XVI. (Not) One of us
XVI. (Not) One of us
As told by Kaeden
"Well...," I said, coughing, when only Milo and I were left in the room. "That happened."
"I think Nina might have baited your girlfriend into that," he replied, grinning.
"I gotta admit, I'm not entirely unhappy about the way that turned out," I smirked, returning the grin.
Neither of us said anything else after that - I think I was a bit too tense from anticipation, and Milo simply seemed to enjoy the quiet. If I wasn't looking forward to seeing my girlfriend in diapers for the first time since we were in rehabilitation, I probably could have too.
Nothing could have prepared me for what I saw next, though. Lily was obviously trying to remain calm and hide her nerves, but her tail was tucked slightly between her legs, trailing next to her ankle, and the fur pointed straight out like a bottle brush. Ditto for the fur on her arms and legs. She was wearing a Roundup Adventures t-shirt with Sam, the tomboy lynx on it. I thought it fit her quite well. She also, of course, had on a diaper - and that was it.
After I took all that in, a few moments of silence passed... then I couldn't help but snicker, which eventually turned into all-out laughter. I rolled back on the couch, unable to keep my balance. In retrospect, considering I was dressed up in a tyrannosaurus rex sleeper with a wet diaper underneath, I probably looked a little more ridiculous than her. My peals of laughter were interrupted by a big swat to my diapered rump - which had been up in the air, easy to target. I sat back up, and wiped the tears out of my eyes.
"I'm s-sorry," I said, still laughing. "Y-your... your tail is all... and the fur on your arms and legs..."
I held my breath to try and keep back any more laughs. I didn't actually want to get a spanking, after all.
"Yeah, well, enjoy it for the next day or two. Just keep in mind, you're still my puppy," she retorted, with a predatory grin.
Truth be told, I was glad to see that she was at ease enough to tease me back. I knew the puppy thing was not Lily's cup of tea, but seeing her relatively comfortable, and having not put up any fight about it made me feel good. Sometimes I did wonder, despite Lily's assurances, if she was merely 'putting up' with my infantilism, but seeing her here like this washed away all my doubts. Sure, she may have lost a bet, but I had overheard enough conversations in the past day to know she was partially doing this for me.
"I hope you don't mind, angel," Nina said, looking at Milo, "but I let Lily borrow Sharra for her diaper change."
"Oh, yeah, of course," Milo replied. "Plushies make changes a lot nicer. Don't you have one though?" he said, turning to Lily.
Lily took a seat on the couch next to me, and pulled a knitted afghan over her. I couldn't fault her for that - it wasn't exactly like I was comfortable with everyone seeing my diaper, either.
"Yeah," she replied. "My caregiver gave me one. I named her Lenore. She was a raven, you see - named her after the poem?"
Milo nodded. "But didn't you bring her with you?"
"Well, um," Lily said, with a nervous cough. "I... wasn't really expecting to be in a, um... situation where I'd need her, I guess."
This was so_surreal for me. Lily still had her forward and confident nature, but at the same time she was still less sure of herself. I understood why, of course, but actually _seeing it with my own eyes was something else entirely. I reached over and grabbed her paw - which she took, squeezing it.
As much as Lily was always there for me, I wanted to be here for her now, too, until she got used to this. Still... I suppose I am a bit of a brat, and when else would I have the chance to tease my girlfriend in the same manner she does me?
"So... are you really gonna make her wear diapers for the rest of our stay?" I said, grinning wide enough to show all of my teeth.
Nina nodded. "That was the deal. Everything you have to do, she gets to experience."
"Yeah," Lily said. "Well, y'know. Probably a good thing and all. See what you experience, I guess."
I leaned over on her shoulder, and pointed my muzzle up to her ear. As short as I am compared to her, my nose just barely reached.
"It's okay to be nervous," I whispered quietly. "I know I'm a puppy, but I'm here if you need me."
"Thanks, pup," she said, turning to lick my nose.
"And thank you," I replied. Lily was a very logical dog, and despite her love of challenges like the one she had just lost, there had to be some other reason she would have risked being a puppy, too. I knew that reason was me.
A few moments of silence passed before Nina spoke up.
"So, Kaeden," she addressed me. "We need to get a feel for how your home life is so we know how to take care of Lily for the next day or two."
