Kit Again (Priv for LilGirlLya)

[LilGirlLya]

"Quiet, I would have settled for boring being around me but hey, I'm glad peaceful works for you" Claire said as tossed a package of overnight, heavy flow, Amazon sized pads into the cart. "I just need a few spices, things like that. I'm running low on turmeric and paprika, ooh, and powdered ginger. If you want you can run and grab those for me?" Claire asked, she didn't know how tall the spice section here went, as the place as little friendly most of the shelves were lower than she was used to. She did worry a bit though, little friendly or not Ravio being in here with a shopping cart or basket signaled and independent little who could take care of himself, Ravio running a few aisles over without either of those? Well, that could be a lost or unsupervised little. A knot formed in her stomach at what she may have just asked Ravio to do. "If you want to that is, I don't have any problem coming with."

[transpikachu]

"No, um, I'll do it, Claire, no problem." Ravio managed a smile, ignoring his own nervous jolt in his stomach. Turmeric, paprika, and powdered ginger, got it. He gave her a small nod before heading on off to the spices and baking aisle. Okay. Easy. No basket or cart but walk briskly; make it clear he was doing something and not just wandering around. Not too fast though, that'll get a question if there was a reason he was rushing. Trying to hide something, perhaps? And too slow might make it seem like he was lost. So moderate pace it was, no dawdling and looking at the shelves. He made it to the spices easily enough, grabbing the turmeric after standing up on his tiptoes. And...well. Then the "P's" were just over his head. Typical. He hesitated a moment, feeling reluctant at the idea of going back to Claire with only one of the requested items. Because that would just make him seem a bit useless, wouldn't it? ...Maybe it was okay, didn't really have much of a choice did he...

Of course, his few moments of clear unsureness was enough to grab the attention of one Amazon lady walking by with her daughter in her cart (he didn't take enough a look to tell if it was a real toddler or a Little....). "Aw, need a boost up, hun? Shelves here are bit high for a little guy by himself." She noted, before promptly scooping up the Little without waiting for an answer. Least all she did was hold him higher so he could grab the two spices. And she even placed him right back down. "There we go! See, just need to ask for help, nothing wrong with that."

"Thank you." Ravio said automatically, fully mortified as he clutched the three spices, beginning to edge closer to the end of the aisle. Too nervous, he was looking way too nervous. Taking too long too, Clarie was probably wondering why he was taking ages. And he couldn't tell if his fidgeting was because of his nerves, or because of well....that bladder was suddenly very hard to ignore. Likely both. "Um. Yes, I'll remember that in the future."

The woman paused from where she'd stepped back towards her (Little, yep, a Little with those features) daughter, adjusting the girl's sunhat. "...Are you lost, sweetie? Do you want me to grab a clerk for you?"

"Um! Nope!" Ravio said hastily, stumbling over the words. "I mean-no thank you! No, I'm fine, thank you. I'm actually here with someone-"

[LilGirlLya]

With Ravio gone, Claire paused and turned her head back down the aisle. She debated if what she was about to do was a good idea before ultimately starting back toward where she had previously been. Claire ducked down and grabbed a pack of little sized pads and tossed them into the cart. She'd lie and tell Ravio they were on sale.

Claire hated what she was doing, it violated her own beliefs about little autonomy and she was worried her friend would see it as a breach of trust. Still, with as weird as Ravio was being about this and the bathroom, Claire was more worried about an Amazon seeing a spot and determining that her friend couldn't take care of himself anymore. Better to give the momentary embarrassment of throwing some pads in the cart than he have to endure a much more embarrassing life in diapers and more than likely forced to detransition.

Once those were secure, Claire made her way over to the spice rack just in time to see Ravio trapped between the spice counter and an Amazon. "Hey Ravio, everything OK here?" Claire asked, she didn't look at Ravio, her and the other Amazon both had eyes locked on each other.

[transpikachu]

"Claire!" Ravio practically squeaked in relief, taking a few steps closer to her. "Um, I got the spices you wanted. That's everything, right?" And he's just going to hastily place them down in the cart, his ears a very bright red. "I'm fine, we should...is there anything else you need? Because I think I have everything, so I'm all set." Just very hurried words, like if he talked enough this situation would be resolved and promptly forgotten about. Oh, please, let it be forgotten about.

