Raccoon Twenty-One

He hadn't expected.

His entire life for the past several weeks could be summed up with that one, simple sentence.

He'd intended to die to remove the burden of life from his shoulders, but he hadn't expected King to come along and pick him up in his arms.

He'd intended to leave his home quickly to keep from burdening him, but he hadn't expected to hear the young man's adorable thoughts about him.

He hadn't expected to get so involved with him, but now they were standing beside King's car at the local waterpark wearing brand new bathing suits and flip flops as the sweet guy knelt down and helped his daughter put some sunscreen on her smiling face.

They'd had his sweet Tili for two days now, and unfortunately, they'd have to give her back to Anne to send home tomorrow. His anxiety had been jumping all over the place since he'd gotten that text earlier that morning, but each time his mind began to struggle King took his hand, or elbow, or even slid a few fingers into the back pocket of his bathing suit and gave the fabric a gentle tug as a reminder that he was there for him.

His heart was currently beating in his throat as Tili, in her black pair of boy's swim trunks and hot pink bikini top pointed in excitement as they finally got to the front gates. King stepped in front of them and scanned their tickets on his phone, then let the guard check their bag of towels, sunscreen, and snacks.

"Daddy?"

Baron immediately turned his smile to his daughter as she settled her hand back on his shoulder.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

Her arms wrapped around his neck as she leaned in and pressed a kiss to his cheek.

"Thank you for taking me to play today, and for reading and going for a walk with me yesterday. Dinner was really yummy, too!"

Those really aren't things a child should thank their parent for...

He nudged aside his upset as King walked back up to them, all smiles.

"You're welcome, sweetheart. I love reading with you and Mr. King likes going for walks, so he was happy to join us, too."

She smiled wider.

"I really like Mr. King!"

Me too, sweetie.

They headed inside and easily found a spot right in the middle of the park on a large man-made beach. Lockers were available nearby, so they put their phones away, then settled on the towels King quickly laid out.

Baron then carefully got his daughter outfitted with some cute pink and blue blow-up water wings. She knew how to swim rather well for her age since he'd taken her to classes when she'd turned one, but that didn't mean that he would dare take a chance.

As he was finishing up, he caught King's shadow moving and looked up just in time to see the young man tug his soft gray shirt, that had Level Up printed on it, up and over his head.

His mouth was suddenly dry.

In the bright afternoon sun he could easily see some marks on the man's upper left arm from his accident long ago, but he quickly skimmed over those before taking in everything else.

He had the makings of abs starting and his body was decently toned, but not overly so. He was a gamer, not a gym bro, but his young metabolism was definitely shining through.

His own face warmed as he saw the band-aid that had been placed over the hickey he'd given him the other day. He would have loved to see him not covering it, but he would never tell him that. If he wanted to cover the mark, he most definitely could. Just the fact that he'd allowed him to put it there was more than enough to make Baron smile for days.

"Wanna take your shirt off, too?" King asked, startling Baron back to the present, making him blush a little as he stood up and took his daughter's hand.

He was okay with having it off at the apartment sometimes, but with so many people looking... It wasn't even that he was big, he was still a bit underweight, but he definitely wasn't as nice on the eyes as King. Or, at least, that's what he thought. His wife had always told him to keep his shirt on whenever they went anywhere it would be appropriate to take it off.

"I... maybe later," he eventually said as he looked down and scooped up his daughter to try and silently signal that he didn't want to continue the conversation.

He might look out of place amongst the hundred plus people that were all dressed down to swim, but he just wasn't comfortable.

"Okay, Tili, what do you want to do first?" King asked as he took Baron's free hand and squeezed it gently.

The little girl quickly pointed to a big set of red slides that towered over the sitting area.

"Alright, let's go!" King cheered as he tugged them along like he, himself, was just as excited to ride.

Turned out, he was.

The guy shot down the slide like an excited, well, otter.

Baron even glanced over the side of the risen platform as he saw King splash down at the bottom, then swim around with a big grin on his face.

Rexy must be in heaven right now.

His own shift was really happy, too, now that he thought about it. Prince had desperately missed his baby and as they settled at the top of the slide with Tili in his lap, his raccoon was squeaking and hopping on its front paws, excited to spend some fun time with her.

He was a little overly nervous when they finally began sliding down the giant slide, but when Tili just squealed with delight, he couldn't help but relax. Of course, he made sure to lift her up a little to make sure she didn't get water up her nose when they exited into the huge pool, but the whole situation went surprisingly well.

"Tili! Hey Tili!"

Seeing King on the edge of the sandy pool about ten feet away waving and calling to his daughter, Baron chuckled and began swimming that way, but then stopped once he knew he was far enough away from the slide to not hinder the next rider.

"Want to go swim to Mr. King?" he asked his daughter with an encouraging smile.

She immediately began paddling that way, moving surprisingly quick for her size.

