9- and I am your valuable.

“So, I imagine you have never had sex quite like that before?”

Scarlet’s jaw mimicked the question hanging in the air, too stunned to finish putting the chunk of blueberry pancakes in her mouth.

“I’m sorry?” She swallowed hard, putting her fork back to the plate before the abundance of syrup dripped.

“Sex with a dynamic, or BDSM, or whatever you prefer to call it. I got the impression you had been topped, sure, but never dommed.” Emilia continued cutting her own matching stack of blueberry pancakes without breaking eye contact.

Scarlet broke first, glancing down at her half-finished breakfast. She took a nervous sip of coffee trying to delay the inevitable.

“You’re not entirely wrong.”

“A ‘yes or no’ will do, dear.”

“Fine! Yes!” Scarlet hid her face behind one hand, looking away again. She scrambled to deflect somehow. “I’ve never ‘done a BDSM’ as you say. I’ve never hooked up with someone who wanted to be called Mommy.”

Emilia didn’t take the bait. Instead she merely giggled, hand over her mouth, just like the night before. Scarlet couldn’t tell if it was directed at her, or her reaction. Her immediate impulse told her that Emilia was looking down on her. It was the nagging notion in her mind that reminded her how people benefitted from keeping her around to mock her. An eyebrow twitched in frustration, at the idea first, then her own gut for trying to make her go back to that way of thinking. She sighed, and pushed her food around one of Emilia’s nice plates.

Something was different in the way she laughed this morning. Her eyes still lit up, her dainty expression of classical manners were still charming, and she still gave this small sigh of contentment after, like she had to catch her breath. Emilia did everything the same, but Scarlet’s brain wouldn’t stop comparing the two, a certain something missing.

Scarlet refocused her mind.

“Have you? Well, obviously you have. Can I know how many subs you’ve had?” Scarlet was unsure of the etiquette on such matters, and tried to show as much. Was this the same as some dudebro at a party asking about body counts, too invasive and boorish for polite company?

“Many, but none like this,” she simply smiled back at Scarlet, letting the implication wash over her.

“None like…?”

“With a Little. I’m much more familiar with slaves and pets.”

Scarlet gulped. She didn’t know much, but slave and pet sounded ever more intense than ‘Little’. It brought to mind the stereotypical leather gimp. She felt ridiculous in her diaper and oversized shirt. As if confirming her thoughts, Emilia nodded as she sipped and continued.

“Yes, it is exactly what you are imagining. I was the dominatrix with the gimps and PVC puppies, the whole nine yards.”

“Is it ‘kissing and telling’ if I ask how serious those were?”

“Quite serious. As in ‘they let me tattoo them,’ serious.”

Scarlet’s eyes went wide. “That’s a thing?”

“For some. It has the same level of foreboding bad luck that getting your partner’s name tattooed on you does. For the record, it was her idea. Big ownership kink, her.”

“Well now I feel kinda silly.” Scarlet gestured down to her body, further self-conscious by comparison to Emilia’s tattooed ex.

“Why is that?” Emilia looked confused.

“Because my canvas is full already, no more room!”

Comedy was the shield of insecurity, and nothing killed that anxiety for Scarlet like the sound of Emilia’s laughter.

“I’d think it was because you were dressed like a toddler,” Emilia smiled, her laugh lasting through her hand falling away, gracing Scarlet with warmth.

She resolved to be mock offended first, rather than unabashedly yearn for the beautiful woman in front of her. She could do that anytime.

“Forgive me for not having been, I dunno…” Scarlet searched for the right mix of ludicrous and straight forward, given her limited knowledge of Emilia’s trade. “Being chained to a wall? Having your cigarettes put out on me? I’m pretty good at everything leading up to that.”

“Oh, that much I could tell,” Emilia smiled, finishing another bite of pancake and daintily wiping her mouth, “I have no doubt you are a wonderful partner in less…orchestrated scenarios.”

“Your morning-after chat needs work.” Scarlet took another big bite, frustratingly jealous that Emilia was both a great fuck and a great cook. Usually you got lucky to get one or the other. The pancakes were head and shoulders above any other she’d had.

“Oh, I did not mean it as an insult, apologies. I think I threw you into the deep end last night. You were excellent at pleasuring me, dear.”

The praise was oddly comforting, and Scarlet even allowed an internal pat on the back. That was a lot last night, and she still drove Emilia wild despite that pressure.

