A Business Arrangement

[frosted_jacques]

Hey all, 

I have a bad habit of starting stories and abandoning them. That was the case with the first story I posted here a few months ago, Mandy's Infinite Playtime. But I have a new one that I like so far, and I'm hoping sharing it here might hold me accountable to keep going with it and actually finish this time! Hope you like it.

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A BUSINESS ARRANGEMENT

-- JUNE --

 

Jeff and Heather had been through everything together since becoming friends in high school -- helping each other through breakups, graduating together, staying in touch despite going to different colleges, and sharing in the disappointment of moving back to their hometown afterwards. But in the last few months, they'd gone through so much more than either of them could have ever predicted during those early days of friendship. 

They were both now 24 years old and had spent the previous 2 years living at their respective parents' houses and trying unsuccessfully to find jobs. Jeff and Heather were at a point of desperation when, hanging out in Jeff's mom's basement, they turned to Craigslist in search of job postings others might have missed. At that point, there weren't many jobs they'd have turned down if it meant moving somewhere new and starting their lives in earnest. 

One fateful posting, while extraordinarily cryptic, seemed to have been written purely for the pair of friends:

 

"Seeking open-minded young man and woman for full-time, live-in employment. Must be at least 18 years old and able to commit for at least one year each. 

 

We are a married couple (52M and 48F) looking for an unconventional yet mutually beneficial arrangement with two young people. Nature of relationship will be intimate both emotionally and physically, although not necessarily sexual. More details available upon request -- no obligation to move forward until all parties are fully informed and comfortable.

 

Room, board, and meals in a large, well-furnished home in an affluent neighborhood included, as well as a generous stipend for the right candidates. No skills or prior experience necessary, but must demonstrate patience, trust, and above all else, a willingness to be vulnerable. 

 

Contact details below."

 

Surprisingly, it was actually Heather who led the charge to respond to the ad.

"What do we have to lose by reaching out?" she asked. "It's free room and board. Plus, they sound interesting, whatever they want us to do."

"Are you kidding? This sounds unbelievably sketchy," Jeff responded. "They're going to end up harvesting our organs or something."

"We don't even have to meet them in person until we decide we like what they're asking for," Heather said. "We can give them fake names and use a burner email address."

"I mean... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't at least curious to see what this could possibly be," Jeff said.

"So let's do it!" Heather chirped. "Move aside, I'll write the message."

There would be dozens of emails sent back and forth in the coming weeks between the young friends and their mysterious contacts. It was only in the first few messages that the older couple spelled out their intentions in no uncertain terms:

The couple -- Rick and Marlene -- had always wanted children, but could never have them. They had stumbled upon the world of ageplay a few months earlier, and after an immense amount of research, decided they wanted to try it. It was important to them, however, to find partners that they could trust, and also those that they could mold according to their specific ageplay desires. For that reason, they were seeking partners exclusively from outside the existing ageplay community. They made it clear that ageplay wasn't a sexual thing for them -- rather, it was an elaborate way to experience raising young children in a controlled, informed environment without long-term responsibilities and repercussions. They acknowledged that the request was strange -- but the number they provided for the stipend, which would be paid at the end of the arrangement and scale based on its length -- was persuasive enough to make Jeff and Heather consider it anyways.

There had been countless discussions and even arguments between Jeff and Heather as they learned more about the offer. Jeff had objections to virtually every detail -- but Heather knew how to persuade him. For her part, very little about the arrangement seemed to bother Heather, much to Jeff's confusion. He knew his friend was open-minded and adventurous, but her complete receptiveness to such a strange idea was surprising. After a few video calls with Rick and Marlene to verify each party was who they said they were, the four finally met at a local coffee shop -- neutral ground -- to discuss the details in earnest.

Jeff and Heather sat outside. Jeff sipped from a black coffee while Heather enjoyed her caramel macchiato with a squirt of vanilla syrup. 

"Weird that they wanted to meet at a coffee shop," Jeff muttered.

"Oh, relax," Heather said. "It's somewhere public. We can just leave if the vibe is off."

"They want us to behave like infants, Heather," Jeff said. "For a year. Wouldn't they rather have us drink, I don't know, juice or something instead of coffee?"

"You're overthinking it. They just want to meet us and talk things over."

"I think you're underthinking it. I'm just saying, be ready to run if we have to."

"Have you ever considered that maybe you'll end up liking this arrangement if it works out?" Heather asks. "Honestly, you've been fighting it at every opportunity. It's just a sweet older couple who wants somebody to take care of. And they're paying enough to set us up for years. You're literally getting paid to be pampered by rich people for a year."

"Pampered is the key word," Jeff said. "I mean... diapers?"

"You'll get used to it," Heather said, rolling her eyes. "Think about how convenient it'll be."

"Sounds gross to me," Jeff said.

"Then go home," Heather snapped. "If you're going to be negative the whole time, I'll take the money and we can find some other guy to take your place. I'll see you in a year, I guess."

