Mommies and Daddies

--- Chapter 57 --- “When,” Sam giggled softly. “Aw, c’mon, you need more than that!” Charlie complained as he gestured to the waffles, and Sam smiled, sliding down Greg’s lap shyly and nodding in agreement. Rolling his eyes, Greg acquiesced by tipping the bottle again and letting the goopy syrup pour out. “Mooore,” Charlie insisted, and Sam giggled, so Greg continued pouring. “Moooooore,” he pressed, and Kelly giggled. Greg arched an eyebrow, but continued. “Mooooooooore!” he continued, and Greg snorted, shaking his head and putting the bottle down. “Okay, that’s enough. The waffles are sufficiently drowned,” the Amazon brother mused as he gestured to the now completely coated waffles. “Thank you,” Sam whispered up towards him, and he smiled down at her, feeling a burst of joy in his chest as he nodded. “So, are you prepared?” Greg asked his Little brother as he pushed aside the sugary syrup bottle in favor of the bitter, cardamom-flavored one that Kelly slid towards him. “Well, there’s only so much I can plan,” Charlie admitted with a shrug as he cut a large chunk of waffle and held it up in front of his mouth. “I’ll have to wing the rest, but for the most part, hell yeah.” He grinned and shoved the massive chunk in his mouth. “What are you, umm… hoping to do?” Sam asked quietly as she used the fork to cut a much more manageable piece of hers. She looked over at him as he grinned, his cheeks puffing out like an eager chipmunk, and she burst into a giggle. Greg and Kelly shared a look, deciding it was best to let Charlie describe it himself, and everyone waited patiently for him to chew and swallow. He lifted his left hand and put a thumb out to start counting. “One, a fairly newly kidnapped friend is also freshly enrolled, so I wanna smooth out her transition,” he started, then extended his index finger. “Two, I wanna see how bad this place is underneath, see if they’re hiding anything. Three, Greg’s girlfriend is a teacher there –” Charlie paused, his eyes darting between Greg and Sam, causing Greg to frown curiously, but whatever his Little brother thought, he didn’t elaborate and pressed on. “So I want to see how she treats Littles professionally – and when Greg’s not looking.” Charlie grinned. “Four, I want to push her, see how she acts under pressure. And last, but certainly not least,” he paused, taking in a deep breath as he wiggled his pinky finger and gave an impish grin towards Sam. “I hate those places, so I want to fuck with them.” “Uuggh,” Kelly groaned as she covered her face with both hands, while Greg chuckled. “Won’t they… punish you?” Sam questioned with clear worry in her tone, and Charlie snickered. “Oh, my dearest niece,” he chortled, pulling his head back to briefly create a double chin as his shoulders bounced with glee. “I have so much to teach you.” Greg felt Sam lean back against him as she smiled, just before shoving the waffles in her mouth. Kelly slid into logistics about returning and purchasing more items, flitting between verifying with Greg, Sam, and Charlie as she went over the list. For his part, he tried to stay focused on the conversation, but Greg’s mind was oddly disjointed. A few thoughts into one topic would lead to another, like Sam’s anxiety about the white noise machine, to Saki, to needing to call to complain — “We’re watching Muffets again!” Sam declared enthusiastically, and Greg blinked out of his thoughts and smiled. “Right,” he confirmed softly with a nod, only playfully rolling his eyes when Sam looked up at him. “You’ll be singing along in no time,” Charlie teased with a far too satisfied grin for Greg’s tastes as he licked his fingers. “So, can I know your stuffed creature?” Greg asked, eager to change the topic. “No,” Charlie scoffed, playfully glaring. “You’ll meet him when I bring him home.” “Speaking of Little Steps,” Kelly interrupted as she held up her phone to look at the time. “We should get moving. Sarah was very particular about this drop-off time, so I don’t want to be late.” “Oh, yeah,” Charlie mocked as he threw his head back. “I don’t want to get kicked out because I’m late on my first day!” Sam let out a laugh as Kelly shook her head, quickly grabbing both of their plates. “No one would be upset at you,” she commented with several shakes of her head, and noting that Sam’s waffles were done, Greg adjusted her so he could stand to help. Twisting her body, she wrapped her arms around his neck and laid her head on his shoulder, and he smiled as he cleared their side of the table. Kelly was darting around the room at such a blinding speed that by the time he had walked their plates to the sink, she had Charlie in her arms and a diaper bag around her shoulder. His eyebrows rose in surprise. “Okay, so, after I drop him off, I’m going to drop off some of the returns from yesterday’s delivery, stop by L.B. Town to buy Sam’s preferred diapers, and then I’ll do a grocery run. Do you need anything?” she asked nearly in one breath. “I think you’re doing enough,” Greg smiled, missing that Sam hid her face when ‘preferred diapers’ was mentioned. “Good luck,” Sam stated shyly, curled up against Greg’s chest, then followed it up with a smile as she nearly giggled out, “Uncle Charlie.” Charlie gasped as his face lit up, clearly delighted by this. He put both of his hands on his chest and smiled widely. “Thank you, niece!” he chirped as he leaned back and looked up at Kelly. “Didja hear that? Uncle Charlie!” “Yes, I heard it,” she giggled, kissing the top of his head and waving to the pair. That enthusiasm carried him out the door through the goodbyes as he repeated it several times with varying levels of gusto, until they were finally in the car and Greg shut the door. “You just made his day with that,” the Amazon grinned, and Sam blew a laugh out of her nose as she leaned against his chest. “Well… he is my uncle now,” she observed softly. “Yeah, but I don’t think that’s often how it works,” Greg surmised as he turned around and walked back towards the main living area. “True,” Sam noted