“Yeah, no one before was like that. I’ve had partners who liked specific things,” Scarlet finally answering the real question, recalling odd dates and flings with a penchant for specific kinds of outfits. In their own way, things like Georgia always wanting to wear stockings when fucking probably counted. “I usually bottom. Some are— were, rather— more aggressive than others. But nothing like that.”

She sipped the hot caffeine and let memories of her ex die in her stomach, away from her heart.

“Something tells me that last one was recent.”

God dammit, Emilia.

“I was in a very serious relationship right before you interviewed me. But I don’t really wanna talk about exes.”

“You sound so serious. I thought I was just the hook-up Mommy?” She gasped in her own mock offense.

God DAMMIT, Emilia. Scarlet hadn’t been read this well in a long time. It did not help her suppress memories of her ex. She finished her cup of coffee and set it back down.

Emilia did not let her regain her composure. “Are you asking me for something more serious?”

She lost all coherent thought, electricity in her brain not reaching her mouth. She started and stopped a dozen ideas, stammering, until she nodded dumbly.

“I would like that, too. We can talk specifics afterwards,” Emilia winked, standing while taking the empty cups and her own finished plate over to the sink. “You also wanted to talk about boundaries? I’d like to outline what would be feasible and reasonable and…enjoyable.” Emilia’s lips curled into another predatory smirk, hidden almost immediately by her own coffee cup. “And, it will help me eliminate a few options that we will not enjoy.”

“Umm, I think it would help me a lot, yeah.” Scarlet was feeling exposed again, still embarrassed at her panic earlier that morning.

“More than fair, dear. I think the first thing is I can host you pretty indefinitely this weekend, but I think Sunday I need to do errands. You are more than welcome to turn me down for those.”

Scarlet read the statement for what it was, sex is great but we can’t be glued to the hip this quickly.

She was grateful, having the same impulse. She recycled the excuse, doing her part to help the planet.

“I do really need more groceries and…home goods type stuff. I didn’t really bring anything with me like that in the move.”

“So I’ll drop you off Sunday morning? Lovely.”

Good, time limit established. She only had to perform until then, after which she could decompress. She’d done it for longer with other dates that ended up laying multiple days. But those dates didn’t land me in adult diapers with cute prints. Scarlet took the final bite of her breakfast, grateful for the space.

“The next thing I’d like to iron out,” Emilia began, taking the final dish to the sink, “is exactly how little you are.”

The words hit Scarlet’s ear wrong, and the confusion showed on her face.

“Oh, right. I forget you are new to this. So ‘how little’ a Little is tends to mean the ‘age’ they play.” Emilia finished rinsing the dishes, and returned to the breakfast bar.

“Ok. Um.” The new submissive struggled with her choice of words. “It's been a minute since I learned about child development.”

“Oh, throw that all out,” Emilia scoffed, like the notion was ridiculous. “Not to knock the other Littles I know, but they do not know jack or shit about actual Child Development. It’s more…a fantasy, or an idealized version of it. A feeling.”

Scarlet couldn’t help but laugh, hearing Emilia speak so frankly. “So I'm not breaking any rules if I don’t know when a kid should be playing with hard toys versus soft toys?” She sighed in relief at Emilia’s nod.

“It will give me a frame of reference on how to more specifically I should treat you. I can give you suggestions?”

Scarlet nodded enthusiastically. “I’d have no idea where to start.”

“Just remember, there are degrees to being little. It cannot be binary, there’s too many variables. You can want some things that are ‘more little’ and some things ‘less little’ and just say whatever age you want. For example, do you want to crawl, or walk? Somewhere in between? Think as small of a baby as you can, a newborn, and tell me what you do not want.”

Scarlet blushed, the image of herself swaddled like a newborn, impossibly small, bright in her mind. That, of course, meant a severe lack of agency, and not in the way she had enjoyed last night.

“I don’t like the idea of crawling,” she started, letting her imagination work through what sounded un-fun. “Same with eating mush. I want to eat actual food, and being forced to eat gruel doesn’t sound sexy.”

Emilia nodded sagely. “Both are sexy to someone, I am sure. I am less interested in how you’re fed than in embarrassing you just the right amount. Besides, it is not very practical to have you crawl around the house.”

Scarlet’s face went red, a slight smile forming as she fidgeted with her hands.

