diaper dimension The Worst Little Ever (Chapter 13 Part 1, 01/14/2020)

[SGTbaby]

I am glad Erin is more understanding and has had her eyes opened but it does stink for Luke in what he lost. Hopefully he will get better and continue to understand what Erin is trying to do for him and be accommodating. 

[Sky Hooves]

I think Erin is so far the most understanding Amazon ever in a story. It's certainly a nice change from the other stories.

[HyperShark]

On a second reading of one of your chapters I realised she said she would buy something on Rainforest, which I assume is her dimensions equivilant of Amazon. Can't believe I missed that the first time!

[zatchie]

Here's my update The goal of this chapter was to highlight (at least somewhat) that all my characters are fallible. Erin is definitely caring, kind, and mostly understanding, but she still makes mistakes, as does Luke (as we all know), and everyone else in the story. I now have a framework in mind for a new climax/major conflict section that I think fits in much better than the previous one does.

 

Chapter 8

“I just want to make sure you understand what he’s okay with. He’s still new, so a lot of things are triggering to him.” Elizabeth was getting bored. This was the third time Erin had called her to make sure she knew what to do and not to do when meeting Luke. Elizabeth - Beth to her friends, got it: Luke was basically just a really short, really tiny, apparently very cute Big. She could deal with that. What she couldn’t deal with where the four other times Erin had called her crying or near tears about things Luke had done or said to her; sometimes it was Luke being mean, sometimes it was Erin feeling sorry for herself that she couldn’t make Luke happy. In the almost week that Erin had known Luke, Beth had been called seven times, along with innumerable text messages. While she understood that Luke had been going through hard times, and that part of Erin’s calls was just her venting, Beth was tired of Luke’s shit.

“Trust me Erin. I’ve got it. I’ll treat him with respect.” Not that he deserved it. “See you soon.”

Two more days had passed since Luke’s experience at the park. That day he had mostly been subdued, crying in his room. The day after, Erin had forced them both to go back to the park – it had been the first time she had put her foot down with Luke: He hadn’t wanted to exercise in the morning, but went along with it when she insisted (Erin even led the yoga), after his morning nap, she pulled them along for a longer walk in the park, no picnic this time, and they weren’t accosted by any ignorant Bigs; Erin and Luke only received smiles for what a cute pair they were.

The rest of the time was spent with Luke deep in his melancholy, he mainly just read some of his books or laid in bed, he never played, didn’t ask to watch any more movies. He was still passing the occasional snide remark, but it mostly momentum from his initial outbursts, he didn’t have the hate behind it that he used to. He had awoken to nightmares during a couple of his sleeps. Those were the only times Erin got to hold him, she had stopped being gratified by it, mostly just sad that her Little boy was so miserable. Erin hoped that today, with her friends coming over, he would get broken out of his extra-funk.

“So, today, some of my friends will be coming over to hang out. You’re welcome to join us.” She tried to keep her tone upbeat, but was worried that a change to his routine would have him lashing out.

“What are you guys gonna do?” Meeting new people didn’t sound so bad. If they were like Erin, they’d probably be nice to him.

“Well, we usually have a semi-weekly ‘Labyrinths and Minotaurs’ get together. I’m usually the host, and they’ll bring the snacks and stuff.”

“Hmm, what’s ‘Labyrinths and Minotaurs’?” It sounded extremely nerdy.

“Oh, it’s awesome! It’s a tabletop role playing game. Basically, you represent a character you create, and through dice rolls and role playing, you go on an adventure! We’ve been playing our current campaign for a couple months; we just left our second labyrinth.”

“Hmm. I think I might pass. Just read a book in my room.” It wasn’t really that it didn’t sound fun, he could believe that it was. It was that it sounded exceptionally nerdy, he wasn’t sure he wanted people to think he enjoyed playing that sort of game, and really didn’t want to be seen with people who did enjoy playing that sort of game. Seen by who, he wasn’t sure, but kind of felt like it was a contagious thing: once he’s done it once everyone would know.

Erin was a little disappointed. She wanted him to like what she liked, or at least try it. And she wanted to show off her Little, even if he was different from the standard.

“Oh, okay, well you’re welcome to join us whenever you want.”

“Yup, I’ll probably pop in for snacks and stuff.”

“Okay!”

 

 

A couple of hours later, Luke was watching football on the television. Bordeu was playing against Ancon from Itali in the Champion’s Cup, Bordeu was down on away goals (tied 2-2 at home), so they either needed to win at Ancon, or tie scoring 3 or more in order to proceed to the semi-final. It was still 0-0 at the beginning of the second half when the doorbell rang.

Erin had been busying herself cleaning up the condo and just generally prepping herself. She went to answer the door. Luke wasn’t sure what to do: if he were the host, he’d follow Erin, but if he got down from the couch, he’d need Erin’s help to get back up again, and he didn’t really want to get accosted by some Big he didn’t know.

“Hey guys, come on in.”

“Hiiii Erin! How’re you doing?” The high pitched squeal was said kindly with an undertone of concern. Beth was there and gave her a hug along with another Big woman. The two male Bigs just smiled and entered.

“Luke’s watching football on the couch if you want to go meet him.”

“Of course!” The other female Big was leading the way down the hallway.

“Hey Luke! My friends are here!”

“Okay!” Luke still didn’t get off the couch, but he did stand up on the cushion to face their approach, his head just poked over.

The taller of the two male Bigs – Donny leaned in to whisper to Erin. “Does he like football?” He was pretty excited, no one in their group besides himself liked sports.

“I know he likes to at least watch sports. I guess he likes football.” The extent of Erin’s sports knowledge was to recognize which one was being played on tv. She couldn’t name a player on Bordeu’s team.

“Maybe I could take him to a game sometime? Do you think he’d like that?” They had all reached the living room. Luke was giving his best polite smile, though Erin could tell he looked nervous. Patricia was beaming down at him, while Beth had a more contemplating look on her face.

“Luke, so, these are my friends.” She indicated to the Bigs around her. She indicated to the shortest Big there, “This is Patricia, we used to work together.” She indicated next to her, “This is Beth, we’ve been friends since we were five.” She then indicated to the guys, “This is Tyler, and this is Patricia’s boyfriend Donny.” Donny was the newest to the group, and while they all got along, Donny still felt a bit like an outsider.

“Nice to meet you guys.” It was kinda intimidating to meet four new people at once, especially when they were all so much bigger than you.

“Has Bordeu scored yet?” Donny indicated to the football match.

Luke smiled more naturally, here was someone who shared his priorities. “No, and it wasn’t looking good in the first half, Ancon definitely had more possession.”

“Well, Bordeu is more of a counter-attacking team anyway. Hopefully they sneak one by.”

Beth spoke up, “Isn’t football a too violent for a Little?” She was asking Erin, not focusing on Luke.

“I don’t think so, remember, he’s an adult, not regressed. He can watch what he wants.” Though she hoped he wouldn’t want to watch something that was actually violent.

Luke spoke up too. “You know humans have wars and shit right? And we have violent television. And football isn’t violent anyway, you guys even banned headers.” Everyone except Donny and Beth cringed at Luke’s cursing.

“Yeah, but Littles come here to get away from all that stuff. That’s the point right?”

“But I didn’t choose to come here!”