The other woman looked Claire over for a moment, idly patting her Little's head who was watching the whole affair with wide eyes. "Oh, hello. I just saw this cutie here, and gave him a little help to reach the shelf. He seemed a little unsure, so I just wanted to make sure he wasn't lost or needed some extra help." Looked like she had settled on a very casual tone, not breaking eye contact either. "Is he your little friend or......?" Purposefully leaving it vague. Some Amazons did have an odd respect to not wanting to snatch up a Little that already had been "claimed" by another Amazon. Didn't want to step on any toes, it seemed. 

[LilGirlLya]

"Yeah. He's my friend. He's with me." Claire coolly replied. "You ready to go home now, Rav'?" Claire asked, by this point her body was entirely between Ravio and the other Amazon. He wasn't getting grabbed. Claire grabbed Ravio by the hand and started walking calmly and confidently away from the Amazon and toward the check out. As soon as they were out of the aisle, Claire let go of Ravio's hand and knelt down to look him in the eyes.

"Are you alright? Did she touch you are more than lifting you up? Did she show you anything or make you listen to anything?" Claire asked, she needed to make sure the woman hadn't done anything to her friend. Claire gave him a quick hug after getting her answers. "Good. I'm glad to hear you're OK. I didn't want to lose my friend." Claire stood back up and went back to pushing the cart when an idea came to her, "Hey Rav, you can say no to this if you want but would you want to ride in here? Just in case she's in the snatching mood?"

[transpikachu]

Ravio jolted a bit at her suddenly grabbing his hand. but let it happen. It...it was fine. Made sense, most Amazons would back off at this point, especially with Claire's vague "go home". No specifying I'll drop you off at your own home. "..I'm fine." He tried to reassure her, forcing a weak smile. "No. All she did was lift me up. Um. I wouldn't have watched anything if she tried to show me, don't worry." He was already dealing with accidently doing that to himself! He still felt shaky though, his stomach all queasy and tight. And it only tensed more at Claire's question. He took an slight step back, glancing back at where they'd left the Amazon woman. "Um-I....I..um." People would see. It was such a....baby thing to do too. And he wouldn't be able to get out without Claire lifting him back out. That just seemed risky and stupid.

But what if Claire was insulted if he refused? Because she'd obviously know what he was thinking and might be offended he thought this was some weird ploy to adopt him. Especially after she was doing him a nice favor by helping him out here. He frowned, unconsciously fidgeting as he thought. It...it was just to they got to checkout. It was fine. Claire was nice. She...she hadn't shown any urge to baby him or any other Little, really. "...Okay. Um. I guess that's fine."

[LilGirlLya]

"Alright pal, on three then?" Claire gave a countdown before hoisting Ravio up from under his arm pits and putting him in the basket of the cart. She didn't laugh even though it did look ridiculous to have an adult just sitting there in the cart. She did suppress a fleeting thought that he did look cute like that though. Ravio was a free little and the situation was probably embarrassing enough for him as it was.

"Sorry, I know this probably sucks. I just...the way she was looking at you made me nervous. I thought she was going to grab you. Anytime you want out just give the word." Claire felt guilty as Ravio tried to put on a brave face, they both knew this was humiliating but Claire couldn't help being nervous about the other Amazon and didn't want to let on how bad she felt for doing this. Ravio was a sensitive, thoughtful guy. If she showed how uncomfortable this all made her the first thing he'd probably try to do is comfort her and she wasn't the one who could have gotten abducted and had their life stolen.

[transpikachu]

"...It's okay. Let's just checkout, I'll get out then." Ravio was bright red still, keeping his head down. Just....avoid looking at anyone. Though, admittedly, being in the cart made him more invisible than ever before. People didn't exactly really look at "kids" in carts, did they? It was just normal. He shifted again, idly biting his lip as they continued forward. Just.....just almost to checkout. Now he was certain he wouldn't make it home to use the toilet so....he just had to wait until after they were done checking out. That was fine, that was normal. He'd just ask-tell Claire casually after they were done he was going to use the restroom real quick. Don't draw any attention to himself with it. Though now he was wondering if Claire would go to a cashier (humiliating) or use one of the self checkout registers. He liked those. He could do it himself, and go nice and quick. One or two of them sometimes even had a stepstool for "smaller" customers. Bit more thoughtful than other stores really...