A few heavy seconds of silence followed.

"Let's just see what they have to say," Jeff conceded. "If they even show up."

Sure enough, as if on cue, Rick and Marlene approached the coffee shop hand in hand a moment later. For a couple posting something this strange -- on Craigslist of all places -- they seemed extraordinarily normal. Attractive, even. 

Rick looked as though, a decade or two ago, he could have been an athlete. His frame was still large for his age, but it was tempered by time, with soft, brown eyes, glasses, a full head of graying, black hair, a full, salt-and-pepper beard, and a warm smile on his face. Marlene, likewise, wore her growing wrinkles with dignity. She carried herself with a maternal presence, as if she was just waiting to go in for a hug as she approached Jeff and Heather. Her eyes were blue and her hair was a light blonde. 

Heather was the first to stand up out of her chair and greet them.

"Hello! Rick and Marlene, right? You two are an even more beautiful couple in person," she said, making Jeff silently scoff.

"Nice of you to say, sweetheart," Marlene said, sure enough going in for a hug. "Thank you both so much for meeting us here. Rick and I have been looking forward to this all week."

"She's right," Rick said. "We've really enjoyed getting to know you over the last few weeks and it's great to finally meet in person."

An awkward silence followed as the four people felt eachother out, the strangeness of the request that brought them together looming over them.

"So... do you mind if we sit down?" Marlene asked.

"Not at all," Heather said.

"I'll go get us some drinks," Rick said. "Need a refill, Jeff or Heather?"

"We're good," Jeff cut in.

Marlene smiled warmly at the young adults as she sat down, but her face betrayed her unease as well.

"This is weird, I know," Marlene finally said. "I can see you're both nervous. Trust us, we are, too."

"I'm just having a hard time believing your story," Jeff said.

"Jeff!" Heather scolded in a sharp whisper.

"No, I get it," Marlene said. "It's quite alright. It's not like this is an everyday job offer we're making."

Rick returned to the table and set a paper cup down in front of his wife.

"Caramel macchiato," he said.

"Hey, that's what I'm drinking, too!" Heather said.

"Delicious, aren't they?" Marlene asked as she took a sip. "And what do you have there, Jeff?"

"Coffee. Black," he muttered.

"Me too, buddy," Rick said, smiling as he raised his own cup. "Well, that has to be a good sign, right? What are the odds?"

Heather chuckled. Jeff didn't.

"Well, I guess we should get down to business, huh?" Rick said. "I think we're all familiar with the offer Marlene and I are making at this point, but now that we're all meeting in person, I'm just going to go over it again to make sure there are no misunderstandings."

"Sounds good," Heather said with a smile.

"My wife and I are looking to take care of two adult babies for at least a year," Rick began. "The goal would be to simulate the experience of a family with two young kids as accurately as possible, while respecting the reality that you are adults with your own boundaries and autonomy. Consent is extremely important to us, and while we would aim to take care of you in virtually every way possible and completely take your agency out of the equation, we would tailor our approach for each of you according to your comfort level."

Rick and Jeff locked eyes for a moment. Rick could sense Jeff's distrust, just as Jeff could tell Rick had rehearsed this speech.

"So, for example, it seems that Jeff has a few more hangups about relinquishing control than Heather does," Rick continued carefully. "We could work around that, within reason. Maybe we treat Jeff as the big brother with a bit more autonomy than Heather."

Jeff's eyebrows raised in curiosity, caught off guard.

"What did you have in mind?" Jeff asked.

"We were thinking this through, and one scenario we had in mind is that Jeff is 5 or 6 years old and Heather is 1 or 2," Marlene chimed in. "If you're both comfortable with that, of course. So, for example, Heather might sleep in a crib while Jeff sleeps in a big-boy bed."

Jeff visibly cringed at Marlene's juvenile word choice, but quickly regained his composure.

"Go on," he said.

"We do have some non-negotiables," Rick said. "After we agree on rules at the start of this arrangement, we expect those rules to be followed. You are to defer to our authority as if we really were your parents. In the most extreme case, both parties reserve the right to cancel the arrangement at any time, but if the agreement is canceled because you fail to hold up your end, you forfeit the rest of your stipend."

"This is all sounding very official," Jeff said.

"I'm a lawyer," Marlene said. "I've written up a legally binding contract to this effect. But trust me, the last thing we'd ever want to do is go to court over this. That's why we're doing so much vetting before moving forward -- we need to find the right people and be sure as we can that this is going to work."

"As discussed, in return for lasting the full year, you'll each receive $250,000," Rick said. "We'll pay for all expenses while you stay with us, and if all parties are willing, we're also open to discussions about prolonging the agreement in exchange for even more money."

"This all sounds amazing, guys," Heather said. "We're honored you'd even consider us. But just so we're all completely clear, could you give us a bit more detail about what the day to day would look like for something like this? Jeff and I have had some trouble picturing exactly what you mean by 'adult baby'."

