A Family For Briana (Full Book)

Earlier that evening.

Melody paused with their hand hovering over the doorknob to their house. What would they say to Veronica if she was home? Nothing came to mind. A conversation seemed inevitable. Inevitably horrible.

Melody looked around to make sure no one was watching them stand outside their door awkwardly. There wasn’t anyone, but Veronica’s garden-statue of a naked dancer caught Melody’s eye.

Senpai of the garden, what is your wisdom? Melody mentally asked.

Get over yourself, the statue said in Melody’s imagination. This isn’t a meme and we aren’t anime girls.

“Fucking weeb.” Melody muttered at themself on the way inside.

The house was quiet, it didn’t sound like anybody was home. Melody almost missed Jane sitting in the living room reading a book. She hadn’t said anything, just looked up when Melody arrived.

“Oh uh, hey Jane.” Melody said.

“Welcome back.” Jane said with a little smile.

“Yeah – I was over at Rosa’s.” Melody replied, confused as to why they felt like they had to explain that to Jane.

“I thought so. I’m glad that’s going well.”

“Thanks.” Melody dithered in the foyer, finally pulling their toque off as the house’s heat soaked in. “Look uh, Veronica probably told you about um – the stuff Briana found.”

“She did.” Jane said. “Do you want to talk about it?”

“No uh, I’m good.” Melody said, waiting for Jane to push back.

“Then it’s none of my business.” Jane chuckled at Melody’s surprised expression. “I told Ronnie not to send that text. After your reaction to it, I forbid her from bringing it up with you again.”

“You – forbid Veronica?” Melody blinked. Was Jane talking about the same Veronica? Queen of the goth scientists and über mommy?

“I have a very different relationship with her than you do. She listened to me because I convinced her I was right.”

Jane set her book down and came over to Melody. Slowly enough for Melody to pull away, she reached out for a hug. Melody leaned into it and found themself wrapped in a solid embrace.

“I care about you a lot. If you need my help, you have it.” Jane said. She pulled back, hands on Melody’s shoulders. “Have you had dinner?”

“Yeah, I have. Thanks. For uh, more than offering to feed me.”

“You’re welcome. It’s not entirely altruistic. We have a lot of leftovers.” Jane squeezed Melody’s shoulders and stepped back to sit on the back of the couch.

“Where’s Briana? Is she okay?”

“She’s fine. Erin confirmed that she didn’t get frostbite – and that she was lucky she didn’t.” Jane shook her head in frustration. “She’s upstairs, grounded to her room. We haven’t decided how long for, yet.”

“Are you doing the around the clock babysitting thing again? I can help.”

“We have people rotating through, but no one is up there right now.” Jane pointed at the baby monitor. “She’s quiet at the moment.”

“I was really freaked out when she went missing.” Melody said, unsure why they were explaining that to Jane. Something in them wanted – or more accurately needed to talk about it.

“Ronnie and I were too. So was Gary. I think that’s the first time I’ve seen him angry with Briana.”

“She did it for me.” Melody said, shaking their head. “If she’d gotten hurt…”

“It still would have been her fault.” Jane said.

“I know but…”

“Melody, if you want to talk to me about what Briana found, or why she was trying to help you, go ahead. If you can’t, then don’t beat yourself up for it. We can’t always be perfect communicators.” Jane smiled fondly. “Ronnie is probably the most adept person I’ve met at managing emotions and communications and well, she’s not perfect.”

“I wish – there’s a lot I want to fix.”

“Okay. One step at a time. What do you want to do right now?”

“I’d like to see Briana. Can I babysit her for a bit?”

“Please do. I know she’d love to see you.”

“I uh – can I turn off the baby monitor while I’m up there?” Melody dug at the carpet with their toe. “I’ll take care of her, but I kind of want to hang out and talk too.”

“Go ahead. I could use a break from carting it around the house with me.”

“Hey Jane.” Melody took a deep breath, girding themself for their next statement. “Thanks for being cool about everything. I mean – that’s not what I wanted to say. Um – thanks for watching out for me.”

“Any time.” Jane said warmly.

The emotion between them was way too intense. Melody smiled bashfully and scooted to their room to stow their bag. Upstairs at Briana’s door, they heard her singing Castle in the Sky, of all things. She sounded happy, despite everything that had happened.

A warm glow spread through Melody’s chest at their sister’s resilience. Joining Briana on the next verse of the song, Melody opened the door. Bri was surprised and near tears to see Melody.

Me too, little sister. Melody thought. Me too.

—–

Wearing the same diaper from yesterday was not going to be good for their rash, Melody knew. On the other hand, it was better than going to their morning session with Veronica. The third option, that they just change their own diaper, seemed as bad as dealing with Veronica.

It was dumb. Melody knew. They’d put diapers on plenty of times on their own. After being diapered by both Veronica and Rosa though, it felt different. Doing it on their own was a lonely feeling. Plus, Jane had done an excellent job on the one Melody was wearing now. Despite being pulled down several times for a shower and using the pot – toilet, the tapes were still holding it fairly snug.

Feeling at loose ends, Melody checked their phone. Rosa was still at work, because her supervisor was the kind of sadist that scheduled people for a morning shift following an evening shift. She’d be beat tonight and didn’t need to take care of a little one. Melody knew they might be too clingy what with inviting themself over after the Briana-pocalypse.

Out of other options, Melody was forced to face their roommates like a regular human in the kitchen over coffee. Veronica was up with Briana, making the downstairs safe for the moment.

It was the tail end of breakfast and people were drifting away from the table. Casey was already on a run and Jane couldn’t relax until her chores were done. Poor Erin was a legit zombie ever since her residency started. That left just Melody and Suzie relaxing among the leftover rolls turned-french-toast and what was left of the massive turkey omelette.

“You got Briana duty today?” Suzie asked.

“Not until tomorrow.” Melody said. “I’m on for tomorrow night, last time I checked the Google sheet.”

“I absolutely love that Veronica made a worksheet for it.”

Melody giggled. “It’s pure her.”

Suzie grinned. “You watched her yesterday, right? She’s not pooping in her diapers at the mo’, is she?”

“No, she’s Briana-normal.” Melody frowned. “If you don’t want to watch her, I can take your shift.”

“I don’t mind, sorry if that sounded bitchy.” Suzie said with a shrug. “I just don’t want to deal with the poop. It’s a lot, you know?”

“I get it.” Melody said. It was a fair thing to say. They still felt defensive over their sister. She couldn’t help where her brain was at.

“You back in classes starting Monday?”

“Yeah, full speed ahead. How about you?”

“Technically we’re off, but it’s all-hands-on-deck to finish the sets.”

“You have a performance coming up?”

“I always have a performance coming up, but yeah, I’m in a show for the school that comes out just before Christmas break.”

“Isn’t that in like…”

“Twenty days and fourteen hours.” Suzie said.

“What’s this, a non-STEM student is busy? I thought you all sat around drinking wine and quoting dead dudes.”

Suzie lightly kicked Melody’s ankle under the table. “That’s just the philosophy department. English too.”

“I’ll tell Jane you kicked me.” The joke was out before Melody could stop themself.

“Oh yeah? Well, she’s not my dad.” Suzie looked Melody over curiously. “Are you doing the whole Briana thing?”

“No! Not the whole thing. I mean, not really any of the thing.” Blushing furiously, Melody stared into their coffee. “I’m working with Veronica on some stuff. It’s not like – not like Bri.”

“Nobody is like Bri.” Suzie said fondly. “Oh hey, Gare-bear is here.”

“Gare – oh, Gary? Who let him in? Does he have his own key”

“Door’s not locked. He’s cool to come in on his own.” Suzie turned away from Melody and called across the house. “G-Man, there’s coffee in the kitchen!”

“Hey Suzie, Melody.” Gary said, joining them at the table with a cup. “How’s our little rug rat today?”

“Which one?” Suzie asked slyly, sipping her coffee.

It was Melody’s turn to kick Suzie under the table, a little harder than they’d meant to.

“Oh shiiiii!” Suzie teased. “I’m telling!”

“What’s going on?” Gary asked.

“Nothing!” Melody said, glaring at Suzie. “Gary, you here to babysit or just hang out?”

“Babysit. I was supposed to get the whole weekend.” He said wistfully.

Suzie took a moment from her torment of Melody to check her phone. “Fuck. The roof in the prop room leaked on the costumes. I have to go see if mine is still good.”

“You’re in the Christmas Carol show coming up?” Gary asked. “Who are you playing?”

“The Devil’s cat familiar.” Suzie said. At Gary and Melody’s confused looks, she shrugged. “It’s student theatre, don’t think too hard about it. Anyway, see ya!”

The two of them waved as Suzie headed away from the table. In the coffee-focused silence that followed, Melody’s diaper crinkled as they shifted in their chair. Gary’s ears perked up at the tell-tale sound, but he didn’t say anything.

Melody winced, then sighed. He couldn’t be a bad guy if Briana was so into him, not to mention the rest of the roommates. They cleared their throat softly.

“Yeah uh, I’m wearing.”

“Cool.” Gary said. “Like a thing with Veronica or…?”

“Ugh,” Melody said, in a perfect Mermista impression, if they did say so themself. “There’s a lot of backstory. It’s Veronica related and other stuff but uh, mostly it’s for me, I guess.”

Gary nodded. “I’d be the last one to judge. I’m dating Briana.”

“That’s kinda why I brought it up.” Melody said. “I uh, told my girlfriend about it. But it’s like, super new for both of us. Especially her. Do you have like – pro-strats?”

“I can share what works for me and Bri.” Gary said. “But she’s special in that regard. You might have more luck talking to Tamira. She has a thing going on with her boyfriend but it’s not a lifestyle thing as far as I know.”

“I should probably text her anyway.” Melody said. “I was kind of short with her when we were looking for Briana.”

“We were all freaked out.” Gary said softly. “Suzie ended up taking my car keys away from me.”

“You said you were sober that night.” Melody said worriedly.

“I was. I was also shaking so bad that my truck spun out in the snow.”

“She’s safe now.” Melody said, putting a hand on Gary’s forearm. “We’ll take care of her.”

“You’re damn right we will.” Gary said with a grateful smile. “Speaking of, I should get up there. I’m sure I’ll get scolded for getting coffee first as it is.”

“It was nice to get to know you a little.” Melody said.

“You too.” Gary washed his cup out in the sink. “You’re important to Briana.”

Melody sighed happily. “I love that stupid kid.”

“Me too.” Gary chuckled and made his exit.

Melody stared at their phone. The phone stared back also into them. Melody groaned at their own joke and opened a text message to Tamira.

Melody >> Hi, it’s Melody. I wanted to say sorry for being all snarly on Thanksgiving. I was freaking out.

The coffee was super good. Melody made a mental note to find out what brand it was. Something super high-end, no doubt. They finished the cup and were considering what video game to play when Tamira responded.

Tamira >> Hi! It’s okay, I could tell from your voice. I heard you guys found her, but is she doing okay? She’s not responding to texts.

Melody frowned, replying quickly.

Melody >> Nobody told you? She’s fine, she’s just grounded from her phone.

Tamira >> Grounded? I keep forgetting how lifestyle she is. I’m glad she’s okay. I tried texting Veronica, but she is FOR REAL mad at me.

Melody >> You didn’t do anything wrong. Nobody expected her to go all Deus Vult on us.

Tamira >> Explain that to Veronica. Like, please actually explain it to her.

Melody >> I will.

Melody >> Can I ask you something personal?

Tamira >> You can ask. I’ll answer if I’m cool with it.

Melody >> NP if you don’t. I just had some questions about you and your boyfriend. I heard that you and he do stuff like what my girlfriend and I do.

Melody >> But we’re super new to it and she keeps asking if she’s doing stuff right. I don’t know what to tell her.

Melody >> Sorry if this is too much.

Tamira >> It’s not too much, but it’s too much for text. Can we meet up to talk sometime?

Melody >> Totes. I’m free today.

Tamira >> Today is fine. We could go to a coffee shop, it’s neutral but public. You’d be welcome at my place too. 2pm work?

Melody >> Your place. 2 works. Address?

At quarter to two Melody was hanging out in the doorway of Tamira’s dorm. They couldn’t believe how sweaty they were acting. The chance for some advice, to smooth things out with Rosa, was a crazy motivator.

Melody managed to wait to press the buzzer until nine minutes before the hour. If Tamira thought they were weird for being early, she didn’t say anything. The dorm was as nice as a dorm could be, Melody thought. Full one-bedrooms were hard to get.

Taking a cup of tea and a seat on the couch, Melody smiled at Tamira. “Thanks for talking to me about this. I know it was kinda out of the blue that I asked.”

“I don’t mind.” Tamira said, taking the other end of the couch. “It’s good for me too, I don’t know a lot of people who do ABDL stuff locally. So are you the caregiver or the …”

“Little one.” Melody scrutinized their coffee. “I’m the little one.”

“Cute.” Tamira said with a smile. “I suspected. What’s going on with your girl?”

“She just recently found out that I wear – diapers.” Melody said with some effort. “She’s been super cool and understanding, but I can tell she feels like she doesn’t know what to do.”

“You wear them all the time?”

“Yeah uh, I’m wearing right now.” Melody blushed.

“Okay, that’s different than me and Arthur in a couple of ways. For one thing, I’m the one that wanted him to wear them, and he doesn’t wear them all the time. I feel you on the awkwardness thing though.”

Tamira set down her tea and scratched her head. “It took us a while to do anything more than talk about it. We started super slow, until Briana came over and accelerated things.”

“Yeah, she does that.” Melody said, chuckling.

Tamira grinned. “Doesn’t she now? Anyway, not to get all up in your business, but what have you and your girl done so far? Or should I say mommy?”

“That’s one of the things. She said she doesn’t want to be called that. I don’t know if it’s because she doesn’t like the label, or if like, she’s uncomfortable with the whole thing.” Melody sighed.

“She might be uncomfortable, but you said she’s been great about it. What stuff has she seemed to like?”

“Um, she has uh – diapered me. Changed me. Touched me while I was wearing.” Melody stared at their tea, floundering. “I guess some other stuff. Made some rules. Washed my face and stuff at bedtime.”

“Melody, I know ya’ll don’t know me well, so feel free to say no. This seems hard for you. Would it be easier if you could be little while we’re talking?”

“Oh uh, wow.” Melody squirmed. “I kinda never have been. Like, a tiny bit with Veronica, and another tiny bit with Rosa. I’m not really sure uh, oh fuck.”

The teacup was shaking in Melody’s hand enough to splash tea on the carpet. Melody managed to get it on the coffee table without too much rattling, then jammed their hands between their knees.

“Hey, you’re okay.” Tamira said in a soft, maternal tone. “I think we should either take a break from this conversation, or you should put your head on my lap and close your eyes.”

Putting their head on Tamira’s lap was an over the top, dumb baby thing to do. Totally ridiculous. Which is why Melody curled up on the couch with their head in Tamira’s lap a few seconds after they’d been invited.

“Close your eyes little one.” Tamira said, stroking Melody’s hair. “Shhh, that’s a good kid.”

Melody took a deep shaky breath. It eased the pressure in their chest. Tamira didn’t resume the conversation right away. She hummed instead, petting Melody’s head. Bit by bit, Melody relaxed. Almost too much at the end they realized, clamping down on their bladder.

“That’s better.” Tamira said softly. “It seems like Rosa isn’t the only one who has some discomfort around this.”

“It’s hard to do, but I want it so bad.” Melody whispered. “I want her to like me and take care of me. What if I’m too much?”

“You aren’t too much.” Tamira said. “I didn’t get to talk to you much at Thanksgiving, but I have eyes. That girl is crazy about you.”

Melody smiled and snuggled in closer to Tamira.

“You jumped right in on being little with me. That could have been less scary with me since you have nothing to lose. I have to say though, if you’re like this for Rosa you are going to straight-burst her ovaries.”

“How did you convince Arthur?”

“At first he was just freaked, I thought I was going to have to drop it forever.” Tamira said. “We talked. Let it chill if we were feeling weird about it, brought it up later when it seemed okay. You’re wearing full time, so taking a break would be harder. The main thing is to just keep talking.”

“She says she doesn’t know what to do, and I know it bothers her.” Melody said.

“Well, it’s hard to help with that since I haven’t seen you together that way. What does she do easily and what’s harder for her?” Tamira brushed her knuckles across Melody’s cheek. “Tell me what Rosa’s like when she’s your caregiver, little one.”

“She’s really touchy.” Melody said happily. “She asks me a lot of stuff, because she wants to understand what it’s like for me. I don’t always know how to answer though. And uh, she thinks it’s hot when I get turned on.”

The last statement made Melody do a blushy wiggle.

“I think that’s a great start. You know, when Arthur and I started he had a lot of trouble asking me to do mommy stuff. I thought it was because he didn’t like me doing that, but then he jumped into it when Briana was here.”

Tamira moved her caresses to slow circles on Melody’s back. “When we talked after, it was because he didn’t want to ask me to do something he wasn’t sure I liked. He saw me acting like a mommy with Briana and piggybacked on to that.”

Melody nodded. “You think maybe Rosa likes to do it more than I think?”

“Maybe.” Tamira said. “But my point is that she might not feel comfortable asking you to be little. You need to offer stuff like that because it can feel weird to ask the other person at first.”

“Oh.” Melody considered that. Once they’d gotten going, Rosa had been pretty into the caregiver stuff. She hadn’t been upset at all when Melody had briefly slipped into little-talk either.

“Figuring some stuff out?” Tamira asked.

“I think so.” Melody said.

“If you work it out with Rosa, I’d love to do a double-date sometime. I think it really helps Arthur get into it when he’s not the only one. I’m not saying I’d like to get him to Briana’s level but…”

“You would?” Melody asked. “Would – would he be okay – would he like that?”

“I don’t know yet. He seems really happy when we do longer sessions though.”

“How do you ask him? What does he say when you ask him to do it – more?”

“Are you asking for communication tips in general or is it because you want to go lifestyle with Rosa?”

“I don’t know if I want that.” Melody said softly. They buried their face in Tamira’s lap.

“You’re already wearing twenty-four seven, right?”

“Mmph.”

Tamira seemed to correctly read Melody’s noise as a yes. “Then there’s got to be a conversation about what that looks like at some point. Maybe you wear all the time but you’re only little sometimes. Or maybe Rosa really wants to take care of you, full time.”

“It’s so much to ask though.” Melody said, coming up for air. “I haven’t even told her that I love her yet.”

“Oh, you should tell her that right away. Next time you see her.”

“What if she doesn’t say it back?”

“That’s okay. She obviously cares about you. She’ll say it when she’s ready. In the meantime, she’ll know that you love her.”

“You’re good at this.” Melody said. “The mommy thing.”

“Thank you.” Tamira said happily. “You know why? It’s because I love doing it. I really love Arthur, and I love taking care of him. It’s not a problem, or a chore. On tough days all I want is to hold my little boy and make sure he has everything he needs.”

“I want that.” Melody said in a shaky voice.

“I hope Rosa does too.” Tamira said. “It’s pretty magical when I can get it to work with Arthur.”

“Really? I wasn’t going to see Rosa tonight because she had to work shifts back-to-back. She’ll be super tired.”

“You should let her make that decision.” Tamira said. “One, because she’s your girlfriend and you should let her decide things that affect her. Second, because she’s your caregiver.”

“I hope she says yes.” Melody said.

“I’m sure she’ll want to see you at least, even if she isn’t up for caregiving.”

“I should text her right now – hey!” Melody protested as Tamira pulled open the back of her diaper. Worse, she sniffed. Sniffed!

“How long have you been in this thing?”

“Since yesterday afternoon.” Melody said. “But I haven’t used it.”

“Hon, it smells like BO. Let’s get you changed.”

“What? But we’re not – not…”

“I’m not your mommy or your girlfriend, but I did agree to take care of you for a bit. I am not sending you to your girlfriend in a smelly diaper.”

Melody squirmed, blushing furiously.

“You don’t have to be so bashful with me. I’ve changed Briana out of jeans she had an accident in.”

“I don’t have a spare with me.”

“I guess you’ll just have to wear one of Briana’s then. Come on.” Tamira got Melody off the couch with much prodding and lead them down the hall to the bathroom.

“Briana has diapers here?”

“She came over once when she needed a change. Before she met Arthur. I got a box of her size after that. You two are close enough.”

Melody stopped in surprise at the changing table in Tamira’s bathroom. It wasn’t all fancy and baby themed like the ones that Veronica had. It was just a massage bench with diapers and other supplies on the shelves for oil and towels. There was a nice blanket on it, with dinosaur print. It was super sweet.

“Arthur is lucky.” Melody said as Tamira helped her up on the table. “You’re working really hard to make this nice for him.”

“Aw well, that’s really nice of you to say.” It was Tamira’s turn to blush a little.

While Tamira was stripping off their jeans, Melody wondered why they were so okay with being changed. Part of it was how many times Veronica had changed them by now and Jane just yesterday. A big part was having been little with Tamira, even if it was just a few minutes.

Tamira tossed the diaper and produced one from her stack. It was a Briana diaper all right, bright pink and covered in ponies. Barf. Melody really hoped that Rosa would be up to change them at least so they could get into one of the less girly ones.

“I was going to see if you needed a bath, but it looks like most of the smell is in the diaper. Silly kid! It doesn’t do much good to shower if you put a sweaty diaper back on.”

“I have a whole thing going on with Veronica right now and she’s the one who usually changes me at home.” Melody said. “So, I just wore that one.”

“A personality conflict with Veronica? What a surprise.” Tamira slipped the diaper under Melody and began powdering her.

“I’m sorry she’s mad at you. I haven’t talked to her yet.”

“I can deal with it, but if you get a chance to put in a good word that’d be nice.” Tamira said. “I got plenty of respect for the woman. I get that she’s worried about her kid. She needs to take a heart pill though.”

“She’s nice though, really.”

“I’m not trying to badmouth her.” Tamira said, taping Melody up snugly. “I’ll chill. Now sit up, this is my favorite part.”

“Huh?” Melody sat up and was immediately enveloped in a hug. They sighed and rested their head on Tamira’s shoulders while she held them close.

“Okay, are you going straight to your girlfriend’s place?”

“Um, I guess I could. She gets home in like ten minutes and I uh, left some diapers there last time I stayed over. Why?”

“I need to get you ready, little one.” Tamira deftly put Melody back in their jeans and took them to the kitchen.

Attempting to protest whatever ‘getting them ready’ meant got Melody shushed. They waited while Tamira put a peeled orange and some trail mix in containers. Both went into a small bag along with a juice box.

“What’s all this?” Melody asked.

“You said she’d be tired. This way she doesn’t have to make you food right away if you get hungry.” Tamira put the bag’s handle in Melody’s hand and closed their fingers over it.

“But we might not do ABDL stuff at all today.” Melody said.

“I know that as much as you do, little one.” Tamira said. “But we’re going to set things up for the best case, alright?”

“Okay.” Melody fidgeted until Tamira put their phone in their hand.

“Go ahead and let her know you’re coming over. I’ll get your coat.”

“I’m going right now?”

“I’m not kicking you out, I’m sending you to your actual caregiver.” Tamira said. “Do you need me to drive you?”

“No, I can do it.” Melody blushed profusely, shooting off a quick text to Rosa.

The blush didn’t fade either, when Tamira insisted on dressing Melody in their coat.

“There you go, all set to see your girlfriend. Feel better?” Tamira zipped Melody’s coat all the way up.

“Yes. Thank you.”

“You’re a darling kid. Tell Rosa to set up a play date with Arthur for you, okay?”

“Okay.” Melody sank down into the collar of their coat.

“See you soon, cutie.”

—–

It was a weird drive to Rosa’s apartment. Not so much because they’d been bundled up and sent out the door like a kid to school, but that was in there too. Rosa had replied excitedly, so it wasn’t that they were worried about her mood. It was the distraction of how little Tamira had helped them feel. Melody wanted to be curled up on their girlfriend’s lap, not driving some stupid car.

Without thinking about it, they took the bag that Tamira had packed for them inside. After getting a big hello-hug from Rosa, they stood by the door of the apartment, clutching the bag with their coat still zipped up.

“Earth to Melody, take off your coat and stay for a while.” Rosa said.

“Oh, sorry.” Melody said, taking off the coat. It was a bit of an awkward process since they kept the bag in one hand or the other the whole time.

“What’s up with the bag?”

“It’s uh…” Melody hesitated, stuck halfway in their coat. “I went to see Tamira for some advice. She um, packed this for me.”

“Let me see.” Rosa took the bag and grinned when she saw what was inside.

“Is she like us?” Rosa asked. Melody trembled a little to hear ‘like us’ instead of ‘like you’.

“I mean uh, she does a ABDL thing with her boyfriend.” Melody said. “I was asking how they worked it out. Because you have a lot of questions and stuff.”

“That is so sweet.” Rosa said. She took Melody’s coat too, hanging it up in the closet. “Are you feeling like you want to play right now?”

“I do but I don’t want to be a hassle for you.” Melody said. “Also, Tamira said I should tell you that – that I like the kid part of the game too. So um, when we play that’s something I want to do with you. If you can’t play now that’s okay.”

“Little one.” Rosa said. She said it with care but firm force too. A mommy-tone that sent tingles into Melody’s belly. “Listen to me.”

Melody bit their lip and watched Rosa attentively.

“You realize tonight is a school night, right?” Rosa put her arms around Melody. “You don’t have your backpack with you. You’re going to have a very early bedtime tonight so you can get up in time for me to get you to Veronica’s house and back to school.”

“I didn’t know I was coming here until Tamira and I talked.” Melody laid their head on Rosa’s shoulder.

“Then I’m very glad you talked to her. Veronica is still too busy with Briana to get you ready properly. My roommates will be home later tonight, but they won’t bother us in my room. You’re going to help me with dinner and then we’ll watch something on my tablet in bed, okay?”

“Okay Mom – uh, Rosa.”

Rosa was quiet for a moment, holding Melody. When she finally spoke, her voice was quiet but calm.

“Say it again. Please. What you were going to say.”

“Okay Mommy?” Melody ventured.

“Oh wow.” Rosa shivered. She whispered in Melody’s ear. “I liked that.”

A too-strong emotion pressed outward in Melody’s chest. They cuddled close to Rosa and whimpered.

“Shh little one. I understand. That was big.”

The two of them stayed in the embrace until holding their posture made Melody fidget. Rosa drew back and stroked Melody’s cheek.

“Let me take a look at you. I don’t know what kind of babysitting job Tamira does – what the hell is that?!” Rosa exclaimed. She had pulled out the front of Melody’s jeans, to see their diaper.

“Oh uh, Tamira changed me. Was that not okay? Because uh, Veronica does, and Jane has once and…”

“Shh baby, you’re fine. I don’t mind that she changed you, but what’s this diaper? This is horrible, it’s all pink and gross.”

Something clicked in Melody. It went past the big feeling of Rosa wanting to be called Mommy. The world settled into place and felt right. They stared at Rosa in adoration. Their mommy understood. She GOT them.

“It’s one of Briana’s. It’s all Tamira had.”

“What kind of babysitter is she if she doesn’t have gender-appropriate diapers? It’s irresponsible.” Rosa said, grinning. “Too bad you don’t have to go now. You could fill this girly thing with pee before we throw it away.”

“Actually, I kind of do.” Melody said. “I didn’t go at Tamira’s.”

“She changed you and didn’t check if you had to go? ¿Madre de Dios, what’s she even doing over there?”

Melody giggled. “She was nice, but I like how you do it better.”

“You bet you do. I might use her as a babysitter sometime, but only if I’m sure she’s shaped up a little. Give me your clothes.”

“Huh?”

“Give mommy your clothes, little one. You had some in the washer, but they never got dried and now they’re musty. We can wash these ones at the same time, since you’re going to have to wear them tomorrow.”

“Oh, okay.” Melody started with their shirt and found Rosa assisting them. Every bit of clothing that came off was a joint effort, leaving Melody in their pink diaper in the living room.

“Your roommates aren’t going to be home soon, right?”

“Two of them aren’t home until tomorrow probably. Really late tonight if they make it. The other one has a plane coming in around ten.” Rosa gathered up the clothes in a bundle and opened the closet that held the washer-dryer stack.

“Have a seat on the couch sweetie. Mommy will change you if you need it after I get this laundry going.”

“I only kinda have to go.” Melody said, sitting obediently.

“Well, if you don’t that’s fine, but I’m leaving you in that pink diaper until you do.”

Melody pouted and tried to relax their bladder. It happened fast and more than they’d expected. Take that you stupid pink diaper, Melody thought.

“That’s a big accident for someone who didn’t have to go.” Rosa said, squishing the padding around Melody’s crotch. “Is my little one having trouble telling when they need to go?”

The fact that they’d had a legitimate accident, which is why their clothes had been in the wash, made Melody squirm in embarrassment. Rosa leaning over them and squishing their diaper made it ramp up to humiliation. Smoking hot humiliation.

“You look embarrassed but you’re moaning, baby.” Rosa said, rubbing Melody’s crotch through the diaper. “No wonder you wear these all the time if you like them so much. It’s a good thing Mommy likes it when you wear them.”

“You do?” Melody managed to ask between moans.

“I like it a lot.” Rosa said. “I like my horny little diaper baby. You’re sexy in those diapers. You’re sexy when you’re wet and embarrassed and need your mommy.”

“Oh god.” The words came out involuntarily and there were no thoughts behind them or for quite a while afterwards.

Later, Melody would remember the burst of pleasure that left a mark on their nerves like a sunburn. They’d have other vague memories too. Rosa straddling them topless, her generous bosom in Melody’s face. Kneeling between Rosa’s legs and hearing her muffled shouts through the thighs pressed to their ears. Snuggling their naked girlfriend while wearing nothing themself, except a wet diaper. Being changed in the middle of the living room on a smallish changing blanket with the Target tag still on.

Dinner prep was a blur too. Melody didn’t think they ended up helping much. They only started to feel more aware later, in Rosa’s bed, wearing some fuzzy blue pajamas that looked as new as the changing blanket had been.

Rosa was in a jogging top and fitted athletic shorts. She picked a bowl of lentils off the tray next to them and brought a spoon of it to Melody’s mouth. “Open wide.”

“Lentils?” Melody made a face and turned away from the spoon.

“Yes hon, that’s what we made. You were out of it, huh? Come on, open for mommy.”

“Can’t I have some taquitos or something?” Melody vaguely remembered a package of those in Rosa’s freezer.

“No, you can’t. You can eat your lentils or…” Rosa paused to think. “I don’t have any formula, but I do have some carrots I can puree in chicken broth.”

“You wouldn’t.”

“Test me and find out.” Rosa said.

Reluctantly, Melody opened their mouth. Rosa carefully deposited the lentils in their mouth and prepped another spoon.

“What about your dinner?” Melody said through the mouthful of lentils, hoping to slow down the rate they were being fed. The lentils weren’t bad, they were good in fact. They were also earthy and not as fun as taquitos would be.

“Don’t talk with your mouth full, little one.” Rosa said, holding the spoon to Melody’s lips.

Getting corrected instead of their question answered pushed Melody into the little feeling they’d been slowly losing. They opened their mouth, accepting another spoonful. Rosa was skilled, between the two of them they only spilled twice. By the time the bowl was done, Melody wished a bit more had spilled. It was more than they would have eaten on their own. Their tummy was too heavy!

Melody spaced out a bit while Rosa ate her own dinner and cleaned things up. They were feeling a bit more awake and alert by the time Rosa finished the dishes and moved on to laundry. Actually, the best word for the feeling was refreshed, Melody thought.

They picked up their phone and checked a few things for tomorrow. There was a message from Tamira asking how things went. Melody answered it with a gif of Jonah Hill doing his screaming happy dance. On reflection they decided to send Jane a text letting her know that they’d be staying at Rosa’s. Jane sent a thumbs up emoji back. Dork.

“Hey babe.” Melody beamed up at Rosa when she returned to the bedroom.

“Hey. You feeling a little more put together? You went away there for a bit.” Rosa said.

“Yeah, I feel great. You?”

“I’m really happy.” Rosa said with a soft smile. “Was – all of that okay? I just went for it and didn’t check in with you.”

“It was amazing.” Melody said, nuzzling Rosa as she scooted into the bed. “Was it okay for you? I know it’s easy to get carried away when you do something new.”

“I loved it. I was even a tiny bit disappointed when I saw you all adult again. But just a tiny bit.”

“I think I could get there again if we watch a kids show.” Melody said.

“Really?”

“Yeah, if you want. Though um, if I get really into it and the lentils kick in um…” Melody searched for the right words. How did Briana say it again?

“I uh, might need help with the potty.” Melody said with a squirm.

“Of course, sweetie, mommy’s happy to help.” She pulled Melody close and pushed their head down to rest on her cleavage while she fired up the tablet.

“Now, what does my little one want to watch? More Steven Universe?”

“I want to watch She-Ra.” Melody said.

“Ooh, can we start on the first episode? I’ve heard it’s good.”

“You haven’t seen it?” Melody’s adult reaction matched their little one perfectly. It gave them a big step back into their kid mentality.

“No, I haven’t.” Rosa said, amused. “Is it on Netflix? Oh, here it is. I like the character designs.”

“That’s Catra.” Melody said, pointing at the screen. “And that’s Mermista. She’s really cool.”

Rosa blinked and giggled. “Oh, is she your favorite?”

“No, Catra is.” Melody said. “Oh and this is Swiftwind, he’s dumb. This is Bow, he’s okay for a boy. This is Glimmer, she’s the best one after Catra, but only because Mermista doesn’t get enough screen time.”

“Let’s get started then.” Rosa said. “I have a lot of catching up to do.”

“I can’t believe you haven’t watched it.” Melody said, rolling their eyes.

After only two episodes, Rosa declared it to be bedtime. Melody protested heavily, right up to the point that Rosa smacked them on the butt with a sandal. The bedtime routine was the same as it had been the other night, a timer for tooth brushing, getting their face washed, and being put on the potty.

It wasn’t as embarrassing this time. Mostly it made Melody feel safe and sleepy. Rosa sleeping naked meant there were a lot of blankets. It got a little stuffy for Melody in their pajamas and diaper. The warmth, along with everything else, got Melody to sleep well before ten.

As they were falling asleep Melody’s thoughts wandered back through the day. It had been nearly perfect. They wished they could do this tomorrow and every other day too.

Briana sat in her fluffy unicorn pajamas, on the floor of Veronica and Jane’s front room, looking up at the two of them. They were (hopefully!) at the end of a big long super serious discussion, and Briana was getting pretty squirmy. She was doing her best to pay attention and also look like she was paying attention. A reprieve from being grounded to her room, hinged on being a good girl right now.

“Do you understand now why everyone was so upset?” Jane asked.

Briana nodded vigorously.

“Humor us.” Veronica said. “Explain in your words why you were grounded.”

“Because I didn’t tell anyone what I was doing or even that I was gone.” Briana said seriously. “And because I could have gotten in trouble with the police and ended up in jail.”

“And because you weren’t big enough to dress appropriately and you got frostbite.” Veronica said.

“I didn’t either!” Briana protested. “Erin said I didn’t get frostbite.”

“Erin said you got frostnip,” Jane said in a stern tone, that made Briana duck her head. “Which meant you didn’t have permanent damage, but it’s the first stage of frostbite.”

“Okay, and because I got frostbite because I was too little to deal with the cold.” It sucked to admit that last one. It made her sound like a total baby, but she wasn’t a baby-baby. She had a cool big sibling to hang out with and she always made it to the potty for number two!

Also she was a microbiology graduate student but even Briana didn’t remember that very often. She bit her lip and sighed. Sometimes she missed the mental puzzles and talking with other students about something they were all passionate about.

“Briana, we want to trust you.” Veronica said. “We love you very much. We don’t want you to have to be grounded all the time. However, we’re responsible for keeping you safe, and even when you’re mentally little, you’re physically big enough to get yourself into some very scary trouble.”

“I’m sorry.” Briana said. She’d been saying that a lot, but it didn’t feel like it was enough yet.

“Briana.” Jane said. “You are a good girl, but I think you get carried away when you’re doing something you believe is right. You think it justifies bad things you’re doing, because the right thing is very important.”

“Even when I’m little I want to help the people I love.” Briana said sadly. “I want to help my family.”

“The first thing you need to do to help your family is be safe yourself.” Veronica said. “It’s like saving someone who’s drowning. If you can’t swim well enough to help them, all you’ve done is make it so two people are drowning.”

“I know. I’m sorry Mom.” Briana said.

“I think we are ready to trust you and end your grounding.” Jane said.

“Really Dad?!” Briana bounced excitedly, she hadn’t expected it to happen immediately. By the look on Veronica’s face, this was news to her too.

“On one condition.” Jane produced Alanna from behind her chair and got up to kneel in front of Briana. She set the stuffed lioness (and head knight of the Cloudland Roundtable!) on the floor next to them.

“Do you promise to treat being safe as an unbreakable rule?” Jane asked, holding her hand out.

