Little Lady Briana: Chapters

As it turned out, Grandma had to go back to her house anyway. Not forever, not even for more than a week at a time, but for Briana,  any loss of Grandma time was awful. She loved her Mom and Dad with every iota of her Little heart, and was no question in Briana’s mind they were a real family. As a former foster kid, however, “Grandma” was a dream she’d never let herself believe in, until she had one.

Grandma was especially needed with Kiara back in Geneva doing – whatever it was she did there. Briana felt guilty sometimes for not asking her aunt more about herself. Most of their bonding time had been very Briana-focused – though Kiara treating Briana fully like a child had a lot to do with that. Being Little full-time was something that Briana knew she needed, but the practicalities of which she was still figuring out.

There’d been a lot of figuring out in Briana’s return to school – Melody called it finding out, with an emphasis that Briana knew meant she was being memed. It was hard to miss Grandma and Kiara when every day was spent figuring out what it meant for a Little girl to go to graduate school. Maintaining a single class and a lab had pushed Briana to her breaking point in January, become bearably strained in February, and finally felt stable in the first week of March. Things were going so well that Mom was talking about Briana returning to a full-time school schedule – which she found more exciting than scary for the first time since she’d become Little.

Spring had refreshed the world, just in time for Briana’s world to follow suit. Grandma had finally moved into the house next door on the previous weekend. Kiara was back in town too, helping Grandma move and staying at Michelle’s new house, since all the rooms in Tess Rasmussen house were occupied. Briana loved that her family houses had names – official ones even.

Ashley’s Mansion was known in the region’s history as Vakhaven, or The Rasmussen-Stolk house, a tidbit which had made Briana hungry to sit down with Grandma and find out why a second last name had gotten attached to the house Ashley built. Her suggestion of “the Michelle Rasmussen House” for Grandma’s new house had gotten her admonished by Michelle, to the point of Briana getting a swat on her butt. Apparently no one but Manga Grandma was allowed to have their first name in a house’s official name – which Briana thought was dumb – however, Grandma hadn’t had the house built herself, which Briana was more willing to accept as a reason.

The bus rolled up to the South campus stop, snapping Briana out of her private thoughts. A good sized crowd of students had gathered while she was sitting. She waved goodbye to the cozy brick buildings that marked the border of ABDU’s campus and bounced lightly on her toes as she waited in line to board the bus. Kiara and Grandma were both coming to dinner at Briana’s house, to celebrate Michelle’s move being officially complete – though she hoped Grandma would be coming over for almost every dinner. Her excited anticipation was cut short by a word that – while familiar – she hadn’t expected to hear at the school bus stop.

“Yeah, I found diapers.” The speaker was a dark haired white girl in a cream colored coat. “Adult sized, but not like – medical ones. They looked like the ones for babies, with bears and whatever on them.”

“Ew, gross.” The first girl’s friend was a redhead, wearing one of ABDU’s first sundresses of the season. “What did you do?”

“Broke up with him, obviously.” The dark haired girl said, to which her friend nodded like her friend’s nasty statement was the most natural thing in the world. Not that the first girl was done, adding, “I threw him out of the apartment too. You’ve seen what they say on the news about those people.”

“Good for you!” The redhead nodded fervently. “I wouldn’t feel safe.”

“Exactly.” The dark haired girl showed her ABDU ID to the driver and took a seat, quickly followed by her friend.

Briana nervously adjusted her shortall skirt, glad that she’d gone with one that fell below her knees, despite the weather being on the warm side that day. For the first time since she’d had her meltdowns at school, she was nervous to be padded in public. I wish Mom was with me – or any of my caregivers, Briana thought, as she walked past the bus driver with her student ID held out. A seat as far as possible from the nasty, anti-diaper girls would have been preferable, but the bus was too full for Briana to get a choice. That she got a seat at all was likely due to her being small and female, the two o’ clock bus was always standing room only as it left campus.

“Wasn’t there a girl at school that wore diapers – and pooped in them at a test or something?” The redhead giggled at the scandal. Briana, who had been about to put her earbuds in to block the girls out, froze with her hands on either side of her face.

“Yeah, and she had the same gross fetishy kind of diapers on.” The dark haired girl ran her hands through her head, draping it over the back of her seat and into Briana’s space. “I heard there are a lot of ABDL people in the area.”

“That’s messed up. I wish somebody would do something.”

“Me too.”

The girls’ conversation finally, mercifully, moved away from the topic of diapers – but Briana could only stare at them, open mouthed. It wasn’t the first time someone had mentioned her unfortunate messy accident at the end of the previous year’s finals, but no one gossiping about it had ever said the acronym ABDL before. Nor had she ever heard those four letters said with such venomous scorn. A fear Briana hadn’t felt since her Mom had rescued her made her stomach rumble.

