgloss. 

Izzy is feeling himself. He feels fresh and soft and cute, which are things he never has allowed himself to feel before. As Papa carries him into the agency, Izzy is animatedly babbling nonsense. He doesn't feel very big at all, see. Once they get in, just there in the hall there are all of Papa's friends with their little ones. Uncle Fang, Uncle Roach, Doctor Zheng, Uncle Pete, Luci, Uncle Olu, Jim, Archie, Mama, even Doctor Buttons (who is scary but a surprisingly good dentist). And there is a biiig mirror. Big, big, big. Izzy is wearing his leggie today so he can play. Papa puts him down, and urges him to look in the mirror. 

"Go on, sweetling! Go see how handsome, how pretty you look." Stede says, kissing Izzy's cheek, exactly where the X used to be. 

Eddie is more excited than any of them. He is a bouncing ball of energy. "Go, Iz! Go on, mate." Everyone is cheering; their whole community is behind Eddie's decision for Izzy. He feels good. The good feeling dies down a bit once he sees Izzy's reaction. 

What Izzy sees has him gagging. That's not him. That is not him. His tattoos are gone. They were his, and Papa took them, without even mentioning it once. His skin is supple, his hair is shiny, he has two leggies (no matter the type). And that sends Izzy into a tizzy. He can't breathe, he can't breathe at all, and, well. He runs. He turns tail and runs outside, as fast as he can. He does not notice he had been muttering all the while.

With that amount of people around him, he doesn't get far, of course. He barely gets to the corner before there is a surprisingly strong Lucius grabbing him. "You stupid little boy", he spits out, shaking his head in annoyance. "Nothing is yours when you are little." 

Chapter Text

The past few weeks have been challenging in the Bonnet household. Israel has not forgiven Papa and Eddie for 'what they did to him'; which, for Stede is the most egregious, most preposterous concept, since Israel belongs to Papa, and Stede has not hurt him one bit; rather, he has bettered Izzy. 

Izzy had been drawing all over his arms and legs so he could have his tattoos back until Stede confiscated anything that would mark the skin. He had been quite angry, as well. Violent, almost.

"Go 'way", Izzy roared one afternoon as Eddie tried to get near him so he could be put in his stroller and they could go to the park. "I's not goin' anywhewe wif chu, youw wying-- awwfuw man!" What Izzy mean in his head was 'you lying son of a bitch', but, well; his mouth couldn't handle the sores of back-to-back hot sauce treatments and mouth soapings.

Things got so bad that Stede sought Zheng's help, who sent Stede to Mary, an endocrinologist who specialized in hormone therapy for littles, and happened to be Stede's lifelong friend. After having Zheng over to draw Izzy's blood and take some stool samples and collect a urine test -- not without a tantrum that could take down civilizations -- what Mary told him was a lifeline in a storm; Israel, bless him, was overproducing testosterone. Imagine that.

***

Another set of meds was added to Izzy's already complex roster. Mary had him start androgen deprivation therapy, and, sure as the sky is blue, it helped Izzy's moods immensely. He was still acting mistrustful of outings, but he was mostly back to his sweet, obedient self. One afternoon, however, the baby was incredibly fussy. He was having his tummy time, coloring with crayons on the floor, but he kept whining. He then started to try and sit up, which Stede cut down promptly. He started to scratch at his chest over the onesie's soft fabric, and, when it did not help, he started punching himself, as if he was playing as Tarzan. 

Stede approached his sweet boy and squatted in front of him, holding his wrists firmly. "Darling, whatever is the matter? Are you itchy? Show Papa, please." 

Izzy squirmed away. No, no, can't show! If shows Papa, Papa will take him back to the doctors. Can't. He plasters himself to the floor, saying. "Tummy time, Papa, no-no need, ah, wook. Iz okie. Goo'. No wook." 

"Peanut", Stede's voice is clipping. "If you don't let Papa see it, Papa can't help you at all." The facts were these. Since Izzy started his hormone therapy, his chest had been hurting unbearably. Stede had been checking him every night, of course, and setting some lovely cold compresses on it, so it would hurt less. But he had never complained during daytime.

Eddie was the one to call it out. He came near the mess and barked at Izzy. "Iz, fucking drop it. Let Papa see your chest or else." He receives a slap himself for the language, but the way Izzy had been running Stede ragged, he couldn't care less about language, honestly. Eddie still had dark rings around his eyes, as did Stede, from the endless nights where Izzy wouldn't sleep or let them sleep.

Stede, in spite of everything, was still so tender as he touched Izzy. When they erased Izzy's tattoos, he was expecting some difficult behavior; especially because during his adaptation process Izzy had been a dream. He hadn't resumed therapy for nothing, he wanted everything out so his baby could really heal. He sat Izzy on his lap, back to Stede's chest, and Eddie opened the onesie and pulled it up. 

Ed's skin is beautiful and rich. Stede had never seen it ashen. His lover was looking pale and chalky as he pulled Izzy into his own lap so Stede could see what was going on. 

The shock was audible in Stede's gasp. Shit, he thought to himself. 

Izzy was growing breasts. 

***

It was a last resource, but they needed to take Izzy to see Mary. She needed to examine him and check what options did they have. Mary's prospects were not the brightest, Stede noticed, as he held Izzy down to the examination table where he had been tightly tied to, as well as gagged with his paci gag so he would stop spewing a litany of bad words. 

"I don't see any other options", Mary says, shaking her head as she examines a thoroughly bound and absolutely naked Izzy. "We need to cut them off, Stede. He doesn't need them anyway, it's not like little ones reproduce successfully." She coments absently, her own little one, Doug, sleeping soundly in a little-sized bassinet at the corner of her office. "The other options would be to resume his hormone therapy, which is not desirable, or to let him transition completely, which you told me you guys do not want to do." 

Stede is not happy. He does not like to make such significant alterations to a baby, he would prefer not to. This is a medical reason, though. He remembers a conversation he had with Fang not long ago, just the last time he was over for babysitting. Well, in for a penny... "Well. Could we add a circumcision to the mix, Mary, dear? To make everything neat?" 

Izzy wails. 

***

The surgery is simple and quick, and the healing process even more so. Izzy spent all of it sedated, so he wouldn't try to paw at where his balls used to be and hurt himself. One would be surprise what an effective mix some sedatives, a bit of anesthesia to the gums and tongue and some laxatives and diuretics could be in the making of a helpless, dumb little one. It usually takes people up to six weeks to be healed, but Izzy, bless him, is up and running in four weeks. 

The first time Izzy was allowed to see himself, there was nothing else he could do anymore. His little clitty was standing proudly with nothing else obstructing the view of a perfectly lovely, smooth baby. Tears would not stop flowing down his face, but both Stede and Eddie agreed that Izzy looked absolutely perfect with this beautiful, clear skin, his smooth crotch and his single leggie. Papa and Daddy are doing their best to remind him of how perfect, how good, how wonderful he looks, how easy nappy changes are now, how much more like himself he is. 

The first conscious nappy change is wonderful if anyone asks Stede. "Oh, my lovely little one! Look at that, nothing in the way! You will never have nasty rashes again, will you? No-no, you will not. You look so small, so sweet!" Stede says, making sure to touch Izzy all over his soft thighs, his crotch, his clitty, his hips and his tummy. His eyes lock with green, sad orbs. "There is no need for all of those tears, peanut. Papa helped you to be what you needed to be, and now we will have such a wonderful life ahead of us. You will never forget you are Papa's perfect little baby." 

Izzy will never forget he is Papa's perfect little baby.