“Go on, dear. I did not mean to interrupt your thought.” Emilia leaned on the bar, chin in her hand. Her eyes shined as she locked on to Scarlet, a look of tenderness, eagerness to understand.

Scarlet tried to calm herself, but excitement at the thought of custom tailoring their activities to her overwhelmed any attempt to be coy.

“I don’t like the idea of bottles, I don’t think they’re cute. Sippy cups, sure. Juice boxes, sure. But like classic glass bottles? Couldn’t be me. And I want to be able to talk!” Her thoughts poured out of her as soon as they solidified in her head, her face still slightly flush from admitting such opinions that didn’t exist even a few days prior.

Emilia smiled softly, then shook her head, almost imperceptibly, as if changing her mind on something. Before Scarlet could ask, Emilia spoke. “But baby talk is okay?”

Scarlet nodded. Emilia had a penchant for making her lose her nerve.

“So at least a toddler, because of sippy cups, walking, and talking. Yet you still like diapers, so not too big…” Emilia’s eyes wandered for a moment, Scarlet could tell she was focused on puzzling out the just right.

“What if…” She hesitated, not wanting to distract Emilia. "What if I wanna be big and still wear them when we play?”

“Oh? Like a grade schooler who has accidents?”

“No…not that big…” The feelings weren’t tangible fantasies yet, and that added to the complication of explaining them. She only had the vague shapes and impressions of the answers Emilia sought, like paintings on a wall, seen through unfocused eyes in a dark room. “But the idea of school still sounds cute? I can’t imagine involving it, like logistically, but…”

“Well it’s not impossible for a preschooler to still need to be checked every now and again.”

Scarlet liked to think of herself as having a good poker face typically. Judging by how hot her face felt, she may have to re-think that. Emilia’s face lit up with glee at such an obvious reaction, and Scarlet felt that same notion from Emilia’s giggling before. There was a change, a certain something in the way this face was so close yet tangibly different to her predatory grins, in ways that compounded exponentially until it made Scarlet’s heart warm.

“That struck a chord! Does that sound good, princess? Mommy has to talk to your pretty teacher and explain you still have accidents sometimes, need extra attention? A big girl who still likes being Mommy’s baby?”

“...I think that works.” She began fidgeting again, unable to contain a bright smile. “So…three or four years old, but…”

“But behind on your potty training, yes. You like to say you are a big girl, but I think you just like the attention Mommy gives you while you are in diapers.”

The implications finally clicked in Scarlet’s head, making her turn red for a different reason altogether.

“Wait, no. I didn’t mean I want to…use them.” Even just saying it out loud made her squirm with revulsion. “I agreed with the impression, not the specifics.”

“Really? If I recall, that is not what was happening in your little video.” Emilia’s retort caught Scarlet like a punch to the chest. It wasn’t until then she had considered that’s what was happening, and thus the primary impression Emilia had of her kink.

“I didn’t even know this kink existed until like a week ago, that’s just the last thing I saw before I got bored!” She lied through her teeth, more desperate than she had been in a long time. Her cheeks matched her name and she gave Emilia pleading eyes.

“Hmm…” Emilia considered, hand returning to her chin. “How about this; we can try it at some point, and if you like it we can consider it a regular activity. If not, then no harm, no foul.” Emilia’s grin took on just a tinge of the menace from last night, “But I get the impression you would do whatever it takes to be my good girl.”

Scarlet felt shivers down her spine from Emilia’s words. They made her head feel cloudy, too fuzzy to form nuanced thoughts. On some level, in the back of her brain, she was uneasy, but couldn’t put her finger on it.

“I…I guess that sounds good? You mean it? If I don’t like it, that doesn’t-”

"Scarlet, we are doing this because you want me to embarrass you and we both want to cum. If it goes against that, then we drop it." Emilia winked, dimples out in full force. Scarlet swallowed hard, considering.

“Then as long as that’s a blanket rule, I think that I’m game.”

“Excellent. Now, how about we write down some specifics, up for renegotiation whenever?” Emilia reached for her phone, unlocking and opening a blank note for them to work from.

The couple were determined, locked in on their task, sharing in something Scarlet could only compare to collaborative writing in university and, well, really great sex. The conversation was laughter, and eager contributions, give and take that felt symbiotic, strong because of the connection blooming between them. Together, they wrote out a trial set of rules, Scarlet in turn grinning widely and shyly blushing. Even Emilia’s veneer of the cool, collected, expert domme cracked occasionally, a gleeful smirk of eagerness peaking through, matched with a twinkle in her golden eyes as she reframed rules in her expert legalese.

