2011

Nope, you took the decoy! Lol 😆 Team Elf for the Win!!! 🏆 

Well @Baby Binky the winner moves on over to me.  And nothing @LilRugrat can do to help out.  As I win.

@suzuki2011 I do not know if your doctor knows about your padded life.  Though that is the person to ask about wearing diapers after the snip.  

When I used to take my mom to her doctors appointments.  I used to get looks all the time.  Though if one said anything I would say first come first serve. As I am not giving up my seat for anyone. My friends I am staying with right now she bitches and moans at me when I use one of those wheely carts at walmart.  Though she does not get it through her thick head that walking all over walmart kills my back and knees. Even though I am working in a grocery store.  There I have to walk and the store is not as big as walmart. My thoughts are "People" Suck! @DailyDi I hope your moms test went well and your feeling better today.

Chapter Sixty-Three: Babababa Adam and Seo-ya stared at each other, gaping. Both of them had heard the doorbell. Both knew nothing could resolve the monumental bomb that had just been dropped ahead of this playdate and coup courting. But neither one of them could summon the energy to leave this moment either. The doorbell rang again. Seo-ya exhaled. So did Adam. 『 Seo-ya? 』 Shik called out in irritation, his voice echoing in the cavernous entryway. 『 Are you getting that? 』 『 Yes, dear, 』she called out, her eyes still pinned on Adam. 『 Coming. 』 Finally, she broke eye contact. She looked away towards the door of the room, then to the playpen, and she swallowed. He needed to recover this. He needed to make it clear he had assumed and her reaction sold it. Surely it had been obvious enough, given tensions and Japok members without Kang, and… yeah, he could recover this. “I –” “Shut up,” she whispered, her voice strained, and Adam recoiled slightly. She looked him over, sneering at something, and patted down her pockets. The doorbell rang a third time, and she gasped, jumping to her feet. With blinding speed, she roughly grabbed Adam and nearly tossed him into the playpen and power-walked out of the room without another word, muttering under her breath. “Fuck,” Adam murmured as he lifted his hands to cover his face. “Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.” While he would love to claim he was being strategic and getting his cursing out while he was alone, he wasn’t in a place to be that sharp. In less than 24 hours, he had blown every carefully hidden secret and strategic advantage he had here! What the fuck was wrong with him?! “Fuck!” he hissed, his hands curling into fists, and he clenched his teeth. 『 Zhang, Yoon. Welcome, 』 Seo-ya greeted with far less enthusiasm than one might expect as she fanned her arm inward and stepped back to let in the guests at the door. 『 Thank you, Ma-nim. 』Zhang’s deep voice was jarring, and Adam’s head snapped towards the door, practically feeling the vibrations of his bass register. This was followed by a cheerful laugh, which the blonde thought for a half-second was Yoon. 『 Daddy, lookie! 』 Jeong chirped, pointing toward a grand metallic artwork positioned specifically for visitors to see first. It was a sprawling three-dimensional landscape scene made of colorized sheet metal: a setting sun, distant birds, and a tiger prowling in the foreground. The Tweener was in Zhang’s arms, wearing a peach colored sleeveless romper with elastic at the legs that made the shorts billow out like a skirt. Adam blinked a few times, trying to force himself out of his state of shock, but it was slow going. 『 Don’t be rude, 』 Zhang chided his son with a frown, and he inclined his head towards Seo-ya. 『 Greet our host who has kindly invited us. What do you say? 』 “Shishishishishi-eh!” Jeong bubbled with excitement, jumping from the massive Yamatoan’s arms before bowing so deep that Zhang had to put a hand on his chest to prevent him from falling. 『 That’s his attempt at thank you, 』 Zhang chuckled, and Yoon snickered as she made her appearance known, rounding out from behind the pair. 『 He thinks he’s learning Qin. 』 『 Doesn’t that sound familiar? 』 Yoon snickered towards Seo-ya, who angled her head slightly, as if to look over at Adam, but she changed course and shut the front door with a slight grin on her face as she nodded. 『 Well, you’re very welcome in our home. We’re honored to have you and – 』She paused, and she shifted her shoulders before gesturing in Adam’s direction. 『 Our nephew is very excited for this playdate. 』 『 It is our distinct honor, 』 Zhang replied as he bowed deeply, keeping a hand on Jeong, who let out a giggle. Yoon smirked as she adjusted the Tweener’s romper, pushing the hem up a bit to expose more of his thigh. Jeong didn’t look or flinch, and instead, idly swung his legs. 『 Zhang, 』Shik greeted as he walked in fashionably late, pretending as if he hadn’t been waiting in the wings for the right moment. Bows and humble greetings were once more repeated, and Jeong, sounding more childish and high-pitched than Adam remembered, tried his hand once more at thanking the hosts in Qin. 