Retreat (ddlb)

20

BTW I just added a whole bunch to chapter 19, make sure to go back and read that!

The two movies that ended up being chosen were the Lion King and Jumanji. Ezra tried to be casual when he asked if I wanted to go upstairs with him, but it was easy to tell he just wanted to baby me more. Thankfully, he was quick to dismiss the idea when I asked to watch Jumanji instead. 

I stuck my tongue out at Darien when Ezra and Jayden weren't looking, flashing my tongue piercing, just to be cocky.  Him and I looked at each other for a moment, him having understood immediately what me and him had been doing. "Wow. Still having meetings in the big stall even after being partnered? There's no imagination to what you'll do when you move in together." He smirked, wiggling his eyebrows at me. I smirked back, before realizing what he said. "Wait, move in?" He nodded, realizing he would have to explain. "Yeah, after you reach some point in your partnership you move into the partner dorms in one of the buildings over here." I blinked at this, trying to imagine me and Ezra in a dorm together, feeling my cheeks heat up. "How soon do we do that?" I asked him, hoping it was somewhat optional, at least for now. "Uh, I mean definitely not until you regress. It's almost only for the purpose of him being able to take care of you better." He shrugged his answer, seeming to know I needed reassurance. I was thinking hard about this, trying to picture living in a dorm with Ezra, and him taking care of me that whole time, maybe no breaks. Suddenly I was wishing I did more research on this back home before they took away my internet access.

When Ezra turned back around to look at me, I was still deep in thought. "Hey, you good?" I felt his shoulder bump mine, making my head clear. I nodded, not planning on telling him what I was thinking about. I don't want to disappoint him if it's something he was already anticipating. 

Soon we were all sat on a foam mattress together, with me and Darien in the middle and Ezra and Jayden on either side of us. I was honestly quite comfortable in my PJ's, with the padded cushions behind us and multiple blankets thrown on our laps, along with the fact I was leaning against Ezra. Which I was trying not to think about too much.

I was enjoying the movie with the others, occasionally grabbing some popcorn from our shared bucket, when I noticed Darien tensing up while watching the movie. I peered at him, trying to see what was wrong when I slowly noticed he was looking kind of scared. My suspicions were confirmed when he jumped and buried his face in Jayden's shoulder at a more violent scene, making me realize he had probably gone younger. I was still, not doing anything yet because I honestly was unsure of what to do around kids or littles. I was thankful when I saw Jayden slowly wrap his arm around him, not taking his eyes off the screen until he leaned down to whisper in Darien's ear, making him nod after a few seconds. 

"We're gonna be upstairs." Jayden whispered this to us, but not after standing them both up and wrapping a blanket around Darien's shoulders, who was hugging into his side, face buried. Ezra and I nodded, watching them go before going back to the movie. My ears started to burn when I realized I was all alone with Ezra under the blankets. I froze a little bit when I felt his arm slowly come up to wrap around me, with his hand resting at my hip under the covers. 

"Is this ok?" I felt at ease when I gave a small nod, still watching the screen though also not actually paying attention. After I was more comfortable, I let myself burrow my back into his embrace, pulling the blankets up further to my chest, feeling content. 

We continued to sit like this, getting back into watching the movie until it was over. I felt a little bit sad when it ended, because I knew Ms. Sammy would probably make all of us littles go back to our cabin because of our "bedtime." I felt pissed when my assumptions were confirmed, with Ezra promptly standing up and then reaching out his hand for him to pull me up. I took it begrudgingly, not wanting to leave. 

"Oh, c'mon bud, I'm sure you're tired." I glared at him, not appreciating his baby tone. He seemed to get the hint when he rolled his eyes and changed his demeanor a little bit. I decided communication was probably something he wanted though, so I figured I would just tell him. "Uh, can you not call me bud? I know you're supposed to, but it just kind of pisses me off a bit when you talk to me like I'm five or something." I said this not looking at him, knowing he probably wouldn't greatly appreciate it. Thankfully, to my slight surprise, he gave me a small smile and nodded, looking a little sheepish. "Yeah. I'm sorry, I wasn't really thinking about it. I didn't mean to push you." I returned the small smile and nodded before leaning against him with my shoulder. 