"Sure," Rick said. "But before getting into it, I'll say again that most of this is negotiable. We'll agree on specific expectations with each of you if we decide to move forward."

Rick took a deep breath before continuing.

"Marlene and I were hoping that at least one of you would be a true baby," he said, looking at Heather. "That would, of course, mean wearing diapers at all times as well as using them. But it would also mean a lot more -- we'd expect you to communicate like a baby would. That doesn't mean you'd have to stop talking altogether, but think short words and sentences and a lot of nonverbal communication. You would also sleep in a crib, eat in a highchair, play with baby toys, wear baby clothes... all that good stuff. The idea would be that you'd depend on Marlene and I to do nearly everything for you."

"Uh... wow," Heather said after a moment. It was the first time she'd shown true signs of hesitation. Jeff couldn't help but smile, sure that she was about to pull out and go home. He opened his mouth to get the rejection started. 

"I don't know, that seems a little --"

"I think I can manage that," Heather interjected, sending Jeff's eyebrows skyward.

"As we mentioned, we're willing to set different rules for you, Jeff," Marlene said. "We're picturing you as mostly potty-trained, with maybe a few pee-pee accidents here and there. You'd probably fluctuate between Pull-Ups and big-boy undies most of the time."

Again, this sent Jeff into a full-body cringe.

"You'd still spend a lot of your time playing with toys, watching cartoons, and dressing like a little kid. We'd supervise you quite a bit while you're playing and make sure you don't do, see, or say anything too age-inappropriate. But we'd also trust you to do things like sit at the kitchen table in a normal chair, sleep in a bed, and maybe even use the potty by yourself."

Jeff sat in silence, dumbfounded, trying to decide whether these two were serious. He opened his mouth to begin his long, certain rejection, but once again, Heather interrupted. 

"Do you mind if Jeff and I talk about this in private for a minute?" she asked.

"Not at all," Rick said. "Come on, honey, let's go get a refill."

Rick and Marlene left the table and headed into the coffee shop.

"Look, I know this is crazier than we expected," Heather said to Jeff. "Did you hear that number, though? $250,000 apiece? Think about that. That's more than either of us will make in a decade. Isn't that worth a year of humiliation which we'll probably get used to and stop even thinking about within a few weeks?"

"I don't want to get used to it," Jeff said. "These people are insane. This is probably some kind of hidden camera reality show and everyone we know is going to see us acting like babies."

"Hey, it sounds like I'm going to be the baby, not you," Heather responded. "They're not going to make you shit yourself or get fed in a highchair. Dude, it's basically just an acting gig for you, I'm doing the hard part."

Jeff paused.

"I know," he said. "You're right."

"So will you do this? Please? For me?"

He didn't answer right away.

"Look, we can give it a try, and if it goes really bad, we just break the contract," Heather reasoned. "We don't lose anything except a little time and dignity by doing that, and let's face it, right now we have time to spare and no dignity to lose."

"Fine," Jeff muttered. "For you."

Heather hugged him tight, nearly knocking him out of his chair.

"You're the best," she said. "Don't worry. A year isn't that long, and then we can do whatever the hell we want. And we'll be in this together."

"You're crazy, you know that?"

"Totally."

 

-- AUGUST --

 

Marlene was overjoyed.

There had been a few early hiccups, but this idea she had developed with her husband that seemed unthinkable just a few months ago had gone well beyond her expectations. Having Jeff and Heather in the house made her feel fulfilled for the first time in years -- having someone to love and care for who truly needed her. 

For her, the strangeness of treating two adults like infants wore off rather quickly, though she suspected it was still present with the men. As supportive as he had been, Rick had shown many signs of discomfort and even voiced second thoughts once or twice. But then, what new parents don't do that? Meanwhile, as expected, Heather had proven far more receptive to the arrangement than Jeff. He would ultimately fall in line, but much of the time, put up a fight every step of the way. Still, there were rare moments when he truly seemed to be enjoying his new life -- snuggling up with Marlene on the couch while watching a kids' movie, getting deep into a project with his building blocks, or, his favorite, teasing his baby sister. 

But by and large, for Marlene, this new life was the best thing that ever happened to her. She had woken up with a smile on her face once again, and looked over to see Rick still asleep. She tried to sneak out of bed without disturbing him, but didn't succeed.

"Morning," Rick moaned.

"Sorry," Marlene replied. "I was just slipping away to go check on the kids."

"Ugh, let them sleep," Rick replied without opening his eyes. "I hate it when they're cranky."

"I'm not gonna wake them, I just want to... I don't know, look at them," she said.

"You didn't want to wake me either, but here we are."

Marlene rolled her eyes as she left the bedroom and walked down the long, opulent hallway to Heather's nursery. She wore a silky, lavender nightgown that highlighted her tight figure and curves, which were rather impressive for her age. Rick loved it. 

