Compromise - Chapter 5 (Patreon)

Heather had just about given up hope when she heard her phone chirp. It could be anyone, she reminded herself, fishing it out of her purse. In fact, she'd gotten plenty of other messages, enough that it was basically self-defense, expecting it to be another of those, just a progress report, or some spam...

The moment she saw it was from an unfamiliar number, her heart soared. In the split second it took for the text itself to load, she thought about all the other possibilities, about how it could be more junk mail, or someone changing their number... Sure enough, however, the question inside left no doubt in her mind who it was.

'Absolutely,' she replied, hating herself a little for not even making an attempt at playing hard to get, not waiting a few minutes to pretend she hadn't been waiting for this text. 'Why don't you pick the spot this time?'

Elizabeth, for her part, did seem to be acting coy. Heather waited with bated breath, practically bouncing in her seat, waiting for the next notification, but it didn't come. Had she come on too strong? Had Elizabeth changed her mind? Or had she made a mistake, sent the text to the wrong person? Or was it some silly game? Littles did love to play... This was a pretty cruel joke, though, and not a smart one, if she'd used her real phone number.

It was occupying Heather's mind so much, she decided to head home early for the day, knowing herself well enough to know that she wasn't getting any work done now. It had already been pretty shaky, wondering if anything was going to happen, and now that it had, and cut off so abruptly, it was all over.

As she was packing up, her phone finally rang out with its notification tone once more, and she scooped it up, a wave of relief washing over her. 'How about some coffee?' Lizzie suggested.

It was a place Heather hadn't been to before, and for obvious reasons. As soon as she walked in, she felt unwelcome, all eyes turning to her, stances shifting uncomfortably as they stared at her. Everything looked tiny, like she had wandered into a dollhouse, almost, or some backyard playhouse.

"Hey!" Elizabeth waved from a table. "I'm over here!"

Heather waved back, hoping everyone else would calm down, seeing that she was with one of them, and not just on the prowl. They were all littles, every one, not even a Betweener among them, or any chairs that looked the right size for them. Predictably, most of the menu was full of sugary, flavored drinks that could barely be called coffee, though she managed to find something that didn't look too over the top.

"Oh," Elizabeth hardly bothered to stifled a giggle, watching her squeeze into the seat opposite her at the table. "Sorry, didn't think about that."

"It's fine," Heather shrugged. At least, it would be if the minuscule chair didn't break under her weight... She'd be happy to pay for it, if it did, but it would still be pretty embarrassing, even more than feeling like she was back at the kids' table at Thanksgiving. "Thank you for texting."

"No problem," Lizzie shrugged, Heather noting the last remnants of whipped cream at the top of her cup, confirming that she had, indeed, gone for one of the more typical, sweet drinks, like she'd expect from a little. It was cute, all of them wanting to pretend it was coffee that they liked, like they were grown-ups, despite having to put so much extra stuff into it...

No, that wasn't the point. She was here to hear Elizabeth out, try to work through their misunderstandings, see if things could go any further between them.

"Sorry it took so long to get back to you," Elizabeth blushed. "I switched my phone off so it wouldn't distract me while I took a nap."

"I barely even noticed," Heather fibbed; probably not the best way to start off, by lying, though, really, any frustration she'd felt was now overwhelmed at how cute it was, hearing her admit to napping in the middle of the day, like it was normal.

"Okay, good," Lizzie nodded. "I wasn't trying to be rude or anything."

"Oh!" Heather reminded herself of something, setting her purse down on the table. It was more of a clutch, far too small for all the things she'd brought along last night... Not even a diaper would comfortably fit, not without displacing everything else. "You can look in it, if you want," she offered. "I won't be offended... I just want to make sure you know it's safe."

Elizabeth eyed the bag, and Heather could practically watch her thinking, see the calculations running behind her eyes. "I trust you," she said after a moment, although Heather suspected that was prompted mostly by the size of the bag. "Besides, there aren't any changing tables here anyway."

Was that true? While waiting in line, she'd spotted a couple different people with what she was almost positive was padding under their clothes, and a few more who seemed dressed specifically to try to hide it. Maybe there weren't any changing tables, but she had no doubt that if she went into the bathroom, the garbage can would be pretty full, and of more than paper towels.

"Can I tell you again how sorry I am about that?" Heather asked. "I never..."

"It's okay," Elizabeth interrupted her. "You didn't really do anything, and you helped me out... It's fine."

She was keeping one hand under the table, however. Was she keeping some insurance down there? Some pepper spray, or a taser, or something? Heather couldn't entirely blame her... No matter how much she claimed she'd forgiven Heather for what happened the night before, there was no way she had totally forgotten already.

