Page 4 of Saving Little Clark

Alex, who had been watching my awestruck expression with a knowing grin, let out a crow of triumph as we crawled over the central play area. "Ha! I knew it!" he crowed, bouncing on his knees like an overexcited puppy. "I knew you'd love it here. Didn't I tell you? Didn't I say it would be the most amazing, most incredible, most fantastically stupendous place you've ever seen?"

I laughed, shaking my head at his irrepressible enthusiasm. Before I could respond, a bright voice chirped out from behind us. "Alex! You made it!"

We turned to see a boy with a mischievous grin bounding towards us, his arms outstretched for a hug. Alex let out a delighted laugh and met him halfway, the two of them colliding in a tangle of limbs and giggles.

"Elijah!" Alex exclaimed, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Of course, I made it, silly! Have I ever missed a chance to party with my favorite partner in crime?"

Elijah giggled, swatting at Alex's hand playfully. "Not that I can remember! Although there was that one time you got distracted by a squirrel in the park and almost missed the bus to get here."

"Hey, that squirrel had a very important message for me!" Alex protested, putting on an exaggerated pout. "He needed me to help him bury his acorn stash before the winter frost set in. I couldn't just leave a fellow forager in need!"

After a moment, Elijah seemed to remember my presence, turning to me with a friendly smile. "Oh, I'm Elijah, one of Alex's Little buddies here at the club. And you must be the famous Clark I've heard so much about!"

I blushed, feeling a sudden rush of shyness wash over me. "Um, yeah. I hope Alex hasn't been telling you too many embarrassing stories about me."

"Oh, only the best ones!" Elijah said with a wink. "Like the time you got your head stuck in the banister trying to rescue your teddy bear, or the day you ate an entire jar of pickles."

"Alex!" I groaned, hiding my burning face in my hands. "I thought we agreed those stories were strictly classified!"

"Oops, sorry!" Alex said, not looking even a little bit sorry. "Must have slipped my mind. But hey, I'm sure Elijah has plenty of his own embarrassing mishaps to share, right buddy?"

"Oh, do I ever," Elijah said with a rueful grin. "Remind me to tell you about the Great Spaghetti Incident of '19 sometime. Let's just say it involved a lot of noodles, a faulty strainer, and a very unhappy kitty cat."

I couldn't help but laugh at the mental image. There was something about Elijah's humor that put me instantly at ease, made me feel like I was among friends.

"I'll be sure to ask about that one later," I said, feeling a tentative smile tug at my lips. "But for now, I was actually hoping to pick your brain a bit about this whole Little thing. If that's okay, I mean. Alex has been my only real connection to the community so far. I guess my question is... what made you decide to start exploring your Little side?"

Elijah's expression turned thoughtful, a soft smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "I stumbled across some online forums and started reading other people's stories."

"Oh man, I remember that phase," Alex chimed in, nodding sagely. "Staying up till 3am reading Tumblr posts and Reddit threads, trying to figure out if you were a Little or just really immature for your age."

I nodded slowly, feeling a pang of recognition deep in my chest. "So, Elijah… what's it like, having a Daddy? Like, how does it feel different from a regular relationship?"

Elijah's face lit up like a sunrise, his eyes going soft and dreamy. "Oh man, it's everything," he sighed, a note of reverence in his voice. "You know how sometimes, when you're feeling sad or scared or overwhelmed, all you want is for someone to just scoop you up and hold you close and tell you everything's gonna be alright?"

I nodded, feeling a lump form in my throat at the achingly familiar sentiment.

"Well, that's what having a Daddy is like, but like, all the time," Elijah continued, his voice going soft and dreamy. "It's knowing that no matter what happens, no matter how much you might mess up or feel like a failure, there's always going to be someone there to catch you, to love you, to remind you that you're precious and perfect exactly as you are."

"Ugh, stop it, you're gonna make me cry!" Alex sniffled dramatically, fanning his face with his hand. "Seriously, just the thought of having a big, strong Daddy to run to when I've had a bad day or skinned my knee on the playground is too much. My poor, neglected Little heart can't take it.”

Elijah and I both giggled, shaking our heads at Alex's theatrical antics. "Well, if you ever decide you're ready for a Daddy of your own, I'm sure you'll have them lining up around the block," Elijah teased, elbowing him playfully. "Who could resist that cute little face and those killer dance moves?"

"Damn straight!" Alex said, preening exaggeratedly. "I'm a catch and a half, and I won't settle for anything less than the Daddy of my dreams. He's gotta be tall, dark, handsome, and willing to cut the crusts off my peanut butter sandwiches, of course."

"Of course," I agreed, rolling my eyes fondly.

Then, turning back to Elijah, I asked hesitantly, "Alex has told me you have two Daddies."

Elijah grinned, a mischievous sparkle in his eye. "Yup! I'm a lucky little bug. I have two amazing Daddies who love me to bits. Double the cuddles, double the bedtime stories, double the fun!"

"Wow," I said, feeling a bit dazed at the thought. "That's really cool. But doesn't it get complicated sometimes, having to balance two different relationships like that?"

Elijah laughed, shaking his head ruefully. "Oh, it definitely has its challenges," he admitted, his tone turning playfully conspiratorial. "Like, this one time, I was having a bit of a meltdown because I couldn't decide what stuffie to bring with me to the park. I was overwhelmed by the thought that the rest of the stuffies would have to stay home alone, feelingunloved. I was just sobbing and wailing and carrying on like the world was ending, right?"

I nodded, feeling a pang of sympathy. I knew all too well how overwhelming those big, raw emotions could feel in Little headspace.

"So Daddy Oliver comes rushing in to see what's wrong. And he's got Daddy Lance on speakerphone, because of course he does, Mr. 'Communication is Key' and all that. So they're both trying to calm me down, offering me different toys and snacks and distractions, but nothing's working. I'm just too far gone in my tantrum spiral."

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