『 Ah, is that Qin? 』 Shik guessed, and Adam blew a snort out of his nose; the thin Amazon had likely heard Zhang’s explanation and now was pretending to recognize the language. 『 It’s his best approximation of it. He wanted to name his tiger in Qin to honor me, 』 Zhang explained as he pointed to the stuffed tiger in Jeong’s arms, who promptly held it up for everyone to see better. Adam clenched his jaw and his nostrils flared in indignation, insulted he was left out of that recounting.『 And that sparked an obsession. He knows the important words like… 』 Zhang paused in his leading tone, and Jeong didn’t hesitate. 『 Daddy! 』he practically cheered, and Seo-ya reared back in an exaggerated gasp and clapped. Then, as quickly as he had proven he knew the Qin word for Daddy (“Baba”), he did the same thing he had done for “thank you”. “Babababababa!” 『 He just likes the sounds, 』 Zhang chuckled. 『 I’m so impressed! He’s - he’s adorable, 』 Seo-ya stated as she looked Jeong up and down. 『 Goodness, Shik, I think he’s bigger than Naji was. 』 Shik blew a sharp snort out of his nose, his eyebrows raising high in surprise at his wife’s comment, but his grin didn’t indicate disapproval. Adam seethed, his cheeks flushing with rage. Zhang frowned in confusion, and Yoon shrugged. 『 Where will the boys be playing? 』 Zhang asked Shik first, then turned towards Seo-ya, who stiffened up and gestured behind her. 『 In here, 』 she stated and turned around; Adam swallowed as he scooted back from the rather insane, wide-eyed look she had when they locked eyes. Her lower jaw jutted to the side as she walked with a purpose, leading the group towards him and looking around, now keenly aware of having neither tiger nor kangaroo with him. “Adam! Adam-Adam-Adam-Adam!” Jeong greeted him enthusiastically, both arms flying in the air to wave, though one held his stuffed tiger, Laohu, who was already starting to look well loved. “Hi Jeong,” Adam awkwardly laughed, tempted to try and stand up, but the fresh crawler diaper hurt the most when it was completely dry. Seo-ya glared at him as her lips pinched together, and the blonde avoided looking at her completely; he had meant to act more surprised, but he was so thrown off that he had forgotten this was supposed to be a surprise, and Aunt Bones had clearly noticed. “There he is,” Zhang greeted with a menace in his tone, and the corner of his mouth curled upwards. “Hello, Adam.” The blonde felt his jaw quiver and his throat tightened too much to speak, so he just bowed his head. He hadn’t realized how much Joomi and Mung’s presence gave him confidence and comfort when facing Zhang, but he was keenly aware of it now. When he lifted it, he was met with a sea of… odd looks. Yoon squinted at him suspiciously, Shik looked confused and immediately shot a look to his wife, who was staring daggers at Adam, while Jeong smiled obliviously and Zhang narrowed his eyes. “Adam,” Shik finally hissed when it was clear Seo-ya wasn’t going to say anything. “Say hello.” Seo-ya took a sharp breath, pulled from her thoughts, and looked to her husband, then to Adam. “H-hi… Zhang-nim,” Adam stammered as he wrung his hands nervously. 『 Baby needs his binky, 』 Yoon mused as she cocked her head to the side and pursed her lips. 『 Why doesn’t he have one? 』 『 My apologies, I was – 』 Seo-ya began and stopped, once more giving Adam a purposeful look. 『 I’ll get it now. 』 And without another word, she spun on her heel and walked out. Shik frowned, arching an eyebrow at her. 『 Daddy! Daddy! No tiger! 』 Jeong gasped, and then whined as he pointed to Adam and then held up his tiger. Zhang looked at Adam and scanned the playpen as Jeong sounded like he was about to cry.『 Tiiigeeeer. 』 『 It’s not here, bud, 』 Zhang stated flatly, shrugging slightly. Adam stared at Jeong, trying to suspend his horror, wondering if he had always acted like this publicly or if this was new. His stomach turned, threatening to vomit as he worried his visit had pushed Zhang to come down on Jeong harder. 『 Seo-ya, 』Shik called out after scanning the area around Adam. 『 Get the boy’s stuffed tiger. 』 A brief pause passed before her reply echoed, 『 Yes, dear. 』 Jeong shifted on a dime, his face brightening up, and he leaned forward, burying his face into Laohu while hugging his father. 『 I apologize. He’s a bit obsessed, 』 Zhang slightly grimaced as he bowed his head to Shik, who shook his head and waved it off. 『 I understand. Adam is likewise rather attached to his toys, 』 Shik excused with a half grin as Yoon snickered and nodded knowingly. Zhang arched an eyebrow curiously, and Shik shrugged a single shoulder. 『 There was a misunderstanding, and he thought we were taking away his tiger. 』 『 Nooo pleeease, 』 Yoon mocked with a whiny, nasal tone. 『 He’s my best friend! 』 Adam’s face turned red as he looked down at his feet, glaring. 『 Yeah! 』 Jeong chirped as he sat up straight, lifting Laohu up and twisting to face Yoon. 『 My best friend, too! 