Baron watched her for a moment, savoring the simple memory before walking forward, since he'd already gotten to a spot that was shallow enough for his feet to touch the sandy bottom.

The moment Tili got to King he took her hand and they kicked around in the sand for a few moments until Baron got out of the water to meet them.

He would normally discourage kicking sand at anything, or anyone, but King was returning the gesture with little kicks of his own, and since both of them were smiling as they ran around on the sand, he couldn't bring himself to reprimand either. Even in his mind.

"Daddy, let's go to the river!" Tili said loudly as she ran over, tripping over the sand halfway to him since she hadn't been watching her feet.

He started hurrying towards her to help her up, but she just jumped back up and brushed her knees off, then ran the rest of the way and grabbed his hand with a beaming smile.

King was already up on the little paved walkway leading that direction, one gangly arm raised high in the air to wave at them.

Tili turned and hopped up and down, waving back before she began tugging Baron in that direction.

The lazy river, as it was aptly named, was basically a winding waterway that stretched around the majority of the right side of the park. A current propelled swimmers and rafters along at a comfortable pace and the area was split down the middle, allowing those who wished to swim a chance to do so without getting run over by rafts.

They chose the swimming section, but they did rent a little kickboard for Tili so that she didn't wear herself out too quickly. To his surprise, King actually stayed with her nearly the entire time, watching and helping her float along, giving him a chance to relax a little.

Of course, the entire time the two were a few feet ahead of him Baron was watching them interact. His wife wasn't a fan of getting sweaty, so any kind of theme park had always been out of the question for her. This was actually Tili's first time at anything but a regular neighborhood park, and it was clear that she was having an absolute blast.

He did understand that King wasn't completely comfortable around kids, though, considering how he panics a little bit with certain situations and especially abrupt emotional changes, but considering he'd just recently had a kid dropped off at his house without any warning...

He'd be an amazing dad.

His content smile quickly turned into a full one as he laughed lightly and swam forward a bit to grab King's swim trunks. He'd shifted rather abruptly into Rexy, though he doubted that the man had done it on purpose.

Can't blame your baby for wanting to come out. This is practically an otter paradise.

With Rexy swimming around, Baron stepped up to watch his daughter. He was just about to start talking to her, asking if she was having fun, when she suddenly squealed, then kicked her little feet!

Blinking, Baron glanced into the water just in time to see a little brown body dart away.

"He nibbled my toe daddy!" Tili laughed as she reached over the front edge of her kickboard and stuck her hand into the water.

Rexy evidently took the bait, and within a few seconds he'd bumped against her fingers, eliciting another loud squeal of delight from his daughter.

"Rexy! Rexy!" she shouted excitedly, her calls coaxing the little otter closer as it breached the surface several times, swimming happily as if it were out in a real river.

Baron couldn't help but be glad for it, but he could also sense that something wasn't quite right. Or, really, King was struggling a bit. While his otter was definitely enjoying itself, it was also in quite a bit of pain, and that pain was also affecting King, which Baron could feel in his mind.

He'd somehow managed to help heal a bit of Rexy's injuries when he'd switched over to his mind, but he hadn't been a miracle worker.

Torn between letting the poor otter have its fun and saving his love from a painful evening, Baron let the little otter do as it pleased for a few more minutes, then gently reached forward with his hands just beneath the surface.

"Sweet Rexy, can you come here please?"

The litter otter listened after one more drive-by toe nibble, its smooth, soft body slipping seamlessly into his grasp. Being extra careful not to put any pressure on his left leg and arm, Baron carefully lifted him out of the water and hugged him gently against his chest.

"Hi sweetheart, are you having fun?" he asked as he made sure to keep an eye on his daughter, who was kicking ahead a little as they began turning a wide corner.

Rexy squeaked and wiggled, tapping his right paw against Baron's chest as he told him all about the fun he was having! The little guy was just so excited. He might even be thinking that they came to the water park just for him!

I don't think I have the heart to tell him to shift back so soon...

Pursing his lips, Baron held up the little guy and pressed a kiss to its forehead, then set him gently back in the water.

"Be careful and come back to me for a rest often, alright little one?" he told it, getting an overly-excited squeak in response before Rexy jetted back beneath the crystal clear water.

Thankfully, the little guy listened, and as they made their way around the long, winding river, he returned to him every minute or so until, finally, he could sense King's mind coming back into focus.

That gave him just enough time to slide the young man's swim trunks over the lower half of his otter before he was suddenly holding a very tired King in his arms.

Thankfully, Tili was an understanding kid and when she noticed what had happened, she quickly turned her board around and swam back to them.

"Is Mr. King okay?" she asked curiously, clearly worried.

Baron gently rubbed King's warm back for a few moments before the man seemed to come around and lean back enough to look up at him, then toward Tili. He could see the pain behind the man's eyes, but that didn't stop King from giving his daughter the sweetest smile.

