“Uh-oh guys, we’re really in trouble now.” Ernesto snickered. He stepped up to Kai and smirked down at the numb three-year-old, clearly enjoying the way he towered over the former hunk. “’Cause widdle Kai’s become a certified cutie patootie! There’s no way anyone could vote for one of us when we’ve got to compete with someone still in Pampers.”
“Don’t be rude, bro, you don’t know when he was potty trained.” Jackson obliviously butted in as he knelt to Kai’s level and donned a syrupy sweet smile. “Whatcha say, little dude? Want me to do the honors? I’ve diapered my kiddo tons of times, I’m really good at it.”
“Guys. Stop.” Scott hissed. Terrible as the situation was, he could at least take some satisfaction from the way Ernesto and Jackson fell silent when he commanded it. He’d gotten so used to the bigger boys condescending him that it was a great relief to once more be among their number. Scott’s regained status, however, came at a terrible cost. The teasing was making the tiny Hawaiian blush to his roots, which only served to make the chubby preschooler all the more pitifully precious. The shorts and patterned briefs he’d been wearing were now puddled around his teeny-weeny bare feet, leaving Kai naked save for the oversized polo whose hem fluttered around his rounded knees. He was so small, so delicate, so impossibly young. “Kai? Are you okay, bud?”
“…y-yeah, I’m good.” Kai piped even as he cringed at his high-pitched lisp, turning to the other contestants and putting on a big goofy grin that showed off all his pearly little baby teeth. It was but a moment before his dimpled chin quivered, however, before Kai quickly hid his brimming eyes and sniffed away the tears that had nearly burst through. “I’m…I’m gonna go get dressed…”
Kai started to pull up the clothes he’d shrunk out of but then thought better of it, sighing as he stepped out of his undies and stiffly left the room. Clearly unused to the weak, pudgy, uncoordinated little legs he’d reclaimed, Kai moved with the small, cautious steps of a sneaking child terrified of waking a sleeping parent. Ernesto and Jackson cracked jokes amongst themselves about whether the devastated tot was big enough to dress himself on his own, that was if he was could reach the doorknob to his bedroom. Scott simmered as Kai disappeared up the stairs, mad at his fellow contestants for their cracks but far, far more angry at himself for his complicity in the fate of his fellow agent. He threw down the comforter in a fit of righteous fury and stormed out, not caring in that moment about being naked – wishing, in fact, that every viewer out there would laugh at his bare, undeveloped preteen form if it took even a few eyes away from Kai’s misery. His determination flagged when he reached their room, pausing at the ajar door before slipping inside to find a small polo shirt on the floor and a little lump quivering beneath Kai’s covers. Scott took a deep, steadying breath as he sat on the edge of the bed, desperately wanting to be there for the newly minted toddler but completely at a loss for what to say.
“Go away, Scott.” The lump sniffled. “Leave me alone.”
“Kai, I’m so sorry – ”
“I DON’T CARE, SCOTT!” Kai threw off the covers so suddenly and shouted at Scott so fiercely that the bigger boy nearly fell off the bed. “I don’t care if you’re sorry! Sorry doesn’t make me any older! Sorry doesn’t get us any closer to the tech! And sorry isn’t going to save me from the system when I lose this game and…and…”
It finally became too much to bear. Scott’s heart broke as the overwhelmed toddler screwed up his adorable little face and started crying, in that moment looking indistinguishable from any other three-year-old set to launch themselves into a tantrum. Indeed, Kai’s tiny whimpers soon escalated to full-on wails that reverberated within the small room, fat tears streaming down his glowing cheeks as his small, babyish body shook from the intensity of his sobbing. Once more, Scott found himself moving without thinking – though this time it was to comfort his opponent, not attack him. The bigger boy embraced the smaller, and Kai – acting on his own instincts – buried his face in Scott’s skinny chest and bawled harder than ever.