with a bit more thoughtfulness than most of what she had said this morning. She brought her hand up to her mouth, tapping on her lower lip as she considered, while Greg scanned the room, trying to decide where to start the day. “Probably cousins.” “Sorry?” he asked down at her. “Most people would probably make us say we’re cousins,” she clarified as she smiled up at him, then gestured towards the TV. “Muffets? Movie?” “Right away?” he asked warily, arching an eyebrow, and she laughed, putting her hands up over her mouth and shaking her head. He flashed a grin at her and stepped over to the couch to set her down, taking in a deep breath as he sat next to her. “We can, if you want,” he said slowly as he looked down at the floor. While part of him wanted Sam to have fun, relaxing days for a while, his guilt made him dwell on the hard things he needed to discuss. Plus, there was no way he would be able to covertly work without Kelly around to distract Sam… and, as he thought to be honest with himself, he didn’t want to work around her. If he had thought it was bad doing that with Charlie, he couldn’t imagine doing it to her. “But I have…” “Ohh, right,” Sam nodded as she pulled her legs up against her chest under the shirt and hugged them. Greg shot her a confused look, unsure how she knew what he was referencing; she shrank a little. “Work stuff, right?” “Oh… technically, I guess,” he stated as he looked up, but he shook his head. “No, I don’t… work.” He paused as they shared a look, Sam looking surprised, and he brought a hand up to rub the back of his neck. “Technically, anyway. I could be more proactive in the company, but it’s been running fine without me in the meantime.” He paused again, glaring upwards. “Sort of.” Sam let out a small laugh, and he looked down at her with a sad smile, unable to muster the enthusiasm to pretend. Catching that, she stiffened up. “What’s wrong?” she asked, concerned. He broke eye contact by closing his eyes, and he dropped his head a bit, letting out a sigh. He could practically feel Charlie’s disapproval and Kelly’s desire to keep the mood happy, but he knew the information would continue to haunt him until he let it out. So, without any more debate or hesitation, he opened his eyes and stared down at the floor, concentrating on a single point as he let the words bubble up from his soured gut. “Vankor Enterprises owns and makes the white noise monitor,” he stated flatly, trying to keep a lid on his anger while wrestling with the guilt. “The one used on you.” He kept his eyes closed for a moment, glaring at the darkness behind his lids, before he opened them and looked at Sam. She was staring up at him, looking expectant and patiently waiting. She cocked her head to the side slightly and gave a sort of awkward smile. “Oh, sorry. I - I thought there was more,” she blushed slightly as she shrugged her shoulders, then shook her head. “You didn’t know?” “No,” he denied quickly, looking confused. “You knew?” “Weeeeell,” she drawled as she shrugged again, her eyes scanning around the room. “I guess, technically, I didn’t know that specific detail… But I did know your parents owned a lot of companies that made stuff for, you know.” She gestured a hand over her body, then laughed as she threw her head back. “I mean, I’ve known that since we met! Anytime I told any other Little we were friends, it was always – blah blah blah, they own this, blah blah blah, they make this –” she mocked as she brought a hand up to mimic talking mouths, and Greg let himself grin slightly, despite the pit in his gut. She threw a hand out as if to dismiss or wave away the commentary from the past. “It was so dumb. No one cared or listened to me that you were different. They just cared about your name.” When she looked up at him, for a brief moment, he felt on top of the world. She hadn’t often spoken about other Littles when they were together, and he certainly had never known how she talked about him to others. Hearing that she defended him, that she saw him for who he was and not his size, made him feel a sort of happiness he couldn’t quite express. Yet, it quickly soured by the reality of the present day. His smile faded as his gaze averted, and he felt like all the happiness had drained from his body at once. “Gregory?” Sam asked as she leaned forward and placed a hand on his leg. “I’ve… I’ve had access to the company for over a year now, Sam,” he murmured as he looked down at her small head, frowning. “I had no idea, because… I didn’t look. I just…” He clenched his jaw and slowly put his hand over hers. “I’m sorry. I… I guess I’m not as different as you thought.” “Gregory! Middlename! Vankor!” Sam burst out in a gasp as she launched herself up onto her knees, her mouth hanging wide open. “Gosh, Uncle Charlie was right! That’s the stupidest thing you’ve ever said to me!” The second the words were out of her mouth, she seemed to regret it; she gasped, horrified, and began shaking her head — but while Greg caught that response, he was too busy leaning back and laughing to react to it right away. As he nodded, he reached a hand out to pat her hand reassuringly. Her face lit up, shifting quickly from relieved to happy, back to indignant. “Did you think I - I would blame you for that stupid thing?” she asked, though it sounded mostly rhetorical, which was confirmed when she continued without giving pause for an answer. “You didn’t make it yourself - right?” she asked, then shook her head, answering her own question internally. “You didn’t put it into production, or recommend it, or buy it, or make me use it, or make Mmmmmmy Amazon use it, or any of that!” “I’ve made money off of it,” he countered, letting the corner of his mouth turn up in appreciation of her arguments. Then he waved his hand over the house. “Lots of it.” Sam pursed her lips for a moment, scanning the room, then squinted up at him. “Didn’t your parents buy this house?” “Yeah,” he nodded. “Pffft, so that doesn’t count,” she dismissed, rolling her eyes. “Trust me,” he groaned as he leaned back