Diaper References

Hi @CptKirk, I'm glad to see you're still kicking. You seem to have a good heart and the world needs more people like that, not fewer. I don't really feel the need for couching though. When I first started (over 25  years ago) I had a few coaching sessions at the Y that got me started and that was about it. Later I switched to Gold's Gym, but I just kept plugging along. I slowly built up the weight and figured out I need to concentrate on my quads and gluts so I could do the moguls on the slopes. The biggest problem I found was living at 1000 feet and going up to 6 or 8000 for a ski trip. I'd try to take it easy for the first few days to get acclimated to the altitude before doing anything difficult. My issues at the moment are all social in nature. Given that my triglycerides are creeping up again, I'll need to do something about it soon. The changes to my routine will probably upset the apple cart at home, but the rest of the family will adjust. The real problem is my current work schedule. I hadn't really planned on working as much as I have been and when my brain gets sucked dry during the day, I find it hard to get on the treadmill for any amount of time after work (much less go to the gym and lift weights). And before you know it, a week went by and now it's July (to paraphrase Zappa). Getting back into the routine after a pause is always a big problem, but I usually manage. Thanks for the offer though.

Oh wow, a surprisingly big lore chapter. Bringing back Noah, thinking back to Sadie, weaving in the portal, even dropping some portal backstory... lots of spinning plates coming back to the forefront. I think the most consequential moment, though, is Luci stuck in Pauline's arms as Hazel can't help. It's one of the first times someone in her family (Hazel counts) wasn't able to help her. Unclear if Luci's brain will be able to grasp the nuances of decorum, or if she'll only view it as a betrayal. (Also Pauline's an asshole.)

Hey there folks, sorry for the delay. Life's been busy. Let me tell ya, a month of holidays sounds fun until you're actually doing it but I have major no holiday obligations until Hanukkah so that rules and that's an easy one. I also had to take an IRL trip to see some friends for a week and, honestly, I've been a very busy baby. But I haven't forgotten Arinae or abandoned this story. Things are slightly busier now than they were when I started the story and I can't write at a manic pace when I'm not manic so yeah. I'd at one point hoped for chapters weekly, now that things are settling down the goal is every two weeks.    Now that irl stuff is out of the way, I do want to give a heads up. Abuse has been alluded to before but this is as close as we're going to get to seeing it and it's the only time I plan to show it. It's one scene so you won't miss much if you've got to skip it. ctrl-f "No son" to reach the start of the scene and "forever" to reach the end. While it's important to Arinae's story, it's not more important than your enjoyment if misgendering and physical abuse are lines for you. 💜   Now, without further ado, Chapter 9    Chapter 9   “Hey girls!,” Devri called from downstairs, “the pizza’s here.” A few seconds later, a chime played over the speaker in the upstairs bathroom with Abbi repeating the summons in her cheerful, digital voice.   So much had changed in the past months, then in the past week, and now even in the past 24 hours. The stillness and solitude of her warm bath had been a haven. At the hospital she had been alone in only the worst ways. There were always people moving around in the corridors, specialists huddling by her bedside, and beeping machines. She’d been alone for interminably long stretches but she was never able to actually relax.   After the delivery team from Tyke Place had left, Arinae and Devri worked together to get the furniture and doll house unpacked and set up. Devri did most of the actual work, Arinae found herself relegated to fetching tools, holding the flashlight, or finding where the instructions for assembling a particular piece of furniture had vanished to. She’d never been very handy and despite her guardian’s clear effort, Devri really wasn’t either. They slowly worked through setting up her new room.    The bed went up first. It had looked enough like a twin bed on the packaging but it took every ounce of self control not to absolutely refuse to sleep in it when Devri took the rails from the box. Fortunately, the tall rails were facing the wall but a shorter set of rails running the length of half the bed were also locked into place. The plastic sheet went on next and Arinae felt a knot tighten in her stomach. Was she really going to sleep in that? She felt fear start to rise up in her. I’m an adult, Arinae thought, this isn’t right. I can’t do this.   