』 『 He sure is, 』 she cooed at him as she walked her fingers up his arm and poked his nose. 『 Ah, to have such a small world, 』 Zhang chuckled as he shifted Jeong in his arms, causing the rather large diaper bag slung over his shoulder to swing behind him. 『 And have that be your biggest concern. 』 The three Amazons chuckled at that, and Seo-ya’s returning steps grew louder as their laughs lowered in volume. She had both Hopper and Little Boja in her left arm while firmly gripping a pacifier, causing Adam to wince slightly. 『 Jeong, Daddy’s got a business meeting, 』 Zhang explained as Seo-ya approached, drawing her eyes, which were glued to Adam, to him, and she forced a smile. 『 Ma Seo-ya-nim is going to watch over you. 』 Jeong nodded eagerly, though he leaned against Zhang as he hugged him, his eyes looking distantly at the waterfall in the room. 『 I teach? 』the Tweener asked the Yamatoan very quietly. 『 Ah, right, 』 Zhang murmured, his wrist jerking in Adam’s direction. 『 He wants to play like he’s teaching Adam Qin – 』 『 Not play! 』Jeong whined as he shook his head, and Zhang stifled a growl in his throat, reaching down to grab the dangling pacifier from Jeong’s chest. Without hesitation, the Tweener took it and muffled an apology. 『 You are really good with him, 』 Seo-ya complimented as she stepped through the group towards Adam. 『 Zhang is the best, 』 Yoon grinned as she began relieving him of the bag on his shoulder, and he smiled, inclining his head in appreciation. 『 He’s got a gift for keeping the smaller ones in their place. He’s the one who knew Jeong and Adam lied. Didn’t he? 』 she crooned at Jeong as she dropped the diaper bag on the floor in favor of tickling the Tweener near his armpits. 『 Didn’t he? 』 『 YeeeEESS! 』 Jeong laughed and pressed his entire body against Zhang, who smirked proudly. 『 Really? 』 Seo-ya asked as she handed down Hopper first with equal measures of curiosity and concern. At the angle he had, Adam could see her eyes moving like she was doing some kind of calculus, but then her eyes landed on him, and his mouth opened slightly. He hadn’t considered why she hadn’t just outed him already, but the answer suddenly preceded the question: she couldn’t tell them he knew what was going on, or that he might even understand Goryeoan, without revealing her own incompetence in monitoring and controlling him. She had protected Little Boja to prove she and Shik hadn’t unwittingly given him a tool. They needed to show they could control Adam, because if they couldn’t manage a Little, they would lose confidence and support in the coup. His eyes darted to Zhang as his heart raced. He could make his case right now. Tell Zhang everything he knew, prove Shik and Seo-ya were incompetent, and add the bonus of Yoon’s presence. Would Seo-ya do everything she could to retaliate? For sure. Would Shik spank him to death? Very likely. Would it be worth it? Abs – ‘Please don’t be the moon rabbit.’ Adam closed his eyes, and his entire body deflated as the memory of the pain in Joomi’s voice reverberated throughout his body. Before he fully processed all of that, he felt the pacifier get pushed into his mouth, and he opened his eyes in a flash, jerking slightly in surprise to see Aunt Bones unreasonably close to his face. She glared a warning at him before shoving Little Boja against his chest. 『 In all fairness, 』Zhang began as he once more shifted Jeong, and Yoon removed her hands, grinning in delight as the Tweener squirmed and heaved to catch his breath.『 Jeong was an incompetent Daddy. There were plenty of signs. 』 『 Yet Hyun missed them all, 』 Shik noted with a sniff, sounding more like he was registering that for himself than anything else. Zhang gave a shrug, and Jeong looked over to the playpen and pointed to it, letting out a pleading whine. 『 All right, all right, 』 the Yamatoan acquiesced as he motioned a questioning hand towards the playpen, and Shik nodded. Seo-ya turned around and smiled, putting her arm out as if to show where to set him in. As he leaned over, she angled her head, assessing his height against the walls of the playpen and tapped her finger on her lower lip. 『 Mmm, might need to get taller walls, 』 she muttered to herself. 『 Don’t worry about that. He’s a crawler, 』 Zhang chuckled as Jeong placed one hand on the ground to steady himself upright and smiled brightly, excitedly even, at Adam, who forced an awkward smile. 『 Ah, good, so is Adam, 』 Seo-ya noted quickly. 『 He is? 』 Zhang asked in a distinct tone of surprise, and Adam swore for a split second that both he and Jeong avoided looking at each other. 『 That’s new. 』 『 He’s settling in better here, 』 Shik commented quickly, seemingly eager to get to the business at hand. Nodding, Zhang laid his massive hand on Jeong’s head. 『 Be good. Have fun. 』 『 Love you, Daddy, 』 Jeong smiled up at him. 『 I love you too, bud, 』 Zhang smiled back, and Adam’s eyebrows furrowed slightly. 『 You really are a wonder! 』Seo-ya gaped, looking between father and son. The Yamatoan briefly looked at Adam, who sucked on the pacifier as a knee-jerk reaction, causing the guard to press it against his lips. Turning to Seo-ya, he smiled. 