An Unwilling Training Partner - Part 3 (Patreon)

Part 3

“Kiiiiiit, you gotta help build the house!”

The raccoon sat, arms crossed, next to his cousin and trying not to think too hard about what was happening. Ace had unpacked his set of coloured construction blocks, sized up for a toddler to be able to manipulate with two hands, and had begun sticking them together to construct something vaguely similar to a wall. Without a base to put them on they were occasionally falling over, the jackalope holding it up as he tried to keep building up.

“Kit” his mother said firmly “Play nice”

Kit sighed and uncrossed his arms, scooting over to his cousin and handing him a colorful block from the pile.

“Here, put this on top”

Ace looked at him with a bright smile and took it, placing it directly on top of the other blocks and clicking it into place. Kit could already see the whole thing was going to tumble down the moment the jackalope let go, but perhaps that could be a fun goal.

“And this piece, it’s not tall enough” Kit took another, offering it out to his cousin.

Ace took it again and placed it on top. The middle of the edifice was already bowing a little as he held on top, putting pressure on the structure that was forcing the relatively light connection between parts to come loose.

“And this…”

“Nuh uh, it’s gonna fall down” Ace shook his head “I gotta hold it, you put it on top”

“Just one more!” Kit encouraged “One more should make it great right? And you’ll have done the whole thing!”

Ace smiled “Ye… yeah!”

Kit grinned as he watched his cousin desperately try to keep the tower of blocks together as he clicked one to the top. Inevitably, the whole thing crashed down, falling into two pieces and clattering to the floor.

“Awwww!” Ace pouted “It was so tall!”

Kit groaned “Yeah, sooo tall”

Ace missed the sarcasm and went back to building another tower, his focus going back to enjoying himself despite the setback. Kit leant back on his hands and tried not to think about what he was having to do. The t-shirt he was in just about covered the top of the diaper but the front of it was clearly visible and constantly reminding him of its presence. He looked back towards his mother and aunt, both watching some boring antique show on TV and chatting about their jobs.

All around him was boredom and frustration. Either he played with Ace and felt like a toddler, or he tried to rejoin his mother and deal with the inevitable argument. All the toys his cousin had were designed for someone with barely enough motor control to move a pencil. Other than the blocks he could see a couple of plush toys Ace had brought with him, one of which was a raccoon.

“Hey, who’s that?” he pointed at it, grabbing Ace’s attention.

“Oh! That’s Kit!” Ace moved towards him and picked him up “He plays with me all the time!”

“Wait… you named him after me?”

Ace nodded “Uh-huh, Mommy got him for me” he hugged him tightly “And I like you, so I named him after you”

Kit couldn’t help but smile at that. Even if his cousin was annoying, that was genuinely pretty sweet.

“And the other one, the teddy bear?”

“That’s Bear” Ace responded “We cuddle every night, he’s my bestest friend”

Kit felt a little pang of nostalgia well up in him. He hadn’t cuddled a plush at night for years, but the idea of it made the familiar want to have that companionship come to the fore.

“I don’t have any plushies anymore” Kit responded “I grew…”

“That’s not true” his mother interrupted “They’re just up in the attic”

Ace beamed “Can I see! I wanna see!”

Julia gave Ace a stern look “Now now Ace, it’s not easy to get stuff out of an attic. Besides I don’t think Kit wants to play with those…”

Faye giggled “Oh shush, it’ll take two minutes.” she got up off the sofa, Kits eyes going wide as he realized what was happening.

“Wait! Mom I don’t need you to get…”

“It’ll be fun! Relax Kit, they’ll go right back after the weekend is over alright?” Faye didn’t give him time to respond, walking out the door and leaving the raccoon dumbfounded.

