diaperfur [Comm.] One Step Forward, Two Steps Back (Ch. 6 Updated 4/15/2024)

[Panther Cub]

WOOO! Presenting my very first commission, for the wonderful and kind Nihulus (over on FA)! I hope you all enjoy it!

 

 

Warm and soft. Those were the two thoughts that sprang to Varis' mind as he slowly awoke, curled up in his bed, next to Mira. He lightly yawned and opened his sharp blue eyes, blinking the last of the sleep away. Turning over, he saw his wife still snuggled up against him, her large ears twitching in her sleep. Her sandy-colored fur just looked so soft, he had to resist the urge to nuzzle her, knowing that his beloved fennec vixen needed the rest after how much worrying he'd put her through lately. With that thought coming to mind, Varis raised up the blanket and inspected the sheet, his tail excitedly starting to thump a bit against the mattress as he saw that it was bone dry.

 

 

 

 

I told them it was just a misdiagnosis, he thought with a smirk, extricating himself from the relaxing warmth of his and his wife's bed. It was as he stood there and stretched that he became aware of a clamminess around his waist. Looking down, he saw that the thick purple and blue sleep diaper that was hugging him snugly was now missing the moon and stars wetness indicators on the front, and sagging a big. His tail slowly ceased its wagging and began to tuck itself between his legs as the dark gray wolf reached down and gave his night time padding a squeeze.

 

 

 

He had to bite back a whimper at how soaked it was. Looking back at the bed where Mira still slept peacefully, though now with her arms clumsily searching for him, he was reluctantly grateful that she wasn't going to wake up in another puddle he had made again. But the fact that, for over a week now, he hadn't been able to stay dry while he slept brought forth the anxiety he had forgotten about, yet had become much more familiar with lately. It had started off with a few wettings here and there, something he'd chalked up to stress from work, and even just assumed he had awoken to go to the bathroom, but had simply fallen back asleep. And when Mira had finally convinced him to go see a doctor, the wolf hadn't been expecting the diagnosis. Miner's Syndrome.

 

 

 

NO! Varis snorted and walked towards the bathroom, quickly ripping off the diaper and stuffing it into the trash bin by the sink.

 

 

 

"I'm twenty-seven, too old to suddenly develop... Miner's Syndrome," he said to his reflection, the dark gray wolf with the salt and pepper flecks and the creamy white tummy looked worriedly back at him, betraying his own lack of confidence in his denial. A quick shower was enough to help him wake up further and put his soggy morning out of his mind, at least for a little bit. Getting out and toweling himself off, he reentered the bedroom, to find that Mira was now absent from the still enticingly mussed-up bed. Heading out to the hall and into the kitchen, Varis smiled at the sight of a fennec vixen blearily making up some scrambled eggs. He had to stifle a giggle at the sight of her messy bedfur. Her large ears twitched at the sound of his entrance, and Mira turned to smile warmly at him.

 

 

 

"Morning, baby," she said with a bit of a yawn. "How do scrambled eggs sound for breakfast?"

 

 

 

Varis walked over and pulled his wife close, she being just as beautiful to him at that moment, with messy bedfur and wearing her favorite white oversized pajama t-shirt, as she was to him on the day of their wedding. As his tail started to wag, he felt her big bushy one beginning to THWAP against his side. He gave her a nuzzle, and she turned, their lips meeting, before she buried her muzzle into his fluffy chest ruff.

 

 

 

"I think that sounds wonderful," Varis said, resting his chin on her headfur. They stayed like that for a moment before he let go. Giving her cheek a quick kiss, Varis headed back into the bedroom to get dressed. Opening the closet, he saw the opened package of SleepTights resting almost smugly right under where his suits were hanging, and frowned a little.

 

 

 

"... It's just stress." Varis defiantly grabbed his favorite navy blue suit and a white undershirt. A short while later, after getting dressed and eating, Varis headed towards the door with his briefcase in paw.

 

 

 

"Don't forget, babe," Mira called, forcing Varis to pause as he was about to step out the front door. "We're going to see Doctor Morley on wednesday!"

 

 

 

"I remember, hun," Varis said, his tail wagging. Just gunna get some confirmation that it was all a misdiagnosis, he thought to himself. Varis was surprised to suddenly feel a pair of arms reach around his front, pulling him back into a hug. He turned his head a bit, one of Mira's ears sticking in his face.

 

 

 

"I know how worried you are about all of this," she said in a soft voice that was partially muffled due to her muzzle being buried in his back. "But... I want you to know that, no matter what, I will always love you and be there for you."

 

 

 

Varis smiled and turned to reciprocate the hug. "Thank you, cuddle-bug." He recalled how much she had blushed and sputtered the first time he had used the pet name, which was not long after they'd first started dating. "I know that you're just as worried as I am. But don't be... this is all just a mistake." He kissed the tip of her nose as they pulled away, bringing forth a fit of giggles from the shorter canid. And with that, Varis was out the door, soon to be standing on the sidewalk in front of their house.

 

 

 

The house he and Mira lived in was a cozy three-bedroom ranch-style house, a little bit on the outskirts of Nevia City. The price had been just right for the young couple, and that had been before Varis' promotion. Now they owned it outright, with that being a point of pride for the wolf. Turning to look down the street, he saw a familiar green SUV heading his way, coming to a stop right in front of him.

 

 

 

"Warlocks at the Seashore Discount Limo Service, here for a pickup!" Came the deep jovial voice of the crocodile behind the wheel.

 

 

 

"It's really amazing how that's still funny for the hundredth time, Josh." Varis rolled his eyes as he got in, quickly buckling his seatbelt.

 

 

 

"Well, at least my little princess still finds me funny, right sweetpea?" Josh turned to look behind him, prompting the wolf to do the same. Looking back at the gray-furred bunny girl, who just so happened to be the exact same age as Varis, sent a chill up his spine. She was wearing her yellow sundress with the puffy shoulders, safely secured in her pink car seat, hugging her black stuffed wolf to her chest, and sucking down a bottle of juice like everything was normal. Which, for her and Josh at this point, this pretty much was normal for them.

 

 

 

"Honey-bunny," Josh said, cooing at her, "don't you want to say hi to your Uncle Varis?"

 

 

 

"H-hello, Eliza," Varis said, trying not to notice the pink and white diaper that was partially visible around the bunny's hips. Eliza removed the bottle and held up her wolf toy to hide her face, not counting the portion she used to peek around it. Varis' nose picked up the faint scent of baby powder, a smell that recently had begun to evoke a sense of foreboding in the wolf.

 

 

 

Would I have to ride around in a car seat? The thought just popped into his mind all of a sudden, before he quickly stamped it out.

 

 

 

"... Hi Uncle Varis," she said in a whisper.

 

 

 

"Sorry, buddy." Josh clapped the now startled wolf on the shoulder before putting the car in drive and heading towards the office. "I know it's been a while, but I guess she's still just a tad shy around you. Y'know, if you and Mira would take me up on my babysitting offer for next Tuesday night, that might go a long way in helping her come out of her shell around you."

 

 

 

"Sorry, but we don't offer any free babysitting services," Varis said with a chuckle. That wasn't entirely truthful, as Mira loved looking after Eliza, not even minding changing the diapers of someone a little bit taller than herself. But in addition to his usual... uncomfortableness around Eliza, there was no way he wanted to be associated with any MSers while his... misdiagnosis had yet to be proven as being just that. Let alone one that might go wandering and accidentally find his new... completely temporary nighttime protection.

 

 

 

As they drove, the two 'adults' chatted about an upcoming report, while Eliza was content to watch what Varis presumed were shows for preschoolers on her tablet, letting out happy giggles and saying seemingly random numbers of phrases from time to time. Varis simply tried to tune her out, no matter how catchy the songs from the show sounded.

 

 

 

"So how's the quarterly report coming?" Joshua asked, every now and again checking to make sure his big baby bunny was still safe and secure in her carseat.

 

 

 

"So far, everything seems normal... but I did find an oddity in the shipping expenses." Varis pointedly looked away from a passing billboard that was advertising Pawpers' brand diapers for MSers. He certainly wasn't thinking about how the protection he was wearing to bed now was Snuggies brand. "I'm thinking someone just misfiled an expense report. It was actually pretty easy to gloss over, so I'm gunna have to go over everything again with a fine-tooth comb."

 

 

 

"Huh... think someone's dipping their claws in the company cookie jar?" Josh asked, wincing as he realized, the moment the word cookie left his mouth, he suddenly had Eliza's full and undivided attention.

 

 

 

"Daddy, may I please have a cookie from the company's cookie jar?" The bunny asked, somehow making her eyes look bigger, at least to Varis who could see her reflection in the rearview mirror. Josh laughed.

 

 

 

"Oh, princess," he said with a coo in his voice, "that's just an expression. But Daddy did pack you a little treat if you'd like." Eliza giggled and started to bounce in her seat, at least as much as the soft snug straps around her would allow, making a few faint crinkles.

 

 

 

Josh chuckled at the display, despite not taking his eyes off the road. "Hey, buddy, would you mind getting Eliza a cookie out of her diaper bag? It should be in the compartment on the side."

 

 

 

Varis cringed internally, but nodded, knowing he could do this small favor for his friend. Turning, he looked to see that said diaper bag was tucked right behind the crocodile's seat. It was a large, loud, pink duffle-like satchel, with several side-pockets and flaps, as well as two bottles of some kind of juice secured in a couple special holders on one end. The central part was unzipped revealing a few pink and white folded rectangles, along with two familiar-looking purple and blue ones.

 

 

 

"SleepTights?!" Varis exclaimed, his eyes wide as he felt the color drain from his cheeks, thankfully unnoticeable thanks to the coloration of his fur.

 

 

 

"Huh? Oh, yeah. If Eliza needs a diaper change before naptime, I like to put her in one of those, just in case. Also, if ever there's an emergency, them being thicker than her daytime diapers really go a long way to help."

 

 

 

Not enjoying being reminded of his new nighttime padding, Varis unzipped a couple of the pockets looking for the baggie of cookies before he finally found them.

 

 

 

"Are these homemade?" Varis asked, looking at the large chocolate chunk cookies in the sandwich baggie, really wanting one. He wondered if they were nice and soft.

 

 

 

"Yup! Me and my little princess got a hankering for some last night, so I figured it'd make for a fun little project. You should have seen her in her cute little chef's hat." Varis rolled his eyes as Josh started to gush about other instances of Eliza being adorable, as was par for the course of carpooling with the croc. The wolf reluctantly looked at Eliza as he reached back to hand her the cookie. She was hiding behind her wolf plush, peeking from behind its ears at him, her nose twitching nervously. She slowly reached out and took the cookie from him, one of her eyebrows raising a little. She paused and looked him up and down, at least as best she could with most of him being blocked from view by the passenger seat. She then smiled warmly and took the cookie.

 

 

 

"Thankies, Vary!" She immediately started to nibble on her cookie.

 

 

 

"OOOOH! Looks like someone's coming out of her shell a bit," Josh said, reaching over to give a confused Varis a nudge with his elbow. "I told you that she'd get over her shyness around you eventually!" Varis decided to pretend he was checking something in his briefcase. In no time at all, they were soon pulling into their building's parking garage. Varis walked on ahead to the elevator while Josh was getting Eliza unbuckled. It was as he saw himself in the reflection of the polished silver elevator doors that he realized he had some chocolate and cookie crumbs around his muzzle. He quickly wiped it all off just before the doors opened and Josh, with Eliza riding on his hip, caught up to him. The ride up to their floor was mostly silent, aside from Josh checking Eliza's diaper and stating that she was a little wet but didn't need a change just yet.

 

 

 

"Now remember to be a good girl at daycare today, and you'll get a special surprise, honey-bunny!"

 

 

 

Deciding to just head straight to his office, Varis started speedwalking the moment the doors opened again on their floor... to only instantly plow right into Angelica with an 'OOF!' Varis fell flat on his rear, while the large, and some would call motherly, grizzly bear in the charcoal gray skirtsuit looked down at him in concern.

 

 

 

"Oh, goodness," she said, reaching down and picking Varis up under his armpits. She set him on his feet, looking him over and brushing off whatever dust or carpet fibers she could see. "I'm so sorry, Varis. Are you alright, honeypie?" Her southern accent was laced with concern. There was a reason why everyone referred to her as the office mom, she couldn't help but fuss over everyone. But right now, her examination of him was anything but comforting to the wolf. For some reason she's been giving him much more attention lately.

 

 

 

"I-I'm fine, Mrs. Duvar." Varis stammered, looking up at the bear and feeling so small right then and there. It certainly didn't help that she was a foot taller, had some serious muscle under her blazer, or that she was almost ten years his senior. Today, after wearing a... some protection for the first time since he was a little pup, he just felt a bit vulnerable around her.

 

 

 

"Well, if you're sure, Varis," she said with a smile, at first starting to reach for him as though she were going to give him a hug, but quickly yanking her arms back down to her sides. Then her gaze turned to something past him, and she let out a happy squeal.

 

 

 

"Is that my little unofficial niece I see?" Walking around him, Varis saw that she was making a beeline for an excited Eliza. The croc smiled and allowed Angelica to scoop the bunny up into her arms in a cradled position. Compared to Angelica, Eliza looked like she was the size of an actual toddler! Varis shuddered before heading into his office, pointedly ignoring her giggles and happy squeaks of laughter.

 

 

 

He took a deep breath as he shut the door, and thus shut out any intrusive thoughts that have absolutely nothing to do with what is clearly just his misdiagnosis and some stress. He looked around his office, feeling comforted by the rather spartan and bland beige room with a single small window to the outside world. Some would call his office tiny, or maybe even cramped, but it was large enough for a small bookcase and his desk. Most importantly, it wasn't a cubicle. Taking a seat at his desk, he fired up his computer, and got to work.

 

 

 

... Only to be interrupted about five minutes later from a knock at his door.

 

 

 

"Come in," he called, quickly saving and closing the document he was working on. In walked Josh, who was carrying a trio of three-ring-binders.

 

 

 

"Here ya go, buddy," he said, once the door was closed, setting them on the desk. Varis noticed that the croc seemed a bit annoyed.

 

 

 

"Something happen?"

 

 

 

Josh turned to make sure the door was closed.

 

 

 

"Doc Juniper came through for some kind of meeting and saw Angie booping Eliza's nose and making her giggle. He started in on his talk about 'professionalism' and 'this is a place of work, not a daycare', and actually said right then and there that he does not approve of bringing children, even overgrown ones, to work with us!" Josh snorted, while Varis cringed. Purely out of care for his friend, and not because he found Doc Juniper's opinions on MSers disheartening. "I mean, of course I was going to take her to the company daycare! It's not like I was going to set her up in a playpen in the empty cubicle next to mine!"

 

 

 

"W-well, we gotta remember that Doc is from a different era, and they didn't understand... uhm... the condition as well as we do today," Varis mumbled noncommittally while looking away.

 

 

 

"Maybe." Josh sighed. "But it's not like I have much of a choice. Daycare is expensive, and there's none near enough that could let me drop her off and get to work on time. Plus... I'm always worried she could end up getting picked on, or maybe a daycare worker will be mean to her. I know Marla and Shelly here at the company daycare, and I know that they would never do, or let anything happen to Eliza." Josh shook his head, seemingly shaking off the negativity, before whipping out his phone and holding it up for Varis to see, a huge excited grin on his face. "I forgot to mention, I got some more pictures of Eliza being adorable!" Varis was then subjected to three pictures of the bunny girl in a high chair, mushed food around her mouth and on her cheeks, two of her in her crib, in a pink footed sleeper, clearly napping, seven of her playing in different outfits, the majority of which were legless onesies, and a picture of her with some more MSers, also dressed in baby clothes, at a park, seemingly chasing each other.

 

 

 

She looks happy at least, Varis thought with a pang of guilt in his chest. Even back in high school, she was sporty... does she think back to those days? When she was the captain of the volleyball team? Before her diagnosis? Varis shook himself out of his thoughts.

 

 

 

"--of course, it turned out that she just had a bit of a diaper rash. I really needed to check her sooner, my poor princess." Josh was still gushing about his ex fiance. Varis wondered how the big goofy crocodile could actually go through with taking care of her like this?

 

 

 

Would Mira start treating me like that? Like I was a... baby? Varis had to force his tail to untuck itself before Josh noticed. He reasoned that there was no point in wondering about that, as things will never come to that situation. Simple as that.

 

 

 

With Josh's need to share about 'little' Eliza's latest doings and goings-ons that Varis was pretty much just nodding and agreeing while getting back to work, finished, the croc left him to get to his own project. With Josh gone, Varis started to open up the binders and cross-check different numbers and dates.

 

 

 

"Huh," he said under his breath, "that's odd." He continued to scour through the binders and files on his screen right up until lunchtime.

 

 

 

Is someone embezzling? Varis pondered, heading towards the door, his sack lunch in paw. He walked into the break room and found most of the tables to be fully occupied. Though Josh did wave him over to a seat at the table he and Angelica were at. Varis made his way over there and sat down, quickly opening up his brown paper bag.

 

 

 

"Why are you sucking on your thumb?" Bob from over in R&D asked, the middle-aged capybara wearing a very unconvincing toupe.

 

 

 

"Huh?" Varis asked, once it dawned on him that he was who the question was directed at. Realizing that his thumb was indeed planted in his mouth he started to panic.

 

 

 

"Uh... I... forgot my lunch and had to go back and get it and accidentally slammed it in the door," Varis said, pulling his thumb out and wiping it on his pants.

 

 

 

"Oh." Bob turned back back to his plate of pasta, back to being disinterested.

 

 

 

"Aww, want me to go get an ice pack, sweetie?" Angelica asked, scooting her seat closer to his own, looking worried.

 

 

 

"N-no, Mrs. Duvar, I'm ok, I swear," Varis insisted.

 

 

 

"Okay, but between bumping into me and falling over today and then hurting your thumb like that, you need to be much more careful!" Varis felt his ears splay flat on his head while he hung his head in shame, not really sure why.

