The world rocked with every step Dayton took.
Inside the hoodie pocket, Ezra wasn’t walking through a house. He was being carried through it like freight. Cotton walls flexed around him, warm and soft and suffocating in a way that didn’t need malice to work. Through the pocket opening he caught quick, swaying slivers of the world: brick, porch rail, daylight, then the shadow of the doorframe swallowing everything.
Zipper teeth loomed above him like a line of metal cliffs. Each one was wider than his hand.
This is really happening.
Dayton climbed the front steps, the pocket bouncing harder, and Ezra’s stomach tightened with each jolt. The house rose around them like a monument to scale. The door opened. Warm air rolled out, smelling like lemon cleaner and laundry detergent, and something familiar under it that made Ezra’s throat pinch.
Home. Someone’s home.
Not his.
“MOM!” Dayton called, and even muffled through cotton the sound hit Ezra like a slap. Too loud, too close, too giant.
“Kitchen!” a voice called back, warm and brisk.
Dayton’s footsteps thudded across hardwood. Ezra felt every impact through her body, through the pocket, through his bones.
Then the pocket mouth widened as Dayton’s hand slipped inside.
Warm fingers closed around his torso, careful in a way that still didn’t change what it was. She lifted him out. The hallway snapped into focus around him, tall walls, framed photos, a staircase that looked like a cliff.
And then they turned the corner into the kitchen.
Mrs. Harris was there, dish towel in hand. Dayton’s mom looked up and froze in that subtle adult way that wasn’t dramatic but was absolute. Her gaze went straight to Dayton’s palm. Straight to Ezra.
“So,” she said softly. “That’s him.” Mrs. Harris said eying Ezra more clearly in her own home then when she saw him briefly at the school.
Dayton’s posture shifted without her thinking about it. Guardian mode. Back straighter. Face smoother. Voice steady.
“Yeah,” Dayton said. “This is Ezra.”
Ezra hated how much the name hit. Not Mr. Rhys. Not even Mr. Harris. Just Ezra. Like he was already filed under “thing we have now.”
Mrs. Harris stepped closer, not reckless, not squeamish. Just… focused. Her eyes flicked to the collar tag, then to Ezra’s face. Something passed over her expression, quick and human, like she had to remind herself that he could understand her.
But her attention didn’t stay on him.
It shifted to Dayton.
“You’re okay,” she said, and it wasn’t a question. It was relief trying to keep itself composed. She said seen Dayton before but in school around all the SEA agents it was hard to gauge if she was really okay.
Dayton blinked, a little thrown. “Yeah. I’m fine.”
Mrs. Harris didn’t accept that the way adults usually pretend to. She crossed the distance in two steps and wrapped her arms around Dayton.
The hug was tight. Immediate. Protective.
Dayton made a sound like she was going to protest, then didn’t. Her shoulders loosened the tiniest bit. Her chin dipped. For a second she looked thirteen again instead of trained.
Ezra was trapped in Dayton’s hand the whole time.
Pinned to the moment.
He could feel the way Dayton’s body shifted under her mom’s embrace, the way her breathing changed. He could hear Mrs. Harris’s voice right above him, too quiet to be for show.
“I was sick all day,” Mrs. Harris murmured. “When they called about lockdown and wouldn’t say anything, I thought… I don’t know what I thought. I just knew you were in the building when it happened this morning. They didnt tell me alot.”
Dayton swallowed. “Mom, I said I was okay.”
“I know,” her mom said, and hugged her tighter. “I know. I just needed to see you here. I needed to look at you and know you’re here.”
Ezra stared upward, helpless.
He watched a mother love on her daughter with the kind of relief that made the world feel normal again.
And it carved something raw in him, because he remembered being on the other side of that. Being the adult who worried. Being the one who would have moved mountains.
Now he was four inches tall, collared, and being held like a small object while someone else got to be the priority.
Mrs. Harris pulled back just enough to cup Dayton’s face. She smoothed Dayton’s hair back behind her ear in a gesture so tender it made Ezra’s stomach twist.
“You did everything right,” she said. “You hear me? You did what you were trained to do. You kept yourself safe. You kept him secure.”
Secure.
