Tʜᴇᴀ's Lɪᴛᴛʟᴇ : Aᴄᴇ Eᴠᴀɴ

[Two]

Even though Ace has accepted me as his Caregiver and himself as a Little, he's still not completely okay with all of this. I can tell something's still bugging him from the inside. I just wish he would just talk to me, but I can't pressure him. It will only overwhelm his headspace and I don't want him to react too strongly.

I glance over at him as he watches a show on tv while I'm preparing dinner for us. I'm not sure about his headspace age, but the way he can barely walk, I'd guess it'd be about 10-18 months old. He's such a tiny baby, my heart melts just watching him. Even if he doesn't let me smother him like I want to. It will take time and I'm willing to be patient, for him. For us.

"Baby, dinner's ready!" I call him, putting our plates on the table.

Since he doesn't want to be treated like an actual baby yet, I got him a bowl of pumpkin soup and nuggets. Hopefully it won't upset his stomach considering his Little age.

I take a sit and wait for him to join me. I see him getting off the couch and start walking to the dining area, holding out his arms and supporting himself by other furnitures as he waddles over to me. I stifle a coo and pretend like I'm not watching him. He finally makes it and plops on the chair, letting out a breath of relief.

"You know you can ask me for any sort of help, right Sugar?"

He only nods, picking up the spoon and barely managing to shove a spoonful in his mouth, which ends up being a messy bite as the soup gets smeared all over his face. He puts down the spoon with a huff and looks up at me defeatedly.

I still pretend to not notice as I keep eating my own dinner of spaghetti and meat balls. He stays silent, contemplating for a few seconds then finally decides on himself, probably too shy to speak out. So I let him take his time and ask. He does.

"Help me, pwease."

My heart squeezes at his adorable babyish voice and I finally look up, softly smiling at his messy face.

"Of course, baby. I'm so proud of you for asking."

I walk around the table and sit on the chair next to him. I don't give him a chance to protest as I pick him up and put him on my lap, sideways, so I can see his face and feed him. Chuckling at his pouty lips, I wipe his face with a napkin.

"Such a messy baby you are, aren't you? My sweet messy baby." I coo and boop his nose to which he giggles a little but quickly shuts up after realizing what he had done. "It's okay to express, Acey." I assure and take a clean spoonful of the soup, feeding it to him. Thankfully, he doesn't protest and I don't have to make an airplane to force him to eat.

After he's finished half bowl of the soup and a few pieces of nuggets, he shakes his head, not wanting more. I don't persist and stand up with him on my hip, walking over to the sink to clean his mouth.

"I can do myself." He mumbles, most like grumbles as I dry his face and put him down on his feet. "I know you can, but baby, you don't have to fight it. The more you fight the more it will hurt your mental health and I'd hate it."

He exhales deeply and nods, letting me pick him back up as I kiss his cheek, and walk him to the couch, grabbing a glass of water with a straw inside it. He doesn't talk much, and I'm dying to know what's going on inside his pretty head. But I am sure that he's slipping the more I'm coddling him. So it should be a good sign.

"Do you want to watch cartoons? Or want me to read you a book?"

He shrugs, sipping water through the straw. I put the glass away and turn him around on my lap so he's straddling my thighs and our eyes lock. He chews on his lips and tries to avoid my gaze but I'm not having any of it. I cup his face and stare deeply into his silvery eyes, stroking my thumbs over the smooth skin and he's slowly relaxing, leaning against my touch. A soft sigh leaves his lips and I smile warmly.

"I want you to know you're safe here with me. If you agree to all of this, which you have to at some point otherwise the social workers would assign you to someone else, but I promise if you agree on this, I'd be the happiest on earth to be able to take care of you. Because baby, you're not only a Little, you're my boyfriend! Of course I want you. I'd be broken if someone snatched you away from me."

My eyes get a bit teary—I can't even think of my life without Ace in it. He has my whole world wrapped around his little finger and I will not trade him for anything!

He looks at me with glossy eyes and slowly leans in with his head on my chest, sniffling. I put my arms around his smaller frame, rubbing his back up and down and kiss the top of his head. At first I thought he had fallen asleep, or isn't in the mood to talk so I just hold him. But he suddenly speaks up, bringing me back to the reality as I was focusing on the show playing on tv.

"I do want this." His voice low and steady, but he doesn't lift his head up. "But I'm scared, Thea. I'm scared how all of this will work. How will we continue college and how are people gonna react seeing me like this? It gives me anxiety!"

"Hey, hey, bubs. Calm down. Listen to me." I guide his head up to hold his face again, planting a long kiss on his pouty lips till he's calmed down and breathing properly. "You don't have to worry about anything, okay? We'll figure it out. Everything. But together, okay?"

Sniffling some more, he nods again, his arms going around my neck as he nuzzles there, inhaling my scent. He has always loved smelling me, saying it comforts him. I'm glad with whatever he's comfortable with.

"There's so many Littles out there. Just like you. And I'm sure they'll be so happy to make friends with you, hm? About college, we'll get you admitted to the Littles' classes and mama will be right there, studying in her own classes. The rest, we will figure it out when we get to that bridge. Does that sound good?"

"Good." He replies positively and yawns loudly.

"Guess my baby's sleepy."

I lightly pat his bum and he whines, nuzzling further in my neck as I continue to pat and soon enough he's snoring away. I smile and turn the tv off, getting up with a sleepy baby in my arms. I walk up the stairs to my bedroom, gently lying him down in the middle and put pillows around him so he doesn't fall off the bed.

Tucking him in, I kiss his head and scamper off to the washroom, quickly finishing my night routine so I can go back to my baby.

Climbing back in bed, I put aside one row of the pillows and pull Ace close to me, then grab my phone off the nightstand.

I open my Notes app and start typing down all the things I'd need to buy for Ace. Tomorrow, we'd have to go shopping. It will also be the first time for him going out after I found out his classification.

Hopefully it won't be too overwhelming for him.

☃︎•••~~~•••☃︎

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