Finally, the sun high in the sky, morning dew dried and the rest of the world even more bustling and busy, the shook hands, a wink and a kiss sealing the deal.

1) Emilia will never put Scarlet in harm’s way or expose her to any unconsenting parties.

2) If Scarlet breaks any rule, she is to accept her punishment in contrition.

3) While at work, work comes first. Both parties will refer to each other by last names and ‘Ms.’ to denote when is not an acceptable time to play.

4) If Scarlet is being treated like a toddler, she is to only refer to Emilia by titles or nicknames, defaulting to ‘Mommy’.

5) If Emilia dresses Scarlet, she is expected to stay in those clothes until given explicit permission or direction otherwise.

6) Scarlet gets three warnings on any of these rules per day. Valid punishment: Spanking, escalating in proportion to the rule broken.

7) These rules cannot be broken except in extreme circumstances and in good faith. In such circumstances, Rule Seven must be explicitly invoked.

8) Scarlet will not give Emilia orders nor backtalk Emilia’s orders. Punishments include: Baby talk only, Pacifier ‘Mute’ Button, gags, and mouth soapings.

a) General Accepted Punishments include but are not limited to time out, restraints, spankings, edging, orgasm denial, humiliation.

b) Under no circumstances are things like ‘Silent treatments’ an acceptable punishment. Both parties reserve the right to update this list.

“Oh,” Emilia chimed, distracted from sending the note to Scarlet to have her own copy. “Before I forget, there is one last point to address.”

They had moved from the breakfast bar, lounging on Emilia’s plush couches. Long forgotten was Scarlet’s self-consciousness about her diaper as she lay against Emilia’s shoulder, looking up at her. That is, except when it was brought up in their negotiations. She had been her excitable, eager self for the duration, save for the blushing brought on by it.

Now, Scarlet raised an eyebrow, unsure of any last-minute additions that would have to be playfully litigated back and forth as they had all morning. She was excited at the prospect of their current arrangement, what else could Emilia want? She hated how much her curiosity drove her when she was like this.

“You said you wanted something more serious?” Emilia smiled, batting her eyelashes at Scarlet, stopping her heart.

“Oh.” Scarlet’s heart resumed beating, pounding in her ears. Would asking ruin things? Would NOT asking ruin this? Her eyes flicked back and forth, mind racing to consider.

“Scarlet. I want you to ask me specifically. Use your big girl words.” It wasn’t quite a command, but close enough. Scarlet felt her chest get warm, embers of last night started to smolder.

An epiphany came, not like a lightbulb, but a spark of a struck match that briefly illuminated the inside of her heart, like a dark cave for Scarlet to read what was already painted inside. Just as quickly, the images faded back to darkness. The certain something, the very noticeable change in Emilia that she couldn’t quite articulate.

At some point since their night in bed, her paramour had shed her persona, the heavy mantle of Emilia, the Kinky Cupid, the Expert Domme, the Rich Lawyer. Scarlet saw how she wore her own skin, her laugh, and affectionate smiles. Of course there was still an element of the Domme, and of the highly educated and headstrong woman. Those were likely inseparable from her core as much as her brain was.

She could hear the effortlessness in her laugh. Emilia was enjoying Scarlet’s presence, her company, her jokes, not just starring as Mommy Enjoying Scarlet’s Humiliation, no matter how much of a side benefit that was.

Scarlet’s nerves lit with new fear, a dawning in her mind as her previous questions were now burdened with this new realization. This was no longer a great evening that she wanted to become a regular thing. This was now a woman showing her true self, and Scarlet might just ruin that trust with her selfishness. Was this how things were always going to play out? Was she already doing it, and just unaware until this very moment?

Emilia was being genuine with Scarlet. She wanted her there.

There is terror in removing your plating. To letting beaten metal armor expose you.

Scarlet owed her the same.

“I want you to be my girlfriend, too.” She hadn’t even told her mouth to say the words. She was frightened at how often her brain defaulted to blurting out how she really felt around Emilia.

The words hung in the air again, and Emilia’s grin grew wider, while somehow retaining the cocky smirk that made Scarlet’s pulse race.

“I would love to.”