against the couch. “I’ve made plenty in the last year without doing, or knowing, a thing about it.” There was a long pause as Sam stared at him, keeping her eyes pinned on him. Which was strange, as usually her eyes darted around when she was processing new information, so the length of her pause went largely unnoticed, as Greg tried to reason why she looked so focused. “Are you determined to be upset?” she asked suddenly with a huff as she crossed her arms, and Greg blinked in surprise, looking down at her with a curious frown. “What?” “You’re, like, determined to be mad at yourself!” She pursed her lips in a kind of pout, and despite everything, it reminded him of her in high school. She felt more alert and energetic. “Well,” he began to counter, grinning slightly at first. “I think you’re determined not to be mad about it.” “I am not!” she gasped, keeping her arms crossed but moving her upper hand to her chest. “Then why aren’t you mad?” he pressed as he raised both eyebrows, genuinely curious and, admittedly, a bit suspicious. While, yes, Sam had always been chipper and often let things roll off her easily, he couldn’t see how she could take this in stride. “At all?” “I just said!” she squeaked indignantly, throwing her arms out. “Just because I didn’t set it up in your room and make you use it doesn’t mean I don’t have some kind of guilt in it,” he argued calmly, though a grin lingered on his lips. Though the topic was painful, the tone and air felt familiar. Like the old debates he would have with his father, or the back-and-forth debates he would have with Sam in their tutoring. Rationalizing a topic, even if it was rationalizing the emotion, gave him the proper distance to appreciate and dissect it. “I’ve had a year to dig into what the company does to make money, and in that year, I could have done anything to change the market for the better. But I didn’t. I accumulated money and dug my head in the sand, while you and countless other Littles suffered. I’d argue I share more guilt for making money off of it than Casey for using it.” Sam sniffed as her eyes darted around the room, which tugged at his grin a bit more as he recognized her processing mannerisms. She licked her lips, looked down, frowned, cocked her head to the side, then her eyes darted up to the ceiling as she raised her eyebrows and nodded. It looked like she was having a full debate in her head before responding. “Wait, one second, before we keep going: what’s the difference between ethics and morals?” she asked in a quieter tone, as if whispering under their conversation as she leaned forward a bit. “Morals are personal and come from within,” he whispered in kind, leaning down slightly to mirror her. “Ethics are rules set externally.” “Thought so – thanks,” she chirped quietly and then shooed him away; he snorted as he sat back up. “You didn’t do me any harm, Greg-oh-ree, and your presence in my life has only ever been good. The fact that you benefitting off of a - a - I guess a dubious inheritance violates your own morals just confirms to me that you are who I think you are, that you are different just like I’ve always known, and - and that… that makes me happy.” She smiled at him, her cheeks turning slightly pink. “And it’s not because you think you’re not allowed to be mad at me?” He somewhat regretted the question popping out of his mouth as soon as it did, mostly because Sam looked hurt that that had been his response. He grimaced slightly, wishing he had acknowledged the sweetness of her words, but he didn’t know how to acknowledge it after the fact without sounding terribly awkward. But the thought had jammed into his head like a spike, and he needed to confront it to relieve the pain of the possibility. He had watched enough Littles, including his brother, navigate Amazons that wouldn’t allow them to express themselves directly if it was anything other than loving affection. And it was important to him that Sam feel as free to be mad, sad, happy, or blunt with him as Charlie. Anything less would feel wrong. “No,” she stated quietly after her eyes darted around the room a few times. “If… if I’m going to be mad at you, it should be a good reason.” She looked down at the oversized shirt and pinched a fold of fabric. “Not because I want to take everything out on you that other people did. That wouldn’t be fair.” “But what happened to you wasn’t fair,” he countered softly. “So getting mad at the one person in my life that’s trying to help makes it okay?” she challenged as she grimaced up at him. He nodded in understanding, acknowledging that was a good counter. “If it would help,” he half-shrugged as he inclined his head immediately to acknowledge that she didn’t like that idea, which was evident by her annoyed look. “But, fair enough… just more importantly, if it’s deserved… I want you to feel free to feel it and express it.” He paused, looking down for a moment and then let out a laugh. “I should add, clearly. Express it clearly.” Sam let out a laugh, then her body and eyes slowly relaxed as she seemed to drift deep into thought. He leaned back a bit and placed his arm over the top of the couch, watching her curiously as her expression shifted. She would light up as if she had an idea, shook her head as if denying it, and then explored the next. At least, that’s how it looked. “What’s your middle name?” she asked after a long stint of silent debates. “Chaki,” he replied quietly, giving a sheepish grin; he didn’t tell people often, not since Tyler had learned it and called him Chalky for three months. “It’s my maternal grandfather’s name.” “Gregory Chaki Vankor,” she said out loud, though clearly to herself to memorize it. She repeated it a few times and then, with a firm nod of confidence, she grinned up at him. “Okay. If I’m mad at you, I’ll use your full name. Then you’ll know!” Greg paused as he stared at her, his eyes unfocusing for a moment as he appreciated the simplicity of the solution. Without knowing it, a grin had slowly crept over his face until his eyes focused on