This wasn’t the happy introduction that Erin was looking for. She decided to interrupt. “How about we save this discussion for later. Let’s get setup for Labyrinths and Minotaurs. Luke, you sure you don’t want to play?”

“Yeah, I’d like to watch the finish of this game, just in case. Maybe read a book after that. Board games aren’t really my thing.” He didn’t want to get off on the wrong foot with Bigs again, though Beth was making that a slightly challenging. Luke already liked Donny for taking an interest in what he was doing. Patricia seemed nice enough, though he suspected she might be Little crazy based on the way she reacted when seeing him. Tyler seemed nice enough, though he hadn’t really made an impression.

Tyler spoke up now. He was short and bald, with glasses that were a little too large for his thin face. “Actually, Labyrinths and Minotaurs is a tabletop roleplaying game, we represent our own characters we’ve created. It’s not really a board game. It’s way more fun!” He spoke authoritatively, but not rudely, and he didn’t speak down to Luke. Tyler had Erin’s discussions with him at the front of his mind.

Luke let out a small laugh. “Well I don’t think tabletop roleplaying games where you create your own character that are a lot more fun than board games are my thing either.”

Both Erin and Donny chuckled at Luke’s response, Tyler blushed a bit; he really loved Labyrinths and Minotaurs, he was the group’s game master.

“How about we start getting set up. Do you need water or anything Luke?”

“Uh yeah, water would be great.”

Tyler got stuff for the game out of his Big-sized backpack. Donny, Patricia, and Beth helped set up. Donny strategically set himself so that he could occasionally glance at the television while the game was going on.

 

 

About 15 minutes later, the group of Bigs were fighting a pair of wolves while surrounded by spiked pits. Beth was in the middle of her roll to cast a spell of healing on Erin, when Luke let out a huge yell.

“YEAH!!! YES!” Donny immediately brought his attention back to the TV.

“Did we score? What happened?”

“Yeah! We hit them on the counter like you said. Picard took it up the right wing and hit a cross over to Silva, who scored on the volley.” None of Erin, Beth, Patricia, or Tyler understood what Luke said.

“Yep, Picard is super quick. Hope we can hold the lead.” The others were ready to get back to the game.

 

5 minutes passed. The group had taken down one wolf, as Patricia’s barbarian had delivered a huge overhead blow with her battleaxe. Erin’s druid was trying to talk the other wolf into giving up, while Beth was sneaking behind it to deliver a death blow. She was again rolling, this time for sneak, when Luke again yelled.

“No! Dammit, that’s such bullshit.” Beth let out a huge sigh. Luke’s existence was trying her patience.

Donny was concerned. “What happened? Did they score?”

“They’re going to, we gave up a penalty. It was an obvious flop though.” Ancon’s penalty bounced in off the crossbar.

Erin caught Beth’s look. She knew her friend sometimes had a short temper. She didn’t want her to blow up at Luke. “Hey Luke, can you keep it down a bit? And watch your language too? It’s not really appreciated while we’re playing.”

Luke felt a little embarrassed. He wasn’t trying to be rude, and definitely didn’t want to be the center of attention, though he wouldn’t have minded if Donny hung out with him on the couch. “Sorry, I’ll try to keep it down.”

“Thank you.” Erin gave him a smile. She didn’t want Luke to feel bad either.

The group got through another ten minutes without interruption. The second wolf was vanquished, and their party healed. They were working their way through a dark, mossy, passageway laden with traps mundane and magical, with Beth rolling for perception, hoping to get them further down the passage. Luke let out another yell.

“Ahhhh no! We’re screwed.” Beth gave a heavy look to Erin. It felt like he was interrupting her roll every time on purpose. She really understood now why Erin was calling and texting her so much. This Little was just the worst.

“Did they score again?”

“No, but our keeper just got a red card, and we have no subs, and they get a penalty. I think one of our strikers is now gonna be in goal.”

“Oh, well then I guess we’re out of the cup then…” Donny was disappointed too, but he just liked football, he wasn’t too tied to the Bordeu team.

Beth spoke up this time, loudly. “Hey Luke, could you be quiet. Please. You’ve been interrupting us a lot.” It wasn’t spoken kindly. She had been supportive of Erin adopting a Little, and while her personal preference would have been for one that was regressed, she respected Erin’s charity in adopting an Accidental Little. She was annoyed that Luke didn’t seem to recognize Erin’s charity, and didn’t seem to appreciate how much effort so many Bigs were putting in to making him welcome, treating him in a way that no other Littles were treated.

Patricia, Tyler, and Donny looked distinctly uncomfortable. Luke hadn’t really been that bad, and Donny was interested in the match as well.

Erin didn’t want a fight between her best friend and her new Little to break out on their first meeting. She decided to see if Luke would be willing to give some ground; he had said he didn’t want to hang out with them anyway.

“Luke, so if the game is pretty much decided, would you mind turning the TV off, it has been pretty distracting. You’re welcome to hang out with us or go play or read in your room.”

Luke felt a little hurt. So he was interested in sports, that didn’t mean he should be punished for it. And the Bigs had been loud and laughing during their game anyway, he never spoke up or asked them to quiet down; he understood they were having fun.

He grumbled his assent. “Fine, I’ll go to my room. It’s not like we’re going to win now. And I don’t want to play that nerdy game anyway.”

Tyler gave a small frown, but didn’t say anything, he understood that Luke was just lashing out. However, Beth saw red. She stood from her chair, ready to march over to Luke and give him a piece of her mind. It was the bubbly, patient, Patricia who put a stop to whatever Beth was going to do. She clamped her hand around Beth’s wrist, stopping her from going any further. Glaring back at Patricia, Beth opened her mouth to say something, but Tyler took the opportunity to stop the fight from happening.

“Hey guys, let’s just get back to the game, or else at least one of your characters will be making a death roll due to the boulder that is currently rolling towards the party!” The powers of a good GM can make tough situations in real life better too. Luke stalked off to his room as the party attempted to outrun the boulder.

 

Luke was reading Love in the Time of Cholera, something he never would have picked up back in his world, but the novel was beautifully written and translated. Gabriel Marquez was a masterful writer, and Luke appreciated the imagery evoked in every sentence and paragraph. However, the laughter and general noise from the Bigs outside was now driving him to distraction. He was still annoyed that they got to keep having fun while he was stuck in his room reading.

He went to the bathroom to do his business in his diaper. He was still uncomfortable pooping anywhere else, and even preferred to pee there as well. Something about using the diaper in front of, or even in the same room as somebody else made him uncomfortable. After doing his business, he changed himself again. Erin now kept extras of powder, wipes, and cream in the bathroom, where it was more accessible for Luke, they were a bit to high up on his changing table. Luke noted a few, raw, red spots around his diaper area. He usually tried to get his change done as quickly as possible and thought that perhaps he had been too lax on the application of cream or powder, not taking the time to make sure the change was done right, or maybe didn’t change himself frequently enough after peeing. He definitely wouldn’t say anything to Erin.

After changing himself, he tried to go back to reading his book, but couldn’t concentrate with all the commotion outside. It sounded like the Bigs were trying to take down a giant, which was funny, because to him, they already were giant. He thought that he could ask if they were almost done, or if he could just hang out and watch them play. He didn’t know what Beth’s problem was, but the other Bigs had seemed pretty nice.

