Danny woke up before Greg did. He sat in the crib that had replaced his bed when he was fired last week for having too many accidents at work. Now that there was no chance of returning to adulthood other than aging naturally, his entire room had been changed for that of a three-year-old, rather than an adult.
To his surprise, Danny’s diaper was wet but not messy. But by the time Greg came to fetch him, that wouldn’t be the case. Danny would make sure of it. He had lost all his potty training in terms of holding it in and knowing when he needed to go, but could still go on command. And as a bit of revenge for where Danny was going today, Danny wanted to make sure Greg had a horribly nasty diaper to clean.
Danny stood and bent his knees into a squat. He pushed, grunting with effort. A thick log began to enter his diaper. He bent into a deeper squat, his face now turning red. After a few moments, he finished with a sigh of relief. He sat back down, spreading the mess all over his butt as further revenge.
The door to Danny’s room opened. Greg walked in, smiling at him.
“How’s Daddy’s big boy?” Greg gushed, picking Danny up. He wrinkled his nose. “Phew! Daddy’s big boy needs a new diapy!”
“I made boom-boom,” Danny said.
“You certainly did!” Greg carried Danny over to the changing table. He laid Danny on his back, removed Danny’s footed pajamas, and opened his diaper. “That’s a big mess!”
“I’m a big boy,” Danny said snidely. After being fired, he’d lost his status as an adult. But apparently Kristof had been preparing for this, because the paperwork for Greg to adopt Danny had already been filed. He couldn’t help but wonder if Greg had some sort of master plan for all this, given that Greg had insisted on adopting Danny, rather than becoming his legal guardian, as well as changing Danny’s last name to match Greg’s.
“Yes, you are!” Greg cooed. He removed the diaper and began to wipe Danny down. Danny shivered slightly from the coldness of the wipes. “Are you excited for your first day of daycare?”
“No!”
“Well, try to behave, okay? It’s the best daycare in the city, so I don’t want you getting kicked out.”
“Fine,” Danny grumbled. Part of his severance package had been an agreement to pay for daycare, as well as private schooling when he got old enough. Greg was delighted by it, as he was now the lone provider for their apartment. Greg lifted Danny’s butt, slid a fresh diaper under him, and then taped the diaper on.
“All done! Let’s get you dressed and have some breakfast. Then it’s off to daycare while Daddy’s at work.”
“Do you have to call yourself that?” Danny asked. Greg chuckled, ruffling Danny’s hair.
“I’m your daddy now, so yes.”
Greg then dressed Danny in white overalls with a blue T-shirt and brought him to the kitchen for breakfast. Danny glumly ate his dry cereal, enviously watching Greg drink coffee. Once they had both finished, Greg wiped Danny’s face, grabbed his diaper bag, and left the apartment.
“Another reason I don’t want you to get kicked out of this daycare is because it’s right next to my work,” Greg said as they drove towards the business district. Greg’s IT job was for a fancy law office, so it made sense the fancy daycare would be nearby. In fact, Greg made significantly more than Danny used to, so while it wasn’t great that they had lost Danny’s income, they weren’t in danger of losing their apartment.
“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” Danny muttered. They pulled into the parking lot for a brick building with a sign outside proclaiming the building was Sunflower Seed Daycare and Preschool. “This is a preschool?”
“Yes, it is, in addition to being a daycare,” Greg said. “If things go well, you’ll go here for preschool when you’re old enough.”
“Great,” Danny mumbled. Greg got out of the car and opened the door. He smiled at Danny.
“Aw, does someone want his binky?” he cooed. Despite himself, Danny’s eyes widened. He nodded eagerly. Greg pulled Danny’s favorite pacifier out of his diaper bag and popped it into Danny’s mouth. Danny suckled on it eagerly, already feeling better. Greg unbuckled Danny from his car seat, grabbed his diaper bag, and headed into the daycare.
“Hello!” chirped the young woman manning the front desk.
“Hello!” Greg replied. “This is my son’s first day with your daycare section.”
“Name, please?”
“I’m Greg Nakamura and my son is Daniel Nakamura. But he goes by Danny.”
“Daniel Nakamura,” the woman said quietly, checking something on her computer. She smiled at Greg. “All right! I’ve got you checked in. Any special instructions for Danny?”
“He’s very mature for his age, so please inform the workers not to talk down to him,” Greg said. “If he gets upset, just give him his pacifier. He’s got it right now since he got fussy in the car.”
“Of course,” the woman said. Greg set Danny on the floor. He smiled.
“Be a good boy until Daddy’s back from work, okay?” Greg said. Danny nodded, still sucking happily on his pacifier. “Try not to make too much boom-boom.”
“No promises,” Danny said around his pacifier. Greg ruffled his hair, handed Danny’s diaper bag to the woman at the desk, and left. Danny took a deep breath, ready for whatever difficulties his first day of daycare might bring.