 

 

 

"Y-yes, Mrs. Duvar," he mumbled. He felt her pull him into a hug and nuzzle the top of his headfur.

 

 

 

"That's alright, sweetheart! And please, just call me Angie!" The motherly grizzly released him after he agreed to do just that.

 

 

 

He had decided on a simple light lunch that day, just a yogurt and a bottle of apple juice. Grateful that there was some good office gossip to help get his mind off of things, especially since it involved the lunch thief and talk about having a camera installed to watch the employee fridge, Varis started to forget about his little social faux pas. The topic changed to another office mystery, who was it that accidentally dinged Doc Juniper's car door? From there, after a few guesses were made regarding possible culprits, the topic shifted again to some new show about a murder mystery and zombies that Varis had yet to actually start watching.

 

 

 

"Oh, sweetie, I swear, you remind me of my nephew," Angelica laughed while grabbing a napkin. The wolf was a bit confused as to what she meant, and why she was looking at him, when she started to use the napkin to wipe his muzzle.

 

 

 

"A-Angie!" Varis sputtered, only to see that there was some of his pink yogurt on the napkin. "What?"

 

 

 

Angelica giggled at his reaction. "I swear, the way you eat, you could really use a bib!" It was then that Varis remembered that Angelica's nephew, Pete, had Miner's Syndrome.

 

 

 

"O-oh, uh, excuse me," he said, grabbing another napkin from the dispenser and getting up to head to the nearest restroom. Looking in the mirror above the sink, he saw that he had some yogurt on his chin, his left cheek, some partially cleaned off his right cheek thanks to Angie, and even a little on the tip of his nose.

 

 

 

"This... I was just distracted," he said, a slight whine to his voice. He cleaned off his muzzle at the sink before heading back to the table to grab his unopened juice.

 

 

 

"Oh, Varis, I wanted to apologize for--" Angie started before he cut her off.

 

 

 

"It's all good, Angie. I was distracted because of this report, that's all. And I really need to get back to it."

 

 

 

"O-oh, alright, sweetie." The grizzly looked a little unsure, but Varis just wanted to get back to his office. Once the door was closed behind him, he started to calm down a bit, taking a seat back at his desk. After he cracked open the bottle of juice and took a sip to help further steady his nerves, he got right back to work... or at least, he tried to. However, when he took a sip of the juice, some trickled down the side of his mouth and down his chin. He took another drink, and the same thing happened. Concentrating hard on drinking his juice, Varis managed to gulp the entire thing down, only to feel a few stray drops go down his neck.

 

 

 

... No... this isn't... it's all just stress! That's it! He started to look at the binders again, grabbing some tissues from the tissue box on his desk to clean around his mouth and chin and neck first. But, he soon found himself re-reading the same few lines repeatedly. Shaking his head, Varis began to register the fact that he was squirming in his seat a bit. It was right after that that he understood. He really, REALLY, needed to pee. He got up and almost ran to the nearest restroom, grateful that it was empty. He found himself fumbling with his zipper at the urinal, but soon was relieving himself. Unfortunately, after finishing up, that's when he spotted the, albeit small but still noticeable, wet patch around his zipper. Quickly checking that the door was locked, Varis thought fast, and walked over to the blow dryer.

 

 

 

"Just a stressful day, th-that's all!" Varis insisted, trying to sound confident as he looked at his reflection, desperately trying to speed up the process of drying his pants. But the expression on his mirror double's face looked as doubtful of that claim as part of him felt.

[Pierry Louys]

Great start ! Loving the concept ! Hoping to see more of this story 

[Panther Cub]

1 hour ago, Pierry Louys said:

Great start ! Loving the concept ! Hoping to see more of this story 

This was a heck of a lot of fun to work on!

[BobbyDrago]

I feel bad for this guy taste of success only to fall back and away.

[Panther Cub]

52 minutes ago, BobbyDrago said:

I feel bad for this guy taste of success only to fall back and away.

Awww, yeah, he has been dealt a tough hand.

[Panther Cub]

And here is part two! Hope you all enjoy it!

Varis felt hollow, as though his insides had been scooped out, leaving him an empty husk of a wolf. He felt Mira's paws holding his, the worried-looking fennec was sitting in the chair next to him. Across from the couple and behind the large oak desk, Doctor Morley's beak was moving, but Varis couldn't hear the older red owl.




This can't be real! It just can't be! Varis let out a whimper and wiped at his eyes with his free paw, having to fight the urge to start sucking on his thumb.



"Baby, I promise, it's all going to be okay," Mira said, pulling him into a hug. He let out a shuddering breath, clinging to her like a lifeline. He could feel her nuzzle the top of his head and rub his back. It helped to calm him down and, once he composed himself, he let go of his wife to turn back to face the doctor.



"S-so... it's confirmed then? For real?" Varis felt like he wanted to scream.



"Yes," Dr. Morley confirmed, removing his glasses with a sigh. "While it's rare for someone in their twenties to suddenly be diagnosed, it does happen. You have Miner's Syndrome. And, while it can be hard to predict just how much it's going to affect someone with the diagnosis, from how your bladder and bowel muscles are starting to atrophy, I'd say that most likely, it's not going to just stop at the bedwetting stage."



Varis winced at that. Several instances of the past week he'd had accidents, mostly minor, in the daytime, and one unfortunately very full nighttime diaper he'd woken up in two days ago. Thankfully for the time he wet himself at work, he was able to 'accidentally' spill a soda he was drinking in his lap. And for the full diaper, well, Mari had been a big help, much to his chagrin.



"S-so, what are my options?" Varis looked to the owl with hope filled eyes, who instead had turned to Mari and handed her some pamphlets.



"Now, the transitional process isn't going to be a simple one, but these will help make things a little easier, as well as provide plenty of handy tips and information on additional resources that can help a lot." Varis let out a huff as the doctor was addressing Mira, who accepted the pamphlets.



"I-is there anything I can do that might help slow... or maybe stop the... condition?" Varis tentatively asked.



The doctor just gave him a sad smile and shook his head. "I'm sorry, big guy, but that's just not how that works." Varis took note of the change in tone from the doctor. He sounded almost like he was talking to a... little kid. Varis furrowed his brow and frowned. Doctor Morley got up and started to guide them out of his office and to the reception area, talking with Mira about the importance of bed and naptimes for an MSer. Varis just crossed his arms, after quickly yanking his paw away before he could pop his thumb in. As they were getting ready to sign out, Varis was stopped by Doctor Morley, who patted him on the head.



"You were such a big brave boy for me today. I'm proud of you." Varis opened his mouth to object to being talked down to like a child. He was an adult, dammit!



"And for being such a big brave boy for me, you earned a treat!" Doctor Morley held up a blue raspberry lollipop. Quickly, Varis' frustration abated and he happily accepted the treat, his tail starting to wag in excitement.



"Baby, what do we say?" Mira asked this with a happy smile as she looked over at him. Blushing, Varis popped the sucker into his mouth and looked down at the teal carpeting.



"Thankoo fow da wowwi," he lisped around his treat. That earned him a headfur ruffle.



"You're very welcome, big guy!"





* * *





Varis watched the end of the white stick of the lollipop poking out from his muzzle gently bob in and out. He ignored how nice the sucking sensation felt, and instead chose to focus on the dark thoughts swirling about his mind like gathering storm clouds.



"Dat doctew is a jackawwf," he mumbled under his breath, presently sitting in the passenger seat of his and Mari's SUV, with his arms crossed.



"Varis!" Mari chided with a tone of disapproval in her voice. "The doctor was just doing his job."



"He tweated me wike a puppy!" Varis pouted. "And why can't I dwive?" He hated how his voice sounded like a whine just then.



"Baby, he specializes in treating MSers like yourself. He was most likely treating you like any other patient of his." Mari's voice was soft and conciliatory. "And you are a little too much of a grumpy-grump right now to focus on driving. Besides, we need to pick up some things for home."



"Wike wat?" Varis asked, only now becoming aware of his lisp. Blushing, he crunched through the partially dissolved sucker, before tossing the stick into the little trash bag Mari kept in the car under the passenger seat. Looking up, the wolf saw that they were pulling into their local supermarket, SecureRoad.



"Well, we're getting a little low on some groceries," the fennec said as she pulled into an empty spot near the entrance, quickly killing the engine after putting the car in park. "Plus, we're going to need some more... precautions for your little nighttime troubles... and a few more things." Mari looked away while exiting the car.



"What kinds of things, Mari?" Varis asked once he was out of the car and walking alongside her, feeling the return of an all too familiar pit in his stomach that had formed recently.



Mari gave him a warm smile and grabbed a cart. "Sweetie, the doctor said that you're going to be progressing further with your condition... so I'm getting together supplies for when things do progress."



Varis felt his tail bush out in shock at that. He spotted the greeter nearby, an older beaver woman, who was giving him a warm smile similar to Mari's. Looking back and seeing his wife heading deeper into the store, he let out a whine, and trotted to catch up to her. Varis could swear that it felt like all eyes were on him.



"I-I don't care what the doctor had to say! He was a quack anyway!" Varis hissed this, trying to keep his voice low.



"What about those accidents you had at work?" She asked, making Varis look away in embarrassment. Yet she continued. "Sweetie, you still need some more nighttime protection, and you remember how when you went poopy, you got a little bit of a rash on your tushie? We definitely need some more of your SleepTights, and some rash cream." Mari kept her voice low, but Varis still let out a whimper while looking around.



He saw some nearby teenagers, a lioness, an otter girl, and a snow-white marten, who were laughing about something. Varis on some level knew it was irrational to think so, but there was a corner of his mind that was certain that they were snickering about him. That corner started to expand as he watched the otter, whom he noticed was in a yellow sundress, smile at him and stick her thumb in her mouth. He had to bite back a growl as he thought of giving them a verbal tongue lashing. It was when the lioness casually lifted up the hem of the otter's dress to reveal the smiling cartoon teddy bears on the front of her Pawpers that he started to calm down, his indignation quickly being replaced with surprise and confusion.



"Jenna, did you leave me a present?" The lioness cooed and nuzzled the top of Jenna's head, making her giggle. She proceeded to tug out the back of her diaper for her inspection. "Oh, that's a big yes! Sorry, Mark," she said, addressing the marten, leaning over to kiss his cheek. "I gotta get a certain someone into a clean diaper, and then get her back for her nap. Wanna come over and help me babysit?"



"Sure, Tina! OH! Maybe we can play Syndicate? Or... do you think Jenna might think the houses and hotels are candy?" With that, the otter's tail reached over and bopped him on the nose.



"Just 'cause I'm kinda a baby now, doesn't mean Imma stick random plastic things in my mouth, Mark! Or have we forgotten about the time you mistook feral dog food for Chocco Puffs?" Jenna and Tina giggled while Mark blushed, all the while Varis watched, mouth partially agape at the whole exchange.



"Okay, okay, fine. But to be fair, Tina's the one who just arbitrarily pours all the cereals into tupperware containers! How was I supposed to know that she did the same for dog food?"



"I put a sticky note on it saying Dog Food in big bold letters!" Tina laughed, scooping Jena into her arms in a cradled position, the slightly shorter girl still giggling profusely.



"Well, I thought you did that to try and trick me into leaving your Chocco Puffs alone!" Mark huffed, before Jenna surprised him by leaping over into his arms, nuzzling his neck.



"It's okay, Marky! Just remember, I may be a baby, but I'm a BIG baby, so I'm not gunna go munching on anything other than actual candy, real food, my binky, and those chew rings you got me that I love!"



Varis, still stunned, felt himself being tugged away by Mari. He turned to watch the teens heading down another aisle, presumably in the direction of the nearest restroom, Jenna now back in Tina's arms, being fed a bottle while the lioness and the marten talked. He was so confused about this new input, that when he turned to Mari to ask if she saw the exchange that had just happened, he realized that they were on the dreaded diaper aisle.



The wolf froze, his tail tucking itself between his legs, and his ears splayed flat on his head. All around him were bright and colorful packages with smiling babies and toddlers. A little further down, the packages grew larger and the models on them grew older. Being tugged further along, he spotted a red panda boy in his teens, sitting in a playpen and playing with a set of stacking rings on one package of Pawpers. Right next to them were the Snuggies, proudly showcasing some blushing teen tigress who was wearing a white and green nondescript jersey, with a thick matching diaper around her waist. She looked to be sprinting on a track field. New Snuggies Sporties, for the MSer on the go!



Mari gently tugged Varis along further, saying something he didn't catch, as now he was mesmerized by the sights of college-age MSers. A fluffy white sheep girl in a pink sundress with her pink princess diapers on full display, was sitting in a high chair, bibbed of course. She had what Varis presumed to be strained carrots smeared all over her cheeks and muzzle and splattered on the aforementioned bib. It was printed on a package of Wuvs.



"M-Mari, w-we don't need to be here," Varis hissed, feeling a chill run down his spine as he spotted another package of Snuggies. This one was showing an eagle wearing a navy blue jacket and tie, the same color as one of his own suits, with a white and blue diaper making up the rest of his outfit. In his brown feathery fingers was what looked like a cross between a coffee mug and a baby bottle, filled with brown liquid. Snuggies Li'l Big Professionals. Heavy Dooty for the MSer on the job! Varis let out a whine. It rapidly became a surprised yelp when Mari pulled him into a sudden hug.



"Okay, baby," Mari said with a smile, seemingly oblivious to Varis' reservations. "I know that this is very scary, but with all these fun and cute designs, I'm sure we'll find you something fun to wear!"



"Oh yeah, nothing more fun than wearing something to wet and mess in during the daytime," Varis sniped, feeling a pang of guilt at the look of hurt on Mari's face.



"Baby..."



"Could you please just... stop calling me that?!" He snapped, looking around, grateful that they were alone in the aisle. "I'm notta baby! I'm a big b-... I mean, I'm a grown man!" He could feel his cheeks burning as well as the sensation of tears starting to form at the corners of his eyes. "This just... this sucks, Mari!" Varis crossed his arms and turned away, sniffling a little. He grabbed a pack of Snuggies training pants, this one with a calico cat in some kind of tan safari vest and a safari hat proudly wearing them on the front. He mentally took note of the training pants depicted being blue and with a familiar black and red logo from a certain classic movie involving dinosaurs, before tossing them into the cart. Storming off, he didn't check to see if Mari was still with him, and instead turned at the end of the aisle, heading straight for the candy aisle.



"Hey there, big guy," a warm, motherly voice cooed out to him. He turned to see an employee, a deer, in her red smock, holding up a tray with little disposable sippi-cups on them. "You look like you could use a free sample."



Varis felt his eye twitch and choked back a growl.



"Listen, lady," he pointed a clawed finger at her, "I, a paying customer, don't appreciate you just assuming that I'm some... some... some big MS baby who needs a baba!"



"Vary!" He froze and recoiled, his petulant anger leaving him, and instead he cringed, a part of his mind worried that he was in trouble. Mari came along, pushing the cart, and he noticed that there were three more packages of... protection in the cart now along with the ones he picked... though they seemed a bit thicker than the training pants...



"I'm so sorry! We had a very big day today and I think he's just feeling overwhelmed. Ba--I mean, sweetie? You need to say you're sorry to the nice lady who was only doing her job."



Varis opened his mouth to argue, but seeing the stern look Mari was making, one that normally he had found cute, especially when they were first dating; he looked down and whined.



"I'm... sowwy," he spoke around his thumb, not bothering to question when it had even gotten into his mouth.



The doe laughed and waved a dismissive hoof-hand. "Oh, that's alright, honey!" She then turned to Mari. "Little ones, even big little ones, get cranky and upset from time to time. They can't help it." Varis wondered if it was possible to blush so much to have the fur on his face spontaneously combust. He continued to wonder about that on their way to the registers. Mari having steered him away from the candy aisle didn't really help his mood a whole lot either. The raccoon cashier, who didn't seem much older than the teenagers earlier, was looking bored as she started to scan their items. Varis winced when he saw that the three packages were Snuggies MS Diapers, all superhero-themed. Her explanation when he had noticed was that she had a coupon and it being a good idea to buy in bulk.



Today cannot get anymore humiliating, he thought.



The raccoon swiped his training pants across the scanner a few times before sighing and picking up a nearby phone.



"Price check, Snuggies Pull-Ups for MSers, price check, Snuggies Pull-Ups for MSers," she said into it, her voice blasting out from the PA system, oblivious to Varis standing there, mouth agape, a pink glow almost radiating from his cheeks. Waiting for another employee to show up, Varis then felt Mari wrap her arms around him from behind and start hugging his back.



"Hey, Ba--Honey," Mari whispered, catching herself, yet still causing her husband to wince.



"Y-yeah?"



"If you'd like, you can run off and go potty while I and this nice girl get the groceries all squared away." Varis opened his mouth to argue, until he realized that he was squirming a bit, doing an impromptu potty dance, feeling his bladder was ready to burst. He whined and nodded, dashing off to the restrooms. He entered the Men's room and ran right to a urinal. Just as he grabbed his zipper, however, he felt a warmth start to radiate at the front of his jeans, before flowing down to his feet. Whimpering, tears streaming down his cheeks, the wolf with the wet pants looked around, grateful that the restroom was vacant save for himself. He sniffed and got to work grabbing some paper towels from the dispenser to help clean up a bit. Just as he was finishing washing his paws, he jumped when he heard a knock at the door.



"Wh-who's th-there?"



"Sweetheart?" Mari's voice made him feel better, but one look down at the dark stain down his jeans was enough to cause his anxiety to spike back up. "Is everything okay?"



"... I hada accidewnt!" Varis saw that his thumb was back in his muzzle but chose to ignore it. His eyes widened when the door quickly opened. Mari's large tan ears were perked, her warm hazel eyes took him and all his shame in. Instead of disgust or annoyance, she gave him a sympathetic smile, and came right in. She pulled his head to her chest and started to stroke his ears, humming some tune that sounded kinda familiar, but Varis couldn't place. But it helped cheer him up a little.