Ezra felt the word land like a label.
Dayton’s eyes flicked down to him for half a second. Her mouth tightened, like she didn’t love the word either but understood why it mattered in front of an adult.
“I did,” Dayton said. “It was just… a lot.”
“I know it was,” Mrs. Harris said, and her tone softened further. “I’m proud of you.”
The phrase hit Ezra oddly. Proud of you. He had said it to students. He had believed it mattered.
Now he watched Dayton receive it while he stood in her palm like an accessory to the moment.
Mrs. Harris’s gaze finally returned to Ezra.
Her expression wasn’t cruel. It wasn’t even cold.
It was practical concern layered over basic decency.
“Ezra,” she said, trying his name carefully, like testing whether it would cut. “Are you physically okay?”
Ezra’s throat tightened. He wanted to say a thousand things. He wanted to say I’m not okay. He wanted to say this is insane. He wanted to say please don’t talk like I’m a package that survived shipping.
But the question was sincere.
And sincerity, in this world, was rare enough to make him cautious.
“I’m… intact,” he said quietly. “Tired. But yes.”
Mrs. Harris nodded once, like that mattered. Like she recorded it in her head.
“Good,” she said. Then her eyes sharpened, not at him but at Dayton, the way a parent’s mind moves to logistics because logistics is how you protect what you love.
“And the house rules,” she added gently but firmly. “Dayton. No counters. No dining surfaces. No open floor roaming.”
Dayton exhaled through her nose, already irritated. “I know.”
“I’m not being mean,” Mrs. Harris said. “I’m being careful.”
Dayton’s eyes tilted upward. “You’re being intense.”
Mrs. Harris gave her a look that was affectionate and unmovable at the same time. “I’m being a mom.”
Then her face softened again, and she touched Dayton’s shoulder.
“I would move mountains for you,” she said, like it was obvious. “But I’m not letting something stupid happen in my kitchen because we’re trying to prove we’re laid-back. Not after this morning.”
Ezra felt Dayton’s hand tighten around his waist just a fraction. Not threatening. Instinctive.
“Fine,” Dayton muttered. “We’ll be careful.”
Mrs. Harris nodded, relieved, and turned back toward the sink.
Dayton, however, didn’t move.
She stood there with Ezra in her hand, her shoulders squared in that familiar way he’d seen in class when she was about to challenge a grade she didn’t agree with.
“Okay,” Dayton said, voice controlled. “I get ‘no counters.’ I do. But you’re not going to make me treat him like… like an animal.”
Mrs. Harris stilled, dish towel halfway folded. She didn’t turn around immediately. When she did, her expression wasn’t angry.
It was cautious.
“Dayton,” she said softly, “I’m not trying to—”
“You are,” Dayton cut in, and Ezra felt the shock of it. Dayton didn’t raise her voice. She didn’t need to. “You’re trying to make every surface in this house off-limits like he’s radioactive.”
Mrs. Harris’s gaze flicked to Ezra again, and that glance alone made Ezra want to disappear. Being the subject of a mother-daughter argument was its own kind of humiliation.
“I’m trying to keep you safe,” Mrs. Harris said. “And him. He’s tiny. He’s fragile. And I don’t want to turn my living room into a place where we’re constantly worried about whether someone sat down wrong.”
Dayton’s jaw flexed. “So what, he lives in my room forever and never sits anywhere else?”
“That’s not what I said.”
“It is what you mean,” Dayton said, and there it was again, that razor-clean logic she used like a weapon when she wanted. “You’re picturing him on the couch and you’re picturing… crumbs. Germs. Damage. Like he’s a mess.”
Mrs. Harris let out a slow breath, like she was actively choosing calm. “Dayton. Littles track residue. That’s not a moral judgment. It’s biology and scale. If he eats pellets, drinks water, walks around, there’s… there’s cleanup. That’s just reality.”
Ezra’s face burned. Not because she was wrong, but because she could say it so plainly. Residue. Cleanup. Like he was a spill.
Dayton’s eyes narrowed. “Okay. Then we clean up.”
Mrs. Harris blinked. “What?”
