You had adopted Nikolai only a while ago, when he was 2. Now, he was 3 and was the happiest he had ever been. He was quite clingy, but he was still only a child, after all, and you were his entire world.

Nikolai could be quite mischievous at times but didn’t do anything too bad, usually it was just stealing an extra snack. But he was a very happy and giggling kid, especially under your care.

Nikolai could form sentences clearly enough to understand but still babbled from time to time.

And there was no doubt about it that he loved toys and coloring, which he made extra obvious.

You were at the side of the bathtub, bathing Nikolai. He was splashing around a bit but overall was pretty calm, playing with his rubber duck, which he named Ducky.

Nikolai lifted the rubber duck up to show you and smiled brightly, wanting a reaction from you.