Briana’s eyes were as wide as they got, her gaze flickering from Jane to Alanna to Veronica and back. She got up to her knees and put her left hand over her heart, shaking Jane’s hand with her right.

“I promise to treat being safe as an unbreakable rule.” Briana said solemnly.

“I’m proud of you Briana.” Jane kissed Briana on the forehead. “You’re not grounded anymore.”

“Yay!” Briana grinned and hugged Jane tightly.

“Honey.” Veronica said in a strained voice. “Are you sure?”

Jane stood up and looked at her girlfriend. “I believe Briana. This is a promise she won’t break.” Jane’s tone was stern and immutable, like she was pronouncing a law.

Briana shivered and nodded seriously at Veronica.

“Alright, well you’re not grounded to your room anymore, but what does your new rule mean when it comes to leaving the house?” Veronica asked.

“I would have to tell somebody where I’m going and ask if it’s okay.” Briana said. “If it’s a long way away then I’d need someone to come with me.”

“What if there’s no one available to ask, or if there’s nobody who’s able to take you to the place you want to go?”

“Then I’d have to go a different time.” Briana said sincerely.

Veronica seemed to relax at that. She even smiled a little. “That’s a good answer. You’re a good girl.”

Briana beamed!

“This is a good time to talk about Saint Nicholas.” Jane said.

“Santa?” Briana perked up immediately.

“That’s right.” Veronica said. “Santa is coming in not too long. Unfortunately, you’ve recently been very naughty.”

Tears sprung into Briana’s eyes, but she bit her lip and managed to keep her composure. “Th-that’s okay. I understand.”

“I don’t think you do.” Jane said. “Santa has his list but he consults a lot with parents. We are going to suggest to Santa that you start over with a clean slate.”

“That means you haven’t been good or naughty yet, as far as Santa is concerned.” Veronica said. “You’ll need to be a very good girl for the next couple of weeks if you want Santa to bring you presents.”

“Really?” Briana was crying now, there was no stopping it. She’d gotten presents from Santa once that she could remember, and they weren’t really from Santa. They came in a plastic bag from a charity place. It had still been super awesome to get them, but she’d known they weren’t really from Santa.

Now Santa was going to come, actually come to the house and go down the chimney and have the reindeer and eat the cookies and leave presents and say ho ho ho and EVERYTHING.

“Of course.” Veronica said, holding out her arms. Briana was up on her lap in a flash, burying her face in Veronica’s chest.

“I’m sure you will be a good girl for Santa.” Jane said. “But of course we have presents for you too. All your friends do.”

Jane hugged Briana and Veronica both. Briana thought she might burst at any moment. Everybody was so nice, there was going to be a real Christmas! She wasn’t going to ruin this one like Thanksgiving. It was going to be a perfect, wonderful Christmas.

“M-mommy. D-daddy.” Briana sniffled though her happy tears. “Thank you.”

“We love you so much, little girl.” Veronica held Briana tightly. Jane squeezed them both.

“I love you too.” Briana sighed happily and let the hug go on as long as Mom and Dad would let it. That turned out to be surprisingly, delightfully long.

As usual, Mom wiped her face and made her blow her nose. Briana kept her seat on Veronica’s lap and leaned against her.

“Can you help me get presents for everybody?” Briana asked.

“Yes we can. Thank you for being a good girl and thinking of that.” Jane said.

“Don’t forget to tell Santa!” Briana giggled. A thought struck her, “Oh my gosh, does Santa know about Melody?!”

“Know what about Melody?” Veronica asked.

“Know that they’re little now.” Briana said. “If Santa doesn’t know then he won’t bring them presents.”

“Um, I’m not sure.” Jane said, exchanging an awkward glance with Veronica. “We’re not necessarily the ones that should be talking to Santa for Melody.”

“You have to!” Briana said in desperation. “Please, their girlfriend isn’t their Mommy yet. They can’t go without presents on Christmas. I’ll – you can tell Santa that Melody can have my presents if you have to.”

It hurt, like physically hurt, to give up the presents she just found out about. Even so, it was the right thing to do. If Briana couldn’t fix what was hurting Melody, maybe Santa could.

“You don’t have to do that, darling.” Veronica said. “Santa will have enough presents for everyone.”

“You think so?”

“I’ll make sure of it.” Veronica said in her mommy tone.

Briana relaxed and nodded. “Thank you.”

“You really love Melody, don’t you?” Veronica asked.

“Yeah! They’re my big sibling! And they said they loved me, and that I’m their little sister, and they’re so cool and nice to me and it means we’re a family.” Briana had to take a deep breath after that rush of words.

“That makes me happy.” Veronica said with a soft smile. “I guess we’ll have two little kids waiting for Santa on Christmas Eve. You’d better make sure Melody goes to bed on time. Santa won’t come if there are kids awake.”

“I’ll make sure of it!” Briana said, in a spot-on imitation of Veronica’s mommy tone. (Santa Points +1)

            Jane and Veronica both laughed, Briana joining in with them a moment later. There were a few more cuddles, a diaper check (that Briana passed!), and Veronica scooted Briana off her lap.

“I have to get in to school. You’re not grounded anymore, so you can have your phone back and you don’t have a babysitter. Are you a big enough girl to handle that?”

Briana nodded. “Yes Mom! Can I invite a friend over, if there’s anybody available?”

“As long as it’s someone we know well. No repeats of inviting over Beatrix.”

“Never again.” Briana agreed. “Um, so it would be okay even if that friend was Tamira?”

Veronica sighed and set her mouth in a hard line.

Jane chuckled and squeezed Briana’s shoulder. “You’re on your own with that one BumbleBri. I’ve got to get to school too.” She gave Veronica a quick kiss and headed out of the suite.

Briana figured her best, first tactic would be to just be as cute as possible. She fixed a hopeful gaze on Veronica, waiting for a reply.

“Briana you know I’m upset that she helped you get information on Beatrix.”

“But you told me it was my fault that went out in the snow. Not anybody else’s.” Briana said. “And you were right.”

“Maybe you listened too well.” Veronica chuckled ruefully, then sighed. “That doesn’t mean she didn’t also make a bad choice.”

“She didn’t understand about me.” Briana said. “You don’t hafta be friends, even if it would be cool if you were. You’re a lot alike.”

“Maybe too much alike.” Briana added with a giggle.

“Look who’s a sassy girl now that she’s not grounded.” Veronica said with a laugh. “Alright. I will message her. It’s possible I was – a little harsh.”

“I know you feel guilty that I got hurt.” Briana said, “But Tamira didn’t understand the situation and she was just trying to do a good thing.”

“Did you just paraphrase my lecture to you, from the time you invited Beatrix over?” Veronica asked incredulously.

“It’s because I listened to you, and I look up to you, Mommy.” Briana said sweetly.

“Don’t push your luck little girl.” Veronica said, smiling despite her words. “You are entirely too smart a baby sometimes.”

“I’m not a baby.” Briana asserted. “I can be a little girl.”

“You better work on your potty training then.” Veronica said.

“Okay, I will.” Briana leaned in for another hug. “Thank you. About Tamira.”

“You’re welcome. You’re right that it’s the right thing to do.” Veronica said, squeezing Briana in a quick hug. “Now scoot. I really do have to get to school.”

Briana grabbed her phone and skipped downstairs, pouncing on the first roommate she found.

“Suzie, I’m not grounded anymore! And I’m potty training again!”

“Double good news!” Suzie grinned. “I guess that means the whole house is available while I’m babysitting you now.”

“I don’t even have a babysitter anymore.” Briana said, bouncing. “But if you want to hang out that would be fun.”

“I can’t right now, I have to head out in a bit to help make new costumes for the play.”

“Sometime soon then.” Briana said, unconcerned. “Did you know it’s going to be CHRISTMAS soon?”

Suzie giggled. “I did, as a matter of fact. You excited?”

“So much!” Briana grinned. “You hafta help me decorate. You’re the best decorator in the house.”

“Aww, thank you hon. This weekend you and me will be the decorating crew.”

“Yay!” Briana hugged Suzie. “Have fun at the theatre. I’m gonna make my own breakfast.”

“See you kiddo.” Suzie said with a laugh.

Halfway through her third bowl (don’t tell mom!) of fruit loops, Briana got a new message on her phone. It took her a moment to notice, there were so many messages on there from having been grounded for a few days. When she opened it she was excited to see it was from Tamira.

Tamira >> Either you or Melody must have really gone to bat for me with Veronica. Thanks! I hear you have your phone again. How’s it going?

Briana >> Hi! It’s going great! Mom said I was a big girl who doesn’t even need a babysitter! OMG and we talked about Christmas.

Tamira >> : D Glad to hear it. Too bad about you not needing a babysitter though. Arthur is really excited to see you again and I thought I could do a two for one.

Briana >> Maybe I could have a babysitter just to show Arthur how it goes. : 3 When were you thinking?

Tamira >> I actually have today off. I know it’s short notice, but I could come pick you up.

Briana >> I can’t leave the house without permission and there’s nobody here. : (

Briana >> Oh but I can invite people over!

Tamira >> Arthur is up for it. He wanted to see your room after hearing about it.

Briana >> OMG I’ll get the stuffies ready!

Tamira >> Sounds good, we’ll be over soon. : D

Leaving breakfast forgotten on the table, Briana scurried up to her room. It was really clean, even though she’d been spending so much time there. The playpen was still set up. Briana decided to leave that so that Arthur could see it. Some arranging of stuffies and retrieving lesser-used ones from the closet was all that was really needed.

That left time to dress. Briana tossed her pjs in the laundry hamper (Santa points +1) and considered her wardrobe. The anxiety of so many outfit choices reminded her that she might need to pee. Outfits were put on hold while she raced naked to the potty. It was a good thing too, because she had to go.

Barely remembering to flush, Briana hurried back to her room and grabbed a pretty red skirt with a green blouse. It was time for the Christmas colors! She arrived in the living room, breathless, and sat down to wait for Tamira.

There was more waiting than Briana had expected. A lot more. She fidgeted on the couch. She did remember to text Veronica that Tamira and Arthur were coming over, but that only took a moment. It dimly occurred to Briana that it might take a while to pack up Arthur’s stuff and drive across town. She didn’t really care about that though. The important thing is that they weren’t at her house.

All in all, Briana had to wait upwards of twenty five minutes, before there was finally a knock on the door. She was up in a flash, barking her shin on the coffee table and careening off a wall in her mad scramble to the door. With a bit of a rigid smile due to the pain in her shin, she threw the door open.

“Tamira, Arthur!” Briana cried.

Tamira had a small duffel bag in her hand, Arthur was looming behind her with a blushy look on his face. They hurried inside.

“You okay Briana?” Tamira asked.

“I hit my leg on the coffee table.” Briana whimpered, bouncing on her good leg and holding her injured shin.

“You were that excited to see us huh?” Tamira smiled. “I’ll take a look at it in a second sweetie. My little boy was pretty excited too. He had an accident as soon as we got in the car.”

“Nuh uh.” Arthur said defensively, covering his crotch.

Briana looked at him curiously, but Arthur was wearing sweatpants and nothing was really showing. That meant he’d had protection at least.

“That’s okay!” Briana assured Arthur. “I’m working on getting to the potty in time, so I can help you not have another accident while we’re playing.”

“I don’t have accidents.” Arthur said in a frustrated tone.

“So you meant to wet yourself in the car then?” Tamira asked.

Arthur had nothing to say to that, but he looked really grumpy.

“You be nice while we’re here or you’re in trouble little boy.” Tamira said, taking Arthur’s hand. “Is that changing table still set up in the next room?” She asked Briana.

“Yeah, it’s always there.” Briana flounced over to the drawing room, and perching on one of the couch arms.

“It’s really just us here?” Arthur asked. His steps were slow and hesitant as he approached the table.

“Yeah! Everyone is out of the house. I’m super glad you guys could come over.” Briana said.

“I told you honey. We’ll get you cleaned up and then we can go to Briana’s room if you’re worried about people coming home. Up now, be a good boy.” She guided Arthur up onto the changing table.

The table had always made Briana look even more little, but Arthur’s legs actually dangled off the end a bit. It was really sturdy though, not creaking at all under the larger boy’s weight.

When Tamira took Arthur’s sweatpants down his face went from grumpy back to blushy. The poor boy even covered his face and turned toward the wall. Briana hopped up and grabbed her big Orca stuffie. She touched Arthur lightly on the forearm and pressed the whale against his hands.

“This is Olga. She’s a good friend.” Briana said.

Arthur nodded a silent thanks and took the stuffie, hiding his face behind it. He was a lot more relaxed already.

“That was very nice of you Briana. You’re such a good girl!” Tamira said.

“Thank you!” Briana said, taking her seat on the couch arm again. (Santa points +1)

Arthur’s diapers were so big and the one Tamira was taking off was really heavy. If she could handle those she could handle anything! Well not that Briana needed that kind of help right now, but just in case. She’d be great for Melody too.

Kicking her feet while she waited for Arthur’s change to be done reminded her of the pain in her shin. Briana winced and stretched out her leg. She had a nice bump on there. Looked like a cut too. Quickly she lowered her leg. She didn’t want to cry when Arthur was feeling upset.

Tamira left Arthur a moment to snuggle the stuffie when she had him changed and his sweats back on. Kneeling by Briana, she carefully inspected the injured shin.

“Hmm, looks bad, it’s going to have to come off.” Tamira said grimly.

“Tamira!” Briana whined.

“Gotcha.” Tamira winked. “You’re going to be fine, but I’m going to put a little band aid on there okay?”

Briana nodded. She yelped a little when Tamira wiped the cut with a baby wipe. The sticker was a cute Frozen one, it helped the pain a lot.

“Let me check your diaper while I’m down here.” Tamira said.

Briana obediently shifted her legs apart, while Tamira lifted her skirt and poked at the leg elastic of her diaper.

“Nice and dry, good job.” Tamira said.

“Thanks!” Briana said. (Santa points +1) “I’m going to be a big kid like Melody.”

“Oh? Is Melody a bigger kid than you?”

“Yeah! They’re super cool, they have so many awesome big kid toys! Plus they have a job and still go to school and stuff.”

“I saw you withdrew.” Tamira said, standing up and gathering her duffel, Arthur, and finally Briana for the trip upstairs. “You’re feeling okay about that?”

“I really needed to. I’m glad Mom helped me after I had an accident and went to your place.” Briana hopped up the last couple of stairs and held her bedroom door open. “I kind of miss it though.”

“Yeah? You want to go back?” Tamira asked.

“I think I do.” Briana said softly, looking down. “I dunno if I can though.”

“I’m sure Veronica can help you figure something…” Tamira looked back at Arthur, who was standing in the doorway with his mouth open.

“It’s really something, isn’t it sweetie?” Tamira looked around. “The playpen is new for me. Briana’s really got that baby drip.”

Briana grinned and danced around the room. “Arthur come in! This is where I keep my stuffies, and this is my crib, and over here is my art stuff, and I think you can fit in the playpen. It’s super sturdy.”

Arthur stepped into the room sheepishly. Tamira reached out to him but Briana got there first. She grabbed Arthur’s hand and pulled him over to the playpen.

“Do you wanna try it with me? Melody played with me in it and it was so super fun!”

“Yeah, okay.” Arthur said with a soft smile.

“Not in big boy clothes you won’t.” Tamira said. “Strip down young man.”

“Uh, right here?” Arthur asked.

“Briana has seen you in just a diaper before and she just watched you get changed. If I have to tell you a third time, it’s a spanking.”

Briana watched in fascination as Arthur hesitated. He liked being spanked, she realized. That was going to be fun for some mischief later. Apparently he decided against a punishment though, and shucked off his sweatshirt and sweatpants.

While Tamira was getting the clothes out Briana took advantage of the situation and hugged Arthur. He was so big and super warm! It was cute how he awkwardly hugged her, trying to figure out where to put his arms on someone who didn’t quite reach his chest.

“We’re gonna have a super good time.” Briana said. “Tell me if there’s anything you want to do, okay?”

“I don’t know what stuff you have.” Arthur said.

“In here, coloring books and my stuffies. Oh, and my sword! Plus lots of books. I bet Tamira would read us a story if we asked.”

“I would.” Tamira said with a smile. “But right now I need this little boy back so I can get him dressed.”

The outfit wasn’t sized-up kids clothes. It made sense, they’d have to be REALLY sized up to fit Arthur. A pair of swim trunks that somehow were a little oversized for Arthur went on. They looked good and had nice bold colors on them. The shirt was a little undersized and had Callum from Dragon Prince on it. Briana approved of the transformation, especially when the mesh ‘underwear’ of the swimsuit made Arthur’s diaper extra crinkly.

“Now can we play in the playpen?” Briana asked. “Um – but if you don’t want to we don’t hafta.” She really wanted to see Arthur in the playpen, but knew she should be a good playmate. (Santa points +1)

“We can try.” Arthur stepped carefully over the wall of the playpen, he didn’t even have to push it down. It squished and tilted a little under his weight, but that was it. With a surprised grin and a mighty crinkle, he settled down on his butt.

Briana gleefully climbed in on the other side. Arthur took up about a third of the space on his own. As soon as she sat Briana discovered a definite slope in the Arthur direction. Giggling, she let herself roll against his legs.

“So who are all of these?” Arthur motioned at the stuffies, picking up Arnold the Pangolin.

“That’s Arnold the Pangolin.” Briana said. He always had to have his full name. (So annoying!)

“Hi Arnold.” Arthur said.

“Noo, you have to say Arnold the Pangolin every time.” Briana said in distress. “He’s going to be so grumpy now. Arnold the Pangolin, he didn’t know okay?”

Arthur giggled. “That’s so silly.” He laughed again, then addressed Arnold the Pangolin. “Sorry, Arnold the Pangolin.”

“Whew!” Briana said. “I think Arnold the Pangolin forgives you.” She took the stuffie and set him aside where he couldn’t cause more trouble.

“This bat is Mimsey, and this giraffe is Chuck.” Briana said, putting both in Arthur’s lap.

“Chuck?” Arthur asked.

“He doesn’t like going by Charles.” Briana said.

“You know them all really well.” Arthur said with a grin.

“We’ve been together for a while. They’re all on the Round Table of Cloudland. Alanna is the head knight but – oh shit, I left her in Mom’s room.”

“Briana! Did I just hear what I thought I did?” Tamira asked sharply.

“Uh, oopsie?” Briana giggled.

“Oopsie is all you have to say? What would your mom do if she heard you say that word? Be honest.”

Briana whined and squirmed, but Tamira’s glare was relentless. She couldn’t lie with Christmas presents on the line, especially after being told to be honest.

“I’d get a spanking.” Briana pouted.

“Then get over here.” Tamira said, taking a seat in the armchair that Veronica sat in when it was story-time. She patted her lap.

“Tamiiiiiiiira.” Briana whined.

“Little girl, this spanking is getting longer and longer the more I wait.”

With a squeak, Briana hopped out of the playpen and flopped over Tamira’s lap. She whimpered again when Tamira flipped her skirt up and pulled her diaper down. On consideration she threw a sniffle in for extra sympathy.

Smack! If she’d garnered any extra sympathy from Tamira, Briana certainly couldn’t tell. She yelped involuntarily as the sting from the first spanking flared to life on her rear. A matching smack on the other cheek made her cry out again.

“I’m soooorrrrry! It was an accident!” Briana whimpered.

“Was it?” Tamira asked skeptically, “Or did you think you could get away with it because your mom isn’t here and I’m not as experienced?”

Briana hung her head. “The second one.”

“Wow, you’re being very honest.” Tamira said, delivering two more slaps, though a lot more lightly than the first pair.

“Ow! I hafta. Santa is coming.”

“I see. Well I know he won’t be happy that you said a bad word.” (Santa points -1)

Briana whimpered, taking two more spanks gracefully enough. After the first two slaps, it wasn’t so bad, compared to Dad’s spankings.

“On the other hand, I think being so honest makes up for it. Or it will as long as you learned that your behavior was wrong.” Tamira slapped Briana’s butt twice more.

“I did!” She whimpered.

“What did you learn?” Tamira asked, rubbing Briana’s rear.

“That saying sh- that saying that word is bad.”

“Good girl. Last spanking and then you’re done.” Two more slaps and Briana had her nice comfy diaper up on her rear again. (Santa points +1)

“Hee hee.” Arthur chuckled. “You almost said shit again.”

“Did you really just try to slip that by?” Tamira asked as she sent Briana back to the playpen. “Get over this knee, Arthur.”

“What?” Arthur pouted. “No! I was just saying the thing that she said.”

“If you think that you can be naughty just because someone else is, then you really do need a spanking.” Tamira said. “Get over here now.”

“It’s not fair!” Arthur protested, scooting behind Briana.

“Arthur.” Tamira said in a sharp tone that was giving Veronica’s mommy voice a run for it’s money. “One.”

“Nooooo.” Arthur whined. “We’re here to have fun.”

“If you make me say three you are NOT going to like what happens.” Tamira said. “Two…”

Briana gave Arthur a sympathetic look as he climbed out of the playpen and draped himself over the chair. That look switched to horror when she saw what Tamira was pulling out of her duffel.

“Oh no, the hairbrush!” Briana said, clapping her hands to her mouth.

“What?!” Arthur shifted on the chair but relented when Tamira dug her fingers into his back. “Tam – Mom, please don’t use the brush.”

“You have been such a naughty boy. It’s even worse because this is your first time at Briana’s and you’re misbehaving.” Tamira yanked Arthur’s trunks and diaper down.

“I’m sorry, I won’t do it again!”

“I know you won’t.” Tamira said.

That made Briana wince. Tamira brought the brush down and peppered Arthur’s butt with rapid fire strokes from the brush. He was whimpering and squirming, but looked kind of used to it. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad, Briana thought as she relaxed.

“Alright, you’re warmed up, now it’s time for the real ones.” Tamira said. “You get six, and you have to count them off.”

“Six?” Arthur whimpered.

“That didn’t sound at all like Yes Mommy.” Tamira said.

“Yes Mommy.” Arthur said quietly.

Real ones? Briana wondered. She didn’t have to wonder long. Tamira’s arm went way up. She swung the brush down like a tennis player. The sound it made on Arthur’s butt was a resounding CRACK!

Arthur cried out, then grunted, “One.”

Briana’s sympathetic yelp had been lost in Arthur’s cry. She put her hands over Mimsey’s eyes. The girl-bat was too sensitive to see a big punishment like this.

Five more times the hairbrush came down. Tamira was serious! She was putting her shoulder into every hit. Briana was glad she couldn’t see Arthur’s butt. He had to have marks for sure, maybe even bruises. By the time he counted three he was sniffling, by five he was full on crying. The sixth one left him blubbering across Tamira’s lap.

“What did you learn?” Tamira said, gently stroking Arthur’s back.

“Not to say b-bad words.” He sniffled.

“And about being at a friend’s house?”

“T-to behave.” Arthur said.

“Good boy.” Tamira said, leaning over to kiss his shoulder. She got a tube of lotion out of her bag and gently spread it on his rear, before pulling his diaper and trunks back up.

“You can go back and play with Briana now.”

“Okay Mommy.” Arthur made his way gingerly back into the playpen, electing to lie down on his stomach this time.

“Tamira, can we have a snack?” Briana asked, giving Tamira a woeful look and snuggling up to Arthur.

“I guess so.” Tamira said, putting her spanking supplies away. “What kind of snack?”

“There are some cookies left over downstairs that Mom said I could have. Can Arthur have some too? They’re really good and he didn’t get to have them at Thanksgiving.”

Tamira chuckled. “Alright you beggar. Dial it down. I’ll go get some cookies.”

As soon as Tamira was out of the room Briana nuzzled Arthur. “That was a rough spanking, but now we get cookies.”

“I didn’t think she’d spank me so hard for that.” Arthur said.

“I think she felt kind of guilty.” Briana said. “That’s why she gave in on the cookies.”

“Does that work all the time?” Arthur asked.

“Usually. My mom always looks a little guilty after she spanks me. It’s a good time to ask for something you’re not supposed to have.”

“Wait, are you not supposed to have those cookies?”

“Mom said I could have one.” Briana said. “But if Tamira brings me more than that, it’s not my fault. I’m not supposed to eat them in the playpen either.” She giggled.

Arthur giggled and nuzzled up against Briana. “You know all the tricks.”

“I’ve been a baby for a while.” Briana grinned. “But all by myself. I’m really glad I have you here. Can we be friends?”

“Yeah. You’re a good friend.” Arthur said, hugging Briana. He gave the best big squooshy hugs.

“It’s going to be hard to play until your butt feels better.” Briana said. “Want to get under the blanket and watch something on my phone when Tamira gets back?”

“Yeah.” Arthur said. “I bet we can get her to give us juice boxes too.”

Briana giggled. “You think so?”

“Watch.” He grinned.

Tamira arrived with the whole plate of cookies. Briana’s eyes grew huge at the sight. She started the two littles off with only a pair of cookies each, but Briana knew that was just an opening offer. If a babysitter brought a plate of cookies, they were fair game.

“Mommy, can we have juice boxes?” Arthur said cutely. “You said I could share one of mine with Briana.”

Tamira rolled her eyes. “You two are lucky you’re so cute.”

Within minutes they had cookies AND juice boxes. Not only that but they had permission to watch more Kipo (Arthur hadn’t watched it without Briana!) and there were crumbs getting everywhere. It was super warm and snuggly under the blanket.

In fact, it was so snuggly that – well Briana had only promised to work on her potty training, not be perfect at it. The original plan had been to ask for help with the potty every hour or so. Instead she just snuggled with Arthur. By the time Tamira insisted on a change of activities, Briana squished when she sat up.

They were coloring happily away when the door opened and Veronica stepped in. She looked extra tired, and she was in her fancy clothes again.

“Mom!” Briana said excitedly.

“Hi darling. Hello Tamira. Hi Arthur.”

“Hey Veronica.” Tamira said, getting up from the chair and stretching. “The littles have been playing well together.”

“I can see that.” Veronica said. “Thank you for bringing Arthur over.”

“He’s having a great time, it’s our pleasure.” Tamira said. Arthur gave a shy smile and a wave, immediately returning to his coloring book.

“You’re welcome to stay longer.” Veronica said. “Even for dinner if you want. We’re having everyone’s favorite, Thanksgiving leftovers.”

“Arthur and I didn’t get much in the way of leftovers so that would be great if it’s really no bother.”

“Not at all. If you two join us I think we can finally finish them off.” Veronica said.

“Great, thank you.” Tamira said. “Arthur, what do we say when someone invites us to dinner?”

Arthur broke out of his bashful concentration and blushed. “Um, thank you Ms. Veronica.”

“What a darling. You’re very welcome Arthur.” Veronica said. “I do need a quick word with Briana.”

“What’s up mom?” Briana asked.

“When I went into the kitchen there was an open bottle of milk sitting next to a box of fruit loops and a dirty bowl. The milk has spoiled from sitting out all day. Is that something you’d know about?”

Briana squirmed a little further under the blanket. “Um, sorry Mom. Yeah, that was me.” (Santa points -2!)

“If your friend wasn’t here young lady…”

“Oh go ahead and spank her.” Tamira said.

“Are you sure?” Veronica asked.

“I already gave her a spanking for cussing.” Tamira said. “Arthur got one too. They’ve been good little lambs ever since.”

Veronica smiled at Tamira. That was sorta great, because Briana wanted her mom smiling at Tamira. It’d just be better if the smile wasn’t related to spanking her.

“That is actually perfect. Briana has recently had a naughty incident and while that is behind us, we did plan to be strict and immediate with punishments going into the holidays.”

“Mom,” Briana pouted as cutely as she could. “Please don’t spank me in front of Arthur. I’m sorry I forgot the milk.”

“Briana Hillary Cassingham!” Veronica said, in a tone that had Briana on her feet, before she realized she was moving. “You get your butt over here right now. You know better than to try to manipulate me when you’re in trouble.”

Without a hint of further argument, Briana bent over Veronica’s lap. Veronica flipped her skirt up and patted the swollen diaper.

“I thought you were working on potty training hon.”

“I was!” Briana insisted. “I was doing really good for a while.”

“That’s true.” Tamira said. (what a good friend!) “She’s been dry until now.”

“In that case I’m proud of you. I’ll help you work on it more, especially once the break starts, okay?”

Briana nodded. “Thanks Mom.” She winced when Veronica pulled her diaper down to her knees. So much for her brief reprieve.

“Maybe it will help you remember to get spanked on a wet butt.” Veronica said.

Briana whimpered and grabbed the side of the chair, bracing herself. Veronica slapped her butt at a steady pace. They weren’t hard smacks. Unfortunately, the previous spanking multiplied them a bit. Being wet on top of that, made each hit sting and spark across her rear.

Arthur was staying mighty quiet in the playpen. He’d learned his lesson the first time. Briana wasn’t going to have a spankee-in-solidarity this time. Feeling little from her playtime with Arthur and embarrassed at being caught wet by Veronica, Briana started bawling.

That didn’t stop the spanking, it never did. There were just a few smacks left though. When Veronica switched to gently rubbing her butt, Briana sniffled and cleared her throat.

“I’m sorry for leaving the milk and my breakfast stuff out Mommy.”

Veronica paused in surprise. Briana bonked her head against the chair as she realized that it was only Tamira that made her explain why she was bad.

“Is that something that Tamira taught you to do, Bri?” Veronica asked.

“Yes.” Briana said sourly.

“I always make Arthur verbalize what he did wrong.” Tamira said. “I had Briana do it today too.”

“I did as well this morning, though that was over something much bigger.” Veronica said. “I think it’s a very good idea to do it every time, don’t you Briana?”

“Yes Mommy.” Briana grumped. Bent over Mom’s lap, with a bare butt, was not the place to pick an argument.

“Good girl. Let’s get you changed.”

Tamira and Veronica chatted about mommy stuff while Briana was getting changed. They were still at it when Veronica put Briana back in the playpen with Arthur.

“Would you like to go downstairs and have a cup of tea?” Veronica asked Tamira. “I have to get dinner going.”

“I’ll take the tea, but you have to put me to work.” Tamira said. “What about these two? They’re a little trouble-prone together.”

“Oh that’s simple.” Veronica said. “We’ll just use the baby monitor.”

Arthur looked at Briana in surprise, blushing profusely when Veronica turned the monitor on. For her part, Briana was still a little grumpy from her spanking. She shrugged in response.

“You two play nice. You can let us know through the monitor if you need anything.” Veronica said.

“Who all is going to be at dinner?” Tamira asked.

“Just the household.” Veronica said. “Probably not all of us. Suzie is managing some theatre crisis, and we don’t even see Erin since her residency started. Probably us here, Jane, Melody, and Casey.”

“Is that going to be okay Arthur?” Tamira asked gently. “Melody and Briana both wear diapers. Everyone in this house knows about it and they don’t make a big deal out of it.”

“I promise that no one will make fun or be hurtful in any way.” Veronica said.

“I don’t know.” Arthur said, curling up.

Briana sighed. She could tell that Arthur was conflicted, but the bigs were probably going to err on the side of making him go home. She snuggled up to him and nuzzled his head.

“You don’t hafta if you don’t want, but I think it’d be fun.” Briana said. “Everybody at the table has changed my diaper before. Even Melody.” Briana giggled.

It was working! Arthur looked up at her hesitantly. Briana gave him a big smile and nodded.

“Plus we can sit together and talk and not pay attention to the bigs.” Briana said, more loudly so that she was sure Tamira could hear. “It’d be a super brave thing for you to do. I bet your mom would let you eat only the stuff you want!”

“Oh for…” Tamira shook her head and laughed. “You have to eat SOME turkey, but otherwise whatever you want, little one.”

“Briana, what did I just say about manipulative behavior?” Veronica asked.

“I’m not doing it while I’m in trouble this time!” Briana replied sweetly. “And it’s to help Arthur!”

Veronica rolled her eyes. “You were right Tamira, they are trouble together.”

“It’s cause we’re good friends!” Briana said, squirming into Arthur’s arms. He grinned and gave her a big hug.

The cuteness worked! (Santa points +2) Both moms smiled and laughed. After another admonishment to be good while dinner was being made, Veronica and Tamira headed downstairs.

“I’m so glad you’re staying.” Briana said. “I’ve never had a friend who was little like me before.”

“It’s scary.” Arthur said. “But I believe you when you say people will be nice.”

“They will.” Briana nodded. “Okay, I think we can watch at least one more Kipo episode before dinner.”

“But Mom said that we had too much TV.” Arthur said.

“Shh!” Briana whispered, pointing at the baby monitor. “As long as we don’t do anything too naughty, they won’t walk all the way up the stairs to get us in trouble.”

Arthur giggles. “You are so bad.”

“You are too, Mr. sneak a bad word past your mom.”

Arthur grinned and draped his arm over Briana. She fired up the next video, her stinging butt totally forgotten. It smelled a little like Arthur had wet, but that was Tamira’s problem, not Briana’s.

((Content Warning: Depiction of severe depression))

Two major tests and a lab report completely wiped Melody’s week out. On Rosa’s side, dodging the worst of Black Friday meant she had to pull doubles, right through the weekend. A week without Rosa time felt more like a year. There was nothing to fear though. Melody’s social penguin was about to flip from blue to red.

First, some TLC for their girlfriend. Melody had a reservation for a Board Game Restaurant and a home-spa kit for Rosa’s recovery. After that, they should be able to have some amazing ABDL time together. It was a bit of a lull at school before finals hit. Melody’s planning was worthy of Veronica.

Pausing in the entryway of the computer science building, Melody let themself think about Veronica. They owed her a month of rent. She hadn’t said anything, but Melody had as good as dropped out of Veronica’s program. Melody hadn’t had a session or done anything with Veronica diaper-wise in a couple of weeks.

It was okay though, because the program worked. Everything was great, especially with Rosa. Melody had the money, and their loans were paid off. They could pay Veronica for December before the fifth and give her a big thank you. A hug too, if she wasn’t mad.

“There you are!” A sharp voice cut into Melody’s daydreams. Beatrix, coming in hot on Melody’s three o’clock.

“Oh uh, hey Bea. Look it’s been crazy busy and…”

“Yeah, I know.” Beatrix said, looking a little wild-eyed. “I am so choked up that I’m about to blow. Come with me, I need some sugar.”

“Hey, I have to get to class.” Melody said.

They almost pulled out of Beatrix’s grasp. Something in their heart stopped them. It was Beatrix. Unstoppably hot Beatrix. The girl they’d followed to this grad school after undergrad at Brooklyn College. Could Melody say no to her? Could anyone?

Beatrix didn’t seem to notice Melody’s conflict. She was pulling hard enough on Melody’s coat that she would have expected resistance regardless. Stumbling up to an unfamiliar door, Melody watched in surprise as Beatrix produced a key and unlocked it.

Why did Bea have a key to the CS building? Melody asked themself.

The room inside was bare except for a ladder and some tarps in the corner. Melody caught a flash of what looked like a construction logo on the key’s chain before Bea stuffed it back in her pocket.

“Alone at last. Shit Mel, if I didn’t know better, I’d think you were avoiding me.” Beatrix wasn’t wasting any time. She had her coat off and her bag tossed aside already.

“I wouldn’t do that.” Melody said cautiously. They had been avoiding her of course. It had been easy up until now with all the tests and holidays.

“Oh, I know. You’re mine. The best, most obedient and fuckable toy I’ve ever had.” Beatrix grinned, shucking off her sweater. There was no blouse underneath, just a red lace bra holding her perfect breasts.

The spiderweb pattern in the red lace made Melody double-take. Bea had bragged about that lingerie set once. It was her lucky set. The one she only broke out for boys that mattered.

“Bea are you sure we should do this here?” Melody asked, desperate for a way out. Not that they could tear their eyes off that glorious chest.

“All the construction is in Hunter Hall right now, nobody’s coming in here. Don’t you pay ATTENTION?” Beatrix flicked a finger off Melody’s temple.

“I know my girls are amazing.” Beatrix continued, hefting her breasts. “But you don’t get to stand there drooling. Get your coat off and show me that body.”

“I uh – it’s just that…” Melody stammered. They were about to cheat on Rosa. No, they couldn’t do that. There had to be a way out that didn’t involve Beatrix posting her blackmail.

“I forget how shy and nervous you are. I’ll warm you up.” Beatrix closed on Melody and pinned them to the wall. Her mouth was all over Melody’s lips, cheeks, and throat.

Unable to stop themself, Melody stroked the silken skin of Beatrix’s back. They moaned softly into the kiss. It was incredible to feeling real passion from Beatrix..

Beatrix squirmed and pressed up against them with genuine desire. Her breath was hot and ragged on Melody’s ear. An insane flash of insight lit Melody’s brain up to Galaxy Brain status. Beatrix was hot for them. For Melody. Beatrix wanted THEM.

Melody could have Beatrix as a girlfriend.

Something literally impossible had happened. A whole new path opened up for Melody. No more diapers and weirdness, just a regular lesbian relationship. Well, a lesbian dom/sub relationship anyway. If it lasted, Melody’s tech skills with Bea’s ability to monetize things would be insane.