"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. I should have checked to see if you needed a potty break before!" Varis heard a sob come from his wife, and felt a few moist drops hit his nose. Looking up, he saw that tears were coming down Mari's cheeks. Mentally, he wanted to kick himself for snapping at her earlier. The more he reflected on it, the more he realized how he'd been short with her all week, snapping a few times, and even acting the same way when at work. He knew she was just trying to help, and that none of this was her fault.



"Oh... Mari," he said, his voice croaking. "I shoulda been keeping better track of myself. N-none of this is your fault."



Their eyes met, and she smiled, though Varis could see that it was a smile tinged with sadness.



"I guess that this is a road we're both going to have to get used to walking down together," she said with a sniff, wiping her eyes and then blowing her nose on a piece of paper towel.



"D-do we just go to the car? M-maybe take some of these paper towels with us to lay down on my seat?"



Mari shook her head and nuzzled the top of his.



"We can't just leave you in your wet pants, sweetie. We need to get you cleaned up."



Varis bit his lower lip to try and keep it from quivering. He needed to be strong for Mari, especially with how strong she had been to keep up her usual sunny and loving demeanor for the entire week he had been such a pain to be around. He said nothing as she released him to quickly open the door. Right outside was their cart full of the purchases, all bagged up. Mari grabbed the pack of Paw-Ups and tore it open. She pulled out one of the folded and lightly crinkling blue garments, fluffing it out a bit. From the same bag she grabbed a tub of wipes and a canister of baby powder.



Turning and giving him another smile, doing a much better job at looking like her usual bubbly self, she grabbed his paw with her free one, and walked him over to the changing stations that folded into the restroom walls. There were three. Two sized for babies and toddlers, and one that was clearly for MSer usage. With it opened and lowered, Mari gave the padded plastic surface a gentle pat.



"Let's get those pants on and then hop on up so we can get you all clean and dry again, sweetheart!"



Varis, his category 5 blush returning in full force, complied by unbuckling his belt, and sliding his pants and boxers off. His tail tucking itself, he shuffled over to the changing table, and gave Mari a pleading look. She gave him a sympathetic smile and silently patted the surface again. He sighed, and hopped up, briefly concerned that he would break it. But it felt sturdy, and so he laid back while Mari gathered up his wet clothes. She stuffed and tied them in a shopping bag, setting it down next to him. Lifting up his legs, Mari opened the tub of wipes and got to work. She was humming a familiar tune and, as Varis' thumb slipped in between his lips, he started to hum along with her.



Into the nearby wastebin the wipes went, and a gentle pat to his bare thigh was the signal for him to get up. Varis complied, thumb firmly in his muzzle, even as he sighed at the sight of Mari holding open his new training pants for him to step into. First his left foot, and then his right, each step backwards from adulthood accompanied by praise from Mari for being so brave and responsible. She even pulled them all the way up for him, allowing him to see the Cretaceous Park logo on the front. More than likely, it would disappear or change in some way when it got wet. Mari then pulled out the back of the Paw-Up and gave his bottom a liberal dusting of the sweet-smelling powder, before securing the tape that went above his tail. She then pulled out the front and dusted him down it, gently setting everything back into place.



"There we go! Nice and dry and freshly powdered!" She sounded so chipper, but Varis just hung his head. "If you want, we can go and buy you some new shorts before we leave? And maybe a new stuffed friend you can take to work with you in your briefcase?" She offered, holding the door open for him, taking a second to use some paw sanitizer.



"I just wanna go howme," Varis replied, still sucking his thumb.



Gently taking him by the paw, Mari pushed the cart out past the registers, leading the red-faced wolf wearing just a blue t-shirt and a matching blue Paw-Up out past all the gawking people. Except... as Varis looked around, nobody was really paying him much attention. Spotting the raccoon girl who had been their cashier, he now got a good look at her as they passed. What he had taken to be a red uniform smock was actually more like a combination of smock and legless onesie, with a noticeable bulge around her waist. She was tapping away on her phone, hugging a green teddy bear in one arm.



"Wha?" Was all that came out of Varis' muzzle as they exited the store. It didn't take long for them to get to the car, or for he and Mari to get everything put away. He did feel it was a little patronizing for Mari to give him praise for helping out, as he always did that, but he said nothing. Getting in, he was expecting for the engine to start, but was instead surprised, after securing his seatbelt, he found a familiar disposable sippi-cup being held out to him.



"Mari," he started with a sigh, ripping his thumb back out and wiping it on his shirt.



"I thought you could use a little treat before we got home, so I grabbed you a chocolate-flavored one," she said, giving it a shake. He looked at the little plastic cup with a lid and spout that seemed like it was fused to it, seeing the brown liquid inside slosh around. Looking over, he saw that Mari was holding one herself, hers with some kind of blue liquid. "This blueberry-flavored one just looked so tasty, I couldn't resist!"



Varis watched in shock as Mari popped the spout of hers into her muzzle and began to suck out some of the drink.



"H-how is it?" He asked, sneaking glances down at his. It was chocolate after all...



"Mmmm," Mari said enthusiastically, giving her belly a rub. "It's like drinking a blueberry candy!"



Looking back down at his, Varis sighed, and started to drink from it. The taste... was actually chocolate. Not some chocolate-flavored milky-substance, but instead, it tasted just like pure chocolate, as if a bar of the stuff had just been melted down and poured into this little cup.



"I take it yours is tasty too?" Mari asked with a smile. Varis blinked and looked over at her with a questioning look. He then looked down to see that his was already empty... and that he now had some brown drips on the front of his shirt. Mari giggled and reached over with a wet wipe and started to clean up the sides of his muzzle and chin. He whined a bit but let her dote on him.



"I-I still don't think th-that this is gunna b-be as bad as the d-doctor said it would be," Varis said, a defensive tone creeping into his voice.



"Vary," Mira sighed as she started up the engine. "I just don't feel comfortable letting you go to work without your... protection on."



"What if I take some... with me, along with a spare change of p-pants... and if something... happens, I can put one on and no one would know?"



"Sweetie, what if you have an accident during a meeting? I would feel more comfortable with you in your Paw-Ups when at work, but definitely with some spares for when you need them." Mari said. After several years of marriage, they'd had their disagreements from time to time. And one part of Mari that he'd found equal parts frustrating and adorable was how resolute the smaller canid could be when she felt strongly about something. Her smile would harden a little, and her nose would start to twitch a bunch, all while her tail would bush out. Looking over at his wife, he could see her smile becoming more of a line, all while her nose began to twitch and, turning to look behind her where her big bushy tail had been threaded through the tail hole of the seat, he could see it starting to bush out. He knew she was not going to budge on him wearing training pants to work.



"Uhm... okay, how about this!" Varis had learned that when Mari was being stubborn, sometimes a more circuitous path was the best way to move forward... while also granting himself a little wiggle room to work with. "I-if I can go the entire work week without having less than three accidents, I can go back to wearing boxers?"



Mari seemed to mull it over as she slowly pulled the car out of the spot, and her smile softened considerably.



"Okay, Vary. If you can go the entire week without having three accidents, we can switch you back to boxers."



Varis felt his tail starting to wag through his own seat's tail hole, it lightly thumping against the side of one of the bags of supplies.



Now I got her, he thought smugly to himself. "This'll be as easy as taking candy from a baby." He was again unaware that he was once more sucking on his thumb.

[Panther Cub]

"I'm heading out, hun," Varis called out while grabbing his briefcase and opening the front door. He was actively trying to avoid thinking about the slightly thicker underwear he was now wearing, very faintly crinkling under his suit pants.





"Wait one second, mister!" Mira smiled, quickly walking from around the corner. Today she was wearing a seafoam green sundress. "Are you wearing your protection?"




The wolf's ears laid flat while he looked away. "Y-yeah," he mumbled, blushing as his wife checked not only to confirm that he was indeed wearing his new Paw-Ups, again, but also checking to see if he'd had an accident.




"And you have your spares?" The fennec put her paws on her hips, smiling.




With a sigh, Varis opened his briefcase and, pushing aside his folders, revealed another three Paw-Ups, a small tub of baby wipes, a canister of powder, and a small tube of rash cream. He'd been mostly confident in his potty training abilities at the start of the week, even secretly removing the spare Paw-Ups and supplies and leaving them at home. An unfortunate day where he'd not made it to the bathroom in time twice had resulted in him soaking his Paw-Up and having to sit in it the rest of the work day until he'd gotten home. This resulted in a partial leak and a bad case of diaper rash. Since then, Mari'd been more insistent on checking to make sure he didn't try to leave without his supplies again.




"What about your new soother?" Mari asked, to which Varis furrowed his brow.




"I am not taking a baby pacifier with me to work, Mari!" He blushed.




"Sweetie, it helped you feel better the day we got home from visiting the doctor," Mari reasoned.




"N-no it didn't! I just... forgot it was in my muzzle, that's all! Anyways, I love you, honey, and I'll see you later!" Varis snapped his briefcase shut and hurried out the door. Choking down a whimper, Varis was soon standing at the curb, waiting on Josh. He didn't have to wait long as the cheerful crocodile soon pulled to a stop next to him.




"Hey, Buddy, ready for a great day at work?" Josh asked, looking a bit more chipper than usual.




"Uh... y-yeah, Josh, I am." Varis awkwardly got in, catching an excited Eliza's eye in the back.




"Hi, Vary!" the excited bunny waved. Varis saw that today she was wearing a bright green vest over a white short-sleeved undershirt with a green and white tie. Covering the top third of her diaper, with part of a smiling sun winking at him, was a short green and dark green plaid tartan skirt. She looked like she was on her way to a fancy pre-school.




"Do you like my new outfit?" She asked, hugging a stuffed wolf.




"Uh... yeah, it's very pretty, Eliza," Varis said, buckling up.




"My little Elly-Welly just got accepted into Baroshire! She'll be attending classes there three days a week!" Josh was beaming with pride as he pulled away from the curb.




"Th-that's great. Baroshire's that fancy pre-school for MSers, right?"




"Nu-uh!" Eliza said, bouncing in her carseat. "It's a school that specializes in secondary education for MSers!"




"Oh." So that's a yes for it basically being a pre-school, just for bigger toddlers. Varis elected not to voice this thought, instead choosing to humor the excited bunny. "So what classes are you going to take?"




"Well, I'm gunna pick up where I left off with my marine biology studies! I had to take a placement test to see what areas I would need to catch back up on, but yeah! I'm gunna get to study sea life!" She was kicking her legs in pure glee.




"My little girl loves going to see all the pretty fishies at the aquarium!" Josh chimed in, causing Varis to silently internally groan, knowing full well that that meant when they got to work he would be subjected to dozens of pictures Josh took of Eliza during their most recent trip to the aquarium, probably dressed in an 'adorable' sailor dress and swim diaper, just in case.




"But I've decided to switch my minor to geology. Sociology is fun and all, but there's already some overlap with geology, at least concerning the tectonic plates and volcanic activity, and the oceanography class I had to take. I figure that will make it a slightly easier science credit to add. And finally, I'm taking a class in drawing, 'cause I wanna learn how to draw cartoons too!"




Varis was taken aback. He turned in his seat to look back at Eliza who was sucking her thumb now, swinging her feet. The wolf felt like he had just heard a ghost. Eliza, just now, had sounded just like the goofy and nerdy bunny he had grown up with, and not just another overgrown toddler.




"They got some more great courses too! Remember how much fun you had in that painting course you took back in college?" She asked, the meaning immediately clear to the wolf.




"Uh... that sounds great, Eli, b-but I can't just take off from work." Varis made sure to keep as much of the nervous tremble out of his voice.




"They do have classes for non-Msers too, y'know," Josh added his own two cents. "With some pretty flexible schedules! If you want, I think I might have the brochure still here in the glovebox!" Varis was certain that if Josh was some kind of canid, his tail would be thumping against the seat in excitement.




"Uh, Mari and my schedules won't really allow for something like that out of the blue. But I'll think about it later." Until I can get back to wearing boxers, keeping away from anything MSer-related or adjacent around Josh should be a priority...




"Awww," Eliza said with a pout.




"Well, alright. But if you ever feel interested in taking a look at their brochure, let me know, Buddy."




"Sure," Varis said, trying not to sound too noncommittally. The rest of the ride was largely uneventful, aside from Eliza now chiming in more to ask him questions. Things like his favorite TV show, or what his costume was going to be for Halloween. Varis was confused by this sudden interest in himself, and some part in the back of his mind began to worry that she somehow knew he was wearing Paw-Ups. He felt relief wash over him when they got to the parking garage, starting to fidget a little in his seat.




It was when Josh pulled into a spot and killed the engine that the fidgeting wolf had a sudden realization. Eyes going wide as he remembered the still-fresh memory of wetting his pants at the store, Varis confirmed he was indeed feeling the beginning inklings that he needed a restroom soon. With his seatbelt off he opened the door and bolted for the elevator. Doing his best not to start sucking his thumb or start doing the potty dance, he waited impatiently for the elevator to arrive. Just as it dinged and the door opened is when Josh, Eliza on his hip, arrived.




"Is someone excited to show off her new pretty outfit?" Josh cooed to Eliza, who giggled and nodded.




"Uh-huh! Hey Vary!" Varis turned to regard the bunny. "Do you wanna come play with me on your lunch break?"




Varis sputtered, too focused on his growing need to relieve himself to come up with a functional answer.




"Sweetie, Varis is a grown-up. He needs to do grown-up things when he's at work, even on his lunch break." Josh explained, bouncing Eliza a little. The bunny just looked away and pouted. Something Josh found to be even more adorable. Varis was grateful when the elevator dinged again and he was able to bolt out of it, making a beeline right for the restroom. Unfortunately, he ended up barreling right into Mrs. Duvar's sturdy form, bouncing off and landing on his bottom.




"OOF! Oh, Varis? Honey, you can't be running around the office like that. You could get hurt." Angelica said, the large bear reaching down to pick the wolf up under his arms and set him on his feet.




"S-sorry, Angie. I just need to use the po--th-the restroom, really badly."




"Alright, sweetie. Just remember to be careful." Angie waved him on, and Varis instead speedwalked to the employee restroom. He locked the door behind him and checked under the stall for any feet. Seeing that he was alone, he ran over to the urinal, unzipped his pants and tugged down his Paw-Up. He sighed as he felt relief wash over him. When he was done, he started to zip his pants back up, only to stop. Looking down, he saw that a couple of spots on the Cretaceous Park logo had faded.




"I guess I musta leaked a little when I ran into Angie," he thought out loud. Varis blushed and shuddered, hoping that Mari wouldn't count this as a strike on his potty chart. Making sure his pants were zipped up and that the back of his Paw-Ups weren't riding up or anything, he washed his paws and left the restroom, heading straight for his office. On the way, he girded himself.




Alright, time to put my game face on. The meeting will be soon. He thought. Indeed, only about five minutes after he signed in to his work computer, and checked his emails and memos, he received a text on his phone from Angie, informing him that she and Doc Juniper were heading to the empty conference room. Taking a deep breath, he gathered up the documents, and made sure his briefcase was out of sight in the event someone other than himself came into his office for some reason, and headed out. Entering and seeing the bear and older gray owl, Varis took another deep breath, and dove right on in. He wasted no time in stating his suspicions and how a few initial shipping and payment discrepancies had caught his eye, supplying the two with copies of the reports and invoices.




"As you can see, I took the liberty to highlight all the discrepancies," Varis said, holding up his own copy and pointing to the bright pink highlights drawn over certain numbers and dates. "This happens every week, and has been happening for over three years. The amounts always seem to range from around twenty-five dollars to seventy."




"Small enough that when they are found, they can easily just be written off as an error." Doc Juniper actually gave a harrumph as he said it. The heavyset gray owl was scratching his chin thoughtfully with a feathery finger.




"Correct, sir." Varis collected himself. "And what's more, you'll find that each and every one of these 'errors' only transpire with shipments to Mallmart. More than likely they themselves have just been writing it off as shrinkage."




"And Larry Neemon was convinced that he had made the deal of the century by getting us a contract with Mallmart. I swear, that chain has just been one headache after another for us." Doc Juniper began to massage his temples.




"We'll need to get started on figuring out who the culprit is," Angelica said, standing up and striding over to the surprised wolf. "Varis, I am just so proud of you!" She gushed while nuzzling the top of his head. "You did such a good job!"




"Angie, that's enough," Doc said with a roll of his eyes. "I swear, you have been spending far too much time down at the daycare with those extra large babies."




"Oopsies!" Angelica said, blushing as she released Varis. "I'm sorry, sweetie. I don't know what came over me."




"I've already started cross-referencing the dates and times to find any overlap with employees," Josh stated, winking at the blushing wolf and shifting the focus onto himself. A grateful Varis took a seat, immediately freezing. His Paw-Up squished.




Nononono! I didn't even feel when I needed to pee?! Was I that engrossed in presenting my findings? Varis fought to keep his slowly building panic under control. Okay... the meeting is almost over, I can run off to the restroom and get changed and no one will be the wiser! When did I even wet this stupid thing?! Varis shifted a little, wincing from the cold and clammy Paw-Up.




"Now you said that you've been tracing these discrepancies back the past three years, Varis?" The wolf was snapped back to the moment at paw by Doc Juniper's voice.




"Uh, y-yes sir. I even checked the shipping manifests all the way leading back to then against the reports."




Angelica frowned at this. "So whoever it is has been at this for long enough to have stolen thousands of dollars from the company!"




"Everything I was able to find is in the report," Varis said, shooting up from his seat at the same rate his panic suddenly rose. He could feel that his bladder was ready to burst, and he didn't think his Paw-Up could handle another wetting.




"Hold your horses, Varis," Doc Juniper said, making Varis freeze as he was about to speed walk to the door. "Have you been able to find what you believe to be the start of the discrepancies?"




"Y-yes sir, that would be the sixteenth of March," Varis said, starting to inch towards the door, blushing as he felt a few spurts. He clenched himself to try and prevent the flood, but he could tell that it was going to be a losing battle.




"Well that's when we made the first shipment!" Doc growled out.




"So they jumped right in to their little scheme the first chance they got." Angie crossed her arms and shook her head.




"Yeah... it was a bold gambit that seems to have paid off for them so far. Possibly making them overconfident." Doc shared a look with Angie.