He left his room and headed towards the dining table where the Bigs were playing. Erin noticed and paused before rolling.

“Hey Luke, need something? A snack or drink maybe?” He had kept to himself in his room for over an hour, she figured he’d at least be a bit thirsty.

“Um, I was wondering if I could hang out with you guys? I could just watch you play. Though a snack sounds good too.” He saw that Erin was munching on some potato chips, not a Luke-approved snack, but he wouldn’t begrudge her something tasty when her friends were over. He’d make sure to make their morning workout routine extra intense tomorrow.

The words were music to Erin’s ears. Now she’d be able to show off the good parts of Luke, he could be quite funny, and he was pretty sharp too, he was by far the most intelligent Little she had ever met (not that the bar was very high).

“Yeah! You can even make a character if you want. I’m sure Tyler could work you in.” Tyler considered momentarily, but nodded. It would be challenging to make flow, but he also wanted to make Luke feel welcomed, he understood that his situation sucked, and he was curious to see how well a Little would fare at such a complicated game. He figured he and Erin could help Luke out.

Beth wasn’t convinced. “I don’t think he’s interested, remember.” She looked at Luke for confirmation. “Besides, Labyrinths and Minotaurs has a ton of rules and is pretty complicated, I’m sure he’d find it boring.” She didn’t want to say that she didn’t think he’d be able to understand how to play.

Luke gave a slight grimace, but nodded his head, it did sound a bit boring to him, though the fun the Bigs were obviously having was making him reassess his impression. He didn’t miss Beth’s statement about it being too complicated for him, but decided not to say anything.

“Yeah, I think for at least this time, I’ll just watch. I’d want to spend sometime thinking about my character before I started playing anyway.” There, how’s that for a mature response? Tyler was nodding as well.

“That would give me more time to work you in. If you do decide to join, let Erin know, and then we can chat about your character. It will make the story flow better for the next session.”

Beth smiled politely. If she couldn’t get him to go to his room, at least he wouldn’t mess up their game.

“Oh yeah, Luke, we’re out of chairs. You could sit in the highchair if you want, or on my lap, and help me play my character for this session.” Erin hoped he would pick her lap, besides his sad moments, she hadn’t really gotten to hold him yet.

Neither option sounded great, but the highchair really was infantile; he hadn’t sat in it since coming to Erin’s place. Plus, if he was going to join their game, getting some experience would be good. “Um, your lap I guess.” He blushed a bit, and Erin had a grin that was noticeable to all the other Bigs as well, though they figured it was more to do with him joining the game than sitting on Erin’s lap.

She lifted him up, situating him on one of her thighs, and scooted in, close to the table so that he’d be able to reach her dice. She kept one arm around his waist to prevent him from falling off her lap. He leaned back a bit into her torso. Erin felt like she was dreaming. This was what she had been hoping and waiting for and made all the hardship worth it. Luke’s small, warm, strong, body resting against her, a gentle indication that he was really starting to accept Erin as a part of his life.

On Luke’s end, he felt a bit surprised at how comfortable he was. Erin’s arm around his waist felt incredibly secure, her body was soft and warm (though maybe too soft still, they had only been working out for less than a week), and he felt somehow safer than he had at anytime since coming to this dimension. He guessed that he had just forgotten how good it felt to be held as a kid. He still didn’t want to become Littler, but maybe being held by Erin occasionally would be a good compromise.

They continued their game, with Erin and Luke co-oping Erin’s druid Amina. The game came more or less naturally to Luke, much to Beth’s chagrin. He had trouble with some of the math concepts: factorial combinations on a D200 are a bit too much for the human brain. However, what Luke lacked in math skills, he made up for in creativity. To escape from a horde of angry ogres, he suggested that Erin use the druid’s plant magic allow the party to climb up a farmer’s now-giant beanstalk. Tyler, the ever-alert GM took the opportunity to make the beanstalk reach a castle in the clouds, which the party would then have to fight through, and eventually escape from.

It was starting to get near Luke’s bedtime, and the party was only partially through the castle. Erin noticed the Luke was looking a little less energetic and indicated to Tyler. The wrapped up the game for the day as Luke munched on a sandwich, still sitting in Erin’s lap. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to make a character, handling all the math and details was challenging, just as Beth had said, but he had had some fun playing with the group. He’d think on it. The next session wasn’t for a few weeks, all the other Bigs had jobs, and some had to travel.

Erin’s guests were filing out of her condo, off to other engagements for the evening. Each one offered a goodbye to Luke, appreciating what a unique Little he was, and glad for the advice Erin had given them beforehand. It had seemed like overkill at first, but now, they could definitely see how he would not have appreciated being treated like a standard Little.

Donny got down to one knee to shake his hand goodbye. “It was really nice meeting you Luke. Sorry about the Bordeu-Ancon result today. But maybe we could all go watch a league match in person sometime.”

Beth took the chance to add one last bit of spite to Luke before leaving. “Actually, I checked the score just a bit ago. It turns out Bordeu won. The fill-in keeper saved the penalty, and Bordeu scored again on the counter!”

Why could Bigs make anything good turn sour? Luke scowled at Beth. “You’re making that up, there’s no way they could do that.”

Beth crouched and showed him her phone, Bordeu 2, Ancon 1. “Sorry you missed it Luke. Look forward to seeing you again though.” She tried to keep her tone cheery and light. Beth knew that Erin wouldn’t understand what a mean thing she was doing.

“Fuck you! Bitch!” This was too much. First, Beth gets him sent to his room, and then she shows him that he missed an incredible win for the team he was now supporting. If she had been a human sized person he would have probably thought about hitting her.

“Luke! Go to your room. Now!” This was the first time Erin had ever really asserted her authority towards Luke. Part of it was definitely the peer pressure of having a number of other Bigs watching her, but it really sounded to her like Beth had been trying to make up with Luke; he was interested in football, and she had given him the information on the part of the match he missed. His reaction was completely unwarranted.

“Fine. Fuck you too!” He stomped off to his room.

Beth’s eyebrows were raised, giving her innumerable forehead wrinkles. She only had to act half-surprised, she didn’t think Luke would take it that badly. “You’re really going to let him get away with that? He was rude to both you and me. He needs a spanking, maybe that will give him an attitude adjustment.”

Erin just sighed. She knew Beth didn’t like Luke, and she felt like it was at least partially her fault. “I’m not going to spank him. How about you guys go home. I’ll need to talk with him for a bit. I do need to start nipping his attitude in the bud.”

The Bigs excused themselves as Erin prepared a glass of water for both herself and Luke. This blowup had been surprising, it seemed like he had been having a really good time once he started playing with the group.

She knocked lightly on his door. “Hey Luke, can we chat for a bit?” No response. Erin quietly let herself into his room, mentally bracing herself to be attacked by a violent Little. When she got in the room, she saw that Luke was sleeping face down in his crib. She placed the cup of water on the steps to the bedside and let herself out of the room. She could chat with him later.

[Little Andrea]

I like knowing that Erin isn’t perfect, and I like seeing the opportunities for growth that Luke has with Erin and all of her friends. Well done.

[Panther Cub]

Excellent new chapter!