She turned the knob on Heather's door as gingerly as she could, successfully opening it without so much as a creak. She looked around the room, silently congratulating herself on her decorating skills. The nursery was her lovingly made masterpiece, featuring the mainstay furniture like an oversized crib, changing table, rocking chair, and bouncer, a veritable mountain of colorful toys and stuffed animals, and adorable decals lining the walls. Everything was color-coordinated in pink and white, and Heather had reported several times how much she loved her bedroom -- how it kept her in the baby mindset, which she was growing to truly enjoy.

Marlene quietly entered the room and sat on the rocking chair, admiring Heather sleeping in the middle of her crib as daylight poured through the windows of the nursery. Her straight, tan hair, like always these days, was styled in pigtails. She was clutching a white teddy bear against her chest, which contrasted with her full-body, purple, footed pajamas. 

Marlene waited in the chair, her heart warm as she watched Heather sleep. She had done this on several mornings during the last few weeks, silently taking in the beautiful sight for as long as Heather would allow her before waking up naturally. It was her favorite part of the day now -- the most peaceful. 

But soon enough, as she always did, Heather gently roused herself awake. Marlene smiled as Heather stretched out her arms and legs with a yawn without managing to reach any of the bars of her gigantic crib. Marlene had spared no expense in ensuring it made Heather look as small as possible in comparison.

"Good morning, sweetheart," Marlene said quietly.

Heather's eyes drifted open and fell upon Marlene. It wasn't a shock anymore after she'd woken up this way a dozen times or so.

"Hi," she yawned.

Marlene stood up from her chair and walked over to the side of the crib, and Heather looked on as she lowered the bars.

"Sleep good?" Marlene asked as she unzipped Heather's pajamas.

Heather closed her eyes and nodded.

"Still sleepy," she muttered.

Marlene carefully slipped Heather's legs out of the pajamas one by one, noticing that the girl was still wearing her socks. She laughed and shook her head.

"Well I can see Daddy got you ready for bed last night, didn't he?" she asked.

"He always forgets my sockies," Heather said.

"Can you sit up for me, hun?" Marlene asked, and with a tired groan, Heather complied. "Good girl."

She worked Heather's arms and shoulders out of the pajamas, leaving the young woman naked besides her socks -- and of course, her thick, plastic-backed diaper, printed with colorful rattles and teddy bears. Nowadays, Heather didn't mind her new parents or even Jeff seeing her naked. It happened multiple times each day and was painfully awkward at first, but now, she was simply used to it. There were even some particularly hot days when Marlene and Rick would decide to keep her in only her diaper for the entire day. Her nudity had become so common that Heather sometimes preferred it -- she sometimes took it upon herself to take off her clothes and toddle around in just her diaper, much to Rick and Marlene's amusement. Likewise, Heather had gotten used to diaper changes, although these were still uncomfortable at times. Still, she had come a long way from the outright hysterics a change would send her into just two months ago.

Marlene sat down on the edge of the crib next to Heather. She didn't need to feel the front of the girl's diaper to know she had wet herself, as she did most nights these days. Marlene patted her own lap with her hand, which wordlessly signaled Heather to lie across her legs on her stomach for easy access to the back of her diaper.

"No poopies," Marlene sang as she pressed a hand against the seat. "Do you have to go, sweetheart?"

"Yeah," Heather said. "I think so."

"Okay, go ahead."

Heather climbed off Marlene's lap and stepped onto the carpet of the nursery, her back to Marlene. She yawned again as she slightly crouched in place, and within a few moments, Marlene watched as Heather's diaper quickly expanded to accommodate her morning mess. An odor just slightly permeated the room, but the floral-scented, plug-in air fresheners Marlene had added to the nursery mostly hid it. After a few more pushes, Heather sighed and stood back upright. 

"All done," she said.

"Good girl," Marlene praised. "Come on, let's go get you into the tubby and clean you up."

Rick had gotten out of bed and dressed himself in a green button-down shirt. With his beard and glasses, he looked particularly like a math teacher today. Passing the bathroom, he saw his wife lovingly washing off a naked Heather in the tub.

"Morning, girls," he said. "Sleep well, baby?"

Heather was too busy playing with a pink toy boat to acknowledge him with anything more than a "Hi".

"She just made a great, big, stinky diapie," Marlene said, tickling Heather's exposed stomach. "Didn't she? Didn't she?"

"Stooooppppp!" Heather squealed as she collapsed into laughter.

Rick just smiled and proceeded to Jeff's room. He and Marlene had also put quite a bit of time and money into his bedroom, although it didn't call for the same level of specialized furniture as Heather's nursery did. Looking around the space, Jeff saw every 5-year-old boy's dream bedroom. The back wall was covered in a full-size mural of outer space, and the twin bed immediately in front of it was shaped like a spaceship. All manner of toys lined the room, with the many LEGO creations Jeff had made over the last two months displayed prominently on the dresser and bookcase. He had a desk with crayons, safety scissors, and construction paper waiting on top of it, as well as a large rocking chair in the corner, similar to Heather's. Unlike Heather's room, however, this room also had a TV and a video game console -- however, the console came with only a few games geared toward children, and the TV was severely restricted by parental controls.