Sam’s eyes, and he let out a quiet laugh. “Okay. I can work with that.” “Great!” She chirped as she flew her arms out and slapped them down in her lap. “So — what’s your plan?” “Plan?” He blinked. “Yeah!” she scoffed playfully, as if the question was obvious. “You don’t like that your company makes this stuff, right?” Greg nodded. “So what’s your plan?” “Ah,” he nodded, then showed his palms to the sky. “Not really sure yet. I’ve reached out to Saki — our PR agent, technically, but she does a lot more than that.” “Got it. Professional Vankor handler,” Sam teased, and Greg actually burst out into a belly laugh, causing the Little to laugh with him, and her entire face lit up with delight. “Yeah, our handler,” he laughed. “Asked for the lay of the land, so to speak, so I can understand what the company owns, how it makes money, and… figure out how bad it all is.” “Cool! Can… I help?” She had started off strong, but the pause had injected doubt. She had finished the sentence a bit sheepish, and she deflated slightly. Greg stared down at her as his head cocked slightly to the side, aware of the shift in her; it clocked in the back of his mind, but a different realization drowned it out: she was eager to be part of this, where Charlie wasn’t. A wide smile crossed his face. “I would love your help,” he replied earnestly, already eager to bring her into everything. “Really?” she gasped as her body filled up with enthusiasm again and her eyes widened. “Yes. Really,” he smiled. “Okay,” she said breathily, her wide eyes looking a bit glassy. “So, I suppose we’ll have to wait until I hear from her,” he stated as he leaned to the side, pulling his phone out of his pocket. “Do you talk to Saki about filing that complaint about Mrs. Morris?” Sam asked as she bit on her thumbnail, staring distantly in thought. “Ah, shit,” Greg murmured, grimacing. “No, Elizabeth said to call directly.” “No, but —“ Sam fumbled as she put a hand up to stop him, then looked at his phone, then at him. “I mean, should you ask her? If she usually… like, does everything…” Greg frowned curiously as he considered and then shrugged. “I suppose we can start there. I can call her and put her on speaker so you can sort of meet her?” Sam’s smile widened, and she nodded so many times she looked like a bobblehead. “Sarah,” Casper called out as soon as the door behind Kelly shut, and Charlie hugged Rascal a little tighter as he swung his legs happily. Sarah pivoted to face the director as her hand on Charlie’s back tensed up, pushing him closer to her. Though with literally anyone else, he would have opportunistically leaned into this to lay against her breasts, he instead used the raccoon as a buffer; he didn’t feel right copping a feel before his brother did. “I hope I haven’t, in any way, been unclear about your priority this week,” the director said calmly, slowly, with just enough emphasis to sound threatening, but in a cadence that made it sound like a normal statement. Charlie kept swinging his legs innocently but looked up at the director curiously, wondering whether this place was sorely in need of money or if this was more personal; perhaps the director wasn’t Sarah’s biggest fan, either. “No, you have been very clear, director,” Sarah replied calmly and professionally, though sounding a bit meek. She drew in a very deep breath quickly, and at the peak of it, her entire face lit up as she looked at Charlie and gave him an energetic bounce. “Little Charlie here is going to have the best week ever!” “Yay!!” Charlie cheered as he grabbed the raccoon’s arms and mocked them clapping. “Best time for Charlie!” He saw the two Amazons nod to each other, then Sarah spun 180 degrees and grabbed a blue wristband off the counter. Charlie watched as Sarah angled the wristband while pinching it, and nodded when she saw a little light flash from within. “What’s dat?” he asked, pointing to it, and Sarah opportunistically slid it over his extended hand. “It’s for you!” she barely explained as she continued to quickly slide it over his palm and onto his wrist. As soon as it was on, she angled her own watch towards it, and there was a soft chime. She glanced at the watch face, and he craned his neck to see, but she quickly moved her arm away and gave him an exaggerated look of excitement while gesturing to the cartoon road on the carpet. “Okaaay Charlie, we’re driving down the road,” she drawled as he mimicked driving with a steering wheel with her one hand. He smiled as he looked down at the road, his mind still on the watch and wristband, but allowing himself to appear distracted. “And we’re going to turn into class where you can meet your new friends!” “Lexi?” he asked quickly, looking up at her in concern, half-acting, half-genuine. “Oh yes, of course! She’s already here,” Sarah giggled her reassurance as she ran her fingers over the hair above his ear, then rubbed his cheek with her thumb. Her cheeks flushed considerably, and her pace slowed; Charlie smiled. “I’m so glad you’re here.” “Me too!” he chirped as he leaned in towards her, but hugged the raccoon. She hummed happily and wrapped her arms around him, giving him a quick hug as they neared the door to the class. The door was shut, but there was a loud screech from a Little on the other side, and Sarah let out a small, knowing chuckle before grabbing the doorknob. “Ready?” she whispered. “Ready!” he whispered back. With a feverish smile, Sarah turned the knob and opened the door just an inch or so. “Opening door!” she called in. “Door is clear!” A feminine, but deep enough to be an Amazon voice replied after a beat. That call-and-response gave Sarah the confidence to open the door completely, and Charlie’s eyes widened at the relative chaos. Littles were spread out all across the classroom, and the new Amazon in question was crouching between two Little girls who were in a tug of war over what looked like a pillow. In the reading area, Lexi was sitting quietly with her purple deer plush, and as soon as they locked eyes, they smiled. “Charlie!” she called out