"come on, tyty!" ryan giggles, pulling on the boy's arm to try and get him to follow him up to the first house.

it's halloween, one of the holidays tyler has a love-hate relationship with. he loves getting candy, but he hates seeing scary stuff and knocking on strangers' doors! he shakes his head stubbornly, the mane of his lion costume ruffling. "no!"

"bren!" ryan whines, the hood of his bat costume falling over his eyes. "tyty won't come!"

brendon, who's dressed as a vampire, lifts the hood from ryan's eyes and carefully places it on his head. "ty, wan' me to go get joshie?"

tyler nods softly, hugging his pumpkin basket to his chest. the eldest of the three heads back to the road where dallon and josh sit waiting inside of dallon's truck. he taps on the window, patiently waiting for his daddy to roll it down.

"daddy, joshie, tyty's 'fraid to go to the houses," he says with a slight lisp, due to his fake set of vampire teeth.

"alright," josh says, pulling on his hoodie as he prepares himself to leave the warmth of the truck. "i'll walk around with you guys."

a cold gust of wind hits the man as he walks over to his little, goosebumps forming and teeth chattering. he hates the cold with a passion. tyler cheers and hugs him, careful not to smudge the paint on his face. he's nice and toasty; josh forced him to wear several layers beneath his costume.

"daddy!" he smiles. "go trick o' treating wif us?"

"yes, i'm coming with you. too shy to go without me, hm? that's okay," josh says, kissing his forehead. "want to hold daddy's hand?"

"i wan' hold hands too!" ryan tells brendon, snatching up the boy's hand and squeezing their fingers together.

the four walk up to the first house together, brendon being the one to knock on the door. an old lady opens it holding a huge bag of candy.

"trick or treat!" ryan and brendon say in unison, tyler mumbling it a few seconds after.

"wow, this is quite the trio," the woman smiles, sliding two pieces of candy into each boy's bucket.

"thank you!" they say happily, except tyler who again mumbles his response timidly.

they head down the sidewalk for the next house, tyler clinging to josh's side. "i do good job?"

"yes, ty, you did a super duper job! that's one house down and lots more to go. you're going to do great."

🍼🍯🍼

trick or treating had ended a bit ago, and all five currently sit in dallon's living room. the three littles sit on the ground, their candy buckets emptied out beside them. josh and dallon watch casper as the littles trade candy.

"who wan' my licorice?" ryan asks, nose scrunched as he holds out the candy.

"me!" brendon shouts, grabbing it quickly and stuffing it in his bucket.

"i trade dis snickers for kit-kat," tyler makes an offer, wavering the snickers bar around. ryan agrees to the deal, swapping their candy. this goes on for some time, until all three have their most favorite candies in their buckets.

they finish the night off by watching the rest of casper. tyler complains that he's hot almost the whole time, but he refuses to take off his costume. (omg just imagine tyler in this i'm cRYING)

when the movie is over, tyler decides he wants to go to josh's house instead of having a sleepover, which comes as a shock to the older.

"you're sure, little lion? you don't wanna stay here?"

"uh-uh," tyler shakes his head, feeling sorta guilty. ryan looks really sad.

"how come?"

he shrugs, stuffing his thumb between his lips. josh gets the feeling he doesn't want to discuss it in front of everyone, so he simply nods. "okay, let's get ready to go then."

tyler sits and watches as josh gathers their stuff. he makes sure to grab the bucket full of candy, knowing tyler would throw a fit if they left it. "come on, cutie. let's go home."

but tyler doesn't budge. he sits, sucking on his thumb while he gazes up at his daddy.

"hey, josh? can i talk to you for a sec?" dallon asks, not waiting for an answer before he pulls the man into another room.

"what, is something wrong?" josh frowns.

"no, no. not at all. i just think that tyler's really small right now."

"okay, so?" he urges, not understanding why dallon had to tell him this in private. tyler's always small.

"i'm talking, like, baby small. not just toddler small."

"...i don't get it?"

dallon sighs, patting his friend on the back. "just think of the difference between babies and toddlers. babies cry more, they don't talk at all, they babble, they want to be held, need to be carried... do you get where i'm going with this?"

"yeah, so what? i don't mind. why'd you have to take me into the kitchen to say this?"

"i think tyler wants to leave because he's embarrassed. he feels okay being so small with you, but he's never been that small around us before. you know?"

"ohhhh," josh nods. "yeah, i get it. wait, but... i don't have any baby stuff for him."