The difference, of course, was that the boy sleeping in the bed was, in truth, far older than 5. But you wouldn't know by looking at him. He wore a pajama top with a cartoon character on it, and his underwear -- small briefs that held tight against the outline of his dick -- was similarly decorated with bright colors and playful figures. Marlene had located and ordered Jeff a whole line of this childish underwear in a size that would fit him, much to Jeff's disappointment, and they had become his default unless Marlene or Rick saw fit to put him in Pull-Ups instead.

"Rise and shine, little buddy," Rick announced.

Jeff responded with a whine, turning over on the bed and hiding his head with a pillow.

"C'mon Jeffy, time to wake up," Rick said, approaching the bed. "Mommy's finishing up with your sister's bath and then we'll go have some breakfast."

"Five more minutes," Jeff muttered from under the pillow. Rick peered back out into the bathroom and saw that the girls seemed to be having fun in the tub, and saw no reason to rush them along to breakfast. 

"Alright, fine, five more minutes," Rick said. "But you better not pee your bed again, okay?"

"It was one time, let it go!" Jeff protested.

Rick and Marlene had agreed with Jeff that he could freely use the toilet, but on one condition: he had to ask one of the adults whenever he needed to go, and they would wait just outside the bathroom as he went, ready to render any aid he might require. Jeff continued to be quite resistant to this policy. One morning, he proved so stubborn about asking to use the toilet that his bladder got the best of him, and he wet the bed. He wore Pull-Ups for two weeks after that.

A few minutes passed, and Marlene walked a towel-clad Heather back down the hall to the nursery, leaving the bathroom free. When Rick returned to Jeff's room, he was already awake and ready for his turn in the bathroom. A few minutes more, and all four of them were dressed for the day and convened at the kitchen table for breakfast.

Jeff, dressed by Rick in a striped t-shirt and shorts, looked at the plate in front of him: a bowl of colorful cereal in the center, surrounded by toast with jam, sliced fruit, and a glass of orange juice. For all the humiliation he had to suffer during this arrangement, he couldn't deny that Rick and Marlene took good care of him. He never ate this well during his adult life. Looking across the table at Heather, he felt sympathy that her breakfast wasn't as palatable. The young woman was dressed in a pink onesie that just barely revealed the fringes of her diaper through the legholes and sat in an oversized highchair. She enjoyed more-or-less the same breakfast every morning: a jar of mushy baby food spoonfed to her by Rick, a sliced-up banana, and a baby bottle full of milk. Still, while her meal seemed bleak compared to Jeff's, Heather didn't seem to mind. If the taste of baby food bothered her, it didn't show on her face. She happily and greedily lapped up the baby food from each spoonful and never complained.

"Such a good little eater," Rick praised as he fed her another spoonful.

"Eat your fruit too, honey," Marlene told Jeff. "Too much of that cereal without any substance isn't good for you, even if it's tasty."

Jeff looked at her, but didn't respond, putting an apple slice into his mouth and returning to his meal.

"I was thinking maybe we could go to the park this afternoon," Marlene said. "Maybe have a little picnic."

Jeff audibly groaned, attracting a sharp look from Rick.

"Do we really have to go out in public like this again?" Jeff protested.

"Jeff..." Rick warned.

"I mean, Heather and I have been pretty patient with all the stuff you want to do to us behind closed doors, right?" Jeff said. "It's so humiliating for others to see us in little kid clothes."

"Heather, how do you feel about this?" Rick asked.

The adult baby girl shrugged her shoulders. 

"It's fine," she said. "I like being outside."

Jeff rolled his eyes.

"Jeff, the rest of the family wants to go to the park," Rick said.

"Stop saying we're a family," Jeff snapped. "This is a business arrangement and you all know it."

Marlene's eyes sunk and a frown crept across her face.

"We ARE a family for the next year," Rick said sternly. "Have some respect for Mommy and I. And don't forget that our 'business arrangement' can be ended at any time."

Now, Heather glared at Jeff. Her face conveyed a clear message: Shut up. Don't blow this for us.

"We're going to the park and having a picnic," Rick stated. "And that's final. Finish your breakfast and then you two can have some playtime while Mommy and I put some sandwiches together."

When her jar and bottle were empty, Rick gingerly helped Heather out of the highchair while Marlene stood up and collected the dirty plates. Jeff and Heather headed into the living room, which had become their playroom over the last two months, while Rick and Marlene got to work in the kitchen. Heather wasted no time in kneeling down on the floor and playing with her dollhouse. Jeff just sat on the couch, his arms crossed, looking at his diapered, onesie-bound friend as if she were a stranger.

"How are you so comfortable with all of this?" he asked. "You're acting like this isn't weird."

"Of course it's weird," Heather said. "But it's really not so bad. Some parts of it I kind of like now."

