Diffident {CGLRE/ BoyxBoy}

Vierzehn

  When Austen's plate was cleared, Mikey carried it into the kitchen and set it in the sink. He pondered Austen's behavior, coming to the conclusion that he had successfully managed to get him to fall into headspace. A smile appeared on his face at this thought.

  He forced his smile away as he made his way back to Tobias' room, finding Austen no less engaged in Scooby Doo than before.

  He crawled onto the bed, careful not to disturb the little, who shocked him by mindlessly crawling into his lap after he had settled.

  Mikey hadn't expected this, as Austen was generally very shy and hesitant around him. He wasn't complaining though; this had been his plan after all.

  Austen seemed happy with the position he was in, so Mikey decided to let him watch Scooby Doo until he got bored of it. This seemed to happen around twenty minutes later when Austen began to shift around in Mikey's lap.

  Mikey had been expecting Austen to tell him what he wanted but when the shifting continued and whining joined it, he reckoned he'd have to figure that out himself.

  It was around ten in the morning and they had already eaten, so he knew Austen was neither tired nor hungry. Considering he had been watching Scooby Doo for the last hour or so, Mikey also assumed he no longer wanted to watch TV.

  He came to the assumption that Austen just wanted to do something else, but he wasn't sure how to figure out what that something else was.

  He knew Austen liked watching TV and that was about it. He wasn't really sure what else littles liked to do in their free time.

  Making the assumption that littles were much like actual children, he began to consider what they liked to do. When he was a child, he personally enjoyed coloring a lot.

  "Do you have a coloring book?" Mikey asked Austen, whose whining ceased. However, no reply was returned.

  It was then that Mikey remembered littles could have different headspaces that correlated to different ages. Austen must have been in a younger headspace, which would explain his lack of speech.

  Mikey lifted the younger boy off of his lap and set him back down on the bed, making his way towards the boys room in hopes of finding a coloring book.

  As he reached Austen's bedroom, he was startled to find the younger boy had followed him, grasping his shirt in his hand. Under Mikey's gaze, Austen blinked shyly and let go of his shirt. Mikey grabbed the younger boy's hand instead, fully entering the boy's room.

  "Do you think you could point to what you want?" The elder boy requested.

  Austen took a look around his own room before letting go of Mikey's hand and traveling over to his bed. He bent down and, with a huff, pulled out a box that had been hidden in the shadows his bed cast.

  He looked up at Mikey for help; the lid of the box was too heavy for him to lift. The elder boy was quick to understand and pushed the lid up. He had been expecting a box of coloring books and supplies, as he had mentioned earlier. Instead he found himself staring at Austen's pull-ups.

  He looked down at the aforementioned boy to find him staring at the ground, his face red. Mikey felt his own face grow red as he made a guess of what Austen wanted.

  "I'm not sure I'd be of any help with that," Mikey stated, running his fingers over the wooden box awkwardly. He had zero experience with children, let alone with changing them.

  Austen, unsurprisingly, didn't reply. He just stared at Mikey expectantly.

  Jesus, Mikey thought as he felt himself being manipulated by Austen's puppy dog eyes. He lifted a pull-up from the box and ushered the little to follow him as he headed into his bathroom.

  I can't believe I'm doing this, he mused as Austen placed his hands on his shoulders for balance.

  All by himself, Austen hopped out of his pajama pants and wet pull-up from the previous night. Mikey kept his focus on Austen's face as he helped the younger boy pull the new pull-up on, followed by the pajama pants.

  A grimace grew on Mikey's face as he lifted up the used pull-up with the very tips of his fingers, dropping it into the trash can beside Austen's closet.

  Though Mikey was not a fan of changing someone, he found himself enjoying being able to help the little, who smiled up at him gratefully.

  When he returned the smile, the younger boy lifted his arms out to him. Thinking this was an invitation for a hug, Mikey complied. He almost yelped when he felt the younger boy's legs wrap around his waist.

  He knew Austen was short, but he hadn't expected him to be so light. Pushing this thought away, he placed his arms under Austen's butt for support.

  Austen nuzzled his face into Mikey's neck and the latter let out a noise of admiration. He hadn't been expecting the little to get used to him so easily, though he was happy he had.

  Shuffling in the living room drew his attention away from the boy in his arms. Tobias must have been waking up.

  Mikey quickly carried Austen into Tobias' room, gently dropping him onto the bed. Austen made a noise of annoyance and reached his hands back up to the elder.

  Although he didn't want to, Mikey ignored the younger boys actions, instead heading into Austen's room, shutting his wooden box of pull-ups, and hiding it back under his bed. He knew the younger boy would be mad at him for now, but would thank him later.

I hope everyone is doing okay with all this corona stuff going on and I'm extremely sorry for the long wait on an update. I hope you enjoy it!