XVII. These games we play
XVII. These games we play
As told by Milo
"You get yours at bedtime, right? Even though she agreed to play puppy with us, I don't want to force her too much," I replied, then turned to Lily. "For someone who isn't an infantilist, it's quite special you even offered to play. You will be bottle-fed, though. I promise."
Lily shrugged. "I guess a part of me wanted to see what it was like on the other side of the table, y'know. Since I'm usually the one deciding everything for Kaeden."
"I understand he likes you to be in control, but between Nina and me, there's less of a power exchange. Of course, in situations where one of us acts as caregiver, they're the one responsible for the puppy, but we rarely force each other to do anything. If we're playing and Nina tells me she wants to drink from a glass rather than be bottle-fed, that's not a problem."
"Doesn't a caregiver know best, though?" Lily said with a smirk.
"Whenever we're playing, we want to make each other happy," Nina explained. "If one of us doesn't want to do something, we either compromise or don't do it at all. For us, that kind of freedom is happiness."
"Whereas Kaeden likes to depend on you to take care of him, but he also agrees you're allowed to spank him if he don't follow your lead," I added.
The little Shepherd shyly nodded.
"We don't like the idea of spankings, regardless of who's on the receiving end. I... It's just something I can't do. I love Nina with all my heart, and I trust she wouldn't do anything that'd intentionally hurt me."
Somehow, I found it hard to convert my thoughts into speech.
"That trust is mutual, y'know," my girlfriend helped me out. "Besides, I love Milo too much to spank him. His inner puppy seeks me when he feels bad, when he needs comfort, or when he just needs that special kind of love only a caregiver can supply. He's very sensitive when he's playing puppy, and I'm fairly sure he'd be afraid of me if I'd ever threaten him with something as harsh as a spanking."
"But what if he misbehaves? How do you correct him?"
Nina furrowed her brow. "I can't recall Milo ever misbehaving. He's a bit mischievous sometimes, but it never takes more than a few stern words to keep him in check."
"The same goes for her, as you just witnessed," I couldn't stand to omit.
My girlfriend looked away, pretending to be embarrassed.
"Anyway, since the two of you won't be leaving today yet, we've got the entire day to play," I said, then turned to Kaeden. "Is there anything you'd like to do?"
"I dunno..."
"What do you dogs typically do when you're playing together?" Lily asked. "And is it different when only one of you is a puppy?"
"Most of it is the same, I guess," Nina said. "At the end of the day, I'm still twenty, even though I'm wearing a diaper. What we do varies, y'know. Sometimes we play a board game together, or do other stuff 'regular' couples do. It's just that at least one of us is diapered while we're together."
"Speaking of which," I added, "how about we play a game together? It'll be even more fun now there's four of us."
"What do you suggest?" Lily asked.
"You made that sound like you expect me to own board games for actual puppies," I laughed.
"I deemed it to be a possibility," she replied, rolling her eyes.
"Nah, I don't own anything that's aimed at actual puppies."
"Makes sense, I guess. Even when Kaeden's really far into his little headspace, he still wants intellectual stimulation. Got anything fairly complex?"
"I'm a big fan of Frantic Flayrah. It's a game where you play as a couple of rabbits that are trying to collect enough food, so the does will join their warren."
"What makes it frantic?" Kaeden asked.
"Well, the rabbits of the rivaling warren are trying to collect food too, so speed is an important factor. You can take items from rivals, but they can steal from the players as well. Furthermore, there are some enemies you don't want to fight, like the badger, the fox, and the farmer's dog. They can be beaten, but that takes a lot of valuable time."
"And in the meantime, the rivals just keep gathering food."
"Sounds like fun," Kaeden said. "But why can't you just take out the rivals?"
"If you hurt your fellow rabbits too much, the Black Rabbit might get angry, which results in an instant loss."
"Who is the black rabbit? And why would you lose because of him?" Lily asked, furrowing his brow.
"He's a mythical creature. Rabbit legends say he's the grim reaper," I explained.
"Didn't you say the game was appropriate for puppies?" she laughed.
"On second thought..." I said quasi-seriously, letting my voice trail of on purpose.