"Look at yourself," Jeff said. "Look how you're dressed. Look what you're playing with."

"So what? They're just dolls. It's supposed to be fun. You like playing with your LEGOs, don't you?"

"I do it because I don't know how else to make this year pass any faster," he said. "You don't think I'd rather be having a beer, watching a football game, or, hell, even mowing the lawn or something?"

"You're being dramatic," Heather said. "Maybe your problem is you're always focusing on getting through the year instead of just trying to get used to things and embrace the reality of the moment."

"Maybe your problem is you're forgetting that you're an adult woman and not a fucking baby."

"Oh, I remember completely," she responded. "I remember that I'm broke, and that $250,000 is a lot of money."

"You know what I think?" Jeff said, standing up off the couch. "I think you actually like all this. You have the same sick fetish Rick and Marlene do."

"Well, I don't hate it, if you must know," Heather said. "What's not to like? I don't have to worry about anything besides being cute. I've had a pretty happy two months. Maybe you'd be happy, too, if you just let yourself and stop fighting everybody all the time."

Suddenly, Heather's stomach made a loud, growling noise. She bent forward and clutched her stomach, a look of discomfort on her face.

"How about that, if you're asking what's not to like?" Jeff asked, knowingly. 

Heather's one complaint, which she often spoke about to Jeff in private, was her new diet's effect on her stomach. She didn't particularly mind the taste of baby food, but since it became a staple of her meals, it was not uncommon for her to mess herself as often as three or four times per day. While she was getting used to them out of necessity, Heather still didn't enjoy messy diapers -- or even wet ones, for that matter.

"I can handle it," she said as she continued to play with her dolls. "It's not the end of the world."

"Sure hope it doesn't happen at the park today," Jeff said. "Sure would be a shame if somebody you know walked by and saw you dressed like a baby wearing a shitty diaper."

"Why are you trying to make me feel bad about this?" Heather asked. "You realize I have it way worse than you, right? You're complaining to the wrong person. A lot of people would kill to get paid $250,000 to be treated like a 5-year-old. Your situation isn't even that humiliating."

"I'm so sick of you rationalizing everything," Jeff said, stepping closer to the dollhouse. "It's like I don't even know you anymore."

Heather opted not to respond, and simply focused on her dolls.

Incensed, Jeff abruptly kicked the dollhouse, causing one of its walls to cave in and sending one of Heather's dolls flying across the room.

"And I'm sick of these stupid baby toys!" he exclaimed.

"Dude!" Heather cried, throwing up her arms. "Get a grip! For someone resisting all of this so hard, you're sure acting like a spoiled, 5-year-old brat!"

"What are you gonna do?" Jeff said, taking on a sarcastic, mocking tone. "Get me in trouble?"

"You know what? Yeah, I think I will," Heather said. 

Without another word, Heather opened her mouth and began to wail at the top of her lungs. 

"Shut up," Jeff muttered. "Shut up!"

Heather yelled out in faux anguish, turning her face red. Within seconds, Rick and Marlene had entered the living room. Marlene raced over to Heather's side to comfort her while Rick surveyed the room -- and spotted the broken dollhouse.

"What happened here?" Rick demanded.

"Jeff hurt my dolly!" Heather cried.

"Oh, sweetie, it's okay," Marlene soothed, hugging Heather tight.

"Jeff, how many times have we told you to stop picking on Heather?" Rick said sternly. "Look at this dollhouse, it's broken! Do you know how much this cost?"

"Oh, whatever," Jeff said, crossing his arms against his chest. "She's being a baby."

"She IS a baby," Rick said. "Is that the kind of person you want to be, Jeff? Bullying a baby? You may want to pretend you're an adult, but you show us every day what an infant you are on the inside."

"Jeff..." Marlene interjected, still coddling Heather. "Why did you even agree to this if you're going to resist every step of the way? It's like you WANT to break your contract."

"I... I didn't want Heather to have to go through this alone," Jeff said.

"So you're doing this because you care about your friend, and you're going to demonstrate that by breaking her things and making her cry?" Marlene asked.

"We've been over this a dozen times, Jeff," Rick said. "Marlene and I have been nothing but fair to you. We've followed every word of the contract you signed. Heather has clearly found a way to enjoy her new life. Why can't you?"

"I..." Jeff began. Nothing else followed for a few seconds. "I want to. I just... can't. I can't convince myself that being treated like a little kid is normal like Heather can."

"Well, do you want to break your contract?" Marlene asked. "Leave here with nothing, leave Heather behind, and pretend none of this ever happened?"

"...No," Jeff said. "Maybe. I don't know. If I could somehow find a way to make it all feel normal, I would. I just... don't know if I can pretend for a full year."

Rick and Marlene exchanged a glance, as if tacitly making a decision among themselves. 

"Well, I think we have an idea," Marlene said. "But it's a little drastic."

"What do you mean?" Jeff asked.

"Are you familiar with hypnosis?"

