Warm Hearts, Padded Playdates: Chapter 2
#10 of Warm Hearts
Here's chapter two, arrived for your reading pleasure. Now you get to meet Apollo and Nox with Finn, and get to know their personalities! The eponymous playdate begins, but how will it end?
In any case, I hope you enjoy! Chapter 3 will be coming before too long~
Finn stood in front of the refrigerator, watching Vulcan place two magnets at the top corners of a piece of paper labeled "RULES", just like always. This paper listed the things that were and weren't allowed, and while they knew each other's preferences for the most part by this point, it was always good to be safe when they might be exploring new things. And exploring new things they were today - Apollo and Nox were going to be coming by soon, and Finn would be having his first ever playdate. There were some extra rules specific to the playdate this time, and another sheet of paper on the table nearby, ready for the two guests to put down their own rules. As always, the safeword "EMPEROR" was written in big, bold letters, easily visible. The buizel's twin tails spun gently behind him as he thought over everything that was coming, still nervous for it all, but looking forward to it as well.
He was clad in his favorite little outfit - a onesie, blue and white striped, a large, poofy diaper snugly held up by the snaps between his legs, and his favorite pacifier in his mouth, blue with an anchor design on the front of it. Vulcan stepped back from the fridge as he got the paper situated, reaching down to ruffle Finn's headfur, eliciting a smile and quick chirp from him. The typhlosion reached an arm around him and picked him up with ease, bracing the much smaller buizel on his belly and looking at him with a warm grin. Vulcan was wearing casual clothing, consisting of some grey sweatpants and flannel.
"You looking forward to it, kiddo? They're gonna be here soon," Vulcan said, getting a nod back from Finn, seeming enthusiastic but with a hint of hesitation at exploring something new. Vulcan picked up on the slight worry his boyfriend was feeling, giving him a few pats on the back. "Hey, just remember that if you're ever uncomfortable or upset with anything, or change your mind at all, it all stops. These are close friends of mine, and they've been in the scene for just as long as me. they know how to respect it, especially with a first-timer."
Finn let the pacie fall out of his mouth, being caught by the pacifier clip attached to his onesie. "I know, I trust you. I promise I'll let you know if it's ever not okay. I've just got butterfrees in my stomach since it's something new." He looked up at Vulcan, seeing a warm smile and feeling a bit of that unease melt away. "It'll be okay. I'm ready for it," he said with a nod. Vulcan picked up the pacifier and popped it back into Finn's maw, giving him a kiss on the forehead before setting him down, grabbing the second sheet of paper and pencil to take with them.
Vulcan took Finn's paw in his as they walked down the hall from the kitchen to the living room. "Alright, kiddo. When they get here, Apollo'll be taking Nox to the bathroom to get changed into their little clothes, since they can't wear them over here, of course. Then I'll introduce you to them when they get into the living room, alright?" Finn nodded along as Vulcan explained the plan to him as they reached the living room. Vulcan plopped down into his favorite chair, offering his arms down to Finn, helping him hop up into his lap as he set the paper down on the table next to the chair.
The otter nestled into Vulcan's chest as he felt his body heat warm him up from head to toe. He let out a contented sigh as he laid against Vulcan, so happy that they'd found each other. His tails started to pat against the armrest happily as he laid in his daddy's embrace, and he felt Vulcan's arm wrap around him and hold him close. Vulcan started gently patting the bottom of Finn's dry diaper, putting him even more at ease as he was held comfortably in the arms of someone who he knew loved him. He barely noticed time passing as Vulcan laid back a bit and read a book, just enjoying the feeling of being safe, secure, and happy.
Before he knew it, he startled up at the sound of a doorbell ringing, seeing Vulcan raise his head as well. As the typhlosion started to sit up, Finn hopped off his lap to let him stand, and looked up at him with a mix of apprehension and excitement labeled on his face. "Are you gonna be alright, kiddo?" he asked, and after a moment's hesitation, Finn nodded, steeling his resolve. "Alrighty, I'll go let them in and I'll be right back," he said, heading out of the room, turning back with one more smile.
Finn took a deep breath to steady himself, reminding himself that it would all be okay. He slowly made his way over to the playmat that the two of them had set out earlier, having been taken from the upstairs nursery, covered in various toys to play with. His favorite stuffed mudkip sat there with its stitched-on smile, and he plopped down next to it, scooping him up into his arms. He heard from down the hall as the door opened, listening as a new voice said "Hey! Great to see you again, Vulcan!", getting a likewise response from his daddy. The new pair were directed to the bathroom that was along the hallway to the living room, and he heard a few sets of footsteps approach, before the door to the bathroom opened.
He took another deep breath, calming his nerves, squeezing his mudkip close to his chest. He closed his eyes and took yet another steadying breath, feeling his fear start to wash away. He heard the bathroom door open, and everyone start to approach again, and opened his eyes as everyone walked into the room.
Walking in behind Vulcan was an ampharos, a bit on the taller side for his species, standing at about 4'11". He wore what looked like a plain white t-shirt with a black jacket on top, and a pair of simple grey sweatpants underneath, nothing too fancy. He did seem to be a fan of accessories, however, as he had quite a few of those scattered across himself. Apollo had a spiked bracelet on his left wrist, a few rings across his paws, a chain necklace with a single gemstone in the center, white with swirls of yellow and red inside, and another simpler necklace that seemed to have a key in the middle of it. His left ear was also pierced, with a simple pink earring on. He had a pink bag strapped over his shoulder and resting on his opposite hip as well, which Finn could see a pink diaper peeking out of.