"And people who are overconfident tend to make mistakes," Angie said with a smirk on her muzzle, turning to look at Varis who had his paw on the door handle. "Vary, honey, I think we're going to need you to take a look at some other shipping... sweetie?!"




A petrified Varis stood there as he felt the dam burst as he flooded his already sopping Paw-Up. Just as he theorized, it was too much for it to take, and a wet patch started to form on his khakis on his thighs, soon trailing down his pant legs as urine dribbled onto the conference room's scratchy green carpet. Looking up, Varis whined as he saw the looks of surprise on his superiors' faces. Doc's soon morphed from one of shock to a frown of disapproval, whereas Angelica's became one of smiling sympathy. The motherly bear strode over to the whimpering wolf and pulled him into a hug.




"It's okay, honey," she said, her instincts taking over as she absentmindedly yanked down his pants a bit to check the damage. When she saw the Paw-Up in all its soggy glory, the Cretaceous Park logo on the front having disappeared, he let out a coo. "Oh, Vary, you should've told us that you needed a potty break."




Varis heard a huff coming from Doc, causing him to tuck his tail between his legs. He heard the owl muttering something, but the only part he was able to understand was "babies in the workplace." Varis let out a whimper, something he realized that he' started to do more often lately. Unbeknownst to him, his thumb found a new home for itself in his muzzle.




"We can discuss it later, Doc," Angie said, a steely expression on her face as she regarded the older owl. Doc rolled his eyes and got up, holding some of the previously looked over documents, scrutinizing them closely. Varis had a feeling right then and there that Doc was already double-checking his work.




"Yes, yes... and good job, Varis. You'll understand that we're going to have to go over your findings again, of nothing else than to make sure that some of these marks weren't made because you got bored and started playing with the highlighter."




"Doc!" Angie barked, to which Doc just shrugged. The bear turned to look back at Varis and began petting his headfur. "Don't worry. We're going to get this all sorted. Now, first things first, do you have any more Paw-Ups, sweetie?"




Reluctantly, Varis nodded his head. "In mah sootcafe," he lisped around his thumb.




"Do you think you'll need help changing, sweetpea?"




Varis emphatically shook his head.




"Alright. I'll walk you to your office. And then, once we're all taken care of, we'll go from there, okay, honey?" Angie cooed and, much as he was loath to admit it, it as well as her holding him close was helping to soothe him. Varis meekly nodded and allowed himself to be led out of the conference room. He looked down at his feet as they walked through the floor towards his office. Varis could hear some murmurs and looked up to see several coworkers looking at him with wide eyes. Sniffling, he blinked away the hot tears that were prickling the backs of his eyes.




"Varis, buddy? What happened?" Josh asked, startling the devastated wolf. He sniffled some more and leaned into Angie's side.




"I think someone was keeping a little secret," the motherly bear said to the confused crocodile, but still loud enough for Varis to hear. He watched the gears turning in Josh's head before it clearly clicked for him.




"Oh! Aww, buddy, you didn't need to hide that you are an MSer. No one's gunna think of you any differently."




Varis started to frown around his thumb while he felt Josh rubbing his headfur.




"Hmm... I know! I've got just the thing that can help him to feel much better!" Josh rushed off and Angie resumed leading him to his office. Varis quickly grabbed his briefcase and clutched it tightly to his chest. Angelica led him to the restroom, promising to stand outside it so that he could have all the privacy he needed to change his Paw-Ups.




Is this going to be my life now? Swapping out one wet Paw-Up for a fresh one while at work? Varis thought to himself as he ripped open the tearable sides, quickly folding it up and stuffing it into the waste bin. Sniffing himself, he grabbed the baby wipes and proceeded to clean himself, tossing the used ones into the same bin afterwards. Sliding on the fresh pair, he eyed the canister of baby powder sitting there in his open briefcase, and sighed. Not wanting to risk a rash, he grabbed it and the rash cream tube that was next to it.




Once he was all finished and had washed his paws, he realized that he was now feeling a sense of deja vu. His pants were soaked, and he would have to leave the bathroom with his Paw-Ups exposed for all to gawk at. He sniffled and whined, before steeling himself and squaring his shoulders. Trying his best to look as dignified as possible, he opened the restroom door, only to see that everyone had returned to work, with the exception of Angie and Josh. The latter of whom was holding up a pair of bright orange shorts.




"These are from the spare clothes I brought for Lizzy, just in case. They have an elastic waistband, so I'm sure they'll fit!" Josh smiled at Varis, blissfully unaware of how the wolf was sulking.




"What do we say when someone does something nice for us, Varis?" Angie prompted, causing him to blush and look down at his feet.




"Dankies, Joff." His thumb was planted firmly between his lips.




"It's alright, buddy. Shoulda seen all the accidental leaks back from when Lizzy went through her own training pants phase. Also here, I think that this will work better than your thumb, and free up your paw! And don't worry, it's one of Lizzy's spares, so it's never been used before!"




Varis, realizing that he was sucking his thumb at work, ripped it out, turning to look at Josh, his mouth open to ask him what he meant. That was when a bright blue pacifier was popped in, and Varis instantly started to suckle it. He whined, but made no move to remove it, instead standing there, making soft nuk-nuk-nuk sounds from each suckle.




"This is just so thoughtful, Josh." Angie gushed, taking the shorts and leaning down to hold them open for Varis. Not wanting to make a scene, but blushing like crazy, he stepped into the shorts and could only watch as she slid them up his legs, and snapped the button to the strap that went over his tail in place. She then gave him an affectionate pat on his lightly padded bottom. "All done! Now," she said, taking Varis by the paw, "I think someone could use a little break."




As she started to lead him not back to his office, but instead out into the hall, Varis had a sinking feeling in his tummy, and not just because he was now wearing a pair of loud orange shorts that completely clashed with his button up long sleeve white shirt and tie.




"Are you taking me to the daycare?" He asked, pulling out his new binky to do so, but instantly popping it right back in.




"Yup, sugarpie! Today must've been just so stressful for you so far. So I think a little downtime to relax will help... besides, it is company policy that any and all MSer employees, in addition to a scheduled naptime, are also required some scheduled playtime in the daycare."




"B-but..." Varis tried to come up with any excuse he could think of, but failed just as they arrived at the tie-dye painted door that read Daycare on the windowpane. As she pushed the door open, Varis began to rapidly suck his binky faster and faster, pressing himself up against Angie's side. She cooed at him and whispered in his ear how it was all going to be okay. He continued to remain silent as she walked him inside, closing the door behind them.




His eyes were assaulted by so many loud primary colors, seemingly splashed around everywhere. From the alphabet puzzle piece foam flooring to the ceiling painted to look like the sky with some clouds drifting by, everything was bright and cheerful. Looking off to the left, Varis could see a general play area, with some toys strewn about, both inside and outside a playpen. Across from them, past the receptionists' desk was a little kitchenette, with some tables, high chairs, and a fridge. Off to the right was a room with colorful sleeping bags laid haphazardly. Near them were five cribs, and a changing table.




Presently, laying on a changing table next to some cribs, was Elize, being taped up into a new diaper by a dark brown bat lady wearing a lavender blouse with a long flowing skirt the same color. Eliza was giggling and kicking her legs, sucking on a bottle of juice, until she saw Angie and Varis, her eyes shining brightly.




"Hi, Vary!" She practically cheered, trying to roll off the table, uncaring that her diaper was only half taped on. Thankfully the bat lady was able to stop her.




"Now, Eliza, we need to finish getting your fresh diaper on, and THEN you can go play, you silly little bunny!" She said, quickly securely taping the Snuggies on before setting her down on her feet. Before she could put the skirt back onto Eliza, the bunny had run up to the wolf and the bear, excitedly jumping from foot to foot.




"Are you here to play?" She asked, stopping as she seemed to take into account the bright orange, and rather familiar, shorts Varis was wearing, as well as the pacifier in his muzzle. "Oh," she said in a soft voice just as the bat walked over.




"Oh? And who is this little pup?" The daycare attendant asked, causing Varis to blush and tuck his tail in between his legs.




"Hi, Marla," Angelica said. "Varis here, it seems, has been having a bit of a rough day today, and I thought he could use a little downtime, at least until we could get ahold of his M--uh, wife."




Varis sulked after clearly hearing the beginning of an 'M' word.




"Oh? Ooooooh," Marla said, it suddenly dawned on her what Angie meant. "Oh, poor little guy. Well, don't worry. We'll find you something fun to do until we can get this all sorted out." She then turned to the bunny. "Now, Eliza, would you like to be my special helper today?"




"Yes!" Eliza said, jumping up and down.




"Good. Then how about you show our new friend here around the daycare, while us grown-ups get things all sorted, alright?"




"'Kay, Miss Marla!" Eliza said, holding her paw out for Varis to take. Looking unsure of himself, and receiving an encouraging nod from Angie, he reluctantly put his aw in hers. Eliza gently tugged on his arm, leading him over to the play area first. As they moved away from the 'adults', Varis' ears twitched as he picked up on their low murmuring voices discussing possible schedule changes.




So much has changed in so little time, he thought, amazed at how quickly his life had begun to shift since last week.




"Over here's the ball pit, and this play pen has such a soft floor to it, that sometimes I fall asleep in it before naptime. And over there in the learning corner is where we can set up our laptops for school work, or for anyone whose job allows them to work remotely. Over here is the toy chest and OH! That is the special closet where we keep all the costumes for if we wanna play dress-up!"




"G-great, Eliza," Varis said, having removed his paci, looking down at it as he shuffled along after her. "Wait a minute, did you just say that we can use the learning corner to do work or schoolwork?"




"Well, yeah! Liam works remotely, mostly, as a programmer. And Shelly works here in the IT department. Liam's out sick today, however, and Shelly had to leave on a call a little while before you got here." Eliza stopped and looked Varis over. "So I take it that this is not exactly how you were expecting your day to go, huh?"




Surprised, Varis could only snort. "Yeah, no. Peeing my pants in an important meeting and having my adulthood come into question was not how I saw today going, Lizzy."




"Understandable... remember when my MS manifested?"




"I remember. We were in line to go see Hammer VI, you suddenly started to get nervous looking at the posters. Then you pooped yourself and started to suck your thumb, wanting to go home."




Eliza giggled at that. "Yeah. I'm glad Daddy was with me that day. My old parents were not at all equipped to deal with a lte-blooming MSer... or really, any MSer."




"Yeah... and then we kinda drifted apart and..."




"Yeah, no we didn't." Eliza now sounded stern and was looking at him with her arms crossed.




"Huh?"




"We didn't drift apart," she said while making air quotes. "Once my condition manifested, you got nervous whenever you were around me, and started to avoid me altogether." She looked away. "It really hurt me, Vary. You were my bestest friend. We did everything together. And, when I needed you most in my life? You just disappeared."




Varis felt the needle of guilt stab at his heart. "I'm so sorry, Lizzy. It's just... I remember when my grandpa went through Alzheimers, how he got to the point where he couldn't recognize anybody... and I couldn't face it if you started to forget about me when you started to forget about... being an adult."




Eliza frowned and placed her paws on her hips. Despite her skirt being removed and leaving her diaper on full display, she radiated disappointment. The bunny huffed and rolled her eyes before leaning forward. Varis flinched for a second, but that didn't stop Eliza. She reached out a paw and flicked his nose, causing him to let out a semi-mumbled Ouch! around the blue pacifier he had popped back in his muzzle.




"Vary, I didn't start losing most or any of my memory when my MS was diagnosed. Yeah, I underwent some changes, but I'm still pretty much the same Eliza who was your best friend growing up all the way to college! It's just that now, I'm also kinda a baby!"




"B-but..." Varis was at a loss for words. He sniffled as the realization of how he'd abandoned his best friend hit him, and he began to tear up. "L-Lizzy... I'm so sorry!"




Eliza's stern gaze softened a bit.




"Vary... it's okay. I forgive you. What's important is the here and now. And here and now, I can at least be there for you!"




Smiling, she took his paws in hers, her eyes practically sparkling. "It'll be just like when we were little together before!"




"Oh... goody," Varis snarked, rolling his eyes. A gesture Eliza was quick to return.




"Look, I'm not saying the changes that come with Miner's Syndrome aren't pretty significant, and that things aren't going to suck. And I know that this is going to sound cliched at this point, but it really isn't so bad once you get used to it. Sure, I lost just about any chance at independence when my condition manifested. But I have gotten to feel a level of love for and from my Daddy that I only remembered from my earliest childhood memories, back before I had the cognitive ability to understand and verbalize how I feel. And the way I can experience the world now, all with a small child's excitement and curiosity, blended with an adult's reasoning, neither of which is diminished nor hindered by the other; almost seems magical at times."




"... You make it sound like it was the greatest thing to happen to you," Varis muttered, still having trouble comprehending what he was hearing.




"I won't say that it's all sunshine and rainbows. Just as I can now feel a level of joy I wouldn't have thought possible, the same is also true for my other emotions. Even knowing that there's nothing under my crib, sometimes I still get terrified about there being a monster under there. When I re-tried potty training... I realized how petrifying a potty can be! And when I get angry or frustrated, sometimes I see only red and just wanna punch or throw stuff! Luckily, I can be distracted by the jingling of some shiny keys, or simply by being picked up and held until the storm of emotions passes."




"Doesn't that bother you? Being so... emotional and vulnerable?" Varis asked.




"Sometimes... but, like I said, it isn't so bad once you get used to it."




"I don't think I can ever get used to being treated, or having to act, like a toddler," Varis groused.




"Okay, how about we try some baby steps?" Eliza offered, seeing the sudden look Varis was giving her. "Right... poor choice of words... anyways, how about we try something that you can enjoy at any age?"




"Like what?"




Eliza led him over to the toy chest, and gave him an excellent view of the smiling solar system on the butt of her diaper as she bent down to grab something from inside the big pirate-treasure-themed box. She then presented him with a big blue plastic tub, showing a bunch of miniature snappable multi-colored bricks and cubes.




"Like playing with Armgos!"




"... Well... I guess it couldn't hurt," Varis said, his tail starting to wag a little, having loved spending hours upon hours as a pup assembling all sorts of different creations with his old armgos sets. Taking a seat at a colorful plastic table, Eliza opened up and dumped out all the pieces, immediately getting to work snapping them together. As they worked, Marla came by to regularly check on them, even bringing Eliza a bottle of juice and some in a sippi-cup for Varis, which he reluctantly accepted, remembering to thank her. For a good while they worked on making their own little castle, giggling and joking with each other. The more Varis spoke with Eliza, the more it started to feel like old times. The juvenile setting and underwear certainly helped with that illusion.




It was just as Varis finished the crenelation for the castle that Marla came back. "Varis, honey? Someone's here to see you."




Having been brought back to the here and now, Varis got up and started to shuffle back to the sign-in desk. He was surprised when he felt someone take his paw in their own again. Looking up, he saw Eliza smiling at him, holding his paw, bringing out a small smile on his own muzzle. Turning around the corner, Varis was expecting perhaps Angelica, or maybe even Doc Juniper to inform him he was fired. Instead, his tail began to wag in excitement as he saw Mari standing there, a familiar bag slung around her shoulder, smiling at him.




"Hi, baby!" She said, pulling him and Eliza into a hug. "Thanks for helping keep Vary company, Lizzy!"




"Always, Mari!" Eliza said, giving the fennec a kiss on her cheek.




"I just spoke with your Daddy, and we're going to set up some playdates for you two. For now, though, I think Vary would like to go home. Okay?"




"'Kay," Eliza said, giving Varis a great big hug. "I hope that we can go to the park together soon!"




"You will," Mari said, kissing Lizzy on her forehead, before slipping Varis' paw into hers. "Now, ready to go, baby?"




Varis silently nodded, his binky bobbing in and out faster.




"Need a change first?" Upon hearing it, Varis winced as he realized that his Paw-Ups were in fact damp. But he just shook his head.




"No..." He said.




"Alright, sweetheart." Waving bye to Eliza and Marla, Varis was led out of the daycare and straight towards the elevator, as well as to certain uncertainty. While Varis was still worried about what was to come next, he was feeling a little more confident that things might not be all bad.

[Pierry Louys]

So cute chapter 

[Panther Cub]

38 minutes ago, Pierry Louys said:

So cute chapter 

Thank you!

[Panther Cub]

Varis opened his eyes and stretched, letting out a yawn. The wolf smiled for a bit, the grin on his muzzle growing wider as Mari's face appeared over his.





"Did someone have himself some sweet dreams? I think he did," the fennec vixen said with a coo.




"Mownin' Mawi!" Varis's eyes went wide as he heard his childish lisp. Looking at the tip of his muzzle, he could see a white and blue object bobbing in and out. Reaching for it and giving a tug, Varis held the pacifier up to inspect with a frown. He suddenly remembered the previous night when his wife offered him the soother and a plush tiger to cuddle to help him sleep. He scowled as he subconsciously cuddled Mr. Nuggets close to his chest.




"I don't think I like sleeping with a binky or a plushie, Mari," Varis said as he got up and headed towards the bathroom, wincing from the feeling of the soaked and swollen night time diaper now drooping from his hips. Realizing he still was holding the toy close, he huffed and set it on the dresser next to the bathroom door. Mari said nothing but simply smiled and set the binky into the chest pocket of the overall Mr. Nugget was wearing.




Varis gazed at his reflection in the bathroom mirror, not happy with the sight before him. There stood a grown wolf in his twenties, albeit late twenties, wearing his favorite bright green pajama top... with a thick green and blue diaper taped around his waist, the smiling comet on the front having faded. He let out a weary sigh, knowing full well that when he got done with his morning shower, there would be a paw-up awaiting him still in lieu of his normal boxers. Despite his initial estimate when he and Mari had first gotten him the training pants, he was still using them.