"i got you," dallon smiles, retrieving a bottle from one of the cabinets. "and wait here, i have to grab something else."

josh does as he's told, turning the bottle in his hands as he examines it. it's a pale, almost clear, blue color. little tiny elephants line the sides, something josh knows tyler is going to love. dallon comes back a minute later, holding two diapers. josh just stares at them.

"just trust me. sometimes ryan needs them when he's in babyspace. (i can't remember if that's what people refer to it as but i'm pretty sure it is but if not i'm sorryyy) tyler might not need them, but they'll still make him feel secure. here." dallon hands them over, josh examining the diapers for a second.

"okay, yeah, i got it."

"you look worried."

"nope, i'm chill. not like i think i'm going to do something wrong, or anything. nah..."

"josh," dallon chuckles lightly. "don't worry like that. you and i know damn well you're going to do great with tyler in babyspace, just like you do when he's in littlespace. and tyler knows it too, obviously. otherwise he wouldn't want to be home alone with you."

"yeah.. you're right. thanks, dude," josh says, smiling.

"no worries."

they return to the living room. brendon is cradling ryan in his lap, and tyler is sitting beside them with his thumb still in his mouth and his eyes glued to the credits that roll across the tv screen.

"okay, baby, let's get you home," josh says, scooping the little brunette into one arm while the other holds everything else.

"bye!"

"see you guys later," josh responds, carrying tyler out to his car. he gently sets him in the passenger seat, making sure to buckle him up nice and snug. he situates tyler with his stuffies and a pacifier, then gets in.

they arrive at josh's a short time later, tyler having already passed out. josh takes everything inside first, then comes back. he eases tyler out of the car and into his arms, cradling the boy against his chest. he takes him straight into the bedroom. as soon as he puts tyler down, he wakes up. the brunette whines softly, doe-eyes fluttering around as he gathers his surroundings.

"shh, we're back at my place. you can go back to sleep, pumpkin, it's alright."

tyler doesn't respond in any way, just blinks slowly. he starts sniffling and whines louder.

"shhh," josh hushes. "here, it's alright. come here."

he takes tyler back into his arms and carries him into the kitchen. there, josh fills the bottle that dallon gave him with milk. back in the bedroom, he sits on the bed with tyler nuzzled against his chest. he holds the bottle up while tyler drinks from it, his free hand rapidly flipping through channels as he searches for something for tyler to watch.

josh settles on a care bears movie. tyler's eyes are instantly drawn to the colorful scenes. he giggles quietly, guzzling the entire bottle in a matter of minutes. josh knows he's going to have to use the bathroom, and it kinda makes him nervous. is tyler gonna be able to go? is he gonna have an accident?

"hey, sweetie?"

it takes tyler a few seconds to realize josh is talking to him. he shifts his eyes slowly, smiling up at the man he loves so dearly.

"dal- uh... do you want to wear a diaper?"

tyler's smile falters slightly, but returns bigger than it was before.

"is that a yes?"

more smiling.

"alright," josh says, returning the smile. he lays the boy down carefully, finally removing his lion costume. the man cautiously secures the diaper straps, hoping it's not too tight or uncomfortable or anything. he hasn't even touched a diaper since his littlest sister was a baby, and that was around 20 years ago. "all good?"

tyler giggles, wiggling his bare toes and making grabby hands at josh. the older laughs, kissing the boy's forehead. "don't you think you're gonna get cold, baby boy? you wanna wear jammies?"

the brunette frowns, so josh quickly comes up with another idea. he just wants to keep the little boy happy. "daddy's jammies?" that same little smile returns as tyler nods. "okay, coming right up!"

josh gives him one of his comfiest shirts, a long-sleeve camo-print. it's soft and fuzzy on the inside, and it's pretty big on josh so it's sure to swallow tyler's tiny frame. he helps said boy into it, kissing his cheek after the whole ordeal.

they climb into bed again. this time the lights are off and tyler is surrounded by his stuffies. a paci rests between his lips, soft sucking noises accompanying the sound from the movie. he's cuddled right up against josh, the latter holding him nice and snug.

"the cutest, little baby ever," he murmurs, soothing a hand through tyler's messy hair. "daddy's precious little prince."

"nnnn," tyler whines in response, turning his attention from to movie over to josh.

"shh, just let me say sweet things to you while you watch the movie, okay honey?"

the boy huffs, but nevertheless goes back to watching the movie.

"such a good, little angel. i love you to bits and pieces, every single little thing about you. daddy's gonna love you forever and ever."

__a/n__

sorry this wasn't that good it's really late at night and i just wanna get a chapter up for you guys