Dayton lifted Ezra slightly, not shaking him, just emphasizing her point. “We clean up after him. Like, immediately. Wipes. Tiny towel. Whatever. We’re not going to freak out like he’s leaving toxic waste behind.”
Mrs. Harris’s mouth tightened, and for a moment Ezra saw it, the tug-of-war inside her: love for her daughter, instinctive caution, and a deep discomfort she didn’t want to admit out loud.
“Dayton,” she said, careful, “I also don’t want him on upholstery.”
Dayton stared at her. “Why.”
“Because—” Mrs. Harris stopped herself, then tried again. “Because fabric holds things. And because if he falls between cushions or under someone’s leg, we might not notice until it’s too late.”
Dayton’s eyes flicked down to Ezra. For a second her expression softened, not with pity, but with something like… begrudging understanding.
Then she looked back up, stubborn. “He can sit on the couch. With me. If I’m the one watching him. Guardian supervision.”
Mrs. Harris’s gaze sharpened. “Dayton, the couch is where we sit. Where we eat sometimes. Where your friends sit. Where—”
“Exactly,” Dayton said. “It’s normal. And I’m not going to make him live like a secret.”
Ezra’s stomach twisted at the word secret, because it carried a strange kindness he didn’t want to trust.
Mrs. Harris held Dayton’s gaze. The kitchen felt suddenly quiet, like the house itself was listening.
Then Mrs. Harris said, “If he’s on the couch, he’s on a barrier.”
Dayton blinked. “A what.”
“A towel,” Mrs. Harris said firmly. “A small blanket. Something washable. He does not sit directly on upholstery.”
Dayton’s mouth opened, already ready to argue again.
Mrs. Harris lifted one finger, not threatening, just parental. “And he is not allowed on the couch unless you are physically present. Not ‘in the room.’ Not ‘checking every few minutes.’ Present. Watching.”
Dayton’s nostrils flared. “That’s literally what I just said. Guardian supervision.”
“And,” Mrs. Harris added, “you clean up after him. Immediately. No leaving anything behind. No crumbs. No water rings. No… little footprints.”
Ezra flinched at that. Little footprints.
Dayton’s eyes rolled. “Okay. Fine. We can do that.”
Mrs. Harris studied her a moment longer, then her expression softened again, like the argument had been a door she needed to close so she could go back to just loving her kid.
“Thank you,” she said. “And Dayton… I’m not doing this to punish you or embarrass you. I’m scared.”
Dayton’s face shifted, the tension easing just a fraction. “I know.”
Mrs. Harris’s gaze slid to Ezra, and her voice gentled. “And Ezra… I’m not trying to humiliate you either. I… don’t know how to do this yet. We’ll figure it out.”
We’ll figure it out.
Ezra didn’t trust the phrase. But he couldn’t deny the sincerity behind it.
Dayton turned sharply toward the fridge like she needed the movement. “I’m grabbing a snack and I’m going to the living room,” she announced. “And Ezra is sitting with me. On a towel. Supervised. And then I’m going to text Nicole about coming over later.”
Mrs. Harris nodded once. “Okay.”
Dayton opened the fridge, grabbed grapes, hummus, pita chips. The plastic crinkle of the bag sounded like thunder to Ezra. She closed the door with her hip.
Then she glanced down at Ezra in her hand, expression flat but not unkind.
“Congrats,” she muttered quietly. “You just won couch privileges.”
Ezra stared at her. “I… won.”
Dayton’s mouth twitched. “Don’t make it a thing.”
She carried him into the living room and spread a clean towel on the couch cushion beside her like she was setting a place at a table. The gesture was oddly domestic. Too normal for what it represented.
She set Ezra down on the towel.
The couch cushion dipped slightly under his weight, soft and unstable compared to the rigid desk at school. He had to steady himself, palms pressing into terry cloth loops that felt like rope at his scale.
Dayton flopped down beside him, tossed a grape into her mouth, and grabbed the remote.
Ezra sat rigidly upright, trying not to look like he was afraid of falling into the seam between cushions like a person drowning in fabric.
From the kitchen doorway, Mrs. Harris watched them for a moment longer.
Her expression was tired. Worried. Loving.
Then she exhaled, like she was letting herself believe the day was ending.
