Compromise - Chapter 17 (Patreon)

Heather took a sip of her coffee with a satisfied smile, glancing at the clock on her phone, debating whether it was time to send the text yet or not. With Lizzie's job, she didn't really have to get up at any specific time, and Heather didn't want to wake her up - the poor little thing needed her rest, after all - even though she now knew when Lizzie went to bed, since she'd given her a bedtime.

Heather did have a lot of respect for Lizzie, and what she did... It seemed very hard, and very risky, especially for someone as tiny as her. Her lack of a concrete schedule, however, made it easy for Heather to slip into the trap of thinking of her as a child, one too young for school. Despite what Lizzie called her now and then - and with increasing regularity, to Heather's delight - she wasn't fully her Mommy, not yet... But, at times like these, it certainly felt like she was, like she was making a choice whether to bustle into her baby girl's nursery to wake her up and get her ready for the day, or let her snooze a bit longer and leave all that to the babysitter.

A babysitter... Heather chuckled, imagining that. Lizzie probably would not be particularly pleased about the idea of having one of those, and Heather was aware the girl didn't truly need one, but the thought was difficult to shake. She loved taking care of Lizzie, what little she'd been able to do it, and she didn't want to pass any of that off to anybody else... 

It was cute, though, to think of Lizzie waking up in her crib, yawning and stretching, her diaper soggy and swollen beneath her onesie, only to find some college girl staring down at her, cooing at how adorable she was, Lizzie slowly waking up, realizing she was now totally under this person's control. Heather was sure they'd have so much fun together, and she wouldn't have to worry about what her baby was up to while she was at work... And, if she did, she could just text the sitter.

For now, at least, that wasn't going to happen, and Heather needed to get going before too long. If Lizzie was too tired, she'd sleep through her text tone anyway, and send her picture when she did wake up, so Heather would have a treat waiting for her when she got to the office.

It would be a special treat today... Heather knew what today was, and what it meant for Lizzie's underthings. Heather did love the day of the week panties she'd bought for Lizzie, and the way they looked on the girl, how childish they were, and made her seem, so proud she was of getting to wear them... What she loved even more, however, was when Lizzie lost her rights to them.

It had to be fair, and deserved... It would be simple for Heather to orchestrate things, have Lizzie over to do laundry, or to cook her supper, on each individual day, and manufacture an accident, or slip her a drug, to systematically take every pair of the undies away, one by one... That was what a lot of Amazons would have done.

And Heather did want that end result, of course, to have her baby in training pants full-time. It almost didn't matter if she used them or not... Knowing what they were, what they were meant for, made them infinitely cuter than the panties, and, somehow, any one of the diapers from her collection would be infinitely cuter than that - although they were nowhere near that yet. 

The idea of Lizzie running around all day, her perfect bottom wrapped in the slight padding, having it right there, ready for any slip-ups, any tiny dribbles... It was just so sweet, so precious. She absolutely would have understood if something came up, if Lizzie wasn't able to stick to their little arrangement, if she'd felt the need to wear big girl underwear for a meeting, or to go shopping, or whatever... So far, however, she hadn't, had obediently kept up with their agreement and stayed in the trainers, never hesitating with her pictures to prove what a good girl she was being.

'Good morning, kitten!' she wrote. She didn't need any more than that... That was all they really needed by now, and she didn't want to seem too demanding, too hungry. Lizzie knew what she had to do, and Heather had no doubt she would do it.

Sure enough, almost right away, as if Lizzie were up, and waiting, the response came. 'Good morning, Mommy!'

And that was it. Strange... It was odd that she'd replied so fast, like she had been anticipating this, yet hadn't attached the picture for her first check of the day. Was it a mistake? Had she taken it, then forgot to add it? Was she still getting ready, and just happened to be looking at her phone at the right time before she hopped in the shower? Or did she have grown-up things to handle today that would keep her from playing along for now?

That would have been fine, except Heather had dropped her little hint the night before, reminding Lizzie, and the girl hadn't told her about it. It wasn't like Lizzie owed it to her, but she could have mentioned it, prepped Heather for the disappointment... Heather had been looking forward to this. Perhaps something had come up last minute, or perhaps she was afraid Heather would be mad. Heather felt bad, thinking of that, wanting Lizzie to feel comfortable being honest with her.

All her insecurities were for naught, however, dashing through her mind in an instant, only to be washed away nearly as quickly when her phone chirped again. 'Are you ready to give me my panty check, Mommy?'