as she pushed off the Little-sized bean bag, and he threw an arm over his head as he kicked his legs out excitedly. “Lexi!” he squealed, and Sarah quickly set him down on his feet. He burst out into a run, and Lexi let out a laugh, bracing herself for the smack when he wrapped his arms around her and hugged him. “Be gentle, Charlie,” Sarah warned with a chuckle. “He’s fine,” Lexi defended him with a grin and hugged him tightly, whispering, “Welcome to hell.” He burst out into a giggle and stepped back, looking over at the beanbag. “What cha readin’?” he asked as he pointed to one of the cardboard books on the ground. “Oh, some trash about a diapered monkey,” she groaned and shrugged. “I think all the books have or are about diapers.” Charlie nodded knowingly, his eyes momentarily glancing over at the weather board to announce moods, noting both his and Lexi’s names had been added. He then took in Lexi’s blue wristband while petting Lavender’s head, so he wouldn’t look too observant. “Miss Willaby?” Sarah called out, clapping her hands together. “We have a full house!” “Great!” the second Amazon replied as she stood up, having the pillow under her arm; apparently her solution to the feud had been to remove it altogether, which satisfied neither of the Littles who were now glaring at her. “Let’s do our morning song and introduce the new babies!” Several heads turned towards Lexi and Charlie. The blonde grimaced slightly while Charlie smiled at them, seeing a sea of familiar expressions; some were interested, some wary, and a scant few smirking. Those were likely bullies, and therefore would be Charlie’s favorites. As all the Littles were herded to the big orange circle in the carpet, Charlie grabbed Lexi’s hand and smiled broadly at her. She smiled suspiciously in return, furrowing her eyebrows questioningly, but followed along all the same. Miss Willaby moved to the front while Sarah rounded out from the back of the circle, and with all heads facing the new teacher, Charlie could really take her in. She was older, with grey at the roots of her brown hair, and wore reading glasses with a decorative chain hanging like a necklace. She wore loose, flowing clothes, likely to hide some weight she was uncomfortable with, and wore no jewelry. “Goooood morning!” Miss Willaby sang as she clapped her hands together and looked expectantly over the crowd. There was an intake of breath, while a few heads were thrown back in annoyance; Sarah crouched down behind Lexi and Charlie, who both looked at her as she exaggerated a smile and demonstrated clapping her hands along to the song. “Good morning! Good morning! To you, and you, and you and you!” Miss Willaby sang as she pointed across the crowd, and the Littles were joining in various degrees of enthusiasm, though no one was even near the chipper tone of the teacher. Some Littles lazily pointed about, while some close friends poked each other and laughed. “It’s going to be a great day! A great day! With you, and you, and you, and you!” Again, Willaby pointed around the room, and this time, Charlie poked Lexi, who gasped and retaliated, poking him in the chest. “We play and laugh and learn with you, and you, and you, and you!” Getting the drift, Charlie and Lexi poked each other again and giggled, while Sarah smiled down at them, still clapping to the beat. “So bring your friends along – come where you belong – and join in all together as we sing our morning song!!” Lexi’s eyebrows furrowed at the last line, though Willaby sang a drawled-out “ooooh” before repeating the whole thing over again. Sarah leaned, looking between the two as she clapped and joined in, clearly looking expectantly for them to join. Charlie smiled widely as he began clapping with her, turning his body to face Sarah. She beamed at him and looked to Lexi with her eyebrows raised, and Lexi let out a sigh as she began clapping too. By the end of the second round, there was a collective groan from the non-new classmates, and glares were shot their way. “We don’t stop until eeeeeveryone siiiiiiings – Good morning! Good morning!” Willaby explained in a sing-song tone, shooting Sarah a nudging look, and Charlie let himself giggle like mad as he took a few steps to close the distance to hug Sarah’s leg. She gushed at him, but quickly tapped his shoulder as she sang along a bit louder, trying to teach him the lyrics. Charlie smiled at her as he watched, pretending to be entertained by the song, when in reality he was deeply amused by how much power they had just given him. Yes, technically, they were trying to use peer pressure, and it worked… on Lexi. She began whispering the song as she looked between Willaby and Sarah, both of whom gave nods of approval. Which was great! Good for Lexi! She was going to have to make friends here, so fair enough. But Charlie didn’t care if these Littles hated him. In fact, it was probably better that they did. “Miss Sarah sing!” he chirped as he tried crawling up into her lap. “Charlie, honey, can you join me?” Sarah whispered urgently to him, grabbing his sides and turning him forward so she clapped in front of him. “We play and laugh and learn with you –” She poked his belly, and he giggled. “And you and you and you!” “So bring your friends along – come where you belong – and join in all together as we sing our morning song!!” Willaby’s eyes tracked Charlie as an eyebrow arched, and she continued to clap, making sure to broadcast that the song was not stopping. “Miss Willaby!” one of the boys complained as he groaned, throwing a hand out towards Charlie. “He’s too dumb to get it!” “No, he’s not!” Lexi snapped quickly. “Jimmy!” Sarah chided, her voice booming over Lexi’s. “What?!” he complained quickly, throwing his arms out indignantly. “He’s baby-brained!” “Yeah, why is he even here?” asked a curious and annoyed Little girl in a gaudy purple, sequined dress that said Daddy’s Pumpkin on the chest. “Goooooood morning!” Willaby sang relentlessly, staring daggers into Jimmy, who grimaced and joined the song. Charlie giggled as he