Arinae felt queasy as she helped fetch tools for her guardian as a small desk went up, followed by the dresser and then a book shelf. All the while, she kept looking back to the bed, her bed. It was cute, if she had actually been a little girl the fantasy bedding would have made her giddy with excitement. At 21 though, it just made her feel confused.    It was objectively going to be cleaner and comfier than any place she’d stayed at in years. The bed was new and she wouldn’t hurt waking up on it. She also had wet the bed in the hospital and even though her nighttime continence had returned, she knew that it was very much only back for now. It wouldn’t be long before she would need that sheet. But it didn’t feel right. That sheet represented all the ways her world was shrinking.     The only thing left to set up was the doll house. After having Arinae help her get it out of the box, Devri left the room for a few minutes before returning to send Arinae off to the tub for her first actual bath in months. Devri’s smart bath was luxurious and long enough with her diminished frame to extend her legs fully without needing to bend her knees. Her new guardian had made sure to run it at a comfortable temperature with a lot of bubbles. Her mind was still uneasy but the heat soaked into her tense muscles and gave her some measure of relaxation amid the bubbles.   She hadn’t noticed Devri pick up the pajamas at Tyke Place but she was glad her guardian had remembered them for her. Before, she’d just usually slept in panties and a tee shirt but sitting on the counter in a neat little bundle was a simple, knee length pink nightgown. Seeing her body while bathing had been a surreal experience and that uncanniness was lingering with her still. Even if she’d still been her normal size though, she’d at least probably want something to cover the pull-on that Devri had left with her pajamas.    She didn’t like it, but Devri had promised her that she’d get panties back tomorrow. Arinae chose not to make a fuss about it and try to keep being as good as she could for her new guardian. Her right leg went through the hole, then the left, and then she hiked the pull-on up her narrow waist. These were the same fairy pattern design that Arinae had chosen at Tyke Place. She wondered if it had anything to do with Pixie Hollow? Bayla still hadn’t come down after being sent off for her nap.  Arinae tried not to read anything into that.   She crinkled ever so slightly as she left the bathroom and went down the stairs for dinner. It had been barely audible with pants on but in just a nightgown the rustle of her underwear was unmistakable. Plates were already sitting on the coffee table, on the left and right sides of the sofa each had a single, thick slice of cheese burst pizza and the larger one in the middle had two slices of apricot chicken pizza covered with nuts, peppers, and onions. It was a regional style Arinae had endured when hanging out with a friend from Hyasinati.  Arinae hopped up onto the sofa as her guardian entered the room with a sippy cup in each hand. She sat a clear green one down at the right end of the table.   “What do you want to drink?” Devri asked, holding an empty, purple sippy cup that Arinae knew could only be for her. “We have water, milk, mango lemonade, I might have some orange juice left. That’s on the grocery list though so I’m not sure.” “Hey, Devri,” Arinae started, she wanted to protest that she didn’t need the sippy. She wanted to say she didn’t need pull-ons or a fitted sheet. That all of this was too much and no matter what a test said she was still 21. That she may be a little but she wasn’t a baby. Devri looked at her expectantly.   “Mango, please, thank you.” Where would fighting back get her? On the street or in a group home. Was her dignity such a precious thing that she’d throw a guardian who accepted her and welcomed her into her family away all because of a sippy cup? She’d already made Bayla mad. If she messed up again, Devri might want to get rid of her.    “OK, one mango lemonade coming up.” Devri said before heading back towards the kitchen. As Devri was leaving, Arinae heard footsteps coming down the steps one at a time. She’d known Bayla was going to join them and the prospect of facing her had left Arinae on edge since this afternoon, but the little who came down the stairs was a far cry from the overwhelmed developer she’d met earlier in the day. Her wavy brown hair was still messy from her nap.      