 

-- OCTOBER --

 

They say that hypnosis only truly takes hold if the subject is willing to be influenced, and if that's true, Jeff must have earnestly meant what he said about wanting to be comfortable with ageplay. It only took about two weeks of listening to the recordings Marlene had found online for Jeff to stop complaining about his day-to-day treatment as well as stop referencing the arrangement altogether. By mid-September, Rick and Marlene saw an entirely different person when they entered Jeff's bedroom each morning to wake him. 

There was one catch, though. The recordings Marlene had found focused heavily on the potty-training aspect of rewiring the subject's brain to that of a 5-year-old. As a result, Jeff's bladder control had started to slip. It was no longer particularly uncommon for Jeff to wake up in a wet bed, or even accidentally wet himself during the day if Rick and Marlene weren't immediately available to take him to the bathroom. To make matters worse, Jeff's conditioning made him desire nothing more than to wear "big-boy undies". He was forced to wear Pull-Ups more and more often, and that was his main source of tantrums and complaints nowadays. 

Meanwhile, without constant reminders from Jeff of her adult life, Heather seemed to grow more and more comfortable as an adult baby. She no longer felt embarrassed during diaper changes and had become more content each day with the idea of relying on Rick and Marlene for even the simplest things.

But, deep in her heart of hearts, Heather was concerned about Jeff. For her part, she knew she was still very much in control of her true, adult side -- she was simply becoming better-versed in the role she was playing. She hadn't experienced any true loss of bladder or bowel control, and still had to deliberately try to use her diapers. Jeff, on the other hand, had responded so well to the hypnosis that Heather wasn't sure he was just acting anymore. When he would wet himself, he seemed truly upset, as if it really was an accident. And, as hard to admit to herself as it was, Heather missed his trademark cynicism. He was so agreeable nowadays that it just didn't feel like the real Jeff anymore. Would he be able to go back to the person he was -- the person Heather called her best friend -- when this arrangement concluded?

Heather thought about this as she sat at the breakfast table, accepting a spoonful of baby food from Marlene while looking across the table at Jeff. He was excitedly tearing through a stack of pancakes with chocolate chips arranged into a smiley face on the top. 

"I'm so excited for our big day," Marlene said. "Nervous, but excited."

"It's certainly going to be eye-opening," Rick said, drinking his coffee. "I just hope everyone is normal."

Marlene looked at Rick with one of her expressive smirks that managed to convey whole thoughts without a single word. They're not going to be "normal," she communicated. They're ageplayers like us. There's nothing normal about it.

Rick just chuckled to himself, picking up every word.

"You're right, you're right," he said.

"Maybe I could make a friend and he could come over and play video games with me," Jeff mused.

"That'd be nice, sweetie," Marlene said. "Daddy and I are hoping to make some friends, too. This will really be our first time meeting other people in this community. I bet we can learn a lot."

Rick looked over at Heather as she ate in her highchair. Her breasts, a scoop of errant baby food resting atop one of them, were on full display, as was her bulky diaper.

"Someone's going to have to get dressed before we go out and meet anybody," Rick said with a smile.

"It's a shame, but you're right," Marlene said. "Mommy's little jaybird is so cute in just her diapie."

Heather giggled to herself. She was discovering that there was something oddly appealing about being talked about as if she wasn't right there in the room. 

"It sounds like there's going to be a pretty big turnout at this place," Marlene said. "It's this group of ageplayers who meet at a different house each month, and the RSVP list had something like 20 or 25 people on it."

"Cool!" Jeff exclaimed. "I just hope it's not all dumb babies. I wanna meet some other big kids."

Jeff took another bite of his pancakes when a look of realization came over his face.

"Uhm... Do I have to wear Pull-Ups to the party today?" he asked bashfully.

"Afraid so, buddy," Rick said. "You know the rules. You're in Pull-Ups for at least a day after you have an accident."

"Oh, come on," Jeff whined. "That's such a dumb rule. I had to go pee, you weren't around to take me to the potty, and I get punished for it?"

"Chin up, kiddo," Marlene said. "I'm sure all the littles will be in either Pull-Ups or diapers."

"Fine," Jeff pouted. 

"Anybody in particular you'd like to meet today, baby girl?" Marlene asked, feeding Heather the last scoop of her breakfast.

"Mmmm... iunno," Heather said. "Someone nice, I guess."

"Who could be mean to you, cutie pie?" Rick said. "I bet you won't have any trouble making friends."

"I bet we can make you even cuter," Marlene said, cleaning Heather off with a napkin and helping her out of the highchair. "Come on, pumpkin, let's go upstairs and get you dressed into something pretty."

"Okay," Heather said, taking Marlene's hand and following her upstairs. As he watched the two women walk away, Rick's nose picked up a slight odor, and he noticed the back of Heather's diaper drooping a bit lower than usual.

"Marlene..." Rick called out.

"Yes?" she responded.

"I think she might need more than just a change of clothes."