[Pierry Louys]

I think Erin needs some parental adjustments! Maybe she can talk with Luke mom and get some advise

[Baby Billy]

Well that little get together went lovely.  First Erin handled to language and shouting wrong, if I had friends over for a game and my teen son was watching a game and did what Luke was doing I would go up and tell him to use his inside voice and watch his language.  If that did not work then turn the TV off.  If anyone need and attitude adjustment it is Beth, she came into the party with a negative feeling toward Luke and was just being mean feeling for Luke from what Erin had told for the past week.        

[SGTbaby]

I like the idea of Erin asking for parental advice but I did

like the progress made during t eh chapter as well. It was a low blow by Beth. While Erin does need to deal with the attitude it was still a low move by Beth: 

[bje]

 Accidental Little is an interesting concept in Diaper Dimension which I haven't seen before. I look forward to see how the story goes.

I don't quite understand why Luke accepts using a diaper when at home. Instead of going to the bathroom to use it and then change himself, it would be easier and more comfortable for him to just use some kind of container or potty which could be placed in the bathroom. --bje

[zatchie]

1 hour ago, bje said:

 Accidental Little is an interesting concept in Diaper Dimension which I haven't seen before. I look forward to see how the story goes.

I don't quite understand why Luke accepts using a diaper when at home. Instead of going to the bathroom to use it and then change himself, it would be easier and more comfortable for him to just use some kind of container or potty which could be placed in the bathroom. --bje

I guess, when Luke was first introduced to the dimension, the trauma of that first toilet experience made him never really question having to use diapers. He probably just hasn't though deeply about Bigs who have children to potty train. Breaking the fourth wall, I didn't really want to write another story about unwanted diaper use, I don't think using diapers in really life is such a big deal. I wanted to explore more of the other parts of adult babyhood (in this case Littlehood), without having to deal with diapers usage too much (the consequences of diaper usage are another story). I think 'Done Adulting' is the ideal story for exploring undesired diaper usage in this dimension.

Thinking more on my last chapter, I don't think Erin could have left things as they were that night. So you get an addendum to chapter 8! Also, thanks to @Pierry Louys and @SGTbaby chapter 9 will definitely include Erin learning to parent better from Lindsey. It's time for the weekly parental call anyway.

 

Chapter 8, Addendum

Donny had texted Erin almost immediately after leaving her condo. He felt awkward standing up for Luke, especially because he still felt like the outsider, but also because of Luke’s overreaction. What Beth had done was not okay, and while he usually appreciated her contributions to the group, he knew that many others found her somewhat overbearing, though he hadn’t thought of her as directly mean as she had been at Erin’s place.

Once Erin heard and understood, she felt the worst she had since Luke said he didn’t want her to adopt him in the hospital. Now she felt like she didn’t deserve to adopt him. She allowed her best friend to manipulate her into hurting Luke, she guessed for some perceived retribution to right the wrongs he had inflicted upon her. But Erin knew that what Beth, and then she, had done was wrong, and she needed to apologize to Luke for what she had done. She also needed to talk to Beth to make sure it didn’t happen again, she didn’t want to lose her best friend or her Little.

 

Erin reentered Luke’s room. He was still sleeping, though by the disheveled blankets, it was obvious his sleep wasn’t sound. He hadn’t even changed into pajamas. She walked over to his crib, staring down at his tiny frame, she wondered how could so much pain and emotion fit in such a small package. She also wondered how others that hadn’t met an unregressed Little could think of humans as simple, easily understandable beings. Her parents knew that wasn’t the case, but now, Erin was pretty sure that even they didn’t understand the difference between Bigs’ perception and the reality of someone like Luke.

She crouched down so that she wouldn’t tower over him, and gently shook him awake. He turned to look at her, not surprised or angry, just groggy. “Hey Luke. I’d like to apologize to you. Do you mind if we chat for a little bit?”

“Sure. That’s okay.” He stretched out his body, working out kinks in his back and neck that would surely have left him uncomfortable if he had slept through the whole night.

“Let’s go to the living room. We can chat on the couch.”

Luke toddled along while Erin slowly walked by his side. She lifted him onto the couch and then sat down next to him.

She took a deep breath. Luke took one too; would she diminish him again, even in her apology? He was nervous, and trying hard to find the anger he had felt towards Erin at the time, but simply couldn’t conjure it up.  

“So, I’m sorry. I treated you badly, sending you to your room the first time. You should have been allowed to stay out in the living room. I didn’t stick up for you when Beth was treating you poorly. And I’m sorry again for how Beth treated you after our game, she baited you into your reaction and was simply mean. You were right to be angry, and it’s my fault for not understanding why. I’m sorry again for not protecting you.” She waited for his response. He seemed to be carefully considering what he would say, and it took a minute for him to speak.

Luke knew now (and had known since the day after the toilet incident in the hospital) that Erin would never intentionally hurt him. Sometimes her desire for him to act more like a normal Little hurt him (or he thought it should), but not through any bad intention.

“I forgive you.” He sighed, he didn’t want to hurt Erin with what he was about to say, but he felt he needed to speak for himself. This wasn’t a tantrum or lashing out, this was Luke protecting Luke. “Beth manipulated you too. She knows that you don’t like conflict, and used you to hurt me. And you did hurt me. I tried really hard the first time to not lash out, and honestly I thought I handled myself pretty well. I don’t know why Beth has such a vendetta against me. But I can handle her not liking me, I can’t handle her using you to hurt me, I can’t protect myself from you. Our relationship has been getting better, and that honestly set it back a bit.”

Erin felt even worse, did Luke really feel like she could be dangerous to him? However, she appreciated that Luke was truly trying to make their relationship work. “I understand, and I really appreciate you telling me so clearly. I will work harder to make sure things like that don’t happen in the future, and I promise, really promise, that I will not hurt you. I’ll talk to Beth too; I’ll make her understand that what she did was not okay.” Erin wasn’t looking forward to that conversation. Beth was always the one sticking up for her, protecting her, guiding her, Erin usually followed along, though Beth hadn’t really done anything like the day’s events previously. She would need to put her foot down.

“Thanks. And again, I forgive you.” He put his hand out for Erin to shake. She smiled weakly and engulfed his tiny hand in hers. She wished he had gone for a hug instead, though she understood that would be a long time in coming, especially after today.

“Let’s get you back to bed. How about I get you some water while you change into PJs.”

 

Later that evening, Erin was sitting in the rocking chair in Luke’s room, watching him sleep. She knew that Luke wasn’t really at fault for some of his behavior during the day, but she also knew that the angry reactions, cursing, and hurtful comments would prevent him from integrating well into society, even as an unregressed Little. He needed a stronger parental figure than she was providing, and Erin figured that she would need advice and assistance in the near future if they were to make real progress in getting Luke settled.

[WBDaddy]

6 hours ago, bje said:

 Accidental Little is an interesting concept in Diaper Dimension which I haven't seen before. I look forward to see how the story goes.

For the record, in the original "Alisa's Adventures in the Diaper Dimension", Alisa was an "Accidental Little".  It was the rest of us who explored the Dimension who set this stage for a push and pull between Bigs and Native Littles in that dimension, with recent forays into deliberate vacationing and/or emigration to the DD from Earth (and presumably elsewhere) that sort of obscured that original idea, that no one actually went there on purpose.