They could become a hot power couple with a billion expensive cats. On Mars.

But it wasn’t right! Rosa didn’t deserve to get hurt. They had something with Rosa that they’d never expected, might never get again. Something that Melody knew she needed, deep in their heart.

There had to be a way to get some space, to figure thing out. Melody needed to think. The only thing running their head now was the monkey brain.

“You’re holding back.” Beatrix said. She had Melody’s coat open and her hands on their chest. “Don’t be like that. Give me that lezzie love. I’m going to fuck you so good, someone will call campus security when you scream.”

Melody’s thoughts did a record scratch. Hearing Beatrix beg to fuck them was brain-meltingly hot. Until that last bit, which was more like a threat. The weirdness of it gave Melody enough control to push open some space between themself and Bea.

“Hey, Bea.” Melody said, panting. “I’ve wanted you for so long. It’s so amazing now that you want me too, that you’re so hot for me. But we have to talk about…”

Beatrix froze. “Did you just pump the breaks?”

“I need to think.” Melody said. “Seeing you beg is so hot it’s messing me up. But I can’t just…”

“You think I was begging?” Beatrix’s eyes dilated until their color was gone.

“Well you were kinda…” Melody said.

“You fucking bitch!” Beatrix screamed. “Is that what you think? You think I’m – some fucking simp? That I’m whipped? BY YOU?”

Melody held up their hands in shock, trying to find the words to shut off the torrent of rage that Beatrix was vomiting at her.

“YOU’RE THE ONE THAT’S WHIPPED!” Beatrix brought her hand across Melody’s face with a resounding crack. “BY ME!”

Fury and terror warred on Beatrix’s face in an ugly combination. She was trembling all over. Melody was trembling too. They touched their cheek, and their fingers came away damp and red.

“You RUINED this for me.” Beatrix raged. “I just needed some goddamn stress relief and you had to fuck it up, like you always do. So now neither one of us gets anything!” Beatrix snatched up her coat, sweater, and bag.

“You’re unbelievable. Ungrateful. Stupid. Bitch!” Beatrix was trembling more than ever. It was hard to tell from the intensity of her emotion, but she looked more afraid now than angry. “I’ll text you later and you’d better be ready to make up for this. FUCK!”

On that last scream, Beatrix stormed out of the room. She hadn’t bothered to put her clothes back on. The door slammed behind her, hard enough to make Melody wince.

Melody stumbled out of the room a while later. Their class was halfway done. Not that it mattered. They weren’t going to be able to understand a single thing a professor said. Rosa had a class that got out around this time. She might still be on campus.

The magic of text messages brought them together on an icy circle of brick, at the base of a hill that sported the University’s ugliest statue. It looked like a rusty snowflake sneezing a lightning-bolt. It was especially bad next to Melody’s beautiful girlfriend, beaming when she caught sight of them.

“Melody! Baby, what happened to your face?” Rosa asked, shifting from delight to concern.

“It’s uh…” Melody swallowed hard, trying to figure out how they could explain.

“Let me see.” Rosa took Melody’s face and peered at the thin cuts that Beatrix’s fingernails had laid across Melody’s cheek.

“I um – the thing is Rosa…” Melody floundered.

“Wait, is this lipstick all over you?” Rosa frowned. “Mel, what’s going on?”

“Beatrix – ambushed me. Kind of.” Melody said. There was a yawning pit growing in their stomach as Rosa’s face grew more concerned. “I, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to – it wasn’t supposed to go that way.”

“She assaulted you again?” Rosa asked in horror. “She was all over you and she hit you?”

“It was…” Melody swallowed back a wave of nausea.

That’s not what happened. It wasn’t assault. It couldn’t be assault.

“No, not assault. I, I just didn’t stop it in time. I’m sorry, I won’t let it happen again.”

“Melody, baby.” Rosa gently took Melody in her arms, patting their back. “You have a bruise and three cuts on your face. You are trembling and you can hardly talk to me. We have to do something about this.”

“I can’t.” Melody said, their gut roiling. “I can’t. You don’t understand.”

“I understand that this has gone way too far. We have to get help to deal with this. We should talk to campus security, or the cops.”

“No, I can’t.” Melody said, shaking themself free of Rosa’s grasp.

“Why not?” Rosa asked. Her cheeks were streaked with tears.

“Don’t cry. It’s okay. It’ll be okay. She’ll give up. I just have to wait until she gives up.” Melody couldn’t make themself believe it anymore. They couldn’t blame Rosa for the disbelief in her eyes.

“That is bullshit. Melody, honey, I want to help you. This is crazy.” Rosa took Melody’s hand gently. “Please let me help.”

“She has pictures.” Melody said. “P-porn. Of me. I can’t. If she puts those on the internet, Rosa, it’ll be there forever.”

“Shit.” Rosa squeezed Melody’s hand. “There has to be a way to deal with it! New Hampshire has a revenge porn law. We can shut her down!”

“No, it’ll still be on there. I can’t – I can’t stand up to her.”

“You can’t live like this. You have to make her stop!”

“I can’t do that!”

“WHY?” Rosa sobbed.

“BECAUSE I WANT IT!” Melody screamed.

A terrible silence descended around them. Rosa’s eyes were wide, hurt. Melody felt hollow inside. They both fell back a few steps. It felt like a chasm opening between them.

“What?” Rosa asked, her tone shocked and disbelieving.

“I’ve known her since undergrad.” Melody said. They knew they shouldn’t explain anything about Beatrix, but the words spilled out against their will. “I followed her to ABDU. She never, she never looked at me, but now – something happened. I can’t – I can’t make her stop.”

“Are you and her – together?” Rosa asked. The pain in her voice shattered Melody’s heart.

“No – I don’t think so. Rosa, I – what you and I have is amazing. I don’t understand why I can’t stop Beatrix. But I can’t.” Melody took a deep breath.

“I tried today, but it didn’t work. She was so mad! It was my fault. I shouldn’t have made her mad.” Melody looked at Rosa with pleading eyes.

Unfortunately, Rosa looked more upset than ever. There had to be something they could say. A dialogue option must exist, to stop this conversation from leading to a bad end.

“Melody.” Rosa took a shuddering breath. “I don’t understand what’s happening here. But it’s not your fault. You have to stop her. If you want to be with me, you have to stop what’s happening with Beatrix.”

“I can’t! She won’t let me.” Melody sobbed.

“It’s not her choice, it’s yours!” Rosa’s voice was getting colder. “You have to do something. Stay away from her at least. It might have – some consequences. But this is hurting you. It’s hurting us. It has to stop.”

“That’s easy for you to say! You’re not the one being exposed to the entire world.”

“I know it’s not easy!” Rosa cried, her voice cracking.

“Mel, she’s already hitting you. Are pictures going to matter if she kills you? You have to stop this!”

“I can’t.” Melody fell to their knees. “I can’t.”

“Then I can’t do this either.” Rosa said, putting a hand to her mouth. “Melody, I – this can’t be happening.”

“Rosa, please.” Melody said.

“Please what? Share my joyfriend, my Little One, with a psychopath? With someone who cuts your face? Watch you get hurt over and over again?” Rosa took several steps back.

“It’s almost over. I just need…”

“No, Melody. No.” Rosa shook her head. “Something is almost over, but it’s not the thing that Beatrix is doing to you. I have to go. I need space from this.”

“Rosa!” Melody begged.

“I can’t watch you do this to yourself, or to us.” Rosa wrapped her arms around herself. “Don’t call me. Don’t text me. Don’t come see me unless – unless you’re done with Beatrix.”

Melody watched in horror as Rosa walked away. They were beyond tears. They didn’t feel anything at all, not even the cold. Something had snapped. A bright and beautiful thing was lying in sharp shards at the base of Melody’s heart.

The rest of the day was nothing. There was nothing. A gray campus and a gray town. A gray bank and gray streets driving home. Melody walked into their gray house and their gray room. Their roommates said hello to them, and Melody said hello back.

Though they gave Melody odd looks, their roommates didn’t bother them. They told Melody that Veronica wasn’t home. That was fine, if a little inconvenient. Melody put the rent money on Veronica’s table in the front room of her suite.

By then, an oven pizza was done. It didn’t have any taste, which was fine. A single slice made the annoying hungry feeling go away. The world was calm and gray again. With no more plans for the evening, Melody could play as many video games as they wanted.

They didn’t want to play any of them.

With nothing to do, Melody went to bed. It was barely after five pm, but what did it matter? Nothing mattered. They took everything off, including their diaper. The sheets were soft. Their room was quiet. The blanket was heavy. It was the first good feeling since…

Melody stopped thinking.

Much later, they slept.

—–

Melody woke to a harsh sound. Someone was knocking on their door. Whoever it was kept calling their name. The sheets were still soft. The blanket was still heavy. Melody stopped listening and the sounds faded. Eventually they stopped.

For a long time, Melody stared into the darkness.

Then they slept.

——

They woke to knocking again. It sounded frantic. The blanket was still heavy. The sheets weren’t soft anymore. They were wet, and itchy. It didn’t matter. Melody stared past the walls, into nothing. The knocking would fade again….

Instead, the door burst open. Briana was there. She was crying.

No, Melody thought. Not this. Not Briana. Please, Bri, go away.

She didn’t. She kneeled by the bed in her ridiculous purple-people-eater pajamas and shook Melody’s shoulders. She was still crying. It was starting to hurt. Everything was starting to hurt. There was bright light from the doorway and sounds were roaring loud around Melody.

A terrible sharp pain sliced down through Melody’s chest. Every moment that they stared at Briana it went deeper. They were sobbing, shaking, and crying. They couldn’t stop. The tears blurred Briana out of their vision, but they couldn’t stop her voice. Nothing could stop Melody from feeling Briana’s arms around them.

Nothing could stop Melody from feeling.

They screamed. The pain in their chest pierced into a terrible heartbreak and sent it howling out of Melody’s throat. They were shattered, all because their stupid sister couldn’t stop caring about them. Couldn’t leave them alone.

Melody clung to Briana like their life depended on it.

Two more sets of arms joined the hug. Someone had closed the door. Veronica and Jane were hugging Melody now. They were talking as well. Melody hoped the words weren’t for them. Their brain wouldn’t process whatever was being said.

Eventually Jane took Briana out of the room. Veronica stayed, sitting next to the bed. Melody closed their eyes. They let what felt like a long-time pass. When they opened their eyes, the sun had moved. Veronica was still there.

“Veronica?” Melody asked. What they were asking, they didn’t know.

“Melody.” Veronica smiled gently and touched them on the shoulder. “Do you remember that I said I wouldn’t let you fall?”

“Yes.” Melody said.

“It’s still true. Can you tell me what’s wrong?”

“No.” Melody said.

Veronica nodded. “Then we will deal with your heart later. Right now, I know what’s wrong with other parts of you.”

“What’s that?” Melody asked.

“You need food and water. You need to get up and move a little. You also need a diaper.”

“No diapers.” Melody said.

“Melody.” Veronica said gently. “You wet the bed.”

Melody considered. The bed did feel wet. That was a good enough reason, they supposed.

“Okay.” Melody said. “Because the bed is wet.”

“Yes, because of that.” Veronica said, stroking Melody’s head. “Sit up. I’m going to take care of you.”

“Okay.” Melody sat up.

Everything that Veronica asked Melody to do, they did. They helped her strip them bare and walked to the bathroom in a fuzzy robe. Melody returned to their room after a hot shower to find the bed cleaned, with new sheets and blankets.

There was soup on Melody’s desk. There was also a Briana and a Jane on their bed. Veronica put Melody on the bed and the four of them ate. Or at least the other three ate. Melody sat quietly, listening to them talk.

“Open up.” Veronica said, holding Melody’s spoon to their mouth.

“Don’t want it.” Melody mumbled.

“Do the airplane!” Briana said enthusiastically.

Melody was surprised to feel a tiny smile on their lips. Veronica seemed surprised too.

“Here comes the airplane.” Veronica said gently, swerving the spoon toward Melody’s mouth.

It was so ridiculous. How could Melody not smile at least a little?

It took a lot of airplane passes and one Top Gun reference from Briana, but Melody opened up for the spoon. The soup was really good. Something hearty and tomato-y. The airplane didn’t need to make as many passes to deliver the next spoon. Even less for the one after that. Melody was suddenly really hungry.

When the soup was gone, it was perfectly natural to snuggle up to Briana on the bed. Melody didn’t mind that their robe had fallen off. Everyone in the room had changed their diaper before. Besides, Briana was making silly noises. Every third or fourth one was so ridiculous that Melody was forced to giggle.

“Is this, okay?” Veronica asked Jane.

Melody was a little confused. Shouldn’t Jane be asking Veronica? It was Veronica that was the psychologist. Anyway, Melody was feeling a lot better. The answer was yes, they thought. Right now was okay.

“It’s more than okay, it’s the right thing to do.” Jane said.

That was a weird way to say yes. Melody’s confusion deepened.

“Melody.” Veronica said. “Would you like to play upstairs with your sister today? I know you don’t have class today.”

“That sounds fun.” Melody said. They were still sad, but Briana would be nice for that.

“I think you need a babysitter right now, and Briana can’t do it. Someone else would need to watch out for you.” Veronica said. “What do you think about that?”

Melody considered. It was a weird thing to say, but less weird because Briana was involved. It sounded safe. It was a little piece of the precious thing they’d lost.

“Okay, maybe that’s right.” Melody said. “Tamira kind of baby sat me once, and it was – nice.”

“I don’t think she’s available, but I’ll check.” Veronica said. “It’d be mostly me and Jane. What do you feel about other roommates babysitting you?”

“Suzie doesn’t like to change diapers.” Melody said quickly. “And Erin is too tired.”

“That’s your main concern?” Veronica asked curiously.

“For babysitting?” Melody asked. “Yeah, I think so.”

“What if Gary were to babysit you?” Jane asked. “Even though he’s a man.”

Melody shrugged. “He’s Briana’s boyfriend and he’s nice. That would be okay.”

“Then that’s what I needed to know.” Veronica said. “I’m going to put you kids in the playpen. Can you play nicely together while I make a couple of arrangements? I’ll be up in about an hour.”

“Yes Mommy.” Briana said. She looked really excited. It was starting to rub off on Melody a little.

“Okay.” Melody nodded. “But I need something from my closet.”

At Veronica’s nod of permission, Melody got off the bed and crawled to the closet. There was a murmur of surprise from the bed. Briana must have done something cute. Melody was sorry they’d missed it.

With their objective rescued from a box in the back of the closet, Melody waddled back to the group on their knees.

“This is Totoro-san.” Melody said. It was important to introduce him. He was missing an eye and half the wave lines on his belly. The trademark umbrella had gone long ago. He was soft though and filled with more than a decade of love.

“Totoro-san!” Briana exclaimed. “Oh my gosh, you have to meet everybody in Cloudland!”

“Then we’d better get you upstairs soon.” Jane said. “You can step out if you want Ronnie. I’ll get Melody dressed and the kids upstairs.”

Veronica kissed Jane on the lips. She had kisses for Melody and Briana’s foreheads too.

For clothes, Jane didn’t go to the dresser or the closet. She opened a box that Veronica had given Melody after the makeover. At the time, Veronica had mysteriously said it was for later.

Whatever else it contained, Jane found a one-piece pajama set in dark blue. It covered Melody from feet to the hood over her head. Best of all, it had orange triangular spines sewn down the hood and back.

Melody felt good enough in the pajama to say hello to a surprised Suzie on the way to Briana’s room. Cuddled up to their sister in the playpen, the two of them were wrapped around their primary stuffies.

“Melody?” Briana said. There was a big question waiting behind that one word.

“Bri don’t.” Melody swallowed nervously. “I can’t talk about…”

“No, not that.” Briana said quickly. “Different question.”

“Oh okay.” Melody nodded. “What is it?”

“Are we little together, right now?”

Melody considered. “I think so. It feels weird. Because I’m sad. And because Rosa…”

Melody bit their lip too late. Their cheeks were wet again. Briana nuzzled the tears away, holding Melody tightly.

“I’m sorry you’re sad, but it’s okay that you are.” Briana held Melody as tightly as she could.

“Something bad happened with Rosa.” Briana said, quickly adding. “You don’t have to say what!”

Briana bumped her head against Melody’s. “I’m here. I love you.”

“I love you too.” Melody said. They still felt like crying, in a different way now.

“Do you know how to go away?” Briana asked. “To be really little?”

Melody shook their head. Reconsidering, they said. “I’m not sure. I think maybe, one time I got there.”

“Do you want to try with me?” Briana asked.

Melody nodded. “Yes please.”

Briana grinned. “If we do it right, you’ll get to see Cloudland.”

“What if we don’t imagine the same Cloudland?” Melody asked.

“Silly sibling!” Briana said. “We just add them together.”

“Oh, cool.” Melody smiled tentatively.

“Why did you say that Suzie doesn’t like to change diapers?” Briana asked, randomly.

“Uh, I probably shouldn’t say.” Melody said, then shrugged. “She was asking if you were using your diapers for um, poop, when we were all doing the babysitting in turns. She didn’t want to deal with that.”

“She’s fun sometimes. I know she loves me.” Briana said. “But she’s a jerk sometimes too.”

“Yeah.” Melody nodded. “She was teasing me about being Veronica’s kid in front of Gary.”

“Oh, but you’re still figuring that out!” Briana said. “Well I hope that Veronica runs out of babysitters and has to use her. And when that happens, we’re both so far into being little that we BOTH poop!”

Melody giggled. The giggles broke into a full-on guffaw. The laughter was a little hysterical, but it felt good. Melody was wheezing a little when the chuckles subsided.

“That… is a really complicated and inconvenient way to get revenge.”

“Stuff gets strange up here sometimes, when you’re little.” Briana said, with a smirk.

“Yeah? Do you ever get scared?” Melody asked. Strange sounded scary.

“Sometimes.” Briana said. “Sometimes my imagination is scary, or I get caught between big and little, and it hurts.”

“I’ll take care of you.” Melody said, squeezing Briana tightly.

“Really?” Briana asked. “But you’re sad, you aren’t used to being little, and…”

“Bri.” Melody said. “You’re my little sister, remember?”

“I’ll never forget.” Briana said, tucking her head onto Melody’s shoulder.

“Big siblings take care of the little ones.” Melody said, as sincerely as they’d ever said anything.

Briana sighed happily. Melody was quiet for a bit, enjoying the moment.

“Okay, how do I go little?” Melody asked.

“How did you do it before?” Briana asked.

“I had Rosa.” Melody said. It hurt, but not as much as they expected. Briana hugs were a powerful anti-sad.

“Right, there are other ways.” Briana said quickly. “Let’s play with our stuffies. It’s going to take a while to introduce Totoro-san to everyone in Cloudland. I bet you’ll be little by the time we finish.”

“I bet he’d like to meet everybody.” Melody said, standing Totoro up.

“Well obviously he has to meet Alanna first.” Briana said. “He’s a very important guest.”

When Veronica came up to babysit, Melody was glad that she didn’t interrupt them. Arnold the Pangolin was in the middle of a speech and if she’d interrupted, they’d have to say Arnold the Pangolin like a hundred more times.

Luckily, Totoro was a lot more patient that Melody was. They let him handle Arnold the Pangolin. Melody sat on their cloud-stool and sipped their cloud-wine. Mel was a little drunk off of it, but no one had noticed yet. They smiled a sneaky smile.

Briana looked at Veronica curiously. Instead of opening the dresser drawers full of onesies and pajamas, Veronica was in the back of Briana’s closet. Briana was in just a diaper, awaiting whatever outfit Mom was going to put her in.

“How do you feel about big girl clothes?” Veronica asked.

“Are we having people over again?” Briana asked. The last time she’d worn big girl clothes it had been at a party. The time before that – was when she was still going to school. It seemed so long ago.

“Actually, I was wondering if you’d like to come shopping with me.” Veronica said.

“Really?!” Briana bounced excitedly. “Yes, please Mommy! Can we get Christmas presents? I have lotsa people to buy for.”

Veronica chuckled, emerging from the closet with a long yellow skirt. She added a blue and white checkered blouse, setting both on the bed. Briana checked out the clothes excitedly while she waited for mom to dress her.

To Briana’s surprise, the first thing Veronica put on her was a white bralette. While dressing little, she didn’t technically need to wear a bra, and hadn’t worn one in ages. Already she was feeling like a super big girl.

Briana helped Veronica get the skirt and blouse on her, as well as a pair of thick white leggings. Cute blue shoes that Briana had totally forgotten about completed the outfit. Spinning in front of her mirror to poof her skirt out, Briana laughed in delight.

“You look terrific sweetie.” Veronica said.

“Thanks for picking this outfit.” Briana said. “I love it.”

“It’s the outfit you wore when you applied to live in the house, do you remember?” Veronica asked.

“Oh, I do now! I’m so glad I moved in with you.” Briana took a couple of dancing steps over to Veronica and hugged her. “I love you, Mama.”

“My little BumblBri.” Veronica said softly, pulling Briana close.

“Are we going out right away?” Briana asked.

“We need to get going, yes. Grab a coat, I think your blue one will be warm enough, and look nice too. You have to wear gloves and a hat as well.”

“I bet Suzie will let me wear her blue cloche.” Briana said. “It’ll be perfect with this outfit!”

“Just don’t spend too long asking. Can you be at the door and ready in ten minutes?” Veronica asked.

“Yes Mom!” Briana scampered downstairs.

As she predicted, Suzie was forced to bend her ‘don’t borrow my hats’ rule when she saw how cute it made the outfit. Briana was at the door with her coat and gloves on with five minutes to spare.

Though Briana expected downtown to be empty, so early on a Sunday, there were cars and people everywhere. It took Veronica a while to find parking, they’d had to stop on every street to let pedestrians through a crosswalk.

Stepping out into the softly drifting snow, Briana felt her cheeks and nose redden. It was inevitable with her super fair skin and would only add to her cuteness today. Indeed, she got a big smile out of Veronica when she took Briana’s hand and set out to the shops.

The first stop was actually breakfast. Briana literally couldn’t remember the last time she’d been to a real restaurant, which didn’t take the campus food card. Probably back when she’d first started dating Gary.

With a pile of pancakes in front of her, seated in a corner of a cute Chaplin-themed breakfast place, Briana could tell the day was going to be magical.

“I will be very impressed if you eat that entire stack.” Veronica said, daintily eating her grown-up scramble. It was full of weird cheeses and pesto. “Please be careful of your outfit. I have a diaper bag but not much for spare clothes.”

“I won’t spill.” Briana said, drowning her pancakes in three kinds of syrup. “I want to everybody to see my outfit today.”

“Are you feeling a little cooped in?” Veronica asked.

“Yeah, I think so.” Briana said, packing an enormous bite of pancake into her little mouth. “Eh ehuh eahuh ih uhuuhl uhay.”

“Briana Cassingham.” Veronica said sternly. “You know better than to talk with your mouth full.”

A quick gulp of apple juice helped wash down the mighty bite. “Sorry mom. I said I didn’t realize it until today.”

“Take smaller bites, honey.” Veronica said. “I should have realized you were too home-bound myself. We’ll make a point of taking you out more.”

Briana cut a marginally smaller bite of pancake stack, remembering to talk before she mashed it into her mouth this time. “What about school? Is there any way I can go back?”

“Are you missing the socialization or the classes?” Veronica asked.

“The classes.” Briana said, after getting the second bite down. “I really like Microbiology. I was doing cool research too, with Dr. Vaughn.”

“You’re so much more grown up in your conversation today.” Veronica said with a smile. “Is it just the clothes and being out?”

“I don’t know.” Briana said. “That might be part of it. I also kinda feel rested.”

“Hmm, well getting you signed up for classes isn’t a problem, we could do it tomorrow if we wanted.” Veronica said, sipping her mimosa. “My only concern is that I want you to be successful. Dropping in and out of a graduate program is pretty disruptive to research and your colleagues.”

“If you think of a way, let me know.” Briana said. “I’ll try to think of something too.”

“You seem happy enough wearing protection out with me right now.” Veronica said. “You’ve been worried about doing that at school before though.”

“Hmm, maybe it would be okay.” Briana said. She pitched her voice a little lower. “But we were working on potty training too, right?”

“Working seems to be the operative word there. Your progress has been a little uneven.” Veronica said. “I’m sorry I haven’t been able to help as much as I’d like.”

“I know you’re busy.” Briana said, giving mom a genuine smile. “Plus, you have to help Melody now. If you have to choose, help them first.”

“You’re such a sweet girl.” Veronica said. “I’m fortunate to have you in my life.” (Santa Points +1)

Briana beamed. The pancakes were getting cold, and Veronica was more than halfway through her scramble. She tabled further conversation for a bit so she could properly attack her four-stack of pancakes. Veronica, their waitress, and even Briana were surprised to see a clean plate at the end of breakfast.

It was a good thing that Veronica wanted to go slowly on the icy sidewalks in her heels, because Briana was completely stuffed. The sedate pace was great for window shopping too. They got to see all the Christmas decorations and listen to the carolers that had set up on Main Street.

Some of the presents were easy to get. A grumpy owl plushie for Arthur and a nice silver bracelet for Tamira were no-brainers. Suzie wanted chocolate for literally every occasion, so a trip to the fudge shop handled her and Erin both. Other presents were harder though. Briana had no idea what to get Gary, or her immediate family for that matter. Especially Veronica, since she could hardly buy her mom a present while she was standing right there.

They paused to let a group of parents sort out a very squirmy group of kids. The parents were busy making sure that every kid had exactly one hat and pair of gloves, even if it wasn’t the one the kid had started with. It was cute how many of the kids were dressed like their parent.

While they waited, Briana caught her mom looking at the nearby shop window with more than just casual interest. It was a clothing shop, and probably one of Veronica’s favorites. Out of four mannequins in elaborate dresses, only one was wearing any color at all.

Briana smiled and squeezed Veronica’s hand, getting an answering squeeze. She looked up at Veronica and down at her outfit. It was super cute, but she didn’t match Veronica at all.

“Mom?” Briana asked tentatively. “Would it be okay if I bought something for me?”

Veronica smiled and nodded. “Of course, honey. You almost never get to go shopping. What caught your eye?”

“The dresses in this shop are really pretty.” Briana said, turning to the window. “If we have time, I’d like to at least try one on.”

“I love the dresses they have here.” Veronica said, indicating her black faux-Victorian dress with a sweep of her hand. “They’re pretty far outside your usual style though. What do you like about them?”

“I want a dress that makes me look like you.” Briana said shyly.

“Briana, is your goal for this shopping trip to make me cry?” Veronica asked happily, dabbing her eyes with a handkerchief.

“No.” Briana giggled. “Is it okay? And maybe when I wear it, you could do my makeup like yours?”

“I guess we’re getting you at least one outfit now.” Veronica said with an uncharacteristically goofy smile.

As Briana had suspected, the ladies in the store knew Veronica well, and greeted her by name. By her last name anyway. It was weird to see everyone address Mom as Ms. Rasmussen. There weren’t many other customers in the store, since the dresses weren’t very Christmas-y. Out of boredom or for a favorite customer, the shop owner took them back to play dress-up with Briana.

Ensconced in the backroom so that they could do quick-changes, Briana went through at least a half dozen outfits. Each outfit was quite complicated, with multiple accessories and shoes. After seeing Briana wobble dangerously on a pair of high-heeled-witchy-boots, Veronica and Briana both banned heels from further consideration. That was fine, there were plenty of cute flats and Briana liked being short.

“It’d be easier to evaluate these outfits if we got her out of those leggings and into some black nylons or tights.” Said Wendy, the shop owner.

“Are you alright with that, Briana?” Veronica asked.

Though she’d already been stripped down to her leggings and bra several times, Briana hesitated. The leggings were tight enough that it was hard to say exactly what she had on under them. The slight bulk of her daytime diaper could be mistaken for Briana having a bit more butt than she actually did.

Figuring that Veronica would have said no if she thought Wendy would be mean, Briana put her trust in her mom.

“That’d be fine. There are some cute ones of those too. That second dress would look better if I was bare legged anyway.”

Veronica gave Wendy a look that was unreadable to Briana. It must have meant something to Wendy, because she hardly batted an eye when Veronica took Briana’s leggings down to reveal the pale pink diaper underneath.

“Ugh, pastel pink?” Was Wendy’s only comment. “We’ll need something more opaque than nylons I think, here, try these spiderweb pattern tights.”

With the tights on, Briana was starting like a complete gothy girl. In just two more outfit changes they found one that everyone agreed was their favorite. A satin and velvet petticoat dress, with a high/low skirt, fit without need for alteration. It had a solid red layer under the black lace, giving it enough color to make Briana feel good about it. Veronica was in love with the layers of black lace and the velvet panels on the corset-style top. Wendy loved how well the outfit accessorized.

 In short order Briana had opera length gloves, a lace choker, and flat-heeled shoes with pointed toes to add to her ensemble. Looking in the mirror made her feel like she was in a costume to be an evil queen or a vampire. At least, it made her feel that way until she saw Veronica stand behind her in the mirror.

They matched! Briana’s heart fluttered. She looked like she belonged next to Veronica, could even be her daughter. If they weren’t just four years apart in age, of course. Turning to Veronica, she gazed up at her in adoration.

“Do you like it, Mom?” Briana asked. Too late, she realized Wendy was still there. (Santa points -1)

“You look gorgeous. I want you to know that I don’t need you to dress like this all the time; I love your regular style.” Veronica said, apparently ignoring Briana’s slip of the tongue. Wendy wasn’t reacting either. (Santa points +1)

“I love seeing you like this though. Especially because of what you said outside the shop.” Veronica said.

“What’d she say outside the shop?” Wendy asked, curiously.

“That I wanted an outfit that would make me look like her.” Briana said, taking Veronica’s hand. “Because she takes care of me, and I love her.”

“In that case you’ll want to wear it out.” Wendy said. When Briana nodded vigorously, she added, “I can do her makeup if you want, Ms. Rasmussen. I have plenty of mine here at the shop.”

“Is it alright if I put it on her instead?” Veronica asked quietly.

“Of course.” Wendy said. “You two are adorable. Don’t worry about hiding your relationship in this shop. I’m poly, and my business partner is too, in a different arrangement. Whatever your family looks like, it’s welcome here.”

“Thank you, Wendy.” Veronica said, with a gentle smile.

“I’ll give you two some space. Makeup is by that back counter. Do you just want the one outfit, or is there anything else we tried on that you want to keep?”

“We’ll take it all.” Veronica said. “Everything that fit on her, box it up and mail it to my house.”

Wendy chuckled. “You’re going to put my girlfriend through college, Ms. Rasmussen. Thank you very much. It was wonderful to meet you, Briana. I hope we’ll see you again sometime, so you can surprise your mom with a cute new dress.”

“Maybe!” Briana said. “Thanks Wendy.”

While Wendy boxed up the outfits and rang them up, Briana sat for her makeup and watched Veronica. There was so much care in Veronica’s look of concentration. The two of them had become so close, so quickly. Even so, there was still a lot she didn’t know about the woman she called Mom.

“Mom.” Briana said when Veronica had finished her lips and moved on to her eyes. “Are you rich?”

“Hmm, I guess I did flaunt it just a bit there, didn’t I?” Veronica asked. “I try to be a little more discreet than that. Yes, our family has some wealth that has been passed down. We aren’t Rockefellers, but we’re very comfortable.”

“I was just wondering.” Briana said. “I feel like there’s more I should know, if you’re my mom. You can tell me if I ask something that I shouldn’t.”

“Briana, look at me.” Veronica said.

She paused her eyeliner painting so that Briana could open her eyes. Veronica was squatting down, looking up at Briana. It was one of the most serious looks her mom had ever given her.

“It’s your money too, darling.” Veronica said.

Briana’s throat suddenly had a lump. She hadn’t become Veronica’s daughter for money. What was that line from Sabrina? Everyone would say what a fine democratic thing it was for rich David to marry poor Sabrina. But nobody poor was ever called democratic for marrying somebody rich.

“Th-that’s okay. You don’t have to do that. I’m really grateful that you took me shopping today.”

“Listen to me, Briana.” Veronica said. “You are my precious daughter. I love you exactly like I would if you were my blood.”

Furiously blinking away the tears that threatened her makeup, Briana sniffled. “I love you too, Mom.”

“You’re my Briana, but as far as I’m concerned, you’re also a Rasmussen.” Veronica said. “You can be one on paper too, if you want. I could formally adopt you.”

That did it. Tears spilled down Briana’s cheeks, shredding her eye makeup across her foundation.

“Mommy… really?” Briana asked.

“Yes, really. Would you want that? It’s a big deal to change your name.”

“Not for me.” Briana said with a sniffle. “I mean, not a big deal to get rid of the old one. It’s just what the last foster family had.”

“Do you want to keep your middle name?” Veronica asked.

“I don’t know.” Briana said. “But I know I want to be Briana Rasmussen.”

“Then you are.” Veronica said, stroking Briana’s hair. “We’ll make it legal as soon as we can, but that is your name from today on.”

“I’m ruining the makeup you did.” Briana said, sobbing into an ornate black silk handkerchief.

“Easily fixed.” Veronica said. “I do makeup like this every day.”

By the time her makeup was redone, Briana was feeling an odd discomfort. It was so unfamiliar that she had to seriously think, before she realized what the problem was.

“Mom.” Briana said urgently. “I have to go to the bathroom.”

Veronica looked up from the makeup she was putting away in surprise. “Oh. Oh! It’s right through that door, honey.”

Briana dashed for it! There were a lot more layers than usual between her and her diaper. It would have been a noble, but futile attempt, if Veronica hadn’t come in to help gather her skirt and get her diaper down.

Sitting on the potty, Briana was surprised at how much she had in her. She’d somehow held it until her bladder was totally full. Said bladder was achy at being stretched for the first time in a while.

“I’m really impressed, Briana.” Veronica said. “You held it just like a big girl – no, really like a young lady.”

“I don’t know how I did it.” Briana said, just as surprised. “I just realized I had to go.”

“You’ve been very grown up, mentally, on this shopping trip.” Veronica said, helping Briana get her clothes back on.

“It’s weird. It feels good though.” Briana said. Feeling a sudden pang of fear, she quickly added, “It doesn’t mean I don’t need you, though.”

“I know that, Baby Bee.” Veronica said. She patted Briana gently on the cheek. “This isn’t like when we were doing this for therapy. I’ll still help you with your issues, but as your mom now.”

Briana relaxed and smiled. “What now?”

“We still have shopping to do, but it’s getting late in the day. Let’s try two more stores and go home.”

“Okay Mama.” Briana said.

It was exciting to be out, dressed to match Veronica. Tempering that excitement was the puzzle of her big behavior. It was a little scary, mostly because it was unreliable. If she could manage to do this, she could go back to class. But what if it lasted a week and she was back to being baby-minded?

Her distraction wasn’t so total that she forgot to look for presents. Though Veronica had said only two stores, Briana dragged her into a ‘Gifts of Japan’ store they saw on the way back to the car. It took some hunting through the jam-packed walls and shelves, but Briana found the perfect gift for Melody.

An anime figurine set of the impromptu Mother/Father/Daughter trio from “Spy x Family”, along with a figurine of Ray from “The Promised Neverland”, were both statues that Melody didn’t have. Combining them would create Briana and Melody’s own impromptu family. Briana was pleased with herself all the way home.

Even after hiding her presents away, Briana didn’t feel the need to revert to her baby self. It would be a shame to get out of her cool goth outfit without showing her sibling, after all. Briana bet she could get Melody to take some pictures.

A knock at Melody’s door didn’t yield any response. Baby Briana would have crashed right in, but Graduate Student Briana was a little more considerate.

“Melody, it’s Briana. I’m coming in, okay?”

“Fine.” Came Melody’s sad reply.

Briana stepped into the room and immediately moved to hug her sibling. Melody looked wretched. They were standing at their desk in a very soggy diaper and a t-shirt, listlessly shoving books and electronics into their school bag. At Briana’s touch, Melody dropped the bag and leaned into their sister.

“I got you.” Briana said.

She got a heartbreaking whimper from Melody in response. Since she couldn’t fix Melody’s real hurt, she just held on to her sibling, gently stroking their hair.

“You’re different.” Melody said finally.

They pulled back to look at Briana and their eyes went wide.

“You look like Veronica.” Melody said in awe.

Despite her sibling’s misery, Briana broke into a huge smile at that compliment.

“You like my new outfit?” She did a twirl for Melody.

“You look amazing. Wow.” Melody said.

Briana frowned. She’d expected a meme-y quip of some kind. Melody’s voice was flat and soft. Their eyes were downcast and dull.

“Didn’t Dad check on you?” Briana asked. “You’re not okay right now. You need a change too.”

“I didn’t answer when Jane knocked.” Melody said grumpily.

Briana sighed in exasperation. She put her hands on her hips just the way that Mom did. It felt good, authoritative.

“Little one.” Briana declared, “I’m going to get you cleaned up and taken care of.”