[LilGirlLya]

After a busy day at work, Claire preferred not to deal with the pleasantries and small talk of the cashiers and made for the self checkout. It was faster for her anyway. Doubly so with Ravio. "OK Ravio, do you think you can hand the stuff up to me and I'll ring it up?" The two made it through the line in no time, she did notice some unease from Ravio when the second bag of little sized period products were handed up to her, "Hey, they were buy one get one and I got the last in my size." Claire quickly told her practiced lie. Once everything was scanned and bagged, Claire began pushed the cart toward the doors.

[transpikachu]

Ravio dutifully handed everything up, flushing even more pink. Because this was just making him look even more like a young kid "helping" his guardian checkout. But he didn't complain, just did the task. Luckily nothing was too heavy for him besides one or two of Claire's things, and he still handed those okay. Worked in a bakery after all, lifted heavy things all day. The pads did get an unhappy look from him, but he didn't comment, just sighed. Fine. What could he do? Complaining would come off as him being fussy. And he guessed he could do with another pack. Though...he did still try to glance at the checkout screen to really verify it was the deal Claire claimed....

But either way, looked like they were done. Heading to the doors. His last chance. Ravio squirmed again as his bladder gave another warning twinge, before reluctantly speaking up. Keep his tone nice and level. No stuttering or like he was trying to hide something. "Hey, Claire, can you let me down for a moment? I just want to run to the bathroom if that's okay-" He internally winced as the asking for permission slip happened. Adults don't do that, do they??? Bleh, he got too nervous in the end.

[LilGirlLya]

"Oh yeah, absolutely. Let me just..." Claire trailed off, coming around to the front of the cart and lifting Ravio out. "There you go." Claire watched Ravio dash off to the bathroom. She wasn't really sure what to make of what she'd just seen. Ravio was being really weird about going to the bathroom and he claimed he wasn't having his period. Was he sick? Clarie frowned, if he was sick she certainly felt for him but she couldn't have him making food. He seemed fine though. Just weirder about going to the bathroom over the best few days. Claire couldn't really put her finger on it.

Still, after the scare with the other Amazon, Claire had moved from ally to defender mode. She waited by the men's room door until Ravio finished. Men would be less likely to grab him but that possibility wasn't zero and any risk of that was enough right now to make Claire concerned.

[transpikachu]

Very close. Very close call. Ravio only just managed to make it into the bathroom, and hurry himself onto a toilet. No stepstools, but thank god one of the stalls was sized for a Tweener. Awkward to climb up onto, but very manageable compared to an Amazon sized one. And wasn't that a relief, finally being able to go. Though....the close call had once again left behind a bit of evidence. Couple wet droplets in his underwear, though...he didn't think it was visible. And he was about to go home with Claire, no reason for anyone to stop him and insist on checking his pants. 

Of course, then he ran into a problem with the sink, no handy stepstool near by. Which, one. Very disgusting. Two....now he was in a very awkward situation. Finally, he admitted defeat, exiting the bathroom to find Claire right outside. ..Huh, she'd been hanging close. No wonder no other Amazon had wandered in. Either way, very embarrassing. "...Hey, Claire, I can't reach the sink. ..Do you think you could give me a quick boost...?" It was fine, it was fine. Admitting he had a problem was already mature, right? He couldn't help his height, and going without help would mean going without washing his hands. Way more immature, really, not to mention unsanitary. Still, he was clearly embarrassed. 

[LilGirlLya]

"Oh hey, um...yeah, sure I can help out with that." Claire felt uncomfrotable following Ravio into the men's room. Still, she reasoned it would probably be less upsetting for her to go into the mens room than for him to go into the ladies with her. Thankfully, the coast was clear. She got Ravio up under the arm pits again and gave her friend a boost to the sink, letting him finish up washing his hands. "Do they usually have a stool or something?" Claire looked around, for the bathroom of a 'little friendly' place the only toilets were Amazon and tweener sized. Guess in this city all it took to pass yourself off as 'friendly' was to just not be outwardly hostile to littles.