『 Thank you, 』he graciously replied as he bowed at the waist, then pointed to the very large diaper bag on the floor as he came upright. 『 Jeong has a Qin book in there he’ll want to use for “teaching” Adam. 』 『 Of course, 』 Seo-ya smiled as she picked up the bag, her eyes widening at the weight, and walked it over to the couch. 『 I’ll get videos of it. 』 Zhang thanked her and inclined his head as Shik motioned out of the room. Yoon stepped forward once, as if she were going to join, but her eyes tracked upwards in thought as she hesitated and ended up lingering behind. Seo-ya stared at her for a moment, looking about as concerned with the woman sticking around as Adam was, but the blonde jerked when Jeong’s stuffed tiger was shoved in his face. “Laohu!” Jeong chirped, pushing the pacifier out of his mouth. Adam hesitated, staring at his friend as he tried to hold back any signs of concern on his face. He briefly glanced at Seo-ya, who was busying herself assessing the contents of Zhang’s bag, while Yoon prowled around the room. Swallowing, he pulled out the pacifier and looked back to Jeong, who looked blissfully unaware of either woman’s position. His eyes were pinned on Adam. “Yeah, I remember,” he half-smiled, reaching a hand out to pet the tiger. “How is he doing?” “Great!” the Tweener smiled as he pulled his tiger back, and his eyes flicked to Little Boja, then Hopper, then he started looking around at the toys in the playpen. 『 Jeong, you should hug your friend, 』 Yoon stated as she moved towards a segment of one of the couches, looking like she was going to settle in. Jeong’s face lit up as if that were the best idea in the world, and he crawled the two paces necessary to close the distance. Seo-ya looked over at Adam with a sense of urgency, and he let out an awkward laugh. “Oh, uh, what are you –” “Hugs!” Jeong bubbled as he threw his lanky arms out and wrapped them around Adam in a tight grip. “Be gentle,” Seo-ya warned as she stood up with a book in her hand from the bag. “He’s much smaller than you are, Jeong.” “Sorry, Yaya-nim,” Jeong pouted as he released the blonde and looked over at her, pushing out his lower lip. For the first time since he and Zhang had entered the house, Seo-ya’s face lit up in genuine joy. She lifted a hand to her chest as her cheeks pinkened and she stepped forward, her mouth gaping for a few seconds before she spoke. “What did you call me?” she asked softly, but eagerly. Jeong shrank back a little as he lifted a hand to his mouth, looking tempted to stick his thumb in and stop talking. He looked to Yoon, who grinned and gave an approving nod. “Yaya-nim?” he repeated questioningly, his hand still hovering near his mouth at the ready. “Oh, sweetheart, I love it,” she professed with a sigh as she leaned over the playpen wall and cupped his face in her hand. Adam glanced to Yoon, who was smirking, and her entire torso rocked slightly in what appeared to be a silent laugh. Glancing between the two Amazon women, he frowned as something tickled him in the back of his mind. “You are just precious,” Seo-ya purred. Jeong giggled as his shoulders shrugged up and he reached out his arms for a hug. Seo-ya absolutely swooned over this as she stepped over the playpen wall, setting the book down and embracing him, placing a hand on the back of his head. Adam looked between the two once more, and he drew in a breath when Yoon looked at him, but not out of fear – his mouth opened slightly as a light bulb went off. Seo-ya and Yoon were controlling witches with warped views of Littles, but their core motivating factor was different. As far as Adam could tell, Yoon was a cold-hearted sadist who enjoyed basking in someone’s humiliation and the satisfaction of domineering someone. Seo-ya was much the same when she was in complete control (or thought she was). But the stress of the coup had made her a bit more vulnerable than she probably realized, and Adam could now see underneath it: she genuinely wanted a child’s affection. He looked away as his lips pressed together, understanding now why at times he felt compelled to see her more kindly than she was. It also meant he had a means of understanding and, ideally, manipulating her now — except his stupidity may have already cost him a chance to use it. And worse, if he was right about Yoon, she didn’t crave that same need. Any attempts to smooth things over with Seo-ya needed to be carefully metered against his slip-up and Yoon’s evil eye. “Do you want to teach Adam, darling?” Aunt Bones asked as she pulled away from the hug, her entire face flushed and her pupils dilated, appearing to be flooded with happy hormones. She presented the thick cardboard book to Jeong, who gasped excitedly and nodded, but didn’t take it from her right away. He pointed to drawings on the cover. 『 Daddy! 