"...get you some toys and head back home."
Oliver beamed and curled up against David's chest, giggling around his pacifier as the man bounced the boy's thickly cushioned bottom in his forearm. After collecting everything he had brought into the room and returning it to the cart, David deposited Oliver back in his seat and smiled down at his little boyfriend as he took in his surroundings with unabashed awe. The whole world had been a colorful and exciting place as a pre-schooler, but as a toddler it was on another level entirely - everything bright and new and begging to be explored. It was in this moment that he experienced his first bit of infantile frustration - what with his secure seat preventing him from engaging in the exploration he desperately wanted to conduct - but it faded when he settled on discovering his tiny baby body instead, the lips that still sucked contentedly at his pacifier curling into a smile as he kicked his chubby legs, as he poked at his diaper through his shortalls, as he wiggled the stubby fingers with which he did the poking.
David, delighted to see that his little boyfriend was amusing himself, hummed happily as he finished up the shopping trip by picking up everything he'd need to care for and entertain a baby for the remainder of the day. Oliver remained in his own little world until they got to the checkout lane, where he was apparently too adorable to escape the notice of the woman behind them and the girl running the checkout.
"Oh my gosh, that might be the most adorable baby I've ever seen," the woman gushed.
"Look at those curls!" The girl added. "How old is he?"
"He's turning two in a couple of months," David grinned, biting back a laugh at the way Oliver blushed and squirmed and wrapped his arms around his teddy bear.
"Enjoy him while he's that age," the woman chuckled. "He's gonna be a heartbreaker when he grows up."
"Don't I know it." David smiled as he lovingly ruffled Oliver's hair, which only caused him to blush deeper and hug his teddy tighter. But behind the blush and the pacifier the man could still see just the barest hint of a smile, a tiny curling of the lips that let him know that the adorable little baby boy deep down loved every bit of attention he was receiving.
The trip back to David's place was uneventful save for the molasses-slow speed at which the man drove, as he wasn't taking any chances with Oliver in the backseat. The boy, for his part, didn't seem to mind at all, contenting himself with bouncing his teddy bear in his lap and beaming at the dancing sunlight that shone through his window. When they arrived David brought Oliver inside first, gently setting the boy on his padded tushie since he honestly wasn't sure whether his little boyfriend could walk at the moment.
"Now you stay here for a sec, okay? Daddy's going to go back out to the car to get all the cool stuff he got for you."
He gave Oliver a parting kiss on the forehead before rushing back out the door, not wanting to leave the baby alone for any longer than he needed to. For Oliver, however, the effect was immediate. He whimpered a little as he looked out the door after the man, thinking only of when he was coming back and worrying that he'd been left alone. After a moment, though, he realized that worrying wasn't going to get him anywhere and that he needed to be proactive on the matter. And so - with remarkable balance considering that he was still clutching his teddy under one arm - he used all of his infantile strength to push himself to his tiny sneakered feet, wobbling a little when he stood but managing, at least for now, to keep himself from falling over. He took a tentative step in the waddle forced by the leg-spreading thickness of his diaper - and then another, and another, and another, and within a few seconds he was toddling around the room as though he'd been doing it all his life.
"Well, look at you!" Oliver turned to David, whose arms were filled with baby supplies and whose face was lit up with pride. "Can't take my eyes off of you for a minute, can I?
Oliver beamed at the man and made a beeline for him.
"Daddy!" He squealed as he stomp-ran across the room. "Daddy, I can - "
A moment's imbalance was all it took. Oliver, waving his arms, swayed forward and then back, back, all the way back, the world rushing up past his eyes as he landed with a THUMP! on his cushioned tushie. The boy blinked as David, color draining from his face, dropped the supplies and rushed to Oliver's side, kneeling next to the boy and tenderly rubbing his back.
"Are you okay, sweetheart? Are you hurt?"
Oliver blinked again and looked up at David - and then he squealed with laughter, drumming his heels against the carpet and wiggling excitedly on his bottom.
"I wawk, daddy!" He cried, spitting the pacifier from his lips so he could clearly enunciate such an important declaration. "I can wawk!"
Relief rushed through David's veins. He exhaled and smiled down at the boy. On a conscious level he knew that Oliver hadn't been hurt - he'd seen Connor and Jackson take way worse even as babies and get up with smiles on their faces - but the level of protection he felt towards his little boyfriend was so great that even the tiniest of tumbles felt nigh-apocalyptic.
"Yes you can," David chuckled. "Which is good, since you'll need those little legs to get away from the TICKLE MOOOONSTERRRRRRRR!"
Oliver howled and wriggled and kicked as David tickled him all over, fingertips somehow feeling as though they were at his tummy and under his arms and behind his knees all at once. His high, chiming laughter filled the room, and it wasn't until he was red-faced and breathless that David finally ceased his assault, pulling the boy into his lap and cuddling him close.
"You little troublemaker," David grinned as he kissed Oliver's cheeks. "Do you think you can stay put for just a minute while daddy gets you some nummies and a nice warm bottle?"
Oliver, heart fluttering from the tickles and the kisses, eagerly nodded his head, willing to do just about anything if it'd make his daddy happy. David smiled, kissed Oliver's crown, and left him alone in the living room with his new toys. Oliver felt the familiar pang of loneliness but it was quickly overwhelmed by a rush of curiosity - not only towards his toys but towards the rest of the house, which he was familiar with as an adult but felt brand-new and exciting as a toddler. The baby frowned around the thumb on which he sucked in thought. Surely daddy wouldn't be upset if he did a little exploring...