Chapter 25

Lunch with Taywas a lot of fun. The Italian restaurant had been really noisy, but Mandi had popped in her engage earplugs, so that she could still chat to her new friend and still lessen the noise of the rest of the clientele.

And then, after lunch, Tay took her back into the kitchen to meet the rest of the chefs, including Chef Guilia, whose stern fa?ade took in the two giggling Littles, and set them up with homemade ice cream on a table in the corner of the kitchen.

"You behaving, Tay?"

"Yes, Chef," said Tay cheerfully, adding to Mandi under their breath, "at least, as far as they're concerned."

They managed to sneak some extra ice cream, got a disapproving look sent their way when they were chattering too noisily, and then escaped out onto the wraparound porch before the missing ice cream could be discovered.

They sat on one of the porch swings together and gently rocked back and forth—though not so fast or so high that Mandi could tumble off again.

"What do you like about being here?" she asked.

"It's the fact that I can be myself," explained Tay. "I don't have to pretend to be cis; I don't have to pretend to be neurotypical. I can just be. And sure, there are punishments if you break a rule, or pull a prank, but that's okay, I don't mind that. If anything, it's nice to know that someone cares enough to notice. But being me… that's not a luxury given to many of us in the world outside Rawhide."

"No," agreed Mandi.

"How about you? Why are you thinking of moving here?"

"Pretty much the same as you; I don't have to pretend. I'm tired of pretending to be someone I'm not, and I'd really rather like to be done with that sort of thing. But outside the Ranch, you can't." Even thinking about it made Mandi feel something akin to grief, grief for the life she could have had, if there world was just a tad bit kinder to people like her and Tay.

"No," said Tay sadly. "Sometimes you really can't. Master Derek and his staff at Rawhide have created a haven for people like us; people who need shelter from the storm that is our life. And then we get to build a new one while we're here."

"That sounds like the reason I moved here too," said a familiar voice.

"Mommy Amelia!" said Mandi. "Come meet Tay!"

"Hey, Tay," said Mommy Amelia.

"Hi, Miss Grayson," said Tay. "So you're the reason Mandi here is so keen to stay."

"No! That's not… I didn't… Tay…" said Mandi, completely flustered.

Tay laughed. "I'm only teasing. Working with your Mommy Domme though… That's certainly an interesting prospect." They looked thoughtful and Mandi wondered if there was more between Tay and Chef Guilia than just ice cream.

"May I pull up a chair?" asked Mommy Amelia, and Mandi and Tay happily acquiesced. "Master Derek said you two might be sharing a room together."

The two of them shared a look, neither one wanting to be the first to talk. Eventually, Mandi bit the bullet and spoke, "Well, we get on pretty well, and I think that if I'm going to share a room with someone, them being neurodiverse—neurospicy—can only help. It means we won't need to explain all of our reasoning to each other. Sometimes we'll just get it."

Tay nodded. "And I'll be happier sharing with someone who's queer for exactly the same reason. There are some things we just don't need to explain."

"Queer shorthand," said Mommy Amelia. "Makes perfect sense to me; I know it well. And you manage to balance the Big and Little sides of your life okay?"

"Yeah, at work I'm Pastaio Tay, just another person in the kitchen; and when I'm done for the day, I'm just Tay, chaotic Little one with a penchant for ice cream and mischief." They shot a look at Mommy Amelia. "Not that I'll be getting Mandi into trouble; that's not my style."

Mommy Amelia chuckled. "We'll see; I have a feeling that my Little has mischievousness of her own tucked up her sleeves."

Mandi made a big production of looking up both her sleeves. "Nope, Mommy, no mischievousness here!"

"It'll be nice," Tay added, "to have someone else who's not Little all the time on the Littles' Wing. Sometimes it can get a bit lonely if everyone else is so Little that I can't offload about my day to them."

"I can see that," said Mandi. She smiled. "I think we'd make good roommates, if you're not too sad about no longer having the room to yourself."

"I've been hoping for a roomie for some time," said Tay. "Here's to new beginnings!"