This fic contains non-sexual age-regression. Not a new verse, but a little idea I got. Someone on Tumblr asked me for headcanons regarding Little!TK and Caregiver!Owen. I thought of Owen's comment about making TK smoothies and how he probably tries to work in fruits and veggies. TK gives picky eater vibes for sure!
"Slow down, buddy," Owen says with a slight chuckle as he watches TK devour his chicken nuggets.
TK swallows quickly, taking a sip of his Paw Patrol sippy cup. "I wanna play before bath time!"
"And you'll get to. So long as you don't choke."
TK lets out a dramatic sigh, but slows down. Owen shakes his head. His son is constantly on the move. It's no different than how he's always been, but Little spaces tend to exacerbate one's personality. Owen attributes his healthy body partially to having to keep up with his wily little boy.
He takes a bite of his salad, eyeing TK's plate. His son's eaten all his mac and cheese. He has one nugget left. The veggie dinosaurs have gone untouched. TK quickly polishes off the last of the chicken.
"All done, Daddy!"
"I think you forgot about your dinos, bubba."
TK makes a face. "They're yucky."
Owen holds back a sigh. "You haven't even tried them yet. I picked them out at the store just for you."
"They're green. Nothing yummy is green."
"You eat green skittles," Owen points out.
TK shakes his head. "That's different."
"Can't you try it for Daddy, please?" Owen flashes a smile. "Just one, okay. If you truly hate it, you don't have to eat it."
TK pouts. He pokes out the dinosaur. Owen nudges the plate closer. TK picks one up like it's a bomb ready to detonate. He holds it with just two fingers, poking out his tongue.
"It's like your dino nuggets," Owen coaxes. "Just with veggies."
TK slowly moves it closer to his mouth. He takes the smallest bite in history and barely chews, making a face. He spits it into his napkin.
"Yucky!"
Owen exhales. "TK, you barely tried it. Why don't you dip it in ketchup?"
"No. Took one bite, I don't like it! I'm all done."
Owen relents, pushing himself up. TK's right, he did try it, no matter how little. He really doesn't want mealtimes to be a battle. Owen grabs a napkin and wipes the wiggling boy's face.
"Do you need help washing your hands?"
TK shakes his head. "ABCs twice."
Owen manages to smile. "That's right, bubba. Scrub real hard."
TK buzzes over to the sink. Owen picks up his plate, inspecting the three dinosaurs. He saw them the last time he went shopping for the 126. The box boasted they were great for picky eaters.
"A scam," he mutters.
That's not totally fair. TK has always hated veggies. Even when he was first a kid. Gwyn would constantly complain that she couldn't get the boy to touch anything green. He was decent when it came to fruit, but mainly only bananas or strawberries. Half the time she called the firehouse was to have Owen try to coax him. It was usually a failure. Owen would have to rush back to work, leaving Gwyn frustrated.
She's gone now. It's Owen's turn. He's just as lost as her. It's not even like he can call and ask her to talk to TK. At least he was alive and nearby after the divorce.
Stupid bicycles.
Owen shakes his head and watches to make sure TK actually washes his hands. He darts towards the living room to play. Owen looks back at the veggie dinosaurs. This was the last thing he could think of. TK's gotten worse about veggies. At this point, he won't even eat them in the Chinese takeout.
"Back to the drawing board," he mutters as he dumps the plate.
Owen sits in the kitchen of the 126. Mateo and TK are in the distance, tossing marshmallows into each other's mouth. Owen shakes his head. His son is marginally better about his eating habits when he's older, but clearly some things stick.
Judd slides beside him, nodding towards the boys. "I think Strickland was going to make rice crispy treats with those."
"I have another package hidden. They'll be safe."
"I was worried about cavities, but Grace and I just took Mateo to the dentist. All clear."
"Yeah, TK's pretty good about brushing his teeth. That's not what I'm entirely worried about."
Judd raises a brow. "Everything okay?"
"I try not to be too militant when it comes to food. I know realistically, there's no "bad foods". But still, he won't eat vegetables. I'm lucky that I can sneak fruit into his smoothies."
"He's that much of a picky eater?"
"I tried those veggie dinos. He barely took a bite before declaring them "yucky"."