"Not that I'm complaining about an excuse to see you," Heather said, "but why did you invite me here, then?"

Lizzie fidgeted in her seat, cheeks turning pink in a way that made Heather wonder if she was telling a fib of her own. "I-I just... I-I thought... W-Well, I was thinking..."

She took another drink, emerging from her cup with a whipped cream mustache that required every fiber of restraint in Heather's body to keep her from wiping away. "I-I need your help," she finally blurted out.

Heather hadn't known what to expect, how this conversation was going to go; that was definitely now how she'd seen it starting, though. "All right," she nodded. "I mean, if I can... Does this have to do with your job?"

Elizabeth nibbled on her bottom lip, giving the answer well before she spoke. "No," she admitted. "It's a whole separate thing."

Finally, she lifted her other hand up from beneath the table, and Heather saw the real reason she'd been hiding it. There was a wristband attached around it, bright and colorful, the kind of thing littles tended to be drawn to... But Heather saw the lock on it, and knew it wasn't a simple piece of jewelry.

"What happened?" she reached out for Lizzie's hand automatically, drawing back almost as quickly. "Sorry... May I...?"

Elizabeth bobbed her head, stretching her arm out a bit further, letting Heather take her wrist, turning it over, examining the wristband, her face flushing again at the contact. "I had a little... incident," she explained. "And now I can't get the stupid thing off. I looked online to see if anyone had figured out an easy way to pick the locks on these, but it looks like I need an actual key... And if I go somewhere that sells these on my own..."

"I get it," Heather saved her from having to elaborate. "Is there anywhere around here that we can go?"

"Just a couple miles away," Lizzie told her. "I'll send you the address."

Heather wanted to offer to drive her, but she knew Elizabeth was already putting a lot of trust in her, telling her all this. Lizzie finished off her drink, tossing the empty cup in the trash on the way out, Heather continuing to sip at hers as she followed her out, pretty sure she heard a collective sigh of relief as the door swung shut behind her.

When Lizzie hopped out of her car at the store, after clearly waiting to see Heather do the same, there was a leash clipped to the metal loop on the wristband, her hands shaking a little as she handed it over. "You know," Heather mused, "I could just pull you into my car right now, take you home..."

"I-I know," Elizabeth swallowed. "I-I'm trusting that you won't."

It would have been a lie to pretend she wasn't tempted... Lizzie had put the leash on herself, and obviously taken it off before that, since it wasn't there in the coffee shop, but, even at a quick glance, Heather could see it wasn't a simple task. It would take a few seconds, at least, and in that time, she could have the little buckled in, ready to take her home.

"I won't," she promised. "Let's go."

At first, she let Elizabeth lead the way, but she knew that was going to look odd once they were in the store itself, so she took over, tugging Lizzie ever so slightly closer to her. Elizabeth stared up at her, the beginnings of panic forming on her face.

"You got yourself a real cutie, didn't you?" an Amazon cooed, kneeling down, tickling Lizzie's chin. "Good thing you have her attached to you, or I might snatch her up!"

It was meant to sound like a joke, though nobody involved took it as such. Elizabeth watched the Amazon walk away, moving nearer to Heather, drifting more and more in that direction as they made their way through the store, past locking cribs and high chairs with latching trays, all the things Heather would need to tame even the wildest little... Like the one she was leading around right now.

She'd be lying if she pretended she wasn't envisioning Lizzie in each of the pieces of furniture they passed, or that she wasn't debating which would be the best, and cutest, for her nursery. She had a few basic things already, but she hadn't wanted to do too much until she knew who her little was going to be, what they were like... She was more than ready to go all out, spend whatever she needed to fully furnish it...

But she wasn't going to, not now. It was quite the feat, barely even slowing down through that gauntlet of temptation, yet she pulled it off, somehow. The harnesses, and reins, and leashes, were back by the strollers, in the section of the store for the things any Mommy would need to take her baby for a walk, and it didn't take long to find the wristband Lizzie was locked into.

"Are you sure they have replacement keys?" Heather asked, picking up a package for a new one, holding it next to Elizabeth's wrist. It matched exactly... That didn't look like a good thing, however.

"That's what the forums I read say," Lizzie squirmed, clearly seeing the same thing on the packaging that Heather did, the bubble proclaiming, 'Every lock is unique, to foil even the sneakiest of babies!'

"Maybe it's a marketing gimmick," Heather suggested. "I can buy this, if you want, and we can try the key..."