She had on cream colored pajama pants decorated with forest animals and bright, teal trim at the ankle cuffs with a slightly baggy, heather grey and forest green tee shirt proclaiming “University of Port Alki: Class of 2619”. Even with the shirt extending down past her waist, Arinae heard a much more obvious crinkling from Bayla, who reached the ground and made her way towards Devri with a slight waddle to her steps.   “Well hey there, honey.” Devri said as Bayle wrapped her arms around her caregivers waist, “Did you go back to sleep up there?”   “Just for a little bit,” Bayla said before muttering out, “I just had to do some work after my nap and then I was tired again.” Devri looked irritated, shook her head before giving Bayla one last squeeze. “You aren’t mad, are you?” Bayla said abashedly and broke off the hug, looking up at her guardian, “there was just something I had to finish up before the end of the day. I remembered I made a mistake in the code and just needed to fix it while I was thinking about it.” The annoyance was still plain on Devri’s face. “I love you.” Bayla offered sweetly.   “We’ll talk about it tomorrow, sweetie.” Devri bent down and kissed the Little on her forehead, causing Bayla to blush profusely. “For now, foods on the table. I’ll be there in a second. I think you’ve got something to tell Arinae while I get her some juice.”   “Do you think I could…” Bayla pointed down at her waist. Now Arinae blushed on her behalf but she couldn’t take her eyes off of the exchange.   “After dinner.” Devri assured her before sending her off to get settled on the opposite end of the couch. Arinae shifted further into the corner and cuddled a throw pillow tight to her chest. Her first encounter with Bayla had been unpleasant enough. She felt ridiculous being so intimidated by a girl more than a foot shorter than her but there was no helping it. Bayla was here first and Bayla liking her would play an inordinate role in getting to stay here.   “Hey,” Bayla spoke up, looking shamefaced before taking a breath, “I’m really sorry about earlier. I was,” she sighed, “work sucks. I just had a terrible day.”   “Apology accepted,” Arinae said quickly. Her grip on the throw pillow loosened slightly, as did the tension in her shoulders. “I hated my job too.” Bayla grinned slightly.   “Oh yeah, what were you doing before all this?” Now Arinae felt inadequate all over again. Despite everything, Bayla’d overcome being little to finish school and worked as a game designer. Arinae couldn’t even manage to hold employment steadily even before Chrysalis.   “Oh, I was uh, sort of between jobs when it happened.”   “Ouch,” Bayla replied, “that’s rough. Well, at least no job to lose.” Arinae could tell that Bayla was trying to be helpful but having a 3’8 girl in a diaper console her about her lack of a job just didn’t have the weight Bayla probably wanted it to.   “Yeah, I mean I guess so.” Arinae said, hoping to keep things flowing in a positive direction and not mess anything up. Awkward silence filled the space between them until Devri returned with Arinae’s cup.   “Here we go,” she placed it down next to Arinae’s pizza.    “Thank you, Devri,” Arinae made sure to mind her manners.   “Yeah, thanks Devri,” Bayla chimed in.   “You’re welcome ladies,” she said, plopping down in between the littles. “So, Arinae, it’s your first night home. Do you want to pick something out to watch on holoscreen while we eat?”   “Oh, Devri,” Bayla interjected before starting to tap away at the screen on her SmartBand, “its the next to last episode tonight of the series on the Innovation Channel about the new mission to Vitassa! They’re going to talk about the potential colony sites on the planet. Can we please watch that? Please? We’ve been watching it for six weeks and I don’t want to get interrupted.” For a little who was so argumentative earlier, the smaller, older Little was putting on her sweetest puppy dog eyes for her caretaker. Devrille pursed her lips, closed her eyes, and took a deep breath.   “Bayla dear,” she said calmly, “it’s Arinae’s first night here, she can decide what to watch. We can record the documentary for us to watch tomorrow.” Bayla huffed and threw herself back against the sofa.   “But Devri, we’ve been watching it together live since it started! My friend Destinje is going to want to talk about it at work tomorrow and-”   “Bayla,” Devri said sharply. The Little ceased her whining immediately. She looked more hurt than angry. “You can watch it tomorrow. Destinje will understand that you were accommodating our newest family member. No more back talking please.” Bayla tried to remain stoic but Arinae could see tears forming in her eyes.   “Actually,” she said, speaking up, “I don’t mind if we watch that. Science is pretty cool.” Devri arched an eyebrow.   “We don’t have to watch it if you’re not interested. Don’t let Bayla pressure you into anything you don’t want to do.” Arinae’s eyes moved past Devri to Bayla. The little was still sulking but when their eyes met, Arinae thought she saw a shimmer of gratitude. Part of being a little worthy of living here meant she had to keep her guardian’s other little happy too.   “It’s OK actually,” Arinae reassured Devri, “I haven’t had steady access to a holoscreen for a while, I’m not even sure what I’d want to watch.” It wasn’t a lie, but it wasn’t the truth either. Arinae couldn’t name anything in particular that she wanted to see but she knew with enough browsing she could find a cooking show or a fantasy series or some new anima from Akitsukuni that she might like. But it was better to lose this fight and keep the peace than win it and risk rocking the boat any further.   “Vitassa documentary it is,” Devri said slowly before raising her hand to enter in the channel information to her SmartBand. A wide grin stretched across Bayla’s face and Arinae returned it with a polite smile of her own. One crisis averted this evening.   Hard science was never Arinae’s strong suit, she always had much better grades in history and language classes, but she wasn’t oblivious to the work that was being done by the Kingdom of Valsora’s space program in conjunction with the work of scientists from Tsastichi, Akitsukuni, and other dominions of the crown. The Wayfarer missions had been making some progress and there was hope for a breakthrough and colonization of Vitassa. While Arinae was only as aware of it as the average layperson, Bayla seemed enthralled.   She makes and does voice work for video games, she knows about science and psychology, and she does community theater. I’m just Arinae. The new little thought to herself. She couldn’t help but admire just how much the little had accomplished and similarly couldn’t help but feel insecure by it. She’d be an accomplished neutral or CG with that resume, to do it all as a Little though? That was even more impressive.   Bayla was enraptured by the show and soon Devri was focused on it as well.  Arinae happily ate her pizza and allowed herself to relax a little. Devri must have noticed because she got a look and a reassuring smile from her guardian. By the middle of the show's commercial break, Arinae had found herself also enjoying the documentary alongside the people who were, for now at least, her new potential family.   “Um…I’ll be back in a minute” Bayla said quickly as the second commercial came to a close. She scooted off the sofa and ran off back towards the stairs.   “Do you want me to pause it?” Devri called after her but Bayla was already bounding up the steps and didn’t respond. Devri paused the show from her SmartBand. “Are you having fun?” Devri asked Arinae. She looked concerned but not worried.   “Yeah, I mean, it’s an interesting show.” Arinae raced to assuage her guardian. “I can see why you and Bayla are both so into it.” Devri pursed her lips and Arinae worried she’d given the wrong answer. “I mean, it’s OK, I guess we could watch something else next time though.” Arinae offered, hoping to smooth things over. Devri’s expression was unchanged.   “You know, sweet girl, you don’t have to go along with what she wants if you don’t want to. I want you to feel at home too. You’re not a guest here.” Arinae’s muscles tightened again and she began to fidget in her spot.   “It was easier than making her mad.” Arinae faltered. “I just didn’t want her to have a tantrum again.” Devri nodded her head.   “You’re a very kind girl Arinae.” The Little blushed and averted her eyes. “You aren’t responsible for her behavior though, but I’d be lying if I told you I didn’t understand where you’re coming from. I’m sorry that was your first introduction to her. She’s been working the legal maximum for her of 30 hours a week and she’s having a really hard time. Just remember please that you’re allowed to take up space here too, OK?”   “OK,” Arinae said waveringly. Plenty of people would say stuff like that. Fewer actually meant it. Still, she wanted to believe Devri was one of the few that did. “Thank you.” As suddenly as she’d left Bayla tramped back down the stairs, carrying a blanket with her.   “Did you get chilly?” Devri questioned as Bayla climbed back onto the couch with an earth toned blanket of subdued greens and golds and browns.   “Yup,” Bayla said, bundling herself up in the blanket. Devri gave her an inquisitive look.   “Did you only get chilly?” Now it was Bayla’s turn to be bashful. That’s when Arinae noticed the earthy, sour scent coming from the other little. She couldn’t have.   “Uh…maybe?” Bayla blushed.   “Uh-huh,” Devri coaxed her. “So if I were to check you right now, that diaper would be clean, right?” Bayla gave a shrug but still wasn’t able to meet her care giver’s eyes. The other little was grinning. Devri shook her head and smirked. “Well, Arinae, this might be a good time for you to go use the bathroom too while I’m dealing with a Little who I suspect might not be being totally honest with me. Come on, Bayla, let’s go.”   There was no malice in her remark about Bayla’s lack of truthfulness. It seemed the two played this game with some regularity since Bayla went with her caretaker with no further pushback. Her suggestion to Arinae was still playful but Arinae understood that her being asked about the bathroom was more of a request than a suggestion. Arinae dutifully found the downstairs bathroom and tried to use the bathroom.    The bathroom itself was clean but fairly sparse in its decor. It struck Arinae as more than likely being the less used of the two. The upstairs had make up, skincare items, and two tooth brushes with two tubes of tooth paste and this one had pristine floors and nothing around the sink basin save for a bottle of hand soap and a hand towel hanging from a mount on the wall. Arinae tried not to read too much into finding herself sitting on what was probably the guest toilet but her insecurity gnawed at the back of her mind. She fortunately was able to pee before she hiked her pull-ons back around her waist and washed her hands with the pink soap on the counter.   Back in the living room, Bayla and Devri hadn’t returned yet. It was the first time she was actually alone downstairs and that feeling of being a guest once again took a bite at her mental health. She didn’t know why she’d expected them to be back and waiting on her so soon. When she thought about it logically, changing a Little’s dirty diaper took longer than her using the bathroom would. Still, being alone made her uneasy. She hadn’t been alone downstairs yet. She wanted to take her plate to the sink but the voice in her head told her all of the terrible things that would surely be said to her if she accidentally dropped it.   “What’s wrong with me,” she mumbled to herself. Arinae climbed back onto the sofa and wedged herself into the corner, holding a pillow tight across her chest. “I didn’t used to worry about this stuff. I just-” she sighed.    You’re worried because if things went bad in the past, we could run. We can’t run if things go bad now. You have nowhere to run to. Are we going to run home to mom and dad and deal with that again? Run back to the so-called friends who never came to see you in the hospital and stopped replying to messages when you told them what happened? You’re trapped. We’re trapped. This is life now. Total dependence on keeping two people happy. So don’t fuck it up, you fuck-up. Don’t ruin this like you do everything else.   “I’m such a fucking idiot sometimes.” Arinae said into the pillow. Yeah, you are. The voice in her head said back to her. Arinae winced. She didn’t think her internal monologue was right about the source of her fear, but since she couldn’t name it herself she thought its answer was as valid as anything.   Devri and Bayla returned with Bayla being carried on Devri’s hip. Both of them were laughing coming down the steps. When they sat back down, instead of returning to her corner, Bayla sat on Devri’s lap. Arinae felt a sting of envy. More than that, it just made her depressed. Devri had been polite and kind and supportive but today Devri and Bayla had fought and tested each other’s patience but they still came back together to be a family. How long would it be before she felt that safe?   Arinae watched the rest of the show curled up in the corner. Occasionally looking back over at Devri and Bayla and feeling more dejected each time. What was worse than that was how ashamed she felt over being dejected. That these two’s happiness could make her feel so precarious and superfluous to the family. Just like a guest. No matter what anyone said, this wasn’t her home. It was their home that they’d put years of love into together. Feeding the dejection even further was Devri didn’t even seem to realize Arinae was sulking. Her attention was on her Little and the show.   “I think I need to go to bed,” Arinae said as the credits began to roll. There was a tremble in her voice. Devri seemed to have noticed it but before she could reply, Bayla turned and leaned up and whispered something into Devri’s ear.   “You want-,” Devri was clearly taken aback. All attention now fell back to Bayla. “You aren’t sick, are you?” Bayla shook her head and she whispered again to her caregiver. One of Bayla’s hands was on Devri’s breast. “OK…yeah, no that’s- that’s fine. We can do that sweetie.” Whatever Bayla had said to Devri had brought a very satisfied but surprised smile to the caregiver’s face. “I think it’s time I’m going to bed too, it’s sort of early still but it’s been a big day. I’ll get Bayla ready for bed, do you need any help?” Devri asked.   “I’ll be fine, thank you.” Devri didn’t look completely satisfied but hoisted Bayla up out of her lap and back onto her hip. “Oh- I mean, also thank you for everything else today too. The new stuff, the pizza. I just- thank you for everything.”    “You’re very welcome,” Devri replied, shifting Bayla to the other hip. “Do you need a hug before bed?” Any hope that Devri hadn’t noticed the quiver in her voice was dashed. She wanted that hug like someone dying of thirst wanted water. Just some kind of physical signal that everything was in her head and that Devri was telling the truth that this was her home now.   “I’ll be OK, you can take care of her. I’ll be fine.” Arinae tried to reassure her guardian. Arinae could tell Devri didn’t believe her for a second but she nodded still. “Alright, well, I’ll be taking Bayla to my room before she goes to bed and then once I get her to bed I’ll need to do dishes. So you do need anything…” Devri trailed off. “Goodnight Arinae, I’m glad you’re home with us.”   Arinae went to her bedroom and closed the door. She sat on her bed and fought back the overwhelming feelings inside of her. She’d manage to stave off another tantrum from Bayla but at the cost of walking on eggshells and fixating on not making the other little angry at her again. It had seemed to work which was good but nothing about it made Arinae feel good.    She felt special before meeting Bayla, like she’d gotten so lucky in finding a caretaker who would accept her and love her and treat her well. Someone she wasn’t just settling for. But seeing Devri and Bayla together made Arinae feel like she’d always be secondary. How couldn’t she be? Those two had spent a third of their lives together and she’d been here an afternoon. They had a past together. They were smart, successful people and she was just the Little without a real family who’d never been good enough at anything for anyone to stick around.   Arinae got under her covers and asked Abbi to turn out the lights. For as much as she wanted to go to bed and just move on to the next day she was unable to. Her negative self-talk antagonized her as she tossed and turned on the soft bed with its crinkly sheet beneath her. She busied herself checking the internet on her SmartBand. At 28:00 the signal dropped and she was greeted with a pop-up that let her know that internet usage for designated users was restricted until morning. She didn’t have to work hard to figure out that she and Bayla were who the message was referring to. Devri had locked the internet as if she was an actual child who needed her screen time restricted.   Arinae nearly broke down again. I’m an actual adult, I know I’m shrinking and turning Little and all but come on, shutting off the internet so I go to bed on time?    “Stupid, it’s just so stupid. I hate it.” Arinae rolled over and faced the bars between her and the wall. “I hate being a Little. It’s not fair. She thought about praying but that scared her more than just staying silent. She’d never been particularly religious. She believed in Esvyra but prayers were very rarely answered growing up in a home like hers. There was no reason to think that the Goddess would start choosing to listen now.   Arinae sat up and tugged the weighted dragon she’d bought earlier underneath the covers with her. She clung to it, giving it the hug she needed. After much tossing and turning and long stretches staring at the ceiling, sleep eventually came for the little. Her rest was turbulent with nightmares about finding herself back home or waking up and still being in the hospital. She woke up in a fright, according to her SmartBand, nearly every hour and a half before fighting to go back to sleep again.   “No son of mine is gonna be like that.” She could hear a heavy set man with dark hair screaming at her, spittle flying from beneath his mustache.   Well, I’m not your son so you’re gonna have to deal with it! She stormed off back towards her room but he was on her in an instant. She’d never seen him move that fast before. Arinae was grabbed by her shoulders and slammed hard enough into the wall to cause it to crack. She barely had time to process that pain before the fist connected with her face and she crumpled into a pile at her dad’s feet.   She’d had the dream before, but it usually ended here. This time she saw her mother, a short woman with a mousy face and pinched expression, join her father over her crumpled body.   You didn’t have to hit him. A good time out or a spanking would have worked just as well. Look what you made him do? He’s gone and pissed himself. Dream Arinae experienced the whole scene from outside of her body and saw a larger puddle of urine spread out to join the puddle of blood coming from her nose. Don’t worry about that tantrum, they’re going to be our Little boy forever now. No more bad ideas about being a girl, no more ordering dresses online, no more shoplifting make up. Just our little boy. Forever.   Arinae bolted awake again with her heart pounding. It had all been so vivid. She struggled to catch her breath in the unfamiliar room before enough of her senses returned to let her know she wasn’t back home. She was in Devri’s house in what was her new bedroom. Sight was the first of her senses that returned but touch followed shortly after and as she was starting to regulate her breathing like Devri had taught her to do, she felt it.   Arinae shifted and the pull-on beneath her squelched even more urine seeped out of the leg guards and into the puddle that had formed beneath her. The whole right side of her nightgown was drenched. She didn’t need to wait for the smell of ammonia to confirm what she already knew.   “I- no…” Arinae closed her eyes. This time there was no fighting back the tears. Tears ran down her cheeks as she sniffled in the dark. She had been dry the last three nights. To have that taken from her tonight was one more indignity than she could handle. She tried to cry quietly enough to not trip the AI. She didn’t want Devri to see that she’d already ruined her new bedding.   Arinae gingerly got out of bed and peeled the covers back to see the extent of the damage. It was smaller looking at it than it felt and fortunately her weighted stuffed animal was on the other side of the bed from her puddle. The sodden pull-on that hung heavy between her legs had taken most of the damage. That didn’t make it any better though. She looked at the wet semi-circular spot for a while, sort of hoping that if she stared at it long enough some brilliant idea would pop into her head. Nothing came though. Everything in her room was so new, she had no idea if she even had extra sheets and fussing with fitted sheets had been hard even full sized. She wasn’t even Little Little yet but doing the task so fresh off losing a foot of her height was daunting even if she could find more bedding. She’d have to do the thing she’d hoped to avoid and wake up Devri.   Arinae opened her door and tip-toed passed Bayla’s room, hoping she could avoid waking the other Little and having her see what happened. It was bad enough creeping into her guardians room to wake her up for help changing her sheets that she didn’t need Bayla knowing what was going on to make things even more humiliating. Arinae stood in front of Devri’s bedroom and took a deep breath before gently knocking on the door.    “Devri,” she whispered. Arinae knocked softly again. “Devri,” the Little hoped to hear footsteps but noon came. She twisted the knob and slowly opened the door just a crack before stepping inside. “Devri, I had a, um, a-an accident,” she stammered, taking quiet steps towards her slumbering caretaker. “I need-” Arinae stopped before reaching the foot of the bed. Devri was sound asleep, legs under the covers of her bed but she was completely topless, her brown breast exposed to the cool, night air. Bayla lay beside Devri’s body not quite parallel, on top of the covers with her head on Devri’s breast and snoring louder than Arinae expected a Little could. It clicked for Arinae what Bayla had asked for even if she couldn’t bring herself to believe an adult would ever want that.   