The spell the blanket fort put on the Littles was as pleasant as a weekday nap. Within the cozy enclosure, Ava found closeness with Briana’s friends more quickly than she’d thought possible. She was draped across Arthur’s lap in just twenty minutes. While Fabi pretended to paint her toenails, Briana explained the intricacies of collecting every candy in the farming simulator she and Melody played together. Ava had her teddy bear, Brownie, tucked against her side. Tommy, Arthur’s tyrannosaurus, was giving his own presentation to the rest of the stuffies atop the neatly stacked sleeping bags the Littles would be using when bedtime came. Fluffy pillows were strewn everywhere, making happy lumps of softness atop the delightful foam mattresses that made up the fort’s floor.
The experience’s comfort was enough to make a Little girl forget about nasty protestors and disappointing doctor visits. The front door opening shattered the brief peace. Briana cut herself off mid-sentence with a gasp and bolted out of the fort, leaving the other three Littles staring at the spot she’d been. Ava shook her head and laughed.
“There goes Looney Tunes.”
Arthur giggled, his legs shaking gently under Ava. “She’s a total cartoon character when she’s Little.”
Ava held her reply while Briana’s greeting to Melody echoed off the living room walls. With a smile, she said, “Yeah – I guess that’s something I love about her.”
“She has a boyfriend. You shouldn’t fall in love with people who’re already with someone else.” Fabi looked up at Ava with a pout.
“She’s poly – or something. Look, she started it, and I mentioned her boyfriend when she started flirting with me.”
“New rule. No grumping in the fort,” Arthur declared. “Fabi, you’re not supposed to fish for a spanking when there’s no bigs around to hear you.”
“I wasn’t fishing for a spanking – I don’t do that!” Fabi drew herself up indignantly. “I didn’t know it was okay for Ava to be in love with Briana.”
“You totally fish for spankings,” Arthur smirked.
“Do not! How would you know?”
“Because I do it too.” Arthur giggled.
Briana poked her head into the fort. “Hey, get out here, everybody; Melody’s here!”
“Aren’t they coming in the fort?” Ava asked.
“No, we have to go play video games now. They have a whole thing set up in their room. Come on, come on!” Briana vanished as quickly as she’d poked her head in, leaving the pillowcase door to the fort swinging.
“We’d better follow her, or she’ll be back – louder.” Arthur set Ava aside and squeezed through the fort’s door. His already big butt was huge when padded, crinkling when he bumped the armchair that formed part of the fort’s wall.
Fabi was right behind Arthur, her white diaper looking like a hydrangea puff nestled in the pale purple lace under her skirt. Ava scooted out as best she could, unsurprised to see Briana, Melody, and Arthur already gone from the living room. That Fabi had waited was a surprise, even more so when she held out a hand to help Ava rise to her feet.
“Thanks,” Ava said as she steadied herself on her crutches.
“It should have been Arthur helping you,” Fabi said disapprovingly. “He’s way stronger. But I guess he doesn’t think about stuff when he’s Little.”
“You did great, thanks again.” Ava smiled at Fabi, getting a bashful grin in return.
“I wasn’t trying to be mean. I didn’t understand, really.” Fabi squirmed. “Daddy and my main babysitter say I’m not always nice to people when I’m Little.”
“It can be hard to watch what you say, huh?” Ava leaned against Fabi, and the other girl bonked her head gently against Ava’s. “Come on, they’re going to make fun of us if we’re too slow.”
Melody’s room was decked out in fairy lights – presumably because it’d been intended to be the sleeping spot. Hopefully, one of the bigs would help them move those to the fort. The room had a lot of furniture, as if two bedrooms had been smushed together without much coordination. There was just one bed, but there were two desks, one an enormous wrap-around thing, the other a simple table. Both had bulky computers, but the bigger desk was covered in electronic stuff and figurines. There wasn’t much space on the floor with two clothes dressers in the room, especially after a big screen TV had been set up against the closet door. Every inch of wall space that wasn’t a window had shelving that held hundreds of figurines, manga volumes, and video game cases.
Ava couldn’t imagine living in such a packed room. She would have felt claustrophobic merely standing there if she hadn’t been snuggling with the other Littles a moment ago. As it was, she was happy to tuck herself against Athur’s warm side.
Briana proved Ava a prophet when she and Fabi entered the room. “Finally, you two get here!”
“Sorry, I was kissing your girlfriend.” Fabi’s tone was ungentle. Had she been speaking to Ava, it would have been sharp enough to hurt.
“Nuh-uh!” Briana’s face was unclouded. “I saw you with your Daddy; you’re super in love with him. I bet you smooch him all the time.”
“You’ve never seen me smooch him!” Fabi protested.