“You’re the little one.” Melody said. It was half a question.

“Not right now. Come with me.” Briana took Melody’s wrist firmly.

Her sibling stared back at her in disbelief. Melody pulled back. At her size, Briana had less than zero chance of dragging anyone with her.

“Isn’t that diaper cold, soggy, and itchy?” Briana asked. “That looks like the one you had from nighttime.”

“I guess it is.” Melody said in a huff.

“Then come with me so I can change you.” Briana said.

Melody hesitated one more time. They looked down and took a tentative step forward.

Briana might not be able to pull someone by physical strength, but she knew quite a bit about exploiting momentum. As soon as Melody moved, Briana did too, keeping Melody’s arm taut. She had her sibling stumbling over to the drawing room changing table, before Melody could change their mind.

“Up you go.” Briana said. Melody stared at Briana in silent confusion.

“I can’t lift you.” Briana said. “Up. Now!”

Hearing a sharp tone from Briana looked like it freaked Melody out. It got them up on the table though, post haste.

“Give me your shirt.” Briana said, pulling Melody’s t-shirt up.

She managed to get it off with minimal wiggles. With that done, she tore open the tapes on Melody’s diaper and disposed of it. Relief was immediately evident on Melody’s face.

“What’s going on?” Melody asked. “You’re never like this.”

“I used to be like this every day.” Briana said. “I don’t know how long I can keep it up, but I do know one thing.”

“What’s that?” Melody asked, squirming as Briana wiped them clean.

“I can do it long enough to take care of my sibling.” Briana said confidently.

“But – I’m the big sibling.” Melody said uncertainly. “You’re my little sister.”

“I’m your sister, period. Lift your butt.” Briana said, sliding a blue, Melody-friendly diaper under her sibling. “Just relax, Mel. Let your sister take care of you for a hot second, okay?”

“Okay.” Melody said.

They were crying again. Briana held off on the powder and gently stroked Melody’s hair. It took a few minutes for them to soothe. Softly humming, Briana wiped Melody’s tears and popped a pacifier in their mouth.

The pacifier was clearly a big surprise to Melody. Briana realized she’d never seen Melody use one before. They took to it right away though, closing their eyes and relaxing.

Briana took her time diapering Melody, making sure to incorporate a lot of loving touches. Back in Melody’s room, she got them into one of their sets of baby pajamas. This one was a dark green and had little gold bow and arrow motifs embroidered into it.

“Is it the clothes?” Melody asked. “Can you do this because you’re wearing Veronica stuff?”

Briana chuckled. “Why, because goth powers and mommy powers are the same thing?”

“Maybe they are.” Melody said. “You look so different. What’s that shade of lipstick anyway, Blood of My Enemies?”

Briana giggled. “That’s more like my sibling. Feeling better?”

“Yeah but, I can’t just be a baby all the time. I have to go back to school tomorrow.” Melody said sadly.

“That’s tomorrow.” Briana said. “Right now, you’re a baby in some of the cutest pajamas ever.”

“They are pretty cool.” Melody said, pleased. “So uh, what now?”

“I take care of you.” Briana said. “Are you hungry?”

“You better not be offering to feed me the way that Veronica does you!” Melody teased.

“Very funny.” Briana chuckled. “I wasn’t, and I can’t do that anyway. I actually don’t know how mom did it, now that I’m big enough to think about it. I guess it must be some kind of maternity medicine thing.”

Melody shrugged. “I’m hungry I guess.”

Briana considered her sibling. They seemed to be out of steam for thinking. They might want to be really little at the moment. As Briana knew well, people often hesitated to treat her as little as she needed to be treated. They were reluctant for good reason, of course, but a push didn’t hurt.

“Since you brought that up, do you want me to prepare a bottle for you?” Briana asked.

“That’s baby stuff.” Melody said, blushing.

“Are you a baby right now, Melody?” Briana asked.

“I don’t know – I can’t…” Melody whimpered.

“Do you wish you were one?” Briana asked softly.

“Yes.” Melody said. After a long pause they added, “Please, Briana.”

Briana spotted Totoro on the bed and popped him into Melody’s hands. She was to the kitchen and back as fast as she could manage, warm bottle of formula in her hands. Melody spotted the bottle and squirmed nervously.

Closing the door, Briana smiled at Melody. She helped her sibling get propped up on some pillows and offered the bottle gently. As soon as they began sucking on it, Melody closed their eyes. They got through the bottle steadily, finishing with a quiet burp and a cute wiggle.

“Need a nap?” Briana asked.

Melody nodded and crawled under the covers. Briana tucked her sibling in, singing a soft nonsense song in the melody of the Cloudland anthem. She knew from her own experience, that Melody’s expression meant they were non-verbal for a bit.

Unfortunately, as soon as Melody was asleep they didn’t need Briana anymore. Stress gathered in a tense knot at the back of Briana’s head. She felt herself wetting, without the slightest warning. It was still so hard to be big Briana. Asserting authority over Melody had taken a lot of energy too. After making sure that Melody was really asleep, Briana fled upstairs.

“Mama?” Briana called as she searched Veronica’s suite.

“It’s Dad.” Jane said from the bedroom. “Veronica is out.”

Briana raced into Jane’s arms for a big hug. She pulled back and looked Briana over.

“You look so much like your mom like that.” Jane said. “Do you like it? You’re very pretty that way.”

“Of course I am, ‘cause you like goth girls.” Briana said, giggling.

“Guilty.” Jane said with a chuckle. “What’s up?”

“Did Mom tell you how I was big today?” Briana asked.

“Yes. Are you running down from that now?” Jane asked.

“Yeah.” Briana nodded. “Help me get little, please Daddy?”

Jane knew exactly what she needed. In typical efficient fashion, she had Briana in a fresh diaper and a onesie in less than fifteen minutes. Even the makeup was scrubbed off, which Briana regretted a bit.

“Can I play in Melody’s room?” Briana asked. “They were super sad today. I put them down for a nap. I want them to wake up with me there.”

“You put Melody down for a nap?” Jane asked curiously. “Trying to steal your Dad’s job now?”

“No.” Briana said, snuggling up to Jane. “Nobody can replace my daddy.”

“Veronica told me you were especially sweet today.” Jane said softly. “I didn’t realize you were trying to make us cry.”

“I’m not trying to make anybody cry.” Briana said impatiently. “I just feel really happy. Maybe it’s the holidays.”

“OH!” Briana shouted, cutting off whatever reply Jane was about to make. “Oh Dad, can I tell you all the big girl stuff I did today?”

“Sure honey. But calm down a little.”

“But you have to hear it.” Briana insisted. “For Santa.”

Jane laughed. “Alright, I understand. Go ahead.”

Briana gave a breathless rundown of her morning, making sure to mention that she’d been super nice to Mom (Santa Points +1), used the potty like a big girl (Santa Points +1), told Mom she wanted to change her name (Santa Points +1), found the perfect gift for Melody (Santa Points +1), saved Melody from being sad (Santa Points +1), and finally stayed big long enough to help Melody get little again. (Santa Points +1)

Once Briana was satisfied that Jane would inform Santa of all her good deeds, she had Dad help her collect some toys from her room and set her up in Melody’s bedroom. While Melody snored, Briana built more and more elaborate stuffie-towers on her sibling. (Santa Points -1)

((Content warning: Self Harm, descriptions of depression))

Monday morning came on unbearably hard. Melody looked out at the snow dumping out of the sky and piling on the lawn. It would be absolute heaven to get a fresh diaper, a snowsuit and go out in the fluffy white with Briana.

They checked their phone for the tenth time. School wasn’t cancelled. In fact, the administration had issued a statement that the roads were freshly plowed and that all classes were to go ahead. Melody’s last hope was that one or all of their professors would cancel, but no luck there either.

“Good morning, Melody.” Veronica said. She’d let herself in to Melody’s room and took a seat on the edge of the bed.

“Oh uh, hi.” Melody turned away from the window. “Don’t I usually go to you for the morning thing?”

“No, lately you don’t.” Veronica said primly.

Melody looked away guiltily. “Uh, sorry.”

“I’m not here to push blame on you, but we are going to be honest. Now, while I get you changed and ready for the day, we have to talk about at least one thing going on in your life.” Veronica said.

“Please don’t make me.” Melody whimpered. They were tearing up again. They hated that they were crying so much lately.

“It doesn’t have to be about Rosa or Beatrix.” Veronica said. “Though I would be happy to talk about them. It just has to be something about how you’re feeling.”

Melody sighed. They nodded slowly. “I guess I have some questions about the way I’ve been acting this weekend. Little, but it feels like more than a game this time.”

Veronica whisked the covers off of Melody and scooted them onto a changing blanket. The room was a little chilly, especially when Veronica took their pajama pants down.

“You’ve been wearing diapers for a while, even when I wasn’t directly enforcing it. It sounds like you had some little-space experiences recently, though you haven’t told me about those yet.” Veronica said kindly. She wasn’t making eye-contact, focusing instead on getting Melody out of their diaper and wiping them clean.

“Oh right. Uh, I did it once with Tamira. A couple of times with Rosa. It was uh…” Melody whimpered. “You said we didn’t have to talk about Rosa.”

“We don’t have to. It might help you to, though. Especially if it’s about the good experiences you had.” Veronica said, getting a fresh diaper under Melody.

“That’s the problem though.” Melody said dully. “Those are gone now. She broke up with me.”

Saying it out loud was a fresh stab to the barely healed wound. Melody trembled, feeling dizzy and sick.

“I’m so sorry to hear that. I think she was very good for you. You two looked happy together.” Veronica said.

“We were.” Melody said softly.

“Let’s take a step back to what you were saying earlier.” Veronica said, tenderly patting baby powder onto Melody’s skin. “You said you had more than one little space experience with Rosa.”

“Yeah.” Melody said with a heavy sigh. It was painful to think about, but nothing compared to remembering their breakup. “It felt so good. I was really safe with her. It was nothing like the diaper stuff I did with Bea. It was perfect.”

“Did allowing yourself to be little help you feel safe here with us?” Veronica asked. She patted the tapes on Melody’s diaper, checking that the fit was snug. “Did it recapture some of that feeling?”

“I think so.” Melody said. “Especially playing with Briana. I really appreciate you and Jane taking care of me.”

“That’s part of our solution to your hurt, then.” Veronica said. “I’d be the last person to tell you to repress and forget a trauma. At the same time, you don’t have to examine it when it’s fresh and painful. Take a few days to recover with your support network. When you feel stronger, we’ll look at what caused this.”

“I was doing that.” Melody said. They wanted to roll over and snuggle up to Veronica. Today had to be an adult day, so they couldn’t. “Now I have to go back to school and work and face everything.”

“You do.” Veronica said, her tone kind but direct. “When you come home, you’ll be supported again. I will take some of the logistic worries away for you, tracking what you need to do and when. As soon as your work and homework are done, you can be little again.”

“Like a secret identity.” Melody said. They looked up to see confusion on Veronica’s face. “You know, superheroes.”

“I don’t know a lot about comics.” Veronica said, like there weren’t also dozens of movies in a multibillion-dollar genre of movies with superheroes in them.

“But I imagine it would be exhausting to be someone like Superman. To be seen all the time as a literal savior and demigod. I’m sure someone like that would find a Clark Kent persona to be relaxing. To be someone who is only expected to write an article, not save the world.”

“You’re saying that when I’m done with my work all I have to do is…”

“Is play nicely with your sister and listen to your caregivers.” Veronica said.

“That could be good.” Melody said. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome. That wasn’t terrible, was it?”

“It wasn’t fun.” Melody said. “I feel better now, though.”

“That’s how therapy often goes. Alright, out of bed with you. I got you showered last night but we still need to get your teeth brushed and clothes on.” Veronica said.

Ready for school way earlier than normal, Melody decided to eat breakfast up in Briana’s room. They found their sister snuggled under a pile of blankets with a cup of hot chocolate, staring out at the snow in wonder.

“Melody!” Briana said brightly. “It’s snowing so much!”

Melody chuckled. “You going to go out and play in it today?”

“Yeah! Can you play with me?” Briana asked. “After school maybe?”

“Sorry sis.” Melody said. “I’ve got homework and regular work.”

“Aww. Well, I’ll make a snow they/them just for you.” Briana said brightly.

“Hah, a SnowEnby.” Melody munched on the unadorned blueberry toaster waffles she’d brought. “Thanks for the save yesterday.”

“I’m glad I could do it!” Briana said. “I wish I could do it alla-time, but it’s so hard to be big. Are you going to be okay today, not being little?”

“I have to be.” Melody shrugged. “But Veronica said I could be little when all my stuff is done. So, it’s kind of like being little is my secret identity.”

“Ooh, like a superhero!” Briana said. Melody was glad to see that their sister wasn’t as uncultured as Veronica.

“Yeah, pretty much. I do all the important stuff and then I get to hide away as someone else.”

“That’s what I want to do. But I feel like this is me. The little Briana is the real Briana. Being Big Briana yesterday felt like playing pretend.”

“That just makes you Shazam!” Melody said with a shrug.

“Huh?” Briana asked. “I don’t know that one.”

“Oh man, I really have to start showing you the Historical Documents.” Melody said. Briana gave them another blank look. Melody facepalmed.

“You haven’t seen GALAXY QUEST?” Melody shook their head. “It’s worse than I thought. Anyway, first things first. Shazam is a hero who’s a little boy, but he can turn into a powerful adult hero when he says Shazam!”

Briana stared at Melody in wonder. She leapt out of bed, splashing her cocoa across the rug. “Melody you’re a genius!”

“Heh, thanks.” Melody said. They braced themself for impact, putting their free hand around Briana after she crashed in for a hug.

“You really are, you know that right?” Briana said, half muffled by Melody’s shirt. “Your computer stuff is super impressive. I heard Mom talking about it. She said the Dean of Computer Science was talking about you.”

“Uh yeah, I’m pretty good at that kind of stuff.” Melody said. “I’m still not clear on how knowing about Shazam! makes me a genius though.”

“I think I really can do that.” Briana said, hopping back. “I can put on Big Briana if I know it’s just for a while. It’s trying to be Big Briana inside that makes it hard. If it’s just like transforming into a Knight of Cloudland, then it’s okay!”

“Huh, I guess if that works for you, I like it.” Melody said. “Uh, you realize you spilled your hot chocolate, right?”

“I did?” Briana looked behind her. “Oh no! Mom’s gonna be mad, and I’ll lose Santa Points!”

“Santa Points?” Melody asked. “Actually, never mind that right now. I’ll help you clean it up, okay?”

“Really?” Briana asked gratefully.

“Anything for my little sister.” Melody said.

Leaving Briana behind and going to school was a nightmare. Melody was sure their face was either Sad Meme Cat or Hide the Pain Harold all day. It wasn’t their long day, at least. Most of the day on Mondays could be spent hiding in an undergraduate lab, running unit tests on their thesis project.

It was looking like there were only thirty more minutes of work, when the computer lab suddenly got very loud. Melody looked up in confusion at the cacophony of coughs, muttering, and exclamations. With all the undergrad boys looking the same direction, it was easy to spot the source. Beatrix had made an entrance.

She was wearing a vee-necked, backless romper like she was Emma Frost, and the cold couldn’t touch her. Didn’t she realize that the undergrad labs were full of some for-real awkward nerds? Now the animals were spooked.

Beatrix spotted Melody and strode toward her. One of the bolder undergrads slid his chair out and tried his luck with a “Hey beautiful.”

“Not on your best day.” Beatrix said coldly. “or on my worst.”

Bea stepped around the guy like he was a bug.

“Melody. We have to talk.” Beatrix announced.

Things were getting weirder and weirder with Beatrix. That had almost sounded like a request. Melody nodded a little.

“Uh, okay. I just have to finish up here. We can meet in like thirty…” Melody blinked in surprise as Beatrix pulled the power cord out of the back of their computer tower.

“We can talk now.” Beatrix said. That was more like the Bea that Melody knew. At least their work had autosaved.

“Uh, fine.” They said.

Melody picked up their bag and shuffled out of the lab behind Beatrix. Nothing to make a bad day worse like having an entire computer lab stare at them. Melody was going to have to find a new lab to be incognito in. If they came back, at least one of those guys was going to start a conversation by saying, “I’m just curious…”

Beatrix lead Melody to another office under renovation, unlocking it with her construction key.

“How did you even get that key?” Melody asked.

“I stole it off some idiot’s tool cart.” Beatrix said, rolling her eyes like it should have been obvious. “It’s handy to be able to get into a private space whenever you want.”

“Okay, kind of weird, but not a sin.” Melody said. “What do you want to talk about?”

Beatrix sat on the desk that had been pushed up against the bookshelves. The opposite wall was all torn up. It looked like some shelves had come off that wall, but nothing had been re-plastered yet.

“I was a little freaked out the other day.” Beatrix said. “I lost my cool. Not my fault, I was under a lot of stress. Plus, you caught me off guard.”

“Um…” Melody felt pressure building on their chest. That day was the last day they wanted to talk about.

“Doesn’t matter, that shit’s behind us now.” Beatrix said. “You were out of line, but you were right about one thing. I’m attracted to you.”

Melody chewed their lip. What even was going on? Was Beatrix trying to have a relationship discussion with them? Did she not realize what she’d done, was still doing to Melody?

“Nothing to say?” Beatrix asked in irritation. “I know you think I’m hot. After undergrad, you stayed in touch because you wanted to touch me.”

“Uh yeah, that’s true.” Melody blushed.

“Well now you can, but we have to get a couple of things straight.” Beatrix said.

“We’re not going to get anything straight if this ends in us making out.” Melody said with smirk.

“Oh god, lesbian jokes.” Beatrix shook her head. “Focus Mel! I’m attracted to you, and there’s nothing wrong with that.”

Obviously, there’s nothing wrong with that, Melody thought.

“But you’re the submissive one!” Beatrix said sharply. “Okay? There’s nothing wrong with me being hot for you, as long as you’re the bitch.”

“Uh Bea that’s not really…”

“Hush!” Beatrix commanded. “You win, okay? You get all this.”

Melody stared at Bea in confusion. Is this what it would be like to date her? The whole conversation was rough, angry, with hidden mines scattered through it.

“You still don’t understand? Well, it’s cute that you need permission anyway.” Beatrix said. “Melody. Come here and kiss me. Now.”

Melody swallowed hard. They didn’t want to. Except they did want to. It wouldn’t really be cheating anymore, would it? Beatrix would get nicer as time went on, surely. This was just the start of – something. The start of something that wasn’t alone.

Melody walked forward tentatively. Beatrix kept her eyes on them the whole way, enchantingly focused on them. By the time Melody reached Bea, their heart was pounding. She smelled so good. She looked amazing.

The kiss felt like a first kiss. It was gentle, exploratory. Beatrix held Melody’s head like a lover, not an attacker. By the third kiss, Beatrix had gently moved Melody’s hands to her chest. Shortly after she had her hands down the back of Melody’s pants.

“You’re still wearing diapers?” Beatrix whispered in Melody’s ear. “Do you know how hot it is that you’re so obedient?”

Melody shivered and moaned. They wasn’t wearing them for Bea, but that wasn’t a fact that needed explaining right now.

“You don’t have to be a diaper dolly anymore.” Beatrix whispered lustily. “But if you like to play pretend you can be my puppy, or my pony, or my toy.”

Melody gasped and kissed Beatrix harder, biting Bea’s lip gently. They got a bite back in return, forcing another moan out of Melody.

“Get me off, toy.” Beatrix said, shedding her romper from her shoulders, and pushing Melody’s hands downward. “You haven’t earned a reward from me yet, but if you make this good for me, I’ll make you come later this week. In my bed.”

“Oh god.” Melody said hoarsely.

Beatrix was warm, soft, and wet under Melody’s hands. Her moans were needy and ecstatic in Melody’s ear. Between moans, Bea gave specific orders, teaching Melody how to please her. It wasn’t long before Beatrix shuddered and pressed against Melody. They were hot with desire too, panting into Beatrix’s neck.

“Oh fuck, I needed that.” Beatrix said, taking a deep breath. “Isn’t that funny, Mel? All those useless, stupid fucking guys, and what I needed was you.”

“You need me?” Melody asked, their voice cracking.

“I guess I do.” Beatrix put Melody’s wet fingers to their lips. “Smart, obedient, and actually kind of – handsome?”

Melody whimpered and licked their fingers clean. A couple of tears sprang into their eyes. That was Rosa’s word. It wasn’t right to hear it from Beatrix. None of this was right. It felt good across their skin, in their brain, and especially between their legs. In their heart it felt like a lump of ice.

“Yeah, this can work.” Beatrix said languidly. “Come over to my house this weekend. I’ll let you touch me, I’ll make you beg, and when you’ve earned it, I’ll make you scream my name.”

Melody swallowed around a hard lump in their throat. They couldn’t find the words to respond. They’d never wanted and not wanted something so intensely at the same time.

“I’ll tell you what day and time.” Beatrix said. When Melody still didn’t respond, she laughed. “I like you all quiet and attentive.”

Beatrix kissed Melody gently. She shrugged herself back into her romper and hopped off the desk. “I know you get turned on by the diapers, but I’m over them. I can find another way to humiliate you if you need that. Don’t wear them when you come over to my place, okay? I’ll let you wear them around school if you really want to.”

“Beatrix.” Melody said huskily. Bea had been right, they needed to talk. So far it had only been Bea talking. Melody hesitated while they tried to find the words they needed, and the courage to say them.

“I know, I box-blocked you.” Beatrix chuckled. “That’s what you get for doing it to me last week. If you’re really good tomorrow, I’ll do something for you. Plus, we have the weekend.”

“But I…” Melody tried again.

“That’s how it should be. With you begging.” Beatrix said in satisfaction. “See you tomorrow, Mel.”

Bea collected her bag and her coat, stepping out of the room without a look back.

Melody sank to the floor of the office and sobbed. Making plans with Beatrix felt like burying their relationship with Rosa for real. Could they ever go back to Rosa if they spent the night with Beatrix?

That was assuming that they could go back to Rosa at all. Even if Melody broke away from Beatrix totally, was the thing with Rosa fixable? Melody punched the desk, welcoming the pain in their knuckles. It was hard to imagine a return to being Rosa’s little one with the hurt that sat between them now.

Beatrix wanted them. Really wanted them. Had even tried to be nice. Honestly, had been as nice as Melody had ever seen Beatrix. Maybe Melody could fix her. Bea had some weird stuff around emotions, but Melody wasn’t the most neurotypical bear in the woods either. They could help Bea be better, at least with their relationship.

“Our relationship.” Melody said softly.

Beatrix was their girlfriend, for real. That hurt again, it pushed Rosa further away. It made Melody’s nerves dance in delight too. There was too much confusion. Too many conflicting chemicals in Melody’s brain. They felt like they were going to throw up again.

Melody’s gaze fell on a utility knife that had been left on the floor of the office. Without thinking, just needing, they picked it up. The blade flicked out, shiny and new.

For a long time, Melody stared at the razor blade. Their breathing became loud and labored. Melody’s lips were trembling, but their hands were steady.

In a sudden flash of emotional anguish, Melody yanked their sleeve up and drew the blade down the back of their upper arm. The pain was bright and strong. It pushed all the horrible thoughts away to the edges of Melody’s mind.

Gritting their teeth, Melody pressed a tissue to the cut. It stung and throbbed. Good, they thought. A few minutes later the cut had stopped bleeding. Melody’s thoughts were back to being flat and sad.

It was nice to have a reprieve from the turmoil. Melody tucked the utility knife down into the very bottom of their bag. It was time to go home, do some work, and escape into being a baby.

That night, Melody was relieved to see that their bet had paid off. Veronica didn’t spot the cut on their arm. It was just like high school; except they were hiding the cuts from someone who saw a lot more of their skin. That made it harder. At least being babied in the evening meant there was a different way to make the swirling thoughts go away.

The next day Melody felt like they were in a dream. Everything outside the house felt unreal. It was almost like they were watching themselves make out with Beatrix instead of actually doing it. Beatrix made a Friday date with Melody. They managed to not think about what that meant, with help from their new knife.

It was a relief to get home. Melody found Veronica in the living room and knelt down next to her, putting their head on her leg.

“Well, hello there.” Veronica said, stroking Melody’s hair. “Somebody needs attention.”

“Can I be little, please?” Melody asked.

“Did your clients agree to push those last two projects back to the New Year?” Veronica asked.

“Yes.” Melody said.

“And you finished all the unit tests that Dr. Sorenson was asking for?”

“Yeah, all done. They’re way faster to do on the school’s network.”

“Then you’re all ready to be little.” Veronica said, putting away her book. “Let’s start with a bath.”

“Do I have to?” Melody asked, unconsciously touching the arm they’d marked.

“Yes.” Veronica said. “You managed to worm you way out of one yesterday and you didn’t shower this morning. There won’t be any stinky babies on my watch.”

Melody followed Veronica to the bathroom nervously. They managed to pass inspection when Veronica stripped them down. Sinking into the tub, Melody let themself relax a little. Being bathed by Veronica was one of their favorite things. It was the first caregiver thing she’d done for them.

As Veronica scrubbed their hair and rinsed it, Melody let the gross thoughts of the day melt away. In a few minutes they’d be safely diapered and dressed in some kind of fun pajamas. They could hang out with their sister until bedtime, when sleep would shut down all thinking until morning.

“No falling asleep in the tub, little one.” Veronica said, her hand closing around Melody’s upper arm.

Melody yelped. As soon as they did it, they realized their mistake. It was too late, Veronica already had their arm in hand, inspecting it.

“I’m sorry hon, do you have a bruise or…” Veronica trailed off when she saw the three parallel cuts on the back of Melody’s arm.

Melody snatched their arm back and put their hand over the cuts. “It’s just a scratch.”

“Is that what it is?” Veronica asked heatedly. “Just three parallel scratches, one of which was obviously done on a different day than the others?”

“Yeah, that’s it.” Melody said sullenly.

“Get out of the tub, little one.” Veronica said tersely.

Melody sighed and heaved themself up. They stood on the bath rug, water pouring off of them.

“Over my knee.” Veronica said, pulling out a chair and taking a seat.

“I’m soaking.” Melody protested at the absurdity of it. “You’ll get wet.”

“That’s not a concern right now. You get over my lap right now, unless you want to be grounded from playing video games with Briana, until Christmas.”

Melody was caught off guard by how serious that threat felt. Gingerly, they lowered themself over Veronica’s lap. Her forearm pinned Melody’s lower back like a vice. They winced, tensing their rear.

“I want to be completely clear about this.” Veronica said. “I am not spanking you for cutting yourself. That’s a separate issue to deal with, but it doesn’t merit punishment. I am spanking you for lying to me.”

“It’s none of your business.” Melody said in a surly tone. “It’s private.”

SMACK! Veronica’s hand came down hard on Melody’s wet rear. They gasped and blushed at the sudden pain and embarrassment.

“None of my business?” Veronica asked, spanking Melody again. “Are you trying to push me away, Melody? Is that what you want to do?”

“Ow!” Melody cried. “It helps me! I’ve done it before. It’s fine!”

Four more smacks came down on Melody’s rear. Veronica was either spanking harder or the fact that their butt was wet was making it worse. Possibly both.

“Melody, if you’ve done this kind of self-harm before, then you know it doesn’t help. Not past the moment.” Veronica landed several more swats on Melody’s rear. “It’s dangerous and it leads down a very bad road.”

“I don’t care!” Melody wailed.

“Little one,” Veronica said. “You are going to get the most though spanking I’ve given you yet. Then you’re going right down to baby treatment, and we’re going to get to the bottom of this.”

“Don’t wanna.” Melody said. “Can’t make me.”

“I can do anything if it saves you.” Veronica said.

The spanking that followed seemed like it would never end. Melody went from yelping, to crying, to howling sobs. Through it all, Veronica rained down measured slaps on Melody’s butt. The pain throbbed deep into Melody’s back and legs. It erased everything else in their mind. There was nothing left in the world except Melody’s stinging butt, Veronica’s relentless hand, and the crying that wouldn’t stop.

It did eventually end, of course. Melody was walked naked back to their room, but they barely registered it. Veronica never left them. She called orders to Jane and Briana while she put Melody down to be diapered.

Not one, but two diapers and a booster pad went under Melody’s rear. They were limp and unresisting when Veronica spread the soothing lidocaine cream across their rear. They didn’t protest when the triple layers of padding were wrapped around them, even though it was so thick that Melody couldn’t close their legs.

The addition of a plastic diaper-cover, which secured with a Velcro strap, caused some grumbles, which Veronica ignored. With all that bulk it took Jane and Veronica both to get Melody into an oversized black onesie.

Briana had brought Totoro and a pacifier. She put the former in Melody’s arms, the latter she clipped to Melody’s onesie. Jane had brought a bottle full of warm formula. At Veronica’s direction, they left the room and closed the door.

Exhausted and buried in little-paraphernalia, Melody let Veronica feed them with the bottle. She was holding them swaddled in a blanket that pinned their arms and legs. Melody could have pushed out of the blanket but didn’t have the energy.

When the bottle was empty, Veronica wiped Melody’s lips. She secured the edge of the blanket, trapping Melody more firmly in their snuggly prison.

“Now, little baby, we are going to talk.” Veronica said.

“Wonika.” Melody said. They blushed. They hadn’t even been trying to use baby talk.

“I’ll start if you don’t mind.” Veronica said gently. “What was the trigger for you to cut yourself?”

“Beatrix kissed me.” Melody said.

“She assaulted you?” Veronica frowned.

“No, she did that before.” Melody said.

“When she took the pictures?” Veronica asked.

“No uh…” Melody sighed. “There’s a lot.”

“I need to hear it.” Veronica said. “Letting you fall is not an option, remember?”

“It’s hard.” Melody said. “I don’t want to talk about it.”

“That’s not your choice right now.” Veronica said. “You’re a baby, swaddled up in my arms. You can’t go anywhere until we talk about this. If I have to sit here all night until you finally talk, and I change your poopy diaper afterwards, that’s what will happen.”

A sudden sob burst out of Melody. It was just the one though, and they felt a little better after. If they didn’t have a choice, talking was easier. It was something they had to do, no matter what they wanted.

“Beatrix has been – controlling me.” Melody said softly. “She makes me do stuff with her. Because of the pictures she has.”

Veronica didn’t reply, she just stroked Melody’s back through the blanket.

“Then Rosa and I got together. It was great, but you were making me wear diapers and Bea was making me wear them too.” Melody sighed. “But then Rosa liked the diapers. We had – some good days. She took care of me. Let me call her mommy.”

“You’re being such a good, brave baby.” Veronica said softly. “Keep going.”

“Then Beatrix came at me again. This was th-the day I came back really sad. The recent one, I guess.” Melody took a deep breath. “She was kissing all over me. But I made her mad, and she hit me. Rosa saw the marks on my face, and the lipstick too.”

“Oh sweetie.” Veronica whispered.

“Rosa told me I had to stop seeing Beatrix. But I can’t. She has the pictures and – and I like it. I like being told what to do. I wanted to be with Beatrix since freshman year.” Melody felt tears pouring down their cheeks. “Rosa said – said I couldn’t be with her, if I didn’t stop with Beatrix. She – she left.”

“No wonder you were in crisis that day.” Veronica said. “We’re almost there, you can do it. Finish telling me.”

“This week, Bea said she liked me. We – we’re dating now. But when I kiss her, it’s like Rosa goes away more. I don’t know what to do.” Melody started sobbing softly. “It hurts if I’m alone, it hurts if I’m with Beatrix. It hurts so much my tummy gets sick.”

Melody buried their face in Veronica’s chest. “I remembered cutting from high school. I just needed to not hurt. I had to stop it.”

“My dear, beloved Melody.” Veronica said, stroking Melody’s back in slow circles. “I’m so sorry you’re hurting so much. I can’t let you keep cutting yourself though. That’s only going to hurt you more.”

“I don’t know what to do!” Melody sobbed.

“I think you should stop seeing Beatrix.” Veronica said.

“I can’t.” Melody whimpered.

“You can. You’re my brave, smart, hard-working baby. You’re scared, but you can get past the fear.” Veronica sighed softly. “Melody, my darling, Beatrix hurts you. She’s hurting your heart and she’s hurting your body. It has to stop.”

“I h-have a date with her on Friday.” Melody said. “I can s-stop it after that.”

“No.” Veronica said firmly. “You can tell her that you aren’t coming to the date. That she can’t see you anymore. It will be scary, but you will be free.”

“M-maybe.” Melody said.

That hurt too. It was unfair, brutally so, that giving up on Beatrix would hurt and that giving up on Rosa would hurt too.  Inside of Melody were two wolves. It didn’t matter what either one of them was, because you’re not supposed to have wolves inside of you. Melody’s stupid wolves were going to kill them.

“You have a very strong attachment to Beatrix.” Veronica said. “It’s not healthy. Especially considering how she treats you. I’ll take your maybe for now. Before Friday afternoon, you need to tell me what you’re going to do.”

“What if I say I’m going on the date?” Melody asked miserably.

“I will very strongly disagree with you. Because I love you.” Veronica said. “I don’t see anything but pain for you on that date, or any other time with Beatrix. You don’t have to have a lover who hits you. Nobody should have to endure that. You can find someone who treats you like the wonderful, beautiful person you are, even if it isn’t Rosa.”

Melody couldn’t answer. They’d be shaking all over if it wasn’t for the restrictive blanket. Everything felt so bad, all the time. Veronica’s words sounded nice, but they didn’t feel real. Melody was at the bottom of a pit, and they couldn’t see the top anymore.

“I’m going to stay with you tonight.” Veronica said.

“What?” Melody craned their neck to look up at Veronica. “Really? Why?”

“A couple of reasons.” Veronica said. “The biggest one is that I love you, and you need to be loved. The smaller one is that I haven’t found your knife yet.”

“Why?” Melody asked. “I make so much trouble for everybody. You just wanted a renter; you didn’t need all this.”

“I didn’t know how much my family needed you, until we met you.” Veronica said. “I’m not joking when I say I love you. Briana isn’t either.”

Melody nuzzled Veronica’s chest until their tears were wiped away. “You’ll really stay?”

“I won’t leave you alone for a single minute tonight. I’m even going to sleep in this bed with you.”

“C-can Briana sleep here too?” Melody asked. “Never mind, the bed isn’t big enough, sorry.”

“We have an inflatable mattress.” Veronica said. “She can sleep on that. It’ll be like a sleepover.”

Melody managed their first smile of the day. They sighed and leaned into Veronica. Nothing was going to be okay, but that was later. Right now, for one night, Veronica and Briana could keep the bad things away.

Melody woke up next to Veronica, cuddled against her. That was seriously weird. They’d come to rely on her older, gothier roommate for a while, but there was still some distance. There wasn’t a lot of distance at the moment. More like a thin nightshirt on Veronica’s side, and only-slightly-thicker pajamas on Melody’s.

Briana was snoring on an air mattress on the floor. Cutely, of course. Go Bri, even your snores are cute. They tried drawing away from Veronica and only managed to wake her up. It was odd seeing Veronica without her gothic makeup on, though her eyes were pretty intense even without their sharp outlines.

“Good morning Melody.” Veronica said softly. “How are you feeling?”

“Bleh.” Melody said. “Better than yesterday.”

“Good. Hmm, you’re wet too.” Veronica said, squeezing Melody’s rear. “Did you just go?”

“I am?” Melody frowned. “No, I woke up just now.”

“You must have gone in your sleep then.” Veronica said. “I know we put you to bed dry.”

I’m a bedwetter now? Melody asked themself. Great. Just put me in the trash can with the rest of the garbage.

“Are you alright to wait for a change until after I feed Briana?” Veronica asked, with an uncharacteristically hesitant expression. “I’m a little sore.”

“Yeah that’s okay.” Melody hesitated and bit their lip. “Um, can I ask about that?”

“Of course, little one.” Veronica said.

“Why?” Melody asked. They probably should have included more than a single word, but everything they came up with to expand the question sounded either insulting or stupid in their head.

“To be closer to her.” Veronica said. “We’re almost the same age. She’s not my daughter by blood. I wanted something – primal. Something that would bind us together on a spiritual level.”

“Did it work?” Melody asked.

“I think so.” Veronica said. “Why, are you wanting…”

“No!” Melody said in an urgent whisper. “I’m just curious.”

“Okay. I mean, I considered it for a moment when I thought you were asking, but I don’t think we’re close enough yet.” Veronica kissed Melody on the forehead.

That was a scary thought. Scary because it felt sexy in some ways, Melody realized. They didn’t want sexy from Veronica. They wanted comfort, caring, support… they wanted a mom.

“Hah, yeah, we aren’t.” Melody said with an evasive chuckle. “I mean, I don’t even call you mom or anything, like Briana does.”

“You would be welcome to.” Veronica said. “I think of you as my child.”

Melody froze up. Even breathing was suspended. That statement touched a lot of emotions. Right now, emotions were like falling knives. You had to be skilled and a little lucky to grab one without getting cut. Better to not.