He made a face of disgust while untaping his diaper, thankful it wasn't messy, as that would have required more help from Mari. Balling it up and tossing it into the trash, he turned on the shower, waiting for the water to warm up before getting in. Normally, his showers were a time of peaceful reflection on work, or a time to let his mind drift and his imagination out to play in a daydream while his body went through the motions of cleaning himself. Try as he might to relax, he couldn't get the thought of the paradoxical nature of paw-ups out of his head. On the one paw, they were a sign of maturity and that first step towards independence for toddlers and perhaps some late-blooming little pups. A step towards the ever mysterious complexities of adulthood. But for those diagnosed with MS? It was the exact opposite. Training pants were a sure sign of immaturity, and a great big leap back towards dependence and, for most MSers at least, the simplicity of babyhood.




Rinsing off his ocean mist body wash, Vary gave a great big shake before stepping out to start drying himself with a towel. The finished product being a now much floofier Varis, who hated how much more puppy-like his puffed-out looking fur was now.




Did my fur always fluff out this much after a shower? He thought to himself, quickly dismissing the idea. He briefly wondered if Mary would start insisting on giving him bubble baths.  Before his diagnosis, he would have chuckled at the notion and accepted, knowing full well that that would quickly lead to a rather... 'intimate' situation. Now though, it would still be intimate, just not in the way he would have preferred, probably with her humming some catchy MSer song or even giving him some bath toys to play with. That thought did however spark another one in his head, wondering about when the last time he and Mari had actually been 'intimate' with one another was. The more he dwelled on it, the more he realized that it had been a while before his diagnosis. Trying to recall the memory, it actually felt rather... hazy. He then tried to imagine him and Mari being 'intimate'... yet... something about it felt... gross?




"No," he said quietly to himself, "that can't be right! We've been... like that plenty of times before, heck, even before we were married!" He internally clamped down on a sense of dread. "Is this disease going to strip that away from me too?" He hung his head and wiped his eyes. Internally, he knew that it, unfortunately, made sense. He'd been making some inquiries about his condition lately, and found that MSers tended to lose any sort of a libido. Most sources seemed to agree that MSers often became very... innocent, about such things. What that meant, exactly, Varis didn't know, as the thought alone had made him so uncomfortable he'd shut his laptop and needed to be cuddled by Mari afterwards.




He jumped at the sudden gentle knock on the bathroom door.




"Vary, baby? Are you okay in there? Do you need any help?" Maris' voice, full of care and concern, came from behind the closed door.




"Y-yeah, M-Mari, I'm fine! Just finishing up is all!"




"Okay, sweetie! You'd better hurry up then, don't want to be late on your special day at work!"




His tail tucked and his ears drooped at the reminder of his 'special day'. Thanks to anti-discriminatory labor laws regarding MSers, Varis couldn't just be fired simply because of his condition. However, those same laws also required some new... adjustments at work. The big one being a requirement for him to spend a certain amount of time each day at the company daycare having some mandatory play and activity time. As well as a mandatory naptime. It also meant that a staff member trained in childhood care and MSer care would have to check in on him and assist with his needs, especially bathroom needs. He could only imagine how much grumbling Doc Juniper most likely made about these required accommodations, not that Varis was thrilled about them being required either. He'll just have to work twice as hard to prove that he was still just as capable as any of the rest of the staff! Puffing out his chest, he exited the bathroom, to find Mari standing there, holding open the Paw-Up for him, ready to step inside and start his day. He looked at the Cretaceous Park logo's t-rex skeleton silhouette, imagining it was smirking up at him.




"Th-thanks, M-Mari," Varis stuttered, some of his bravado already faltering a bit in the wake of his wife's gentle and loving smile.




"Always, baby." Mari's bushy tail wagged a little as Varis took one step, and then the other into the awaiting garment. She pulled it up his legs and checked to make sure it fit nice and snug, making sure to adjust the tape above the tail hole. She gave his bottom a pat to signal she was done. He turned around, about to head to the closet to grab his pants and shirt, until Mari wrapped her arms around him in a tight hug.




"I'm just so proud of you, honey," Mari said, her voice filled with love. "After everything that's happened, here you are, still pushing forward. Just please try to remember to not burn yourself out, okay hun?"




"Uhm... 'Kay, Mari." Varis felt very small in that moment, but Mari's arms encircled him protectively, bringing with them a sense of safety and security that helped calm his nerves and ease his mind. His tail started wagging and he let out a giggle when Mari nuzzled his cheek.




"Now, if you need any help getting dressed, let me know. And while you're getting ready for work, I'll make you a special yummy breakfast for your tummy. Yes I will!" Mari cooed to him, reaching up to boop his nose, eliciting a sneeze. His tail started to wag a little slower, but he was intrigued by the idea of a special breakfast. A part of him hoped it was cookies! After Mari left, he quickly got dressed for the day, though not without having a little trouble managing the button and zipper on his slacks, and the buttons for his suit shirt. Luckily putting on his tie was still something he could do on autopilot. After a quick brush of his fur and a check in the mirror, Varis left the bedroom and walked to the kitchen.




"Chocolate chip waffles?!" Varis' eyes went wide while his tail became a blur while he gazed upon the plate of the stacks of the still steaming chocolate-chip goodness. He spotted Mari spooning some more batter into their waffle iron, giving him a smile.




"Today's a special occasion for my big brave man. So he gets a special breakfast." Mari cooed to him some more, not that he minded in that instant. He had chocolate chip waffles that urgently required his attention. He took a seat at the table and was just about to reach for one of the two plates, only to have his paws shooed away. Mari smiled and nuzzled him some more, reaching over to grab the plate herself. Varis felt a tickle around his neck, and looked down to see a white bib with a bright blue ducky on it.




When did she manage to put that on me? He wondered to himself. "A b-bib? Seriously, Mar-Mar?"




Mari drizzled the amber maple syrup over the waffles, making sure they got an even spread.




"Well, you can be a bit of a messy eater, Vary." She explained, grabbing a canister of whipped cream and sprawing some on top in a neat little coil. She then set the plate down in front of the wolf, along with a fork and a butter knife. "And that's especially true for pancakes and waffles. So this way, you can enjoy your special breakfast and not have to worry about getting your work clothes all sticky." She kissed him on the cheek, to which Varis grumbled some more under his breath about the infantile garment, but decided against trying to argue the point. His tail resumed its frantic wagging as he dug in. The heavenly sweetness played on his tongue, sending him into a state of bliss while he ate, not even upset that his orange juice came in a sippi cup. When he was finished, he saw that Mari was giggling and snapping a picture with her phone.




"What's so funny?"




Mari then turned her phone around to show that he had syrup and whipped cream and chunks of waffles smeared around his cheeks and muzzle, with even more splattered on his bib. Looking down, he blushed as he saw that it had been an accurate depiction. Looking back up, he was blindsided by Mari carefully scrubbing at his face with a damp washcloth.




"Hold still, my messy boy, and we'll get you all cleaned up in no time!" He winced, recalling Mari using that exact same sentence the last time she'd had to change him after he'd woken up in the middle of the night with a full sleep-diaper. She then removed the bib and gave him a once-over with her eyes, satisfied that there wasn't a spot on him. "Alrighty, now you go ahead and take care of your brushing those teeth! Josh will be here any minute to take you to work!"




"'Kay," Varis said with a mumble and a blush. There was no denying that Mari was viewing him in a much more childish light. As he double-checked to make sure his paw-up was still dry, he reluctantly internally saw her point. It didn't take him long to clean his teeth and then go and grab his briefcase, opening it to check and make sure that all the important documents and papers for work were right where they belonged. He sighed upon seeing the two spare paw-ups, and bit back a groan at the sight of one of his sleep diapers folded up with them. Undoubtedly for his naptime. The ring of the doorbell prevented him from reflecting too heavily on it. Snapping the briefcase shut, Varis walked over and opened the front door, with Josh happily waiting on the other side.




"Hey there, buddy," the towering crocodile said, reaching over to ruffle Vary's headfur. Varis pouted at that and looked away.




"Good morning, Josh."




"Are you excited for your big day?"




"Oh yeah. It's gunna be a goodie gumdrop kind of day for me."




"Vary, be nice." Mari lightly scolded, prompting Varis' ears to droop while he mumbled an apology to the bemused Josh.




"Aw, don't sweat it, big guy. My baby bun-bun said a lot worse when she was getting settled in to her new routines involving her MS." Josh chuckled before turning to Mari.




"And please don't fret, Mari. I swear I'll keep an eye on Vary. Plus, I just know that he and Eliza are gunna have fun playing together today."




Why does this sound like some sort of playdate?! Varis huffed and leaned over to kiss Mari on the cheek, getting a hug and a kiss in return.




"Bye, Mari. I love you!" Varis let out a squeak of surprise when Josh picked him up and settled him on his hip.




"Someone's quite the eager beaver this morning!" Josh patted a red-faced Varis' lightly padded backside as he and Mari conversed. "So are we still on for Vary and Eli's playdate Saturday?"




Wait... they're setting up an actual playdate?! Varis opened his mouth to protest, but found his binky popped right in, instantly calming him down.




"Absolutely! Josh, I just can't thank you enough for looking out for my brave big boy, or for bringing Vary back home after last week's... [em]incident[/em]." Varis blushed deeper at the mention of his secret getting exposed at work in front of everyone.




"It's no sweat, really. Besides... having had to go through it with Eliza, I know how hard it can be, the transition period, I mean." Now Josh was the one blushing and rubbing the back of his head. Varis gave him the side-eye, noticing out of the corner of his gaze that Mari's tail had started to wag a little. "Well, we really should get going. Don't want to be late for this big guy's big day!" Josh gave Varis a bounce for emphasis. Before he could voice his objections over being carried and having a playdate set up, Mari leaned in to kiss his forehead, something he'd noticed her doing a lot more lately, and something that had yet to fail to help calm him down.




"Now you have a good day, Vary. And be good for Josh and your employers, ok?"




Looking into her shining happy eyes, Vary could only blush and nod.




"O-Okay," he said in a soft voice. With Vary still blushing, Josh said his goodbye to Mari as well as began to carry him to the car. Varis was expecting to be set down in the front passenger seat, but was surprised to find Josh opening up the door to the back seat. His ears drooped at the sight of not only an excitedly waving Eliza sitting in her pink car seat, but also a second, deep green car seat installed as well.




"Okay, let's get you all settled in, and then off to work we go!" Josh smiled and carefully set Varis down in the available padded seat. He tried to start buckling the harness straps himself, but his paws were waved away by Josh's scaly green hands, and received a quick tickle to his tummy for his trouble. Trying to fight the sudden sensation, Varis let slip a happy giggle that made Josh's smile grow even wider.




"And there we go!" With an audible click, Varis found himself safely secured in the backseat, his briefcase now resting at his feet.




"Hi, Vary!" Eliza practically cheered.




"Uh... h-hi, Eliza," Varis said, looking over and taking note of her positively juvenile attire. She was wearing a bright pink tank top that ended in a glittery tutu, her pink unicorn princess diapers visible. She wiggled and crinkled in her seat, looking like she was about to burst out of her own harness and bounce all around the car, something Varis suspected was an actual possibility with her, based on memories from when they were little. Well, the first time...




"We're gunna get to play in daycare today!" The tan bunny looked at the red-faced wolf, waiting for his response.




"Uh... we are?" Varis had been hoping to sneak his office laptop in to the daycare with him to get some additional work done.




"I know that look, Vary." Eliza cheekily grinned while wagging her finger in his face. "You were gunna try and be sneaky and do some work during your legally mandated playtime!"




Varis sighed and crossed his arms, sulking. I forgot how perceptive Lizzy was when it came to guessing what I was planning. "... Maybe..."




"Well, you can go ahead and forget all about that! My friends, Jenny and Katie and Liam and Perry, are all super excited to meet you! And we're all gunna have lotsa fun!" It was then that Josh got in and started up the car, pulling out from where he'd parked next to the sidewalk.




"B-But," Varis began, twiddling his thumbs, "I know that Doc Juniper and maybe some of the other high ups are already gunna be scrutinizing me n-now that my condition's been revealed. I figured if I could get some extra work done... then it'd make me look good... and less fireable."




Varis winced when the tip of his nose was flicked. He snorted and whirled his head to look at the half-lidded stare of Eliza looking right back at him.




"You can't be fired just because you are taking the break that the company is required to give you, Vary."




"Lizzy's right, buddy!" Josh chimed in, his eyes twinkling in the rearview mirror as he looked back at them. "Doing that would open the company up to a major lawsuit."




"Uh-huh!" Eliza nodded vigorously. "Plus, I'll bet, after playing and naptime and socializing and stuff like that, you'll be even more productive when you get back to work!" Varis still felt skeptical, but he couldn't really argue. He turned his gaze out the window, spying his reflection in the rearview mirror. An adult gray wolf wearing a suit and tie, buckled into a carseat. He sighed and looked out at the passing landscape, letting his mind wander. Or he was trying to, if it weren't for someone playfully batting at his ear.




"Wizzy! Cut it owt!" Varis said, his thumb once again having crept into his muzzle.




"Sorry, but I wanted to know if you would like to attend my tea party at daycare today." The tan bunny bounced in her seat some more, looking equal parts hopeful and excited.




"Uh... a-actually, I figured that i-if I officially couldn't do any work, then maybe I could do my own little... art project, where I calculate shipping manifests and delivery..." Varis trailed off as Lizzy's eyes grew wider, somehow making her light violet irises larger, all while her lower lip began to tremble. Varis was in awe of the full-scale power of Eliza's puppy eyes, and almost instantly felt his resolve crumble.




"I... uh... I g-guess I could j-join your tea party... for a little while."




The moment he finished speaking, Eliza's face lit up with pure joy. She let out a cheer and practically leapt over to wrap her arms around, around Varis, who let out a surprised OOMPH, whilst he received a bone-crushing hug.




"Lizzy, we talked about this. Good girls don't unbuckle the safety straps of their carseats when the car is in motion, do they?" Josh asked, not taking his eyes off the road. A mildly chastened, but still excited-looking Eliza, shook her head.




"No, Daddy, they don't. I'm sorry." Lizzy was soon settling herself back into her seat and resnapping all the buckles back into place. Varis sucked on his thumb, wondering how he could have let himself be manipulated like that. Then he saw the happy smile on Lizzy's face and knew how. He recalled how Lizzy had always been able to talk him into doing just about anything when they were younger. Like during her sixth birthday party, when she'd somehow convinced him to agree to attend while dressed in a princess dress that matched hers perfectly, despite his embarrassment and initial staunch refusal. The rest of the ride consisted of Eliza chatting to Varis, getting a bit hung up on the fact that he had yet to watch any Red's Hints, making claims about how he would love it. This was a notion that varis did not have high confidence in.




"Okay you two, we're here!" Josh said in a sing-song voice as he pulled into the parking structure. He found a space near the elevators to park and killed the engine. The large crocodile got out and opened Eliza's door first. "Alright, I've got a slightly damp bunny here, but your diaper can last a while longer, princess." Josh slipped on the big pink diaper bag before he unbuckled the antsy bunny, scooping her up to settle onto his hip like he had with Varis earlier. Varis tried to unbuckle his own safety traps, but let out a little growl of frustration when he found that he was having trouble operating the release buttons.




"Hey, buddy." Varis looked up to see that Josh was standing over him, smiling down affectionately. He used his free paw to ruffle Varis' headfur again, and then reached down to easily unbuckle the straps with a single click. Varis rolled his eyes, mumbled a thanks, and started to get out of the car, his briefcase in paw, only to be stopped when Josh took his paw into his hand. "Woah there, Mr. Eager Beaver! I know you're excited, but let's not wander off, okay?"




Varis blushed and nodded, feeling like he could kick himself for not speaking up and reminding Josh that he'd walked to the elevators plenty of times before without any assistance, and that his condition didn't change anything. Instead, all he managed to mumble out was a quiet. "Okay."




Josh beamed and locked the car, soon leading Varis by the paw towards the elevators. He didn't let go as they rode it up to their floor, Varis silently grateful that no one entered on the ride up to potentially add to the awkwardness of the situation. He did notice that as they got to their office floor, Josh let go of his paw. Then came the ding of the elevator and the doors slid open. Before Josh could say a word, Varis started speed walking out and turned the corner, straight into the awaiting arms of Angie. The motherly bear lifted him up into a cradled position, giving Varis a nuzzle and a gentle rock.




"There's our favorite big little accountant!" Angie cooed while Varis remained silent and wished that he could disappear.




"Alright, princess. Say bye-bye to Vary." Josh said, bouncing Eliza in his arms as he walked up to them. "He needs to start his grown-up work day soon!" Lizzy giggled and waved to Varis.




"Bye, Vary! See you at lunchtime!"




"B-bye, Lizzy," Varis said, suddenly feeling very nervous as he sensed multiple pairs of eyes on him. He spotted several coworkers staring at him while Angie carried him to his office, causing him to shrink in on himself and stare straight up at the ceiling. When his office door was closed, he expected to be set down, but instead jumped when his pants were tugged down a bit to reveal his paw-ups.




"Okie-dokie! Someone's still dry!" Angie tugged his pants back up and rebuckled his belt, setting him down in the process. Varis looked around his office, having half expected it to be decorated for a baby. He did let out a little whine when he saw that the plug outlets not currently in use all had covers on them now. Aside from that, however, the only other childish thing in his small office was the white polar bear plushie sitting on top of Varis' desk, smiling at him with wide open arms. "I thought you might like it to have a special friend to hug and cuddle while you worked, sweetie."




Varis looked up at Angie, feeling his face heating up a bit



.
"Th-thanks, Angie..."




"Think nothing of it, sugar pie! Now, if you feel the need to go potty, just send me a text or come and get me, and we'll try to get you to one in time!" Varis' ears drooped at that, not noticing the binky enter his muzzle.




Great... now my bathroom, habits are going to be monitored...




"Fanks, Awngew," he lisped, trying to ignore the coo coming from his manager.




"Anytime! Now I or Josh will be checking up on you regularly, so please try not to worry. We're here to help you."




Varis simply nodded at that and soon found himself being left to his own devices.




 

* * *

"Hey, buddy," Josh said, opening the door to Varis' office and seeing the wolf sitting at his computer, his new plush friend sitting in his lap. clicking and tapping away at the keyboard.