Lily put her face in her free paw. "Oh my gosh. I'm so red," she said, although she was laughing a little.
Nina chuckled as well. "Well, I guess to start, how do you guys handle changes?"
I thought a moment, biting my lower lip. Lily started to speak up out of instinct, then went quiet. She was so used to taking charge of the conversation that it was instinct at this point.
"Well," I began, "obviously I have to wear a diaper all the time. And I'm never allowed to ask to be changed. Lily checks me every so often, and decides if I'm wet enough to need a new diaper."
"What happens if you do ask, though?" Nina probed.
"Um..." I said, turning a bit red. "I, uh... well, I don't very often, but it depends on how well I've been behaving."
"Oh?" Milo said.
I wasn't getting out of this one. "If I haven't been too bad, I won't be changed for another hour, at least. If I've been a bit bratty, I-I, uh... I get a sp-spanking," I stuttered.
Nina giggled, covering her muzzle with her paw. I didn't mind. Although I was still a bit embarrassed about the particulars of my puppy life, I was pretty comfortable with the both of them at this point.
"Well, I don't think I'll be spanking your girlfriend," Milo said with a smile, "but delaying diaper changes seems do-able."
Lily seemed quite relieved, relaxing her grip on my paw. "So, not quite everything Kaeden goes through, then?" she said, sounding as though she'd won something.
"You _asking_for a spanking, puppy?" Nina swung right back, playfully. "Because I'll pull you over here right now, if _that's_what you want."
I felt her grip tighten again. "N-no, I just... um, that's not what I meant." It was pretty weird to hear Lily referred to as a puppy... but then again, right now, it fit her pretty well. "I just, well..."
"Nina, if anyone_is going to spank Lily, it's _not going to be you." Milo said sternly, although his facial expression told me he was playing. "You're my puppy, remember? Besides, I just said I won't do something like that."
The Bernese whimpered, and her ears drooped.
"Who's my princess?" Milo asked.
"M-me?" she said shyly.
"That's right. And what does my princess do? Is she mean, or does she play nice?"
Nina whimpered again, looking away from her boyfriend.
"My princess wants to be a good girl, doesn't she?"
The 'princess' nodded.
"What do good girls do when they've done something mean? What do they say?"
"S-sowwy?" The Bernese said in her puppy voice, looking back up at her boyfriend. "Sowwy Milo."
He smiled, slowly shaking his head. "Not to me, princess."
Nina cocked her head to the side, but soon understood the hint. She turned to my girlfriend, but didn't look her in the eyes. I suppose that's a part of her role as well.
"Sorry, Lily," the Bernese apologized. "I was just joking."
"I know," Lily said, forcing a laugh. "I'm just... y'know, getting used to it." She perked up and forced a grin to show she meant it. "It's really not a big deal. You're just playing around."
I was a bit taken aback by the entire exchange - Milo had seemed just as shy as me, and yet here he was being forward and stern and all these things that I never would have expected out of him. Then again, I hadn't seen him in the caregiver role, so perhaps there was more to discover.
"So, anyway, what about meals and stuff?" Milo asked, getting into the spirit of things. Lily blushed bright red again, likely thinking about everything she was going to be experiencing.
"I pretty much always feed myself, unless baby food is on the menu. Then Lily spoon-feeds me. I get, um... b-bottle fed, before bedtime."
"I thought it was after your dinner?" Nina said, remembering last night when Lily had warmed up my bottle on the stovetop.
"W-well...kinda both. We eat dinner really late, and, um... I have an early bedtime and all."
"Well, I think that's enough embarrassing poor Lily for now," Milo said, mercifully. "Why don't you two puppies hang out and watch some Roundup Adventures for now?"
"I actually kinda liked that earlier," Lily piped up. "It's... good, for a kid's show."
"And just perfect for someone your age," Milo quipped. Lily huffed, and I grinned. Milo really was filling this caregiver role quite easily.
"Do you have your paci when you watch cartoons, Kaeden?"
I thought a minute. "Um... I used to, actually. Not a lot anymore."
"Oh?" Nina asked, wanting more explanation.
"Well, I have a crib at home in my nursery, you see, and I had the remote in with me. I used to wake up a lot earlier than Lily, so when I was waiting for her to let me and change me and stuff, I'd watch cartoons. Since I was already nursing on my pacifier, when I woke up, I kinda just kept doing it, I guess."