Vulcan walked ahead over to where Finn was sitting on the playmat cuddling his plushie, kneeling down and putting an arm around him. "This is Finn, the one you've been so excited to meet. Finn, this is Apollo and Nox. Say hi!" Finn took an arm out from hugging his mudkip tightly to give a bashful wave to the ampharos, still not seeing the croconaw as of yet.
"Well, don't you look like a cutie! It's great to finally get to meet ya," Apollo said to Finn, before turning around a bit and reaching an arm back gently. "You can come out now, you know," he said, as he slowly guided the croconaw out from hiding behind his legs.
Now with sight of them, Finn looked over Nox. Opposite of the ampharos, they were a bit short for their species, standing at about 3'4", and making themselves a bit smaller as they stood with a bit of a slouch, still halfway trying to hide behind Apollo's legs and only peeking out a bit. Their attire was much more childish, however, wearing a short pink shirt with a gold crown design on the front of it, and a pink and white striped short skirt that did little to hide the large diaper between their legs. They were suckling on a likewise pink pacifier with a white heart on the guard. A blush covered their face as they bashfully looked at Finn and Vulcan, still not quite leaving the safety of hiding behind their daddy.
"Don't be shy, silly! You know Vulcan just as well as me, and this is just a new friend for you to make," Apollo said to the croconaw behind him, and he gently tried to push Nox forward a bit, only for their heels to be dug into the floor, Finn hearing a soft "Hmmph" come from the shy pokémon.
"What, you don't wanna come see me?" Vulcan said, a bit of played-up disappointment audible in his voice. "I sure could use a hug..." the Typhlosion said, looking down a bit and holding his arms out wide in the direction of the still hiding croconaw. That method seemed pretty effective when it came to getting a reaction from them, as they started to shift a bit in place, before eventually unwrapping their arms from Apollo's leg and crossing them together, taking a hesitant step forward, then another. All the while, their head was turned to the side or down, with a blush covering their snout.
They eventually made their way over to where Vulcan was kneeling next to Finn, still looking down at the ground before slowly reaching up their arms towards Vulcan in a wide hug gesture, mirroring the one that he was making. Just a moment later, they were very quickly scooped up into Vulcan's arms and hugged tightly to his chest, letting out a squeak as their eyes shot open from the surprise. Finn couldn't help but giggle at the predicament as it happened.
"Now there's the cutie I know!" Vulcan said, loosening up the hug as he set Nox back down onto the ground, facing them towards Finn. "Now, this is Finn. Say hi!" he said, as a bit of the shyness started to reenter the croconaw's mannerisms. Wanting them to feel more at ease, Finn gave a big smile and a quick wave, saying "Hewwo!", his speech a bit muddled by the pacifier in his mouth.
"H-hi..." they said back, Finn hearing Nox's voice for the first time. It was a bit deeper than his, but not nearly as deep as Vulcan or Apollo's voices. He'd put it at a clarinet compared to the tuba of the typhlosion behind him.
"Now why don't you two cuties get to know each other and play a bit? Your daddy and I need to get a few things sorted out," Vulcan said, standing up and waving over Apollo who had been standing in the doorway the whole time, watching the two littles meet each other. The ampharos sauntered over, following Vulcan over to where his recliner was, taking a seat in the chair next to him and pulling a folded-up sheet of paper out of his pocket as the two of them started talking.
Finn glanced back at the self-conscious croconaw still standing right where they were left. The buizel scooted over a bit on the playmat and patted the ground next to him a few times before looking back at Nox with a smile, inviting them to sit next to him. They slowly started shuffling over, paws clasped together as they seemed worried about it all, before sitting down on the ground next to him, a large cloud of baby powder _poomphing_out of the back of their diaper. They seemed to freeze in worry for a moment before Finn couldn't hold in the laughter anymore and let loose a giggle. Nox let out an embarrassed chuckle after Finn started laughing, some of the tension easing out of their shoulders.
"Tho, whaddya wanna do?" Finn said, once more through his pacifier. He continued to cuddle his Mudkip plushie as Nox looked over the various toys scattered over the playmat, before reaching over to a coloring book and a box of crayons, pulling them over to sit in between them. They flipped through the book for a bit before coming to a page that they had apparently been looking for, a half-finished coloring of an underwater scene. A school of finneon swam in the foreground, while a school of luvdisc swam in the other direction in the midground. A wailord could be seen far away, near a mantine with remoraid under its fins, and a clamperl sat on the ocean bed. A lot of care had been put into the half that was already colored, mostly consisting of the left and bottom of the page; perfectly in the lines, with just the right colors thought out.
As Finn was looking over the coloring page, Nox started opening the pack of crayons, looking through them, before pulling out just the right shades of blue and grey, handing the two crayons to Finn and looking over to him. They seemed to be more nonverbal than verbal, Finn thought to himself, as he carefully set his mudkip down next to him, taking the two crayons. Nox then pointed to the wailord in the background before getting back to rifling through the giant crayon box for just the right colors for themselves. Finn gave a bit of a smile as he mentally shrugged, before getting into position to start coloring the wailord.
Across the room, the two daddies glanced over at their littles, seeing them getting to work on their coloring page. Apollo let out a chuckle, looking back at Vulcan with a smile. "Guess they got comfy, huh?" he said, to which Vulcan smiled as well.