I shouldn’t be afraid – I’m a Rasmussen. My family has multiple houses, we’re a big deal! The Rasmussen name was cold comfort sitting behind two women who had expressed a desire that someone “do something” about people like Briana and her sibling. In a way, it was worse, since she had to worry about her family’s reputation instead of only her own. She had a sudden, wild desire to retreat to Ashley’s Mansion and live there, tucked away in the trees against the water – where no one would ever bother her, or know about her.

Her desire to hide was multiplied by the way that no one else had suggested that the two girls had been wrong to say what they’d said. They’d been talking loudly, Briana couldn’t have been the only one who’d overheard them – and yet no one had spoken up. Including me, Briana thought guiltily. What was I supposed to do though? I’m tiny, what if they’d decided to – do something? As smart and self-preserving as that thought was, it didn’t sit right with Briana. Worst of all, stewing on her sudden moral dilemma kept Briana from dropping the thin façade of Big Briana and returning to her properly Little self, which she normally accomplished on the bus ride home. It was a grumpy girl who got off the bus and trudged through the blustery wind on her way home.

~~~*~~~

Crawling on her hands and knees to Melody and Rosa’s bedroom, Briana felt like she might be Little enough to forget her nasty afternoon. Unfortunately, Mom and Dad were out getting last minute items for dinner, so there was nobody to really baby her into a onesie and an oversized diaper. At least with her stuffed lion, Alanna, tucked under her arm, she had a connection to the wonderful imagination realm of Cloudland. Getting Melody to play something Cloudland related was going to be tough – Briana’s sibling was hard at work on their computer when she crawled in.

“Hey Melody, wanna take a break?” Briana gave her sibling her cutest look – and had to hold it, since Melody didn’t look away from their code for a good thirty seconds.

“Hi Bri. Sorry, I gotta cook.”

“Mom and Dad aren’t back with the groceries yet though, there’s nothing left to make for dinner until they do.”

“I meant, I’ve got to work on my project while I’m on roll, I promised my friend’s I’d finish the netcode this week.” Melody rolled their shoulders and swiveled their chair to face Briana. “We can play after dinner though, I’ve got some ideas for how everybody in Cloudland is reacting to the dogs next door.”

“I wanna play NOW!” Briana slammed her firsts on her thighs – her dramatic gesture was spoiled almost immediately by someone pulling her onto her back from behind. A flash of a grinning Latine face was Briana caught before Rosa started tickling her.

“Somebaby is in a mood today, isn’t she?” Rosa’s fingers were relentless, Briana’s response was limited to wild giggles, and wetting her diaper. “I thought we were going to have a bad, crabby baby, but she looks like she might be a happy one instead.

“Rosa, stahp!” Briana managed to gasp out. Rosa pulled Briana – still panting and twitching – into her lap for a hug. Despite being very upset with Rosa, Briana was wise enough to recognize when someone was going to give her the attention she craved, snuggling up to her caregiver.

“That’s better. Don’t shout at people to play with you, that’s not nice.”

“Will you play with me?” Once again, Briana busted out her best puppy dog eyes.

“I’ll snuggle with you. Isn’t Gary coming over? We don’t have time to get playing on something.”

“That’s not for hours.” Briana whimpered, resting her head on Rosa’s shoulder. Her sibling’s Mamá was technically Briana’s aunt, Tia in Spanish. Little relationships could get complicated, you could end up stacking on family like building blocks – which Briana was more than happy to do. Rosa was also warm, and had learned just the right way to hold Briana in the few months she’d been living in the house.

“It’s more like twenty five minutes.” Rosa laughed. “Tell me what you were going to play, I can help you get excited for after dinner.”

“Alanna is worried about Littles having bad dreams after someone is mean to them during the day.” Briana held Alanna up for emphasis, scrunching the plush lioness’s face down into a regal frown. “But Melody mentioned the dogs and that’s a whole thing too, so I’m not sure if we can do Alanna’s agenda.”

Ever perceptive, Rosa frowned and tilted Briana’s face up look into her eyes. “Did someone say something mean to you today?”

