Dependency

Chapter 18

Dominic's POV: 

After Louis' punishment this morning, he no longer had the strength to walk as all of his energy was drained. Thankfully, there was nobody at home to bother him. Maybe except for Adi. After giving Louis a quick bath, the thought had washed over me. Thinking back, there was really no reason for me to punish Louis for not answering with words, I could have just given him a warning but Adi touching him just fueled an unknown fire within me. 

During his bath, Louis stomach had growled loudly. His worn out body laid flush against mine in my arms on the way to the kitchen. Not wanting to let go of Louis, I begin cooking with him in my arms. Something light, scrambled eggs, some slices of toast with some strawberry cream cheese on the side. "Bunny, let's eat." I sit at the dining table with Louis still in my hold and start feeding him. I only have some of the scrambled eggs that I had made while making Louis' portion. Louis chewed his food slowly and his cheeks had puffed out with his mouth full of food. The sight of him eating his food well brought a warm feeling in me. 

When he had finished his food, he thanked me and reached up to give me a peck of my cheek. "Of course, bunny." I pecked him on the cheek as well. I placed him on the couch while I went to do the dishes and an idea pops up into my mind. After the dishes were done, I walk over to Louis and place him in my lap. "Louis, baby, do you want to go to the aquarium?" His face lights up greatly. "Yes! Yes, can we go?" He places his hands on my chest and looks me straight into my face, straddling my lap. A small chuckle can't help but come out from me. "Yea, go get ready." Without another word, he jumps out of my lap and runs into our room, the sound of his feet hitting the floor pattering away. I follow suit. 

Louis' excitement had gotten the better of him and had his small body shaking with excitement. While he struggles to put on his clothes, I put my own clothes together. By the time I was done, Louis was already gone and at the entrance. I grab a long puffer coat out of a bag and pull the tag off. I walk over to Louis, just as I had thought, Louis was dressed too lightly for the weather. "Bunny, put this on please." I hold the coat open for him and he slips it on. "I bought it for you because we didn't buy you a coat when we went shopping." His face glows with a blush, a small smile appearing. "Thank you." 

"Alright, let's go." When I open the door, the attentions of the guards are not disrupted and they remain on guard. That's the least to be expected from me. "We're going to the aquarium, have a unit in my apartment and you two can come with us." As everything was arranged, the four of us headed down to the garage. 

Louis had been trying his best to contain his excitement but there were small signs showing it. During the twenty minute car ride, his gaze was focused down on his fidgeting hands. "Have you ever been to the aquarium before?" He looks at me with surprise from the sudden question. "No. No, but some of the subs at the school would talk about it but, but I've never been to one." The rest of the ride was filled with me asking questions and Louis answering. 

I held Louis' hand, not wanting him to wander off and get lost at the entrance of the aquarium. "Four tickets, please." 

"Did you want to purchase the children's ticket?" The usher had asked pointing to Louis. When he heard the question, he hid into my side in embarrassment. "No, ma'am. He's 19." A look of surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry. Here you are." She hands us the tickets and we head in, Louis pulling at my arm to hurry. I won't punish him for anything that happens today. 

The first area of the aquarium was an open area with open tanks and small fishes. The next area, however, excited Louis the most. When we walked through the tunnel tank, he had stared at the sharks for about twenty minutes alone. The next area was the largest tank, with even larger sharks, turtles, and a variety of fish. He was here for what felt like an eternity but seeing him enjoy himself like this was enough for me. Here and there, I had been snapping some pictures of him. At times, when I looked back at Joseph and Adi, Adi looked the same as Louis on the way here. I bet she had wanted to look around with Louis and tell him how cute he was.

There was something new at the aquarium that I had never seen before. There was a station where you could play with the otters in their own habitat. When this was discovered, I was bombarded with excitement. "N-Nickie! Can we play with them? Please!! Please, can we play with them?" I gave him a simple nod and he was off into the line. 

"Boss. There's been someone following us since we got here. I just had to confirm that he was following us. He's been staring at Louis for a while. He's the one the camera and hoodie behind us." Sneaking a quick glance to spot him, I see the man that Joseph had described to me. "Go take care of him. Take him to the warehouse." 

Thankfully, the line was short because if it was any longer, I'd have thought that Louis would've gone mad from waiting. Upon entering the habitat, Louis was a little scared to approach at first, scared that the otters would run away. The instructor had let us know that we could approach them and Louis followed immediately. When he approached an otter, the otter looked up at him and raised his hand, as in saying hi. Louis awed at the cuteness and waved back at the otter. I spammed the shutter button on the camera and I felt something crawl up my back. When Louis looked at me, he started laughing. "Nickie, yo-you have an otter on your head." He said while laughing. His laugh was the sound of heaven and I could keep listening to it. I switched my camera to my front camera and saw an otter on my head, taking some pictures. Picking up an otter, I placed him on Louis' head and walked over behind him, taking some pictures of the both of us. Louis smile was a smile of genuine amusement and joy. 

Coming here was a really good idea. 

After exploring the aquarium, Louis was tired but tried his best not to show it or let it ruin his adventure. We had arrived at the end of the aquarium and a big gift shop could be seen. Louis and I walked over and Louis went straight for the otter dolls. I guess he really liked the otters. He only looked and said nothing. When he had gone to look at other items in the shop, I grabbed on otter doll and purchased it without his knowledge, placing it under my jacket to hide it from him. 

When Louis was done looking at everything, he came back to my side and grabbed my hand. A small vibration was felt in my pocket. 'Everything is taken care of. We'll be waiting outside of the aquarium.' A text from Joseph. "Are you ready to go home, bunny?" He gave me a small 'yes' and a hint of sadness was displayed on his face. I picked him up and walked to the car outside. 

'I should take him out all the time.' The thought had invaded my mind, wanting to see Louis exploding with happiness again. When he had reached the car, his small bit of sadness had not gone away. I took out the small doll from my jacket and held it in his view, his eyes shining once more. I motioned the doll to him for him to grab it and he coddled the doll. "Thank you! Thank you, Nickie!" He wrapped his arms around my arm and squeezed tightly. The whole car ride back, his focus was on the otter doll. I was a little jealous he wasn't paying attention to me. 

Looking out of the window, I see a McDonald's. "Bunny, do you know what McDonald's is?" He answers with a small 'no' and decide he should try some. I wanted him to try anything and everything to see what he liked and disliked. Most people like McDonald's but to see that he didn't even know what it is was was surprising. 

We head to McDonald's and thankfully the line wasn't long. Since this was Louis' first visit, I decide to get him something light, the kid's meal. When I handed him the box, he just stared at it. "You can eat it when we get home." 

-- 

When we arrive home, Louis just stands at the door, holding his kid's meal. I go over to him at the door and take off his coat for him and tell him to go sit at the table. He patiently waits for me to allow him to eat. When I join the table, I let him know that he can eat. 

He takes a small bite of a chicken nugget and gasps, taking more bites of the nugget. He tried the french fries next, almost swallowing the whole bag. To wash everything down, he slowly drinks the apple juice. "T-Thank you for the food, Nickie." 

"Did you like it?" I already knew the answer but I wanted to hear Louis' voice. "It-It was really good." 

"Good, we can go back whenever you want."