looked up happily at Sarah, who gave him a pained smile, but then gasped as she lifted the clipped pacifier from his chest and held it to his mouth. Tempted though he was not to take it, as he guessed the glint in her eye meant this was an acceptable alternative to singing, he had all week to deny Miss Willaby singing her stupid song. He took it with a smile and began sucking, then looked to the older teacher, who gave an approving nod. They finished out round four, and Charlie noted he would have to try for five tomorrow. “Aaaaaand join in all together as we sing our morning song!! Good morning!” Willaby cheered as she finally broke the beat and clapped in celebration, which was met with grateful claps that it was over. “It’s always a bit rough when we have new friends, isn’t that right?” Willaby smiled as she poked a redheaded Little girl in the front, who laughed and nodded. “But everyone learns at their own pace. And new friends mean new and exciting possibilities!” “Why is he here?” the girl in the purple dress complained again, gesturing back to Charlie. Miss Willaby exaggerated a surprised look as she looked around and put a hand up to shield her eyes while she searched for something. “Did you hear something?” Miss Willaby asked rhetorically, and a few Littles snickered as the purple dress girl crossed her arms over her chest in annoyance, then shot her hand into the air. “Because I didn’t see any hands in the – oooh, why hello, Lily! Do you have a question?” Lily nodded stiffly. “Can it wait until after our new friends have introduced themselves?” Willaby asked in a way that suggested there was only one correct answer. Lily must have picked up on that too, as she put her hand down and gave a curt nod. “Good girl,” Willaby purred as she leaned forward to pat her head, then turned her eyes towards Lexi and Charlie. “Well, how about you, Little girl? Can you come up and introduce yourself and your Little purple friend?” Lexi looked over her shoulder at Charlie, who sat up, ready to slide off Sarah’s lap to go first, but her hands had buckled him in. The blonde shrugged it off and slowly walked forward, her shoulders rolling as she prepared herself. Once in front of Miss Willaby, who directed her to turn around, she turned to face the class. “Uh, hi –” Lexi’s shoulders stiffened upwards, and her entire face turned red as her skirt was lifted up, and the waistband of her diaper pulled back. Snickers broke out in the crowd, and Miss Willaby smiled as she released the diaper, giving her a pat on the rear. “Go on.” Charlie chewed on the pacifier, reminding himself to keep a calm or happy expression on his face, though his cheeks flushed with anger. “I-I’m… Lexi,” she started again as she swallowed. “Hi Lexi!” The crowd of Littles replied. “I… um,” she looked down at the ground, at a loss for what to say. “Who’s your purple friend, Lexi?” Sarah asked, lifting a hand and pointing to the deer plush. “Oh, yeah, this… is Lavender,” the blonde half-smiled, staring down at the plush in her arm. “And what did Lavender do before she became your friend?” Miss Willaby asked, reaching her hand out to pat the plush’s head. “She… I… she worked at a coffee shop,” Lexi said as she stared into the plastic eyes. “She likes to sing… and runs in the park… and dance…” “How was she caught?” This time the question came from the crowd – from Lily, to be exact – and Lexi looked up, her eyebrows upturned. Her mouth dropped open for a moment, and as she scanned the crowd, she gave a slight nod. Charlie resisted the urge to smile, not wanting to send the wrong signals, but to him, it looked like she understood the question was in solidarity (or morbid curiosity, but either way, it was coming from a peer). With that, his eyes moved to Miss Willaby, who looked rather guarded… Ready to pounce should the discussion displease her. “She… tripped while running,” Lexi frowned, her eyes darting down towards her knees. “Scraped up her hands and knees and… her Mommy…” “Grabbed her,” one of the voices said, though it was unclear who. “Stole her,” another voice said. “Kids,” Willaby warned, her eyes locking onto each one who spoke up and reinforcing her tone. “Yeah,” Lexi whispered, hanging her head as she hugged the stuffed deer. Willaby angled her wrist to look at her watch and then placed her hand on Lexi’s back. “Thank you for sharing, Lexi dear,” Willaby smiled as she rubbed the blonde’s back. “And we’re so happy to have you and Lavender here. I know you two can find new interests and fun things that you two can do together.” Lexi nodded, though she didn’t lift her head. Miss Willaby gave her another rub and looked over the crowd. “Well, kids, how do you welcome a new classmate?” Once more, the question wasn’t genuine. It was a prompt — a call to action. Silently, but for the crinkles of diapers, everyone got up and encircled Lexi with hugs. It was an interesting moment from Charlie’s view, as he swayed his feet from side to side. It was a show of support among those who had been through the same, yet for Miss Willaby, it was a display of cute Little babies being warm and cute with each other. He wondered who had started this trend… perhaps it was a Little, and the Amazons let it go, thinking it was adorable, rather than prisoners bonding over their shared experience of injustice. As they let go of each other, a brunette Little girl locked her arm in with Lexi’s and pulled her towards her area of the circle. Lexi briefly looked over at Charlie, but he only smiled in return, and she took her seat on the floor next to her new friend. “Okay, Charlie,” Sarah said as she slid him off her lap and onto his feet. He blinked, spun around, and tried climbing back up. “No, honey, it’s time to introduce yourself,” she explained quietly, gently resisting his attempts and turning him to face Miss Willaby, who stared at him with an obnoxious smile. He let out a whine as he put his arms up towards Sarah. “Miss Sarah,” groaned Lily as she jammed her hand into the air. “Miss Saraaaah!” “Yes, Lily?” Sarah asked as