Once they were done, Claire and Ravio pushed the cart outside before transferring most of the bags into Claire's hands. The walk home was fairly quiet, it had been an eventful trip and after the embarrassing incident in the bathroom, Claire figured Ravio wasn't in an exceptionally conversational mood. As the neared his apartment, Claire turned her head down to the little, "can you get all these inside or do I need to carry some in?"

[transpikachu]

"Sorry." Ravio mumbled, washing his hands as quick as he could, only calm once his feet were back on the ground. "I don't know, I usually don't use the bathrooms here." He admitted reluctantly, hoping she wouldn't pry into then why he used it today. Maybe she'd write it off as a nervous thing due to the encounter with that Amazon lady earlier. He hastily dried his hands off as well, following after Claire to the parking lot. He did insist on carrying some of the bags himself, he wasn't that useless. Though, of course, once they were to his apartment complex Claire went and asked that. "....Um, if you don't mind, I wouldn't say no to the help...but if you just want to head home, I can take multiple trips. It's not really a problem." He tried to assure her, shifting one of the heavier bags up more. "Elevator goes out sometimes, so we might have to walk. It's just on the third floor though."

[LilGirlLya]

"It's no problem at all, I just wanted to be respectful. You can be pretty private, you've never asked me to come over before and we don't see each other outside of work a lot, I didn't want to assume even if you let me help you with groceries you'd be OK with that." Claire was happy though that Ravio actually accepted the offer. It might be interesting to see how her friend lived. Claire tried to think of other friends whose houses she'd been to since college and drew a blank, Ravio was probably the first. The more she thought about she realized Ravio probably was her best friend by the sheer virtue of their not being any competition. She didn't think about it much but that thought made her aware briefly of just how lonely her life was.

True to Ravio's warning, the elevator was on the fritz, not a big deal though. Claire lived a few floors up too. It was good cardio. Claire got to Ravio's apartment and waited for him to unlock the door to let her in.

[transpikachu]

Boy, Ravio was glad he'd fully cleaned his apartment recently. Just....hopefully Claire didn't notice the currently stripped bed. Doing laundry, that was all. That's normal. He'd have it made in a bit, sheets were just still waiting in the dryer. He unlocked his door, slipping his shoes off. Because wearing shoes inside a home was gross, but most people would give you weird looks if you mentioned that. He walked on in into his kitchen (that likely felt pretty cramped for Claire!), laying the bags down on the floor for now. "I can put everything away in a moment." He reassured her, shifting a bit awkwardly. His apartment wasn't much, clearly a bit rundown and pretty bare. And well....obviously very big for him. Even his "living room" was pathetic, no way would he risk a tv. He just had a secondhand couch and a small shelf of slightly embarrassing romance books (his guilty pleasure). Studio apartments just....weren't much to write home about, not a place you'd invite company over to normally. 

"Um! Before you go, would you like something to drink?" Ravio offered politely, as always remembering his manners. "I don't have a lot, I don't think you'd like any of the juice I drink. But I have water, and I think a bit of soda."

[LilGirlLya]

Claire set down each of the bags near the fridge and left what was Ravio's in one pile and hers in another. "Sure, just some water after climbing those stairs." As Ravio poured the water, Claire smelled a faint odor of something. It seemed familiar but yet she couldn't put her finger on it. She had lived in enough run down places that weird smells coming from seemingly all around you were sometimes just a case of 'you get what you pay for.'

"Nice place," she said as Ravio set the glass down. Claire was legitimately impressed with how neat everything was for being so sparse or second hand. "My place isn't much to look at either." Although...

"You know, the biggest problem in the past has been finding people who can keep up with my schedule at the bakery. And we made a good team grocery shopping. " Claire just let that sentence hang between them. She was just raising a suggestion after all, something for him to think about. Or at least that was all she was doing if he said no.

[transpikachu]

Ravio nodded, grabbing a cup from one of the lower cupboards before grabbing his nice filtered water jug from the fridge. Easier than reaching the sink every time! He poured her a glass, placing the jug back before handing Claire the glass. "Sorry, I know it's probably only a few sips for you." He said apologetically, gesturing at the Little sized glass in her hands. Honestly, it was a little silly. Like a kid holding a doll's bottle or something. Bit funny to see the usual size problem switched. 

