✅ My Cousin's Keeper [NaNoWriMo 2021]

33. My Induction

"Please," Tess answered under her breath. "I've seen that stuff on TV, like stage shows and stuff, and I always wondered how it feels. You can make it feel real, so we'd be feeling like we're that age again, and not embarrassed about acting like that?"

"I can. That's something you really want?"

The world seemed to hold its breath, but in reality it was probably just me. I was on the edge of my seat now, and Tess could clearly see that. She felt she was doing me a big favour by letting me be a teen again, without realising that the whole point of today was to convince my girlfriend of Tess's desire to be babied. I know I'd set the trap, but it was playing out better than I had ever imagined.

"Yes. I'm interested in being younger," she was nervous saying the line, but even if you knew where she was coming from, it was hard to tell if she was trying to remember what I'd told her or just ashamed of the desires she was now admitting. "Just for the afternoon, you know? It's not going to have any lasting effects, I'll still be able to act normal around my friends. I don't mind feeling like a child if I've agreed to dress and act like it, but not just happening at random. And only if Gabby does it too."

She treated me to a grin which, if I didn't know better, I'd think was a sign that she was planning to embarrass me. That was the smile of someone pushing a friend into a dare. I shrugged and offered a chuckle in response, before turning back to Ffrances and nodding. This was going to be perfect, and if I could just give her a few words of guidance first, Tess wouldn't know what had hit her. She would find her littlespace coming back when she least expected it, encouraging her to act little more and more, until she was feeling small, safe, and protected whenever I wanted her to.

"That's okay with you, hon?" Ffrances asked, already lifting her favourite metronome out of her bag. I hadn't even realised she'd brought it. I wasn't sure if she was intending to trance Tess first, or do both of us together. But I was sure that I could convince her that separate suggestions would be better; allowing me every opportunity to understand what was going on in my little's subconscious, and take advantage of the more subtle triggers that I could use to remind her of the little feeling. There was plenty of time to talk; Ffrances never did hypnosis without a drawn-out pretalk to make sure that her subjects knew what to expect, and were entirely satisfied with what they had asked for. And I knew how to use that time to further convince her that Tess was asking for the changes I'd chosen.

"Yeah. We should probably talk about how we're going to do this. It's probably best if I watch Tess's session, so I can–"

"Stop," Ffrances commanded, one finger reaching towards my lips. I stopped of course. And then that finger touched my forehead, and the next command was just as simple: "Deep now." Heavy eyelids closed, my head bobbed automatically, and after the second nod I didn't have the energy to look up again.

* * *

"I said, is that okay?" I felt a hand shaking my shoulder, and glanced up to see Ffrances was watching me closely.

"Sorry," I answered with a sheepish grin. "I didn't realise you were talking to me."

"Does the big safety talk bore you?" she said with a raised eyebrow. "Anyway, Tess has agreed to what we're going to try this afternoon. Just a light trance. She's playing a role, but it will feel more realistic, and she won't experience any expectation or obligation to act like an adult. She will see you as a cousin she's excited to play with, because you always have fun together, and there will be no feelings of responsibility. I'm the responsible adult here. Does that sound fair to you, given what you two have talked about in the past?" I nodded, enthusiastic as always. "And would you be okay with doing the same, so she doesn't feel singled out?"

Before I could answer she turned back to Tess, and explained in a stage whisper that we had already experimented with living out different kinds of fantasy scenarios, so I had an idea of how a hypnotic suggestion could make me feel, and so I didn't need such an in-depth explanation of what was happening. But I was already nodding; I'd been looking forward to this for so long, and now it was so close I could taste it.

Ffrances set up her metronome on the coffee table. I traded places with her, so that Tess and I were both on the couch, where we could look at the little mechanical device with Ffrances moved a chair from the kitchen so she was sitting behind it. I guessed that it would be faster if we both had the suggestions at the same time; Tess would feel more confident that way. And there were ways I could use that to my advantage; if we were having the same suggestions, that would mean that everything had to be the same.

"I've been thinking," I mumbled. "If one of us likes this, she wouldn't want to be asking you to repeat the session every time. Could you make it so that if... either of us... wants to feel younger again, she can do that by dressing in childish clothes, or doing childish things? Maybe not like fully getting into the role, but just making it a little bit easier to overcome those inhibitions, so that it's easier to accept and enjoy being treated like a child. I think... one of us... might like to try that, if today goes well."

"Tess?" Ffrances only needed one word to answer.

"Sounds fine to me. I'd never do anything childish anyway, so if Gabby wants to try it, I don't mind." She sounded so much like she was making excuses, glad to get something like that without having to ask for it, that it was easy to believe she'd been craving access to her little headspace all this time.

"Good. Now, I'm going to ask you to stare at the metronome. Imagine how it could capture your attention once I start it, how focusing on that will be the only thing on your mind. You can already imagine being so focused that my words just slip into the back of your mind. And as you watch..." She reached out and flicked the metronome pointer to one side. It was just the right speed to be matching my heartbeat, and I couldn't believe that all my dreams were finally coming true.