』he chirped in Qin, pointing to the taller male figure on the cover. “Yes,” she practically squeaked as she looked at the cover, her expression faltering for a moment, but she pinned her eyes back on Jeong as she pointed to the mother figure. “And how do you say Mommy?” Jeong paused, staring at the figure and giving it a long, concentrated look, then cocked his head to the side. “Poor thing doesn’t have a Mommy,” Yoon teased as she leaned forward from her seated position on the couch, her breasts practically lying on her forearms. “No reason to learn it.” Jeong looked at her as his lower lip started to stick out in a pout, and he shook his head. Seo-ya’s mouth opened slightly as if to gasp, and she pushed the book closer to him. Meanwhile, Yoon looked… both pleased and annoyed. A smile lingered on her face but thinned, and her eyes moved towards Adam, whose eyebrows twitched. “Well, Adam has a Mommy, but not a Daddy,” Aunt Bones explained softly as she gestured to him. “So now you do have a reason to learn it. So you can teach him.” Jeong nodded as he looked down at the book, staring at the cover of the family standing in front of a house, waving. He ran his finger over the father figure again, staring down at it with a look of concentration, then dragged his finger over the mother, and to the baby in her arms. Keeping his finger pressed on it, he looked up at Seo-ya. “Me!” he smiled at her. “Yes, baby, that’s yoooou,” she agreed, singing the last word through clenched teeth, the kind someone did when it was usually followed by the exclamation ‘I could eat you up,’ as if physically holding herself back from doing so. “What is baby in Qin?” Again, Jeong stared down at the cover of the book, looking deep in thought. Adam stared at him, his eyes slowly narrowing; he didn’t want to believe Jeong had regressed so badly since he last saw him. Leaning forward to get a better look at the Tweener’s face, Jeong suddenly looked at Adam, and his face lit up as he lifted the book, then looked to Seo-ya. “I teach, Yaya-nim?” Jeong asked. “Yes, you sweet thing, you may teach,” she chuckled, shaking her head as she stood up and assessed the area. Frowning, she nodded to herself and stepped over the wall. She briefly glanced at Yoon, who was reclining on the couch and watching Jeong and Adam like a hawk. Seo-ya reached into the large diaper bag, pulled out a sippy cup, and walked out of the room. Meanwhile, Jeong opened the book to the first page and pointed to the waving parents. 『 Hello, 』 he read out loud and looked to Adam expectantly. “Uh, knee how,” Adam replied with a grimace, glancing down at Little Boja as he moved his hand towards the eye to turn off the translation. “No!” Jeong blurted out as he thrust his arms forward, and Adam seized up, jerking his head to stare at the Tweener, who sounded, and looked, rather serious. But he cracked a smile and repeated himself more slowly,『 Hel-LO! 』 “It means hi, Adam,” Yoon grinned, and Jeong nodded several times, but kept his eyes pinned on Adam. Briefly glancing at Yoon, deciding he needed a proper pseudonym for her, he nodded along with the Tweener who looked rather delighted about it. “Right,” Adam muttered, lifting a hand to rub his eyes, feeling ill-equipped to manage the Tweener’s regressed state and the hungry predator in the room and, and, and. He was emotionally exhausted and taxed. He knew this was the core of his continued slips, and he let out a long sigh. What he couldn’t give for five minutes alone, in peace and quiet, to just… be. “Ni hao,” he grumbled as he dropped his hands into his lap. 『 Hello, 』 Jeong repeated in Qin as he reached out a hand to take Adam’s, and although the blonde jerked, he didn’t resist. If he was going to survive Yoon’s oversight, he was starting to accept that he should just play along. “Ni hao,” he sighed, his eyes pinned downward. Then Jeong squeezed his hand. 『 Hello, Adam, 』 Jeong said in Qin, his voice sounding ever so slightly more himself. Blinking, Adam looked up at him, and the Tweener smiled brightly. “Ni hao… Jeong,” Adam said with a slight inflection so it could almost be a question. “Yay!” Jeong cheered as he brought his hands together and clapped. “Haohowhowhahowhao!” Adam let out an awkward laugh, glancing over at Yoon, who had a lingering smirk on her lips, but otherwise didn’t move or react. Jeong pointed to the next page and read the translated Goryeoan introduction very slowly. “This… is… my… family.” The Tweener turned his head to the side, then continued, “In… Yamatoan-Qin… we call… it… ji… jia… ren.” He paused, leaned forward towards the book and squinted, then beamed as he sat up. “Jiaren!” he proclaimed and pointed to the unique character with the Goryeoan transliteration beneath it. Adam nodded as he inspected the character, recognizing the style from the engraving on Zhang’s ancestral sword. He frowned as he stared at it, unable to stop himself from overthinking. Even though his attitude was condescending and dismissive, the blonde had to give it to Zhang: he was teaching Jeong his native tongue. That had to mean something, right? He blinked as Jeong flipped the page, and he looked at the Tweener curiously, wondering why he didn’t insist on teaching