“Well, that decision has been made!” Julia giggled “When your mother gets an idea in her head there’s no stopping her…”

Ace clapped his hands “I wanna see your plushies!” he grabbed Bear and plush Kit “I love my plushies”

Kit rolled his eyes and shuffled back towards the tower. The diaper crinkled loudly as he went across the floor, his face cringing with every movement. The idea of crawling around entered his head as a solution that kept him at Ace’s level before the rest of his mind forced it out again. There was no way he’d do that, he’d look like even more of a baby than Ace if he was crawling around!

“You do look really cute Kit” Julia commented, sipping on some tea “Reminds me of when you used to visit when you were young. So much easier to handle…”

Kit just pouted and tried to hide the blush on his face “I was a baby, of course I was”

Julia giggled “Ace is such a troublemaker at home compared to you. He’s being on his best behavior for you, you know?”. The bunny had lost concentration and was just bouncing around with his two plush toys, excited for what Faye was bringing down and giggling.

Kit groaned “He’s just annoying…”

“And you’re being a bigger baby than he is” Julia chuckled “He’s being an angel for me and your mommy and you’re being a terrible toddler”

“Urrghh!” Kit turned around and crossed his arms again “I’m not a baby!”

“Really? Could’ve fooled me kiddo” she winked at him “What with the diaper, the accidents and the tantrums…”

Kit audibly huffed “That’s just ‘cos my mom’s being weird about it”

“Faye just wants you to behave, Kit. If Ace can manage it, surely you can, right?”

The racoon shuffled back to face his aunt, his face in a visible pout. He was struggling to argue back, his mind still barely able to keep up with his current predicament and come up with convincing points to return.

“I am behaving”

Julia couldn’t help but giggle again as she saw her sister come back into the room. She was carrying a small bag in her hands, one that was bouncing lightly as she carried it into the lounge. Poking out the top of the bag were a couple of heads that Kit immediately recognised, his blush returning even as the nostalgia started rising in his chest.

His plush toys had been companions for many years, but he’d long since having them in his bedroom. Inviting friends for sleepovers had meant having social capital, having to make sure that he didn’t look “uncool” or to present ammunition for bullies. He’d not removed them by choice, really, but seeing them now gave him a mixture of fear and deep emotional attachment.

“Oh gosh! I remember these!” Julia got up to have a look in the bag “Awww, they really look like they need some hugs!”

“They’ve been up there for three years, ever since Kit decided he wanted to have friends over” Julia explained “I don’t think they’ve enjoyed the attic very much”

“Are they alright?” Kit asked. He didn’t want to sound worried but his curiosity got the better of him and it was impossible to hide. Both his aunt and mother gave him a smile as they walked over and dropped the bag into the impromptu play area.

“They’re fine Kit, just a little dusty.” The bag opened up more to reveal the small pile of plush toys inside. Memories and feelings of attachment started flowing back to the raccoon and he couldn’t help but sift through, checking to make sure all of the plush toys were still there.

“I wanna see! I wanna see!” Ace waddled over and watched as Kit pulled larger plushies out from the bag “What do you have?!”

Kit growled a little at his cousin as he came closer “Let me find the ones I want Ace”. He didn’t know why he felt so protective, but every single one of the toys that he felt and pulled free of the bag made him feel more and more like he wanted to keep them close by.

“Is that a Twicewatops?!” Ace giggled “Dinosaurs are so cool!”

Kit chuckled at the lisp on his cousins pronunciation and picked up the green and orange plush from the bottom of the bag “Yeah, this is Toast.” he explained “Had him since I was a baby…” the words slipped out before Kit could stop them, forcing a fresh blush to his face.

“Can I play with him?!” Ace asked, “He’s awesome!”

Kit glared at his cousin “Nuh-uh. He’s mine”

“Now now Kit, either play with your plush or let Ace play with it” Faye reprimanded “Good little boys share their toys”

“Toast isn’t for sharing” Kit huffed, pulling the small plush into his chest.

Ace’s face dropped “But…”

“It’s ok, Kit clearly cares a lot about his little friend” Julia intervened “Ace, why don’t you let Kit get reacquainted with his toys for a bit and play with blocks again?”