“Dayton,” she said softly, “I’m really glad you’re home.”
Dayton didn’t look back, but her voice shifted, quieter. “Yeah.”
Mrs. Harris lingered one second longer, then went back to the kitchen.
Ezra watched Dayton pop another chip into hummus and scroll her phone with the casualness of someone decompressing after school.
He was on the couch.
He was accompanied by a guardian.
He was permitted.
And the strangest part was the way that tiny allowance, fought over like a privilege, made the world feel even more unreal.
Mrs Harris is being forced to confront her discomfort about having a little in her house now. It’s great to see.
I am guessing this is the type of thing happing all over the country in the smallara world.
I don’t get why she just puts him on her lap to make its safter and easier like others do with their littles without fear of going under a cushion ore being sat on.
Interesting her mom I think was saying some goverment propaganda that make littles sound like dirty animals.
she doesnt want to have to hold him everytime she is in the living room or wherever. She wants to be able to have him sitting.
Having him sit independantly also is allowing Ezra to feel empowered in some way. As he has autonomy. Even if he is staying on the towel he can sit comfortably, lay comfortably, etc. It doesnt make him feel like a child being held.
Well she still doesnt like littles but she also isnt going to poo poo daytons getting a little after she said she could have one. She will require the rules to be followed but she can be nice for daytons sake.
I’m guessing Mrs Harris was hoping SEA would deny Dayton’s claim.
I dont know about hoping but it was a thought.
Mrs. Harris a lot nicer than I than I thought she was going to be. Maybe Thomas softened her up prior to leaving? But also Mr. Rhys would be someone she knows, probably from parent teacher night. Safe to assume the prior dealings with a little in her home and the familiar person might make the transition smoother?
She loves her daughter more
Than she hates littles. So she won’t sabatoge Daytons pet by going overboard but will enforce
The house rules.
If Ezra wasnt connected to Dayton it would be different. She is similar with Jordan because of Sara. But Sara is also aware so tries to keep things to minimum from her side.
I legit wasn’t sure how this would go, but Daytons mom completely surprised me anyway. My prediction is that we find out she talked with Sarah Chloe and Tiffany for some perspective.
Its more that while she doesnt like littles and would never get one herself. She did agree to let Dayton have one. So she can be an adult about it and try to make things work out of respect for Dayton.
Nothing good will come from her just making everyone miserable. If she was goign to do that dayton would have rather probably just been told no.
That’s true, I just wasn’t expecting it lol i figured it’d be like what Dayton questioned, where Ezra was only allowed free roam in Daytons room and could never leave her hand anywhere else in the home
Wow did not expect her to be this nice to Ezra if at all especially how she was talking earlier but it seems she trying to make this work and actually might end up liking Ezra’s presence in her home and family at this rate nice job Mr Harris
And Dayton okay you won me over standing up for Ezra you got my trust now don’t you dare let me down it was already hard trusting you with Ezra at the start but you might make me a true believer
She will probably never like Ezra as she doesnt care for littles but she can be cordial and nice for the sake dayton.
I was wondering how people would take Dayton defending Ezra’s rights around the house and fighting for him.
it just seems strange people would hate basically a small human animal based on a another small animal other then a ape.
Mrs. Harris’ attitude as to Ezra contaminating the household is very much unfounded. Human visitors sitting on the couch would make a larger amount of contamination than any Little would. Does she require Dayton’s friends to sit on towels when they visit?
I figure that over time she will become more lenient about this.
I’ve had pets, and I agree, I would not allow them on counters or dining tables. I could see allowing Ezra as long as he wore clean footwear prior to doing so.
I think she is seeing & believing to much goverment propaganda on media services
Th ecounters and tables I dont like but I do understand her point with them. The couch is silly. Dayton did godo talking her down on that one.
Dayton is going to treat her mom like a little animal little like she was taught to lol.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P36yAxRWRb1g-wcmMsJbtYJGlMszG_Q3/view?usp=drivesdk
She got the same plan as her pal Chrissy.