“Breathe, Melody.” Veronica commanded.

Melody gasped. They looked at Veronica through wide eyes. Behind those eyes was a lot of fear and vulnerability. All they could do was hope that Veronica would be gentle. She could break a lot of things from where she was lying.

“I’m not asking you to call me that.” Veronica said. “It will always be your choice to define the relationship between us.”

“I want it too much.” Melody said. “It hurts.”

Truth came so easily to their lips now. They’d been soiled and stripped bare in front of Veronica dozens of times. With their confession about Beatrix, it felt like there was nothing secret left between them. It wasn’t much of an exaggeration to say that Veronica had saved their life. Melody felt like they had to give her anything and everything in return.

“Why does it hurt?” Veronica asked softly.

“Rosa.” Melody said. “I called her Mommy and she loved it. I loved calling her that. Also… my bio-mom.”

“Tell me about her. Your biological mother.” Veronica said.

“Her name is Charity.” Melody said with a bitter laugh. “She was always kind of freaky-religious, but she’s in the Quiverfulls now.”

“Oh dear.” Veronica said. “I imagine she isn’t happy with your sexuality.”

“When I fell in love with Beatrix I told her.” Melody said. “She – she turned cold, like a stone. Said she wasn’t my mom anymore. I’ve never spoken to her since. I mean, I sent a lot of texts and letters and stuff before I gave up, but she never answered.”

“My poor Melody.” Veronica gathered Melody up to her bosom.

It was comforting, warm and safe feeling. There was a slight odd odor, sour and soapy. It took Melody a moment to realize what it was. When they did, they blushed. Nothing like literally smelling breast milk to make them feel like a baby.

“Did you have another parent in your life at the time?” Veronica asked.

Oh good, that question, Melody thought.

“You can uh, wake Briana up if you want.” Melody said. “You said you were sore, we don’t need to do my whole life’s story right now.”

“I’m fine.” Veronica said. “No evading. I’ve learned that we often don’t come back to these topics when you say we can discuss them later.”

“I have a bio-dad.” Melody said in a whisper. “He left when I was a kid. That’s when mom started joining scary churches. Eventually this guy showed up and married her. David.”

Even after more than four years, Melody was surprised by the amount of venom that came out when they said that name. Apparently Veronica was too, she flinched a little.

“I take it he wasn’t supportive either.” Veronica said, in the understatement of the year.

“He came with some guys from the church to kidnap me. Probably to send me to conversion therapy.” Melody said. “Beatrix saved me.”

“She did?” Veronica asked. She sounded astonished. Melody gave themself some fake internet points for making Doctor Goth drop her therapist mask.

“Yeah uh, we’re friends. Thing have only gotten all fucked up recently. There’s advantages to having her for a friend if someone comes after you.” Melody sighed. “She uh, actually scared them. Bea is terrifying when she wants to be, and she wanted to be that day. For me.”

“I’m impressed.” Veronica said, grudgingly.

“It was a crazy scene.” Melody said. “It was loud enough to get the Resident Advisor of the dorms involved. After that, the church guys had to back off.”

“And you’ve supported yourself since.” Veronica said.

“Yeah, had to. Bea knows how to make money, she’s smart about that stuff. Some of the ways she does it are even ethical.” Melody chuckled humorlessly. “She helped me. A lot. She’s so beautiful. She’s so powerful. She’s my girlfriend now. I don’t know what to do.”

“Thank you for telling me all this. I understand so much more now. I still think a romantic relationship with Beatrix is a bad idea.” Veronica said. When Melody protested, she cut them off, “But! If you really wanted it, I wouldn’t stop you by force. You HAVE to set boundaries with her though. That’s not negotiable.”

“Nobody sets boundaries with Beatrix.” Melody said. “She’s – Beatrix.”

“I’m sure people set boundaries with her all the time. I doubt she runs roughshod over Marc, the Dean of Economics. I know him well. He’s not a pushover.”

“That’s different. He has power over her.” Melody said.

“So do you. She wants something from you. You don’t have to provide it.” Veronica said. “If she wants what she’s getting out of your relationship, she has to respect what you need.”

Melody shook their head.

“If you can’t make that happen, then you have to end it with her.” Veronica said. “Not necessarily the friendship, though I suspect you don’t have many boundaries there either.”

“What if I do that, and I never see her again?” Melody asked.

“What if she never hits you again?” Veronica countered.

Melody sighed. They took a few slow, deep breaths. The mix of smells in the bed should have been pretty funky. Both Melody and Veronica smelled like anybody does, waking up. On top of that, one of them was rocking a wet diaper and the other had sour-milk boobies.

The smell wasn’t bad. It was comfort. There were smells under the obvious ones that healed some of the aches inside of Melody. The clean part of Veronica’s smell was safety. Musty odors from the wicked-old house meant happiness, Melody realized.

They’d been happy here. Really, actually happy. Better than maybe anything since bio-dad had gone. Too-emotionally raw to worry about awkwardness, Melody rested their cheek on the exposed skin of Veronica’s upper chest.

“Veronica.” Melody said. “Will you be my mom?”

“Yes Melody.” Veronica said, squeezing them tightly. “I will. Forever, if you want it.”

“I want.” Melody said, squeezing Veronica right back.

“OHMYGODYES!” Briana squealed – from above?

Melody had a mere moment to register the outburst before Briana crashed on top of the two of them. She latched on her mom and sibling, literally vibrating with excitement.

“Ow! Dude, how long have you been awake?” Melody asked. “How much did you hear?”

“Lots!” Briana said. “I love you Melody. I love you Mom! I’m so excited, and sorry for you Mel, and I couldn’t take it anymore!”

“I’m glad you’re excited, Baby Bee, but please don’t land on us like that again. You are petite, but not baby sized.” Veronica said, scooting Briana over so that Melody was between the two of them.

“Sorry, I couldn’t help it!” Briana pressed up close to Melody’s back.

“Please don’t repeat the stuff I said about Beatrix to people, sis.” Melody said.

“I won’t!” Briana said breezily.

“Briana, I want you to take what Melody asked seriously. Nothing Melody said leaves this room, not even if it’s Gary, do you understand?” Veronica’s voice had that mommy-whip.

“I wasn’t going to!” Briana protested. It wasn’t a very convincing protest.

“I know you won’t.” Veronica said. “Because your sibling bravely shared something private with us. You wouldn’t hurt them by sharing it with people they don’t want to include.”

“Okay, sorry mommy! I won’t, really!” Briana said contritely. She nuzzled the back of Melody’s neck.  “I wouldn’t hurt you Melody. I love you.”

“I love you too, Bratana.” Melody said, chuckling.

“What did you just call me?” Briana asked in an outraged tone.

“It’s your superhero name. Bratana.” Melody said with a giggle. “Because I know you love me, and I love you, but you are bratty a lot.”

“Meanie.” Briana accused good naturedly.

“That’s my job as the older one.” Melody said, chuckling. “Anyway um – if you two want to do your morning thing, I can go take a shower.”

“If you just wait a bit, I’ll take care of you when we’re done.” Veronica said. “Unless it bothers you to be here when I feed Briana?”

“No, it doesn’t. Really.” Melody said sincerely. “Today’s my long day at school though. I should get going.”

“I could call in sick for you.” Veronica said. “It’s the last day before the break, plenty of people are on an early vacation anyway.”

“No, I can do this.” Melody said. “Thanks Mom.”

“I’m still worried about you. What are you going to do if you run into Beatrix today?”

“I won’t.” Melody said. “She has something she’s doing.”

They squirmed out of bed and dug in their school bag, fishing out the utility knife at the bottom. After a moment’s hesitation, they offered the knife to Veronica.

“You’re a good kid, Melody.” Veronica said, taking the knife. “I’m proud of you.”

Melody blushed, squirming in their sweaty pjs and heavy diaper. “Thanks Mom.”

“That’s coming really easily to you.” Veronica said, smiling. “Have you wanted to say it for a while?”

“Yeah.” Melody said bashfully.

“I’m glad we found our way there.” Veronica said. “Go take your shower while I feed your sister. I’m still going to get you dressed for school, and I’ll make you some breakfast before you go, alright?”

“Yes Mom. Thank you.” Melody said, a little warm glow in their heart.

That little glow was surrounded by dark and scary stuff. Like a bonfire or a site of grace was in a Fromsoft game. It was a lot better than not having one though. It made the thought of going to school bearable. For once the long, exhausting day would be a blessing. Melody’s long day didn’t allow time for dwelling on one’s thoughts.

Back at home, Melody was just starting to relax into some little-time, when their phone buzzed angrily. It was the buzz that meant someone had tried to text them repeatedly and broken through the DND setting. There were only two people that would be messaging them that way, and Melody’s heart couldn’t take either of them in its current state.

Grabbing the phone, they didn’t look at the lock screen to see who it was. It didn’t matter if they weren’t going to answer. Melody shoved their phone under their bed and went to find their sister.

The first day of break started off so sweetly. Melody woke up wet again, but they refused to dwell on it. It was probably just a temporary thing and it meant they got another change from Veronica in the morning, was all. After breakfast they had an urgent invitation to play Cloudland with Briana.

“We have to figure out a sword for you.” Briana said.

“I’ve got one, don’t worry.” Melody said.

“Mom said we can’t play with the metal ones, remember?”

“Yeah, but I forgot I have a plastic one. Well, foam and resin, but basically the same.”

“I wanna see! Go get it. Hurry sib!” Briana said, jumping up and down excitedly.

Melody grinned and took their time. After all, they had a costume change planned as well as a sword to retrieve. Briana was so cute in her She Ra pajama top with her Sword of Protection that Melody knew they were going to have to make an effort to match their sister.

The back of their closet held the red robe-like suiken from Melody’s Inuyasha costume. The white wig, tooth necklace, and fangs were in a box somewhere that was too much trouble to find. However, the huge Tessaiga replica was easy to spot. Melody checked themself out in the mirror, resting the fur-hilted sword on their shoulders. Not bad!

“What is that!?” Briana asked, mouth agape, when Melody returned.

“It’s half my Inuyasha costume.” Melody said. At Briana’s blank look, they added, “It’s an anime. Inuyasha is the title character.”

“Oh, what’s it about?” Briana asked.

“I’ll show you. Whenever I say Kagome, you say Inuyasha, okay?”

“Huh?”

“Kagome!” Melody said urgently.

“Inuyasha?” Briana replied, still confused.

“Kagome!” Melody repeated.

“Inuyasha!” Briana said, following up with a giggle.

They went back and forth ten more times before Melody let themself fall back on the couch laughing.

“Okay, now you know what the anime is about.”

“I really don’t though.”

“Don’t worry, it’s a meme.” Melody said. “I’ll show you the anime and it’ll all make sense.”

“Can we PLEASE play Cloudland now?” Briana said impatiently.

“Sure. It’s time to duel!” Melody said, smirking.

“You’re so weird sometimes, sib.” Briana said, giggling.

Weird or not, Melody was victorious in their duel against their mind-controlled sister an hour or so later. Alanna herself gave Melody a medal for defeating the Space Spiders of Zartan10 and saving all of Cloudland. They received special commendation for noticing Briana’s mind-controlled state and refraining from hurting their sister in the duel.

Briana received a medal for brokering a peace with the spider people and forgiving them for mind-controlling her. Melody’s stuffie of Kumoko from “So I’m a Spider, So What?” also joined Cloudland as an official knight and representative of her people.  Since both medals were foil-wrapped chocolate coins, the two knights ate them immediately after the awards ceremony, as was tradition.

“Lunchtime.” Jane said, poking her head into the drawing room. She paused and looked at the couch cushions that had been strewn around the drawing room. “I see you two have had a productive morning.”

“I saved Briana from mind control!” Melody said. They giggled, feeling a little nervous about continuing the game with Jane there.

“And I made peace with the spider people even though they mind controlled me.” Briana said eagerly.

“That’s very good. However, this debriefing hasn’t explained yet why you both have chocolate on your faces.”

“We got medals.” Melody said bashfully.

Jane looked at the bowl of chocolate coins, which had lost a lot of it’s volume since the day started. “You must have gotten a lot of medals.” She said dryly.

“That’s because we’re such good knights!” Briana said, bouncing over to Jane. “We saved the day!”

“Well you better have saved your appetite too, or we’re going to have to revisit whether you’re good knights or not. It’s lunchtime.”

“What’s for lunch?” Melody asked, hesitantly walking up to join Briana.

“Grilled cheese and tomato soup.” Jane said. “But you kids better eat your whole lunch, or I’m not taking you sledding afterwards.”

“Sledding?!” Briana said with an excited gasp.

“Really?” Melody asked shyly. “Both of us?”

“IF you both eat your whole lunch.” Jane said. She spit on a corner of her shirt and rubbed Briana’s face clean. “If either of you doesn’t, we’re not going.”

“We will!” Briana insisted.

“Yeah, no prob…” Melody was caught off guard when Jane spit on another shirt corner and reached for them. Their attempt to back away was slow and Jane didn’t acknowledge it, rubbing their face clean with just as much brusque care as she had Briana.

“Good, get your padded butts in the kitchen then, while it’s still warm.” Jane gave them each a firm pat on said butts to send them on their way.

It was a relief to see that the kitchen was empty. Playing around Briana was awesome. It was almost the same with Veronica. Jane they were still a tiny bit nervous about, but it was pretty much okay. Any of the other roommates would be too much. Melody knew they wouldn’t be able to relax enough to be little with anyone else.

Melody squished into a kitchen chair. It wasn’t their fault they were wet, exactly. Briana had suggested wetting as a representation for damage in their duel. She was surprisingly skilled with that plastic sword of hers. They chuckled and elbowed their sister, making Briana spill some soup on her pj pants.

“Hey, what was that for!?” Briana protested.

“For making my seat so squishy.” Melody said, sticking their tongue out at Briana.

“Hah! I am a deadly foe, even mind-controlled.” Briana said triumphantly. “You’re lucky you had a secret weapon, or you never would have beaten me.”

“You mean the power of love? Strongest anime weapon there is.” Melody grinned.

Briana gave a glowing grin, like she did every time Melody told her sister that they loved her. It was dumb to hope that Briana would always grin like that in response, but Melody hoped it anyway.

The quality of lunch made Melody drastically raise their opinion of Jane’s cooking skills. The soup was store-bought, but the grilled cheese was a real treat. The bread was cooked to a perfect golden-brown, but every bit of the cheese was melty. It was even cut into triangles AND the crusts had been cut off. A true masterpiece of little cuisine.

As soon as they were done eating, Jane was on them to clear their plates and follow her to the bathroom. Taking Jane’s hand and having Briana take their other as they walked in a little line to the bathroom made Melody blush.

Once there, Jane wasted no time stripping Melody of their pajama pants and diaper and seating them on the potty.

“I don’t have to go.” Melody protested, holding their costume robe bunched around their waist. “I got it all out during the duel.”

“We’re going out for the afternoon.” Jane said, prepping a toothbrush and diligently brushing Briana’s teeth. “This is your chance to go poop before we leave. The bathrooms at the park are locked during the winter, so if you go while we’re out, you’ll either have to stay in your messy diaper or get changed in the back of the car.”

Melody felt their face burn scarlet and looked down at their knees. It was worse because they hadn’t been paying much attention and actually did need to go. It hadn’t been urgent or anything, but they were glad that Jane had reminded them. Like a toddler would need to be reminded.

As quietly as they could, Melody did their business. They realized how little they were feeling when Jane got them off the potty and Melody realized that they hadn’t wiped themself. Having Jane bend them over at the potty and wipe them crashed what was left of Melody’s big-brain.

They stood obediently for Jane to brush their teeth while Briana was on the potty, still holding their robe bunched at their waist. Jane had to take the robe out of their hands so they wouldn’t flash the household on their way to the changing table.

Jane diapered them both in thick diapers which were normally reserved for nighttime, and included a booster pad in each one. Bemused, Melody watched as Jane added layer upon layer of clothing. From inside to out they were dressed in long underwear, thick socks, sweatpants, a shirt, a sweater, snow pants, boots, a puffy coat, and a toque. As Jane was stuffing mittens in their coat pocket, Melody started sweating.

“It’s roasting in all this.” Melody complained.

“You won’t think so when you’re sledding.” Jane said. “Come on now kids, we need to move if we’re going to get a good amount of play time in.”

She took Melody and Briana’s hands and lead them into the living room. Suzie was by the door in her own coat with a carry-on suitcase.

“Where are you going?” Briana asked. She sounded so worried that Melody was immediately on-edge.

“To my mom and dad’s.” Suzie said.

“But, you have to be here for Christmas!” Briana said. She was right on the brink of tears, judging from her tone.

“I will be, I’m in the town’s Christmas play.” Suzie said. “But I have to see my mom and dad at least once on the holidays, right? I’ll be gone less than a week.”

“I guess so.” Briana said, with a slight sniffle.

“Come on sis, that’s fair.” Melody said.

“Sis huh?” Suzie said with a grin. She leaned in to adjust Melody’s hat. “You two are as cute as buttons. Are you the older one, Mello?”

“I uh…” Melody froze. They weren’t supposed to play with Suzie like this, but they couldn’t remember exactly why. “Yeah, Briana’s my littlesister.”

“You don’t have to say it like that!” Briana whined.

“Take care of your sis while I’m gone then, Mello?” Suzie said.

“Okay, but why Mello?” Melody asked.

“I have a cousin named Melody that I call Mello. Is it okay?” Suzie asked.

“I guess so.” Melody squirmed.

“Great!” Suzie hugged them all, including Jane. “I’m sorry I didn’t get to see Veronica. I’m out until Tuesday night.”

“We’ll keep a lamp on for you.” Jane said with a smile. “Say hello to Beth for me.”

“You bet. Mom always asks about you.” Suzie said. “Have fun at the park kids!”

Melody waved hesitantly, in contrast to Briana’s frantic arm-windmilling. The door opened with a blast of cold air. All the extra layers were a good idea, Melody had to admit. Jane packed them into the backseat of her car, which already had a pair of sleds tied to the roof.

“Daddy, is everyone going to be home for Christmas? Is anybody else leaving?” Briana asked plaintively as Jane drove through the lightly falling snow.

“All the roommates will be.” Jane said. “Though I think Casey is going out of town this week too.”

“What about Gary, and Tamira?” Briana asked nervously.

“You’d have to ask them.” Jane said. “You talk to them more than I do.”

“Hey Bri.” Melody said, clasping their sister’s hand. “Want to have a sleepover on Christmas Eve?”

“Really?!” Briana asked. “Can we please, Daddy?”

“It’s okay right – Jane?” Melody said, tripping over the name a little. They’d forgotten for a minute that they didn’t call Jane dad like Briana did.

“I don’t see why not, as long as you kids go to sleep before Saint Nicholas arrives.” Jane said. “Because if you don’t, it will be Krampus who comes instead of Saint Nicholas.”

“No way.” Melody said, giggling. Santa was one thing, they were happy to play along since Briana believed. Jane couldn’t expect them to believe in the weird devil thing from Binding of Isaac and that terrible horror film.

“What’s Krampus?” Briana asked, worriedly.

“He is a hairy devil creature that travels the world with Saint Nicholas. Good children are visited by Santa, as you know. But for the bad children, Krampus goes to the house instead and puts the children in his sack.”

Jane explained it in her same dry tone that she used to talk about the news or what was happening in the house. Melody fidgeted in their seat. None of this was real, right? They were fuzzy on some things at the moment, but they were pretty sure that Santa wasn’t a real thing, so this Krampus couldn’t be either.

“He takes children away!?” Briana said, really scared now.

“Just for a short time. They are spanked by the birch rod that he carries, and then returned to their parents in the morning.” Jane said. “But I’m sure you kids will not have to worry, because you will help clean the house on Heiliger Abend – Christmas Eve, and go to bed when you are told.”

“We will, we will!” Briana said nervously. She grabbed Melody’s hand and squeezed it hard. “Right Melody? You’ll help right?”

The panic in Briana’s eyes further eroded Melody’s confidence that there was no Krampus. Something about all this felt like a weird set-up for a joke, but nobody was treating it like one. Jane still sounded deadly serious.

“Uh, yeah, of course. We’ll clean the whole house. Promise.” Melody said with a nod. Despite their lingering disbelief, making the promise removed the bit of nervousness that had been building in their belly.

“Okay, good!” Briana nodded in relief. “You’ll tell Krampus that there are only good kids at the house, right Daddy?”

“Oh, he is not friendly like Saint Nicholas.” Jane said. “He doesn’t talk to parents. The Krampus can smell if a child is bad or not. Even if they have only done bad things that their parents didn’t see, he is not fooled.”

Briana swallowed hard. “But I’m a good girl, right?”

“You are a very good girl Briana.” Jane said. “You shouldn’t have to worry. You either, Melody, you are a good kid.”

Melody squirmed. “Th-thanks.” They hadn’t been worried about the stupid Krampus anyway, but it was still nice to get a compliment.

When they arrived at the park, Briana and Melody’s mad dash to the snow was delayed a bit by the fact that Jane wouldn’t give them their sleds until they had their mittens on and their coat-hoods tied about their faces.

The snow had been steadily falling all night and morning, leaving most of the park as a pristine wonderland of gentle white slopes. There were a few college students a couple of hills over, but no families out in the middle of a workday.

Briana floundered in the snow a bit. It was knee high on Melody but hitting their little sister at mid-thigh. With a wild whoop, Melody dashed forward, high-stepping through the snow and throwing themself down on their sled.

They made a satisfying ‘poomph!’ sound as they hit the snow and the sled was sliding right away. As they picked up speed, Melody could hear Briana calling for them to wait for her. Their only response was a mad cackle.

It was a good hill. Melody got up to an exciting speed and shot far past the bottom of the hill before their sled finally slowed. They jerked the sled to the side to stop and looked back for Briana. She hadn’t been nearly as brave in launching herself and was coming to a slow stop just past the base of the hill.

Melody heaved themself up and trudged back to Briana with their sled in tow. “Hey sis, you gotta go faster than that!”

“It’s scary!” Briana complained. “Can you push me next time?”

“I can show you how to jump on the sled like I did.” Melody said. “It’s really fun!”

“But what if I miss the sled?” Briana asked nervously.

“Then you’ll fall in the snow – like this!” Melody lunched forward and pushed Briana back into the snow.

“Hey!” Briana yelled indignantly.

Melody’s laughs were cut off by a blast of snow in their face. Just as they were recovering from the first snowball, another one landed on their chin.

“Oh that is IT!” Melody said. “You’re getting it!”

They dived into the snow and wrestled their little sister into submission, pinning her and washing her face with snow. Briana shrieked and thrashed, but had to quickly surrender.

“I give up! You win!” Briana shrieked. “Mel, staaaaahp!

Melody converted their grip on Briana to a hug and pulled their sister close. They giggled in the snow for a bit while they caught their breath.

“That was mean.” Briana accused good-naturedly.

“I’m the older sibling. That’s what you get when you mess with me.” Melody said.

“But I didn’t even do anything.” Briana protested. “You pushed me first.”

“That’s how it goes.” Melody shrugged. “It’s the price of having a big sibling take care of you.”

“You will, right?” Briana asked. “You’ll take care of me?”

“Of course, dummy. I take care of people that are important to me.” Melody squeezed Briana.

“And you won’t leave?” Briana asked softly.

“I might not be in the house every day.” Melody said, thinking of Suzie’s trip. “But you’ll be my little sister forever, if that’s what you’re asking.”

“Yeah, that’s it.” Briana said, grabbing Melody and holding them tight.

“Come on, let’s sled some more.” Melody said.

It was a bit of a pain to get up, with all the padding that Jane had put them in. Once they were up though, it didn’t slow Melody down much. They already had to sort of waddle through the deep snow, which left plenty of room for the diaper’s bulk.

Back at the top, Briana insisted on being pushed at the top of the hill. She asked for that three times, until Melody’s excited cackles convinced her to try jumping on her sled. Hilariously, she screamed all the way down. When Melody caught up to Briana at the bottom, her sister had gone full-on goblin laugh.

They took a lot more sled rides that way, trying their best to launch at the same time and race for distance. Melody could get faster momentum, but Briana was so light that her sled shot across the snow.

After being beaten for the third time in a row, Melody decided to switch things up. The next time Briana ran for the hill slope, Melody followed just behind. They threw their sled out on the ground in front of them, took a trio of sprinting steps, and jumped onto it.

For a moment it felt like they were going to pitch over into packed snow that all their previous trips had compressed. They managed to balance at the last minute, and the extra momentum shot them ahead of Briana. Determined to not only win, but to crush their little sister’s record, Melody crouched down low.

The sled whizzed faster and faster, zipping past the fan of packed snow they’d made at the bottom of the hill, and out onto fresh powder. As soon as Melody hit the fresh snow they could feel themselves slowing, but only gradually. Far too gradually, in fact. There was a broad oak tree coming up fast in Melody’s path.

They tried swinging their around clockwise like a snowboarder. Unlike a snowboarder, Melody was not strapped into their sled. All they accomplished with their fancy maneuver was flipping the sled over. Melody and sled tumbled over each other in the snow. The sharp edge of the blue plastic came like a bullet at Melody’s face. They cried out when it cracked across their face and left their nose feeling swollen.

Adding insult to injury, Melody’s tumble carried them onto the light snow that covered the oak tree’s knobby roots. Everything was swirling around in a disorienting mess. Melody cried in pain, flopping themself off the root they’d come to a stop on.

Before they could compose themself, Jane was there. Melody grabbed for Jane, pulling her into a hug. They got a comforting hug back, albeit a brief one. Jane sat Melody up and examined their face, brushing it lightly with a handkerchief before swiping the cloth under their nose. It came back bright red.

“It looks like you have a little bit of a bloody nose.” Jane said. “How do you feel?”

“It hurts, Dad!” Melody complained.

“I bet it does. Here, blow very gently.” Jane replied, putting the handkerchief back under Melody’s nose.

After giving a little blow through their nose, Melody felt a bit better. Leaning against Jane and getting gentle pats on the back was helping even more.

“Better, Didi?” Jane asked.

Briana was approaching slowly, a worried look on her face. Melody decided to be brave for their little sister. They nodded to Jane.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry for scaring everybody.”

“That’s alright, we’re just glad you’re not hurt.” Jane said. “Come on Bumble Bri, Didi, we still have some time left.”

“Why is everyone giving me nicknames today?” Melody asked, struggling to their feet with Jane’s help.

“Because we love you.” Briana said.

“Because sometimes are too cute for a name with three syllables.” Jane said.

“But you call Bri, Bumble Bri, and that’s three syllables.” Melody protested. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

“True, it doesn’t.” Jane said, unconcerned. “Pick up your sled, Didi.”

“Okay Dad.” Melody said.

Briana’s eyes got huge, cueing Melody to their mistake. Their second mistake, they realized. They looked at Jane worriedly, but she was unflappable as always. Briana was bouncing on her toes, but she wasn’t saying anything.

Melody grabbed their sled and hurried up the hill as fast as their diaper-waddle would allow. Luckily, everyone seemed to forget their slip of the tongue after a couple more sled rides. Safer sled rides, at Jane’s fatherly insistence.

When Jane declared the outing over and buckled both kids into the back seat again, Melody braced themself for Briana to bring up what they’d called Jane. She didn’t though, being way more focused on Jane’s promise of hot cocoa on the ride home. Jane didn’t say anything either, she just bought them cocoa and coffee for herself.

By the time they were home and being laboriously stripped of their snow gear, Melody was getting frustrated. If somebody could just say something already, then the horrible anticipation could end.

Finally, Melody decided that they’d have to be the one to say something. Briana was out of her snow gear first and had bolted upstairs to get into pajamas. Melody and Jane were alone in Melody’s room. They had their hands on Jane’s shoulders to steady themself as Jane pulled down their long underwear.

“Nobody said anything about uh – what I called you after I crashed.” Melody said.

“You didn’t seem like you wanted to talk about it.” Jane said. “Is there something you need to say?”

“It’s a big deal, isn’t it?” Melody asked, pouting.

“That depends.” Jane said, pulling the long underwear off Melody’s foot and tossing it in the laundry bin. “If it was just a slip of the tongue, that’s okay. If it is some something more, then it is a big deal.”

“But how do you know if we don’t talk about it?” Melody asked. Whined really. They were whining, but it was Jane’s fault. She wasn’t reacting at all how she was supposed to.

“Because I’m already committed to taking care of you.” Jane said, pulling open the front of Melody’s diaper to peek inside. “As long as you call me Dad, I will behave as your father. If I’m not your father, I will still take care of you.”

Melody was upset. It wasn’t supposed to be that simple. They felt hot behind their eyes and their nose felt like the sled had hit it again.

“But, that’s not, you’re not supposed to, that’s…” Melody sputtered, unable to find the words to properly express their outrage. “Dad! You’re doing it wrong!”

Jane chuckled. “That is family, Didi. We will be frustrating sometimes. We will not always be what you expect, but we will always love you.”

Melody bawled. Jane swooped them onto her lap on the bed. It felt almost like being picked up. They clung to Jane with all their strength, desperate to be close. Jane’s arms were warm and solid around them. Melody let themself soak in the steady comfort.

“I have told you already, I am not the one that will talk something to death. That is Veronica.” Jane said fondly. “You are mine Kind. Good enough. Now you need a nap.”

“I don’t need a nap!” Melody whined.

“Doesn’t matter, I’m putting you down for one.” Jane said. She had a way of making her statements seem like irrefutable facts. It sucked the wind out of Melody’s sails, but they still didn’t like the idea of being put to bed.

“I don’t want a nap.” Melody said. “At least – not alone.”

“Briana’s crib is a little too small for two.” Jane said. “If I set the playpen up in her room, would that be acceptable?”

“Yes.” Melody said, their voice muffled by Jane’s shoulder. “Thanks Dad.”

“Gerne geschehen.” Jane said.

When Jane tucked Melody into the playpen with their overjoyed sister, they realized they were sore in muscles they didn’t know they had. Despite her excitement, Briana was used to having a naptime and was already drifting off. It’d be boring to just lie in the playpen on their own, Melody reasoned. The smart thing to do would be to just nap a little.

Melody woke refreshed. Shortly after they got a lesson in their sister’s hypocrisy. The little girl that had been so upset when Suzie was at the door with a bag was gallivanting off to spend the evening with Gary.

It was fine, of course. Melody wasn’t super clingy like their little sister. Plus, it gave them time for a quiet evening with just Mom and Dad in the house. Being treated as a kid by both of them was blissful. For precious hours, Melody forgot about Rosa, Beatrix, and all the heavy feelings in their heart.

“Gary, do you know who Shazam! is?” Briana asked. She picked up her mug of cocoa for another sip.

“Yeah, Billy Batson, he turns into an adult superhero.” Gary nodded. “Why?”

Briana looked around the apartment, pondering her next words. Gary’s place was nice. It was just a studio, but he’d made it cozy. They were sitting on his futon next to a frosted window with the snow swirling against it. The hardwood floor had thick rugs covering it. A fake fireplace in front of one of the steam radiators made a pretty good imitation of a real fire.

“Melody explained him to me.” Briana said. “I was thinking that I could do something similar. Not with magic but transform to being big for short periods of time. So that I can go back to school.”

“I don’t know, you’re pretty magical to me.” Gary said with a grin.

“Gary, this is serious!” Briana said, though she was smiling too.

“Sorry. You seem adult right now. Are you working on your ‘transformation’ right now, or are you feeling more adult in general?”

“It’s easier right now. What I’m worried about is that I won’t be able to sustain it. That I’ll go back to being little all the time in a few weeks.”

“That’s kind of what happened this quarter.” Gary nodded. “So what’s different this time?”

“Well, I know it can happen this time. I could look for warning signs and ask friends and family to watch too.” Briana smiled shyly. “I’d really like your support if I try it.”

“Bri, you know I’d do anything for you, right?” Gary said, leaning way over for a kiss.

Briana savored the kiss with a happy sigh and a wiggle. “Thank you. There’s another thing that made me feel like it would work.”

Gary watched her, waiting for Briana to finish her thought. She chewed her lip nervously. There wasn’t any reason to be nervous around Gary, or there shouldn’t be, anyway. On the other hand, she was about to tell him something that might make him reconsider their relationship. The chance was small, but the bad outcome was really scary.

“You okay?” Gary asked.

“Gary, I love you.” Briana said, urgently.

“I love you too hon. What’s going on?”

Briana took a deep breath. “The thing that makes me think this might work is um, redefining myself a little. As um, not an adult. That the little me is the real me. The adult me would just be a costume I wear sometimes.”

Gary was waiting again. Briana took a big drink of her cocoa, hoping he’d get the hint that there wasn’t any more coming.

“That’s it?” Gary asked.

“What do you mean, ‘that’s it’?” Briana asked. “That’s huge. We’re dating. I just told you that I’m not – that I can’t be a big girl ever. Not for real, not in my heart.”

Gary got up from his seat and kneeled on the floor next to Briana. He was still taller on his knees than she was sitting. Gently, he took the mug out of her hands and pulled Briana into a hug.

“Hey, Briana? I already knew that about you.” Gary said softly.

Briana trembled. She clung to Gary like there was a cliff-edge underneath her.

“H-how could you know? I didn’t know.”

“I knew.” Gary said pulling back to make eye contact. “That was the only version of you that made sense. You’re my little girl, my girlfriend, and I love that about you.”

“Gary!” Briana cried, her cheeks already wet. “Why?”

“Because I can’t imagine loving anyone else the way I love you.” Gary said.

There was no more holding back the water-works. Briana bawled, big-girl style. The end result wasn’t much different than if she’d been little. She finished crying as a snotty mess on Gary’s shoulder.

Some more cuddles and four tissues later, Briana felt like she might be able to talk again. The first order of business was to get Gary out of his uncomfortable kneeling position and onto the couch, so she could claim his lap.

“Thank you.” Briana said. “That was amazingly sweet.”

“You’re welcome, love.” Gary said.

“I love you so much.” Briana said, sighing out the last of the rattles in her chest.

“Feel better?” Gary asked.

“Yes.” Briana nuzzled his neck. “There’s something we have to talk about though – from when I was still going to school.”

“What is it?”

“The thing we did, playing during the school day?” Briana said hesitantly. “I think that contributed to me not being able to be big at school.”

“Oh shit hon, I’m really sorry!” Gary said, sounding distressed.

“It’s okay. It really is!” Briana said. “I loved doing it. It never occurred to me that playing that way might derail me.”

“I should have thought about it.” Gary said. “You trusted me to take care of you.”

“I still do.” Briana said. “You’re number three in the world, for the arms I feel the most safe in, right after Mom and Dad.”

“I’d better up my game if I want to keep that high rank.” Gary said.

“Gary, please believe me. It wasn’t your fault. I didn’t tell you about this so you could beat yourself up.”

“Okay, I’ll stop.” Gary said, squeezing Briana gently.

“I had so much fun on those days.” Briana said, grinning. “It’s fun to be your toy for a while, to see what sexy things you want to do to me.”

Gary shifted on the couch with a slight cough. Briana couldn’t feel much through the diaper she had on, but she was guessing that Gary’s lap wasn’t as soft as it had been.

“So this um – transformation. Is it only for school stuff, or can it be used sometimes to spice things up in the bedroom?” Gary asked.

“Like the equivalent of putting cat ears or a maid outfit on?” Briana giggled. “You don’t have a bedroom though, what a shame…”

“The whole apartment is a bedroom if this couch lays flat.” Gary said, sliding a hand under Briana’s shirt to caress the small of her back.

“Gary.” Briana said breathily. “Would you like to play with your toy in big girl mode?”

There was no more talking after that.

There were kisses that burned across Briana’s lips, throat, and breasts. She was free of her clothes, even the diaper. Her hands were everywhere on Gary, from the softness of his sides to the hardness of his chest and between his legs. She was a plaything in his hands, so big and strong on her petite body. The warm, wholesome scent of his skin filled her senses.

A blazing moment of euphoria became three as she rode his lap with her fingers digging into his belly. The fullness of that feeling was nothing compared to Gary taking her from behind. All the way behind, with a lot of lube and to Briana’s delighted surprise. Her heart sang to hear him call out in passion, that echoed off the room’s high ceiling.

Thoroughly stretched, mussed, and used, Briana lay on Gary’s chest in a blissful daze. Their smells were mingled now, and the powerful thud of his heart was up against her ear. It was a perfect moment in time.

“Gary?” Briana mumbled, feeling the moment fade in the face of mental discomfort. “I can’t keep this up much longer.”

“Then don’t.” Gary said, patting Briana’s bare butt. “I want my baby girl back.”

Mentally un-Shazam-ing herself, Briana relaxed again. The incoming stress was gone. In its place was a happy, bubbly feeling. She’d made her boyfriend feel good. He’d made her feel amazing. They’d gotten all dirty, and Gary had stretched out her butt.

Briana giggled. What a gross, wonderful boy he was.

“Is that baby Briana?” Gary asked.

“Gary!” Briana said happily. “That was lotsa fun. We hafta do that again some time.”