patiently as she could, which was to say not very, as she struggled to guide Charlie to the front on his own without pushing him away, which only made him cling to her more. “Why is he in class instead of Little Town?” she huffed. Lexi kept her head down as she adjusted the little coffee cup on an elastic band around the stuffed deer’s hoof. “Well, because he hasn’t graduated this class yet,” Sarah explained like it was obvious, letting out a sigh as she let her arms fall to her sides and Charlie climbed up into her lap, victorious. “That seems like a technicality,” a dark-skinned little boy grumbled as he crossed his arms. “Well, Bucky,” Willaby interjected as she pointed a finger upwards, scanning the crowd of Littles. “How about we let him introduce himself and save our questions until after?” “Yes, Miss Willaby,” Bucky murmured as he rolled his eyes. “Miss Sarah, please bring our newcomer up,” Willaby suggested with a wave of her hand, and Sarah nodded, pushed herself to her feet, and carried him to the front. He whined when she tried to pull the pacifier out, then whined when she tried to set him on his feet, and she gave a nervous look to her fellow teacher. “Maybe… I can introduce him…” Sarah thought aloud, clearly struggling to balance the need of the moment with Charlie’s wishes. “No,” Jimmy contested quickly. “That’s against the rules!” “Jimmy!” Willaby snapped, both verbally and physically, with her fingers before pointing to him. “What is rule number four, Little boy?” Jimmy grimaced as he stared at her for a long moment, then quietly replied, “No no’s.” “That’s right,” Willaby glowered at him, angling her head downward to glare at him. “You know better, mister. That’s five minutes in the time-out bouncer after circle time.” A bunch of Little eyes snapped to the hanging baby bouncer in the corner of the room, suspended from the ceiling and certainly high enough to mean no feet touched the floor. Several of the Littles around him gave a mocking hoot at him as Jimmy’s face turned a deep red, and he shrank into the crowd. Well, that sold it for Charlie. While he had intended his ‘stick to Sarah’ routine to be about testing just how much favoritism she was going to allow, now it was about fucking with Willaby. Between her humiliating Lexi and her asinine punishment of saying the word ‘no’, he was now firmly in Camp Retaliation. “All the same, introductions are done by Littles only, Miss Sarah,” Willaby explained as she reached out and put her hands on Charlie’s torso. As soon as she began to pull him away, Charlie took in a deep breath – one that caused Sarah’s eyes to widen ever so slightly – and released an ear-piercing scream, which tickled his throat a bit. That would probably hurt later, but it was worth it. “Ahh!!” screamed a great many in the room, as hands slapped over ears, faces winced, and Willaby quickly released him. “Goodness!” she cried out in surprise, placing a hand on her chest, and Sarah quickly pulled him in and began bouncing him. “Shh, shhh, it’s okay, baby, it’s okay,” she soothed in his ear, patting his diaper and back, switching rapidly between them as she tried to figure out which was better. For his own sanity, he opted to respond better to back pats, lest he diminish his love of diaper pats from Kelly. “What a baby,” Jimmy grumbled. “Shut up,” Lexi snapped as she glared at Jimmy, the brunette to her right looking at her in surprise. “Lexi, don’t –” Willaby began to scold. “You shut up!” Jimmy shot back. “Jimmy!” Willaby threatened, pushing herself to stand up. “Hi,” Charlie sniffed as he turned his face to look out over the crowd of Littles, Sarah still bouncing him. “I’m Charlie.” This was met with an awkward silence, as Miss Willaby was standing, looming over the Littles, all of whom looked between the two Amazons for a cue on what to do, and those same Amazons were looking at each other and down at Charlie. He moved slightly, pulling Rascal from one side to the other so the fat raccoon could be visible to the Littles. “Dis is Charlie.” Another awkward silence. “Pfft.” Bucky. His lips had buzzed from the force of the laugh. A few chuckles came, and Lexi smiled. Miss Willaby, however, was not pleased. “Well… that’s not how this works, Charlie,” the teacher reasoned with some hesitation before re-establishing her smile. “The raccoon needs a different name.” “No,” Charlie pouted, and there were collective gasps, followed by the telltale ‘ooooo.’ Miss Willaby lifted her palm for silence and cleared her throat, raising her eyebrows at Charlie, while Sarah’s arms stiffened. “You don’t know the rules yet, so I’ll let that pass,” Willaby started, putting a finger out towards Jimmy when he huffed indignantly. “But there are no ‘no’s’ in the classroom.” Charlie stared at her for a moment as her eyebrows rose in a silent warning. “Okay,” Charlie said quietly as he rubbed his eye. “Good baby,” Willaby cooed as she reached out her hand and patted Rascal’s head. “So, what is the raccoon’s name?” “Charlie.” “PFFT.” This time it came from multiple Littles, and Willaby’s lips thinned. “I think Charlie – the real Charlie – needs some time to figure out a good name,” the Amazon stated in a measured tone as she grabbed the raccoon’s arm, and Charlie gasped, gripping Rascal with all his might. “Charlie, stay!” he cried out. “Miss Willaby, maybe –” Sarah started. “He’ll get the raccoon back when he has a proper name,” Willaby threatened as she tugged at the plush, and she raised her eyebrows threateningly at Charlie. “Release him, Charlie.” “Miss Willaby, Miss Willaby! Partner plushes go everywhere with us!” Lily cried out as she jumped to her feet, hugging her pink owl with one arm and jutting the other into the sky. “That’s the rule!” “It is,” she agreed with caution in her tone, frowning. “But only when the partner is named. Until then, they’re just like any stuffed animal.” “He IS named,” Bucky complained as he stood up, throwing his arms out and then gesturing to both of them towards the raccoon. “His name is Charlie.” “No, Bucky, that’s