"No, it's probably true," Elizabeth sighed, pulling out her phone. "Let me look again..."

As she frantically tapped at her phone, one of the store's workers wandered over. "Can I help you ladies with anything?" he smiled cheerfully. "Do you need another one of those? Always good to have a spare!"

"It is," Heather nodded, easily slipping into her part. "Especially since my little angel here decided to hide the key to this one, and then forgot where she put it!"

"Uh-oh!" the worker looked down at Lizzie, who had stealthily slipped her phone back into her pocket, and was acting innocent. "You should know better than to play with things that don't belong to you!" he scolded.

"She does," Heather said meaningfully, Elizabeth blushing right on cue. "I'm not sure what I'm going to do about this, though." She pulled at the leash, lifting Lizzie's hand by the wristband.

"No worries," the worker winked. "We'll get you a replacement key made up in no time!" He led them through the store, back towards the front. "You know," he confided in Heather, "we have a pretty good sale on diapers right now... That might be a good way to teach her a lesson."

"H-Hey!" Lizzie squeaked, sounding so genuine it was hard to tell if she was still in character or not.

"Don't worry," Heather replied. "I have everything I need for her already."

"Hmph!" Elizabeth huffed, crossing her arms as she was marched to the service desk, the worker stepping around to the computer, examining the wristband, typing in a few things.

"It'll just be a minute," he promised. "It takes a bit to search through the database."

"Look at all this trouble you caused," Heather teased. "I hope you're getting your sweetest 'thank you' ready for the nice man."

Elizabeth glared up at her in surprise, obviously not having thought of that, but, by the time the worker was handing over the freshly made key to Heather, after she'd paid for it, she was ready with the best curtsy she could pull off without a skirt. "Thank you so much, mister," she exclaimed. "I promise, I won't do it again!"

"I hope not," he reached down, ruffling her hair. "Be a good girl for your Mommy. She knows what's best."

Mommy... Hearing herself called that, in reference to Lizzie, seeing how well-behaved she could at least pretend to be, made her heart flutter, made it hard to follow through on her promise, handing over the key when they were back at their cars, knowing how simple it would be to pocket it, and Lizzie's freedom with it.

"Here you go," she declared. "My treat."

Elizabeth slid the key into the lock, turned it, nearly collapsing onto the ground from relief when the wristband snapped open. "Thank God," she breathed. "I was starting to think I was going to be stuck in that thing forever."

She stared down at it, then up at Heather. "Thank you," she said again, sounding much more sincere than she had with the worker, with none of the false sweetness she'd turned on around him, to sound more docile and innocent.

"I'm glad I could help," Heather told her. Watching the way other people had reacted to her, she knew she wasn't the only one who saw how cute Elizabeth was... She'd been right to worry about going into a store like this unaccompanied by an Amazon. "You have my number, if you ever need any more help," she offered.

She'd never thought about how tough it must be to be a little... Although, to be honest, there was also a selfish component to the suggestion. She understood if Elizabeth didn't want to be her baby... But that didn't mean she wanted anyone else to grab her up. If she was around when Lizzie put herself into situations like this, she could at least help prevent that.

"Well..." Elizabeth blushed. "There is one other thing..."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Elizabeth didn't tell Heather how close the convenience store was to her place, though she did get a bit of a rush, knowing it herself, knowing that the woman was in walking distance of it.

She double checked the key in her pocket, terrified it had somehow fallen out in the few seconds since she'd stepped out of her car, then, heart pounding, she closed the wristband, hearing the lock click into place. There was no reason to be afraid, not really... Heather had already proven she was trustworthy. Handing the leash over a second time, however, was still scary, no matter how safe she had to admit she felt, knowing it was Heather at the other end.

"So, what exactly are we doing here?" Heather frowned.

"Just follow my lead," Lizzie said, walking a step ahead of her, just far enough to show her where to go, without being too obvious that she was the one in charge.

The cashier from earlier wasn't there, but Elizabeth saw a grainy photo of her from the security cameras tacked up on the bulletin board behind the registers, and the girl working there now turned to look at it as soon as Elizabeth walked in.

"Mommy, no!" Lizzie whined, stomping her feet. "I don't wanna!"

Heather's expression softened again, the way Elizabeth had caught it doing a couple times during the earlier mission, but she quickly fell into her role. "Yes, Lizzie," she said sternly. "You know better!"

Elizabeth pouting, stomping one more time before turning to the cashier. "Umm... I-I was in here earlier..." she explained.