"Hey, Josh," Varis said, having set his binky down onto his desk, occasionally putting it back in to suckle while concentrating on work. "I think I found some similar discrepancies with some of the Mallmart affiliates' payment and shipping as well. Whoever did this got really overconfident in themselves."




"Oh yeah?" Josh came around and looked over Varis' shoulder, his eyes skimming over the documents the wolf next to him had highlighted.




"Yeah, and I think that we can start narrowing down the list of possible suspects."




"Wait... it says Larry Neeman was involved in these ones too?" Josh asked, shocked that someone as unassuming as that older goat could be potentially linked with embezzling from the company.




"Yup. He's on my list of suspects. I've already sent off copies of my findings so far to Angie and Doc Juniper." I'll show Doc that I still belong here!




"Good job, bud! Now, do you need to use the potty?"




Josh's question threw off Varis' concentration, forcing the wolf to look up at the crocodile with a look of incredulity on his muzzle. But then he realized that he did indeed need to use the restroom. He gave a silent nod, and let Josh take him by the hand.




"Alright pal, a quick potty break, and then you can get back to doing an awesome job. Remember to lock the door behind you, now." Varis silently obeyed, realizing only after he had locked the door to his office that he had his new stuffed bear in his arms, and could make out the blue plastic shielding of his pacifier, bobbing in and out from the tip of his muzzle. Hoping that not too many of his coworkers would see him like this, he allowed Josh to lead him by the paw towards the restroom. They got there just as Doc Juniper was exiting, the older owl frowning at the duo. Vary felt very self-conscious of how immature he must appear.




"Hmph... well, Josh, are you escorting our accountant down to the daycare for his legally required naptime?" Varis felt his tail tuck itself between his legs and cowered a little behind Josh, though Doc's voice sounded like its usual level of grumpiness.




"Not yet, sir," Josh said, waving a dismissive hand. "Vary here just needed a potty break, and then he can get right back to work."




"Riiiight," Doc said, eyeing the wolf up and down. "Well... keep up the good work, I suppose." With that, the older owl left, leaving behind a slightly stunned, yet still very much embarrassed, Varis. He had been certain that the Doc was going to try and pressure him into resigning.




"Okay, buddy. Let's get in there and conquer the potty," Josh said, sounding enthusiastic for Varis' sake. Varis rolled his eyes and squirmed a little, stepping through the door that Josh was holding open for him. Varis smiled a little as the door closed behind them, but the smile quickly became a frown as he felt a sudden rush of warmth enter his paw-up.




"B-but... I was so cwose." Varis whimpered as he began to tear up.




"What's wrong, buddy?" Josh asked, putting an arm around Varis' shoulders. It then clicked in his head, and he gave Varis a supportive hug. "Hey, it's okay, champ! Potty training can be pretty tricky. I say you deserve an A for effort for making it into the restrooms in the first place!"




Varis couldn't contain it anymore and buried his face into Josh's chest, letting out hiccupping sobs. He felt himself being picked up and held close, Josh trying his best to help soothe the crying wolf, rubbing his back and resting Varis' chin on his shoulder. Eventually, the storm of despair tapered off into a few clouds of light sniffles.




"Feel better, buddy?"




Varis, feeling ashamed not only of his accident but also his outburst, silently nodded, hugging his bear tightly to his chest, the soft nuk-nuk-nuk sound from him sucking his binky being the only audible noise coming from him.




"Good. Now let's go get you cleaned up, and then I think it would be a good idea for you to spend some time at daycare with Eliza. You could use some extra playtime today."




Josh, with one arm supporting Varis' soggy bottom and the other continuing to rub soothing circles on the big pup's back, exited the restrooms and made a beeline straight for the office. Varis heard some concerned whispers and even some coos. His ears could also pick out some voices muttering about how this was too big of a responsibility for him now. He whimpered a little, only to get a reassuring nuzzle from Josh. The large crocodile didn't immediately set him back down once they were in his office though. Varis could only watch as Josh pulled out and unrolled the purple changing mat from Varis' briefcase, as well as one of his spare paw-ups.




"J-Joff!" Varis said around his binky, quickly spitting it out to speak properly, his face crimson. "I-I can change my own paw-ups!"




Josh deftly caught the pacifier and chuckled, setting it in the open briefcase just as he grabbed the tub of wipes and the canister of baby powder from inside.




"I'm sorry, champ. But the rules say that an MSer has to be changed by one of their on-work caregivers. Even if it's just changing their training pants. Plus, according to Mari, that's something you still don't really have down just yet. She said you gave yourself quite the diaper rash over the weekend."




Varis clamped his muzzle shut and groaned, not wanting to be reminded of that, or how Mari now pretty much was entirely in charge of any and all changes of his paw-ups as well as his night time diapers.




You leak a few times, and suddenly you can't be trusted with your own d--... incontinence products! Varis huffed as his pants were unbuckled and slid down and pulled them off while his shirt and suit jacket pushed up to expose his tummy along with his sodden paw-up. The logo was now entirely gone, replaced with the picture of the smashed wooden gate, bearing some claw marks. Varis had reluctantly admitted how impressive of a wetness indicator that actually was the first time he'd noticed it. He hummed to try and distract himself as the sides of his paw-up were easily torn open and his legs lifted. With the offending garment gone, Josh got to work with the baby wipes, making sure Varis was cleaned and taking the time to ball them up in the used paw-up. Tossing that into Varis' trash can, he grabbed the baby powder and gave Varis' bottom and front a liberal dusting of the sweet-smelling powder. Josh then grabbed a clean pair and slipped the big pup's paws through the leg holes. After he pulled them up his legs, he rolled Varis over to take care of the single tape above the tail hole, before getting up and pulling Varis to his feet.




"There we go, all clean and dry and ready to play!" Josh clapped his hands and picked up Varis pants, holding them open for the wolf to step into. Varis grumbled and complied, feeling humiliated that his friend just helped change his paw up and then redressed him.




"J-Josh, I really should get back to work," Varis said, right before he was pulled into a hug.




"Varis, you need to take regular breaks, and maybe have a little snack or two. There will still be plenty of work for you to do when you come back. Also, Angie and I have discussed it, and we think you could use some more toys in your office, maybe even make you a little arts and crafts table you could sit at and be creative whenever you need to. But, for now, let's go down to the daycare, ok?"




Varis wanted to object, knowing that Doc Juniper would not like it if he walked into Varis' office and found toys strewn about, or him playing with clay-oh. He was an adult and this was a place of work after all! But... as he thought about the idea of taking short breaks in between projects to... do something like coloring... his tail slowly started to wag. Something Josh noticed and smiled at.




"See? I knew my big guy would get excited to have some playtime! And I'll bet I know someone who will be just as excited!"




A short walk later, and Varis could confidently say that simply declaring Eliza as being excited by his presence was a major understatement. The tan babied bunny was practically bouncing off the colorful walls the moment she saw Josh carrying Varis on his hip as the two entered the daycare. Just like last time, she had to be wrangled by the bat lady looking after her, Miss Marla.




"Oh? It seems like our new little friend is a little early today," Marla cooed, reaching out to pat Varis on the head. He blushed and looked away, surprised to be making eye contact with Eliza, who was standing next to a plastic play table, complete with plushies sitting around in different chairs, a tea set with a plate of cookies sitting in the center. Varis was set down by Josh, who was busy signing him in. He then felt his arm get grabbed and was yanked towards the table.




"This is gunna be the bestest tea party ever!" Lizzy said, twirling and making her tutu flutter. She then giggled and held up a light blue dress that looked really similar to one worn by a princess in an animated movie. "Wanna play dress up for it, Vary?" Lizzy asked, excited.




"Uh... look, Lizzy, I'll play... tea party with you... but no way am I ever putting on a princess dress for you." Varis decided it was time to put his foot down.



 

* * *

Varis sat sullenly at the table, his arms crossed, wearing the blue princess dress and a matching pointy princess hat. Across from him, Lizzy was not wearing a similar dress and hat, only hers were a happy yellow. She smiled at him and grabbed the plastic tea kettle.




"More tea, princess Vary?" Lizzy giggled while asking.




Sighing, Varis held up his teacup. "Yes, please, Princess Lizzy."




Eliza carefully poured the grape chill-ade that was in the kettle into his awaiting cup. She then passed him another small plate of cookies and sat down with a slightly audible squish. Varis's muzzle did break out into a slow smile as he reached for the cookies. In his defense, they were freshly baked with gooey chocolate chips. Hugging his bear, his tail began to swish back and forth rapidly, but most assuredly was not wagging, not in the least. He was still an adult, darn it! Once he finished his and Lizzy's tea party, he was going to see about getting right back to work, despite what anyone says... well, after he was done playing in the ball pit with Lizzy like he promised her, because he keeps his promises!

[Pierry Louys]

Ah varis it’s so cute !! Hope he still can  work and have some toddler time 

[Panther Cub]

He is indeed a cutie!

[Panther Cub]

Please let this just be a bad dream, Varis thought to himself as he tried to curl up and make himself look as small as possible in Angelica's arms. He could hears some murmurs and chuckles as Angie walked them through the cubicles to the conference room. It was bad enough that he was cuddling his plush tiger, Mr. Nuggets, in his arms and was sucking on his blue and white binky. No, what made this so much worse was the fact that all he was wearing was a purple Red's Hint's t-shirt, and a diaper with a green smiling t-rex on it.




"Don't worry, Vary," Angie said in a soft voice, smiling warmly down at him in her arms.



Varis could only bring himself to whimper. A blowout. While at work, on his way to the restroom, he felt a gurgle in his belly, and not three seconds later, had had an actual blowout. The accident had immediately overwhelmed his Paw-Ups, his pants, shirt, and even suit jacket. And all Varis could do was stand there, a mess, with his colleagues all around him... and cry. The more he thought back on it, the more distressed he had felt. That was, until, Josh had rushed to his side.



The crocodile wasted no time. He scooped up the distressed wolf and practically ran while carrying him to the elevator. Once in the daycare, Josh carried him over to the changing table, having one of the daycare ladies bring him a plastic grocery store bag. Varis' clothes, minus his wallet, were safely stowed away into the bag and tied up tight, before that bag was tied into another bag, just to be safe.



Then, after cleaning his hands, he gave Varis the binky and the stuffy from the shared diaper bag Josh and Marie both packed, since he was going to be spending time around Eliza more often, it had made sense for them to get a bigger bag so that both the wolf and the bunny could have additional care supplies in one place. Or, at least, that's what Marie had told Varis. And, reluctantly, he found himself somewhat grateful for it, as his suitcase was all the way back up in his office.



It had taken Josh a little while and a lot of baby wipes to get Varis clean. For good measure, Varis even found himself being given a bath in the daycare bathroom's tub, while the changing pad of the table was swapped out. Having found out what happened, Eliza had rushed over after Varis was dried off and set onto the clean changing pad, to try and help comfort him.



Varis calmed down after a little bit, even after it had been decided that he would be wearing a diaper for the rest of the day, just in case, as was what turned out to be company policy regarding MSer employees and blowouts. Josh then left him in the daycare to play, be looked after, and hopefully de-stress a bit before it was time for the big meeting, all while taking the clothes to go and find a laundromat nearby. After a while of getting used to waddling and even crawling around in a much thicker undergarment than he was used to working with, Angie, who had been informed of what'd happened, came to collect him, provided he still felt up to it.



He'd looked up at her defiantly and proudly proclaimed he was good to go. As he looked over at Doc Juniper eyeing him and his new attire while Angela took a seat, setting him onto her knee, Varis was beginning to regret that decision. Before he could think of anything to say now that the three of them were settled in the conference room, the door opened, revealing a certain middle-aged brown-and-white-furred goat in a salmon colored shirt with a red tie and khaki pants.



Eugh, who would wear something so... unprofessional when at work like that? Varis wondered, then blushing a little as he took a look at what he was wearing.



"Hey there Doc, Angie. You both wanted to see me?"



"Thanks for coming in, Larry," Doc Juniper said, Varis swearing that the old owl had snuck a grumpy 'harrumph' in there somewhere. "We know that this is a little sudden. Please, take a seat.



The goat walked over to the only available chair, which was facing the three of them. He sat and took a look around the conference room in curiosity.



"Oh, it's not a problem, Doc." He chuckled as his eyes landed on Varis, offering the wolf a wave. "Babysitting, Angelica?"



The large grizzly was bouncing Varis in her lap, both arms around him as she did so.



"Not today, unfortunately," Mrs. Duvar said, nuzzling the top of Varis' head, prompting his tail to start thwacking against her side, despite the slight reddening of his cheeks. "Vary was just being a little bit fussy when I went to get him."



"Heh, yeah, babies can be like that. Maybe he'd be more comfortable down in the daycare?"



"Ahem," Doc said, looking sternly from the goat to Angelica and Varis, and back again. "This little meeting isn't about Varis or his daycare habits. This is actually about a matter regarding you, Larry."



"Me?" The brown-and-white-furred goat seemed confused, and fidgeted a little nervously.



"Yes. Varis here actually noticed some... discrepancies in the invoices from your deal with Mallmart..."



Larry's eyes went wide very briefly, before he chuckled and leaned back in his seat.



"I think perhaps the little guy might have been mistaken there, Doc. I mean... look at him." Larry motioned to Varis, who was glaring daggers right back at him. "You can't really say that he's operating at a full... adult capacity."



Varis was practically seething behind his soother, which was bobbing in and out of his muzzle. A gentle rubbing of his back and some rocking from Angelica was enough to help him settle back down.



"Actually, Varis simply had a little bit of a blowout, so he needed something else to wear. But Vary, despite his condition, has proven time and again that he is still more than capable of doing his job, very well, I might add." Angelica then started to tickle Varis' tummy. "Yes he did, oh yes the big little puppy did!" Varis, despite trying to fight it, tittered and giggled.



Larry opened his mouth to respond, but was cut off by Doc.



"And of course, we've had the invoices and the books double checked by others in the accounting wing. The point is, money has been going missing from the payments of each shipment with Mallmart! It started off small, about $20 here, $30 there..."



"W-well, everyone knows that Mallmart gets shoplifters and untrustworthy employees all the time! This is probably j-just their usual shrinkage!" Varis felt some satisfaction seeing how pale Larry was looking under his fur and fidgeting even more in his chair. Things were very clearly not going his way.



"I'm sure Mallmart thinks so. But then, whoever has been doing it, has gotten bolder, gradually increasing it to $75 and then $85, and then kept going. Sometimes going down a little bit, possibly afraid of getting caught, other times they seemed to get a bit overconfident as the amount would them rise back up! Also, I think a better term for what is going on would be... embezzlement." Angelica glared as she spoke, the icy tone of her voice causing Vary to whimper and wet a little, prompting her to shift him into a cradled position in her large and strong arms and begin rocking.



Larry opened his mouth to speak again, and once again was cut off.. this time by Varis, whose binky was in his left paw, while a stack of papers Angie had handed him were in his right.



"Thursday August twelfth, three years ago, $18. Tuesday, February fourth, two years ago, $75. Wednesday, October eighth, last year, $333." Varis looked up at the goat, who was giving him a nasty look that Varis simply rolled his eyes at. "Those are just some of the highlights for this embezzlement. I've actually meticulously scoured every invoice and shipping manifest and piece of paperwork I could find regarding Mallmart. It's all here in black and white."



"Over the course of three and a half years, the culprit has skimmed approximately three hundred and forty-two thousand, six-hundred and fourteen dollars, and eleven cents." Doc's voice brooked no nonsense, and Larry looked ready to bolt, flinching back from each syllable as it came from the older owl's beak.



"... I-I-I s-see," Larry stammered, looking very nervous to Vary.



"Essentially, we're giving the person responsible one chance to fess up, return as much of the money as possible, and then find a way to pay off the rest... or else we will go to the authorities."



"So, Larry." Doc said, causing the goat's head to snap up to look at him. "Do you have anything to say?"



"I-I'll g-get the money..." Larry mumbled.



"Good choice," Angie said, tapping on her phone. The door to the conference room opened and in stepped three security guards, a warthog, a marten, and a buffalo. They said nothing and just stared at Larry, who seemed to shrink down into his seat.



"Our helpful security staff here shall escort you over to Niko's office where you two shall start discussing the return of the money. Other than that... get out of my sight," Doc practically spat as he said it. Larry got up and was escorted out of the room. Once they were gone and the door was shut, Doc leaned back in his seat and rubbed his temples. "I hate that we couldn't just call the cops on him right then and there."



"Me too, Doc," Angie said, shifting Varis in her arms so that his chin was resting on her shoulder. "But you heard the higher ups. They'd rather get as much of the money back as possible."



"True... but I still say that it's asinine. Emphasis on the ass."



"Doc! Language!" Varis blushed and tucked his tail between his legs, earls splaying flat on his head.



"I'm not a baby, Angie! I've heard and said worse." Varis said, after turning around an pulling out his binky. Angie smiled and took the soother from him, happily popping it right back into his muzzle.



"I know you're not a baby, sweetie! But even so, there are just some things your precious little ears don't need to hear. Now, with how fussy you've been during this meeting, I think you could use a nap." Varis was shifted back to looking over her shoulder, much to his annoyance. Though the continued backrubs were helping.



"Yes, well... good job, Varis. You... did a great service for the company," Doc said, sounding awkward.



"Vary, what do we say when someone says something nice to us?" Angie asked.



"Tankoo Dowc," Vary lisped.



"Yes, well... keep up the good work then." At that, the older owl turned and exited the conference room.



Wow... I think... yeah, this is actually the first real attaboy I've gotten from Doc since... my diagnosis got out! And this is while I was wearing a diaper in front of him! Varis' tail excitedly began to wag, causing Angie to chuckle.



"There's the happy puppy! Now, let's get you back down to the daycare! And then you can do some more work after your mandated playtime with Eliza!"





* * *





"So did you two have fun today?" Josh asked as he walked into the elevator, the extra large diaper bag slung over one shoulder, holding both Eliza and himself to his hips with amazingly little effort.