[littleTomás]

Well done chapter! I think that Luke is starting to warm up to Erin in some ways, but he still lashes out too strongly at times. Luke needs to learn to handle anger in healthy ways.

 

This may be a lot to ask, but I'm dying to know how exactly does the math of a D-200 work? Please explain. Do you roll it 3 times? What's its shape and how do the odds spread across the different numbers?

[SGTbaby]

I like the way Danny stood up for Luke and Erin apologized. Also that the parental phone call is coming. I look forward to any and all chapters of this story!

[zatchie]

1 hour ago, littleTomás said:

Well done chapter! I think that Luke is starting to warm up to Erin in some ways, but he still lashes out too strongly at times. Luke needs to learn to handle anger in healthy ways.

 

This may be a lot to ask, but I'm dying to know how exactly does the math of a D-200 work? Please explain. Do you roll it 3 times? What's its shape and how do the odds spread across the different numbers?

Thanks! And sure! Let's get down to business:

So use Bigs spheroid counting, which allows easy conversion between sign as well as oscillation between different numerical systems, as 3 dimensional counting allows you to colocate numbers associated with different systems in space. The use of a D200 is because the creator of Labyrinths and Minotaurs preferred system is base 20, which gives you a higher number of unique prime digits on a D200 compared to a D100. The D200 replaces the D20 in the Little's equivalent of the game 'Dungeons and Dragons' as well as replacing the d100. Bigs in the know would tell you that Labyrinths and Minotaurs is more streamlined. When replacing the D20, the D200 is rolled twice, with the sum of the prime factorials of the individual digits on each roll being the player's total roll value (thus 7J is actually the highest roll) and the highest sum is kept. If you roll matching digits in your two rolls, you then take the factorial sum of those digits as well, leading to a critical success and special actions based on the score (the GM helps you improvise your action, low prime sums may not kill the enemy, but you still do something cool). If you have no prime digits, that is a critical fail. When using a lookup table, the D200 is simply rolled once and the GM examines based on premade tables or through their own inspiration.

As to the dice itself, it is a diakosioihedron with even odds about all numbers. A simple 200 (50 in base 20) -sided die

 

 

[WBDaddy]

I've rolled actual 100-sided dice.  50-sided seem reasonable.  And it certainly seems logical that a society that is purportedly highly advanced compared to ours would be working with some strange numerical system like base-20.   

[littleTomás]

23 hours ago, zatchie said:

Thanks! And sure! Let's get down to business:

So use Bigs spheroid counting, which allows easy conversion between sign as well as oscillation between different numerical systems, as 3 dimensional counting allows you to colocate numbers associated with different systems in space. The use of a D200 is because the creator of Labyrinths and Minotaurs preferred system is base 20, which gives you a higher number of unique prime digits on a D200 compared to a D100. The D200 replaces the D20 in the Little's equivalent of the game 'Dungeons and Dragons' as well as replacing the d100. Bigs in the know would tell you that Labyrinths and Minotaurs is more streamlined. When replacing the D20, the D200 is rolled twice, with the sum of the prime factorials of the individual digits on each roll being the player's total roll value (thus 7J is actually the highest roll) and the highest sum is kept. If you roll matching digits in your two rolls, you then take the factorial sum of those digits as well, leading to a critical success and special actions based on the score (the GM helps you improvise your action, low prime sums may not kill the enemy, but you still do something cool). If you have no prime digits, that is a critical fail. When using a lookup table, the D200 is simply rolled once and the GM examines based on premade tables or through their own inspiration.

As to the dice itself, it is a diakosioihedron with even odds about all numbers. A simple 200 (50 in base 20) -sided die

 

 

Thanks! I kind of want to figure out how to 3D print one of those. Mad props for figuring out a system to make that work!

[Jayme]

On 10/27/2019 at 11:32 AM, zatchie said:

Beth’s eyebrows were raised, giving her innumerable forehead wrinkles. She only had to act half-surprised, she didn’t think Luke would take it that badly. “You’re really going to let him get away with that? He was rude to both you and me. He needs a spanking, maybe that will give him an attitude adjustment.”

This just proves that Beth is a conniving bitch. Sure Luke had a hand is messing up her game at times, but everyone didn't take into consideration what he may have been feeling at the time.... Maybe the postponed talk can clarify some things?

[DiaperBoy37]

Please continue. 

[zatchie]

8 hours ago, DiaperBoy37 said:

Please continue. 

Don't worry! I've been writing slowly but consistently for the past 1.5 weeks. I'm not a parent and have no parenting skills, so giving parenting advice in story form has been a challenge to write ?The next chapter will be posted in the next day or two.

[Sarah Penguin]

Enjoying this

[zatchie]

Sorry this took so long to write! I was having trouble getting a solid advice section down, and I still feel like it is a relatively weak part of this chapter, but it is something I wanted to do, and definitely fits the theme of the story. I've also switched my spacing style to be more in line with some of the other authors. Let me know if you prefer this one or my old style. And without further ado, here's chapter 9.

 

Chapter 9

 

“I’m just saying, he should be more appreciative of the sacrifices you’ve made for him. Right now, he resents you, and he has no right to.” Beth was speaking to Erin on the phone again. She had expected a call, maybe one saying that she’d decided to return Luke to the adoption center, or that she wanted advice on how to manage his temper. She hadn’t expected Erin bearing down on her instead. Erin was always kind, quiet, and meek, while Beth was strong, loud, and confident, always ready to stand for her eternal friend. It hurt more than a little bit to have her friend standing up to her.

 

“That’s not the point Beth! What you did was wrong too, quite frankly a lot more wrong than Luke’s response, and your actions will make it even harder for him to accept being here in our dimension.” Erin sighed. She was regretting telling Beth so much about Luke during his first few days with her. It had soured Beth’s view of Luke, though Erin also wondered if Beth wasn’t experiencing some amount of jealousy. They had been eternal best friends, and now Erin had something that was taking up a much larger portion of her attention and time than Beth ever did; even when Beth had broken her leg back when they were sixteen.

 

“Look, I’m not saying you should return him.” Though Beth thought she wouldn’t mind that either. “I’m just saying that you need to reel him in a bit. He needs some discipline, otherwise he won’t ever fit in. I suggest-”

 

Erin cut her off. “We aren’t talking about Luke’s behavior here Beth. We’re talking about yours! I know you think you’re standing up for me, but you’re not. Next time you meet Luke, I expect you to give him an earnest and sincere apology. Until you’re ready to do that, AND treat him respectfully, you won’t be coming over to my place.”

 

Erin’s voice got quieter, almost to a whisper. She hated fighting, especially with her best friend. “And I know he needs a more stable authority figure. I’m working on it. Not all of us can be you Beth.”

 

It was Beth’s turn to sigh. She didn’t really intend to hurt Luke, well she did intend to, but only wanted to hurt him a little bit, not in such a brutal way. She really really didn’t intend to hurt Erin. Beth knew that Erin had been so excited to get a Little: talking to their group for weeks about the process of signing up to adopt an Accidental Little, the training she’d have to go through, and then, what Erin, and at the time Beth, had hoped would be the joy of bringing that Little into her home to help them grow and accept their new place in the world. She resented Luke for not fitting in with what Erin had imagined. Beth wanted her friend to be happy, but she also wanted Luke to not be an asshole. She wasn’t sure the first could happen without intervention forcing the second. But for now, she’d keep out of it.