"You certainly were," the girl smirked. "I saw the footage. We're supposed to call the cops on you if we see you again, you know."

"I am so, so sorry," Heather told the cashier. "I thought she was mature enough to come on her own, but you know how it is..."

"Mommy already punished me," Lizzie sniffled, rubbing her bottom.

"Not enough," the cashier observed, staring at Elizabeth's tight jeans.

"Sh-She wanted us to buy them here," Elizabeth improvised. "S-Since this was where it happened..."

"Well..." the girl looked Lizzie up and down, then shrugged. "I mean, I didn't have to deal with it. And it was pretty funny to watch. As long as you promise to behave yourself, I can talk to my manager and tell her it's been taken care of. We're still going to keep an eye on you if you're here on your own, though."

"Yes, ma'am," Elizabeth nodded obediently. That was the best she could hope for... She'd have to watch out for Missy's Mommy, sure, but this shop was conveniently close by, so it would be a shame not to be able to use it. If they thought she had a Mommy of her own, hopefully they wouldn't be so willing to let someone else try to claim her... Or at least they wouldn't have her arrested for making a mess while trying to get away that time, if she'd 'learned her lesson.'

Of course, now that she'd said it, she had to follow through. Acting dejected, she trudged back to the diaper aisle, where it had all gone down. She blushed, seeing all of the packages again. They seemed different now, looking at them with Heather beside her, knowing that the Amazon probably would love to put her into them...

"Sorry," she whispered, realizing what she was doing, how mean it was to tempt her like this, when she'd promised not to do anything, and done nothing to make Elizabeth think she was going to break her word. "I-I didn't expect..."

"It's okay," Heather nodded. "Which do you want me to get?"

Lizzie didn't want to wear diapers, not really... She wasn't a baby. Despite everything, though - the reason why they were doing it, her constant worry about how easy it would be for Heather to change her mind - she had enjoyed this, getting to spend time with Heather... She wouldn't mind doing it again. That felt unfair, however, since she wasn't sure Heather was getting anything out of it.

"C-Could I get those?" she asked, pointing up to the discrete training panties, the ones that she had a chance of hiding beneath her clothes, and thus actually choosing to wear in public... And that she knew she wouldn't have easily been able to buy on her own. "You can use my card, you already paid for the key..."

"These don't seem like much of a punishment," Heather stuck her tongue out, but she picked them up anyway, tugging Elizabeth's leash back to the register. "We'll see how these go," she told the girl. "I have a feeling she won't be in them long, though."

Heather carried the bag for her as they headed back to their cars, and, for a moment, Elizabeth wondered if she was going to have to ask for them... If she had the courage to do that.

"I know you don't need these," Heather said, "but you paid for them, so..." She returned the credit card Lizzie had slipped her, and the bag.

"Well..." Elizabeth fumbled in her pocket, finding the key and unlocking the wristband, handing over it and the leash. "You paid for the key, and this isn't much good without it."

"I really don't need this," Heather replied, sounding a little sad. Maybe it had been too cruel, knowing how much she wanted to be her Mommy, forcing her to pretend she was...

"If I need your help again, it might come in handy," Lizzie blushed. "A-And... It would be more realistic, if I was wearing these." She lifted the bag of trainers slightly. "Or maybe... Even if I don't need help... I-I might try them out next time we get together."

A smile burst across Heather's face before she could stop it, and assure Elizabeth, "You don't have to, you know."

"I know," Lizzie nodded. "I'll text you okay? Or... You have my number now, too."

She was in her car, ready to go home, but Heather had one more question for her before she did the same. "Hey," she said. "If you wanted me to help with the lock, why did you have us meet at the coffee shop?"

"I-It was a safe space," Lizzie fibbed. "I-I just wanted to see if I trusted you enough to head to the store."

"Well, I'm glad you did," Heather smiled. "Be safe going home, sweetie!"

She felt bad, even telling such a little lie... But, in reality, did it even qualify? Maybe that hadn't been her original motive, however, that was what it had turned into. She had felt safe, after seeing Heather there, and how worried she'd been about trying to make her feel comfortable... She hadn't intended on taking her to the store at all, had assumed she was going to have to keep researching and see if she could find a way to get the key on her own.

In truth, she'd been too embarrassed when Heather had asked her why she'd asked her there, too nervous to tell her that she wanted to see if there was any chance Heather might, someday, be able to see past her desire to baby her, and look at her like a girlfriend... But that was something they could talk about next time. And, even with the training pants sitting on the seat beside her, making her cheeks glow at the thought of wearing them for Heather, she was still happy to know there was even going to be a next time.