Recovery Period

Chapter 27

"What do you want to watch?" Raina asked as she picked up the remote from the ottoman in front of them. "More cartoons or something else?"

Nico shrugged and let her eyes close as she laid against Raina's chest. Her heartbeat was so calming, it's all Nico wanted to listen to.

"You sure you don't care?"

Nico nodded.

"Suit yourself," Raina said, navigating to a true crime documentary she'd been watching before Nico's arrival. Before she got too settled, she sent a quick text to Auggie, asking him to stop by with some crutches after his shift. As she put her phone down, she spotted Nico's. "Hey, Nico, do you want your phone?"

Nico opened her eyes and sat up a little bit. "Yeah, actually," she said, thanking Raina when she handed it over. She laid back in Raina's arms and scrolled through her notifications, replied to Kylie who was checking for signs of life, and to some others who were wondering how her first night stand went with the hot doctor.

Raina smiled at Nico's return to their prior position, indicating that she was as comfortable as Raina was. She gently trailed her fingers up and down Nico's arm as the girl played on her phone. She was finding it difficult to focus on the show she was watching, but she didn't want to turn it off and spook Nico so she let it play on.

Eventually Nico put her phone down and came back into her body a bit more, remembering where she was and who she was with. Raina's heartbeat returned to her ear and she yawned a little in response to the comfort. How did Raina smell so good first thing in the morning? And right after a long shift at the urgent care? What was this witchcraft?

Raina was watching the end of the documentary, though she had basically missed the entire last half by focusing solely on the girl in her arms. She felt Nico wriggle a bit and looked down, once again finding Nico's thumb in her mouth. She smiled and leaned over to the side table, opening the drawer with one hand. She rummaged through the drawer until she found was she was looking for: a clean pacifier in a small black case. She offered it to Nic without comment.

Nico took her thumb out of her mouth and accepted the little box wordlessly, turning it over in her hands a few times. She clicked it open and felt her stomach flip over in response. The purple plastic made her immensely nervous, though she knew she'd used one the day before. She was still anxious to just...take it. Her half-slip with her thumb was different, somehow.

Raina quietly watched Nico and groaned internally. She's thinking too hard again. How is her thumb any different? Raina thought. Littles were often afraid of their own shadows, but Nico was a new breed entirely. She seemed scared to move, to breathe.

Nico closed the case again and looked up at Raina. "I don't... I'm not sure I... uhm," she stuttered, blushing and looking away before she could really say much of anything.

Raina frowned. She felt the urge to make Nico slip again, to just get her over her fear and get them to where they wanted to be. It still didn't seem quite right, forcing the issue. She didn't want Nico to feel manipulated but this was painful. She placed a hand on Nico's and used the other to pat her outer thigh gently. "Don't stress, kiddo. Maybe later, yeah?" She turned her hand palm up and Nico placed the case in her palm, though she was slow to do so.

"Yeah," Nico said softly.

"But you need to keep that thumb out of that cute little mouth of yours. It's not clean and it's bad for your teeth. Deal?" Raina asked as she set the case on the side table. She felt Nico nod and pecked the top of her head in response. "Good girl," she cooed, chuckling as Nico melted into her arms.

Nico's brain felt funny and she squirmed a little, ultimately snuggling in closer to Raina's chest. Raina's arms came up around her and squeezed, making her giggle and grunt a little.

"Tighter you said?" Raina asked, squeezing her harder.

Nico laughed and squirmed.

"Tighter still? Are you sure? Okay then!" She squeezed even harder and held on until Nico was out of breath from giggling. She finally released and laughed at Nico's limp body unfolding from her arms. "You good?" Raina asked, smiling down at Nico, who was now fully splayed out across her lap.

Nico grinned and nodded, stretching out across the couch for a few seconds. She jumped a little as Raina rested her hand on her stomach, fighting the initial impulse to move her hand. She didn't love people touching her midsection usually, but it felt nice enough so she left it alone.

Raina smiled at Nico's relaxed expression and let her eyes wander down the rest of Nico's body, taking note of how loosely her shorts fit. She was surprised they hadn't fallen off completely. Even now, they sat below Nico's hips and Raina was a little displeased at just how visible those bones were. Nico seriously needed to put on some weight.

Nico, unaware of Raina's observations, reconsidered the pacifier. It was so easy to play with Raina, much easier than it had been with anyone else. She'd never actually met another person in the community, she'd always had a partner and introduced them to it herself. Obviously that hadn't panned out super well. It was somewhat comforting to know that based on what Raina had said, Nico wasn't going to surprise her with anything she was into.

"What's going on in that busy little head of yours, hm?" Raina asked, tapping Nico's nose with her finger.

Nico's eyes focused on Raina and she considered what to say. "Just that I've never actually met a...uh...m-mommy before. It's...nice," Nico responded, tripping a bit over the intimate word.

"You've never met one? Haven't you had a mommy before?"

"Yeah, but they were my girlfriends first. I told them about my weird stuff later on when I kinda had to," Nico replied with a shrug.

"Weird stuff?" Raina asked with a tilt of her head.

"You know...this," Nico gestured between the two of them.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what you're referring to."

Nico groaned and sat up in Raina's lap. "Like, the...stuff we we've been doing. Cuddling and whatever."

Raina furrowed her brow, even more confused than she had been a moment ago. "You think cuddling is weird?"

"Not all cuddling, just this kind. You know?"

"I don't."

This was frustrating. How could she explain it any better without having to say something embarrassing? "The...stuff. Like when you carry me or call me 'good'."

"Oh, you think being little is weird. How progressive of you," Raina replied with an eye roll. Did littles without self-loathing even exist? She certainly hadn't encountered one. Even most submissives struggled with that, but Nico seemed to really have some shame.

"What's that supposed to mean?" Nico asked, looking at Raina.

Raina lifted Nico off of her lap and sat her on the couch nearby before answering her. "If you think your urges are weird, what does that mean you think of mine, Nico? I want to play with you as much as you seem to want to play with me, but you won't let us because you're too scared. I've got half a mind to make you slip anyway so we can actually get somewhere."

"Make me?"

"Yes. Make you. I can make you into a puddle on the floor if I want to, Nico. But I'm trying to play nicely," Raina replied with a sharp tone. She had to admit she was frustrated with Nico dragging her feet.

"You can't make me do anything," Nico snapped, feeling defensive all of a sudden.

Raina stood up and turned around, getting in Nico's face. "Try me."

Nico sat up taller and stared directly into Raina's eyes, the brat fully in control now. "Fuck you."

And then, Raina saw red.

~~~~~~~

Hi all! I know this is the first time I've ever spoken to you guys directly, but we're 27 chapters in and things are finally starting to heat up. I read all of your comments and I'm sorry I took such a long hiatus, life happened and finding my way back to this headspace was really hard, but I'm back now!

I hoping to do daily updates whenever possible and I'd love to hear from you! What do you want to see? Let me know <3