"Would you like one now?" she asked me. I knew that if I said yes, Lily would have to nurse a pacifier while watching cartoons too. So_of course_ I said yes.
Milo and Nina both joined us, although they did leave periodically to go take care of what I presumed were household chores, and bring us all juice bottles. Sometime into the third episode, Milo came over to Lily, and gently pulled her blanket off.
"H-hey, what are y-"
There was a long pause as my girlfriend realized she was getting her diaper checked, and I don't think I'd ever seen Lily blush so bright.
"No stars," Milo said. "Dry puppy for now!"
Since Lily was still taking care of me, and it was fresh on her mind, my diaper check was next. She unzipped my sleeper, and found that I was pretty soggy. I was kind of hoping I'd be changed, but Lily didn't think I needed it for awhile, so that was that. Lily says I exaggerate how wet my diapers are. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hoping she had to experience the same thing. I don't really _mind_being in a wet diaper at first, but as time goes on...
Well, at least another episode was starting, and I was pretty sure that would distract me. At some point, when both Milo and Nina happened to be gone, Lily started to get up.
"I'll be right back," she said, whispering in my ear.
"Where are you_going?" Nina said, _just as I'd thought it. Evidently she'd come out to the living room just as my girlfriend had gotten up.
"I, uh... I have to, y'know. The other... and I'm not doing that in my diaper. I don't make Kaeden do that, either, so..."
"Ah ah. Let me see your diaper first," Milo insisted.
"L-look, that's really not necessary, I mean..." she protested, but Nina was already over, lifting up the hem of her t-shirt to check the condition of her diaper.
"Just as I thought. Dry. You're using this as an excuse not to piddle, aren't you? A bet's a bet, Lily."
"Yeah, but I thought, y'know, since I had to..." I watched her trail off, and tried to suppress a grin as she found herself cornered. It wasn't every day that someone could outwit Lily like that - although I suppose circumstances were quite different than usual.
"Come on, puppy. I know you have to go. You drank more apple juice than any of us."
"Y-yeah, but, I mean... right here?"
"Kaeden, do you go anywhere in particular when you have to wet your diaper?"
I shook my head. Of course, I was pretty comfortable using my diaper whenever I needed to. Lily, on the other hand...
"C'mon," Lily said, giving one last try. "Just let me go, and I'll... wet in private."
"Hmm, I could..." Nina said, appearing to give it some thought. "But I wonder first..."
"Just how ticklish you are!" Milo finished, having just come in from around the corner. He helped hold her back.
"Not very..." she said, unconvincingly, giving a few half-hearted tugs to see if she could free herself.
"Well, why don't we put that to the test?" Milo said. "Kaeden?"
"Heh... really, it's okay, I'll..." Lily started.
I didn't want to give her any time to change the way the situation was going, so I jumped up, and rushed over to where they were holding my girlfriend. There was no_way I was missing _this opportunity. I knew right where to attack, too - her sides, just below her rib cage.
Lily roared in laughter, fighting to hold back, but we kept at it. Somehow, she managed to keep her diaper dry, too. At least, for a minute or so.
"C'mon, you like stars, don't you? Make some appear!" Nina teased.
Finally, with a great big laugh, my girlfriend couldn't hold back any longer. I looked down past her t-shirt, and where a bit of her belly fur was showing, the waistband of her diaper, and then lower to where it was swelling up...and a few stars were showing.
"Good girl!" Milo and Nina said, at the same time. I laughed. Even Lily was still laughing, in the absence of my devilish fingers at her side.
"Okay, okay, you guys win! Obviously," she said, wiping a tear from her eye. "Now can I please_go use the restroom? You're lucky I didn't do _that!"
"Of course," Nina said, letting her go. Lily had been a remarkably good sport about that. She definitely had changed, quite a lot.
When she returned, Milo again asked to see her diaper, mostly to make sure it was on correctly. Lily looked a bit disappointed when he dropped the hem of her t-shirt back down, though.
"Um... isn't Nina going to change me?" she said. "I'm... kinda wet..." she mumbled.
"Well, maybe I was... but since you asked..." Nina said, shooting her a grin.