Varis had never been so grateful to spend the rest of the work day in the daycare. Most certainly not because, after his nap, Varis had been enthralled by a puppet show Miss Marla had put on for them. Varis did a double take while Eliza was explaining about the puppet show and the fantastic journey Flopsy the Unicorn had gone on under the sea. He saw that Josh was wearing a blue polo shirt instead of his suit jacket or undershirt. Looking down, he saw that the crocodile had on a pair of khaki shorts.



Was the... mess... really that bad? Felt guilty at the thought.



"How about you, champ?" Josh asked, smiling as he looked down at the wolf he was carrying. Varis blushed and shook his head.



"Huh?"



"I was asking you how your meeting went? I know that this was a pretty big day for you..." Josh smiled warmly down at Varis, the latter of whom was fidgeting a bit and unknowingly releasing his bladder into his awaiting diaper.



"Uh... it went okay, I guess. Doc and Angie said that Larry's gunna have to pay back the money he stole, or else they'll go to the police. And that the only reason they hadn't already is because the higher ups want to try and get back as much of the money that they can."



Josh nodded at this. "It does make sense... though, I imagine that most of that money is long gone..."



"Well duh," Eliza chimed in, rolling her eyes as she did so. Her cream-colored dress was hiked up a little as her thickly padded bottom was being cupped by Josh to help carry her. "Really they'd be better writing the money off as a loss, called the cops, and then sued him for what they could afterwards!"



"Yet, at the end of the day, this is the path they're choosing to go down, honey-bunny. Now, how about we talk about something much more pleasant?" They were soon out in the parking garage, heading towards Josh's car.



"Like what, Daddy?"



"Like the fact that a little while ago, Mari called me to let me know about a surprise waiting for you two back at her house." Josh opened the back door and, after setting Lizzy onto her carseat, he then took a moment to check the state of Varis' diaper. "Okay, a bit wet, but I think you'll be good until we can get you home, big guy." Varis whimpered a little.



"I-I didn't even feel it..." Varis sniffled a little, earning him a hug from Josh.



"Hey now, that's okay. Sometimes we all get a little too distracted to notice small things like that." Josh smiled some more while ruffling Varis' headfur. The babied wolf didn't want to admit it while he was being buckled snugly into his carseat, but Josh helped him to feel a little bit better.



Actually, Varis thought while Josh was checking Eliza's diaper and buckling her in to her own carseat Josh really helped me out a lot today. Especially when he didn't even have to...



"Uhm... th-thank you, Josh," Varis said as Josh started up the engine.



"For what, Buddy?" The crocodile looked back at the big pup in the backseat.



"For... really helping me out today... especially with my clothes... and the cleanup..."



"Aww, think nothing of it!" Josh smiled brightly. "I'm sorry I couldn't find an open laundromat today and that you couldn't wear at least the top half of your big boy outfit."



Varis frowned a little at his suit and tie being called that, but shrugged it off.



"Well... anyways, you really did help out when you didn't have to..."



"Varis, buddy, we've been buds since before college. And you sometimes need a little extra help with some things now. I really don't mind." Josh winked at Varis in the rearview mirror, before pulling out of the space. Back on the open road, Varis watched the traffic and buildings go by, all while chatting with Lizzy, who really seemed excited to talk about the upcoming new season of Greeney. He was vaguely familiar with the cartoon, knowing it had something to do with a kitten and her family, but didn't know anything beyond that. When this was explained to Elizabeth, her eyes went wide.



"... Welp, that decides it then... we're gunna have a watch party at your house for our next playdate!" Lizzy giggled as she bounced in her seat.



"J-just because I... kinda maybe needed a d-diaper today, that doesn't mean that I'm gunna suddenly be interested in little baby shows, Lizzy!" Varis insisted, earning him a bop on the nose from the tan bunny with her plush shark.



"It's not a baby show! It's a great cartoon! And just for calling it that, we are definitely gunna binge the entire series. Thankfully, you and Mari got me the current box set for my birthday last month! Remember?"



Varis swore internally, realizing that his suggestion of the cartoony show in the juvenile section of the TV & Movies aisle to Mari for the babified bunny had just come back around to bite him in the padded butt.



"Look, Lizzy. I don't thi--" Varis' voice trailed off at the sight of the big watery sad eyes Lizzy was, once again, unleashing on him. "Oh come on! How is that even fair?!"



"It's not!" Lizzy said with a quick giggle brightening up her previously sad-looking face, which she quickly reverted back to.



"GAH! FIIIINE! I'll watch a couple episodes with youMPH!" Varis found himself unbuckled and pulled into a surprisingly strong, and near bone-crushing, hug from Eliza.



"Yay! You're gunna love it!"



"Lizzy! We've talked about this before as well. Good girls do not unbuckle Varis from his carseat to hug him when we are driving, do they?" Josh chastised from the front seat. Lizzy quickly pushed the stunned wolf back into his carseat and rebuckled him back in.



"Sorry, Daddy..."



"It's okay, princess. But you need to try and remember, okay?"



"'Kay!" Lizzy went back to playing with her shark while Varis' head spun. Noticing that the car was pulling to a stop, he saw that they were at the sidewalk in front of his and Mari's house. But his blood turned to ice when he saw the big red truck parked in the driveway, recognizing it immediately.



"Th-that's my f-father-in-law's truck!" Varis was not looking forward to meeting Michael, especially dressed as he was now.



"Yup! Michael and Bella heard about your diagnosis and came all the way down here to see you and Mari," Josh said, killing the engine and getting out. Varis whimpered while the crocodile collected his little princess, before coming around to grab their diaperbag and then him.



Oh gods! Michael's probably trying to convince Mari to divorce me! Or maybe have me put in some kind of MSer group home! That's practically like being at an orphanage! Varis cuddled Mr. Nuggets closer and leaned in to Josh as much as he could.



"Hey now, no need to be scared, buddy," Josh said, bouncing Varis a little. "They seemed real excited to get to see you."



"I'll bet," Vary mumbled, absentmindedly slipping his binky back into his muzzle. Josh unlocked the front door... causing Varis to briefly wonder why Josh had a key. Then, all of a sudden, Varis was making eye contact with Michael and Bella. Michael was wearing his old green military jacket, his headfur still in the buzz-cut style. Despite Mike being a head shorter than him, Varis had always been a bit intimidated by the fennec fox's muscular build, which was apparent to all who looked at him, even under heavy coats. His tail did wag a little at the sight of Bella. She was wearing a yellow blouse and a long flowing white skirt that reached her ankles. She always had a calming effect on her husband, and looked like the spitting image of her daughter, just slightly older-looking. Varis gulped and braced himself for Mike trying to insist on the divorce.



"There's our special boy!" Mike said, walking over with his tail wagging. As he easily took Varis from Josh, the wolf was amazed. He wasn't aware that the older fennec's tail even could wag anymore.



"Wh-what's going on?" Varis squeaked out, just before Bella reached over and began to tickle his exposed feet, making him shriek with laughter.



"Oh my goodness," she exclaimed while Mike bounced Varis in his arms, "he's even cuter than Mari said!"



"He really is!" Mike smiled at his wife and patted Varis on his soggy bottom. He turned to look at Josh, the happy expression his face quickly wiped away. "And you're... Jake, right?"



"Uh, J-Josh, Mike." Josh held his hand out for Mike to shake. Mike simply let it hang there for a few moments before shaking it.



"Right. And please, call me Mr. Malfort."



Huh... that's weird, Varis thought, making a soft nuk sound while sucking his binky, it being audible in the growing awkward silence. That's what he said to me when I first introduced myself to him when me and Mari first started going out.



"Michael," Bella said with a stern undertone.



"You're right, honey! This is an exciting day!" Mike laughed and raised Varis up over his head. "While this is a little different from regular grandkits, I say that little Vary-Berry here is just as good!"



GRAND-WHAT?! Varis' eyes went wide, wanting to say something in his outrage, being stopped when Mike lowered him and began to blow a raspberry on his tummy. Varis squealed and giggled as Mike and Bella fawned over and cooed at him.

[Pierry Louys]

Wow ! Josh and Mari gonna be dating now ?? Poor Varis 

[Panther Cub]

16 minutes ago, Pierry Louys said:

Wow ! Josh and Mari gonna be dating now ?? Poor Varis 

Hey now! You don't know that for certain!

>.>

<.<

Tosses Sheet Over Future Chapter

[Pierry Louys]

And now varis is officially the baby of the family ! And I think varis gonna be breastfed by Mari like a little puppy 

[Panther Cub]

5 minutes ago, Pierry Louys said:

And now varis is officially the baby of the family ! And I think varis gonna be breastfed by Mari like a little puppy 

Ooooh, you and your crazy theories...

[Pierry Louys]

We try hahahahha ! But I loving this story and how varis is regressing nicely 

[Panther Cub]

Just now, Pierry Louys said:

We try hahahahha ! But I loving this story and how varis is regressing nicely 

Thanks! It's a lot of fun to work on!

[Pierry Louys]

Hoping to see a new chapter !! This story soo good and it’s killing not now how gonna Varys gonna react being treated like a baby with his ex in lawns 

[Panther Cub]

5 hours ago, Pierry Louys said:

Hoping to see a new chapter !! This story soo good and it’s killing not now how gonna Varys gonna react being treated like a baby with his ex in lawns 

It's being worked on. Just gotta wait for the new chapter to finish baking. Can't take it out of the oven without the cheese all melting and the crust turning a beautiful golden brown... I probably should not be typing while hungry. Oh well!

[Pierry Louys]

Hope you can finish cooking soon rsrs 

[Panther Cub]

"P-please, Cecily, this is just a little hiccup!" Larry said, holding in a panicky bleat. The middle-aged goat was wearing just a pair of faded blue boxers and a stained tank-top and pacing about his motel room. Nearby was his briefcase, as well as a duffel bag with some spare clothes in it. His breathing was becoming more frantic as he listened to the lynx twenty years younger than him on the phone.





"Larry, this just isn't gunna work out between us. You should go back to your wife," Cecily said with a purr.




"I c-can't! Ever since I told her I was leaving her for you... well, she hasn't been returning my calls! Except once to tell me th-that she was moving and taking the kids with her!"




"Yeah... well, that sounds more like a you problem than a <i>me</i> problem." Cecily continued to purr as she spoke. The goat couldn't believe what he was hearing! Where had gone the sweet and innocent-seeming woman who had breezed into his life when he had taken some of his ill-gotten gains to Pol-Naxa, a city practically built around casinos and gambling, and other vices... She had bumped into him when he'd been on a roll that night, in her tight black sequin cocktail dress, her fluffy gold-ish fur well groomed, and her eyes big yellow disks that seemed to twinkle with a fiery mischief... absolutely nothing like Lisa. After five children and going back to school to pursue her medical degree, the stark white-furred nanny goat was always just too exhausted lately. Some days she would even barely have the energy to make him his favorite breakfast.




Larry froze when he heard a muffled voice in the background, one that definitely sounded male.




"Wh-who's that?" He asked, feeling as if the world dropped out from beneath him.




"Hmm? Oh, nothing, just the TV." He wanted to believe her, but he could swear he heard her voice, now also slightly muffled, hiss 'Jackson, be quiet!' before she returned. "So I guess this is it."




"Wait!" Larry cried out, remembering part of why he called.




"Yes?"




"Wh-what about the key to the safety deposit box? Y'know? Where the... special package went?"




"Special package?" Hope began to flutter in Larry's heart when he heard the tone of confusion in the lynx's voice. Maybe he could make all of this just go away…




"OH! You meant the big paper bag with all the money in it!" Cecily laughed, but this was a much harsher tone than what he was used to. "Larry, don't be a dullard. That was the very first thing we--I mean I, cleaned out. I mean, c'mon, Larry. You've been caught, it's really only a matter of time, and they're gunna want all of that money back... buuuut, I kinda wanted all of that money too... so you can see the conflict of interest..."




"C-Cecily, please! I could go to jail!" Larry did let slip a bleat to that.




"Larry, you're a criminal. What you did is called embezzlement. No matter how you liked to justify it to me after... our fun, at the end of the day, you are nothing more than just a thief. And not a very good one if they caught you. Goodbye, Larry! And good luck in prison!" With one last harsh bark of a laugh, the call ended. Trembling, and hot, angry tears running down his cheeks, Larry fell to his knees.




"Th-th-this isn't FAIR!" His hooves gripped the sides of his head as he yelled. "It was just a little off the top! The company didn't even care before... before..." The gears turned in his head, but being so rusted, one could almost hear them loudly squeak and grind. His eyes narrowed into two angry slits. "Until that stupid baby stumbled onto it!" Snarling in pure rage, he looked at the nearest wall and tried to punch through it... only succeeding in hurting his right hoof.




 

* * *

"And this little piggy went WEEE WEEE WEEE, all the way home!" Michael was grinning and cooing while he played with Varis' exposed toes, the wolf giggling up a storm despite wishing otherwise.




"Dad," Mari said, entering with a plate of cut apple slices with peanut butter on them for Varis and Eliza to snack on while the 'adults' conversed. "You know that that's offensive."




Bella nodded to her husband and swatted him lightly on the back with her big bushy tail. "Exactly. And you know how impressionable MSers can be, Michael."




The older male fennec fox smiled and rubbed the back of his head.




"Ha! What can I say? I'm an old dog, after all... well, fox, but you all get the point."




"Just please have a bit more care around our little precious Vary-Berry," Bella cooed, leaning over to where a now pouty-Varis was sitting on the blanket spread on the carpet, with some soft toys spread out onto it, and began to rub his tummy. Instantly, the annoyed wolf started to melt into one big happy, tail-thumping puddle.




"Fine, fine," Michael held up his paws in mock surrender, "I know when I'm outgunned. So, Jimmy, what was it you do again? Professional babysitting?"




Josh winced a little but smiled good-naturedly nonetheless, sitting on the couch next to Mari. "Actually, it's Josh. And I work in finance with Vary. Technically, I'm under him a little."




"Huh... so they let him keep his job even after he... started to change?" Michael took a sip from the mug he'd been given while Mari rolled her eyes. If it weren't for Bella's magic paws, he'd be properly incensed at the nerve! ... Granted, he'd been worried about that previously, but still!




"Yes, Dad," Mari said with a sigh and a shake of her head. "Legally, they can't just fire him for having his condition manifest."




"Well, yeah... but aren't they worried he might... swallow some office supplies?"




Okay, that was enough to spur Varis up from his stupor.




"Micaw, I dun go putting wandowm tings in maw maouf!" Varis lisped around his thumb, earning his headfur a ruffle from Mike.




"Dad..." Mari said with a slightly sharp tone to her voice. Michael, for his part, sighed and his ears drooped.




"Right... I'm sorry," he turned to look Varis in the eye to apologize, "I'm sure that he still does excellent work. I suppose that I'm just worried about him, is all. I mean, he is more... fragile now."




"Oh! Grampa, Mikey!" Lizzy practically shouted, hopping from foot to foot with her paw raised, like she was in school.




"Inside voices, Elizabeth," Josh said, to which the hyper bunny nodded.




"Sorry, Daddy!"




Mike chuckled and patted Lizzy on the head.




"That's alright, sweetheart. What was it you wanted to ask me?"




"I wanted to say that I'm an MSer, just like Vary, but I can still do lots of grown-up things! I am even part of a group that volunteers to help build homes for homeless families!"




Wait... what's this now? Varis wondered internally while Bella inspected his already freshly-changed diaper. This was certainly news to him.




"That's wonderful, sweetie. Do you use Snap-os or just regular wooden blocks?" As condescending as Mike sounded, Varis could tell that he was sincerely asking. And for a brief moment, Varis felt shame as he had had a partially similar thought upon first hearing Elizabeth's claim.




Lizzy, without looking upset or even annoyed, let out a happy titter and pulled out her phone.




"No, Grampa Mike!" She tapped on the screen a bit, and pulled up some photos that she held up for everyone to see. It showed her in a white hard hat, safety goggles, an orange vest over her white t-shirt, and a pink unicorn diaper, as well as a pair of work boots. Swiping with a finger, she showed off pictures of herself sawing, using a nail gun, measuring, getting a diaper change, and working on a roof, putting in shingles.




"Well, I'll be!" Mike sounded amazed.




What he said, Varis thought, silently suckling his binky after Bella gently tugged his thumb out and slipped it in instead.




"Aren't you just a sweet little angel!" Bella reached over to boop Lizzy's nose. Lizzy giggled a lot at that and plopped down next to Vary to start playing with the toys. "It's so nice that Vary-berry has a cute little friend to play with."




Varis chewed on his binky for a bit, noticing Mari coming over to him with two bottles of brown formula, which his eyes absolutely did not at all lock onto and track, his mouth working doubletime to suck on his binky. He watched as Mari handed Josh one of them, the two smiling at each other for a bit, which irked Varis a little. Mari turned back towards him when Eliza practically leapt into Josh's lap, and she gave a little laugh when she saw that his eyes definitely were not staring right at the remaining bottle in her paw.




"C'mon, Vary," Mari said, taking his paw into hers and prompting him to stand with a gentle tug. "You and I need to have a little talk in the kitchen, okay?"




Varis nodded and let himself be led into the kitchen, hugging Mr. Nuggets close, feeling a bit nervous. Sitting in his not-high-chair, with the tray removed; he gladly accepted his baba, spitting out his binky to begin drinking in that tasty chocolate goodness.




"Vary?" Mari got Varis' attention. It was only now that he realized that Mari was wearing a bright red dress, one that she had worn on a date night that seemed forever ago. Mari also had on some bright red lipstick and a little eye shadow, and was wringing her paws guiltily, a not-so-subtle tell he'd picked up over the years. "Mom and Dad are here to... keep you and Eliza company, while Josh and I go out for a little while. We have some things we need to talk about, and, well... I didn't want to just spring this on you last minute... but..."




Then it all clicked for Varis, who continued to nurse his baba, but now with a scowl. Mari winced and continued on.




"Anyways, I promise that we'll be back before bedtime. I want you to be good for Mom and Dad, okay?" Mari looked at Varis with hopeful eyes, but he simply turned away, and continued to silently nurse.