 

“I’m sorry Erin. I’ll apologize next time I see you guys. And I won’t pull any more shit on Luke.”

 

“Good. And thank you. You know I lean on you a lot, I do appreciate you more than you know. You’ll always be my best friend. I hope, eventually, you’d want to Little-sit for Luke sometime as well.”

 

“Yeah, I think eventually I’d like to do that.” Before Erin had adopted Luke, Beth had been eager to be a Little-sitter. Now she and Erin both weren’t so sure.

 

“Okay, well I gotta run, we’re chatting with Luke’s parents in a couple hours and need to get ready. See ya Beth.”

 

“See ya Erin.”

 

 

Luke had been eavesdropping outside the third bedroom that doubled as Erin’s office. He wasn’t to excited to know that he’d have to interact with Beth again, and especially didn’t want her to be his Littler-sitter, he didn’t want a Little-sitter at all! It also scared him a little bit to hear Erin raise her voice, she hadn’t even done so when sending him to his room last evening, the size differential between him and everything and everyone else was reminded to him once again. Protecting himself from physical harm wasn’t what he had been talking to Erin about the night before; he had been describing his reliance on her, but now thinking on it, the fact that any Big over the age of 3 or so could immediately assert their will upon him was mildly terrifying. After hearing Erin hang up the phone, he scampered back to the living room where he had left his book.

 

Erin returned to the living room without having noticed Luke listening in. He was laying belly down on the rug, reading one of his books with his diapered butt sticking up cutely under his flannel pajama shorts; the shorts had ridded up a bit, and Erin had a mostly clear view of his bottom underneath. She had to resist the urge to pick him up and pull him into her lap, or to at least hold him on her thigh and give his diapered butt a few solid pats.

 

Erin went on to prepare breakfast while Luke kept reading in the living room. He was a very basic breakfast person, never needing more than eggs or oatmeal. Prior to adopting Luke, Erin usually had some sort of pastry for breakfast, a scone or a muffin, to go with a cup or two of coffee. Under Luke’s ‘guidance’ she had also switched to eggs or oatmeal, Luke using the excuse that such a breakfast without significant protein wouldn’t give her the energy to make progress during their morning workout.

 

Sitting at the table with their giant eggs over easy, Luke started chatting. “So how long until my parents call?”

 

“Hmm, about an hour and a half. You excited to see them again?” Erin mentally smacked herself: of course Luke would be excited, and she didn’t want to remind him that he couldn’t leave to be with them.

 

Luke seemed unphased. “Yeah… It’ll be nice to see them.” He had a soft smile on his lips. In college he didn’t call his family that often and getting him to talk for more than a few minutes was like pulling teeth. Ironically, he’d probably be talking to his family more now that he was in this dimension than he would have otherwise. “It’s funny, Melody and I don’t get along that well, but now I’m really looking forward to seeing her again.”

 

“I’m sure she’s going to be happy to see you too. Your parents are really nice, I’m also looking forward to talking to them again.”

 

“How are we gonna organize it this time? Some time talking together, then each of us talk separately again?”

 

“Yep, that’s what I was thinking too.”

 

Luke was also feeling a bit nervous about the conversations that would be happening with his parents. Would Erin talk about his misbehaviors? His anger at her last night because of Beth’s goading hadn’t bothered him at the time, but now it seemed a little different. How bad had he been over the last week? He could think of a number of small misbehaviors and outbursts he had, and while he generally felt vindicated about having them, now he wasn’t sure what Erin would consider reasonable to bring up. There was no consequence to things Erin would tell them, it’s not like they could ground him or take away his cell phone. He didn’t want them to be ashamed or disappointed with him either, he loved them more than anyone else. Luke wondered if he should proactively discuss with Erin to get on the same page with what they would tell his parents.

 

Erin was also experiencing trepidation about what would be shared with Luke’s parents, though for a different reason. What if he discussed with them how much he didn’t like living at Erin’s place? It would be crushing for Erin to learn that that was what he really thought of living with her. She believed that he was more or less okay with being there but was still harboring insecurity about his feelings. Those insecurities were amplified by their interactions the night before. Erin concerned that Luke would use it as evidence she was an inappropriate guardian. Luke concerned that Erin would highlight how uncooperative he was being.

 

Neither of them decided to bring it up. Each scared what the other would say, each hoping that they could guide the conversation to dampen any negative response.

 

“Want to watch TV while we wait for the call time?” Erin was cleaning up their dishes.

“Yeah, I’m gonna use the bathroom and change first.”

 

Erin noticed Luke fidgeting on his walk towards his bathroom. He had the day before as well. She had some suspicion as to why, but didn’t want to bring it up right now, before his parents called.

 

 

After Luke changed himself, they found themselves on the living room couch; rather than watching TV, each were consuming a book. Erin hadn’t really been a TV person before adopting Luke, and Luke was never really attached to screen time of any kind, he much preferred to be outside, or at least out socializing.

 

Soon enough, it was time for the call. Erin and Luke left the couch and went to the spare bedroom that doubled as Erin’s office. Luke hadn’t really spent time in it before; there was a bed that was maybe a size smaller than Erin’s, in one corner was Erin’s office setup. She had a modern double monitor setup with a third vertical monitor for coding. Luke didn’t see any special equipment that he thought would allow a call to another dimension.

 

“Hey Erin, so how are we gonna call my family? I don’t see any special stuff here…”

 

“Oh! We’re going to use my cell phone.” She indicated to a mount on top of one her monitors. The phone would act as a camera while Luke’s family was displayed on the monitor. “The DLS has a relay ansible for calls like this, there should be close to zero lag even though we’re talking between dimensions.

 

Erin attached her phone to her monitor and pressed some sort of button on her phone, it was obviously waiting for a connection from the other end.

 

“How long do you think it will take for them to answer?” Luke was feeling more and more anxious.

 

“Not long, I’m sure they’re eager to see you.” Erin gave Luke’s shoulder a gentle squeeze, rubbing his upper back a little bit with her thumb. Luke turned his head mechanically from his chair, elevated in a booster seat. He gave Erin a thin smile, but his eyes clearly betrayed fear.

 

Erin didn’t know what to say to make him feel better, and so said nothing. She could imagine a few reasons for him to be scared, but didn’t know which he was feeling, and figured the fear would pass once his family showed up, which she assumed would be any second now.

 

Sure enough, the screen changed from a waiting screen to blue to black, and then without any static or pixilation or distortion there was Luke’s mom, dad, and sister.

 

Lindsey spoke up first. She was beaming upon seeing her son. “Heya Luke! It’s so good to see you again. How’re you guys doing?”

 

Melody was sitting in between Mark and Lindsey with a big smile on her face. “Hey Luke!”

 

Upon seeing his family, his nervousness and trepidation about this call fell away. He was just glad to see his family once again. “Hi mom and dad.” He gave a smile and wave and Mark waved back. “Hey little sis.” Melody’s height was a sore subject for her, at 16 she still hadn’t grown very much and was still definitively under 5 feet tall.

 

Melody stuck her tongue out. “Actually, I think you’re the ‘Little’ brother now. Isn’t that what they call humans in your dimension? Next to Erin you look like an infant!”