“I’m sure we will.” He said, chuckling. “How do you feel?”

“You stretched my butt!” Briana said, guffawing.

“Heh, you bet I did.” Gary smirked. “I’m glad you liked it. We should probably get you cleaned up, plugged, and diapered.”

“Don’t wanna. Can’t make me.” Briana said, unconcerned. “I’m warm and snuggly.”

“You really think I can’t make you?” Gary chuckled.

“No way you’d spank me after that.” Briana said smugly.

“Who said anything about a spanking?” Gary sat up, despite the girl on his chest.

Briana had a moment to reflect on the fact that Gary’s arms had gotten even bigger. They were some very nice, sexy thick arms. Said arms picked her up effortlessly. Gary walked to the bathroom carrying Briana with no more effort than she used to carry a larger stuffie.

“Nooo!” Briana whined. “My snuggles!”

Gary turned the shower on and kissed Briana. “Don’t worry, it’ll be a snuggly shower.”

It was the snuggliest shower she’d ever had. Gary had Briana on his hip, using his free hand to shampoo her hair and scrub her down. Every time Briana thought for sure he’d have to put her down, Gary managed to shift positions or just manhandle her in his arms to reach what he needed to wash. He managed to get most of himself clean as well, with some assistance from Briana for his back.

After the shower Briana found herself swaddled in a huge towel. Gary put her on the floor while he finished cleaning up. It was so good a feeling that it was like cake. Briana suspected that last thought wouldn’t normally make sense, but right now it did.

“Do you have any more big girl stuff to do today?” Gary asked, cradling Briana in his arms and carrying her back to the bed.

“No, just tomorrow.” Briana said.

As good as being in the towel was, it was just as good to give a happy wiggle when Gary put her down on the changing blanket. The plug went into her rear easily enough, a final fun reminder of the naughty stuff they’d done while she was big.

“What’s tomorrow?” Gary asked.

“Mom is going to formally adopt me.” Briana said, hugging herself to hold in the glow in her heart.

“Wow.” Gary said, with a loving smile. “That’s incredible news! Are you changing your name and everything?”

“Yeah! I’m going to be Briana Rasmussen.” Briana said. “I need to pick a new middle name before then.”

“What’s your middle name now?”

“Hillary.”

“Hmm, that’s not really you. Do you want help picking one?” Gary asked, sliding a diaper under Briana’s butt.

“Yes please.” Briana held her feet while Gary spread lotion across her rear. “I don’t even know where to start. I could look at a list of names but there’s so many. It just gets to be a blah of words.”

“Do you want to pick something because you like the sound, or because the name has meaning?” Gary asked. He took Briana’s feet out of her hands so he could spread lotion on her front. “Or do you want a family name?”

“A family name?!” Briana’s eyes went wide. “Oh, oh, I don’t even know Mom’s family yet, but that sounds so cool.”

“Her family is kind of a big deal in this town, I bet there’s information online about the Rasmussens.” Gary said.

The soft smell of powder wafted up to Briana’s nose, replacing the sexy smells that lingered on the sheets. Briana thought about grabbing her phone, but hesitated. For one thing, she was little enough that it was going to be hard to do actual research on Veronica. Even more importantly, she didn’t want to read about her family on Wikipedia. She wanted to hear it from Mom.

“Can you look? Just tell me the names if you can find them, no history stuff.” Briana said.

“Sure, give me a minute.” Gary said, patting the powder down.

Those pats turned into an impromptu massage. Gary’s strong hands worked gently across Briana’s calves and thighs. He rubbed her rear gently, moving up to stroke her sides. Even her arms and shoulders got the treatment. When Gary finished by rubbing her scalp, Briana was drooling.

It was an extra happy baby in a nice snug diaper, that found herself on Gary’s lap. He’d put her in a fuzzy one-piece pajama. The bed was back to being a couch, with the sheets in the wash. It had stopped snowing outside, but the wind had picked up and was rattling the icicles on the window ledge.

“Nice!” Gary suddenly exclaimed. “She said yes.”

“Huh?” Briana asked in confusion.

“Your mom.” Gary said. “I got permission to keep you here tonight.”

Briana took that news without a care for how things would work out tomorrow. Gary and Mom would work that out for her. She was free to cuddle extra close to her boyfriend and grin gleefully.

“A sleepover!” She said happily.

“Babysitting!” Gary said, equally happy. “I’m going to take care of everything for my baby girl tonight. You’re even plugged, so don’t worry about asking to go to the potty. I’ll decide when that happens.”

“Gary!” Briana said, sighing contentedly. “You’re the best.”

“You bet I am.” Gary said, laughing. “I’ve got a list of the women’s names in your mom’s family too. Do you want them starting from the first one in town or starting from Veronica?”

“From Veronica.” Briana said.

“Okay, here goes.” Gary said. “We have: Michelle, Lesley, Ashley, Nicole, Giselle, Anette, Ashley, and Tess. Well, that last one was Teresa, but she always went by Tess.”

Briana considered. “Did Tess do something important? Don’t tell me what it was, if she did.”

“Heh, yeah, she did.” Gary said.

“Okay! Then that’s the one I want.” Briana said. “Huh, so Mom’s Mom is Michelle.”

“Wouldn’t that just be Grandma?” Gary asked.

“I’m not sure if that would be okay.” Briana said.

“Well Veronica is adopting you.” Gary said. “I think there’s a good chance it is. Just ask her tomorrow.”

“Okay, good idea.” Briana smiled, hugging Gary’s neck. “Soooo… on a scale of PBJ and jello to pizza and ice-cream, how good a girl am I?”

Gary laughed a big happy belly laugh. “You are my best girl. What kind of pizza do you want?”

“Pepperoni and onions and olives and pineapple!” Briana said. “With the crust that’s all soaked in butter and fried.”

“You want Detroit style?” Gary said. “You’re lucky we’re not in New York, we’d be arrested.”

“New York pizza is floppy.” Briana said. “With the other one it’s crunchy and the cheese goes all the way to the sides!”

“Alright, but just for my baby girl. Don’t tell anybody you saw me betraying my hometown.”

“You grew up in New York?” Briana asked.

“In Queens.” Gary said, nodding as he filled out an online order. “Ardenthill kind of reminds me of the borough. It’s just not attached to a huge city like Queens is. I’m the first one in the family to move out of the city since great grandpa came over from Ireland.”

“I grew up all over New Hampshire.” Briana said. “But I don’t know where my family is from.”

“Sure you do.” Gary said, counting off on his fingers. “Your great, great, great, great, great, great, great, grandma settled here in 1821.”

“Oh yeah.” Briana wiggled happily. “Can I have root beer?”

“I already ordered it.” Gary chuckled.

Root beer in a baby bottle turned out to be a fizzy disaster. Between that and dropping a pizza slice on the floor, toppings-down, Briana was banned from feeding herself. That suited her just fine. It was the sweetest thing ever when Gary cut her pizza into tiny bites and fed them to her one at a time.

After getting fed ice cream as well (triple chocolate!), Briana had to be changed into a fresh pair of pajamas. Gary decided she didn’t need a diaper change yet. Briana didn’t worry about that, just as she paid no mind to if she was wetting or not.

“Gary?” Briana asked, on his lap once again. “Is there stuff that you want to do with little me that we don’t do?”

“Like what do you mean?” Gary asked.

“You like me like this, you think it’s fun, and hot. It was fun to make you happy as a big girl, but I want to do that as a little girl too. Is there something you’ve been wanting to do?”

“Hmm, I really like taking care of you when you’re all helpless and need everything done for you.” Gary said. “But I don’t see you like that a lot.”

“I could be like that for you.” Briana said. “Not all the time, but it would be a fun game.”

“Maybe we can do our weekend during the Christmas break.” Gary said. “I uh, have thought sometimes about what I’d do to treat you like a total baby.”

“Oh yeah?” Briana asked, licking her lips. It was getting warm under her pjs. “Tell me.”

“Extra thick diapers, like, crazy thick.” Gary said. “Enough that you wouldn’t be able to walk, if that’s possible. Baby food and protein shakes only. Yeah.”

He was blushing. Really, super red blushing. Briana grinned and nuzzled Gary’s warm cheek. “Is that it? That’s not super different from stuff we’ve already done.”

“Well uh, I’ve had some fantasies but they’re a little extreme.” Gary said shyly.

“Like putting my hands in those locking mittens?” Briana asked. “They make some that keep your hand in a fist, so you can’t do anything at all.”

“Where did see those?” Gary asked, shifting uncomfortably on the couch.

“My big sibling has all kinds of porn websites bookmarked. Like SO many.” Briana giggled.

“Heh. Well uh, yeah, those might have been in the fantasy. Though I only knew about the ones that are more like a regular mitten.” Gary said.

“We might need both.” Briana said. “I’m not sure if it would get cramp-y to have my hands in a fist alla time.”

“This is sounding a little expensive.” Gary said regretfully. “We can do a scaled down version though.”

“Nuh uh!” Briana said brightly. “I’m a rich girl now!”

“Is that so?” Gary laughed.

“Yeah! I mean, I can’t buy you a house or anything but mom showed me one of the bank accounts and talked to me a little bit about an allowance. I can buy some mittens. Diapers too. You spend a lot on them for me.”

“You don’t have to do that.” Gary said.

“I want to though.” Briana smiled. “Gary, I was always the kid who didn’t have anything to share. Everybody shared with me. Let me share with you, please?”

“Okay, fair enough. I have bought all the diapers we’ve used together so far.” Gary smiled.

Briana searched her boyfriend’s eyes. He was still hiding something. (silly boy!) Something had him embarrassed and that was just dumb.

“So what else?” Briana asked. “What’s the really extreme thing?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Gary said evasively.

Briana pitched dramatically backwards, falling off Gary’s lap on to the couch. “Alas, poor Gary! I knew him, Melody! A fellow who was gonna do something super hot with his girlfriend, but he totally chickened out!”

“You silly brat.” Gary laughed. “I’m not chickening out. I just don’t want to put pressure on…”

“Bwok!” Briana shouted, flapping her elbows like chicken wings. “Bwok, bwok, bwok!”

“I want you to mess yourself.” Gary said, in flustered exasperation. “And… no talking.”

“Wow.” Briana said, contemplating that.

“That’s why I didn’t want to…”

“Shh!” Briana said. “Briana is thinking!”

Gary shook his head and watched her, hands crossed over his chest.

The times she’d messed in her diaper had been horrible, Briana remembered. They also had been accidents. The first time was a terrible surprise, in front of a cruel girl and a bunch of people. Every time after that, had put her right back at that icky day.

That had been a while ago, though. The thought of messing in her diapers didn’t bring up the memory of that bad day, unless she consciously thought about it. It would be gross, and uncomfortable. Lots of things about wearing diapers and being really little were gross and uncomfortable. That didn’t mean she wanted to stop being little.

The not talking thing – that was actually really hot. She wondered if Gary was thinking about a pacifier she couldn’t take off, or just having it be a rule of the game. Either way was hot, though having a paci in her mouth too long was bleh sometimes.

It’d be intense to not be able to talk and just have to trust her caregiver to get her what she needed. It had happened before, when Mom had saved her. Briana smiled, remembering Veronica and Jane taking care of her so sweetly. She wanted to see what that looked like from Gary.

“I like it.” Briana said. “I want you to turn me into a baby.”

“You sure?” Gary said, still obviously uncomfortable.

Briana held Gary’s gaze as she popped open the snaps on her pjs. It was fun to see him get all shocked when she tore open the tapes on her diaper.

“What are you…”

Briana reached down and grunted, popping the plug out of her butt. She giggled at the look of horror on Gary’s face when she tossed it carelessly out onto the floor.

“Briana!” Gary said sternly. “You’re making a huge mess!”

“Duh!” She said. “There’s going to be a mess if we do this. If what I just did isn’t okay, then we shouldn’t do that part of the game.”

“I – yes that’s true.” Gary said, taking a deep breath. “I didn’t realize I was getting a preview.”

“I need a new diaper.” Briana said, kicking her feet and sliding her damp diaper off her butt. “If you don’t plug me again, you’ll get a preview before bedtime.”

Her heart was racing. She was pushing Gary pretty far. He was asking for something really big, though. If this was too frustrating, baby-mode Briana would be way too much. His face was hard to read, he had to be thinking hard, or just conflicted.

“You’re not super far away from a spanking.” Gary said, like he was testing the waters. He’d threatened spanking a few times, but never actually done it. (big softie!)

“Nuh uh, you’re the only babysitter that never spanks.” Briana grinned.

“Maybe that’s about to change.” Gary said. He was smiling more now, it looked like he was getting comfortable with what Briana was doing. (yay!)

“Even if you tried, I’d just be a full-baby.” Briana said in her brattiest tone. “Babies don’t get spanked, ‘cause they can’t help what they do.”

“You can just turn it on like that?” Gary asked. He leaned over, propping himself up on his arms over Briana.

“Uh – yes. Yup, sure can!” Briana said, suddenly nervous.

“I think you need the brat spanked out of you.” Gary said. “I guess I’ll stop if you seem like too much of a baby.”

“No, you can’t!” Briana said, squirming as she tried to make her thoughts float down to a more little state. “Cause I can just poof, be baby! So you can’t even try. Like the fill-a-butter in congress.”

“The what?” Gary laughed.

“Shut up!” Briana pouted. “I’m in-between. It’s hard.”

Though a quiet corner of Briana’s mind knew Gary was being perfectly reasonable and playing along, the super-little thoughts were telling her he was being massively unfair. Quick thrashing got her arms out of her pjs. Before Gary could figure out what she was doing, Briana squirmed out from under him. He was left looming over an empty set of pajamas and a diaper.

“Briana, are you okay?” Gary asked.

He moved toward her and she squirmed backward, balling up her fists. It felt like a cascade of things were closing down in her mind, making explaining anything impossible.

“You wanted this!” Briana cried fussily. “I’m trying!”

“Baby girl.” Gary said softly, moving to scoop Briana up.

She didn’t pull away this time. Even being cradled in Gary’s arms and pressed to his chest didn’t bring the thought-obliterating littleness that she’d felt after her gross accident at school.

“Gawy.” Briana pouted. “I can’ do it.”

“This is pretty cute.” Gary said, rocking Briana in his arms. “Too cute to spank at least.”

Briana giggled. She sighed and relaxed against Gary. It didn’t last long though, he startled her by standing up with a quick jerk.

“Gawy!” She admonished him.

“You just peed on me.” Gary said wryly.

“Oh, didn’t notice.” Briana said. It was true, though she could feel the wet on her legs now that she was paying attention. (it was just a little one)

Gary was in a big hurry to get her on the changing blanket. Briana squeaked at being swung around abruptly. There was too much stuff happening, too fast. She popped a thumb in her mouth once she was settled on the blanket. (it helped)

It was a strange diaper change. First it was all fast and super efficient, like Dad did them. Then Gary just, stopped, right after the powder. Briana looked up at him, but he was staring off at something on the floor. Following his gaze, Briana saw the plug. She rolled over and started crawling to it, only to have her legs grabbed and be pulled back onto the diaper.

“Don’ you wan’ it?” Briana asked, pointing at the plug.

“Not tonight.” Gary said, wrapping the diaper nice and snug around Briana’s waist.

“Kay!” Briana said happily.

Gary left her on the blanket to clean up the old diaper, plug, and himself. Briana crawled to the bookshelf and pulled out Gary’s old tablet. It took a few tries to get it unlocked. None of the apps had the name of the show she wanted to watch, so she tried opening them at random.

“What are you doing?” Gary asked, advancing on Briana with her discarded pajamas.

“Owl House!” Briana demanded, thrusting the tablet at Gary.

“I don’t have Disney plus.” Gary said. “Lie down, I need to get you dressed.”

“OWL HOUSE!” Briana fussed.

Gary’s big hand came around and whopped Briana on her padded butt. It wasn’t hard at all, but it made a loud noise against the diaper. She stared at him with wide eyes. (he finally spanked!)

“Sowwy.” Briana said, putting the tablet down.

“I’m sure there’s something we can watch on Netflix.” Gary said. “Come on, into the pajamas. No snuggling unless you’re in pajamas.”

(No Snuggles?!) Briana tried to thrash her way into the pajamas as fast as she could. It ended up taking almost five minutes to get her into them. She and Gary were both laughing so hard they were crying by the end.

Finally, they were back on the couch. Well Gary was on the couch, Briana was on Gary’s lap. He’d put a pacifier in her mouth and mittens on her hands. They weren’t the locking kind, but they still helped her stay little.

It took a few tries to get Gary to turn on Kipo, since Briana couldn’t talk, but he figured it out. For some reason he put on a totally random episode. It didn’t matter, there was Kipo, snuggles, and a full tummy.

A couple episodes in, Briana was getting a little sleepy. She also was feeling some pressure. Opening her mouth to tell Gary she needed the potty almost ended with her dropping her pacifier. She closed her mouth around it, considering. The potty was off-limits tonight, she remembered.

Shifting on Gary’s lap, Briana screwed up her face in concentration.

“What’s up baby girl?” Gary asked.

Too busy to answer, even if she’d been allowed to talk, Briana pushed. Wet and mess both filled her diaper. It was a relief at first. After wearing all the time for so long, Briana liked the feeling when she wet, as long as the diaper wasn’t too full. As soon as the muck spread across her bottom, that good feeling was gone.

It was still so gross! The smell was on a short delay too. Gary looked shocked. (dummy!) Briana dimly remembered that she had set all this up. She wouldn’t be a poopy pants if she hadn’t pushed the evening that direction.

The pacifier hit her lap as she cried. She knew she smelled gross, but she clung to Gary anyway. If he pushed her away in that moment it would be the worst thing.

“Oh, baby Bri, I’ve got you.” Gary said, super gently.

His soft tone and the gentle way he carried her to the changing blanket extinguished her sobs by the time they reached the blanket. Gary hadn’t pushed away from her even a little bit. Sure, he had to let her go to get her diaper off, but okay. She was glad to be out of it!

One thing was for sure, he wasn’t prepared like Mom. There wasn’t a pail on hand to hide the yucky diaper in, so things were smelly for the whole change. Gary went fast rather than tender on the cleaning. (which was good!)

The shock of it all had pushed her out of being extra-little, Briana realized. Wiggling herself into the perfect fit for her new diaper, she waited for Gary to be back from throwing away the mess.

Gary went all the way out to the garbage in the hall with a plastic bag. (silly boy) He really hadn’t been prepared. She felt a little bad about that. Although if they did it again, he’d probably be better set up the next time.

“How’s baby Bri?” Gary asked, returning to the blanket.

“Not as baby anymore.” Briana said. He picked her up anyway, and she wasn’t about to complain.

“You changed my messy diaper.” Briana said softly, resting her head on Gary’s shoulder. “Are you okay?”

“It was intense.” Gary said. “Not bad though. It was special. I feel closer to you now.”

“That’s a big thing.” Briana agreed. “Sorry I couldn’t get all the way little.”

“I liked you that way. I like you how you are now best I think, but that was fun. It’s okay if we can’t do the fully baby Briana.”

“I think we can. I just need more playing. If we played a little with the super big diaper and the mittens and everything I’m sure it would work.”

“Is it still something you want to do?” Gary asked.

“You’re a good caregiver.” Briana said. “I love it when you take care of me. If you did all the things for me, that would be really fun.”

“I’ll talk to your mom about a couple of days with you then.” Gary said.

Briana nodded. She wiggled her butt and frowned. “You didn’t plug me again.”

“Nope.” Gary said. “I want to keep using that for fun, but I don’t need it to keep you from being messy. I can handle that now.”

“But, what if I hafta go?” Briana asked.

“Then I guess you can tell me you need the potty.” Gary said.

“What if I feel really little and forget?” Briana asked.

“Then I change you.” Gary chuckled. “I’ll take care of you no matter what you need.”

“I don’t have messy accidents.” Briana whined. “I’m a big girl.”

“You’re the one who said you might forget.” Gary said.

“Gary!” Briana whined again, and bit his shoulder.

“I think that means it’s bedtime.” Gary said.

“No, it’s a sleepover!” Briana protested.

“You’re being babysat, and babysitter says it’s time for bed.”

“But not alone, right?” Briana asked pitifully.

“Of course not. I’m going to tuck my baby girl right in with me.” Gary said.

“Okay! But I need some water first. And we hafta bush my teeth. And wash my face. And new pjs in case these got dirty. And uh…”

“Are you trying to delay your bedtime, little girl?” Gary asked, hosting Briana up with him as he stood.

“No, I just wanna make sure I do all my bedtime stuff.” Briana said, fluttering her lashes innocently. “Like a good girl.”

“Uh huh.” Gary kissed Briana gently. “You are a good girl. My good girl.”

Briana threw her arms around Gary’s neck and kissed him with all her might, while unicorns, rainbows, and shooting stars burst out of her heart.

Briana took a deep, nervous breath. For the twentieth time, she smoothed down her skirt. She looked nice, but she was in adult clothes and not her normal stuff. The dress was one of the more sedate ones that she’d picked up with Mom on their shopping trip. The red and black lace dress had been deemed too gaudy for court by both Veronica and Jane. That meant Briana was in all-black, with a more subdued version of Mom’s makeup on her face.

Mom had been really excited when she picked Briana up from Gary’s apartment. When she told Briana that they could not only do the name change, but the whole adoption, Briana had been excited too. But going to court had meant transforming into adult-Briana, and adult Briana had questions.

For one thing, it seemed awfully fast to get a court date. For another thing, the court clerk that had taken their papers had addressed Mom as Ms. Rasmussen before she even read the documents. They had a lawyer with them too, a grumpy-looking old guy with a horrible combover. He’d greeted Briana as Ms. Cassingham, too politely for an old, rich lawyer to greet a grad school dropout.

“We’ll be in and out.” Simon, the lawyer, said.

“Thank you for being here on such short notice.” Veronica said. Simon nodded and shrugged.

Maybe Briana was supposed to call him Mr. Silverstein. Mom was calling him Simon, and he was calling her Veronica. But Jane was calling him Mr. Silverstein, and he was calling her Ms. Müller. Was she actually supposed to call the judge Your Honor, or was that too formal if it wasn’t a criminal thing? Court had a lot of rules and adult-Briana didn’t know them all. That just made the real, baby-Briana even more nervous.

“All rise.” The bailiff said. “The New Hampshire Superior Court is now in session, the Honorable Judge Miriam Wallace presiding.”

Briana hopped nervously to her feet. Their little group were the only ones in the courtroom. Luckily, Mr. Silverstein groaned dramatically as he stood, drowning out the crinkle of Brian’s diaper. She had insisted on being fully padded, in one of her lucky pink pony diapers. The last thing she wanted to do was have an accident in court.

“You can be seated.” The judge said, “But it’ll save time if you just come to the bench since this is a special session.”

“Thank you Your Honor.” Veronica said, leading the four of them in front of the judge.

“There aren’t any other petitioners, Veronica, you can call me Miriam.” Miriam said, chuckling.

“As long as you’re comfortable with that, thank you.” Veronica said. “Simon is representing us today, but he’s mostly here to catch any mistakes I might make.”

“Mr. Silverstein.” Miriam said, nodding to Simon.

“Your Honor.” Simon replied, with an answering nod.

“We might as well finish getting acquainted.” Miriam said. “Veronica, you’re the first petitioner?”

“That’s correct.” Veronica said.

“The second petitioner is Ms. Jane Müller?”

“Yes Your Honor.” Jane said. “I am she.”

“And our adoptee is Ms. Briana Cassingham?”

“Wait, Jane, you’re adopting me too?” Briana asked in surprise. She clapped her hands to her mouth and turned to the judge, flustered. “I mean – I’m sorry Your Honor. Yes, I’m Briana.”

Miriam chuckled. “I don’t bite, take your time. I want to be sure that you know what’s going on in this process. Ms. Müller, did you not discuss your adoption with Ms. Cassingham before now?”

“I thought I had, Your Honor.” Jane said. “I must have not been very clear.”

“Oh!” Briana said, realization dawning as adult-Briana parsed baby-Briana’s memories. “That’s what you were talking about when you were filling out the papers this morning.”

Jane smiled fondly. “Yes Briana. I’m sorry I didn’t explain that we were talking more formally, and not in the ordinary way that you have called me your parent.”

“Oh Daddy!” Briana said, throwing herself into Jane’s arms. Court decorum would have to wait, hugs were too high a priority in the moment.

“I think that answers the consent questions for petitioner two.” Miriam said, smiling to the court recorder. “Veronica, do you intend to adopt Ms. Cassingham as your daughter?”

“I absolutely do, Miriam.” Veronica said.

“Ms. Cassingham, I need your attention back for a moment.” Miriam said.

“Yes Your Honor?” Briana said, reluctantly disengaging from Jane.

“Do you consent to your adoption by Veronica Rasmussen?”

“Yes, yes please.” Briana said, blinking away tears.

“Mr. Silverstein, for the court recorder, are the petitioner’s documents in order?”

“Yes Your Honor.” Simon said. “The court has received RSA 170-B, signed by all relevant parties, copies of identification for all parties, and the adoptee’s birth certificate.”

Briana blinked. When did mom get a hold of her birth certificate, and how? Now was not the time to ask questions and muck up the process though. She was giving Veronica the right to access her birth certificate any time, after all.

“In that case, it is the decision of this court that Ms. Cassingham be adopted by Ms. Rasmussen and Ms. Müller, and further that Ms. Briana Hillary Cassingham will now be known as Ms. Briana Tess Rasmussen. The DVRA shall issue a new birth certificate with the new parents of record for the adoptee to be mailed to the petitioners’ address.”

Miriam smacked her gavel down. “This session of the New Hampshire Superior Court is adjourned.”

“I really can’t thank you enough for fitting us in like this Miriam.” Veronica said.

“Sure you can, you can mention it to Michelle.” Miriam said, chuckling. “Congratulations on your new family, especially to the younger Ms. Rasmussen.”

Briana squealed and grabbed her parents. Her real, actual, official parents. Parents that loved her, that she loved until her heart threatened to burst out of her chest. Jane and Veronica held her and each other while Briana cycled through bouts of crying and laughing.

Even after she calmed down, Briana wouldn’t let go of either of them on their way out of the courthouse. They stood on the courthouse steps for another hug while Briana collected herself. It helped that she was adult-Briana. The cold was a strong motivator to get things together too.

“Mom, Dad…” Briana wiped her eyes and took a deep breath. “I don’t have the words. Thank you. I love you.”

“Those are excellent words. I love you.” Jane said, kissing Briana’s head.

“I agree. I love you, Baby Bee.” Veronica said.

“What are we even going to do with the rest of today?” Briana asked.

“Unfortunately…” Veronica sighed. “I have a meeting at the university.”

“Mom!” Briana said, “It’s winter break!”

“I know, but we couldn’t schedule it another time. There’s some business I want to bring up that can’t wait as well.” Veronica said.

“I guess you’re just stuck with your old dad.” Jane said.

“Daddy, don’t be weird.” Briana admonished. “I want us to all be together today.”

“We will be.” Veronica said. “After my meeting. I’ll come home as fast as I can.”

“Okay.” Briana sighed. “I have stuff I want to talk to you about.”

“I’m looking forward to it. Be a good girl for your dad, okay?”

“Yes Mom.” Briana hugged Veronica tightly and watched her walk to a waiting Uber car with a sour expression.

“Don’t be so grumpy.” Jane said, taking Briana’s hand and hustling her off to their car. “This is a good opportunity.”

“For what?”

“To buy some rings while your mother isn’t around.” Jane said.

“Some rings?” Briana asked in confusion. Her confusion redoubled when Jane lead her to the front passenger’s seat.

“It would be best if you were still an adult for this. Will that be alright?” Jane asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine Dad.” Briana got in and buckled up. “Tell me more abut these rings.”

“Well, the German tradition is simple gold bands.” Jane said. “We need one for myself and one for your mother, principally. I would also like to get one for you and one for Melody, though that’s not part of the normal tradition.”

“Gold…” Briana’s jaw dropped. “Dad are you going to propose to Mom?!”

Jane grinned as she maneuvered the car out of Ardenthill’s downtown. “Do you think that Christmas Day is a dramatic enough time?”

“Daddy you dork!” Briana said with glee. “Do people in the economics department know that you’re a huge softie?”

“No, they are terrified of my grim Deutsch manner.” Jane said, deadpan.

“Silly Daddy.” Briana said, pressing her hands to her heart. “It’s really sweet, I’m excited! But what are my and Melody’s rings for?”

“In Germany, when you are engaged you put the ring on your left hand, and during the marriage ceremony you move it to the right.” Jane said.

“If you and Melody agree, I would like you to also put the rings on your left hand when I propose to Veronica, and move them over when we are married. I had this idea before Veronica decided to adopt you, to symbolize our family, but I think it is still good.”

“It’s amazing. It’s so beautiful.” Briana sighed happily. “Maybe Melody and my rings should be a little different than yours though.”

“I like this idea. We are not all getting married to each other. And since you may both get married someday, perhaps they should be rings for your small finger.”

“Perfect!” Briana said. “Then they’ll be little compared to yours.”

“Your thumb ring would be little compared to my regular one.” Jane said, chuckling.

“Because I am adorable.” Briana said, smirking.

“And sassy when you are adult.” Jane said.

“Nuh uh! I’m sassy when I’m little too.” Briana retorted.

“I suppose that is true. You still need to focus though. I have a job for you.”

“Daddy! You’re not supposed to give me chores.”

“As your father, that is exactly what I’m supposed to do.” Jane said. “This is an easy one. I need you to find out Melody’s ring size. Without telling them why.”

“How is that easy? Do I just start sticking things on her fingers?” Briana whined.

“It doesn’t involve physical labor. Would you rather shovel snow off the walk?”

“I bet they have a bunch of rings for their cosplay stuff.” Briana said. “I could get one of those sized.”

Jane smirked as she pulled into a parking spot in front of a jewelry store. “Look how creative you can be, when properly motivated.”

“I’m just worried about screwing up something this important, if I forget when I’m little.” Briana said.

“It’s a good test for how you’ll be able to handle remembering things if you go back to classes.” Jane said. “Just like Veronica helps you with things you have to remember, I’ll remind you too.”

“Like I’m a kid and you’re my dad.” Briana said with a happy squirm.

“Exactly like that, because you are my child. I have paperwork to prove it now.”

Briana unbuckled her seatbelt and leaned over to give Jane a big hug. She managed to keep her squeal to a low volume, mindful of the close quarters inside the car. The hug she got back was fierce, surprising her. She clung closer, nuzzling Jane’s shoulder until the hug finally loosened. It gave her a heart full of fuzzies to see Jane wiping brusquely at her eyes.

“I love you, daddy.”

“I love you too, mein Tochter.”

In the jewelry store, Dad was all business. She didn’t get the same suspiciously good treatment that Mom had at the dress store, but Jane wasn’t shy at all about asking the jeweler to lay out a dozen rings for her and Briana to evaluate.

They eventually settled on a pair of wider gold bands with a complicated vine pattern cast into the outside edge. The decision was helped along by the discovery of a pair of slimmer rings, with a matching but simpler vine pattern to match.

With all the measurements except for Melody’s, the jeweler promised to start work right away. Briana was feeling a bit stressed at her part in the project, but she was sure she could get her sibling’s ring size soon.

“That’s our business for the day done.” Jane said. “What do you want to do until your mother’s meeting is over?”

“Oh, can we get a Christmas present from me for her?” Briana asked. “Actually I have a bunch of shopping I still have to do.”

“We’re already downtown, I don’t see why not.” Jane said. “Do you need to use the potty? Or a change?”

Briana blushed and squirmed. “Daddy, I’m a big girl right now, you don’t have to ask that.”

“Let’s check anyway.” Jane said. She took Briana’s hand and made for a family restroom.

“Daddy!” Briana protested again.

Big Briana’s weakness was apparently diaper checks in public. She hadn’t been embarrassed at a diaper check in ages, but being big had her wanting to prove she could keep a diaper dry. She didn’t resist though. Since Dad was immune to her pout, she let Jane pull her into the family restroom and lift her gothy skirt.

“I count less ponies than we had this morning.” Jane said, patting Briana’s crotch. “It looks like you had an accident, but just a small one.”

“But, I was being a big girl. I was able to hold it at the dress store, and I wasn’t even trying!” Briana whimpered.

“You are still learning. That doesn’t mean you aren’t a big or a good girl.” Jane patted Briana’s cheek. “If you didn’t notice, you probably don’t need a change. Do you want one?”

“Getting a change would make it easier to tell if I have an accident later.” Briana mumbled. “But it might make me feel little too.”

“I don’t see how you can learn to hold it as a big girl without some practice.” Jane said, folding down the changing table. “Hop up Briana.”

It was weird to get up on a changing table after being called Briana, instead of little one, or any of the many nicknames her caregivers had for her. The embarrassment from wetting only ramped up when Dad opened up her diaper and wiped her down. Not because Dad was seeing her bits, that was still safe and comfortable, even in big mode.

Big Briana couldn’t shake the sense that Dad was disappointed in her accident, even if she wasn’t making any disappointed noises. When Briana’s new diaper was covered up with a diaper cover, she whimpered.

“It’s just in case.” Jane said. “I don’t have another spare, we didn’t bring your regular diaper bag.”

“I’m sorry I couldn’t be a big girl.” Briana said, sighing.

“Are you putting blame on yourself?” Jane asked. “Briana, Kindchen. This is not productive. If you are not satisfied with your result, then make an effort to improve for next time.”

Briana hopped off the changing table (without being asked!) and nodded. “Okay daddy. I’ll try really hard to keep this diaper dry.”

“That’s my good girl.” Jane said, kissing Briana’s forehead. “Now, we have presents to buy, and not much time before your Mother is done with her meeting.”

Shopping with Dad was super different than with Mom. They went from shop to shop in a whirlwind. If they didn’t see much of interest right away, it was off to a new store.  It was a good method for getting the less personal presents.

At a sports store, Briana picked up a framed picture of Portia Woodman, Casey’s favorite Rugby star. She also grabbed a US Women’s World Cup jersey for Rosa, just in case Melody could fix things with their girlfriend.

She wasn’t going to get a present for Beatrix, Little-Briana informed Big-Briana. She wasn’t! Even briefly considering getting her some coal or fake-poop felt icky. If Melody kept dating Beatrix and brought her to Christmas – then Briana was going to actually poop in a box and give it to that horrible woman. So there!

Melody’s porn sites had netted Briana an ABDL themed straightjacket for Gary. Well, for her, obviously, but to help make his helpless Briana fantasy come true. That left her with just Mom and Dad to shop for. Dad was out, since she was right there.

By the eighth store they visited, Briana was starting to panic a little. It felt like her chance to shop for Mom was slipping away. It couldn’t just be any old gift for her. It had to be double-super-duper perfect.

She looked at the tchotchkes in the touristy gift store they were visiting with an irritated glare. There was nothing here for Mom. Dad was buying something for her advisor. Briana hoped that was a joke between them, and that Dad’s taste in gifts wasn’t really that bad. She needed gift advice, and Dad had better come through!

“Daddy.” Briana said, as they left the dumb tourist trap. “I need help. I can’t figure out what to get Mom.”

“Are you starting to feel little?” Jane asked, pulling Briana aside on the sidewalk.

“Because I called you daddy?” Briana snorted. “You think adult me isn’t the kind of girl what would call you daddy?”

Jane smirked. “Perhaps so. It does seem in character.” She stroked Briana’s cheek fondly.

“Daddy this is important!” Briana said. “Do you have any ideas?”

“She would love anything from you, which I know is not helpful, but it is a good starting point. It doesn’t have to be expensive, or rare.” Jane said. “The best thing you could get her is something that reminds her of you.”

Briana chewed her lip, digesting that. It was true that as cool as her parents pretended to be, they were big corny dorks on the inside. Even something dumb like a locket with a picture in it – Briana’s eyes went wide as a revelation struck her.

“Got it! Daddy, I need to shop on my own for a bit.”

Jane blinked. “Why?”

“Because it’s a joint present for both of you, and you can’t see your presents ahead of time. You’ll get Krampused!”

Jane laughed. “I don’t remember the Krampus ever coming for a father, but I agree a present should be a surprise. I don’t know about letting you shop on your own, though.”

“Please, Daddy!” Briana said, batting her lashes and putting on her best pleading expression. “I have the perfect present idea. I have my phone with me; we can make sure the ringer is on and everything. I’ll be a big girl and make you proud! Please?”

“Well, alright.” Jane said. “I trust you to make me proud.”

She kissed Briana on the forehead. There was a bit of an emotional shine in her eyes. Briana grinned and filed that information away for later. Apparently all it took to make Dad melt was saying she wanted to make Dad proud.

“Thanks, Daddy!” Briana said excitedly. “Look, my phone ringer is on and the phone has plenty of charge. Okay Daddy love you, see you soon!”