him the word for family. “This… is… Appa!” Jeong bubbled, pointing his finger at the words as he read them. “We call… him… Baba!” Jeong looked at him and nodded. “Ba-ba.” Adam stared at Jeong for a long moment, finding himself deeply resistant to saying it because of what it meant in his native tongue. The Tweener jabbed his finger on the cardboard page again, and his face grew slightly pouty. The blonde stifled a grumble and sighed. “Baba.” “Ooooh!” Seo-ya teased as she walked into the room, shaking two sippy cups. “Don’t worry, Adam, I’ve got your baba.” “It means Dad!” Adam immediately defended himself as his face flushed. “Baba!” Jeong jumped in counterproductively as he pointed to his sippy cup. Yoon and Seo-ya both snickered, and Adam glared at the Tweener. “I don’t want to learn Qin anymore,” he grumbled, turning away from Jeong, his nostrils flaring as he wanted to put some distance between them, but also didn’t want to crawl. Grabbing Little Boja, he crossed his arms and pouted. “Bubububu,” Jeong babbled as he reached out for the cup, which Aunt Bones handed down to him as she patted his head. In his giggling, he continued babbling just before taking a drink, “Shashahhahasha.” “Oh, don’t be a brat,” Seo-ya scoffed as she lowered the sippy cup in front of his face. Adam snatched it quickly to get it out of his way, then trepidatiously looked up at Aunt Bones. Her eyebrows twitched up, then down, as her eyes widened in a semi-crazed, definitely threatening look. Then her jaw moved from side to side as she shook her head, appearing to hype herself back into her normal persona. “Play and babble along with your friend. Who knows, you might actually enjoy it.” She smirked at him as he glared back, then she turned to face Jeong as she reached her long arm out to pat his head. 『 Babble away, sweetheart, 』she cooed at him, and Jeong took that as a direct command, it seemed. “Bububububuuuu!” he exclaimed excitedly, and after receiving a warm chuckle in response, he turned to face Adam once again. “Shiiishabababababebebeben!” “Drink, Adam,” Seo-ya commanded, pointing towards the cup she gave him. “I -” he started to complain that he wasn’t thirsty, but he hesitated, not sure why he was bothering to fight with her. Something about her return to form had caused him to do the same, and he grimaced, consciously telling himself to stop. He sighed and began to drink from the undoubtedly spiked cup. 『 He seems more defiant than yesterday, 』Yoon observed towards Seo-ya, though her eyes remained pinned on Adam. 『 Does he? 』 Seo-ya questioned quickly, scoffing as she shook her head. 『 This is what I’m used to. 』 『 Dumb, dumb, dumb. 』Adam blinked, looking over at Jeong who was staring down at his book, rocking his head from side to side. He half smiled and continued drinking, amused that the translation had made a well timed joke from his babbling. 『 We’ll fix that, 』 Yoon smirked as she laid her arm over the top of the couch. 『 Dumb, dumb, dumb, 』 Jeong repeated and looked over at Adam and smiled, then pointed to the book. 『 Mommy. 』 Adam, who had stopped drinking at Yoon’s commentary but kept the plastic cup tilted up, met Jeong’s eyes and stared for a second, then gave a single nod. “Adam, say it!” the Tweener demanded as he forcefully pointed to the mother figure on the page. Adam pulled the cup from his mouth and squinted at his larger friend. 『 I imagine we will, 』 Seo-ya commented and quickly smiled, gesturing her palm towards the door. 『 Can I get you anything? 』 “Mama,” Adam said flatly as he stared at Jeong’s insistent face, which quickly lit up, and he giggled. “Yay!” he cheered, which drowned out the specific drink request from Yoon. “Jeong, can we – can we play something else?” Adam asked cautiously as he watched Seo-ya walk out of the room towards the bar across the way. Once again, Yoon remained. 『 Not dumb, not dumb, not dumb! 』 Jeong replied as he flipped the cardboard page dramatically. Adam blew air out of his nose, once again mistaking it for a funny happenstance of the language, but as he surveyed the area to tempt his friend with something else to play with, Jeong repeated the string of words. Twice. Each time with purpose. The blonde locked eyes with the Tweener and swore he saw a glint of mischief just before he broke into another round of babbling, swapping between ‘daddy’, ‘mommy’, and ‘not dumb,’ though his tone was far more playful now. Adam squinted at him; there was no way that was a mistake. Either Jeong knew what he was saying, or he was repeating something he had heard from Zhang without knowing what it meant… but hope tickled in his mind. He wanted to believe Jeong knew what he was saying. “What’s, um… what’s that one? Ben?” Adam asked, trying to find the right inflection for the word for ‘dumb’. Jeong’s eyes widened as he grabbed the book and held it up to Adam face. 『 BOOK! 』he yelled in delight. The blonde froze for a moment, feeling his heart sink in disappointment, but Jeong shook the book at him. Adam gave a slight smile. “Ben,” he repeated as he pointed to the book, and Jeong cheered. 