 

Luke blushed and bit back a mean response. It was Erin who stuck up for him instead. “Well to me, you all look tiny, just wait until you visit, Melody, you might fit in one of my hands.” Erin gave a Cheshire grin and spread out her hand next to Luke’s face; the hand was clearly broader. Lindsey and Mark snickered.

 

Lindsey jumped back in while Melody took her turn blushing. “But really, how are you guys? Are you adjusting a bit better now?”

 

Erin let Luke take the lead, but this question had reignited anxiety in both of them. Luke decided that starting off positive may encourage Erin to do the same. “Yeah, I’m definitely doing a lot better than I was a week ago. Erin’s condo really is super nice. I think I’ll like living here.” He left the ‘but I don’t currently’ off from his final sentence. If Luke had to choose between staying in this dimension or going home safely, he’d choose home in a nanosecond.

 

Mark spoke up this time. He’d been a crying wreck during the first call, letting Lindsey do most of the talking. Those first few days had been especially hard on him, having to cope with the fact that he’d never have his son in his home again. While Luke was often said to take after his mother, in personality if not appearance, Mark and Luke’s father-son bond was at least equally as deep. It was after more talking with Lindsey, and him doing research on Aquitane, and realizing that Luke wasn’t really gone forever (they could certainly go visit him), that Mark had calmed down somewhat.

 

“How about you Erin? You doing okay too? Has Luke been behaving himself?” Mark knew for certain that the answer to the final question was ‘no’, but he was curious to see how Erin responded.

 

Erin gave Mark a wide smile. It felt good to know that Luke’s parents were supporting and looking after her as well. “Yeah! I’m really enjoying having Luke here with me. And while each of us have had some hiccups this week, I think all in all, it’s going well.”

 

“That’s really good. I’m glad you both are doing okay.”

 

“Oh! Would you guys like a video tour of the condo where we live? I know you saw a few pictures online, but I can show you around the whole place. Erin was excited to show off how well her place suited Luke, especially since he had always seemed to be happy with her condo too.

 

“Yeah! That would be great!” Lindsey had already been a bit jealous of Erin’s condo when looking online, so seeing the whole tour would be great.

 

However, Luke was getting nervous again. He didn’t want his family, especially his sister, to see where he was living. A crib was just too infantilizing. While it was normal for a Little in his dimension, he thought his parents would be surprised, and Luke would definitely be embarrassed. It was too late now though. Trying to tell Erin that he didn’t want to give a tour after she had already offered would simply draw more suspicion.

 

Erin unplugged her phone from the monitor while Luke hopped out of his booster seat to the ground. Erin still found herself wanting to lift him down to ensure his safety but held herself back.

 

Erin first gave them a quick panorama of the spare bedroom. Using Luke for scale, she illustrated the size of the bed. “Wow it’s huge!!” Was the consensus response from Mark and Melody.

 

She next took them to the kitchen and dining room. She illustrated the size of a cabbage by holding next to Luke’s torso (they were about the same size). “Wow the food there is huge!!” Was the universal response from all of Luke’s family.

 

Next was the living room and the wall to wall windows that Lindsey was so jealous of (Lindsey joked that maybe she’d move in too). Erin had never been so proud of her apartment than receiving approval from the actual parents of the Little she was caring for. She really wanted them to be impressed, and they seemed to be.

 

“Ooh, next let’s check out Luke’s room.” Erin was so caught up in wanting Luke’s family to like him that she didn’t consider that his room might not be considered normal in the human dimension. Erin also didn’t catch Luke’s look of trepidation, he knew that there was nothing he could say or do that wouldn’t arouse suspicion, making his family even more curious. It was a train running for an inevitable crash.

 

They entered, with Erin slowly panning the camera from left to right, occasionally aiming down to highlight some pieces from his room. “So yeah, here’s his couch and bookshelf – I tried to import stuff from your guys dimension, but I don’t think I really hit the mark.” Mark and Lindsey laughed, while Erin grinned and blushed a bit, she’d been meaning to sit down with Luke and order some books he’d enjoy.

“And here’s his changing table…” Erin trailed off a bit, Luke was standing next to her with a thousand-yard stare, and Erin finally realized why. Erin felt some sympathetic embarrassment for Luke, as well as another twinge of fear that she’d done damage to their relationship. But there was still a crib left to show, and just like a train crash, there was nothing Erin could do now to stop it.

 

“Andhereishisbed,” she tried to say it as quickly as possible in hopes that it would somehow cause time to speed up and take her and Luke out of this awkward situation. “How about we go back to the office so we can chat some more?”

 

Luck was not on Erin and Luke’s side. While Mark and Lindsey had gentle smiles and felt a twinge of embarrassment and sympathy that their college age son suddenly had a changing table and crib, they hadn’t really been caught off guard; once Luke had come to the dimension, they did all the research they could to understand what his life would be like. However, Melody, catching the sudden change in Erin’s voice, knew the jig was up.

 

“Hey, could you show me his bed again? I didn’t really get to see it before.” Melody wore an innocent smile and tilted her head in a way that adults would have found adorable if she were six years younger. Erin still found it adorable.

 

Erin sighed and Luke looked up at her, with begging eyes to save him from his plight. “Uh sure, here it is.” She panned back to his crib.

 

“YOU SLEEP IN A CRIB!” Melody exclaimed loud enough that her parents and Erin flinched away. “You really are my baby brother!” Mark nudged his daughter with his elbow while Lindsey shot her a subtle glare.

 

Luke didn’t have a witty response. He did sleep in a crib, and while he had been moderately annoyed that it was a crib, compared to the other things in his life, it felt relatively minor, plus the mattress was really good. Now he wished he’d fought against it more.

 

Erin caught Luke’s trembling near-cry look and at least spared him the embarrassment of Melody seeing his current expression. She flipped the camera so that they were viewing her face instead of the room. “It’s only technically a crib, they don’t really make any other bed types for Littles here. Luke can get in and out on his own, it’s essentially a normal bed, but with a railing that he can open.”

 

“Uh huh uh huh, and does he play with blocks too? Is it almost his nap time? Does he need a diaper change?” Luke hadn’t yet played with his legos, though he had been planning on it, it in fact was almost his nap time, and he’d need a diaper change pretty soon he suspected.

 

Lindsey took control before Erin could speak up. “Melody! Your brother is going through something harder than you can even imagine, that’s not how you talk to him. Why don’t you wait outside while we continue our call.” Melody got up to leave without saying anything. Now that it had come out of her mouth, she realized she hadn’t wanted to take it so far, just have a bit of fun. “And you can give me your cell phone too. You can spend the time thinking about phrases like ‘I’m sorry’ and ‘I apologize’.”

 

Lindsey and Mark apologized profusely to both Luke and Erin after Melody left. Luke knew that Melody was mostly just teasing, though that didn’t make it hurt any less in the moment. Erin had been stunned. Her experiences with adolescent Littles were nonexistent, and she had somehow imagined them to be more like cute regressed Littles you’d see in a daycare or at the park than a normal vindictive Big teenager. Alas, teenagers are teenagers in any dimension.

 

Erin brought them back to her office, having skipped showing off her bedroom and the bathrooms. They chatted a bit more about Erin’s life there prior to Luke’s arrival, her job and education, her hobbies (Luke was already getting familiar with those), and her family (Erin was planning on having her parents visit relatively soon).