Briana left in a whirlwind, with Jane staring bemusedly after her. Her excitement had her walking far faster than the holiday shoppers. Something about the expression on her face, combined maybe with her gothic outfit, got people to move out of her way. This was a new experience for the five-foot-nothing Briana. She felt powerful!

The feeling helped solidify her Big-Briana mask. Little-Briana could revel in the feeling of being confidant. That in turn made her realize where the perfect place to get the lockets she wanted would be.

Fifteen minutes of confident striding later, Briana was standing outside Black Veil, the store that had sold her the dress she was wearing. The sign had a literal black-veiled woman in mountains of black lace on it. Briana giggled. It was so Mom.

Pushing her way into the store, Briana was greeted by the clerk. She smiled and waved. In the time it took to walk to the jewelry counter, the shop owner was already coming to greet her. Briana beamed. Things were going exactly as she’d hoped.

“Ms. Cassingham, right?” Wendy said, smiling. “Merry almost Christmas.”

“Merry Christmas!” Briana said. “And actually it’s Rasmussen now, as of this morning!”

“That’s amazing!” Wendy said, sweeping her purple shawl back so she could reach out and grab Briana’s hands. “Congratulations then, Ms. Rasmussen!”

“That sounds a lot like Mom.” Briana said, “Maybe I could be Miss Rasmussen.”

“Perfect.” Wendy said with a nod. “What can I do for you today?”

“I need two lockets. Really pretty ones. One can be all skulls and ravens, but the other should be more understated.” Briana said. “They’re for Mom and Dad.”

“We have a lot of lockets, let’s get them all out.” Wendy said, looking over at her clerk. The clerk took the hint, opening the glass case and pulling out the velvet display boards one at a time.

“I know I’m being picky, but do you have any four-picture ones, with the three pieces?” Briana asked.

“Be as picky as you want.” Wendy said, smiling. “I won’t be happy until you walk out of here with exactly what you’re looking for.”

“Thank you. I knew I could come here and get awesome help.” Briana said brightly.

She could see why Mom liked shopping at the Black Veil so much. They went over more than two dozen lockets. For every one of them, Wendy knew the manufacturer and could discuss the materials without referencing her laptop. Wendy’s patience was just as limitless as it had been the last time Briana had shopped there.

Finally, she had her selections. Mom’s locket was beautifully over the top, a silver patina pendant with a skull at the top and a thorned rose in relief on the face. Dad’s was a nice gold-enameled oval with seed pearls tucked into a geometric pattern. They would each hold four pictures, pictures that Briana now somehow had to take without giving the presents away. Christmas was getting complicated and sneaky!

“Those are beautiful, great choices.” Wendy said. “Do you want me to put them on your Mom’s account? She won’t see it until next month, when the statement goes out.”

“No, I can pay for them now.” Briana said. “Don’t wrap them, I still have to put the pictures in.”

“I’ll put them in nice display boxes so they look good when they’re opened.” Wendy said. “Thanks again for thinking of us.”

“Thank you for being so kind to me.” Briana said, with a soft smile. “It means a lot to be accepted without a lot of questions.”

“You’re welcome. I have a lot of respect for your mother.” Wendy said, handing the pendants to her clerk to box up as she rang up the sale. “She’s not just a customer to me. I’m glad to have any family of hers in the store, and I’m proud that people can shop here without being hassled.”

Little-Briana thought this was a perfect time for a hug, and Big Briana didn’t argue. She gave Wendy a quick, tight hug before handing over her payment. With a smile and a wave, she was out the door.

She was just about to text Dad that she was done with her shopping, when a deep voice said, “Briana?”

Briana looked up to see a big man. After a half-second of re-contextualizing him, she realized it was Arthur.

“Arthur!” Briana said, gleefully hugging him. He laughed, and crushed her with his huge arms.

“I almost didn’t recognize you in that dress.” He said.

“I almost didn’t recognize you in pants.” Briana said, smirking. She made sure to keep her voice low enough that nobody else would hear.

Arthur blushed. “Go easy on that. But – yeah, I get it. You look good. I didn’t expect you to dress so much like Veronica.”

“I don’t usually.” Briana said. “Even when I’m not in little-clothes. But I wanted some outfits that make me look like Mom. Plus this is probably my most formal dress, and I had to dress up today.”

“Okay, that makes sense.” Arthur said. “Do you have time to hang out, maybe get lunch?”

“Maybe!” Briana said. “I have to ask my Dad.” She typed out a quick text, asking Dad if she could have lunch with a friend.

“It’s okay if not, I just wanted a chance to talk when we’re not…” Arthur switched to a whisper. “Little.”

“That sounds fun.” Briana said. “I might have some questions for you.”

“You’d have questions for me?” Arthur asked, confused. “I was going to ask you. You seem like you’re a pro at it.”

“That doesn’t mean I don’t want to hear about how you do it.” Briana said. “You got into this totally different than how I did.”

A reply popped up on Briana’s phone. Dad wanted more information. It took telling dad that the friend was Arthur, as well as a promise to text Jane with the name of the restaurant when they chose one to get her permission. Briana smiled. Her daddy was so good at making her feel safe and looked after!

“Okay, we can do it!” Briana said. “You pick the restaurant.”

Arthur lead her to a place called Jook, which he said had some of the best soul food in town. It was a super classy-looking place with nice hardwood tables and bistro-style décor. The atmosphere was homey though, and all the staff seemed like they actually wanted to be there.

“Do you eat here a lot?” Briana asked as they took a seat at their table.

“Whenever I can.” Arthur said. “I can’t be eating out all the time, but this is my favorite spot. Plus, I try to support Black-owned businesses as a general rule.”

Briana nodded. “Then you tell me what I should get.”

“They have the best chicken sandwiches, hands-down. Go for the Jook Style one, you won’t regret it.” Arthur said.

“They put coleslaw on the sandwich?” Briana asked curiously, peering at the menu.

“Trust me, it’s good.”

“Okay, I’ll try it!” Briana grinned. “Which one are you getting?”

“Sassy and sweet.” Arthur said. “I would have suggested that one for you, but I don’t know if you like spicy.”

“Not all the time.” Briana nodded. She gave her order and menu to the server. Once they were alone at the table, she leaned in conspiratorially toward Arthur.

“What did you want to ask me about?”

“Well uh, first some questions about how you do the whole little thing. I don’t want to make assumptions.” Arthur said. “You’re wearing – them, all the time? I thought you were acting little all the time too, but obviously not.”

“Being out and big like this is new for me.” Briana said. “It’s a whole thing I can explain, but yeah, I used to be little all the time.”

“How did that come about?” Arthur asked. “You were in Microbio with Tamira, right? So you weren’t always little.”

“I was having medical issues.” Briana said. “Stress and incontinence. Mom helped me find a way to deal with it, which ended up with me being little. Once that happened, I couldn’t turn it off, so I was little from then on out.”

Arthur frowned nervously. “You got stuck that way?”

“Not stuck.” Briana considered. “This is a weird thing to tell you, but we’re already talking about it. I ended up defining myself as little. When I’m big like this, that’s the game. I’m playing pretend as a big girl. I don’t most people do it that way though. Melody doesn’t.”

“She’s little too?” Arthur asked.

“They.” Briana said. “They’re little sometimes. It helps them, I think they need it. But they aren’t that way all the time.”

“Hmm, okay.” Arthur said. He sat back in his chair and chewed on his lip.

“Are you trying to figure out how you feel about being little?” Briana asked. “I know I look like it’s all effortless now, but it was really tough for me to accept at first.”

“Really?”

“Yeah. I didn’t want to be little, or wear protection, or lose my independence. It was really scary.”

“It is scary.” Arthur nodded.

“It’s wonderful too.” Briana said. “But it does take a lot of trust.”

“That’s the thing.” Arthur said. “I trust Tamira now, she’s great. But what if we break up?”

Briana considered that while the waiter brought them their food. There wasn’t a good answer, or at least not an easy one. She further delayed her answer by taking a bite of her sandwich. That turned out to be a delicious decision! Speaking of trust, she could trust Arthur to recommend food now.

“I don’t think there’s a way to reassure you on that.” Briana said. “A breakup will feel bad no matter what but, yeah, I don’t know what I would do if I broke up with Gary. I’d feel really betrayed. And if I didn’t have a mom and dad, if he was my daddy…”

Briana hastily wiped some tears away with a napkin. Too late, she realized she should have dabbed. The makeup mom had done turned the corner of the napkin black. It was probably smeared under her eyes like a raccoon now.

“I don’t know what to tell you I guess.” Briana said. “I know she cares about you a lot. It takes trust on her end too.”

Arthur nodded and sighed. He took a big bite of his sandwich. They both munched away for a bit in silence, giving themselves time to ponder.

“I’m asking because um – I was thinking of asking her to do it more long term.” Arthur said, hesitantly.

“Oh wow.” Briana said happily. “I’m excited for you. Like full time?”

“Not full time. Yet anyway.” Arthur said, squirming in his seat.

Briana recognized that squirm. There was way too much butt-wiggle for it to not be a diaper-squirm.

“Are you wearing protection right now?” Briana asked.

“Yes.” Arthur said softly, blushing.

“Does Tamira know?”

“No.” Arthur hid behind his sandwich, munching nervously on it.

“You wanted to see what it was like.” Briana said.

It wasn’t a question. Arthur nodded in confirmation. Briana considered.

“It might be better for you to talk to Melody, except that they probably don’t want to talk about this right now.” Briana said. In response to Arthur’s questioning look, she added, “Relationship stuff, I can’t really say without asking them first.” Arthur nodded.

“But I’m going to try an – experiment with my boyfriend.” Briana said. “A pretty intense one. We’re going to try it out for a couple of days.”

“School is on break.” Briana continued, “Why don’t you start with um – doubling whatever the longest time you’ve been little is. Or doing a full day if you’ve never done a full day.”

“I wanted to talk to her about it first.” Arthur said. “I just don’t know how to do the conversation.”

“So do the day thing.” Briana said. “Then when you’re talking about how that went, if it was good, you can talk about something more regular.”

“Hmm, that sounds pretty good.” Arthur said. “I still don’t know how to bring up the day thing though. I get so embarrassed when I talk to her about it. I feel like I’m asking for so much.”

“Would you like help with it?” Briana asked. “Like if you were little?”

Arthur blushed and put his hands in his lap, stiff-armed. “I don’t know about that.”

“I won’t push you.” Briana said. “But if it’d be easier for you, I’d do it.”

“You’d do what?” Arthur asked.

“Ask your mommy for you.”

Arthur looked like he wanted to curl in on himself. Briana waited patiently, working on her sandwich.

“How?” Arthur asked. There was lot of sweet longing in his voice. Briana’s heart was getting more and more melty by the moment.

“I have some inside info from a conversation that Melody told me about.” Briana said. “I’m sure she’d be happy to do it for you. You could start today, if you don’t have stuff you need to be big for.”

“Nothing that has to be done today – or tomorrow.” Arthur said.

Keen to shifts in people’s voices, Briana could hear the little creeping into Arthur’s voice.

“Is that a yes to me helping you?” Briana asked.

Arthur nodded.

“Okay, I will before I meet up with Dad.” Briana smiled. “We should finish our lunch though.”

Arthur relaxed a bit, returning to his sandwich with fresh vigor. Briana managed her sandwich and a few fries, but the mac and cheese side was going to have to go in a box.

“I wanted to ask you,” Briana said, “How do you transition between big and little?”

“So far Tamira and I have had really defined stuff.” Arthur said. “Thanksgiving at your place was the longest for sure. That one started when I got dressed for it, and ended when we got home.”

Briana nodded. “It helps to know when it’s going to end?”

“Yeah, and actually that one was pretty easy because I had the car ride over and back to ease into or out of it.”

This was good information. Really good information for being able to go back to classes. Bus rides to and from campus would be perfect for slowly transitioning her thoughts. Mom could even see her out the door like a kid going to school, which is what she would be!

With Arthur feeling off-balance and little-ish, Briana had the huge pleasure of getting to handle the check. They didn’t have enough history for her to explain it, but Arthur was the third friend she’d treated to a meal, ever.

With a happy glow in her heart and a full tummy, Briana took Arthur’s hand and headed out of the restaurant.

“Come here for a second.” Briana said, pulling Arthur into an alley. He followed her, already way more passive than he had been when they’d bumped into each other outside the dress store.

In the middle of the lunch hour, it was easy to find a moment with no one passing the alley. Briana pulled on the waistband of Athur’s pants and peeked in.

“Hey!” Arthur protested.

Briana looked up at her bulky friend. “I thought so. You’re wet.”

“You weren’t supposed to just – check me.” Arthur said, blushing furiously.

“I’m the big one right now.” Briana said, opening the contacts on her phone. “And I’m going to call your mommy so she can take care of you properly.”

Arthur’s shoulders slouched, just like they did when he was being little. He nodded, putting his hands awkwardly in his pockets.

“Hi Briana, what’s up?” Tamira asked over the phone.

“Hi Tamira!” Briana said brightly. “I’m out Christmas shopping and guess who I bumped into?”

“I’m guessing my boyfriend.” Tamira said.

“Close! Your little boy.” Briana said.

“Oh?”

“Well he must be.” Briana said. “He had an accident, and I don’t have any way to change him. He needs to be picked up.”

“He wet his pants in public?” Tamira asked, shocked.

“No, he was wearing a diaper like a good boy.” Briana looked up at Arthur. He was blushing again, squirming and standing pigeon-toed.

“Ain’t that something?” Tamira said. “What’s going on?”

“Nothing that his mommy can’t fix.” Briana said. “I think he’ll need some mommy time for a while though, at least through tomorrow afternoon, if you can manage it.”

There was a soft sound of Tamira’s breath catching, over the phone. “I’ll be right down to meet you. Where are you?”

“We’ll be on the corner of Northwest and Clover.” Briana said. “The coffee shop there.”

“You’re going to get him hyper before you hand him off to me?” Tamira laughed.

“That’s right. I’m the cool auntie right now.” Briana said.

“Okay, coming your way. You’ll have to tell me how this all happened some time though.”

“I will if Arthur doesn’t.” Briana said. “See you soon.”

Phone back in her purse, Briana took Athur’s hand firmly. “Let’s get a hot chocolate while we wait for your mommy.”

“But, there will be people there.” Arthur said bashfully.

“You don’t have to talk to anybody. Just sit at the table like a good boy, okay?”

Arthur nodded gratefully. He sat as small as he could when they got to the coffee shop, practically curled up in his booth seat. When the cocoa was ready, he hunched over it, sipping slowly and getting whipped cream on his nose.

Briana watched in fascination. Other than the rescue she’d done for Melody, she’d never seen anyone be little when she was big. It was easy to talk to him though, she simply had to do what her favorite caregivers did. Like being little was normal, which if anyone were to ask big or little Briana, it was!

“Careful you don’t end up leaking.” Briana said to Arthur. “I really don’t have a diaper with me, and mine wouldn’t fit you anyway.”

“I didn’t have an accident.” Arthur said petulantly.

“Are you forgetting that we’ve played together?” Briana asked. “I know what your potty-face looks like.”

“I don’t have a potty-face!”

“You do, and it’s adorable.”

Movement at the door of the coffee shop caught Briana’s eye. “Mommy’s here, let’s go, Arthur.”

Obediently, but with a bit of a discomforted waddle, Arthur followed Briana. They both got a hug from Tamira outside the shop.

“Dang girl, you look like Veronica!” Tamira said.

“It’s nice to match her sometimes.” Briana said, happily. “We have a ton to talk about, but I have to get back to Jane, and this little boy is about to leak into his pants.”

“Nuh uh!” Arthur protested.

“Don’t worry sweetie, Mommy will take care of it.” Tamira said. Arthur shifted closer so she could put an arm around his waist.

“Can we get together sometime for lunch or whatever?” Tamira asked.

“I would love that, and yes, we can.” Briana nodded.

“You’ve really got yourself put together today.” Tamira said. “I think you’re great little, but it’s good to see this you again too.”

“Thanks! It feels good to be able to do it. Text me about lunch, okay?”

“I will. See you later!”

After a group hug, Tamira put Arthur in her car and headed home. A quick text to Dad informed Briana that she wasn’t far away. Still full of happy fuzzy feelings, Briana found both her parents at another restaurant.

They looked so cute together, and they were both still dressed nicely from the morning’s court appointment. Briana’s suggestion of some pictures to commemorate the day were accepted without any suspicion on the part of her parents. The Christmas presents were nearly complete!

On the way home, Briana practiced Arthur’s suggestion. Instead of trying to snap out of Big-Briana mode, she looked out the window and let her thoughts drift. Big-centric stuff like signs and businesses faded away in favor of watching the snowdrift shapes and brave winter birds. By the time Jane pulled the car into the driveway, Briana was feeling comfortably little.

“Daddy, Mommy, I need to go potty.” Briana said.

“Come with me then, hon.” Veronica said, hurrying Briana inside while Jane gathered up her shopping bags.

“I still want to be in a cute outfit.” Briana said, once she was off the potty and on her changing table. “Can I wear a pretty dress, mommy?”

“Of course you can. Do you want your makeup off, or redone?” Veronica asked.

“Redone please. Can I wear my sparkly pink eyeshadow?”

Veronica laughed. “Against my better judgement, yes.”

Briana grinned and stripped off the last remnants of her big self, depositing her dress and bra on the floor. Even though she’d been a big girl and used the potty, Mom gave her a gentle pass all over her crotch and bum with the wipes.

She was getting the full, deluxe experience. Veronica stroked Briana’s legs and tickled her feet, until she was as full of giggles as she was of fried chicken. Her legs were posed for a detailed inspection. Declared rash-free and cute-bottomed by her mom, Briana got a light coating of lotion instead of the stinky medical cream.

With another pink-pony diaper sitting soft under her butt, Veronica gently powdered her, patting it into place. Veronica leaned in so that being taped up was almost a hug. They did hug, once the tapes were set.

Before any clothes happened, Veronica took a seat in her chair and pulled Briana into her lap. Happy to let Mom be in charge, Briana didn’t ask any questions. No questions were needed when Veronica pulled down her dress and bra strap to place Briana on her breast. She suckled away happily, eyes closed so that her whole world was Mom’s warmth pressing against her and the creamy sweetness in her mouth.

After snacks, Veronica took just as much care getting Briana into a pink satin dress and white tights. With her makeup sparkly and pretty, Briana was delighted to discover that she had remembered the last bit of her present plan.

“Can you take a picture of me and send it to me, mama?” Briana asked, sitting cross-legged with Alanna clutched to her chest.

“Of course. You’re really into pictures today.” Veronica said, snapping several pictures with her phone.

“I want to remember this day forever and ever.” Briana said. She wanted Mom and Dad to remember it too. All she needed was one more big day to get the pictures printed and put in the lockets, and they would never be able to forget!

“You are so sweet.” Veronica said, stroking Briana’s hair. “What do you want to do with your afternoon? Do you need a nap?”

“Can I play wherever you and Dad are?” Briana asked.

“Of course honey. I think we’ll just be doing some chores, maybe watching something on TV. We’re finally, really on break.”

“Okay, I’ll be on the couch.” Briana said, following Veronica downstairs. “Unless Melody wants to play.”

One thing was for sure, she wasn’t letting her family out of her sight for the rest of the day. The only thing that could make the day more perfect was if they could get a double-bed moved into Mom and Dad’s room for her and Melody.

Melody was officially hiding from the world. But that’s what Little-space was for, right? Modern problems require modern solutions, and all that. They wondered if there was a diaper-girl version of that meme. Probably not. Not a ton of memes for ABDL stuff in general. Maybe that’s something Melody could fix.

Elden Ring was the perfect thing for a long escape. A brand new run to sink hours into. With no work for a whole break, Melody realized they might be able to try to do a complete clear of the game. They were too far behind the rest of the community to do speed runs, but the game was so huge that almost nobody had hundred-percented it.

Briana was back from her outing in time to watch the Godrick fight. When he grafted a dragon head to his arm, she declared it too scary. Melody gave their sister some good natured ribbing as she retreated to the living room to play on the Switch. It was okay to have a filthy casual for a sister, Melody supposed. It was great to have a sister, whoever she wanted to be.

As Melody worked their way towards the next boss, distracting notifications kept popping up. Someone was blowing up their PlayStation Plus messages. Finally, when the distractions got their character killed, Melody teleported back to a safe spot and opened them up.

They were all from Beatrix. Frantic messages begging Melody to respond to her. Asking if Melody was okay. Nervously, Melody sent a quick reply that they were okay. Almost instantly Beatrix replied: i’m going to call u

Like a boomer? Melody wondered.

It took Melody a moment to find their phone. It had a billion notifications too. Before they could check to see if there was anything more substantial in the text messages, the phone lit up with an incoming call. Beatrix.

Melody ran their thumb over the phone to accept the call. “Bea?”

“Melly!” Beatrix said. She sounded upset. “What’s been going on? You aren’t on discord or anywhere online. I had to track you down on the fucking PlayStation.”

“I’ve uh – been having a hard time. I’m sorry Bea, I just haven’t been up for talking to people.” Melody said.

“You didn’t think that I’m having a rough time, did you?” Beatrix said. “You were so freaked out when you came out as gay. Now I’m doing it, and I’m just supposed to be okay without any support?”

Melody’s gut churned with guilt. “Oh shit, Bea, I’m really sorry.”

“You should be. Or instead of being sorry you could be something useful, like here with me.” Beatrix said.

“I – I’m not supposed to. I got in trouble with Veronica…” Melody stammered.

“Melly, what the hell? This thing Veronica does is so fucked up! You’re really going to let her turn you into a baby? Like Briana?”

“Don’t bring her into this. You – don’t get to talk about her. Ever.” Melody said with force that surprised themself. From the pause on the other end of the line, it surprised Beatrix too.

“Okay, fine, fine. I’m just worried about you! It’s not normal to be a baby. It’s not normal to abandon your friends when they’re having a hard time. It’s not okay to avoid – your girlfriend.”

Melody’s heart thumped hard in their chest. “You – you really want to be my girlfriend?”

“You keep getting me off, I get turned on when I think about you, you’ve been in my life forever, what the hell else do we call it?” Beatrix asked.

Typical Beatrix. Melody sighed. Avoiding all her emotions. A girlfriend with no emotions wasn’t going to work out.

“Bea, that’s just sex. I – damnit, I love you. I have for a long time. Ever since you saved me from my stepdad. I can’t be the only one that has feels, if we’re going to actually date.”

“I need you.” Beatrix said. Her voice was raw, free of all the usual control and careful tone.

“You need me?” Melody asked, their voice cracking.

“Yes, stupid.” Beatrix said in a shaky voice. “Is that what you wanted to hear? That it hurts when I can’t see you? Does it feel good to know that I’ve been thinking about you like ten times a day?”

It felt really good to hear that, actually. It felt amazing. Melody’s heart thumped again. “The part about you needing me feels good, yeah. You hurting doesn’t feel good, of course.”

“Ugh, this is retarded!” Beatrix cried. “Emotions are stupid. Relationships are bullshit! Why can’t it be like before, but better? We used to hang out all the time. You were always with me. It could be like that again, except you could be mine all the way. My Melly. My girlfriend.”

Melody swallowed hard. It sucked a little to be called a girlfriend. That irritation was crashing hard up against Beatrix’s acknowledgement of their relationship.

“That sounds like something I’ve wanted forever.” Melody said. “Except now uh – I don’t really use female pronouns.”

“Oh come ON.” Beatrix sighed. “We used to laugh about woke bullshit like that. What happened to my Melly? That house fucked you up.”

Melody sighed too. Why did this have to be so hard? Why was everything about themself a fight with Beatrix? She’d come around eventually. It was incredible how much ground she’d given up to Melody already in this one conversation. They just had to give her some time. It hadn’t been that long since they’d been railing against ‘woke’ stuff before Veronica called them on it.

“There’s a lot of good stuff here.” Melody said. “You didn’t want me to live with you, remember?”

“Oh come on, that’s because I only had one room left, and Gurpreet offered to pay almost half the rent on her own.” Beatrix made a frustrated growl. “That was my fuckup, okay? I should have booted Mikhail for you. I – I’m sorry.”

An apology? From Beatrix? Any minute now Jesus was going to come down from the sky and tell everyone to get out of the pool.

“If I’m with you, can you be cool about me being a different person than I was at Boston College?” Melody asked.

“Let me ask you this, Melly. What the fuck are you wearing right now?”

Melody looked down. They sighed. “A one-piece pajama.”

“And a diaper?”

“And a diaper.”

“That’s who you want to be?” Beatrix snapped her fingers near the phone’s mic. “Don’t expect me to go all AOC overnight, okay? If you want to do some kind of Enby pro-gamer or programmer thing, that’s cool. Do it. You look good in button ups. Hot actually. Just don’t be a baby. What a fucking waste.”

It didn’t feel like a waste. It felt good, safe to be little. Or at least, it did when Melody was little. When they weren’t little, like this moment, there was still some worry. Part of them couldn’t help but agree with Beatrix. What would people say if they saw Melody like this?

“I guess I could get changed and meet you somewhere.” Melody said cautiously.

“Come to my house, Melly, for real. Just come here. Stay with me.”

“Overnight?” Melody asked.

“I want you here all the time. There’s room. Just – come to me.” Beatrix hesitated for a long time, finally adding. “Please.”

“I can’t just – Bea I have a lease and everything.”

Not to mention the actual family they had at the house. That wasn’t something they could imagine explaining to Beatrix yet though. Not for a while. Ironically, or to be more honest, sadly, they could easily imagine explaining it to Rosa.

“So break it. Or pay rent there until it’s done, and then you can get on the lease here. Just be my girl. Enby, whatever. Melly, I need you. Come over. Tonight.”

Melody’s hands and lips were trembling. She was making an effort. It was such a huge thing for Beatrix to do that.

“I can come for tonight at least.”

“That’s my Melly.” Beatrix said in relief. “When can you get here?”

“I have to change and stuff.” Melody said.

“Yeah, yeah. So get all that baby crap off, shower, dress, and drive here. That’s like – twenty five minutes.”

“Uh – it might take a little more…”

“See you in thirty minutes. Please Melly. I need you.”

“Okay.” Melody said. “I’m on my way.”

Beatrix blew a kiss over the phone and hung up. Melody stared at their phone. What was even happening? Nothing about this felt comfortable. They weren’t excited like they had been to stay at Rosa’s. It’s not like there wasn’t any excitement at all though. It was a long-sidelined dream come true, in a lot of ways. Plus who else did Melody have, when it came to romance? They weren’t likely to find another super tolerant girl like Rosa who would be cool with their diapers.

The tipping point was Bea needing them. They’d needed her, and she’d delivered. More than once. There was a lot of fucked up stuff that had happened between them since then. A lot of things that had to be talked about. Right now though, they had to be there for her. Or what kind of person were they, anyway?

Melody stripped naked and went straight to the shower. Not like people hadn’t seen them naked in the house plenty. Briana called across the living room, asking if they were okay. Melody pretended they hadn’t heard.

They even managed to get back to their room before Briana could confront them. Melody was in their best jeans and picking a shirt when their sister opened the bedroom door and let herself in.

“Melody, what’s going on? Are you going somewhere?” Briana asked, with obvious worry in her tone.

“I’m staying at Bea’s tonight.” Melody said, as firmly as they could manage.

“Sib no!” Briana said in alarm.

“She needs me.” Melody said. “I have to go.”

“She’s a liar!” Briana said. “A really scary one. How can you believe her? Please, please don’t go.”

“I’m sorry sis, I gotta.” Melody said, grabbing their wallet and stuffing some clothes in their backpack.

“I’m telling mom!” Briana shouted. When Melody didn’t react, she sprinted out of the room in a panic.

Melody made it to the door before Veronica called their name from the top of the stairs.

“Melody! Do NOT leave without talking to me.”

The doorknob was so tempting. Melody’s shoulders slumped. They turned away from the door to face Veronica. They didn’t have to wait long, she hurried down the stairs and was at the door in no time.

“Briana says you’re going to spend the night with Beatrix. That is a terrible idea.”

“She needs me.” Melody said softly. “I have to go.”

“Do you still consider me your mother?” Veronica asked.

“Yes.” Melody said, biting their lip.

“What will you do if I forbid you to go?” Veronica put her hands on her hips.

“You told me you wouldn’t stop me from seeing Bea by force.” Melody said.

“I also said I’d strongly disagree with you.” Veronica said, pinching her nose. “Briana thinks Beatrix is manipulating you. I agree. Please, don’t go to see her. Talk to her on the phone if you have to, but don’t go to her house.”

Melody shook their head. “I have to go. She was there for me when I needed her.”

“She’s also done terrible things to you.” Veronica said. “Things that should make you re-evaluate your relationship with her.”

“I talked to her on the phone. She was different. I even set some boundaries. It’ll be different this time.” Melody said. They hoped they were right.

“What if she’s not? At least let’s agree to an emergency out, and an end-time for this trip over there.” Veronica said.

“Uh, I guess that’s okay.” Melody said. “What would that be like?”

“After you’ve been over there for two hours, you have to call me from somewhere private. In a bathroom or outside the house.” Veronica said. “Tomorrow morning you have to be back here by ten am at the absolute latest.”

Melody shifted their weight from one foot to the other. It wasn’t a terrible plan. Comforting really, like a safety net.

“Okay, I’ll do it.” Melody said.

Veronica lost a little of her frantic worried look, but only a little. “I still wish you wouldn’t go. It’s not too late to change your mind.”

“Please stay, sib.” Briana said plaintively. “For me?”

Melody winced. “I have to go. I’ll call in a couple of hours.”

“Be safe, Melody.” Veronica said. “Please keep your eyes open. If something feels wrong, listen to yourself. You’re a smart, wonderful kid. I know your history with Beatrix is complicated, but don’t let it blind you.”

“Okay.” Melody nodded and turned to the door.

Before they could open it, Veronica wrapped her arms around them from behind. “What are you going to do? Tell me.”

“Keep my eyes open?” Melody asked.

“Yes. If it feels wrong, LISTEN to that feeling. Promise me.”

“I – I promise, mom.” Melody said softly.

“You can call me any time. Not just at the two hours. Any time of the day or night. I will have my phone with me and it’ll wake me up if I’m asleep.” Veronica said.

“It’s going to be okay.” Melody said.

“I hope so.” Veronica said. “I’m very afraid that it won’t be.”

There wasn’t anything left that they could say. Their will to go was teetering on the edge. It just felt impossible to abandon Beatrix when she was hurting. What if this was the thing that finally helped her be a better person? It made sense that she’d have all kinds of anger and messed up stuff if she’d been gay the whole time and didn’t realize it.

Melody might not be the best at figuring people out, but they didn’t abandon a friend. Not when something like this was happening. Reluctantly, they disengaged from Veronica and slipped out the door. Briana’s little wail as the door closed was like a knife in the heart.

There was no way out of this Kobayashi Maru. Somebody was going to be upset with them. Might as well go for the play that could save somebody. Beatrix was fixable. She just needed refactoring. So much refactoring.

—–

Melody pulled up at Beatrice’s house. Bea’s sleek blue Mazda was the only car in the driveway. That was a good sign. With some actual privacy, they might be able to work things out. As expected, they didn’t have to knock on the door. It was open before they’d set foot on the steps. Melody hoped that Beatrice wasn’t pissed off. Thirty minutes to arrive had been a pipe dream, never mind twenty five. It was a good forty five minutes since they’d hung up the phone.

“Hey Bea…” Was as far as Melody got.

Beatrix yanked Melody into the house, slamming the door. As Melody was bracing for a temper tantrum, Bea’s lips met theirs. The kiss lit a fire in Melody’s belly. It was hungry. Beatrix was kissing them like the world was ending. Pressing against them, like Melody was her air to breathe. When Melody joined in, tangling their tongue with Bea’s, everything went away.

Melody’s phone and backpack were somewhere. They didn’t care. All that mattered was the intensity of the passion they shared. Bumping into pictures, stumbling down the hall, they neared the bedroom. All the while their lips were locked, never coming apart for longer than it took to gasp for air.

Clothes came off fast and rough. Even the brief time it took to fling their shirts away left them whining in need. BOTH of them. Gloriously bare, Beatrix tackled Melody to the bed. Everywhere they touched it was skin to skin. The kisses had somehow escalated. Beatrix’s taste was liquid cocaine. There was a spark running between them like a Tesla coil, roaring and crackling to drown out all other sensations.

It wasn’t going to be a quick romp, a tension-breaker like they’d had in their clandestine encounters on campus. Beatrix had barely touched Melody’s chest, or let them touch hers. They spent an unknowable time writhing together, breathing each other’s breath.

Finally, Beatrix grabbed Melody’s hair, a good fistful of it. It would have hurt at the door, but that was a lifetime ago. The pain was welcome now, it sharpened Melody’s focus on the elegant curves of their girlfriend’s face. Bea was about to put them to work. Unlike their school encounters, Melody was one hundred percent up for it. They were eager to please the elemental sex spirit that had somehow agreed to date them.

Except that wasn’t what happened. Beatrix held Melody’s gaze for a moment, then dipped her head to their neck. Teasing kisses, tantalizing licks, and rough bites alternated from Melody’s jawline to their collarbone.

The ecstatic sensations kept going down. When Bea’s tongue flicked over Melody’s nipple, they tried to reach for her. She pinned their arms to the bed, forcing a desperate moan out of Melody. Beatrix spent a long, hot time on Melody’s breasts, licking, sucking, and kissing. From out of nowhere, the bright sensation of Beatrix’s teeth would reset the whole rollercoaster. Soaked in sweat and moaning like a porno, Melody could hardly believe they had been pushed to the edge of ecstasy on their breasts alone.

Impossibly, Bea’s mouth wandered lower. Melody had hardly touched her yet. It was all out of order, out of the bounds they’d expected. Drowning in a torrent of confusion and pleasure, Melody gave up on thinking and let themself enjoy the ride.

When Beatrix reached their sex, any remaining higher functions went offline. Bea had her tongue curled around Melody’s clit – when had she learned how to do that? She had fingers inside Melody, front and back. Everything was tingling and on fire. All those tingling nerves were being stroked, sucked, licked, or massaged.

Beatrix was unphased by Melody’s first orgasm. Nor did she hold back after the third, or the fifth. She put her unbelievably dexterous tongue and fingers to work on Melody until they were wrung out, gasping, sore-throated from their cries.

Only then did Beatrix give them respite. Melody fought to catch their breath between bouts of tasting themself on Bea’s lips. The break was over before it had properly begun, with Beatrix guiding Melody’s hands and mouth across her body.

They would have done anything for her, even before she’d blown their mind out with pleasure. They worshipped her body, first chest and belly, then deep between her legs. Beatrix was insatiable, thrusting her hips up against Melody’s mouth, then riding their face as she screamed again and again.

Time lost its meaning. There was only their bodies and the mind-bending pleasure they gave each other. They could have been on stage, in a stadium, and Melody wouldn’t have cared. Nothing existed except Beatrix.

At some point, they must have stopped. Melody found themself waking up. Everything was sore. Especially between their legs. But the miracle still held. There was a warm, lithe, unspeakably defiled body cuddled up against them. Melody smiled, nuzzled their girlfriend to wake her.

“Melody.” Beatrix said, lifting her head immediately. She hadn’t been asleep. “You kept up with me, on the first time.”

“I – did?” Melody wasn’t sure about that. Didn’t remember enough details to be sure about anything that had happened.

“You didn’t collapse until I did.” Beatrix’s eyes were wide, dilated, manic. “You’re the one I was looking for. You’re perfect. And now you belong to me.”

Deliberately, Beatrix lowered her mouth to Melody’s shoulder and bit, hard. Melody cried out, all their nerves jangling again. When Bea raised her head again, Melody was surprised there wasn’t blood on her lips.

They stared into those intoxicating, crazy eyes and felt themself drowning again. Melody belonged to Beatrix. Completely. The sheer intensity of the experience, of Beatrix’s gaze, and of her charisma took Melody to a place that felt religious.

“I’m yours.” Melody said, and meant it.

Beatrix shivered along her full body at those words. Melody had seen plenty of people in religious ecstasy at her bio-mom’s crazy churches. They were seeing it again in bed now. Feeling it for themself, as they’d never felt it under a cross.

“We are going to be unstoppable.” Beatrix said. “Do you feel it, Melody? Can you feel what we have?”

Melody felt Beatrix grab her hands, hard. Their fingers laced together. It felt like unlimited potential. Glorious excitement rose in Melody’s chest.

“The world better watch the fuck out.” Melody said.

Beatrix’s face lit up. “Amazing. You do everything right, the first time. I can’t believe I ever called you a fuckup. What a waste of five years.”

Before Melody could answer, Beatrix kissed them again. This one was quick, a punctuation mark. She rose from the bed and stretched. Melody watched her, every neuron they had activating from the power of their disrespectful gaze.

“I’m going to shower.” Beatrix said. “Then you will. We’ll order in something. Then we can figure out what your submission to me is going to be like.”

“My – what?” Melody asked. More brain functions were coming online. There wasn’t regret, exactly, but a lot of the last – however much time felt like it needed evaluating.