I keep wondering when they are going to start making little babies for shopping money lol, it would be very little work for them as guardians and they think of even littles close to them as pets. I am guessing genritech pays well also. lol.
part of me is surprised Cindy & Greg arnt breed for little babies because Madison is trying to honor her moms teaching and having delt with animal breeders to get our high end cat and dog breeds, breeding is the most pet person thing you can do from a treating them as a rodent like Cindy says and they can make money for the family from genitech. lol
Part of me does think that’d be weird as fuck to see, even in the rules of this universe.
Could you imagine selling shrunken siblings for profit? That’d be so wrong.
My personal head cannon is that handling smallborns requires an extra licence on top of one’s guardian licence, so breeding Littles is even more expensive than just owning them.
I agree it would be werid but madison and her friends seem to be in a cult of Cindy. And even if the later chapter Madison had flashes of caring for her mom she still had the hard core pet treatment that I would see one of her freinds thinking of the breeding of her mom and broklands little for money if they saw online something on Generitechs little kids buy program.
1) “Home. Someone’s home. Not his” It’s his now, legally at least.
2) “Ezra hated how much the name hit. Not Mr. Rhys. Not even Mr. Harris. Just Ezra. Like he was already filed under “thing we have now.” he entirely is.
3) “You’re okay,” – “Yeah. I’m fine.” Shes’ a good mother, despite her flaws in other aspects of this world
4) “For a second, she looked thirteen again instead of trained.” She’s looked thirteen the whole time.
5) “And it carved something raw in him, because he remembered being on the other side of that. Being the adult who worried. Being the one who would have moved mountains.” Does Ezra have kids? It would have been mentioned by now if Ezra had kids, right?
6) “You did everything right, you hear me? You did what you were trained to do. You kept yourself safe. You kept him secure.” She did everything Legal, right, or good, would be other matters entirely
7) “Secure. Dayton’s eyes flicked down to him for half a second. Her mouth tightened, like she didn’t love the word either but understood why it mattered in front of an adult.” Dayton’s been happily usung the word secure even when adults weren’t around, she does like it.
8) “Ezra, Are you physically okay?” Checking in is surprisingly decent of her.
9) “And the house rules, Dayton. No counters. No dining surfaces. No open floor roaming.” No roaming makes sense, but the other two just sound like she’s trying to keep Littles away from places she deems important.
10) “I’m not being mean, I’m being careful.” – “You’re being intense.” – “I’m being a mom.” She’s being controlling, which is pretty common for the womin now in his life.
11) “I’m not letting something stupid happen in my kitchen because we’re trying to prove we’re laid-back” oh no, god for bid they seem normal
12) “I get ‘no counters.’ I do. But you’re not going to make me treat him like… like an animal.” Why not you already think he’s an animal, even went as far as to call Kinsley an animal, compared her to your grandparents’ farm animals, and that’s a Little who’s an exception to your normal stance on them, this feels entirely performative.
13) “So what, he lives in my room forever and never sits anywhere else?” & “That’s not what I said.” That’s her angle; she’s pushing her mom’s boundaries and using Ezra as an excuse.
14) “Dayton. Littles track residue. That’s not a moral judgment. It’s biology and scale. If he eats pellets, drinks water, walks around, there’s… there’s cleanup. That’s just reality.” Human’s do that too, cunt.
15) “We clean up after him. Like, immediately. Wipes. Tiny towel. Whatever. We’re not going to freak out like he’s leaving toxic waste behind.” Who’s we? Are you expecting your mum and or friends to clean up after your Little? Ezra can’t do it because *Chalooby Gag* (Chalooby was the slug janitor from Pixar’s Monsters Inc. he was mopping up his snail trail while constantly leaving a new one, the gag is the irony and futility of his cleaning efforts, I looked for a gif but couldn’t find one with the whole joke.)
16) “It’s normal. And I’m not going to make him live like a secret.” This very much isn’t about him, it’s about teenage rebelion no letting her mother fully control her.
16) “Ezra’s stomach twisted at the word secret, because it carried a strange kindness he didn’t want to trust.” I also don’t trust Dayton’s kindness (if the comments above didn’t make that clear) I’m glad he’s got a healthy suspicion of her.
17) “If he’s on the couch, he’s on a barrier.” – “A what.” – “A towel, A small blanket. Something washable. He does not sit directly on upholstery.” Is she under the impression that Littles have cooties?