"Ack... Kaeden, how on earth do you manage to keep this off your mind? It's all I can think about."
"It's all I can think about right now, too," I said, before I could stop the words leaving my mouth.
The other three shared a laugh at my expense, while I held my beet-red ears down with my mitted paws. Lily did look good dressed like that, though...
"You know what I mean," said Lily, after the laughter had subsided.
"Yeah, yeah..." I said. "I... I don't know. I just know you're in charge of that, y'know? So it's never really on my mind until you check me."
"Speaking of which," Lily said, unzipping my sleeper once again. "At least one of us needs changed, for sure. Give us a few?" she asked, turning to Milo and Nina who nodded and left the room.
Having my diaper changed by someone also wearing a diaper wasn't as odd as I thought it would be. A diaper is a big symbol of a 'puppy', to be sure, but Lily was still in charge of me, and I didn't have any problem reconciling that to her current predicament.
"No promises," Lily said, as she finished taping my new diaper onto my hips, "but I think you might be getting an extra change or two during the day. I know it's different for you being an infantilist and all, but I can't imagine spending another hour like this. Even though I have to now."
I shrugged. "You get used to it. It's really not so bad, to be honest. And you're not nearly as wet as I was."
"Yeah, but still," she said, helping me up out of my sleeper.
For a moment, I thought she intended to dress me in nothing but a diaper today, but then she slipped one of my t-shirts over my head. One with a velociraptor. Most of the clothing Lily bought me was dinosaur-themed.
"If nothing else," Lily continued, "y'know, at least I get what it feels like. I never really knew before."
Lily's caregiver allowed her to ask for changes, so she never had really spent very long in a wet or messy diaper. Ashleigh, of course, had not allowed any of her puppies to ask, so I was accustomed to waiting, sometimes an hour or more, to have a soiled diaper checked and then changed. I hadn't really connected all of that to this moment until now. Of course she wouldn't know what it was like.
"Huh, yeah, I guess you wouldn't," I remarked. "See? Even I'm learning from this! I told you that you should give this a try."
"Yes, Kaeden. You have," she said, and leaned in to kiss me. I was a bit surprised by the gesture, but I certainly wasted no time in returning it. When we were done, she reached around behind me and gave my padded rump a firm smack, sending baby powder out in clouds. "At least we're stormed in," she said, grinning. "I don't know what I'd do if we were going to go out anywhere."
"You two done?" Nina said, poking her head around the corner.
"Oh, yes, sorry," Lily apologized. "Everyone's proper."
"Why don't you get your cookie jar from the kitchen, Milo?" she said to the Indian Hare Dog behind her. "I think a certain puppy girl deserves a treat."
Lily furrowed her brow. I don't think she quite understood that Nina was referring to her. Then again, for a moment, I thought Nina was referring to herself, too - it wasn't every day I heard my girlfriend referred to as a puppy!
Milo returned, carrying the jar with both hands, and Nina retrieved a bone-shaped cookie from inside.
"Take it," Milo insisted, when Nina presented the treat to my girlfriend.
"Oh! Um, yeah. But..."
"What for?" Nina finished. "For being such a good girl! Changing Kaeden even when you aren't being changed yourself. And being such a good sport about all this."
My mouth watered a bit, and I wanted to ask for one too... but I didn't want to ruin the moment. Right now, this was about Lily.
"It's... actually pretty good," she said, quickling finishing the treat. "Where'd you get them?" she asked Milo. "This would be a great way to reward Kaeden for good behavior."
"And other puppies, too," Nina corrected her.
"Yes," Lily snorted. "Other... puppies, too." She looked down at her wet diaper, blushing, before shrugging and looking back up. "So..."
"Oh, yeah," Milo interjected, before Lily could repeat her question. "You'll have to ask Nina, she bakes them."
"Another secret recipe?" Lily said, raising her eyebrow.
Nina laughed. "No, no, not at all. Just from Milo, so he can't sneak treats and bake more to make it seem like he didn't take any. I'll make sure you have the recipe before you leave."
"I'll put that on my whiteboard so we remember," Milo said, walking back to the kitchen.
There was a long, slightly awkward silence, even after Milo got back... but this time, it was _my_turn to break it.
"So when do we get to bottle-feed Lily?" I said impishly.