"Oh, thank you!" He did brighten up some at the compliment, taking a seat. "I've always been bit of a neat freak, it would drive my sister crazy. But you feel better when everything's clean, you know? I guess I could probably do with more decorations though." And Claire made.....that suggestion, and he was studying the ground. Roommate situations with Littles and Amazons never went well. Hell, he'd heard Tweeners living with Amazons tended to go bad as well. Too many things for a smaller roommate to slip on, too much temptation for an Amazon to ignore their Typical crazy strong nurturing urge. Either way, every horror story online ended with the smaller roommate nice and padded up, no longer needing to contribute to rent.

"Oh. Um. I guess we did." Ravio bit his lip, fiddling with his sleeve. "I think I'm okay here for now though. First apartment and all. And my lease isn't up for another two years." Though of course his lease had a big Maturity clause, didn't it? Not uncommon, but somehow it only ended up affecting Littles....you didn't see landlords adopting out some college aged Amazons for partying too hard, did you? "Um. Maybe in the future though?" Be polite. 

[LilGirlLya]

"Oh well," Claire shrugged, "it was worth a shot. Maybe I can just ask Dillon for a raise instead. Rent's too much on just the bakery wage and to get anything cheaper I'd have to get a car and then commuting and parking. It's fine, I'll figure something out. I don't know, I'm just paying a lot to live in town and I live alone and don't do anything outside work. It's all just a bit of a hassle. Anyway, I don't mean to make you feel bad or anything. Just venting. I won't go broke staying where I'm at, just not going to really get ahead either. You know what I mean?"

Claire finished her water. It was only a matter of a few sips given the little sized glass. "Well, I had fun. Thanks for having me over. We should hang out more away from Laura. Oh, hey a board game store opened out on 3rd! We could rent some, have a little bit of a game night? Anyway, see you in the morning Ravio!" Claire picked up her groceries and headed for the door, waving as she crossed the threshold.

[transpikachu]

"Yeah.....money situation isn't fun right now....hopefully it'll get better soon, right?" Ravio trailed off, that awkward feeling not going away. Because what was he supposed to say? He was in the same boat, he just forced himself to scrape by. Rent was always paid on time, and he very rarely treated himself. Oh, to have actual savings, that was the dream. Maybe he could live in one of those very Little friendly cities, the rare ones where they outnumbered the Amazons. Had a lot of influence there, you only heard about adoptions if they were moving from somewhere else, usually those portal Littles. Why you'd come to a dimension where you had a 1/3 (or more, Tweeners weren't always safe) of being forcibly adopted. And you usually lacked the maturity protections of a Native Born Little. Some of them must secretly want it, right? That's what he read anyway.

But well. Anyway. Awkward silence until Claire got ready to leave. "Um! Okay, that sounds fun-" He supposed it did, it wasn't like he got out much. And board games were fun, let you get really invested in planning your future moves. "Um, bye, Claire! See you!" He gave her a wave, smiling more genuinely. "Bet it's going to busy tomorrow, friday mornings always are." But he watched her go, shoulders slumping once she was gone. ...Okay. ...Time to get that bed made. And...hope tonight goes far better. 

[LilGirlLya]

Claire left just before rush hour so the trip back was busy but not as crowded as it could be if she'd waited much longer. Another subway ride, another walk of a few blocks. Claire turned her key in the lock and closed the door behind her, alone again. It was calm and Claire did value her quiet and privacy as much as the next person but spending time with Ravio after work really made her realize what a monotonous routine she was stuck in. That routine played out the same way tonight as it did every night. Browse the internet, make dinner, shower, streaming, bed.

Four a.m. the next morning arrived too soon. Claire woke up, brushed her teeth, got dressed, and got back on the train to be at work in time to let in another delivery. At least she had a day off tomorrow, even if she wasn't sure what she'd do with it. The Friday schedule was a bit different. Most of it was still the same but there was a heavier focus on cakes and sweets in the afternoon and the challah needed to be baked and ready to go as soon as possible since it would sell out so quickly.

Claire turned her key in the lock, disabled the security system, and went around back to let the truck in. Just another normal, boring, uneventful day.