18) “Okay. Fine. We can do that.” I can’t wait for herto forget, lol
19) “And Dayton… I’m not doing this to punish you or embarrass you. I’m scared.” what’s she think’s gonna happen?
20) “And Ezra… I’m not trying to humiliate you either. I… don’t know how to do this yet. We’ll figure it out.” No, that’s just a fun bonus for her and Dayton
21) “And Ezra is sitting with me. On a towel. Supervised. And then I’m going to text Nicole about coming over later.” Based on the rules, I think it’s safe to assume Kinsley’s never been here, and she still may not know Jordan was.
22) “You just won couch privileges.” The fact that it’s a prize for him is really sad. Dayton did do well here. Mrs Harris is apparently so cruel that she makes Dayton look good.
1) yes this is his home now and forever. I cant see Dayton giving him up for anything.
2) Well he is a thing dayton has. So it fits.
3)Agreed. She would do alot for Dayton and she cares and loves her daughter.Even if someof her opinions are misguided.
4) It was kindof playing at how kids grow up so fast.
5)Ezra does not have kids. He is single, childless.
6) the rest would be in the eye of the beholder. I agree
7) She could feel differntly around her mom. As her mom is the one true authority to her atleast.
8) I mean shes not a monster. I figured even if she wasnt crazy about littles she would stsill check in considering how traumatic today would have been.
9) Well I could understand counters. As there really isnt alot of reason to have a little on counter. They are considered animals/pets generally speaking. The dining table seems a bit much to me.
10) Also for a mom interacting with her child. Considering Daytons age.
11) Well she isnt as versed as Dayton but she understands SEA probably has a close watch on them and probably doesnt want hte feds descending on there home.
12) Maybe she feels different because its her little. She also could just find it stupid or inconvenient that he can’t be on the sofa. She might just wanna lay out and have Ezra perched somewhere.
If you oculdnt have your little on the sofa or end table, or any practical place around you a good sofa nap would be difficult. I understand Daytons plight.
13) I mean now would be hte time to push thouhg. Before things get established Lay the ground work for the rules you want or the concessions.
14) She eats flawlessly without dropping a single crumb Lethal. SHe also hover above hte the table so theres no residue or anything.
15) We would be her and her mom. She assumes her mom wont stop cleaning just because ezra is here. She also questions how dirty he could get a couch at his size.
16) its partly about him. Shes not a saint or anything but shes also has a level of decency.
17) In her mind apparently Ezra is dripping in chocolate syrup and running up and down the sofa eating pellets dropping crumbs all over then splashing water all over as he drinks.
18) She will probably think this is dumb and just casually wipe her hand over the couch or just not do it unless her mom is watching. Dayton has doubts on how messy he could be.
19) The SEA bust in like its a drug raid bursting through windows guns fully loaded. As they force dayton and her mom onto the ground and secure ezra in tiny cuffs for furhter violations.
then her blaming him for the mess the SEA agents made. telling dayton I told you so. Looka t this palce because of him.lol
20) well certainly for dayton. Her mom probably doesnt care that much about embarssing him one way or the other.
21) Kinsley been over but they normally just go to Dayton’s room. If they are going to lounge around and just watch tv they normally go to Kinsley and Nicole’s house. She bites her tongue a bit becuase its kinsley. Like kinsley has eaten at the table.
22) dayton is gonna blog about this. Framed dayton praise from you. Lord it over Sara.
5) Then for whom would he move mountains?
8) Her checking in was specifically not about trauma.
9) I guess it depends what counters are used for in their house.
11) No one wants a SEA invasion.
12) I feel like she’d be more protective of Kinsley than Ezra, the convenience idea makes more sense for her.
13) It would
14) lol
15) I doubt Ezra could make much of a mess, even if he tried, but I’m surprised she’d expect her mom to clean up after him.
16) A low level of decency.
18) That’s not very “If I only followed the rules when it was easy, what’s the point of the training?” of her.
19) Is it wrong that I’d like to see that?
21) That’s surprisingly good of her.
22) Blind Squirrels as they say.
14) Is that sarcasm or is she really that anal?