Arinae felt like she’d inadvertently stumbled into something so tender and private that even seeing these two post nursing felt like a violation on her part. Her pull-on got ever so slightly heavier as she chewed on her thumbnail, wondering what to do. She wasn’t supposed to be here or see this. She didn’t want to embarrass either of them or have them be mad at her for walking in on them like this. She couldn’t go back to her bed either.   Arinae took slow, waddling steps back to the door and closed it as slowly and quietly as she could before going back to her room. She at least knew where Devri had put the pull-ons. She stepped out of her wet one as it landed with a plop on her bedroom floor and into the clean one, before tossing the used pull-on in the trash. She then went to the dresser and changed out of her sleep shirt into a tee shirt they’d bought earlier in the day. Arinae heaved her dragon into her arms and walked back downstairs into the living room. The dishes and pizza boxes from the night before were still on the coffee table in front of the holoscreen. Arinae crawled up onto the sofa, cuddled her dragon, and fell back asleep.   There were no more dreams that night.   “You did what!?” Arinae heard a high pitched voice yell, jolting her into consciousness. “No, that’s totally not fair! You have no right to do that to me!” The way the light irritated her sleepy eyes, she knew it had to be morning now. Her SmartBand said 6:47.   “Bayla,” Devri said in a tone that was as close to yelling as Arinae had ever heard her use, “my decision is final. It’s done. Your supervisor approved you taking a sabbatical and put the paperwork in with HR while I was still on the phone with her.”   “You can’t do that! You can’t call my job and make me take a leave of absence. I’m your Little but this is a line, you shouldn’t have done that, especially without asking!” “I’ve been asking you for weeks, Bayla. Your supervisor has been worried about you. Destinje’s been worried about you. I’m sorry, I have to put my foot down on this one. You’re taking two weeks off work.”   “That’s not fair!” Bayla shrieked again as Arinae pretended to still be asleep. Facing the couch she couldn’t see anyone but as best as Arinae could work out they were both likely still upstairs from the direction of the shouting.   “I know it’s not. But I’m your guardian and I love you and I’m making you take a vacation.” Arinae heard the slam of a door bringing the argument to a halt. The silence was more ominous as the seconds ticked past. Arinae knew what would have happened to her if she’d yelled at her parents like that. She knew Devri wasn’t going to abuse Bayla, but surely something severe must be coming? Instead, Arinae heard a single pair of footsteps come down the stairs.    “Abbi,” Devri said tiredly, “coffee now please.”   “Good morning Devri, coffee is brewing, will be ready in five minutes,” The AI helpfully chimed. The footsteps momentarily halted before starting again, this time towards Arinae. Arinae closed her eyes tight.   “Hey Arinae,” Devri nudged her shoulder. “Arinae, sweetie.” Devri nudged her again. “Well,” she said to herself, “at least she’s a heavy enough sleeper she didn’t hear that.” “Arinae,” she said a bit more loudly, “Arinae sweetie, wake up.” Arinae feigned the motions of waking up with a performative yawn and stretch.   “Oh, good morning,” she said in her best impression of grogginess.   “Morning sweetie, why aren’t you in bed?” Devri looked markedly different from her normal, well kept and put together look. She had on pajama pants and a loose, baggy top. Her dark hair hadn’t been brushed out yet and her skin was bare still. Arinae didn’t think she’d ever seen Devri look tired before.   “I uh,” moment of truth, if she didn’t fess up Devri would find out anyway. “I had an accident last night and my bed got wet.” Just saying it made her blush furiously. She couldn’t look her guardian in the eyes.   “Oh sweetie, that’s OK. It happens. It’s just part of Chrysalis.” Devri said, kneeling down to Arinae’s eye level on the couch. “Why didn’t you come get me to help you though?” “I did-” Arinae said timidly, before stopping herself. Did she dare tell Devri about her trespassing into her bedroom last night and seeing her with Bayla? Especially after their fight this morning? Did Devri need any more embarrassment or difficulty? “I mean, I don’t know.” Devri nodded, seemingly satisfied.   “Well, just so you know when your pull-ons leak again, you can always come get me. No matter what.”   “Thanks, I’ll,” Arinae thought back to Bayla, snoring with her head on Devri’s breast. “I’ll remember that.”

I like it so far 

What's more concerning is the fact that McDonalds food does not decompose even after being left out for months or years.