'Whenever you are, sweetie,' Heather wrote back. She wasn't sure why Lizzie had asked - she'd been doing it automatically with her 'Good morning' text for a while now - but it was early... She could have forgotten for a moment, been too sleepy to recall her routine. 

'Okay,' Lizzie replied. 'If you say so.'

Was she making fun of her? Heather shook her head, amused at the little brat. This was, she decided, because of the text she'd sent last night, because she'd given an indication of how eager she was... Heather wasn't mad, of course, though if Lizzie were here, she'd have given her a playful swat on the bottom. Then again, if she were here, none of this would have been necessary, or, if it was, that swat would have answered Heather's query about whether the girl was properly attired. It probably wouldn't have told her the state of Lizzie's trainers, but this early in the morning, with so few chances for any accidents, they were no doubt still dry.

Heather didn't really think this was the case, but she played along anyway, asking, 'Are you stalling because you're looking for your Tuesday panties? We talked about this, remember?'

'Oh, you're right!' Lizzie responded, Heather practically able to see the look of sleepy recognition in the girl's eyes in her mind as she sat up in her bed, slowly waking up and recalling that she'd lost her big girl panty privileges for the day. 'Guess I'll have to wear this instead.' At last, she sent the picture, and to say that Heather wasn't prepared for it would have been an understatement.

She'd really gone all out, in a way that made it clear she'd been ready for this, hadn't been doing any last-minute scrambling whatsoever, that she had been teasing all along after all. She was dressed in a pink crop top, one a bit more girly than her usual style, exposing her navel piercing, the belly ring now a tiny, jeweled butterfly. Her long hair was pulled into a pair of ponytails and tied into place with matching pink ribbons. She had on her sneakers, white socks underneath, making it appear as if she were ready to head out and face the day.

Of course, Heather knew that wasn't the case, no matter how much she might wish it was, how much she wanted to be the one to take Lizzie by the hand, or scoop her up into her arms, and take her out into the world like this so everyone could see what a sweet little girl she had. 

And there would be no doubt about that... Despite looking ready to go, Lizzie had on no pants, no shorts, no skirt... Nothing at all to hide her training pants, which only emphasized them, made it quite obvious what she had done, what the reveal she'd been building up to was. These weren't the trainers Heather had helped her buy, not even close.

Heather had seen these ones in commercials, had spotted them on the actual children of some of her colleagues. They were cute, sure, yet she'd never paid them much mind, preferring the look of all the diapers from her collection. And, yes, any of those might have been better, but this still felt different, special in its own way.

Lizzie had picked these out, had made this choice, had bought these herself... She had chosen to go with these, even with how very, undeniably, childish they were, how perfectly they, along with the rest of her outfit, made her look like a toddler, with barely a hint of her adult self peeking through in the photo.

Heather had to restrain herself, not wanting to sound too excited, to scare Lizzie off... Lizzie clearly was searching for some sort of reaction, though, was expecting it, or she wouldn't have put on such a show, and still, Heather worried that, if she exposed how much of her maternal instincts this was triggering, Lizzie might be overwhelmed by it.

'Oh, no, kitten!' she wrote. 'Did you run out of your other trainers already?'

Unless Lizzie was fibbing, changing herself and pretending she hadn't been, or wearing them when she didn't have to, that didn't seem possible, not yet. Heather didn't remember exactly how many had been in the package, but it didn't feel like she'd seen Lizzie in them often enough to have burned through all of them so soon.

'No,' Lizzie said. 'I thought it was time for a little change of pace. Do you like them?'

She sent another picture, a different pose, her hip cocked to one side, a hand resting on it, obviously trying to seem more grown-up, which, combined with the outfit, only served to do the opposite. Heather wanted nothing more than to sweep the girl up into her arms, and kiss her forehead, and pat her padded bottom, and protect her...

'I love them,' she underplayed it. 'Maybe you should wear those every day, haha.'

'Mommy!' Heather could see Lizzie stomp her foot, ponytails bouncing, pouting and crossing her arms. 'I still have big girl panties for most of the week!'

'I know," Heather soothed. 'I was just kidding.'

It took a bit too long for Lizzie to send the next text. 'Were you?' she asked finally.

'Lizzie, you know I would love that,' Heather admitted. 'But that doesn't mean you have to do anything. You didn't even have to do this, though you have made me very, very happy you did.'

Heather was extremely tempted to make one of those pictures the wallpaper on her phone, or to get one printed out so she could frame it and keep it on her desk, the way that many of the other Amazons at the office did, to show off their littles, but she resisted, reminding herself that she had to take it slow, that nothing was decided for certain yet, no matter how it may seem, or feel.