“There you go, Kai. Let it allllll out.” Scott murmured as he pulled the covers over them and cuddled the distraught tot a little closer. He kissed Kai’s crown of inky black curls and tenderly stroked the small of his back. “Everything’s going to be okay. I promise.”
Kai had been crying so hard that it didn’t seem possible he could calm himself, and yet in a matter of seconds his tempest had diminished to little more than a passing drizzle. He was silent for a good while after he finished crying, however, long enough that Scott pulled back to give the pouting tot a questioning look.
“You good, buddy?”
“I…” Kai’s voice was barely audible and he couldn’t meet Scott’s eyes. “Why are you hugging me?”
“Well…you looked really cute and cuddly for a moment there and I thought it might feel nice to hold you.” Scott chuckled, echoing Kai’s words from the first day. “I was right, you’re really soft and warm.”
“That’s not funny.” Kai insisted even as he giggled despite himself. The three-year-old’s laughter was just about the most beautiful sound Scott had ever heard, though his relief was tempered by the way Kai – who suddenly seemed embarrassed – squirmed in his grasp. “Um. You’re not wearing any clothes.”
“Neither are you, silly.”
“No, I mean…” Scott smiled at the tinge that came to Kai’s cheeks, which of course just made the toddler blush all the harder. “I guess I didn’t want our first time naked together to be like this.”
Scott raised his eyebrows as he regarded the glowing three-year-old, who smiled bashfully while dodging the adoring gaze.
“Yes, okay, I like you too.” Kai huffed as only toddlers can. “But I didn’t even want to know you after what happened at the water park, much less hook up. I don’t know if I can forgive you for that.”
“Then don’t.” Scott shrugged. Stung as he was by the rebuke, the ten-year-old was still riding high at hearing Kai’s confession. “But I’m gonna keep holding you just the same. Unless you’d like me to stop?”
“…no, it’s okay.” Kai peeped as he nestled deeper into Scott’s embrace, cooing at the feel of his baby-soft skin pressed against the bigger boy’s warm, enveloping form. “For a little while longer, anyway.”
That was more than enough for Scott. He kissed Kai once more – this time on the forehead, eliciting another giggle and a shy grin from the preschooler – and squeezed the beautiful little boy tightly against him. A fierce protective instinct roared within Scott as he and Kai snuggled in silence, his heart tightening in love and adoration whenever he so much as looked at the calm, cuddly three-year-old. Scott would’ve been happy to lie like that forever, and as such was disappointed when Kai grew fidgety within his grasp. Now that the small boy had composed himself, he was clearly bubbling with the limitless energy of toddlerhood and growing increasingly needy for the freedom to burn it.
“Ready to get dressed?” Scott offered, beaming at Kai’s enthusiastic nod of response. He threw back the covers and watched as the nude toddler gingerly hopped out of bed, still acclimatizing to his three-foot, thirty-pound frame. Not wanting to make him self-conscious, the older boy tended to his own outfit, picking out a pair of jeans and a striped shirt to go along with his tighty whities. Curiosity got the better of Scott once he was finished, however, the boy sneaking a glance over his shoulder to make sure Kai was dressing himself without issue. And while he suppressed an “aww” at the sheer adorability of Kai’s bouncy, bare little bottom, Scott’s attention was soon taken by the apparent quandary facing the half-naked tot.
Kai had already donned a baby blue Sesame Street shirt and chosen a tiny pair of cargo shorts, which lay to the side as he stared at the underwear options made available to him. Every single pair was covered in the dopey smiling faces of characters popular with preschoolers, though it wasn’t the infantile designs that gave Kai pause. The issue was that half of the undies were standard cartoon briefs while the other half were distinctly puffier and crinklier than their brethren. Kai frowned as he looked between the Pull-Ups and the big boy undies, and for a moment Scott wondered if Jackson’s taunt had hit a little too close to home – if the toddler was trying to remember the age he’d been when he first graduated from training pants. After another moment’s thought, Kai took a deep breath, reached out with a set of stubby fingers and picked out a pair of…