 

After a bit more mundane chatting, Erin left to give Luke some time to chat privately with his family. This was the time Erin felt most nervous, Luke would be free to air all his grievances without her being there to defend herself.

 

Luke’s conversation with his parents did begin with him letting out some complaints, first toward his sister, and the toward Beth, and finally he discussed the Big woman who had made him feel so horrible at the park. Thinking more on her statements to him, it reminded Luke of his mom telling him that his travel here could be good for him, it inserted just a tiny bit of insecurity that the right place for him in the worlds was here in this Big dimension, that somehow the universe had conspired to send him here.

 

Both Mark and Lindsey put those thoughts to rest. They apologized again for his sister, and promised she’d be suitably disciplined. They talked a bit more at length about Beth, but Luke didn’t really know why Beth had been so adversarial, in the end they concluded that maybe she was jealous that Luke would be taking Erin’s time away from her. Finally the promised Luke that if there was any opportunity to bring him back home safely, they wouldn’t rest until it was done, Lindsey promised him that while he could grow in the Big dimension, she wanted nothing more than for her son to be home.

 

In the end, Luke didn’t really bring up any complaints about Erin, besides having Beth for a best friend. Mark and Lindsey didn’t think asking him how he was handling being a Little would be productive during this call, especially given the teasing he had received from Melody earlier. They figured that if he didn’t bring it up and complain about it, then it was best to let matters lie.

 

Soon enough, Luke, Lindsey, and Mark’s talking had run its course. Erin was nervously trying to read a magazine in their living room when Luke popped out of her office. “Hey Erin, my parents want to chat with you too if we still have time.” He didn’t think they had any plans for the rest of the day, but he was never really aware of Erin’s schedule.

 

To Erin, Luke’s statement sounded like the ringing of a death bell, like a parent or significant other saying ‘I want to talk’. She walked into her office preparing herself to be chewed out by Luke’s parents. She hoped the positive impression from most of the tour would still leave her in their good graces. She did still want to ask for advice on how to prevent more of Luke’s little blowups, how to help him become for accepting of his life here, outside of the standard ‘time’ answer.

 

“Hey Erin, thanks for coming back, we were afraid Luke might have scared you off.” Mark was making a joke about Luke being hard to take care of, but Erin immediately interpreted it as confirmation that Luke had blasted her in his private call.

 

Erin decided to speak up to stay in control. “Of course! I just want to say, I know Luke and I have had a lot of bumps the past week or so, but I do think I’m getting better at treating him the way he wants to be treated…”

 

Lindsey could tell Erin was nervous, she stopped her before she really put her foot in her mouth. “Actually, Luke seemed pretty satisfied living with you as well. He mentioned a few issues, but the only one I’m concerned about is your friend Beth.”

 

Erin was amazed. Luke’s only complaint about her was about Beth? He didn’t mention the attempted bottle feed or complain about diapers or his crib or anything? Erin wanted to run back to the living room and hug him. But she still needed to satisfy his parents, and she still had questions to ask them.

 

“Yeah, with Beth, I think she sort of got fed up with Luke, not because of anything he did, but because I was using her as my shoulder to lean on when I first got him. She’s always been the one to stand up for me, or to try to solve my problem when I’m not able to. She just went way, way too far this time. I’ve already talked to her about it, and I’ll make sure it doesn’t happen again. She’s already promised she would apologize to Luke.”

 

“That’s good.” Lindsey was glad to see Erin taking the initiative. Lindsey’s only concern was that Erin seemed too passive to the extent that it could cause harm to herself or Luke. “And what about Luke? I’m sure there weren’t just some small hiccups like you said before.”

 

“Well, yeah. This is something I wanted to talk about. Luke still has pretty frequent outbursts, and uses vulgarity more that would be normal for a Big, and he’s probably cussed more than the entire Little population of Aquitane since his arrival. I think the outbursts and language will really prevent him from interacting positively with his environment. Our world is a lot better at handling Little tears than it is Little swearing. I guess in general, I’m concerned that he hasn’t found anything about being a Little that he’s happy, or even okay with.”

 

Mark spoke up this time. They knew that Luke swore a lot, but most college kids do, especially guys in fraternities. “So when he has his outbursts, what do you normally do?”

 

Now Erin felt on the spot. “Well except for this last time with Beth, I usually don’t do much. I figured it was just him venting about his new life situation.”

 

Mark shook his head, almost imperceptibly. “Well it probably is, but you still have to stop it. There are healthy, productive ways to vent, and cursing out your new guardian isn’t one of them. I think once you set some well-defined rules for him, he’ll be able to find his place more easily. I’d bet part of his outbursts come because he doesn’t know what behavior is and isn’t acceptable.”

 

“But how do I do that? I’m not his mom…” This was the crux of it for Erin. Besides the piece of paper she signed, she felt like she had no grounds to have authority over Luke.

 

Lindsey spoke up this time. “In your dimension, you are. That means he relies on you for care, but also means that you are responsible for disciplining him and setting the rules. I’d suggest sitting down and having a talk with him and setting the groundwork for behavioral expectations.”

 

“And what about helping him accept more Little things into his life?” Erin wasn’t sure that Luke’s parents would be comfortable with that either, but figured it was worth asking. She knew they’d want him to become well-adjusted.

 

“What sort of Little things were you thinking of? What did you want when you decided to adopt an unregressed Little?” Lindsey figured those would be the best to start with for Luke, seeing that he was making Erin happy might help him find comfort in the changes in his life.

 

“Well, I did want someone I could take care of. But I haven’t held him more than a couple of times, most Littles here bottle feed at least occasionally from their guardians. Essentially some sort of shared affection. I know that Luke probably doesn’t feel that way about me yet, but I honestly do for him, and him knowing that its okay to be cared for would probably go a long way to helping him fit in in this world.”

 

Mark laughed gently. “I think you’ve taken care of the talk yourself. You can pretty much repeat what you said here, ‘letting yourself be taken care of is what is expected from Littles’.”

 

Lindsey spoke up next. “Yeah, I think if you sat down with him, and simply had a heart to heart talk about what you wanted when adopting, you guys might be able to find some common ground on Little things that he’d be okay with doing. I think once he feels like nothing bad is happening from doing them, he’ll open up to doing more. But you gotta be the one to take the initiative, I can definitely imagine him doing nothing to fit in and just blaming everyone around him.” Mark was smiling and nodding along with Lindsey’s talk.

 

“And you really think he’ll be okay with discussing him trying more Little things?” Erin wasn’t so sure. The bottle incident from the beginning of the week was still fresh in her head.

 

Lindsey laughed out loud this time. She could imagine Luke not being too happy at first. Discussing this was a point where Erin would need to enforce her authority. “Well, you should probably have that rules talk first...”

[Sarah Penguin]

[Pierry Louys]

Really loved this chapter ! And I hope Erin can finally put some rules for Luke !

And your write about parenting skills is very accurate and real !! Because children needs rules to be more happy and feel secure !!

[WBDaddy]

Definitely would like to chime in and say that I'm still very much enjoying your unique take on a Big/little situation.  Can't wait to see how it develops from here. 

Also, everything about your writing (save the occasional typo, which is completely understandable) is spot on.  Well done.