“No, not to me. There were some girls on the bus saying mean stuff about – people they don’t like.”

“Ah. I’m sorry you got that bad energy at the end of your day. You want some hot cocoa?”

“Mom never lets me this close to dinner.” Briana pouted.

“Your Mom isn’t here, but your Tia is.” Rosa dumped Briana off her lap and rose. “I’m going to get a cup of tea, and if there’s a baby in the kitchen, I’d probably make her some chocolate…”

Even crawling, with a handicap from carrying Alanna, Briana beat Rosa to the kitchen. The cup of cocoa was done just before her parents got home, meaning that not only could Mom not bock her from getting it, but Briana was delightfully underfoot as Veronica, Jane, and Rosa put the finishing touches on dinner. Though they were obviously busy, Briana got hugs from both of her parents and at least a pat on the head each time they had to nudge her out of their path. Appointed to her favorite kitchen helper position of taste tester by her Dad, Briana gladly took delicious bites of the chowder, roast vegetables, and other dinner bits Jane brought to her.

As dinner prep entered the table-setting stage, Jane corralled Briana in a corner with a heel of bread to munch on. The hustle and bustle of dinner preparation was too much fun to watch for Briana to ask anyone for a diaper change – and anyway slight potty-pants discomfort was worth how Little it made her feel to sit on squishy padding. Gary’s arrival in the kitchen set of a chorus of hellos, which he registered without slowing his progress to his baby girl. He hefted her into his arms easily, getting a squeal, a hug, and a bready-kiss out of Briana. Clean shaven, muscly, dark haired – just overall gorgeous, Briana loved having her hands on her boyfriend and caregiver. That he loved her just as much made him a perfect boy.

“Gawy, I missed you.”

“You saw me two hours ago. I’m flattered, but are you okay?”

“I wanna be Little!” For the third time since coming home, Briana trained the full power of her soulful gaze on someone. Reliably, Gary crumbled immediately, giving Briana a squeeze that made her squeak.

“I think there’s enough time to get your clothes changed and baby you a bit.” Bouncing Briana on his arm made him chuckle. “You need a change anyway, squishy-pants.” Briana nodded gratefully, wrapping her arms around Gary’s neck with desperate strength.

Though she was bummed to give up her grip on Gary when he put her on her changing table, it did free her up to get back to her bread. Fresh baked by Rosa, the bread had a lovely network of holes in its sponge, surrounded by a crackly crust. Who knew Tia Rosa made perfect chowder bread? Letting go of Alanna and her bread at the same time wasn’t negotiable, but she could do one at a time to let Gary strip her out of her big girl clothes – or more accurately Middle girl clothes.

It was Gary getting her diaper off and both literally and figuratively pampering her that finally soothed Briana’s nerves. Getting out of a wet diaper was always a bit of a physical relief, but that was nothing compared to being tenderly wiped by her burly boyfriend. Dinner’s imminence meant there wasn’t time for a sexy change, but Gary managed to get handsy enough to make Briana feel desired anyway. By the time he had her powdered and in a nighttime diaper, she was itching to have her arms around him again. Clothes had to wait and her bread hit the floor, as she hopped up and clung tightly to Gary, drinking in his comforting scent.

“Seriously, baby girl, did something bad happen today?” Gary held her easily on one arm, stroking Briana’s back with his free hand.

“Icky people at the end of my day. Not at me, just in general.” Sort of at me.

“You’re with your people now, we’ve got you.” Gary kissed Briana gently, catching her lower lip until butterflies exploded in her belly and wiped away the last of the icky feelings. “However, I’m going to be in trouble with your parents if I don’t get you dressed right now.”

“Little clothes, you promised!”

“I didn’t – but I don’t have a problem with that.” Gary laughed, setting Briana on a beanbag and opening her onesie-drawer.

“And you’ll sit by me, and help me with dinner, right?”

“I was hoping you’d ask.” Gary grinned. “Just one thing – you know if you go full-baby that no one is going to let you stay up late, right?”

“If I go to bed early I get a story and a lullaby.” Briana demanded.

Gary laughed his favorite laugh of Briana’s, a big, goofy sound from deep in his tummy. “Deal. Full baby it is.”