The jackalopes disappointment was clear, but Kit noticed his expression change to one of acceptance as he wandered back to play. He looked back at his bag of plush toys and continued to unpack them, carefully arranging them to make sure they were all still there.

Sure enough, the variety of little friends he’d had all been waiting to come back out again, exactly how he’d left them. Each one still had eyes that looked up at him with little glints, each one strangely reassuring. Like seeing company that you trust, ones that you know will always be friends. Kit smiled as he sat back down on his rear and crossed his legs in front of them only to cringe as he felt the padding on his bottom.

“Someone seems happy to see them back” Faye cooed from the sofa “I think they can go back in your room after dinner”

Ace perked up “Dinner?!”

Julia nodded “I put the lasagne in the oven before Kit got changed” she smiled at the raccoon as he squirmed again “Should be ready in a few minutes”.

“Think you can behave for that, Kit?” Faye gave her son a stern look as he continued to hug his plush dinosaur into his chest. He nodded and stood up to make his way to the kitchen.

“Hold up, both of you” Julia caught Ace as he tried to run past them “Just a quick check”

Pulling back the waistband of Ace’s shorts she checked down the back of his diaper and then gave him a pat to let him go on “Dry, good boy”

“Uh-huh!” the jackalope bounced out of the room, his little feet pattering quickly down the corridor.

“And you Kit”

“Huh?”

Faye pulled up the back of his shirt and then pulled back the waistband of his Teddies. He audibly squeaked from embarrassment as his mother made melodramatic thinking sounds.

“Looks dry to me” she mused “Guess you must have gotten it all out in those pull-ups earlier…”

Kit wanted to hide behind the plush in his arms as his aunt giggled again as she followed Ace out of the room “Oh Faye, that’s a little mean don’t you think? He’ll let us know if he needs to go potty from now on, won’t you Kit?”

The raccoon nodded and huffed. The part of him that wanted to rebel was firmly being put to one side just to get through the day.

“So, hop along to the table. We’ll serve up your dinner kiddo”

Kit grumbled as he walked past his aunt and mother and headed for the kitchen, Toast still in one arm, his ears folded and his tail curling between his legs. The walk there was another humiliation in itself, the constant crinkling and forced waddle that his babyish underwear forced on him made him want to find somewhere to hide. He stopped, giving his family a hopeful look.

“Do I have to eat at the table?”

Julia looked down at her nephew and just gave him a firm pat on the rear “Yep, and you and Ace can sit next to each other!” she grinned.

“Great” Kit said, sarcasm mixing with disappointment in his voice.

When he arrived in the kitchen he immediately noticed the way the table had been laid. Ace’s crockery, plastic and childish had been laid out for him on one side, a booster seat on the chair so that he could reach the table.But so had a second set of cute plates and colorful cutlery, clearly meant for Kit.

“Really? Can’t I…”

Faye gave him a stern look as she passed him to start serving the lasagne. Kit grumbled and sat down next to his cousin, waiting for his mother to serve him his portion of dinner.

“Is Ace ok to feed himself?” Faye said as she put a square of the meal on his plate. The jackalope nodded back before his mother could answer.

“Uh-huh!”

Julia just chuckled “You know what you need though right?” she took a small cotton bib that had been placed on the table and walked round the back to put it on her son “Just to make sure you don’t make a mess”

Ace shuffled as it was clipped to his neck “Does Kit need one too?”

“No!” Kit squeaked, his volume level accidentally going much higher than he intended.

Both his aunt and mother just giggled again “I’m sure he’ll be fine Ace”

The jackalope looked unconvinced but dug into the meal in front of him with gusto, getting tomato sauce around his mouth and on the bib immediately. Kit looked at his own plate of lasagne with a sense of disgust. Not at the food, but at everything around it. He picked up the undersized cutlery and started to eat. The size of the fork was frustrating him immensely, forcing him to take tiny portions of the mince and pasta and spoon it into his mouth.

