✅ My Cousin's Keeper [NaNoWriMo 2021]

143. Our Home

Author's Note: Rather than alternating between the two stories, I've started posting the one which is behind; so chapters will be posted in chronological order for the last few events of the story. That's why you're seeing this update today, instead of The Last New Start. And thank you so much to everyone who is still with me!

I took a deep breath once Tess was gone. I'd somehow managed to avoid showing myself or saying anything when Spike came to collect her, dressed up like every parent's nightmare from just about any high school romance movie that included a prom date. I'd started letting my guard down over the last couple of weeks, because almost every time I'd seen him he had been regressed as a little girl. And as a girl, she was just about as cute as any other kid. But when I saw him in a suit like that, practically oozing masculinity, I was reminded that the whole thing was a sham. It was just a trick to earn my trust, a way to stop me paying so much attention to what he wanted to do with my little girl. I knew that I had to stop him; but right now there was nothing I couldn't say without losing Tess's trust for good.

Next week wasn't good enough. I'd have to bring it forward; find some excuse to share that DVD with her sooner, and hope that I could get all the context right. Spike might end up being a problem, but I was sure I could find some way around his interference. I wouldn't let him meddle with my plan now, not when it was so important.

I was doing a little meditation, trying to help myself to calm down, when Ffrances's car pulled up ten minutes later. My heart raced for a second, wondering what she needed to talk to me about so badly. But at the same time, I was excited just to see her. I found myself imagining all the things she could do to me when we had the house to ourselves for the evening; when there was no little girl to hear my screams. And I wondered if there was anything serious for us to talk about after all.

But when Ffrances got out of the car and then turned around to lift bunches of what looked like bank paperwork and legal documents out of the back, I was able to take my eyes off her ass just long enough to realise that when she said this was serious business, she really meant the serious part after all. And apparently the business part. Perhaps I could stop worrying that she might have made a guess about what I was trying to do for Tess; that wouldn't need any kind of formality. Was this something that would be needed before our marriage? I was normally the one who spoke legalese, but I hadn't even looked into the procedural aspects of a wedding. We wouldn't need to address those issues until we were ready to set a date though, would we?

"Hi babe," I greeted her with a huge grin. I was still nervous about what this serious business would be all about. But I was confident now that I wasn't going to end up disciplined for some mistake that I didn't even remember making. "You said serious business. Is this something I should be worried about?"

"Not yet," she said, and just her smile would have left me breathless. It made it clear that she had decided on something, and that I was just along for the ride. My Mistress knew exactly what she was doing, and I was sure that I would follow whatever choices she had made. Maybe she didn't mean it like that, but her confidence was clear and that feeling always made me feel weak at the knees.

She made herself comfortable in the lounge, and sorted out her vast array of documents onto the coffee table while I went back to the kitchen and dished up dinner for the two of us. By the time I returned, the room looked like an office set up for an important pitch meeting; just with the desk a little lower than most. Ffrances just smiled, and I knew that I should give her an opportunity to eat before I asked what all this was about. I placed a bowl on the sole clear space on the table, easily within reach. I could probably have sat beside her, but it didn't seem like the right thing to do today. I sat on the floor instead, with my bowl in my lap and the coffee table spread out in front of me like an actual desk. I tried not to stare too hard at the documents, though the ones I could see from here didn't really tell me anything about what we were going to discuss.

"Do you think they'll enjoy the ball?" she opened the conversation with the last thing I'd expected. I'd been so focused on what Ffrances wanted to discuss that I hadn't even thought about Tess since she left. And I knew that I should feel guilty about that; my little girl was out there with that pervert who couldn't keep his hands off her, and I was here at home. I was neglecting her when she needed me the most, and I regretted letting her go. But what else could I have done?

"I'm sure she'll be okay," I said, but I couldn't really believe it. Tess was much to naïve, and she might not even notice what Spike was trying to push her into until it was too late.

It would have made more sense for me to put him mentally into his little girl headspace before the ball; then there was no way he could hurt her. But I still didn't really know the limitations of his hypnotic suggestions, so there was no way I could know whether such a suggestion would work, or whether he would remember being triggered. But I had done the best I could. I'd spoken to him this morning, and let him know that I was worried about Tess. And I'd told him that her parents had been worried about the ball; that they had told me she always felt burned out after big social events. I hadn't said it outright, but I was sure he would be able to see what I was getting at. I'd dropped enough hints to let him know that the first time Tess showed any signs of stress, she would be craving an excursion into littlespace; and that she would try to show that using whatever means she could if she was too embarrassed to talk about it.

Tess would be safe, I was pretty confident. If he tried to go too far, she would have an accident; and he would only take that to mean that she was eager to be a baby again, overwhelmed by her attempts to act adult. I could be confident that she would behave, even if she had to misbehave a little to get there. And so I could focus on my girlfriend, my Mistress, and whatever mysterious business she had brought for my attention.

"They're good kids," she said. "I'm sure they'll be fine."

We sat quietly and ate our pasta for a couple of minutes, and it felt like a perfect moment. There was just a little tension in the air, but that made me more excited than apprehensive. And even with the coffee table between us, it felt like I was sitting at my Mistress's feet, right where I was supposed to be. I loved her, and I couldn't think of anything that mattered more to me than becoming the sub she wanted.

"So, I've been thinking," Ffrances said, and then paused for a drink. I would have been on the edge of my seat, if I hadn't been sitting on the floor. "About houses. If we're getting married, it seems weird having separate homes. Doesn't it?"

"Yeah," I said, with a slow nod. "Two mortgages, too. I think we could treat ourselves a lot more if we moved in together. Would you like to get a place together? I thought about it... I mean, it was always in the back of my mind. We'd still have to have space for Tess, I promised her parents. Unless we leave it until she's grown up."

"I thought," she said slowly. "Perhaps I could move in here. I mean... My place is only a rental, so it's not really an investment. I've been saving up since I moved in there, thinking that I could buy a place of my own some day. But I always put it off because of all the hassle of moving. But I'm practically living here anyhow, so I could go back once a week, bring over however much stuff fits in the back of the car and then spend a week of spare time working out what I need here, and what I can sell or throw out. The big question is if you want me to move in."

"I think we'd be saving a lot of money on the bills, too," I said, a brief irrelevance. "Of _course_ I want you to live here. I want this to be _our_ house. Our home. Our family. But I think the mortgage payments will be more than you're used to on your place. And the bills too. How do we go about splitting it?"

"Well first, we stop paying interest," she said with a smile. She handed me a bunch of statements with bank logos in the corner. "I told you I'd been saving up to get a place of my own. Well, if I'm here, I don't need that. So we pay off your mortgage, and the place is ours. That's one monthly expense you won't have to face anymore. And we can split the bills down the middle. Gives us both more luxuries. Right?"

"Yeah..." I mumbled. This was the last thing I'd expected, but it seemed she had really done her homework. Her finances were more complex than mine, taking account of whatever introductory offers different banks were advertising as she juggled her savings around, and a whole bunch of bonds that were due to mature at different times. But after an hour of juggling figures, I could see that Ffrances was earning more than I had realised. I was barely four years into a fifteen-year mortgage, but when Ffrances's next batch of savings matured, we would realistically be able to pay that off. Our house; without the bank having any claim on it. And that was almost as exciting as having my fiancée living with me full time. I couldn't believe how well things were going now.