"Anyway, I still don't really understand what the challenge of the game is," the Shepherd girl continued. "Can't you just keep avoiding the enemies and steal food from the other rabbits? Or does stealing get you in trouble as well?"
"Time management is the main problem in the game, actually. At certain events, like gathering food, the farmer will come closer. When he's at the field, he'll come with a machine to harvest all the crops. The rabbits have to be gone by then, else the machine will kill them. It also removes all of the remaining food, so there's not much the players can do once the farmer has arrived."
"Can't they steal from the other warren?"
"Nope. Once an item is underground, it can't be taken anymore."
"So we gotta find food and run back as quick as we can so the other rabbits can't steal from us?" Kaeden concluded.
"Yush," Nina said. "There's just one little problem. This game is for ages twelve and up." A big grin broke out on her muzzle. "I'm not sure if it's appropriate for you."
The small Shepherd blushed, although the way the corners of his muzzle turned up into a slight smile showed that he hadn't really been offended.
"I think the puppy still wants to play," Lily said, joining in on the teasing. "So I'll help him out."
I grinned at the good-natured fun, then turned to Nina. "Princess, will you go get the board for me?"
My girlfriend did as I asked and excitedly walked over to the cupboard. Her tail wagged steadily, making her diaper crinkle softly. Although I was hopelessly in love with 'big Nina', I wouldn't want to miss seeing her like this either. Her carefree attitude and overall adorableness were what made my beautiful mate truly unique.
"Milo, can I play with Dandelion?" she asked, when she returned with the game.
Kaeden gave us a confused look.
"Each player picks a unique character as their piece. It determines your advantages in the game."
"Advantages? But we're supposed to play together, right?" Lily asked.
"Uh-huh, but each character has different abilities. I like to play with Dandelion, 'cause he's the fastest runner. Avoiding trouble is easier if you can move faster," Nina explained while she and I set up the game.
"What do the other rabbits do?" Kaeden asked, examining one of the player pieces.
"That's Fiver, the seer of the warren. He can sense danger, and he can reveal undiscovered items without having to be in the same spot. The farm field will be covered by down-faced chips, so you don't know where the good stuff is."
"Or where the fox or the badger are hiding," Nina added. "And since we're playing with all four characters, the farmer's dog will probably prove itself to be a nuisance as well."
"That sounds fun! Can I play that one?" Kaeden asked, reaching for the piece.
"Sure," I said, laughing, even though he already had Fiver in his paw, inspecting it. "Alright, that leaves us with Hazel and Bigwig," I said, offering the pieces for Lily to pick.
"What does he do?" she asked, pointing at the larger of the two.
"That's Bigwig, he's the strongest rabbit of the warren, and afraid of nothing."
"And the other one?"
"Hazel is the smartest rabbit. His cunning tricks give him the best chance at stealing food from other rabbits."
"Hmm, not sure. I think I'm leaning toward Bigwig, though," Lily said, scratching her ear.
"I more or less expected that'd be your decision," I said with a smile.
After I had explained some basic rules, we began playing the actual game. Initially, I had my doubts about Lily's remark. Even grown-up Kaeden was fairly shy and juvenile, so I didn't really believe he would like being challenged intellectually. It proved to be prejudice, as he was surprisingly good at the game.
Since he played with Fiver, the seer, he could easily evade most of the danger. While he didn't bring home a great deal of food, he managed to stay out of trouble for the entire game. Unlike his girlfriend. The Sheppy girl had either overestimated herself or misunderstood the capabilities of a feral rabbit.
While Bigwig is a powerful character, not even he can take on a badger on his own. We all needed to join her to get rid of the badger. Like the fox, the badger can't be killed, but it can be driven away for the remainder of the game. Unfortunately, we lost valuable time in the process, during which quite some food was harvested by our rivals, the Efrafans.
Winning the game had become an even more serious challenge than before. Kaeden used his seeing ability to find the last few carrots, and Nina went for the farthest few, while Lily and I tried to steal some leftovers from the Efrafans. Not even this joined effort could help us, however. It made a big difference, but at the end of the day, we had lost the game. Barely, but we lost nevertheless.