She was a tad disappointed when, for her other checks for the day, she saw that Lizzie had changed into another outfit, one slightly less revealing and immature, her Pull-Ups camouflaged by a pair of pants that Lizzie had to unbutton and slide down to let Heather see that none of the stars had faded, and a longer shirt that Heather was sure the girl spent a lot of time tugging at self-consciously to ensure it hadn't ridden up to reveal her plastic waistband.

There was no way Lizzie would have stayed like that for a whole day, of course, not on her own. Even if she didn't need to go anywhere - and as much as Heather loved to imagine her doing it - she wasn't quite ready for that, for embracing that side of herself to that degree, for lounging around her apartment, dressed in full toddler style... It just would have been another nice surprise for Heather to see some evidence that she might have done that for a little while longer in the other pictures she'd gotten that day.

But, in a way, she was glad for it, because it meant it was still fresh when she had Lizzie over to spend the day with her on Saturday. Perhaps it was because she knew to look for it, but immediately Heather could tell, seeing the girl standing in her doorway, that she had her new Pull-Ups on beneath her shorts, rather than the other kind, to the point where it almost made Heather nervous, worrying that it was obvious to everyone else, too, that if Lizzie was walking around like this every Tuesday - and any other day when she lost her panties - she'd end up being snatched up and claimed by another Amazon in no time.

As Lizzie had helped her fully realize, however, that was a constant threat anyway, for any little, whether they were padded or not. And, cute as it was to think of Lizzie being so oblivious that she didn't notice the bulge the Pull-Ups gave her bottom, Heather was comforted to hear the girl grumble as she stepped in, "These things are so much tighter than I thought they were."

"Aww, poor baby," Heather smiled, closing the door and kneeling down to unbutton the shorts. "Why don't we go ahead and get them off of you, then?"

Lizzie fidgeted, blushing, Heather pausing, cursing inwardly, worried she was moving too quickly, getting ahead of herself. After a moment, though, the girl gave a tiny nod, letting Heather gently slide the shorts down, pulling her shoes off at the same time, leaving her standing there in her t-shirt and Pull-Ups, not quite as overtly babyish as she had been in her picture, yet, somehow, almost more-so, knowing it was more natural, not something she'd done to intentionally emphasize her childishness.

"There, doesn't that feel better?" Heather asked. Lizzie squirmed, cheeks red, for a long second before nodding again. "Poor silly girl," Heather sympathized. "Did you forget you need to dress differently, now that you need some more protection?"

Lizzie stared up at her, wide-eyed, definitely looking the part. "Uh-huh," she admitted.

"Maybe Mommy needs to take you shopping," Heather said, "and help you find some more stuff that has room for your trainers... And maybe a bit extra, just in case."

"Y-You mean for...?" Lizzie stopped short, though they both knew where the question was headed... The same place Lizzie herself was.

"That's right," Heather confirmed, taking all the doubt out of it. "Mommy made a decision, Lizzie... I'm so proud of you for making it all the way to Pull-Ups, kitten, but we both know you can't keep wearing and piddling in them forever."

"B-But I..." Lizzie nibbled her bottom lip.

"I know you're scared," Heather told her. "As long as you can keep your little stars nice and clear, it'll be okay... If you have an accident in your trainers, however, whatever day of the week it happens on becomes a diaper day from then on."

"Heather!" Lizzie gasped.

"Shh," Heather sent Lizzie towards the living room with a pat on her bottom, a warm feeling coming over her as she felt the bulkier, crinklier sensation of these Pull-Ups, knowing how close she was to having her baby in real diapers. "Let Mommy get your laundry started. I have your favorite show on the TV for you."

It was almost more than Heather could take, seeing Lizzie sitting curled up on her sofa, Princess Angelica peeking out from the front of her training panties, and on the television screen. A part of her wished she'd confiscated all of Lizzie's panties from her laundry bag, held them hostage and forced the girl to be in Pull-Ups all the time, until she inevitably lost those, too. She could still do it, of course, when she moved everything to the dryer...

"This is what this show is?" Lizzie wrinkled her nose. Heather tore her eyes away from her little girl, looking at the TV. Princess Angelica was an Amazonian child, ruling over her kingdom of littles, right now struggling with her decision about what to do when her subjects got in trouble because they were staying up past Angelica's bedtime and didn't have her around to help them out. The conclusion, obviously, was that the littles, no matter how old they were, ought to have the same bedtime as her, a choice they all happily accepted.