『 Book! Book! Not book! 』 he said in rapid succession, thrusting the book at him and pointing to his cup on the last one. He did another round, pointing to the book as he set it on the ground, then his cup, then himself.『 Book, not book, not dumb. 』 Adam gasped as his mouth opened wide and he smiled in absolute delight. That was on purpose! He was genuinely telling him he was still in there! Jeong giggled, threw down the book, and pointed at the father figure. 『 Daddy, daddy, daddy, daddy, 』 he babbled in Qin as he bobbed from side to side, then pointed to himself. He pursed his lips and looked over at Yoon. “How do I say my Appa?” “How should I know?” Yoon scoffed in reply as she crossed one leg over the other. “Your little book doesn’t teach you?” Jeong’s shoulders shrank, and his head dropped, looking rather defeated. Adam resisted glaring directly at her; instead, he tossed a snide look to the ground as he leaned forward and began flipping through the pages. Unfortunately, the book was for teaching Goryeoan children Qin, but on the bright side, baby books were often quite legible from the images alone. And if there was anything Amazons cared about when it came to their Adopted, it was possession. “There!” Adam declared, gesturing on the page where a little boy pointed to his father, and on the opposite page, pointed to someone else’s father. Jeong beamed and pointed his finger down at the words. “My… Appa… Wo de baba,” he read out loud, and Adam followed, briefly glancing up as Seo-ya returned with a drink for Yoon. “Your… Appa… Ni baba.” Jeong paused, then shook his head. “No… your Eomma… Ni mama!” “Yes!” Adam cheered, and Jeong followed, and the two were so heavily invested in the process that neither even blushed at the Amazons chuckling at them. 『 This was a wonderful idea, 』 Seo-ya practically sang to Yoon as she watched the scene with rapt attention and a grin on her lips. 『 Jeong is a good influence on Adam. 』 『 Zhang is the best, 』 Yoon reiterated as she sipped from her drink. 『 My Daddy, my daddy, 』 Jeong gushed happily, flipping between pointing his finger to different pages and sneaking in a few words while the Amazons were talking. 『 Support, support, your Mommy. 』 The Tweener flipped the book and pointed to nothing in particular a few times, and he looked up with a goofy smile. Adam swallowed as he slowly lifted a hand to his ear, the one facing away from Seo-ya and Yoon, and he tapped on it as he raised his eyebrows in a questioning way. Jeong actually babbled this time as he rocked back, forcing out a childish giggle, but he nodded several times to make sure his affirmation was clear. “Sha-sha ma-ma-ma-ma da-da-da-da ba-ba-ba-ba! Yi-yi-yi yang-yang-yang, ben-ben-bu!” Adam took a quick breath as his eyes widened. Jeong and Zhang knew about the earpiece… which meant, somehow, for some reason, Joomi had come to trust them. He swallowed hard as he fell silent, fighting between the anxiety that told him this might be a trap, and the optimism that gave him hope there was a plan. His eyes darted to the entryway where Zhang had disappeared into the house with Shik. He hoped the Yamatoan wasn’t playing both sides and divulging everything to Uncle Shit now while letting Jeong think he was helping. “Adam, baby, babble with him,” Seo-ya sighed as she pulled out her phone, then lazily gestured towards Jeong. “He’s trying really hard.” His blue eyes snapped over to her, and Jeong let out another round of infectious giggles, causing Adam to crack a smile. She was right, technically; Jeong was putting forth a lot of effort to come across as a brainless infant, and it was paying off. And ultimately, Zhang was a good cover. Who wouldn’t believe a Yamatoan was capable of regressing a Tweener this hard? But credit where it was due, Jeong was pulling it off well, and Seo-ya and Yoon had fallen for it, hard. Hell, he had too. “Okay, Auntie,” Adam acquiesced with a smile and looked to Jeong, shrugging his shoulders as he joined in. “Yang-yang… Ma-ma-ma-ma.” “YAY!” Jeong cheered loudly and clapped feverishly, then looked over to Seo-ya and pointed to Adam. “Yaya-nim! Yang-yang-ma!” “Yes, yes, I heard,” she giggled, having recorded the interaction, and chuckled. Yoon smirked from behind her glass. This led Adam to continue babbling with greater enthusiasm, and Jeong grabbed his stuffed tiger and walked him around the book while babbling in turn. The translator caught nothing during this time, and they spent ten minutes saying nonsense Qin-sounding words mixed with a few real ones, marching their tigers around, flipping through the book, and drinking from their cups. In this time, Adam laughed more than he had since he entered this house combined. He smiled more than he could remember smiling in days, and felt his muscles relaxing despite the oversight of the predators in the room. There was a sense of freedom in just being able to make noise and talk, and not care what came out of his mouth. Of course this was all helped by knowing Jeong was playing along too, rather than genuinely regressed. 