"Aw, come on!" Lily exclaimed after we had counted our points. "Even with that last run we did, we still lost?"
I grimaced. "Looks like the Efrafans beat us this time."
"Argh," Lily grunted. "That was my fault. Shouldn't have been so aggressive. Let's play again, so I can make up for it."
"Oh, I'd like to do another round. Can we, Milo? Please?" Nina asked, slipping into her little role without using actual puppy talk.
"I'm fine with that. How about you, Kaeden?"
"Yeah. I had fun, I could go for another round," he replied.
"I think there's something we need to do before we start another game, though," I said, eyeing at Nina's diaper. Somewhere about halfway during the game, I noticed she was getting fidgety. Partly out of habit, I used one hand to gently rub between her shoulder blades. Eventually, she relaxed again, but as her uneasiness faded, two paw prints had appeared on the front of her diaper. Her not wearing any pants sure made checking her easier.
Lily had been in a wet diaper since the start of the game, and I didn't expect Kaeden to be dry either. Besides, there were more paw prints visible on Nina's diaper than just the bottom two - a sign she'd had more than one 'accident'.
"So... what's the other thing?" Lily asked.
"Which of you puppies needs a change?" I asked, smiling. "How about you, princess?"
Nina nodded, pretending to be embarrassed. I then turned to the Shepherds at the other side of the table. Lily was shifting in her seat, blushing bright red. She was biting her lower lip and looking uneasy. In the heat of the game, she must have forgotten that she needed a diaper change. I waited for her to nod, until I realized why she was trying to hold still.
"You are allowed to answer that. I promise I won't make you stay in a wet diaper for another hour," I said, laughing a little.
"Oh, good," she said, breathing a sigh of relief. "I, uh... wasn't sure about the rules and all."
I waited, with a small grin on my muzzle, for her to give an actual answer - and as I glanced over at Kaeden, I saw he was doing the same. I had to admit, it was a little fun to see the two Shepherd's roles almost reversed, and I figured Kaeden might enjoy some good-natured teasing being directed at his girlfriend, given how he had been acting ever since Lily emerged, diapered, from the bedroom.
"Oh, you, um... you're expecting a...?" Lily asked, finally realizing we were waiting for an answer. "Yeah. I, um, do," she finished, after an awkward pause.
"You do, what?" Nina asked, feigning innocence.
Lily sighed. "I need changed. You know that..."
"What needs changed?" Kaeden pitched in, eagerly.
"You're really gonna make me say it?" Lily replied.
Kaeden nodded enthusiastically. Lily glanced over at me, seemingly expecting me to get her out of this. I shrugged. "He's your boyfriend. I think he outranks me, no?"
Lily covered her face with one paw. "Ohmygosh..." she mumbled, as the insides of her ears turned red. "My _diaper._I need my diaper changed."
Kaeden surprised her by reaching over and giving her a bear hug from the side, and licking the side of her cheek. "Bet you thought you'd never have to ask for that again!" he said, wagging his tail back and forth, making his own diaper crinkle.
Lily laughed, and shoved him away playfully. "You're such a goober, Kaeden," she grinned.
"Well, that's two puppies who need changed. What about you?" I asked the small Shepherd.
"Um...y-yeah, maybe..." he said, laughing nervously and scratching the back of his neck. Lily leaned over to check his diaper, slipping a paw inside the legband.
"Hmm. You're pretty wet, puppy, but I just changed you before we started the game. Unless Milo feels like changing you, I think you can stay in that diaper a little longer, okay?"
I thought it odd that Lily would defer to me like that, but then again, I was basically the acting caregiver today, and she had a fairly recent past in deferring to a caregiver's authority. Perhaps she hadn't even realized she'd done it.
"Kaeden? Could you come over here, please?" I asked.
Somewhat hesitantly, he did as he was asked. He tried to keep a straight face, but his tail gave away that he felt nervous. When he stood next to me, I lifted up the hem of his shirt, revealing the front of his diaper. More than half of the bones had faded away already.
"You had quite the accident, puppy," I concluded.
The small Shepherd's tail slowly found its way between his legs as he looked away.
"Hey, it's okay. Look at me, Kaeden."