“We’re done with the diaper thing, remember?” Beatrix said, hand on her hip. “I offered you slave, pet, or pony. We’ll talk about it over dinner.”

“Uh-buh.” Melody’s brain, so newly booted up, went right back to BSOD.

Bea blew them a kiss and walked naked to the bathroom. That probably meant that roommates weren’t home, Melody hoped. Especially after what they’d just done together. How LOUD it had been. With the door open, even.

Submitting to Beatrix would be hot, as long as it was negotiated and agreed on properly. It sounded like Bea actually wanted to negotiate. All this because they had pushed Bea away a little and set some boundaries with her? Melody wished they’d had the guts to do that ages ago. Wished they’d had a Veronica to force them to set boundaries five years ago when they’d confessed their love to Beatrix.

Veronica! Melody had no idea what time it was. It seemed a little absurd that the sex had gone on for two hours, but they’d napped after. Stumbling to their feet, Melody threw the soggy sheet around their shoulders and made for the door.

They found their phone flung onto one of the couches, with a lot of notifications. They were all from Veronica. It was almost fifteen minutes past the check in time. Melody craned their head down the hall. The shower was roaring away and Beatrix was singing. Badly. She loved her long showers, there would be plenty of time for a call.

Melody pressed the call button and was almost instantly connected to Veronica. “Hi…”

“Melody! Are you alright?”

“Yeah, everything’s good. I’m sorry I missed the call-back time.”

“What happened? Are you sure things are okay?”

“Um – I just lost track of time because uh – we were – you know.”

“Melody. Are you telling me you had sex for over two hours?”

“No – it was probably just an hour, but I fell asleep – anyway everything is good here.”

“Is it? Have you talked to her at all? Or has it been purely physical?”

“It’s been physical, but we’re going to talk during dinner. Her words.”

Melody very deliberately left out the exact topic of the conversation. That was a little too weird to share with Veronica. Even if they were close enough for Melody to call her mom, that just brought talking about sex back into a weird zone. ‘Mom, she wants me to be her pony-girl’ was not a conversation that was going to happen.

“Mel, please listen to me. Talking should have been the first thing that happened. I’m worried that she’s trying to string you along with intense experiences until you do something that puts you in her power again.”

“Can’t you just be happy for me?” Melody said, more bitterly than they’d wanted to. “She told me that I’m the thing she’s been missing. That I’m perfect. That we can take on the world together. She said that to ME.”

“You are amazing and anyone would be lucky to be in a relationship with you, not just Beatrix. I can be happy for you. I even will be, if I stop seeing red flags. I’m still seeing them. That sounds very sweet, but it could be more manipulation.”

“It’s not!” Melody said, their voice cracking. “It’s not manipulation! She means it! She loves me!”

“Melody, please. Oh goddess, please, Mel, my child, listen to me. I’m so afraid for you right now. You are not thinking clearly at all. Beatrix is not helping you look at your relationship clearly. She’s doing the opposite. There’s a chance it’s just new-relationship excitement, but there’s so much danger based on her past behavior, and how she’s treated people the whole time she’s been at ABDU.”

“How do you know how she’s treated people?” Melody asked. The phone rattled against their head with the shaking of their hands. “You’ve never met her.”

“I have had a lot of conversations over the last few weeks with people about Beatrix. Starting after she tricked Briana into letting her into the house. One of my colleagues helped me build a psych profile on her. It’s got a lot of concerning things in it.”

“You – profiled her? Like a criminal? You’re not giving her a chance!” Melody lashed out with a hand, smashing their knuckles into a wall. “It’s not her fault! She didn’t know she was gay! She’s neuro-atypical! Just like me!”

“Melody, please stop shouting. I’m sorry if I upset you. I wanted to know more about the person who forced her way into my home, frightened my daughter, and hurt my child. She is NOT like you. You are so loving, you care about people so much. I don’t see those qualities when people talk about Beatrix.”

“You don’t know anything about her.” Melody was shaking all over now. “I thought – I thought you’d be happy for me. She makes me feel so wanted. It’s finally – she’s finally mine. She can love people. SHE LOVES ME.”

“Mel…”

Veronica’s voice was gone with a quick swipe of Melody’s thumb over the end call button. The phone rang again, immediately. Melody declined the call, and the phone rang again. Opening the phone’s quick-settings, Melody put the phone in airplane mode. It didn’t ring again.

“You say something, lover?” Beatrix called from down the hall.

“No, just checking my phone.” Melody said. “My turn for a shower?”

“All yours. You care what we get for dinner?”

Melody tossed her phone back on the couch and walked down the hall. “Are your roommates gone all night?”

“All night and a couple more days. Some of them won’t be back until the end of the break.” Beatrix said, tracing the bite-mark on Melody’s shoulder. “The house is all ours.”

Melody felt the stress of the conversation with Veronica melt away. It really was going to be perfect. A romantic getaway, just the two of them.

“Order whatever you want. I’ll put myself in your hands.”

“That’s my Melody. My obedient love.”

Melody sighed happily, letting the sheet drop. There was another tingle of joy when Beatrix visibly checked them out. She wanted them. It was real. Finally, completely, gloriously real.

It had to be real.

Watching Melody go back to that monster broke Briana’s heart. Especially because Mom had let her go. Her pain made her too Little to let her understand why Veronica had done it. There was a part of her that knew she shouldn’t take feelings out on her mom. Listening to that part of her meant going even more Little. Little enough that she was perfectly happy for Veronica to put her in her playpen, in the living room, for the rest of the evening.

It was time to assemble the forces of Cloudland. There was an invasion of monsters that were all called Beatrix. Briana, Alanna, and the rest of the knights killed a lot of those monsters. They all turned into gross stuff as they died, like poop and snot. The main Beatrix was a big nasty barf monster. Briana felt a better after that horrible thing was banished from the clouds.

Feeling better wasn’t the same thing as feeling good. Sleep that night wasn’t restful, there were too many dreams. Most of them were just on the edge of being nightmares. Even when morning came, the uneasy feelings stayed. Mom was worried all through their morning routine. Briana found herself comforting Veronica, as much as the other way around.

They were both waiting for ten AM to come. Briana sat on the floor at Veronica’s feet where they could watch the door. Ten came and went. Mom was on her phone, frantic. Briana didn’t have the heart to ask for details, but it didn’t look like anything good was happening.

Finally, Veronica tossed her phone into her purse and stood up. “Briana, are you alright taking a trip in the car dressed like you are now, or do you need a change of clothes?”

Briana looked down at her onesie and tights. Her diaper was pretty obvious, especially since it was a little wet. That didn’t really bother her, but she didn’t want to be around a bunch of people dressed that way. In case some of them were jerks. On the other hand, Mom looked like she was in a big hurry.

“If I don’t have to get out of the car it’s fine.” Briana said. “Where are we going, mommy?”

“To get your sibling.” Veronica said. “Put your shoes on. I’m going to get your father.”

Nervous but hopeful, Briana waddled over to the door and got her shoes on. Mom and Dad joined her, in the middle of a discussion.

“We both know that she is going to be extremely nasty.” Jane said. “But more than that, I’m sure she will blow you off and tell you to leave. What will you do then?”

“Argue with her.” Veronica said. “This situation has escalated in part because Beatrix doesn’t have enough people pushing back against her unacceptable behavior.”

“A shouting match on her doorstep is your plan? You expect to get results from that?” Jane shook her head. “Love, this isn’t like you.”

“It wasn’t like me until I became a mother.” Veronica said. “I don’t care how small the chance is, I’m taking it. I’m going to do everything I possibly can to help Melody, even if it makes me look stupid or foolish.”

Jane took Veronica in her arms. They held each other tightly. Briana joined in on the hug, wrapping her arms around both of them as best she could.

“I love you and I understand. Let’s tilt at this windmill.” Jane said.

“Thank you. Can you get our daughter into the car?” Veronica asked.

“You’re driving? While you’re this upset?”

“I need something to do that isn’t stewing in my emotions.” Veronica said.

Jane nodded. “Alright. Come on Bri.” She took Briana’s hand and got her well buckled up.

Mom’s worry was palpable on the drive over. It lay over everyone in the car like a lead blanket. Briana began to wish she had transformed big before they’d come, just to be able to better handle the emotions. There hadn’t been time, though. Little Briana understood enough to know that Big Briana was not going to be okay sitting in the car in a onesie and a wet diaper.

When they arrived at the house, Briana shivered. The sight of it briefly brought back the numbing cold she’d felt on her ill-advised adventure. It was a horrible place. A horrible place her sibling was stuck in.

“Do you want me to come with you?” Dad asked.

“Only if you feel you need to be there.” Mom said. “This is going to escalate enough without starting it out two against one.”

“I will wait in the car. I love you.” Jane said.

“I love you mama!” Briana said, projecting every bit of love she could manage toward Veronica.

“I love you both. I’ll be back in a moment, hopefully with Melody in tow.” Veronica checked her war-paint, lightly adjusting one of her eyeliner wings with a black lacquered fingernail, and stepped out of the car.

Briana stared out the window. It was like watching a scary scene in a movie. The raven-clad heroine going to retrieve her child from the den of monsters. Briana clutched Alanna and prayed. She didn’t have any gods to pray to, so she prayed to the powers of Cloudland. Protect my mommy, she begged them, save my sibling.

It took a while for the door to open after Veronica knocked. Even from the car, Briana could see that Beatrix looked like hell. She wasn’t the put-together, controlling beauty she’d been when Briana had invited her over. She was wearing a camisole top and some shorts. Her hair was wild.

Then the shouting started. Try as she might, Briana couldn’t make out the words. She was afraid to roll her window down, afraid to attract Beatrix’s attention. Mom was so brave, but Beatrix was making that angry face again. The one that turned her from a model-beautiful women into mask-faced monster. Whatever venomous words she was spewing, Alanna thought Briana was better off not hearing them.

Alanna was probably right, as usual.

The shouting was going on for a really long time. Finally, Mom threw her hands up in the air, yelling loud enough to match Beatrix’s volume. All that got her was the door slammed in her face. It hit the frame so hard it could have been a firecracker going off.

Shaking, Veronica made her way back to the car. She paused outside the door for a few moments to take some deep breaths, then climbed back into the driver’s seat.

“Are you alright?” Jane asked.

“That woman is a monster.” Veronica said. “I have never been so angry in my entire life.”

“Please be careful my love. I am worried about Melody too, but don’t let Beatrix get too much power over you as well.”

“Ja, man muss seinen Feinden erziehen, aber nicht eher, als bis sie gehängt worden.“ Veronica said, in what sounded to Briana like excellent German. The accent matched Dad’s really well, at least.

“Passen Sie auf, dass Sie Dantes und nicht Monte Cristo bleiben.” Jane replied. “Do you want me to drive home?”

“I need the distraction again.” Veronica said.

Briana realized she was biting her lip so much that she’d nearly made herself bleed. She wished she could say something, anything to make the situation better. She wished she could ask about what happened, but it had obviously been horrible. There had to be something she could do.

Finally, she fell back on her old standby, leaning forward and putting her head on Veronica’s shoulder. “I’m so sorry. I love you, Mommy.”

Veronica sighed, shuddering. She cupped Briana’s head gently, kissed her hair. Dad leaned in as well, pulling them all into a firm hug. They held that for a while. It helped, a bit.

Then, what could they do? Briana got buckled up again and they left that accursed place. Mom’s hurt might have been blunted, but her anger wasn’t. Briana was pretty sure she saw Veronica use The Force or witchcraft on several traffic lights, changing them to green by the sheer power of her glare.

Back at home, the house was empty and quiet. No roommates, no sibling. Briana stuck close to her parents (her real parents!), not wanting either of them out of touching range. The feeling seemed to be mutual. They got Briana changed into a new diaper together, had a quiet lunch together, and sat in Mom and Dad’s sitting room together.

Dad was pretending to read. Mom was looking out the window. Briana was cuddling Alanna at their feet. It was so quiet that Briana could hear the snow falling gently on the roof.

The sound of Veronica’s phone shattered the quiet. They all jumped! Dad dropped her book. Veronica’s mad scramble to grab her phone knocked her favorite lamp onto the floor, shattering it. Dad and Briana stared at Veronica, hoping against hope.

“It’s not Melody.” Veronica said. “It’s my mother. Sorry for scaring everyone.”

Dad murmured that it was okay. Briana leaned her head against Mom’s leg. So it was Mom’s Mom on the phone. Michelle. Grandma. (Maybe) After taking another big breath, Veronica answered the phone.

“Hello Mom, to what do I owe the pleasure?” Veronica asked, keeping her tone light.

“News? What kind of – oh, alright, please tell me.”

“They found what?” Veronica’s voice cracked.

Briana looked up at her mom in terror. It looked like the whole rest of Mom was going to crack. She had tears in her eyes already, her hand was white-knuckled on the phone.

“Of course, I’m coming now. The next plane, whenever that is.” Veronica said. “Oh goddess, are you alright? Where’s my sister?”

“Geneva? Of course. Mom, I wish I’d known that was now, I’m sorry for letting it slip. I should have been up there, or brought you here.”

“That’s nice of you to say, but I’ll feel better when I see you. Can I call someone for you? Do you need anything now?”

“That was nice of her. I’ll make sure to thank her when I get…” Veronica looked over at Dad, who was making a ‘us together’ gesture. “when possibly the two of us get there. Yes, Jane. I think so too, it’s just – never mind, I will make it work. I love you, Mom. I’ll be there as fast as I can.”

Veronica hung up the phone. A sob burst out of her, all her big mommy control was gone. Briana clung to Veronica’s leg. Dad was out of her chair, hugging Veronica tightly.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Jane asked.

“I think you probably heard enough for now. I just – I don’t know what to do. I have to go help her. I want you to be there, but we can’t leave Briana.”

Briana felt like a bug. They couldn’t bring her along, of course. She was too weird to show off to Michelle when she was little. Being big wouldn’t last long enough. At least she had her Mom and Dad. That would be enough. She was clutching Alanna tightly enough that the lioness’ stitches were straining, but she couldn’t make herself stop.

“Can’t Gary…” Jane asked.

“No, he’s out of town. Everyone is out of town.” Veronica said.

“So we hire a sitter.” Jane said.

“We – what?” Veronica looked at Jane in shock. “We hire some callow high schooler to come take care of our daughter?”

“There’s a service. I’m surprised you haven’t heard about it, though I guess it’s not normally for adult babies.” Jane said. “It’s an app where you can hire someone for – whatever. One of the people on that app specializes in adult babysitting.”

“That is insane.” Veronica said. “You want to hire an adult escort to take care of Briana?”

“You are going to be taking your mother to the hospital.” Jane said. “Who’s going to take care of her dogs? Who’s going to take care of you? What happens when you need food? You’d rather leave her and go to the cafeteria than have me get it for you?”

“But, there has to be a way…”

“I’ll do it, mommy.” Briana said. “I’ll be good, and brave. I’m s-sorry I can’t come and see – Michelle. But I’ll be super good for the sitter, it’ll be okay. I promise. I swear on my honor as a knight.”

“Oh darling.” Veronica sobbed again.

She pulled Briana into her lap, squeezing her until Briana thought her ribs would crack. It was just about a tight enough hug for the situation.

“I’m not ashamed of you.” Veronica said. “I need you to know that.”

“I believe you.” Briana said. “I understand about Michelle. It’s okay.”

“It’s NOT okay.” Veronica said. “But this isn’t the time to surprise her with something that will take a lot of thinking. Mom is – there’s something very scary wrong with her. Stress, confusion, worry, all of those things are big no-nos for her right now.”

“But she’s going to be okay?” Briana asked, in a tiny voice.

“She will. She’s going to get excellent medical care, and it’s a fixable thing.” Veronica said. “When she recovers, I will explain to her about you. After all, she can’t have Christmas by herself.”

“She’s coming here?” Briana asked, clutching nervously at Veronica’s dress.

“She is. When she does, you’ll be calling her Grandma, understand?” Veronica sniffled, recovering some of her composure. “It’s a little impertinent for a little girl to call her Grandmother by her first name.”

“Are you sure?”

“As sure as I’ve been of anything.” Veronica said. “You’re going to meet your grandmother as soon as you can.”

“Both of your grandmothers.” Jane said. “And your grandfather, though my parents won’t be able to make it from Germany this Christmas, on such short notice.”

“Mommy, Daddy.” Briana said, sniffling back tears. “I’m sorry for making this about me. You’re both really worried and…”

“And we are your parents, so part of our job at this time is to take care of you, my baby bee.” Jane said.

There was yet another group hug. It was too bad that a day with so many big hugs had to be so rough. It had to end quickly too, because Mom and Dad were both in their busy mode.

“Will you set up an interview with that person?” Veronica asked. “I am NOT trusting Briana to them without an interview. If they can’t make it today, then they don’t get the job.”

“I’ll let her know. She’s a ABDU student. Named Monserrat.” Jane said.

“Thank you love. I’m going to buy the tickets. Does that app have identity information like a driver’s license or something, to validate the person you’re hiring?”

“I believe so, but you only have access once you book the job and put down a non-refundable deposit.”

“Please do that, and send the information to Simon’s email. I’ll call him after, so he can get a rush background check done.”

“I think I’m going to do something too.” Briana said. Both her parents looked at her curiously. “I’m going to switch to big, and get registered for classes.”

“It’s working well enough for you that you feel confident about that?” Veronica asked.

“Yes Mama.” Briana smiled. “I was planning to do it sometime this week anyway. If I do it now, you can concentrate on what you’re doing, without having to take care of me.”

“Honey, we don’t mind…”

“I know, but this is a way I can help Grandma.” Briana said. It still felt weird to call Michelle that. Like she didn’t have the right yet. Not that she didn’t believe what Mom had said, but she didn’t know what Michelle’s reaction would be. Plus, Briana might be little, but she wasn’t dumb. Michelle was in some kind of scary medical situation. There might be bad news instead of a grandma for Christmas. Really, really bad news.

“You are a darling. In that case I can do the interview in my office on campus. That’ll be easier for everyone probably. I’ll drive you over to campus, okay?”

“Thanks Mommy.” Briana said. She gave Mom and Dad both a big hug, and left them to their planning.

In her room, Briana set Alanna carefully in the crib and stepped away. It was time to be big. Not as a cute thing to flirt with Gary, not to be walked through a court date with her parents. On her own, for a few hours at least.

“Shazam!” Briana said. It was ridiculous, but it was a nice way to cap off being little for a bit. In her mind’s eye she imagined putting on her big self like armor. One by one she counted off her Big-Self abilities. Microbiology knowledge! Determination! Courage!

Most of all, she had a mom and dad, even when she was big now. It was on paper, big people paper, recorded in government buildings. Despite everything that had happened that day, Briana had to smile. It was still so new and wonderful.

Now that her mental armor was set, nestling her little-self safely in her heart, she needed outer armor. Briana opened her drawers. Her dusty panties were tempting, but too risky for a first try. The diaper had to go, though. Briana stripped down, starting off her outfit with a pair of pullups.

With a rush of excitement, Briana realized she could wear pants! Long underwear went on first, but after that, a pair of jeans felt great. She put on a cute blouse and responsibly covered it with an equally cute sweater. Gloves, hat, scarf, coat, and sensible shoes were all going to be needed. Big Briana could do it, without making Mom and Dad do it for her.

Unlike her panties, Briana’s desk was dusty in more than a metaphorical sense. Good thing Mom hadn’t seen that! With the dust whisked away, Briana gathered up her purse and ID card, her banking info that Veronica had given her, and all her financial aid stuff. Most of the aid was probably void at this point, but whatever money she could save her family was a good thing.

With glee, Briana did her makeup in cute pinks and reds, with just a hint of gold. It was unfortunate that she didn’t have time to do her nails. That was okay, it left something extra for next time.

She was ready at the door with all her stuff before her parents were. It was a new, exciting kind of joy to see them so proud of her. Yes, Big Briana would need to be around to stay. Little Briana could see the advantages.

The rest of her big-time was not nearly as satisfying. There was a lot of waiting and filling out of forms. Partway through, Mom texted her to let her know that the babysitter checked out. Briana sighed in relief. That was one less thing for her parents to worry about.

She met Monserrat outside the admin building and was immediately struck by how big the woman was. Monchi was Casey-sized! The comparison was especially apt when Briana found out that Monserrat and Casey had been sexy-friends at some point.

Being babysat by a stranger was strange at first, but Briana was honestly too distracted worry about that. Even after she was little, all her worries were reserved for Melody and Michelle. It was a tribute to how nice Monserrat was that Briana had a good time at all. The chocolate-dipped churros helped a little too.

 The highlight of the evening was a video call to Mom. Briana was desperate to hear that at least one of her people was okay.

“Hi Mama!” Briana said, waving frantically at the tablet, from Monserrat’s lap.

“Hello Baby Bee.” Veronica said, with a tired smile.

“Where’s Daddy?”

“Taking care of the dogs.” Veronica said. “She wishes she could call you, but the house internet is down. It looks like Mom needs a little more help than she was letting on.”

“But you and the doctors fixed everything, right?” Briana asked.

“The surgery was successful.” Veronica said. “She isn’t completely out of the woods yet, but it is very good news.”

“Mama, I’m so glad! I was super big worried about you all day! Grand- uh, Michelle too!”

“You can call her Grandma if you want, sweetie. Thank you. It helps a lot, knowing that you’re safe and supporting me. Have you heard anything from Melody?”

“No, nothing.” Briana sighed. “I was hoping they’d be here when we got back.”

“Me too. Don’t give up hope. I’m not giving up on them.”

“I know you won’t. I’ll let you know if I find out anything.”

“That’s my good girl.” Veronica said. Briana beamed, bouncing on Monserrat’s lap to make sure that her babysitter saw her get the compliment.

“I miss you Mommy. We’re having fun here. We made cookies!”

“I miss you too and I’m glad to hear you’re having fun.” Veronica said with a soft laugh. It was the first laugh she’d had since Melody hadn’t come home. Briana’s heart soared to hear it.

“I have to go to bed soon, but I love you Mommy! Please tell Daddy that I love her.”

“I will. She’s coming by the hospital in a couple of hours. I’m spending the night here tonight. If everything goes well, we’ll be home tomorrow by late morning.”

“Grandma will be all better by then?”

“No, she has to stay in the hospital for a few days. We’ll come get her when she’s out. The doctors say it should be before Christmas.”

“I hope so. I’ll wish extra hard for her. If you get to talk to her about me, tell her I’m thinking about her. You don’t have to though, if I don’t come up. Just if I do, okay?”

“I will, baby bee. I’m looking forward to introducing you.”

A nurse-type person was suddenly hovering behind Veronica. She looked back and nodded to them. When she turned back to the camera, she didn’t seem upset. Briana breathed another sigh of relief.

“I have to go, little one. Be good for your babysitter. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“I will! Love you mama!”

“Love you, Briana.”

Briana leaned against Monserrat with a happy sigh. Grandma Michelle being okay made three people in Briana’s life that were doing a lot better. Melody was still a big worry, but things were big-better now.

“I’m glad your Mom and Grandma are doing well.” Monserrat said. “Feel better?”

“Yes, thanks for helping me call Mom.” Briana said.

“It’s just about your bedtime. It feels like you need a change too.” Monserrat said.

“Will you read me a story?” Briana asked. Maybe a story would keep her from worrying about Melody right as she fell asleep.

“Sure, sounds fun.” Monserrat said with a grin.

Briana looked up at her babysitter. It wasn’t really fair how little she’d paid attention to her before. It was a day for things not being fair, unfortunately. She was younger than Briana in big-people years. An undergraduate student for sure.

Monchi seemed to be having fun babysitting Briana. At the very least, she wasn’t freaked out by Briana’s little-self, or changing diapers or any of it.

Right at the beginning, Briana had considered telling Monserrat that she needed to use the bathroom for everything. That had been a mean thought, and she regretted it now. It’d serve her right if Krampus showed up just for thinking that. The world needed more people like Monchi, and less like Beatrix.

Briana was on her very best behavior as Monchi got her ready for bed. Now that she was paying attention, she was impressed with how good Monserrat’s diaper-changes were. She had to make sure to give Mom a good report, so that Monchi could get more jobs. Some little out there would love having a mommy like Monchi!

—–

Briana could see Melody from across the airport. She ran as fast as she could, pushing her way against people who kept stepping into her path. Every third one would smash her with a heavy suitcase, sending Briana flying. Mom was nowhere to be found, her flight wasn’t in yet. This was the only chance to stop Melody from going away forever.

No matter how fast she ran, Briana couldn’t seem to get closer. There were too many people, too many suitcases. Beatrix was next to Melody, putting her gross hand on their arm. Melody turned their pleading eyes away from Briana and stepped through airport security.

Finally to the station herself, Briana threw herself at the security forces. They held her back, pinning her limbs so that she couldn’t move at all. Beatrix’s mocking laugh sounded from all the agents surrounding her. Far ahead, Beatrix pushed Melody onto a plane.

The plane blasted it’s engines like rockets and shot into the sky. Words in red flashed over the gate. Departing: Gone Forever.

“MELODY!!!” Briana screamed.

She woke in her crib, her throat sore from being rattled by her scream. Alanna was there. So many stuffies were there, but no Melody. The house was quiet, dark, and cold. There wasn’t even a shred of big armor left. Briana sobbed, broken hearted, for her sibling that was lost.

“Hey, Briana, what’s wrong hon?” Monserrat asked. Briana hadn’t even heard her come in the room.

“I hada bad dream.” Briana sniffled. “Beatrix kidnapped Melody and took them away and I was never going to see them again.”

“I’m sorry, baby girl. It’s okay, it was just a bad dream.”

“But what if it wasn’t?” Briana said, sniffling. “What if I never see my sibling again?”

“Oh sweetheart, I’m sure that won’t happen.” Monserrat said. “Your mom wouldn’t let it.”

“I want my mommy.” Briana said, whimpering. “Please call mommy.”

“Hon, it is – four am.” Monserrat said, checking the baby monitor and wincing. “It’s just a bad dream. It’s going to be okay. Let’s let your mom sleep.”

No matter how much she begged, Briana couldn’t get Monserrat to call Mom. The most she could do was insist that Monchi not leave her. To her relief, Monserrat carried Briana downstairs and got a snack going. She even gave Briana a nighttime change. It was so gentle and caring, especially from a stranger. The fear-icicles in Briana’s tummy were slowly melting.

“You’d be a good momma.” Briana said, nuzzling Monserrat’s hand.

“You uh – think so?” Monserrat asked.

“Yeah. I already have a momma. But I bet some other little girl would like having you for a mom.” Briana emphasized the point. It was important for Monserrat to know that she was a good caregiver. People needed to be told when they were good, or they would turn out like Melody, too scared to believe in themselves, easy prey for someone like Beatrix.

“Heh, I think I’m a little young for that.” Monserrat said. “I’m younger than you, in regular years.”

“Someday.” Briana nodded decisively. She wondered if there was a way to meet more littles in town. There had to be somebody out there that needed Monserrat. Somebody that Monserrat would find out she needed, too.

“Maybe.” Monserrat said, picking Briana up.

They went back to the kitchen, where Monchi had some of Mom’s milk warmed up. Best of all, they went up to Mom’s room and cuddled in bed together. Briana felt sleep rushing back in as she sucked on the bottle. A warm, comforting person next to her, the smell of Mom’s bed, the taste of her milk, it was exactly what she needed. There were no more bad dreams.

The morning was all anticipation. Nothing really mattered except that Mom was going to be home soon. As soon as the door opened, Briana was on the move! She threw herself into Mom’s arms with a big squeal, hugging her tightly. Mom hugged back just as hard. Dad got a hug too, but she was standing right there, so Briana couldn’t really throw herself at Jane. That was okay. Dad understood.

To Briana’s delight, Veronica was even happier with Monserrat than Briana had hoped. She even talked about doing some school stuff to help Monchi out. Briana was sure that would work out well, Mom was super important at school for some reason. When Monserrat left, wishing them a Merry Christmas, Briana waved for all she was worth.

“How’s Grandma?” Briana asked, the moment the door closed.

“She’s going to be okay.” Relief radiated out of Veronica. “She has to stay in the hospital for a few days, maybe a week, but she’ll be out by Christmas for sure.”

“That’s a long time.” Briana said, wide eyed. “Is it okay if – if I ask…”

“Let’s sit down and talk about what happened.” Veronica said. “If you’re feeling okay for this discussion.”

“Do I have to be big?”

“Not unless you feel you need to be.” Veronica said, leading Briana to the couch and sitting next to her. Dad took a seat at the other end of the couch. Briana pressed her feet against Jane so she could be connected to Dad too.

“Tell Little me, please.” Briana said.

“Grandma was very sick.” Veronica said. “She still is, but she’s getting better fast. She had some problems with her heart and her lungs. Her heart and lungs were making problems for her brain too. It was very scary.”

Briana shivered. She hadn’t even seen a picture of Michelle, but she could imagine how scary it would be to have such big health problems. It hadn’t even been a year since she’d had potty problems; and she’d melted down about that.

“But the doctors fixed it?” Briana asked. She needed to be sure. Grandma needed to be okay.

“That’s right. They fixed Grandma’s heart, got the bad stuff out of her lungs, and now there’s no danger to her brain. She’s going to be okay, just a little physically weak for a while.”

“It is good that you specified physically.” Jane said. “This is your mother’s mother, Briana. She had the whole hospital jumping to her commands.”

Briana giggled. Double-giggled when she caught Mom looking proud at that.

“Rasmussen women are not to be trifled with.” Veronica said. “That includes you, baby bee. Grandma is excited to meet you.”

“Really?” Briana hid her face in mom’s comforting, pillowy chest. “Even though – everything?”

“Yes. I told her all about you. She has a lot of questions, more than I could answer with the time I had and the energy that she had.” Veronica stroked Briana’s back. “But those don’t matter. Do you want to hear what she said after I told her that I adopted you?”

“Yes please.” Briana whispered.

“She said,” Veronica shifted her voice, imitating a regal-sounding woman that Briana had never met. “If that’s done, then nothing else matters. She’s family. We love her.”

Briana was crying. That was okay. She was a baby. Babies cried. This time there was a super good reason.

“That’s not all she said.” Jane said, chuckling. “She also told you that you were in trouble, for keeping from her someone so important to you.”

“You didn’t have to repeat that part.” Veronica said, bashfully.

Briana lifted her head and wiped her tears. “You got in trouble?”

“If you think I’m strict – well you’ll meet her.” Veronica said.

“Is she scary?” Briana asked.

“You have nothing to worry about.” Jane said. “I asked Michelle to be kind to you. She told me that if you’re a bad girl, then it’s your mother’s fault. She said she wouldn’t bother disciplining you, she’d discipline her own daughter instead.”

“Look at how much you’re sharing today.” Veronica said wryly to Jane. “Where’s the lovely, taciturn German woman I started dating?”

Briana giggled. “It’s okay Mommy, I can show you how to earn Santa Points if you need them.”

“Briana Rasmussen,” Veronica said, “Don’t you dare make a game of getting me in trouble with my mother. You will not like what happens if you do that, do you understand me?”

“Eep!” Briana squirmed. “Yes Mommy. I’ll be good.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Santa still has time to leave things out of the sack.”

“Krampus will be sniffing around too.”

Briana whimpered. “I’m trying to be a good girl, really!”

Veronica smiled, kissing Briana on the forehead. “You are my best baby girl. I love you so much. My only real worry for Christmas is that you will be a spoiled little girl after all the presents Santa is going to bring.”

“I’m sure I won’t get spoiled, tell him to bring all of them!” Briana said, giggling again.

“I don’t know, you look a little spoiled around the edges.” Jane said, taking hold of Briana’s feet.

“Nuh uh!” Briana protested.

Before she could figure out what Dad was doing, Mom had one of her arms and was tickling her side! She squirmed and shrieked, but she couldn’t kick! Even worse, Dad was strong enough to hold her legs with one hand, freeing up a hand to tickle Briana behind her knees.

Screaming, laughing, and shrieking, Briana felt her diaper grow warm. When her parents finally relented, she lay between them, pouting.

“You made me pee myself.” Briana accused.

“You noticed, even when you were little?” Veronica asked. “Good girl!”

“I’m proud of you.” Jane said.

“I’ve been trying to notice, since we talked about maybe potty-training.” Briana said.

“And I still haven’t helped you as much as I should have.” Veronica said. “I’m sorry hon.”

“It’s okay, I’m worried about Melody too. You didn’t hear from them?” Briana asked.

“No.” Veronica said.

“Nein.” Jane said.

“Me either.” Briana sighed. “I checked my phone right before you got home, and I have the ringer on super loud.”

“I wish there was more we could do.” Jane said.

“There is.” Veronica said grimly.

They both looked at her curiously, Jane with a lot more alarm than Briana.

“I’m giving this one more day, two at the absolute most. After that, I’m going to hire a private investigator. To find out if Melody is still at that house, and to help us deal with Beatrix as well.”

“They weren’t at the house when you went there yesterday?” Jane asked.

“I don’t know.” Veronica said. “They didn’t come to the door or say anything, if they were. Beatrix wouldn’t tell me anything.”

“But where would they be if they weren’t with Beatrix, or us?” Briana asked plaintively.

“I don’t know. I hope they know they could come home, but we had a bad phone conversation the last time we talked. I’m worried that they may feel like running.”

“They aren’t responding to my texts, at least.” Jane said sadly.

“So what do we do?” Briana asked.

“You be a good girl and be ready to give your sibling all the love they need when we get them back here.” Veronica said. “I’ve already put some things in motion. As soon as Melody is back, I’m ending this. Our family has been held hostage by Beatrix long enough.”

“Momma?” Briana asked.

“Yes sweetie?”

“How come you can say stuff like that?” Briana asked. “I don’t mean that it’s bad, but most people can’t just – make stuff happen.”

“I suppose we should have a longer conversation about the Rasmussens in this town.” Veronica said. “Are you up for that as well?”

“Yes!” Briana said. “I’ve been realizing I don’t know all kinda stuff. Like if we’re religious, or why you’re an important lady, or the history of our family. Gary helped me pick Tess for my middle name. He said that she was the first Rasmussen in town; that she did something important. I didn’t want him to tell me what. I wanted to hear it from you.”

“That’s why you picked Tess?” Veronica smiled. “Oh that is going to make Grandma so happy, that you wanted to honor our Magna-Grandma.”

“Magna-Grandma?” Briana asked. Oh gosh, was Tess a superhero?

“That’s what we call her, because there are a few too many ‘greats’ to say them all.” Veronica said. “I suppose I better start at the beginning. Jane, do you think you could grab a plate of Christmas cookies?”

“I’ll make some tea too.” Jane said.

“I want hot cocoa!” Briana said. “There’s some really good melted chocolate that Monchi made in the kitchen.”

Jane laughed. “You’re lucky you’re so adorable.”

As Dad headed to the kitchen to prepare things, Mom sat Briana up on the couch.

“I want to start this discussion by telling you that we don’t flaunt our wealth or influence, at least not without a very good reason. Melody is a good reason for me to flex the influence our family has in town. I don’t want you lording your status over other people, especially at the University.”

“I won’t.” Briana said, sincerely. “I don’t even know how I’d do that. I never had that stuff growing up.”

“It is surprisingly easy to do once you start.” Veronica said. “I’m sure that Grandma is going to give me a talking to when she finds out everything I’ve done trying to help Melody. Even if it’s for a good reason, you have to be careful. We won’t be bullies. Understand? Our family uses our resources to help people, we do not tear people down.”

Briana smiled. “We’re Knights!”

Veronica laughed. “Well I know that Tess fought in at least one duel, so she would probably like that.”

“She did!?” Briana’s stared, goggle-eyed, at her mom.

“She did.” Veronica said, wryly. “With pistols. The so-called gentleman who went up against her didn’t survive.”

“She KILLED someone?” Briana’s mouth fell open.

“Well it wasn’t her first choice, but I’ve been told that Magna-Grandma felt she didn’t have another option. Duels were more accepted then, even if they were going out of fashion.” Veronica said. “That’s the second rule and it’s more important than the first one. We do not let our family come to harm. If they do anyway, we use all our power to fix it.”

“Mama! You’re starting in the middle of everything!” Briana said. She didn’t know if even hot cocoa was going to be enough to handle more shocking tidbits about her ‘Magna-Grandma’.

“I’m sorry!” Veronica laughed. “There’s a lot of history about Magna-Grandma. A fair amount of it is scandalous or heroic.”

“Please start at the beginning, Mama.” Briana scolded.

“Very well.” Veronica said. “Magna-Grandma came to America from Norway in 1794, when she was only eighteen. Her parents could see that the young country was going to be influential and wanted her to establish the family there.”

“Do we have family in Norway!?” Briana asked.

“Not anymore. I’ll get to that. Shush.” Veronica said.

“Sorry Mommy.” Briana squirmed into a comfortable position on her squishy diaper, staring up at Mom in rapt attention as Tess’ tale unfolded.