Page 28 of Daddy's Little Chaos Gremlin

“Oh my gosh, yay!”

He didn’t even ask how big it was, justyay, and a joyful smile, celebrating any chance to be in the water. That kind of appreciation was rare these days.

“We have a big library with all kinds of books and a bunch of streaming services, too,” Tristan said. “There will be plenty for you to do once I organize the projects you’ve already inspired, but there are like five of them. It might take me a couple days to sort them all out.”

“Good, that will give him time to settle in,” I reminded Tristan, cutting him a look.

I knew he’d be tempted to hit the ground at a thousand miles an hour, but we had all the time in the world. We’d found our boy. This was no longer a temporary engagement. I wouldn’t have Tristan frantically running himself ragged because he was afraid of the opportunity being snatched away.

“Because we both tend to get engrossed in our work, we’ve had to institute a daily schedule, of sorts,” I explained. “It’s nothing rigid, but work hours end at seven each night and aren’t allowed to resume until after seven in the morning. Emergencies are exceptions, some things just can’t be helped. Theo serves three meals a day and he does not appreciate them getting cold, so we have set mealtimes, and we are all expected to have our asses parked in our seats for those. The last time we upset our chef we spent the next week eating tuna melts and tater tot casserole. If I never see a tater tot again it will be too soon.”

“I’m not a fan of tater tots, either,” Zephyr admitted.

“I imagine not, with the way you so eagerly give away your potatoes.”

“That’s ‘cause I wanted the extra fish. Seafood is my favorite, but I really loved the carrots and mushy peas, too.”

At least he liked his vegetables. Theo was forced to get creative from time to time, in order to get Tristan to eat them. His latest trick had been to combine them with whatever protein he was serving and stuff the mixture in something else, like a large portobello mushroom or a giant tomato, which Tristan was much more receptive to when they were covered in a cheesy sauce. He’d tried stuffing green peppers, but Tristan had balked after the first bite, not that I could blame him much, I only managed half before suggesting they not make a return appearance on the menu.

As always, Theo accepted the criticism with grace and a reminder that if we wished to have something else for dinner, we’d better send for Door Dash because the kitchen was closed for the rest of the night.

That was fair, and exactly what we’d wound up doing, after a mini debate of what the hell we were even in the mood for. If anyone ever got around to creating a pizza place that also did Chinese food, we’d be their most frequent customers. It seemed like every time I wanted one, he wanted the other, though we had come across a killer crab rangoon pizza that sated both of our cravings.

Wait.

Hadn’t that place been just a few blocks from here?

Glancing around, I took a moment to orient myself then I typed what I thought was the name into my GPS, and laughed, because hot damn, it was just three blocks east, right across the street from the chapel Tristan had wanted to photograph. That’s how he’d discovered it the last time we were here, but we hadn’t had time to stop, we’d barely had time to gobble a few slices before packing up the rest and hurrying to a meeting with my crew.

Two birds, I thought as I guided the driver that way.

Somehow, it worked for them not to have traffic lights on every corner. Traffic flowed, people crossed, and no one lost their fucking minds honking because they were in a rush to get to the next stop sign. I could tell the moment Tristan spotted the chapel, because he started leaning forward, fingers gripping the back of the seat in front of him. It was a good thing we weren’t walking; I’d have had to grab hold of his beltloop to keep him from taking off down the street.

I placed a hand on his knee and patted it gently, a silent urging for him to be patient and wait until the car was fully parked before he went charging off anywhere. My good boy settleddown, just as I expected, and the three of us walked together to the chapel.

“Do you see that building right there?” I asked, pointing across the street.

“Oh my gosh, that’s where we got the crab rangoon pizza!” Tristan declared. “Are you going get another one?”

“That’s the plan,” I explained, before I turned my attention to Zephyr. “They have traditional flavors, too. I can get whatever you’d like.”

“I’d like crab rangoon pizza too,” Zephyr declared.

“Perfect,” I said. “While I do that, you two stay together, and I’ll catch up to you once I have our food.”

“Okay,” they replied, perky and cheerful as they hurried off to take pictures.

I’d hired the car to take us to the airport, and with food on board we’d be able to eat before we got on the plane. It was hard sometimes, having to pack a whole lot into a tiny window. Had I been afforded the opportunity to plan a trip over, I’d have cleared at least a week of our schedules, but Tristan was less than eight days away from his next reveal, and there was still a great deal left to be done to prepare for it. At least we had Zephyr to be his display piece. I couldn’t wait to sit back and watch how Tristan and Zephyr interacted when Tristan was tying him up. So far, I’d only walked in on a mini-session, when Tristan had been introducing him to the texture of the ropes he liked to use. He had a woven chain of them that he carried for a stem toy and could practice tying into knots when he started feeling stressed, but it was only long enough for binding hands together.

The look on Zephyr’s face, though. The way his lips had parted, and his pupils had dilated. That had gotten my engine revving even more than when he stripped his clothes off. There would be plenty of practice workshops I’d be privy to, as well as any rigging that would need to be placed. I wondered what Zephyr would think of this part of our lifestyle. Private demonstrations of his Shibari skills and even private lessons were some of the other ways Tristan made his living. Sometimes clients paid him to tie one of them up for the other, a tool in a scene, but never fully part of it. On our dinner party nights, he also auctioned off a few of his sculptures, never more than three, and always ones fitting the theme he and Theo introduced.

They were truly breathtaking evenings and I couldn’t wait to see what Tristan dreamed up for his new co-star. While I’d never been a fan of social gatherings, I always looked forward to seeing Tristan shine. The way his face lit up when he talked about his work and the inspiration behind it, the way he invited all our visitors forward and invited them to look for the hidden things embedded within the sculpture, it all had a real theatrical quality about it. He came to life when the spotlight was on him, and he was a gracious host, welcoming both praise and critique from those who’d come to know his work.

Yes, I was a proud Daddy.

Proud to see twin smiles on their faces when I joined them with our meal. That’s all I ever needed. Just to see happiness on the faces of those I cared for and to know that I had a small part of bringing that light of joy to their eyes.

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