“The way you were looking at him on my birthday, I can imagine it. Smoochy, smoochy, smoochy!” Briana mimed terrible wet kisses each time she said smoochy.
“Settle down, noobs.” Melody was in shortalls and a shirt with an anime character on it. If they were wearing a diaper, it was slim; there was no bulge to be seen on their rear. “The first game is Super Bonk Siblings. Ava and Arthur will be a team and get the first character pick.”
“What? How come?” Fabi frowned. Briana looked ready to join Fabi’s protest, but Melody dragged her down to the floor before she could get a word out.
“Because they were chill when they came in instead of arguing.” Melody handed controllers to Arthur and Ava. “Pick your favorite characters, or if you’ve never played, pick one of the sword people or the dragon turtle; they’re easy to use.”
Arthur picked a fox in a space suit within seconds of taking the controller. Ava looked up at him and back at the incomprehensible grid of character portraits on the screen.
“Sorry you got stuck with me on your team; I’ve never played this before,” Ava said.
“We’ll be fine; I’m good at it.” Arthur grinned. “Melody was right about the easy-to-use characters. Try the sword lady.”
Ava found the character with some prompting and was surprised to discover that she also had to pick the character’s outfit. Upon a second look, they were all the same outfit in different color schemes. She chose the red one as Briana and Fabi were getting their controllers.
“Aren’t you going to play, Melody?” Ava asked.
“Yeah, but I’m on a team by myself.” Melody grinned. “Otherwise, my pro-gamer moves would be too powerful.”
Briana picked a puppy character, and Fabi chose a pink marshmallow thing. Of the two of them, Briana looked more confident. Melody picked a character that was somehow two girls, to which Briana responded with a groan.
“Sib, no fair! You’re not allowed to play the twins anymore, remember?”
“Hey, I don’t know how good Arthur is, but he picked an S-rank character, so I have to match him in the first game at least.”
“I’m really sorry, Arthur.” Ava settled on the floor next to her big teammate.
“We’ll be fine. Here, let me show you how the controls work.” Arthur looked up at Melody. “We can give Ava a few minutes to figure out the moves, right?”
“Of course.” Melody tucked themself atop their bed. “Sis, you want to get everybody a soda?”
“Okay!” Briana flounced out of the room while Melody started the game.
Everyone’s characters were placed on a floating island with a few platforms above it. Ava and Fabi played with the controls while Briana was out. Though she still felt lost, Ava was grateful that her character couldn’t damage Arthur’s and that he was good at gently explaining the basic moves. Once Briana returned – and as soon everyone had a sip of delightfully sugary soda – the game devolved into total chaos.
Characters were jumping everywhere, lights flashed as weird powers activated, and Ava had no idea what was happening. She contented herself with trying to stay on the floating island and slashing with her sword at any character that came near her. Fabi had only a little more experience, making for a few satisfying fights when her pink blob clashed with Ava’s sword lady.
Meanwhile, Briana clearly knew what she was doing. Her dog-girl character moved with purpose, activating special moves in ways that made sense. While Arthur outclassed her, he couldn’t dominate her the way he did when he caught Fabi. Briana even knew how to recover from falling off the floating island.
Arthur and Melody were on a different level from the rest of them, but the skill disparity between them was just as apparent as between Fabi and Briana. Melody didn’t seem to care if their character was falling, and it didn’t seem to matter as they could make their character dance in mid-air. They switched fluidly between their two characters, bashing anyone who came close with a sword of fire or a sword of light. Arthur made valiant attempts but was repeatedly hurled off the island for his troubles.
Using the one special move she’d reliably pulled off; Ava made her character raise her sword and shine with a brilliant light. “Everyone, we have to gang up on Melody! It’s our only hope!”
“Yeah! Everyone dogpile on my sib!” Briana cackled wildly.
For the next few minutes, things were almost even. Or so they appeared until the characters stopped returning after Melody knocked them off the island. Good-natured laughter erupted from the group as Melody’s characters stood triumphant on the victory screen.
“Okay, new teams, everyone vs Melody.” Ava declared.
Time flew by, especially after Briana successfully shamed Melody into choosing a less powerful character. Even playing as a Venus fly trap, Melody remained dominant, but there were enough silly game modes and ridiculous random items to keep things from feeling unfair. By dinnertime, everyone’s interest in the game was waning. Grandma – Briana’s Grandma – arrived to collect soda cans and check diapers. To Ava’s surprise, she checked Melody, too. Briana’s sibling was in a pullup and had kept themselves dry. That made Melody the potty champion as well as the Bonk Siblings champion. All the other Littles were wet.