“When does Ace head to bed?”

“Oh around eight the moment, with good behavior. Seven if he’s been naughty”

Faye just shook her head “Oh the days where I could enforce a bedtime on Kit” she mused “Gets harder once you can’t pick them up”

Kit stopped focussing on his food and gave the conversation his full attention. He could feel himself getting annoyed but tried to push it down.

“I’m sure you would’ve thought the same about changing his diapers” Julia joked, winking at her nephew as he went to put another piece of lasagne in his mouth “But you were good for your Mommy weren’t you Kit?”

Kit was about to respond when he realized too late that the quantity of food he’d balanced on his tiny fork was far too large. He tried to adjust it in mid-scoop, only for the whole lot to drop firmly onto his t-shirt.

“Damn it!”

Ace gasped “Mommy! He said a bad word!”

“Kit! Honestly…”

The raccoon tried to move the offending food off his t-shirt with his hand, only for the tomato to coat his fingers and his muzzle to get covered in the sauce as he quickly forced it into his maw.

“Well, I guess that shirt’s going straight into the laundry this evening…” Faye shook her head.

“It’s these things!” Kit put the knife and fork down and crossed his arms “They’re stupid! Can’t I just have..”

“You’ll use those or I’ll feed you” Faye stared down her son across the table “And you’re not leaving until that plate is clear”

Kit grumbled, his mind racing to decide whether to push or pull back. In the end he felt his arms make the choice for him, his hands grabbing the knife and fork before he had a chance to argue.

“Good boy” his mother said “Now, apologize for cursing in front of Ace”

“What? But…”

“Oh Faye, it’s fine” Julia said as she cleaned Ace’s mouth “He’s heard worse at home from Sean, trust me”

Kit smirked before seeing his mother give him another stern look. He went back to eating, taking the small mercy of avoiding the humiliation of apologizing to his younger cousin. Just as Julia was finishing cleaning up Ace, he managed to get the last of it down, avoiding any further mess.

“And now for my nephew!”

Julia grabbed another baby wipe and started to clean Kits maw, his eyes going wide as his personal space was so vigorously invaded.

“Mmpphh!”

“Now now, hold still, won’t take a minute to get you all cleaned up”

“That shirt needs to come off though” Faye said “And then I think an early night is in order”

“Mppph!” Kit tried to respond around the wipe but found himself basically muted by the experience.

His mother shook her head “You’ve been acting like a toddler, and a quite naughty one at that, all evening Kit. I think the extra sleep will do you good before we head out shopping tomorrow with your cousin”

As Julia pulled the wipe away Kit got up from the table “This is… I don’t… I’m not tired!”

“Arms up!” Julia grabbed at the bottom of his shirt and Kit unthinkingly obeyed, his arms going up as the shirt was pulled off.

“You can either go to your room, keeping that diaper on I should add, and go to bed” Julia stood up to meet the eyes of her son “Or I can extend your current wardrobe arrangement into tomorrow”

Kit felt his fists clenching. The teenager rebelliousness in him was crying out to talk back, to cuss and to shout. But looking down at himself in nothing but the diaper and hearing that threat made him think twice. Wordlessly he left the kitchen, stomping out of the room and heading up to his bedroom.

“Mommy, can I stay up late?”

Kit heard Ace’s question, but not the answer. By that time he was in his room, the door shut and his whole body lying flat on the bed.  He grabbed his duvet and hid himself under it, trying not to think about the last few hours. He hadn’t even realized he’d grabbed Toast on the way out, but as he curled up around the triceratops a calming sensation filled his chest. The aggression faded, his legs pulling up closer to him.

By the time his mother came up to the room with the rest of his plushies, he was fast asleep. Whether he’d put his thumb in his mouth before he’d fallen asleep or after, Faye didn’t know.

But he certainly looked cute that way,