"Vary?" The only sounds he was making were the nuk nuk nuk sounds from drinking his bottle. Mari's ears drooped, and she nodded her head. "Alright... I can see that you're... not too happy with this arrangement... and that's my fault for not discussing it with you earlier... I'm sorry, Vary."




She still only got silence in return.




"Right... I love you, Vary. No matter what." She leaned down and, even though he tried to flinch away, she kissed his cheek. Still scowling, he hopped down and left the kitchen, plopping himself down on a corner of the blanket in the living room, still scowling despite Mike giving him a head pat. Bella now had Lizzy in her lap, the bunny girl all curled up and happily being fed her own bottle of formula. He gave Josh, whom he saw was wearing a much nicer blazer, the stink eye as Josh and Mari started to get ready to leave. With one last wave to him, that he huffed at, Varis found himself being babysat by his in-laws while his wife and best friend went out on a date.




"What's the matter, Vary-Berry?" Michael asked, looking concerned at the unhappy expression on the wolf's face. Varis said nothing, but jumped when he felt himself getting a diaper check.




"Hmm, well, this little super soaker is already a little damp again, but not too badly. He can definitely wait for another diaper change."




Varis blushed as Bella nodded, froze, and sniffed. She shifted Lizzy in her lap in order to pull out the back of the bunny's diaper.




"Uh-oh! Well, I can tell someone else can't wait!" Bella chuckled, removing the now empty bottle from Lizzy's lips, and offering her a binky instead.




"Thankies, Grandma Bella!" Lizzy giggled around the binky, not caring that two near-strangers knew she'd messed herself. Staring at Lizzy, the wolf huffed and got up, toddling back into the kitchen.




"Oh, hold on there a second, Sport!" Michael said, starting to get up, until Bella walked over, Lizzy now securely on her left hip, and placed a paw on the older male fennec's shoulder.




"The poor thing is still processing emotions. You saw how upset he was... he probably could use a little time to sort through things."




Michael sighed and smiled up at his wife. "You're right, honey."




Back in the kitchen, Varis stomped over to the fridge and opened it. Inside, he saw one of his juice boxes, an Up-D fruit punch. Taking it out, in his mounting frustration, when he tore the straw off, his fingers fumbled and dropped it into the nearby kitchen trash can. Growling a little, Varis peeked inside, and saw a crumpled up piece of paper. Curious, he grabbed and unfolded it, to see that the letterhead at the top was for the Miner Syndrome Protective Services.




Skimming through all the boring legalese, Varis froze. In it, he read that due to his condition... his marriage to Mari was no longer legal. In the eyes of the law... he was deemed as not able to continue to be capable of handling an 'adult' relationship, and thus their marriage was officially dissolved. What made his blood run cold, however, was a part of the last paragraph.




'Your application for custody has been granted, and the hearing for full adoption is set for Wednesday, 1 pm, at...' The letter fell from his paw, onto the floor, tears in the wolf's eyes.




How could I be so stupid?! He wiped his eyes. Mari just can't wait for me to be just like Lizzy! Then she, me, Lizzy, and Josh can all be one BIG happy family! Varis let out a growl and, breathing heavily, headed upstairs, thankful that Lizzy squirming on her changing mat had both Bella and Michael distracted. Off in the distance, he heard a rumble that sounded like thunder, and whimpered a little. Forcing himself to not act like a scared little puppy, Varis squared his shoulders, entered the spare bedroom that Mari had been putting some additional... furniture, to help with caring for Varis in. Looking around, Varis recognized that this was basically just a nursery for him, complete with a crib in the center of the room.




"It's all so freakin' clear now!" Varis angrily grabbed the dinosaur-themed bright blue backpack Mari had gotten him so that he could take coloring books and some additional toys to his work's daycare, and stuffed Mr. Nuggets inside, as well as his new stuffed lion and fox, and some more coloring books, and even a bag of cookies he had grabbed on his way out of the kitchen, shoving that inside too. Zipping it all up, he grabbed a green crayon and a piece of paper from the art desk Mari had made for him, and started writing a note.






Two Hours Later...






"Thank you for being so understanding, Josh," Mari said, dabbing at her eyes with the tissue she'd gotten out of her purse. She sniffed and did her best to calm down, and not look like she'd been crying.




"Mari, I understand, and agree. Varis needs to know the truth," Josh gave the fennec a smile, making sure his umbrella was successfully shielding the two of them from the rain that had started coming down.




"I just... I don't know if I could handle it... if he hated me," Mari's lip began to quiver, prompting the gator to slip his free arm around her shoulders in a side-hug.




"Will he be mad? Probably. Could he ever hate you? Never. Varis loves you too much to ever hate you, Mari."




Mari brightened a little and squared her shoulders.




"You're right, Josh. Thank you." They continued walking towards the front door, Mari fishing out her keys to unlock it. Entering the house, Mari hadn't been expecting a scene of chaos. Bella and Michael were busy running around the house, frantically searching.




"Bella, hun, I found a flashlight! I'll start searching around the outside of the house and then around the block!" He called out, freezing when he saw Mari and Josh looking at him.




"Oh goodness, oh goodness!" Bella seemed to be just shy of hyperventilating, bouncing an anxious-looking Elizabeth on her hip.




"Don't worry, Grandma Bella, he couldn't have gotten far." Lizzy offered the older female fennec a smile, which did little to help Bella to calm down.




"What's going on here? Where's Vary?!" Mari asked, a growing sense of dread welling up within herself.




"Sweetie," Mike said, looking down and rubbing the back of his neck. "Vary's..."




"He ran away!" Bella sobbed, sitting down on the couch and hugging Lizzy tight.




"What?!"




"H-Hold on now, are we sure?" Josh asked, sounding hopeful that this was all just a misunderstanding, and that maybe Varis made himself a pillow fort somewhere to be alone. Mike looked awkward as he pulled a piece of paper out from his pocket, handing it to Mari. Josh leaned over to read it with her, seeing that it was written in bright green crayon.




Enjoy your new life with Josh and Lizzy! I'm going, and don't bother looking for me!




"It was taped to the fridge... with the kitchen door to the back yard wide open... I'm so sorry, sweetie. We were trying to give him some space because he seemed so upset earlier..."




Just as they both finished the note, there was a crack of thunder, and Mari fell to her knees.




"All my fault... this is all my fault!" She cried, Michael and Josh both dropping to their knees to hug her. Josh and Mike locked eyes for a moment as they comforted the distraught Mari, with Mike passing Josh the flashlight. Josh nodded silently, and got up, heading back out into the pouring rain in the pitch black night. He already had a destination in mind. Taking a sharp right, Josh headed in the direction of the park. Nearing it, he started to look around, shining his flashlight on different pieces of playground equipment. Stopping at the giant purple starfish play structure, he peered inside, hearing a whimper.




"Hey there, Buddy," Josh said, startling the sniffling wolf. Varis scowled at him and shifted to turn his back to the invading gator.




"H-how did you find me?"




"Well... this is the only park that caters to MSer's that's within easy walking distance of your house, Buddy." Josh chuckled, causing Varis' frown to deepen.




"Go away! I don't need you! I don't need anybody!" Varis let out a whimper while wiping his eyes.




"Vary, Bud, we both know I can't do that..."




"YOU'RE NOT MY DADDY!!!" Varis yelled, causing Josh to jump a little in surprise. Josh could see a wave of fresh tears begin rolling down the wolf' cheeks. "If you a-and Mo--M-Mari wanna be t-t-together... then fine! B-but I won't b-be a part of it!"




"Varis, I know that this is all... complicated..."




"Oh yeah! The big puppy's mushy baby brain just doesn't understand grown-ups anymore!" Varis practically snarled as he said this in a very condescending voice. "I saw the letter from MPS! I know that w-we aren't... legally, m-married anymore!"




"Oh... Buddy..." Josh said in a soft voice, his heart aching for Varis as he realized just how distraught the poor guy must be.




"And I'm not your buddy! Not anymore! Not after y-you... started to... s-show an interest in my w-wife!" Varis let out a hiccup while the rain continued to pound on the roof of the play structure.




"Varis..." Josh sighed and shook his head, wondering where to start. He looked back over at the wolf, who was squirming where he sat. He could tell that the poor guy needed a new diaper, but elected to stay on the topic at hand.




"You're right... I think... I like Mari." Josh sat down across from his friend-turned-puppy and continued, despite the dark look he was receiving for his efforts. "Ever since your diagnosis, and we've all been hanging around together like the good old days... I can admit that I've been... having some feelings stir. Feelings I haven't had since..."




"Since Lizzy's diagnosis?" Varis finished, noticing Josh looking as miserable as he felt. The gator continued to frown and nodded.




"Yeah... when we first learned of her condition... we were both terrified. We didn't know just how it would affect her mind, if she would forget everything, or any of that. Would she even remember me?" Josh leaned back a bit, looking up at all the glow-in-the-dark plastic stars someone had stuck to the ceiling of the play structure. "We both started to do as much research on Miner's Syndrome as we could, looking for any crumb of information that could help. Things certainly got rougher since by then, she and her parents had been... estranged... anyways, I had to scramble to file for custody, and we had to meet with a rep from MSer's Protective Services, who walked me through all the... changes... Lizzy was going through. Including the part about... how we could no longer get married."




Varis winced. Even though he had started to distance himself away from Lizzy and Josh at the time... he did remember quite a few times walking in on Josh sitting in a room by himself, looking like the life within him had been drained out. Josh was always quick to throw on a smile and crack a joke... but Varis had known what he had seen. In the back of his mind, he kicked himself, despite the still raw and swirling anger and hurt he felt... because if this is what Josh felt... He clamped down on any feelings of guilt for aban--distancing himself from his friends during a... bad time of their lives, choosing to focus on his own pain in the here and now.




"I remember that it hit you pretty hard," Varis said.




"Yeah... Lizzy was the light of my life. I remember I was actually kinda scared of just how much I fell in love with her. She was this amazing girl who I got to be friends with, and then whom I was going to get to spend the rest of our lives together with, when she said yes when I proposed. We would start our own little family, and one day grow old together. I had never even thought of anything like that before Lizzy. I didn't know it at the time, but I had actually been living in a world of muted colors before she came along and lit everything up." Varis saw a dreamy far-away look in Josh's eyes, recalling how he would get that way when he first started to realize he had feelings for Elizabeth. Then, the look faded, and his face fell.




"And then came her condition flaring up. When Lizzy went into denial, I went right alongside her. I didn't want to believe it, the doctor had to have made a mistake, she was too old for it to manifest... and so many more reasonings and explanations that we could both take comfort in. And, when I learned about the legal status of MSers... that's when the world became a place of grays. Legally, she would be a toddler from then on out." Varis wondered if there was a leak above them when he saw the droplet slide down from the corner of Josh's eye.




"When her parents found out, they tried to sue for custody... which I knew they would, so I filed my own paperwork first. Lizzy... her childhood was bad enough with them the first time around. But this time? She'd never be able to leave... but I still should have discussed it with her first." Josh let out a sigh and looked up and out as the rain slowly started to lessen. "She was furious with me when I finally told her that I'd... legally filed for custody and full-on adoption."




Varis looked down at his dinosaur-covered backpack, shifting uncomfortably where he sat, able to feel how clammy and uncomfortable his diaper was.




"I think she actually managed to go nearly an entire year of not speaking to me. Even when I tried to include her in decisions for things she needed, like the design of her nursery, what kind of crib she would like, even her preferred brand of diapers, after I got a few different packs of them for her to try over time. And then... one day, when I was just starting out at the company, trying to make ends meet, what with the rent and Lizzy's daycare and just... wondering if I could even do this... all the while still missing the girl I had lost... she snuck out of her crib and came to me."




Varis was leaning forward, listening intently, oblivious to his tail starting to hike itself up.




"She tapped me on the shoulder to get my attention. When I turned around to see her in her cute princess jammies, hugging her stuffed unicorn, a big smile on her face... she had done it again, and returned color to my world." Josh smiled, his scaly tail swishing a bit. "That was right before she reared back and punched me right in the throat as hard as she could."




Varis let out a snort, clamping his muzzle shut while trying not to laugh. Josh simply chuckled for the both of them.




"It's okay, Buddy. It was actually pretty funny. She apologized and said she had to get that out of her system. She then started to tell me all the things she wanted different for her nursery, definitely more dragon-themed stuff, and less itchy jammies. Lizzy then followed that up by telling me she was sorry that she basically gave me the silent treatment for so long, especially since I was already basically punishing myself. Then... she called me Daddy for the first time, and crawled into my lap to cuddle my chest, saying I always gave the best hugs."




The two were silent for a time, the pattering of the rain above them now gone, aside from the occasional drip.




"Mari loves you so much, Varis," Josh said, looking the wolf right in the eye. "She has fought to stay your rock, your source for constant stability for so long since your diagnosis, even though she was almost overwhelmed by her own pain time and again. I remember seeing... myself, during Lizzy's diagnosis. When she started to ask me about my experiences with Lizzy and her care, I decided to do everything I could to help. When we started to see more and more of each other, thanks to the playdates... that's when we started to realize we were... feeling... things... And tonight, Mari started to cry after we sat down at our table. She felt so guilty, like she was betraying you, despite what the letter said. We left the restaurant and decided to take a walk and talk about things. Mari decided that before anything could happen between her and me, she had to come clean to you, and if you didn't give your blessing afterwards, then that would just be it."




Varis wiped at his eyes again, rubbing his nose on his sleeve.




"This isn't fair!" Varis cried out, Josh looking on with a sad smile.




"It really isn't, Bud--OOF!" Josh was interrupted by the wolf suddenly launching himself at him, clinging tightly to his shirt, accidentally slamming his head into Josh's stomach and knocking the wind out of the surprised gator. Josh hummed a lullaby he always sang for Lizzy to help her feel better, and the hiccupping sobs coming from Varis tapered off into sniffles.




"C-can we g-go home to M-Mommy now?" Varis asked, his voice slightly hoarse, looking up at Josh with tearfilled eyes, not knowing what he had just called Mari. Josh's smile became brighter while nuzzling the top of Varis' head.




"We sure can, Buddy." He put one hand under Varis' mushy bottom to support him, and slipped his free arm through one of the backpack straps, before settling that hand on the back of Varis' head. They both looked up at the now clear starry night sky as Josh walked them out from under the play structure. They even saw a shooting star.




"Make a wish, Buddy!" Josh encouraged, starting to head back towards home. Varis silently nodded, closing his eyes to make his wish. He shed a silent tear as he knew that it was a wish that was never going to come true. The walk back home, with Josh using the flashlight and the light of the now very bright moon to avoid puddles, was a silent one. When they entered through the front door, Mari and Lizzy practically tackled the two of them.




"VARY YOU DUMMY!" Lizzy yelled, being scooped up by Josh after Mari took the wolf from him. She pulled Varis close and sobbed into his chest.




"Don't you ever do something reckless like that again, Vary! You could have gotten hurt!" A part of Varis wanted to argue and point out that he went on night walks by himself all the time until lately... but the teary-eyed face of Mari was enough to get him to not bring it up.




"I'm sorry," he said, beginning to tear up as well. "I just... I got so mad..."




"I love you, Vary!" Mari said.




"I love you too, Mommy!" Varis said, blushing when he realized what he just said. Mari smiled at him and kissed the tip of his nose.




"C'mon, you little stinker, let's get you changed and into some nice warm jammies," Mari said, walking upstairs with Varis now settled on her hip. He blushed when he saw the relieved faces of Mike and Bella, before looking back at Josh and Lizzy, the two smiling at him. A little while later, Josh gently knocked on the door to Varis' nursery, a sleepy Lizzy in his arms and now wearing her pink princess nightgown. He opened the door a bit and stopped, him and Lizzy both peeking around it.




Mari was sitting on the rocking chair, going back and forth with Varis curled up in her lap. He let out a yawn as she closed a big and colorful book titled Dr. Moose's Pup with a Cup and put it onto a nearby bookshelf, with plenty of other similar ones, as well as some more 'mature' fantasy books. Mari looked down into the tired big pup's eyes, a warm smile on her muzzle that grew a little wider when she heard a rumble come from his tummy. She had changed out of her dress and into a cream colored blouse and matching skirt. Still smiling, she slowly undid some of the buttons on her blouse and opened it.




Varis stared for a moment, looking unsure, while Mari rubbed his back with one paw, the other gently guiding his head closer and she cooed. The moment her nipple brushed against his lips he latched on, his suckle reflex kicking in, quickly rewarding him with her milk. Closing his eyes, Varis soon relaxed as he nursed, Mari's milk tasting so sweet and creamy, better than any formula he'd tried so far. Snuggling closer in her lap, he opened his eyes once more and stopped his night time feeding only once.




"I love you, Mommy," he said, his voice a whisper as a drop of milk dribbled down his chin. He resumed after Mari kissed his forehead.




"Mommy loves you too, baby. And she always will." Mari was practically glowing as she said it. Turning her head slightly, she could see Josh beaming at her, Lizzy already asleep in his arms. They looked into each other's eyes in the quiet, enjoying the calm that came after the storm.




 

* * *

Varis entered his office, the old sense of comfortable normalcy returning to him. After a bit of a... trying night, the wolf felt as though a heavy weight had been lifted. He and Mari and Josh and Lizzy still had some things to work out... but despite only wearing his suit jacket and undershirt and a fresh pair of Snuggies, this with a pterodactyl on the front, things were definitely looking up for the wolf. He walked, with a bit of a waddle, to his desk, still hugging his stuffed tiger, ready to fire up his computer and get to work. Then a hoof clamped itself around his muzzle and yanked him back a bit. He struggled until another hoof appeared next to his left eye, holding a very long and serrated hunting knife.




"Hello, Varis," Larry hissed. Varis could see who it was now that he and his attacker had turned to face the mirror in his office. Varis let out a whimper while his bladder immediately gave out.

[Kaiko-chan]

This is why you never give criminals a chance.

[Panther Cub]

39 minutes ago, Kaiko-chan said:

This is why you never give criminals a chance.

O.O