[transpikachu]

Ravio was a few minutes late again, hurrying on in with damp hair again. "Sorry!" He apologized immediately, pausing only for a moment to catch his breath. Bleh. Awful night. He'd tried last night to set an alarm partway through the night to see if he couldn't avoid anymore...accidents. But it had been an attempt in vain, the sheets were already wet. So that had been fun, stuffing wet sheets in his washer while still heavily dazed with sleep. Managed to grab a few more hours of sleep by passing out on his bed, but that just made him sleep through his alarm. Wet again, this time much to his High embarrassment that his thumb had slipped into his mouth at some point.. Only had time to take a quick shower and get dressed, no breakfast or any other real morning routine. Probably why he felt so frazzled right now. Today wasn't going to be fun. 

But! But no complaining, he was grabbing his apron so he could get right to work helping Claire. "Sorry again." He repeated, ears tinged pink. "I don't mean to hold you up...."

[LilGirlLya]

"Oh hey Ravio, just start prepping what you can in the kitchen please, thank you!" Claire called as she helped unload the ingredients and supplies for the day. After about ten more minutes of work she joined her friend in the kitchen, "hey there, another morning shower?" Claire tried to break the ice before moving on to a topic she knew wouldn't be easy to discuss, "Ravio, just real quick, I'm your coworker and your friend. I wouldn't get you in trouble even if I had that power. But this is what, the third or fourth day in a row you've been a bit late? Don't think I'm scolding you or anything but is there anything I can do to help? I just don't want Dillon and Laura to catch on that I've been altering your punches. That be bad for both of us. I could bring breakfast in the morning for us so you don't have to scramble for something when you wake up?"

"Anyway, like I said, I don't want to give you a hard time, it's just not like you. Anyway, I know your numbers so you got clocked in on time and we both know Dillon won't check the cameras. So, another day yeah? You got any plans for the weekend? Maybe we can have that board game thing?"

[transpikachu]

"Okay!" Ravio hurried on to the back, getting right to work! Had to makeup for this slipup, so he needed to break out as much work as he could. Claire's entrance and question got him to duck his head, focusing on the dough in front of him. "...Sorry. I guess I've been sleeping a bit heavily lately, I don't wake up right as my alarm goes off. Then it takes me awhile to get here, even if it's only a few streets." That....that should work, hopefully. A walk that would take an Amazon less than ten minutes would obviously take a bit longer than him. "Sorry! It won't happen again, I promise. I'll fix it." He vowed.

And..and he could do it. Might have to bite the bullet and ask for advice on a Little website, and hope it didn't end up being tracked back to him. Had the day off tomorrow, he could do it. See if there was a way to force yourself to stop bedwetting in one day. Or just find a way to sleep way more lightly! Either way, the conversation wasn't helping his very frazzled nerves, even once Claire tried to lighten it. "Oh...I might see if my sister wants to meet up tomorrow, but she's usually really busy. So I'll probably have nothing to do really." He admitted, tipping his head back as he tried to get himself to calm down. Ignore his very twisty stomach. Claire was being nice, and kept doing him favors and hadn't done anything at all to show it was some ploy. "Um. So a board game might be nice. What kinds are you into? Those ones that involve a lot of those engineering parts?" 

Just a small guess, lotta Amazons tended to be a whiz when it came to math and science. Hence all the high tech they were always coming out with... The reverse stereotype was Littles being more inclined to "artsy" fields, though you had to search more to find famous Littles for that. That just seemed like a quick way to find yourself doing fingerpaints the rest of your life. 

[LilGirlLya]

"Don't worry too much about it Ravio, we work together most mornings, I just was thinking, you know, if I get sick or something, you know?" Claire and Ravio began their tasks for the day. Breads were always first and even though the sold just a bit more bread on Fridays, they sold a lot more sweets so they had the same time to do almost double the work in. Still, they were a team. A well oiled, baking machine. Once the breads were done Ravio was right where she needed him. Occasionally they'd yell out their position or check in with each other, updating the other on what step in which process they were in. No other team in the bakery could do as much as well and as quickly as Claire and Ravio.

Claire worked herself especially hard on Friday's. Not only was it busier but it was busier and then Laura would come in and she'd have to devote half her attention to keeping Laura from harassing Ravio. Which meant today she was a frenzy, just getting as much as possible done before Laura would arrive. Normally she and Ravio took their breaks together and today Claire just worked right through hers without even noticing.