not appropriate,” Willaby denied. “Why not?” Jimmy shrugged. “Isn’t the point that they’re us?” “Yes, but,” Willaby sighed, lifting a hand to pinch the bridge of her nose. She took a deep breath and sighed it out, turning to face the group as she put a calming hand out. “The point, children, is to give yourselves distance from your old memories. This is a safe way to separate your old job, life, and interests from your new one. If your partner shares the same name, then it’s really not doing you any favors, is it?” Willaby put her hands on her hips as she surveyed the faces of the Littles. Some fell into thought, a few looked to accept that answer, but two were distinctly different. Two faces showed resistance and dissatisfaction: Bucky and Lexi. “I liked my old life,” Bucky countered as he mirrored Willaby’s stance, putting his hands on his hips. Which was far less intimidating, given he was wearing fuzzy, light brown teddy bear overalls. “I don’t want to forget it or give it away.” “No one said forget,” Willaby countered, shaking her head. “Your partner is yours. It’s about distance, not forgetting. Not giving away.” “Well, Charlie doesn’t need the distance,” Lexi suggested as she gestured towards him. “He’s been Adopted for a really long time. I don’t think he even remembers what he used to do.” A couple of curious looks went to Lexi, but they quickly looked to Willaby for her reaction. The Amazon frowned in thought and turned to Charlie, who had been basking in the discourse and enjoying the bird’s-eye view for his assessment of the classroom Littles. He looked at Miss Willaby with a frown, then up at Sarah, who had looked somewhat lost in thought but caught his eye and gave him a sympathetic smile. “Do you remember your old job, hun?” Willaby asked in a higher register as she reached out and gently touched his hair. Curiously, as he looked back at her, he wondered for a moment if she had been briefed about him at all, or if Lexi’s statement was the most she knew about him at this point. He pointed to himself, pushing his index finger hard against his chest, and the Amazon confirmed with a nod. Pushing out his lower lip as he considered, he looked down and kicked his legs slightly. Then he smiled. “Big brother,” he announced proudly. Sarah’s body lit up for a moment as Willaby looked like a mix between thoughtful and confused, and then Sarah let out a small, knowing chuckle. “Oh, hmm,” Sarah hummed as she gave Charlie a light squeeze. “He was Adopted before his brother was born, who became his guardian in the last year.” “Geggie!” Charlie cheered. “Ahh,” Willaby nodded, pursing her lips for a moment. She looked like she was going to say something, but instead she smiled and waved her hand over the crowd. “Okay…. Okay, fair enough. Charlie, please continue your introduction of Charlie Senior.” He let out a giggle as he kicked his legs, hugged Rascal, and then pointed to him as he looked down at the crowd. “Charlie wuz a actor,” he beamed. “He likes to be other people ‘n’ play pretend!” “Wait, really?” the Little next to Lexi asked curiously, and she blushed when others snickered at her. “I get hugs now?” Charlie asked as he looked to Sarah, who nodded, then to Willaby, who was staring at him. He kept his smile plastered on, but he felt a tightening in his gut that told him she was suspicious. Perhaps choosing the role of actor had been a bit too on the nose, and now he had overplayed his hand. But Willaby smiled once more before he could decide what her Amazon brain was thinking, and she nodded, gesturing towards the floor. He smiled as widely as possible as he was set down. Lexi started walking towards him, and she shot a curious look around when everyone else hesitated. “How long?” Bucky asked quietly as he stared at Charlie, looking somewhat like he was staring at a ghost. “How long have you been…?” “Firty,” Charlie stated as he looked down at his hand, then held up three fingers. “30 years?” Jimmy breathed in disbelief. Charlie smiled at them and lifted his arms out for a hug while Rascal dangled from his hand. There wasn’t much else to do. They were looking at him both in shock at seeing someone who had been ‘in’ for that long, and also seeing themselves in the future. Given his performance, he understood the horror that might be invoked (excluding Lexi, who smiled at him warmly). After a long beat, Lexi broke the hesitation by stepping up and hugging him. Then Bucky half-smiled as he wrapped his arms around them both. He was tall for a Little, so he easily hugged both him and Lexi. Once Bucky joined, the rest swarmed, and Charlie closed his eyes, smiling, and surprisingly found himself having to fight back tears.

I'm in a very wet boosted Megamax. It still has enough capacity left that I'll keep wearing it for another 1-2 hours. Gonna do a little yoga, then take my dogs for a walk around the block. I'll change whem I go to take a shower. But first, I think I'll do a little playing in my diaper.

I would guess that sitting in a dirty diaper for a good while does more to convince Lucy to listen to and follow the example of grandma than anything else that grandma could do to her!  Nothing like stewing in your own waste to put things into perspective and bring one down a few notches and to accept the care of another that has control over when you get changed.

Maddison was about to answer or question Camilla but remembered that this was her new routine, so she didn't mind; then, still in the embrace, she saw Camilla removing the diaper-removal guard—a gesture of trust—and said: "You can ask, Mommy."

Update: After changing and cleaning up, I am now in my office looking over my busy day in an already slightly damp Kiddo Fluffy Fly diaper under a pair of black casual pants, a colored t-dhirt and an untucked and unbuttoned beige shirt. With strategic intermittent wettings during the day I think my diaper will last until I get home, but I will be very wet by then. There is something quite naughty about wetting my diaper while talking to a colleague at work.