Page 29 of Lance & Clayton

"Great room they've got here." Clayton smiled brightly, looking around and taking everything in. "I can't wait to be an official member and attend all the Little events."

"I wish they had events for Daddies too," Michael said and giggled. "But then, what would they even do at such an event."

"Isn't it obvious?" Clayton said. "They'd spend some time with other Daddies and bond over their love for their boys."

I chuckled and shook my head. "I'm sure us Daddies are gonna get together and chat after the event. I think they let the boys hang out with each other a bit before the event ends."

Rachel soon took the stage and introduced herself before passing around sheets of paper and letting everyone choose from crayons, paints, and sketches. Our boys chose crayons while the older Littles on the chairs seemed to prefer paints.

Clayton and Michael decided to share the sheet of paper and I found it adorable. They truly had become best friends in record time. They probably wanted to create something together as a token of their friendship. After Rachel gave everyone brief instructions and tips on drawing, she asked everyone to draw something that was unique to themselves. She began drawing a bear on the board for the ones who were undecided.

"What do you boys want to draw?" I said, leaning over from behind and looking at the blank sheet of paper.

"I think I want to draw a dinosaur, Daddy," Clayton said, sounding unsure and looking over at Michael, who seemed to be just as confused.

"And I like wolves," Michael said, sternly staring at the paper. "How about we draw a wolf who's friends with a dinosaur? They probably never existed together, but they'd be friends if they did. After all, they're both cute and cuddly."

John laughed and ruffled Michael's hair. "Sure, those are the only words that come to mind when you think about them."

Us Daddies watched on as they drew the animals onto each side of the paper. When they drew their hands at the end, they joined them to look like they were laughing and skipping together.

They crayoned them with different colors, blue for the t-rex and pink for the wolf. Rachael went around the room and praised everybody's drawings. She whispered to our boys that theirs was her favorite.

"But only one of us gets to keep it." Michael stuck his lower lip out in a pout.

"You know what," Clayton said with a smile, pushing the drawing to his side. "I'm sure there are many more cool drawings we'll get to draw over the years to come. You can keep this one and I'll keep the next one."

My boy was so kind and I was proud of him. He was willing to sacrifice something dear to him so that someone else could have it.

"Really?" Michael beamed as he pressed the drawing up against his chest. "Oh, you're so nice! I'll guard it with my life for years to come. Promise!"

He handed it to his Daddy for safekeeping as the other boys dispersed, forming small groups away from their Daddies.

"Snack time, Little one," I said before leaning in and whispering in his ears. "Remember what Daddy told you. You need to face your fears. Be brave for Daddy."

My words of encouragement put a smile on his face.

"What's the matter?" Michael asked, turning around as he crawled a step ahead. "Are you coming?'

Clayton took a deep breath, looked at me for courage, and crawled away with Michael towards the other boys. He joined the others in noisily chatting, helping themselves with the finger foods and sippy cups full of milk. Our boys drank and ate, merrily laughing and giggling with the others.

I knew Clayton could do it. Being disowned by his family was hard on him, but he had to get over his fear. It was my duty as his Daddy to push him when he needed the push, and in this case, he definitely needed the push. Maintaining healthy social relationships was important, even for Little boys.

"So," John said to me as we sat with other Daddies. "How's it going between the two of you?"

"Great," I said with a genuine smile. "But the more I grow attached to him, the more I fear losing him. I had a dream last night, that I lost my boy and I couldn't find him. I sat up in bed with tears in my eyes, only to realize that he was right next to me."

"Trust me," John said. "Every Daddy has a fear of losing their boy. Unlike other relationships, we Daddies grow overly attached to our boys. Losing them becomes our biggest fear and we promise to do everything we can to protect them. That's just how Daddies are wired. I think it's the fear that helps us ensure their safety."

"You're right," I said, turning to him briefly before proudly looking back at my boy. "Fear is probably a good thing. Fear makes us do things. It makes us go the extra mile and give our boys that extra love and protection. Fear is a necessary evil."

After the boys had snacked and chatted to their heart's content, they returned to their respective Daddies one by one. At last, only our boys remained, so they crawled back to us and sat by our legs. We scooped them up in our arms and carried them to the car before I drove us back to our homes.

After dropping Michael and John off, it was just the two of us in the car. Seeing him happily sing a song put a smile on my face. There would be days when he would be sad, days he would be mad at me, and days he would be naughty. But it was moments like these that made it all worth it. Not particularly significant moments, but simple ones like this one, where he happily sat next to his Daddy and felt happy enough to sing a happy song.

When we reached our home and headed inside, I needed to speak to him before we went to bed.

I sat on the couch and tapped my leg. "Come sit in Daddy's lap."

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