"Uh, wait here one second." I nodded and stopped leaning on him as he walked over to Ms. Sammy across the room, who was currently dealing with getting the exhausted littles together to take to the cabin. I became incredibly curious as I watched him talk to her for a minute before she glanced at me and nodded and he turned back to walk over to me. "What did you say to her?" I eyed him suspiciously, waiting for an answer. "I asked her if I could take a walk with you before I take you to your cabin. You up for it?" I considered for about one second before nodding and walking with him towards the door. On our way out I saw a passed out Darien... in the arms of Jayden who was carrying him over to the other littles. I stared for a moment before following Ezra outside. 

We had been walking for a few minutes mostly in silence before he spoke. "Uh, so I just wanted to talk... about something. Sorry." I turned to look at him, feeling suddenly nervous. He saw my expression I guess and gave me a small smile. "Nothing bad, I just... I don't know. I wanted to talk about... helping you? You know... regress?" I turned my head back to the path and waited for him to speak again, realizing I was just waiting for this conversation to happen, considering we were partnered now. 

"Yeah?" I still wasn't looking at him as we were walking until he thankfully spoke again. " I know it's soon and I don't want to rush you or anything but I just kinda wanted to start doing one small thing, y'know, to help." He paused. "But, I just want to let you know when I talk to you like you're younger it's not because I think you are or because I'm looking down on you or something. It's kind of to help put you in that space, if that makes sense? I think it would be helpful to do it more, even, if that's something you're open to...?" I glanced up at him, and saw his cheeks were slightly pink even. 

I thought about this for a moment, and made the surprising realization that I didn't totally hate when he did it... and that's probably why I get so pissed off when he catches me off guard with it. "Uh-Uhm... Yeah. Sure." I felt my ears burn as he looked at me, looking skeptical. "What? Really?" I nodded, my eyes trailing around. "I- I mean... yeah. It's not... that ba- that big of a deal." I stammered my answer, feeling stupid. "It's not that what?" He had his eyebrows raised and an amused grin on his face. I smiled and pushed him jokingly, making him laugh a little. "No, no, I kinda want to hear what you said." He wiggled his eyebrows, making me scoff. God, I was really going to say this. 

"I... I don't know. It's different." He nodded, more serious now. "Just... don't do it in front of other people. It's... kinda embarrassing." My face was heated now and I was talking quieter. "Understood. I want to take this at your pace..." I leaned against him now as we walked, the tiredness becoming more present. "Thanks..." 

We were quiet for a minute before he changed our direction back to the cabins. "C'mon, sleepyhead." He grinned and I scoffed but didn't argue. 

When we reached my cabin the others were already inside, the lights from the windows pouring out onto the dark grass. "Alright, I'll see you tomorrow. 'Night." He ruffled my hair and I gave a small goodnight before walking up the stairs and going inside. 

Upon walking in I could see that the overhead lights were off with only some bedside lamps lit and a lot of the boys already in bed, others getting tucked in. I went to my dresser and got my change of clothes and headed to the bathroom where the rest of them were getting ready for bed. I decided I felt gross and I asked one of the male leaders if I could take a shower. So I made it quick while he sat in their with me, a couple other boys also taking one upon noticing. Afterwards I washed my face and brushed my teeth before going to get into bed, where I saw Darien laying in his bed, thumb in his mouth, listening to the leaders that was sitting and reading a bedtime story in a chair in the middle of the room. I walked by his bed, which was next to mine, and patted his arm. He sleepily looked up and waved at me before turning back to the story. I smiled back and climbed into my own bed, turning over to face the wall. Definitely not listening to the bedtime story.