** ** Kaeden whined, but slowly looked up and met my eyes. He shook a little, perhaps nervous at being the center of attention.
"That's a good boy. Do you want to be changed?"
He glanced at Lily, but she eyed at me. Kaeden shrugged, and from his expression, I could read he felt embarrassed.
"Do you know how long you've been wet?" I queried.
He nodded. "Y-yeah. Um... j-just befo- I-I mean, after we st-started the game," he stuttered. "I-I knew I probably wasn't g-gonna be changed, though."
"Are you uncomfortable?"
Kaeden nodded.
"In that case," I replied, then turned to Lily. "Would you be so kind as to change him?"
"Oh...okay. Yeah." Lily said, her voice falling in disappointment. I figured she might have been a little upset that she wasn't being changed first, since she had been wet longer, but Kaeden was under her care, and when me and Nina played 'puppy', the puppy's needs were always taken care of first.
"We take the bedroom again?" Nina asked.
"Yush. Let's go, princess," I replied, offering my hand, which she gladly took.
Like the previous time, I thought it wise not to linger on changing Nina. Of course, I handled her with the usual care, but we skipped the snuggling that frequently followed after a change. Very few things beat cuddling when you've just been put in a fresh diaper.
Nina was distracted with Natasha and her pacifier, and was cooperative as always. When I was done, I told her to stay in my bedroom. I returned to the living room, meeting Lily on my way. She had just finished changing Kaeden, and was carrying his wrapped-up diaper.
"Here, I'll take that from you. Go to my bedroom," I said with a smile.
Lily tilted her head as she handed the diaper to me.
What do you..." she started, trailing off as she suddenly understood. "Oh. Um, yeah."
In the living room, I asked Kaeden to help me prepare the game for the next round. We had to wait for our girlfriends anyway, so we'd better make ourselves useful. Once again, we turned out to be done at more or less the same time. Nina entered the living room with a big grin on her face, followed by an obviously embarrassed Lily.
"Princess?" I asked, feigning to be stern. "Have you been teasing Lily again?"
Nina vigorously shook her head, but I didn't believe her.
"Lily? Is she telling the truth?"
Lily nodded. "Yeah. I'm just... y'know, a little flustered. I'm not really used to, uh... having my diaper changed, I guess."
"Aw, there's no need to feel like that. Besides, you've been a really good girl."
"Really? You mean... even though I messed up the game?"
"Did you, now? We had fun, didn't we?"
Nina and Kaeden nodded, confirming my statement.
"You see? It's okay, Lily, really. And if you feel like it's not, I'm sure you'll do better in this round."
Lily shrugged. "Yeah, I guess you're right. I just wanted to win," she said with a grin, evidently feeling much better for having thrown the game.
"Um, Milo?" Nina asked. "A-am I a good girl for not teasing Lily?"
I smiled. "Of course, princess. You know what that means, don't you?"
Kaeden's ears perked up, and his eyes widened, looking toward the kitchen. He wasn't licking his lips, so I didn't think he was expecting to get any, but evidently he was excited at the thought.
Nina toddled to the kitchen, her wagging tail making her diaper audibly crinkle. Such a simple but beautiful sight never failed to fill me with joy. She soon returned with the treat jar, holding it with both hands. I lifted the lid and offered a cookie to Lily.
"Hey, thanks!" she said, giving them a bite.
"That goes for you as well, princess," I said, taking out a treat for Nina as well. She took it from my hand with her muzzle.
"Come over here, Kaeden," I said, offering him one as well. I didn't want him to feel left out. Plus, he hadn't had one yet, either. Of course, I didn't want him to think he was just being patronized, either. And in truth, he had done quite well at the game, so didn't he deserve one as well?
The small Shepherd shuffled his way over to my side, and graciously accepted the treat.
"Aw, you're a good boy, Kaeden," I said, petting him between the ears. "I'm really proud of how well you're managing yourself. You did really good at the game, and I'm glad to see you're having fun here."
"Th-thanks, Milo," he stammered, wagging his tail. Perhaps Kaeden was unusually nervous around new people and situations, but he clearly wanted to be involved. With that in mind, I handed him his gamepiece, and we started the second round.