He was trying to concentrate, but her constant wriggling was making this difficult.
At first he'd just thought she was settling onto the sofa. Then that she just couldn't get comfortable. Now though, minutes on and with her still squirming around he really was at the limit of his patience.
"What are you doing?" He asked, frowning over at her. To his surprise, he found her blushing and looking profoundly uncomfortable. She wasn't even looking at him, eyes forward but still not sitting still.
"Hmm?" She asked, unconvincingly.
"What's the matter with you?"
"Nothing, nothing," she said, also unconvincingly, and still squirming.
"Do you need the toilet?" He asked, amazed he was even saying it to her. An adult. But why else did someone move like that?
"M-maybe..." she mumbled.
He stared. He blinked. He asked the obvious question:
More wriggling, legs clamped together. She didn't answer.
Slowly, the answer pieced itself together in his head without her help.
A smile spread across his face.
"You want me to let you, don't you?"
"I don't - it's just - I don't know!"
"Well why else are you sitting there?"
She did know, she just didn't want to say. They both knew this.
"You want me to say you're allowed," he said. She was sitting on her hands now.
"Maybe! Yes! I don't know!"
"Aww, poor girl. This is another control thing, right?" He asked and she gave a tiny nod. He thought it through. Made sense. "But for this? Oh, that's a little embarrassing, isn't it? But not as embarrassing as it's going to be in a moment..."
That finally got her to look at him.
"Well I haven't said yes, have I? And I don't think I will. I think Princess can hold it."
"You haven't actually asked, you've just been squirming helplessly and hoping I'd pick up on the hints. And be a mind-reader, I guess. Feel like asking?"
A moment of hesitation as she weighed up how humiliating asking would be against how humiliating the consequences of not asking would be. Asking won. Just.
"Please please please can I go?" She blurted. He made a show of thinking about it, stroking his chin as she stared helplessly at him.
"No. Princess can hold it."
"Or Princess can learn she shouldn't just assume I know why she's wriggling about all over the place."
"That's not fair! Please!"
"It's perfectly fair, according to you, girl who decided she wanted me to be the one in charge of this. So no, not allowed. Hold it. Or don't. I think it might be 'can't' pretty soon, looking at you."
"Please please I don't I can't I..."
"Off the sofa," he said. A practical concern really, though that she immediately slid onto her knees did a lot for him. She didn't even notice how well-trained she was, didn't so much as cross her mind.
"Please..." she said again, almost under her breath now, like a tiny little prayer she was muttering to herself. "Please please please please..."
She trailed off. What had started as borderline panic abruptly stopped. She went very, very quiet and, somehow, even more red. She didn't need to say why. He knew why. They both did.
Leaning back a little for a better view of her she tutted.
"You know, with puppies I hear they push their face into it. I don't think I need to do that with you. I think you know what you did. Don't you?"
He spread his legs and she wordlessly, obediently shuffled between them, face down, burning. "I'll help you take your mind off of it. Then you can clean yourself up. Sound good? Nod."
She nodded. He patted her on the head.
"Good girl. Do I need to tell you what to do here, too?"
She shook her head, and undid his flies.