There was a reason the show was more popular with Amazon kids, and why she was a character that was on their Pull-Ups, rather than those meant for littles. There was plenty littles could learn from it, but it was mostly a demonstration of how much littles needed someone bigger to help them out, even if that bigger person was technically younger. Princess Angelica was always right, and always knew what was best for her subjects.

"Isn't it cute?" Heather asked. "It's so nice that you want everyone to see what a big fan you are, and how much you recognize that you need Princess Angelica's help..."

"No," Lizzie shook her head.

"Excuse me?" Heather was surprised at the tone that her voice took, at how stern and disappointed she sounded.

"Heather, I'm not ready for diapers," Lizzie told her flat out. "I'm sorry, I am, but.... I'm trying. I'm trying to get used to the idea of using them, and I wanted to give it a shot with these," she poked at her Pull-Ups. "I-I didn't know who this was on here, though, a-and if it made you think I was trying to say more than I thought by choosing them, I'm sorry..."

"Oh." Heather couldn't completely hide her dismay. It had seemed like such an obvious signal from the girl, seeing her proudly wearing the Princess on her Pull-Ups, a way for her to tell Heather that she was ready to let her make her decisions for her, since, if some kid could do it, then surely Heather would be even better at it... She should have known that they were from very different worlds, however, and that Lizzie might not fully grasp who Angelica was. "We don't have to do diapers yet. If you want to try your Pull-Ups out for a while, we can put a hold on..."

"Look, Heather," Lizzie said, "It's not just that. I think we need to have a talk... I know that this is what you want, and I can't blame you too much for going a bit overboard, but... Y-You know it isn't what I want, right?"

Heather's face fell, despite her best efforts. "You don't want to be my baby? Even if you didn't know who was on them, you went out and bought those Pull-Ups, and you've been..."

"I-I wouldn't say that," Lizzie blushed, her voice slightly softer, face glowing. "I have been liking this... M-More than I thought I would, anyway. But I've been liking it because it's with you."

"Well, I've liked doing this with you, too," Heather smiled. "So what's wrong, kitten?"

"If I was going to have a Mommy, I'd want her to be you," Lizzie told her. "A-And I think I do want that, to some degree... But that's not all I want. I know you see me as a little girl, and that's been okay if it means I get to spend more time with you, I just... If that's all you can see me as, then I don't know if we should keep doing this."

They stayed in silence for a long moment, while Heather took that in, fighting to tamp down her maternal instinct to take Lizzie to the nursery and lock her up so she couldn't run off the way it was starting to feel like she might be considering. It was so hard to think of her as anything but a child, sitting there, dressed the way she was, with the memories Heather had of the times she'd been allowed to diaper her, and her desires to repeat that in the future, to keep her in them this time, and never let her near the big, bad potty again...

Of course that wasn't fair. Lizzie had told her she'd thought their first trip to the bar was a real, adult date, and they had kissed, more than once, in a way that was definitely not how babies kissed their Mommies... Heather didn't hate that, yet there was always something about it that felt somewhat wrong, that had kept her from letting it go any further.

That wasn't fair either, though. If nothing else, these Pull-Ups proved that Lizzie was making an effort to try being a baby, beyond what Heather was encouraging her to do... Maybe Heather ought to be giving the other side more of a chance, too.

"You're right," she admitted. "I know that you're an adult, Elizabeth, and that you have needs and desires, that go along with that, I've just spent so long being taught that that means something different for littles than it does for me... But I'm going to do my best to do better. Maybe we should start by putting a pause on the potty training, for today at least?"

"Maybe," Lizzie nodded. "Except, I don't have my Saturday panties anymore, and I think my others are all in the wash."

"Right," Heather blushed. "And you probably don't want to keep wearing those, now that you've seen the show... I can order you some other underwear, if you want, and have them delivered, or..."

"By the time they get here, the laundry will probably be done," Lizzie chuckled. "And these aren't so bad... I just might see if I can find some with a different character on them next time. For now, why don't we start with watching something different?" She glanced at the television, where the closing credits for Princess Angelica were playing, while an announcer ordered them to stay on the channel for another episode, Heather cutting him off by switching to a different network, one not aimed at preschoolers.

"That's better," Lizzie smiled, sliding next to Heather as the bigger woman sat next to her on the couch, Heather resisting the urge to reach over and give the girl's padded bottom a pat. "One step at a time..."