Beth: Can I come upstairs?
Val: Sure. I have a couple things to talk to you about.
Beth: Cool. I'll be up in a minute.
Beth grabbed her jacket and put her hair in a quick braid. She went upstairs to Val's apartment. They were sitting on the couch with a coffee mug and a newspaper.
"Where's everyone else?" she asked, taking off her shoes.
"Roman's at school, Thomas and Rose are working, and everyone else went out for the day."
"Oh."
"Which is my nice way of saying I kicked them out so I could have some peace and quiet while I clean the house." Beth giggled. "So, what do you need?"
"Oh. Um... I don't know." She sat on the couch with them. "I was just getting kinda lonely."
"I see." Beth leaned in, closing her eyes. "Ah. That kind of lonely."
"I made my decision."
"About?"
"I want to be your partner." Val hummed and caressed her cheek, kissing her. "Oh... Katie was right."
"There's no way that's a good thing," Val joked.
"You're a really good kisser."
"May I kiss you again?"
"Yes, please." They set their coffee down and deeply kissed her. Beth slid closer, melting into the kiss. "Mm, Val..."
"Do you wear Chapstick?" they asked, pulling away.
"Yeah. Strawberry flavor for life," Beth mumbled, dazed from the kiss.
"Huh. I like it." They grabbed their coffee and took a drink. "So, you were talking about watching Roman after dinner the other night?"
"Hm? Oh, yeah. Yeah, he'd be nice."
*Well, I talked to him and Thomas. They both agreed to have a playdate tomorrow, if that works for you."
"Why does Thomas need to agree?"
"Well, Thomas is Roman's Dom. He's..." Val trailed off at Beth's confused expression.
"I thought you were everyone's Dom?" she asked.
"I am. But Thomas is... How do I explain this best? Umm... Thomas and Roman have been together for longer than they've been with me. Thomas is Roman's Daddy, and Roman is a little. He age-regresses and likes to act like a child."
"Okay." Beth slowly nodded.
"It'll make more sense when you spend time with him. Anyways, they spend most of their time with each other, but sometimes they come to me for a little extra attention. Does that make sense?"
"Sure." She kissed their cheek. "Um, so now that I'm kind of your partner, am I supposed to, um, call you Sir?"
"If you want. Call me whatever you want. Hell, you can call me a fucking asshole, if you want," they chuckled.
"And, um... you- you asked me a while ago about your open relationship and if- if I was comfortable with it."
"Beth, I want you to do whatever you're comfortable with. If you're comfortable with just me, we can do that. If you wanna hang out with my other partners, we can do that, too."
"Just you."
"And you're good with me being with others?"
"Mhmm."
"Okay, sweetheart." They leaned in and kissed her again. "I have cleaning to do. So, unless you'd like to clean with me, I'll see you tomorrow at four."
"Four o'clock. Got it. Uh, what should I wear?"
"Whatever you're comfortable in." She gave them a final peck and got up from the couch.
•••
Beth took a deep breath, scanning her keycard. The elevator doors opened and Val smiled at her.
"Hey, sweetheart." They took her by the waist, leaning down to kiss her. "I want you to remember that you can leave at any time for any reason."
"I know."
"I have to finish setting up the playroom. You can wait out here for a few minutes. Roman and Thomas should be here any minute." They kissed her again and walked away. She sat on the couch, bouncing her leg nervously. She didn't know what she was supposed to do.
"Sir! We're here!" Roman called as soon as the elevator opened. "Hi, Beth!"
"Hey, Roman." He skipped over, sitting next to her. Thomas made a beeline to the kitchen.
"How are you?" Roman asked.
"A- A little nervous."
"I get it." He smiled at her. "My first time was a little scary, too. But Daddy was there to help me and Val was really nice. They're an amazing Dom. You'll have fun, even if you're just watching."
"Thanks, Roman." Val walked into the living room and Beth's heart almost stopped. They were wearing a half-unbuttoned shirt tucked into their high-waisted pants. It looked incredibly hot.
"Roman? Are you ready, Princey?" He hopped up from the couch and Thomas stepped out from the kitchen. "Ah, there you are."
"Just prepping aftercare." Val nodded and took Roman's hand. Beth got up and followed the three of them down the hall. She froze in the doorway of the playroom, unable to take another step.
"Beth?" Val gently knocked on the doorframe and she snapped out of her trance. They nodded and looked back in the room. "Give us a minute, you two."
"Yes, Sir," Roman and Thomas said together. Val stepped into the hallway, shutting the door most of the way. They looked down at Beth, concerned.
"What's wrong, sweetheart? Are you okay? Do you need to leave?"
"I- I haven't been in a playroom since Jake. And he--" Beth shuddered.
"It's okay." Val gently caressed her face, looking into her eyes. "Do you want to do this?"
"Y- Yes."
"You're sure?"
"No."
"Do you want to look around the playroom first? Would that help your anxiety?"
"Maybe."
"Okay. If it's too much for you, you can leave at any time." Val opened the door and Beth tightly grabbed their hand as they walked in. She heard a scream and flinched, but it was just Roman squealing as Thomas ran a feather duster over his neck.
"Sorry, Sir," Thomas said, quickly putting the feather duster back. Val smiled and Beth let go of their hand, looking around the room.
"What do you think?" they asked, quiet enough that only she could hear them. The playroom was large, with dark blue walls that were lined with toys, and a few pieces of furniture scattered around the room.
"Okay," she breathed. "Okay. There's... a lot of toys."
"Are the toys scaring you?" they asked. She gave a small nod and they walked to a rolling cart in the middle of the room. They picked up a tablet and tapped the screen a couple times. The lights dimmed around the walls so Beth could hardly see the toys.
"Oh..." she breathed, her eyes watering. This had to be the only thing anyone had ever done to make her comfortable. Val looked at her questioningly and she nodded.
"The chair's all yours, or you can sit on the bed with Thomas," they said. She sat in a black chair in the corner, easily sinking into the cushion. "Come here, Princey."
Val stood in the center of the room, their tablet in hand. Roman skipped over, looking up at them with an eager grin.
"Tell me your safewords," Val said, holding his chin.