Judd chuckles, shaking his head. Owen scoffs and takes a long sip of his espresso.
"I'm glad you find it hilarious."
"Grace and I had the same issue with Mateo, ya know?" Judd shrugs. "We tried it all." He leans his elbow on the table. "One time, she even arranged the food into a little forest. Mateo declared it'd be mean to destroy it."
Owen snorts. "Sounds like him."
"Anyway, we just had to get smart. We purée the veggies and sneak them into stuff. Spaghetti sauce, pizza, mac and cheese, even chili."
Owen shakes his head. "That'd never work on TK."
"It already does."
Owen frowns, tilting his head in confusion. Judd smirks.
"I do that with all the food I make when it's my turn to cook," he says.
"TK loves whatever you make," Owen muses, a little amazed. "I can't believe that works."
"It's not always foolproof. Sometimes Mateo can tell. He caught onto the cauliflower mac and cheese that Grace makes. But we pointed out that he liked it until he knew what was in it."
"And he wasn't mad?"
"No." Judd shakes his head. "Look, I was worried about it too, ya know? I don't particularly love tricking my kid. But sometimes we have to in order to do what's best for them."
Owen glances back at the boys. They've abandoned the marshmallows and are playing air hockey. Maybe this is worth a try.
Judd sends him the recipe for the spaghetti sauce. Owen hangs into it for a couple of weeks, trying the other tired mentors to get TK to eat his veggies. He puts out dipping sauces, eats the same meals, even having TK pick some out at the grocery store. They get left on the plate every night, whether or not he's dropped.
On one of their nights off, TK drops and plays with his trucks in the living room. Owen finishes plating the spaghetti. It looks exactly like the kind Judd cooks at the firehouse. It contains carrots, zucchini, onion, garlic and even a little spinach. Owen puréed it in the blender and checked the consistency twice. Even he can't taste the cornucopia of vegetables inside.
Owen carries the plates-his a regular blue ceramic dish and TK's with little puppies on it-to the table. Owen calls for TK to wash up and puts some juice next to the plate. His little boy slides into his seat, grinning.
"Sketty!" He announces happily.
Owen nods, tying a bib around his neck. "And I got the recipe for the sauce from your uncle Judd. It's just like the kind he makes when we're at the 126."
"Yummy!"
TK digs in, using the fork that matches his plate to eat. The smile doesn't leave his face as he devours it. He's finished before Owen can even get through a quarter of his.
"More, please!" TK requests, his face covered in sauce.
Owen grins. "You want more?" TK nods. "Sure thing, buddy."
He loads up the plate again. TK doesn't even get more garlic bread. He focuses on the pasta, getting messier by the moment. A bath is very much needed, for both TK and the floor. For once, Owen doesn't care about mopping.
With TK distracted by his third helping, Owen takes a picture and sends it to Judd. The boy's face, hair, bib, hands and Blue's Clues shirt are covered in sauce and noddles. A smile of glee is on his face.
I owe you one , he includes with the photo.
A moment later, his phone buzzes. There's a thumbs up emoji preceding the text.
Grace says if he blabs to Mateo, you're taking my Saturday shifts for 3 months.
Owen chuckles, shaking his head.
Not to worry. This is a secret safe between dads.
"Daddy!" Owen looks up. "No phones at the table!"
"Sorry, bubba." Owen slides his phone into the pocket. "Did you get any in your tummy?"
"Yes! It's soooo good." TK eats the last noodle. "All full."
"I'm glad. Once I get you cleaned up, you can have a brownie. Auntie Grace made them."
That makes TK extra wiggly as his face and hands are cleaned. He nibbles on the pastry, eyes lit up with happiness. Owen enjoys one of his own. This time, he can definitely make out the carob. TK remains oblivious to the bean substitute.
Owen is the owner of a happy kid. He'll consider that a win any day
Maybe I'll write a few one shots in the future for these two or the 126 overall! This is another one of my comfort shows. Owen Strand is one of my favorite TV dads. His relationship with TK is so pure. I promise I'm still doing my other stories, I just may do a one shot here and there for other shows!
Feel free to leave prompts for any verse or even ones for one shots. I am on Tumblr and love communicating on there, as well as in the comments!