"I'm alright, Rexy just wore me out a bit so I'm going to barrow your daddy's arms for a few minutes. Is that alright?" he asked calmly even as he noticed the man discretely reach beneath the water and grab his left arm.

"Sure! Daddy's arms are always the best when you're tired! I'll share him with you!"

Baron couldn't help himself as he wrapped his arms comfortably around King and sank a little lower in the water, allowing it to hold the majority of the man's weight as they continued to drift along with him just-barely needing to take a step on the bottom here and there.

His little girl paddled around them for a few minutes, then settled at his side to drift along together.

They did one more lap before King finally leaned away, making Baron, reluctantly, let him go. Within a couple minutes they were climbing out, and thankfully, King seemed to be doing a bit better.

The decision was made to take some time to rest, and honestly, before Baron could even return to their spot with the shade umbrella he'd borrowed for a stand nearby, King and Tili were both out cold, curled up together on one of their big towels.

Well, Tili was curled up against him, but King was splayed out a bit haphazardly. It was absolutely adorable.

He got the umbrella set up as quietly as possible, then sat himself down right next to his two sweethearts. The time ticked by so slowly that it felt fast. Before he knew it fifteen minutes had passed, then thirty. The place was beginning to get a bit busier, but no matter who settled into spots around them, he only had eyes for his two people.

His eyes blinked like a camera shutter, taking permanent pictures time and again. He really wanted to take a real picture with his phone, but he wasn't sure if King would appreciate it. At least not without his consent.

"B...?"

Blinking out of his thoughts, Baron realized that he'd been staring at a very awake King and quickly looked down at the sand between them as his face burned.

"I don't mind if you look at me."

Baron's heart suddenly flipped over like a pancake in his chest!

Even though he'd just been given permission, he couldn't bring himself to lift his eyes up to meet King's.

You sweet goofball.

The thought made him furrow his brow, frown, then smile as he finally forced himself to lift his head and gaze.

King was grinning at him like a mischievous high schooler who'd stayed up all night gaming instead of studying for their exams the next day. He had a tiny bit of sand in his drying hair, too, from having stretched the slightest bit off the blanket.

Gorgeous.

"Mn, daddy? Can I have a snack?"

Baron's eyes immediately redirected as his sleepy daughter sat up next to King and yawned, stretching her little arms over her head.

He quickly went through their snacks and produced a little baggie of trail-mix with nuts, pretzels, and a few pieces of chocolate candy mixed in. Cheese sticks were next, followed by peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.

Their picnic was absolutely perfect and to his surprise, Tili decided to settle in King's lap instead of his own. His love didn't seem to mind at all as he shared bites of his sandwich and Tili pressed little pieces of her trail-mix against his lips.

It was like the two were literally meant to be in each other's lives.

Baron jumped slightly when he felt something soft press against his own lips, startling him back into the present as he realized that he was being offered a bite of King's sandwich... that had evidently been stolen by his daughter.

"Oh, thank you, sweetheart," he said with a growing smile as he took a tiny bite to appease her.

He was soon being offered a little piece of chocolate, too, then a sip of water from the large bottle they'd brought from home.

By the time the snacks he'd taken out were gone, he couldn't help but think that he'd eaten the majority of them!

He was just about to ask if they wanted to go do more at the park, since there was still plenty they hadn't gotten to yet, when he suddenly shut his mouth. His little girl was already out cold again, snuggled contently in King's arms.

"I think it's time to go," King whispered with a knowing smile.

He was clearly tired, too, so Baron had no intention of arguing. Besides, he was already more than content with their trip. His little girl had really enjoyed herself, and judging from King's tired smile, he had, too.

With a silent nod Baron quietly got their things packed up, then returned the kickboard and umbrella before picking up their bag. He then looked over at King as the man slowly got to his feet. His body was tense and he was clearly favoring his left side, but he still managed to hold his sleeping daughter on his right side without complaint.

Thankfully, they'd gotten there really early, so while the entrance was bustling, the exit was a simple quiet pathway.

They discussed what they wanted to do for dinner, but it was clear that neither was going to be very useful as Baron, himself, began to yawn as they made their way to the car.

Within moments they decided that they would just order something a bit later.

King managed to settle his daughter in the car seat they had bought the day before but with his mind half asleep, he quickly bowed out when it came to strapping her in correctly.

Baron appreciated it. Safety was his number one priority, for both of them, so he gladly took over, then even held the passenger door open for his love before leaning in to buckle him in, too.

By the time Baron slid into the driver's side and adjusted the seat, he could hear King faintly snoring in the seat beside him. After watching him for a moment, Baron glanced into the rear-view mirror and smiled at the sight of his daughter fast asleep, too.

Leaning his head back against the headrest, he closed his eyes for a minute and just sat there as the air conditioner cooled the car to a comfortable temperature.

His heart was so full, but for once, it didn't contain any trace of worry, anxiety, or stress. Instead, it was pleasantly filled with happiness, calmness, and love.