With so many Littles to change, caregivers came out of the wings to help. Briana’s mom and dad took Briana and Fabi upstairs to change while Rosa kicked everyone out of Melody’s room so she could change Arthur. Grandma Michelle helped Ava to the drawing room changing table and had her out of her diaper in a flash.
With the whole household involved in changing the Littles, Ava didn’t realize an entirely new person was changing her until Grandma Michelle was taping her into a clean diaper. Being changed felt as natural as toddling behind Michelle to the dining room. The table was set up just for the kids, with the adults having dinner in the kitchen. Heaping bowls of spaghetti, red sauce, and white sauce greeted Ava with a savory smell that made her belly rumble. The garlic bread was a welcome addition, but Ava felt Little enough to eye the salad bowl suspiciously.
As she’d suspected, Grandma Michelle insisted on everyone having some salad before they were allowed to tuck into the pasta. Briana was surprisingly docile about the intrusion of vegetables into what would have otherwise been a perfect Little meal. When Fabi complained about her salad, Ava discovered why her girlfriend was going with the flow.
“Fabiola Felix, you eat your salad, or there will be no dessert for you – and no snacks later.” Grandma Michelle’s mommy tone was so powerful that the rest of the Littles caught a stray sense of guilt. It was heads down and quiet eating until everyone’s salad plate was clean.
Without skipping a beat, Grandma Michelle was back to being jolly, loading up Littles plates with noodles, smothering those noodles with sauce, and planting a generous chunk of garlic bread on top. Savory carbs warmed Ava to the very tips of her fingers and toes.
“This is really good, Grandma Michelle,” Ava said, remembering to swallow her mouthful of pasta before she did so. “Did you make the sauce?”
“Vonnie – Veronica, I mean – made the red sauce, Jane made the white. All I did was the garlic bread – I had my hands full with you Muppets.” Michelle beamed. “I’ll pass my compliments on to the chefs.”
Neither the Littles’ faces nor their shirts survived the pasta sauce unscathed. Grandma Michelle was on hand with washcloths and spare shirts – Ava was proud to be the least fussy of the Littles during her scrub-down. Her excellent behavior at dinner was rewarded with being let out of dishwashing duty. In reality, Ava’s legs had gotten too unsteady to let her carry anything or stand at a sink. Grandma Michelle had praised Ava as she escorted the Little girl to the blanket fort, which was enough for Ava to reclassify it as a good girl benefit. She had plenty of time to situate herself comfortably among the pillows and stuffies before Briana burst into the fort. No sooner had the red-haired girl arrived than she was straddling Ava’s lap. The scent of baby powder and the plump diaper between Briana’s legs clashed enticingly with her dramatic makeup and clothes.
“Hi, Looney Tunes.” Ava settled her hands on Briana’s waist.
“I love that you have a nickname for me already. Now I hafta think of one for you.”
“Yeah? Any ideas?”
“Not about nicknames.” Briana dipped her head downward.
Ava shivered, closing her eyes as their lips met. Warmth prickled across Ava’s skin, especially under her diaper. Their lips parted – Briana’s playful tongue had Ava gripping her girlfriend’s waist. Briana broke the kiss with devastating suddenness and slipped off Ava’s lap. While she was trying to process the kiss – and its sudden ending – Fabi crawled through the fort’s door.
“What were you two doing in here, smooching?” She scooted out of the way to allow Arthur to squeeze in.
“What’s wrong with that?” Arthur asked. “If I had my mommy in here, I’d smooch her.”
“That’s gross, you’re gross.” Fabi giggled.
“So you don’t smooch your daddy?” Ava smirked at Fabi. “Maybe I should ask him about that when he picks you up tomorrow.”
“Don’t you dare!” Fabi blushed profusely, eliciting a big giggle from Briana.
“Is that Briana I hear giggling?” An unfamiliar woman’s voice from outside the fort startled Ava.
“Auntie Kiara!” Briana trampled Arthur and Fabi in a mad dash out of the fort. The three Littles left behind shared a helpless look and a laugh.
“Everyone here loves her so much,” Fabi said wistfully.
“She’s a lot of fun.” Arthur nodded. “I’m glad she crashed in on me and my mommy playing last year.”
“Is that how you two met?” Ava asked Arthur, who nodded in return. She turned to Fabi and asked, “How did you meet Briana?”
“We have the same babysitter, Monserrat.”
“Oh, I know her. Well, she babysat me once anyway.” Ava felt a smile bubble up in her from the memory.
“I really like her.” Fabi nodded. “I’ve been trying to be nicer to her ever since she got mad at me when I was a brat.”
“Isn’t being a brat your whole thing?” Arthur asked.
“Yeah, but I was being mean about it.” Fabi rubbed the back of her neck.
“What’s that? We’re being mean to Briana? I’m in.” Melody crawled into the fort and winked at the other Littles.