『 I’ll see how things are going, 』 Yoon declared with a half-empty drink as she stood up, having grown bored over the course of this playtime. Seo-ya nodded and followed her out to give her directions to Shik’s office, and Jeong grinned victoriously at Adam. “Amazing,” Adam whispered softly, grinning back at his friend. With a twinkle in his eye, Jeong appeared to kick off the next step (likely triggered by Yoon’s departure) as he sat up energetically and twisted to face Seo-ya as she re-entered the room. “Yayayaya-nim-nim,” Jeong stated as he shifted his babbling and smiled at her as she looked over expectantly. “Blankie, please?” “You,” she gushed at him as she placed a hand on her chest. “Are very well-mannered. And such a good example for Adam.” She shot a knowing, shit-eating grin to Adam, whose eyebrows furrowed, but she moved on from it quickly as she spun around to leave the room. Quickly, Jeong whined as he pointed to the diaper bag on the couch, tossing a pleading look to the blonde. “Wait, Auntie,” Adam called out but grimaced when she didn’t even hesitate. He cursed in his mind and summoned the energy not to puke as he called out again, “Auntie Yaya!” Seo-ya’s back stiffened in surprise in the entryway, and she slowly spun on her heel to face him, her eyebrows high up. He swallowed hard. It was too soon. He knew he should leave the cuteness to Jeong, let him warm her up and - and - “Yes, baby?” Seo-ya replied with an ever so slight smile on her lips, though her tone was still slightly cautious. He smiled about as slightly as she did. “He wants his ceremony blanket… please,” Adam stated as he pointed to the diaper bag, and Jeong nodded fervently. Seo-ya’s face lit up in understanding twice: first, he wanted a specific blanket, and halfway over to the diaper bag, she had the second wave of understanding that it was his ceremony blanket. She placed her hand on her chest, making a small noise with a sigh, and then opened up the bag. Adam blew air out of his nose as he flashed a look to Jeong, who kept his eyes pinned forward. “Is this it, sweetie?” she asked as she lifted up the familiar blanket, and Jeong burst with joy, throwing his arms out for it, and nodded. She sighed as her cheeks flushed as she walked it over to him, placing her hand on his head after handing it to him. “What does choosing a blanket mean?” Adam asked curiously, trying his best to sound innocent as he pointed to the blanket. Jeong quickly wrapped the blanket around Laohu and then drew him all in for a tight hug, nuzzling his face down into it. “It means he needs comfort and security,” she stated warmly, giving him a sympathetic smile as she ran her fingers through his hair. Jeong lifted his head to look at her and dropped Laohu, reaching his arms up towards her. Seo-ya gushed again as she quickly stepped into the playpen and knelt to hug him. Adam grinned. Jeong was turning out to be quite a showman. “Ohh, you sweet thing,” she hummed as she rubbed his back, rocking him from side to side slightly. After a long beat, she leaned a little back out of the hug, enough to kiss his forehead.『 Is your Daddy giving you enough hugs? 』 Jeong nodded several times, lifting his hand to his mouth and slipping his thumb in. 『 Good. Still, Auntie Yaya will see about getting you a Mommy,』she decided, winking at him as she ran her hands to flank his head and rubbed her thumbs on his cheeks. Jeong smiled widely as he nodded again and moved his free hand off of her to point to the mother in the open book. 『 Yes! Good baby, 』she praised, kissing his forehead again.『 Are you hungry? 』 Jeong nodded again as he babbled ‘mama’ a few times, keeping his thumb in his mouth. She gently pulled his hand back and swapped his thumb for the pacifier, using the blanket to wipe his thumb dry; Jeong gave no indication of notice or care, staring down at the book and swapping between ‘baba’ and ‘mama’, but much quieter. Adam arched an eyebrow as Seo-ya began digging through the bag and assessing the snack options. He jerked in surprise when he saw Little Boja fly off the floor. “Hey!” Adam blurted out as he reached for his tiger, and Jeong made a whining noise as he tried quickly stuffing Little Boja inside the blanket with Laohu. “Give him back!” “Adam!” Seo-ya snapped from the couch, causing him to jump. “Be nice.” “He took Little Boja!” the blonde replied defensively, pointing to him, and she gave an exaggerated shrug. “So? Learn to share, baby,” she huffed with an eye roll and shook a bag of crackers, holding it up to the light as she inspected it. Adam’s nostrils flared as he glared at her, his hands curling into fists as he turned his glare to Jeong – but he was jarred out of his annoyance upon seeing the Tweener concentrating hard on something in the blanket. Adam craned his neck upwards to see, but his shoulders jerked as a distinct tune played in his ears. Jeong’s eyes snapped up to him, and he raised his eyebrows, as if to ask a question. Adam gave a small nod, and the Tweener grinned. ‘New update available. Downloading…’