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She was a little. He was positive of that now, although he wasn't sure if she knew. She was in touch with a lot of aspects of herself, but this was definitely something she avoided and denied herself. Given how long it had taken her to realize other things about herself, he wouldn't be surprised if she didn't know.
He loved the little side of her, the same as he loved her when she was big. He wanted her to feel safe with him. To get as fully into the headspace as she could with him, though he suspected it wasn't a full age regression. He had done a little research and knew it wasn't good for littles to force themselves to be big. He didn't want her to force herself to be anything around him.
He'd been slowly working to get her to her bittiest for the last few months. She were most frequently little right after she woke up. He had helped her to realize that she wasn't just a grouch in the morning; she needed a slower start with less stimulation. She didn't do well with mornings. She did best when she were woken gently, with tea ready, and a half hour or so to spare for cuddling and general waking up.
It had not only done wonders for her mental health and general attitude; it had helped her to bond and become less nervous around him. It took some time, but she finally understood that she could just be around him. She didn’t have to be on or talkative. she could just exist and he still loved her. Mornings spent together were quiet, cozy, and warm. She would often cuddle up to him as he read the news or wrote his to-do list; it was a favorite part of the day for them both. He was so incredibly touched that she trusted him so. He knew that very few people (especially men) got the privilege of seeing her with her defenses down.
She was simultaneously very cuddly, and very hesitant to touch. Having been together this long, she were definitely less tense, but he still had to initiate physical contact if it was outside of the routine. She only tried new things when she thought he was preoccupied. Usually it would happen when they were watching a movie together. He could always tell when she was going to push a little farther; she would be a little stiff and distracted, and would frequently, "subtly", look up at him. He, in turn, always stayed as relaxed and seemingly oblivious as possible to see what she would do. It was usually some variation of her wrapping yourself further in his arms. Sometimes she would tangle their legs together in a new way.
He thought that it was absolutely adorable. He loved that she was trying to start things, even if it was slowly. He knew that she loved feeling small around him. That was one of the most integral parts of being a little and a submissive, feeling like your partner was big and strong and could protect you.
So he gauged, little by little, how she reacted to things that made her feel small. He dressed her in his big shirts that slipped off her shoulder and fell mid-thigh. He put things on high shelves that she couldn't reach so he could dwarf her from behind. He gave her bear hugs, usually made her the little spoon, and would put her between him and the wall when they cuddled.
She melted. Every time.
She tried not to be obvious about it, but when he caught her off guard he could see it. She would sink into him, or shiver, and would often give him a bashful smile. Sometimes it happened even when she was expecting, it seemed she wasn't as concerned about pushing down her reactions. This all gave him the confidence to try something new.
There was one thing he hadn't quite done yet, that he really wanted to do, and suspected she would like. He wanted to carry her. He loved holding her on his lap, his chest. He wanted to cradle her all the time. He knew she was anxious about it though. She were overly aware of herself most of the time, she didn't want to hurt him or cause his limbs to fall asleep. He was much bigger than she was, but she was fairly tall, and a bit chubby, and was full of worst case scenarios.
She would let him pull her onto his lap; but she had to be sleepy, or only partially on him to stay for more than a few minutes. He had been slowly prepping her, getting her to lay partially on him more frequently. She was fine if her upper body or her lower body was on him. She only became nervous when it was her entire body.
It was the first night of crash week. She had a couple of sleeping disorders. His strict schedule helped her sleep more, but she still had trouble getting more than 4-6 hours of sleep. The longer she slept, the more restless it was, but he had her lie down with him to start calming you down consistently. Crash week was when the sleep deprivation caught up to her and she slept earlier and longer. Since his schedule was implemented, they only happened every two or three months instead of every three to four weeks.
He could tell that tonight was the first night of crash week, which meant she would be sleepy and pliable. Perfect for his plans. Tonight, he would carry her.
It was a regular movie night, but he chose a slow documentary she had seen at least twice, got her fuzziest blanket, and gave her soup for dinner. Soup was one of her comfort foods and it tended to make her a little sleepy and a little, well, little.
Sure enough she started nodding off around 9:30 instead of her usual 1:30. Her head lolled onto his chest, and her body relaxed against his. He had tried to get her into a position that would make it easier. She was against his chest, a bit diagonally, with one leg in between his. He nuzzled your head and cooed, earning sweet little hum from her.
He let her doze for about 20 minutes as he slowly brought her legs to either side of him, and gently brought her arms up over his shoulders.
"Are you ready for bed Kitten?" She nodded into his shirt, and so he braced hands beneath her bottom and stood slowly. He walked her over to the stairs and paused a moment, rocking back and forth just a bit. It took her a moment, but she soon realized she was in the air, and her head jolted up.
"Shh babygirl, it's bedtime." She whimpered and shook her head lightly, "Put me down please." She were stiff and clearly afraid to be dropped, he firmly but gently pushed her back towards his chest with one hand. "Sweetheart you are too tired to walk up the stairs all by yourself. Lay back now."
He locked stern eyes with hers, so she begrudgingly laid back and wrapped her arms and legs around him in a death grip.
He carefully carried her up the stairs, and about halfway up, she loosened up a little bit. When he made it to their room, he swayed back and forth, watching as her eyes drooped and closed. Up until then, his plan had been to carry her to bed, but she was taking it so well and in all honesty, he loved it more than he had anticipated. She was the most precious thing in the world to him and he loved protecting her. He loved holding and treasuring her, caring for her, and making sure she was happy and safe.
He figured holding her a little longer would be fine. He knew she loved it when he sang to her, especially with his lower bass. He ended up singing to her quietly, and by the time half an hour had passed, she was fully relaxed and asleep against him. He carefully got into bed with her draped on his chest, and nodded off to sleep, still cradling her in his arms.