“We’re talking about Monserrat,” Ava said. “You better not be mean to my girlfriend.”
“Briana and Ava were smooching in here,” Fabi said.
“You’re always a little out of pocket, aren’t you, Fabi?” Melody grabbed Fabi and rubbed their knuckles into the Little girl’s head until she shrieked and squirmed out of Melody’s grasp.
“How come you’re acting like you’re in charge?” Arthur reached out and casually tipped Melody over.
“Hey! Because you Littles are in diapers, and I’m in a pullup.” Melody stuck out their tongue. “Somebody has to be the big kid.”
“You’re saying you’re a Middle? Does that mean you admit that you’re – Mid?” Ava asked, giggling at Fabi and Arthur’s surprised laughs.
“Kitty has claws!” Melody grinned. “Good one. Fine, you have my permission to date my sister.”
“Where is your sister? Did she get lost in the living room after hugging you?” Ava asked.
“Aunt Kiara yeeted her into a discussion about politics stuff. She’ll be back.” Melody shrugged.
Fabi was looking neglected and out of sorts. Surprising herself, Ava had a, What Would Briana Do, moment and pulled the Little girl in for a snuggle. Her reward was immediate, in the form of a warm hug and a happy noise from Fabi.
“Are you going to help Briana with her new plan?” Arthur likewise pulled Melody in for a hug. They sputtered and squirmed in his grasp, but he paid no mind to their protests or supposed big-kid status.
“You mean her whole Little Liberation thing?” Melody settled in against Arthur while humming a few bars of the Soviet anthem. “I can’t say I’m a huge fan, but I’ll obviously help Bri with anything she’s doing.”
“Are you worried about being outed as ABDL if Briana goes public?” Naming the issue made Ava’s stomach flop.
“Eh, it’s not like I have friends IRL,” Melody said. “You’re right that she’ll probably upset more Littles than she expects. Mostly, I worry about her getting hurt. She has a bad track record with getting excited and going all Deus Vult.”
“She’s kinda unstoppable when she gets going, though,” Arthur said.
“That’s what I’m worried about.” Ava was caught off guard by a supportive hug from Fabi and squeezed the other Little in return.
It’s going to be Leah outing me at school all over again.
“No more sad stuff; we’re at a sleepover!” Fabi booted Arnold the Pangolin at Melody.
“Fine, you kids want to hear a ghost story?” Melody asked, grinning at the chorus of nods they got in reply.
“Sib! You were going to tell ghost stories without me?” Briana crawled into the fort, kneeling indignantly with her hands on her hips.
“Apparently not, ‘cause you made it back in time.” Melody ducked out of Arthur’s grasp and grabbed a flashlight. “All you babies, go join a snuggle pile.”
~~~*~~~
Melody’s ghost stories were lame. Ava was not a scaredy baby – but one of the other Littles would inevitably flinch and jump-scare her. The group had devolved into nervous giggles when Veronica entered the fort and began fishing Littles out for their nighttime diapers. Middle or not, Melody was not spared; they were sent out of the fort into Rosa’s waiting arms with as little ceremony as Briana, Fabi, or Arthur were sent packing.
In a more stubborn mood, Ava would have complained about getting special treatment and being changed in the fort itself. As Little as she was feeling that evening, it was nice to be babied by Veronica. She was good at it, too, making the diaper change fun and comforting. When the Littles reassembled, they were all in ridiculously poofy diapers that no onesie could contain. It was booster pads all around – though Melody was an exception again. Briana claimed that going from a pullup to a diaper was way more embarrassing than getting a booster added to a diaper. Ava, Arthur, and Fabi agreed, piling on Melody for a good round of teasing.
Ava was delighted to see the fairy lights strung atop the sheets that made up the fort’s ceiling as the lights went down outside the fort. Having them shine through the fabric was even more magical than seeing them up close would have been.
Bashfully, Ava suggested zipping her sleeping back together with Briana’s. Nobody said anything about it – though the look in Melody’s eyes promised some quality teasing later. Fabi was the first asleep, crashing out mere minutes after her head hit her pillow.
Fabi’s snores and a wall of Roundtable stuffies were great covers for sneaking in some smooches on her girlfriend. Cocooned in sleeping bags, Ava and Briana explored each other’s lips and the soft skin under their pajama tops. The combined bags overheated in no time, leaving them pink-cheeked and squirmy. Ava was ready for a lot more and excited to discover that Briana was just as eager. Unfortunately, there was too much of an audience, even if Melody and Arthur had fallen asleep as fast as Fabi. As she drifted off in frustrated delight, Ava slipped into some of the sexiest and snuggliest dreams she’d ever had – all the while cuddling her girlfriend close.