~~~*~~~

Things were finally going exactly the way Briana wanted them to, with Gary on one side, Grandma on the other, and her aunts across the table from her. Everyone took the seats Briana insisted on with the gentle, loving amusement that let her know how important she was to them. It was one thing to have someone tell you they cared – another thing entirely to have them smile at your most ridiculous antics. As icing on the cake, Briana’s Little outbursts got Dad to put her in her high chair. She made Gary cut her vegetables up and ate her chowder almost entirely through the medium of soaking it in bread. Baby life was good!

“How’s the house feel now that you’re settled in, Mom?” Veronica asked, when people were full enough that the food released it’s delicious grip on the conversation.

“Settled? Who said anything about settled?” Grandma grinned. “Kiki can tell you about the project whiteboard she helped me put up.”

“It’s going to be a completely different house by fall.” Kiara laughed. “Some lucky general contractor is about to go up a tax bracket.”

“You hafta make a new room for the dogs, right Grandma?” Briana asked.

“That’s right, Little Rose.” Grandma’s nicknames were – as Melody would say – built different. Hearing Briana Rose or Little Rose always warmed her down to her tiptoes. “The two bedrooms they’re using now are fine, but they’ll get anxious if they can’t all sleep together for too long. We’re going to turn the smaller of the two bedrooms into a kennel – after putting an addition on that side of the house.”

“You’re doing an addition?” Veronica’s perfectly manicured eyebrows went all the way up, exposing the full dark sparkle of her eyeshadow. “That will keep you busy. You won’t have much time to visit your main home at that rate. Ki, are you going to be keeping an eye on Ashley’s Mansion?”

Kiara nodded, but whatever she was about to say was forestalled by Grandma raising her hand. “Actually – I hired another round of movers. I’m moving all my personal things out of Vakhaven.”

The sudden clink of Veronica and Kiara’s spoons hitting their bowls in shock silenced the rest of the table. Everyone looked at the two of them, following their concerned gazes to Michelle.

“Mom, what are you talking about? Vakhaven is your home – we grew up there.” Veronica asked in distress.

“This isn’t what we talked about,” Kiara said, frowning.

“You may be Magna Grandma incarnate, Kiki, but I’m still your mother. Don’t take that tone.” Grandma’s serious voice was a whole level above Veronica’s Mom tone – being addressed so sharply would have wrecked Briana. Kiara took it in stride though, not even relaxing her frown.

“You can’t give up Ashley’s Mansion, you’re our Matriarch.” Kiara insisted.

“My wise daughters – and to some extent my lovely grandchildren – have made some excellent points in the wake of my illness.” Grandma apparently still had some mom powers over Kiara, because she silenced her older daughter’s attempt to speak with a stern look. “I’m not an invalid – but I think it’s best for me to live somewhere that’s not a forty five minute drive from a major hospital. I’m taking up permanent residence in the house next door.”

“Then what happens to Vakhaven?” Kiara insisted.

“It’s yours, Kiara.”

“I have a house in Geneva!”

“Kiki – you’re the heir. You knew this was coming.”

“Not so soon.” Kiara frowned. “Mother – you’re not incapable. I know you had a scare, but…”

“Kiki, you are twice the woman I was in my prime, and I’m no longer in my prime. You are the Rasmussen Matriarch now.” The silence that Grandma’s statement laid on the table was so complete that Briana was afraid to breathe. She nearly gasped in relief when Kiara nodded.

“Very well,” Kiara said. “But if you think I’m going to let you retire completely…”

“Oh no.” Grandma laughed. “I’m not retiring, I’m just restricting my political activities to Ardenthill.”

“Congratulations, Ki.” Veronica raised a wineglass.

“Zum Whol!” Jane added, raising her glass as well. The rest of the table followed suit, though Melody and Briana raised sippy cups instead of wineglasses.

“This means you’re going to be here all the time, instead of in Europe, right?!” Briana bounced excitedly in her high chair.

“That’s not all it means.” Kiara smirked at Briana. “I’m taking over your education, Miss Rasmussen. With your permission, Vonnie.”

“This ought to be interesting.” Veronica had a tiny smile at the corner of her mouth. “Be my guest.”

“Um, Mom already has all my class stuff figured out though. There’s spreadsheets and everything.” Briana glanced between Mom and her aunt nervously.

“Not that education – Vonnie’s got that. I’m going to teach you what it means to be a Rasmussen woman.”

But I’m a baby – except at school – not a big girl or a woman. Briana smiled at Kiara, hoping her fear wasn’t making her smile too much of a grimace. “Um, sounds fun.”

“Some of it will be, I promise.” Kiara winked at Briana.

Dinner conversation turned back to Grandma’s remodeling plans, but Briana had lost interest in discussing interior decorating. Her eyes were fixed on Kiara, who seemed to be sitting taller in her seat. A worried glance at Gary got her a squeeze on the arm – he looked happy for her, which was supportive, but not the sort of support Briana was looking for.

How’s a Little girl supposed to be political? I can’t wear diapers at a press conference. It took talking about Grandma’s puppies, combined with fresh strawberry pie, for Briana’s worries to clear. She had plenty of time, after all. Kiara would have to go back to Geneva to pack up her house, and then she’d be over at Vakhaven a lot getting set up. It wasn’t like she’d be taking Briana’s life over immediately – baby time was secure.