Marlene gently grasped Heather's shoulder and turned her around to face her back. She stuck a finger in the back of the waistband of Heather's diaper, slightly pulled it out, and peered inside.

"Wow," Marlene said. "You're right. When did you go poopy, honey?"

"Just now," Heather said nonchalantly.

"Good girl," Marlene said. "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

Jeff and Rick chatted about the day ahead while finishing their breakfast. The two men got along far better these days and seemed to be truly enjoying eachother's company. When they were finished, Jeff followed Rick into the kitchen to continue their conversation while Rick cleaned the dishes. Soon enough, Marlene and Heather returned downstairs. Rick stopped what he was doing as soon as he lay eyes on Heather, who now wore a sparkly pink dress with matching ribbons tying her pigtails in place. Her fresh diaper was clearly visible beneath the hem of the dress.

"Princess, you look absolutely adorable," Rick said.

"Thanks," Heather said with a bashful smile. In truth, despite everything she had dealt with in the last four months, being dressed this way and knowing she was going out to meet new people in this getup still embarrassed her. But she couldn't deny that she did, in fact, look adorable.

"I was waiting for a special occasion to break out this dress," Marlene said. "I'm so glad it fits her."

About an hour later, Marlene looked backwards from the passenger seat of Rick's Jeep to look at her two adult children: Jeff, wearing his usual graphic t-shirt and brightly colored shorts, who was looking thoughtfully out the window, and Heather, strapped into an oversized carseat and enjoying a nap, her mouth hanging slightly open against the cushion behind her. They would arrive at the party soon, and Marlene hoped Heather wouldn't be cranky after being woken up. Butterflies fluttered in her stomach as Marlene remembered where they were going: their first-ever ageplay meetup. She didn't know the host, although they had exchanged a few messages to go over the details. This group was large and dedicated, most of them meeting up at least once every month or so at one of their houses. The setting for today's party sounded like a mansion, which seemed more and more likely as the car meandered through increasingly large houses after entering the neighborhood. When they arrived at their destination, it looked from the outside as though this was a baby shower or a gender reveal party. Pastel pink and blue balloons were anchored to the mailbox, and a little card with a diaper and a pacifier on it was stuck onto the front. "Head to the backyard," the card read, with an arrow pointing to a gate. 

Heather made a face as Rick helped her out of the carseat, but didn't protest. Jeff seemed shy as he got out of the car -- he wasn't speaking, yet seemed on-edge.

"You okay, Jeffy?" Marlene asked.

"Yeah," he said. "Just nervous I guess."

"It's okay, me too," Marlene said. "We're all going to have fun, though. These are our people."

Jeff and Heather exchanged a look -- were they, at this point, now considered "these people"? They certainly looked the part, regardless of the circumstances that brought them there.

Opening the gate to the backyard did little to settle their nerves. They weren't sure what to expect, but it was certainly nothing as overwhelming as what they saw. About two dozen sets of eyes suddenly snapped to Jeff, Heather, Marlene, and Rick as they stood at the gate, a roughly even mix of bigs and littles. 

It was a remarkably diverse group, representing all ages, genders, and races, all of whom were united by their similar, peculiar interests. There was a large bouncy castle and jungle gym set up in the backyard, both bustling with adults dressed like infants. Several of them were completely naked besides their diapers, much to Rick and Marlene's surprise -- apparently, Heather didn't need to get dressed this morning after all. Their attention quickly shifted away from the new arrivals and back to playing. It was a bizarre, yet strangely peaceful, scene to see this many adults freely indulging in this part of themselves. 

Arranged along tables next to a banquet table full of food were the bigs, who also ran the demographic gamut. They dutifully watched their littles play and chatted amongst themselves while eating hot dogs and hamburgers, just like real parents at a cookout. 

"Marlene!" a skinny, blonde woman who looked to be in her 40s or 50s called out from one of the tables. She stood up and began walking toward the gate. "Marlene, right?"

"Yeah!" Marlene responded. "Jessie?"

"You got it!" Jessie said. "So glad you could make it -- it's so nice to finally meet you in person!"

She turned her attention to Rick, then to Heather and Jeff.

"You must be Rick," she said, shaking his hand. "Oh, and the kiddos! Jeff and Heather, right? Heather, I love your pretty princess dress!"

"Thanks," Heather squeaked, partially hiding herself behind Rick.

"Pleasure to meet you," Rick said, shaking Jessie's hand. "We appreciate the invite. Beautiful house!"

Jessie smiled at Rick, then turned her attention back to Jeff and Heather.

"Hey, why don't you guys go play with the other kids?" she said, pointing toward the jungle gym. "Everyone here is super friendly and they can't wait to meet you. Me and Mommy and Daddy are going to be right over here talking about boring grown-up stuff, but if you need anything at all, just let any of us know!"

Jeff and Heather looked at Marlene uneasily.

"It's okay," she reassured. "Go ahead -- have some fun!"

"I guess we're really doing this, huh?" Jeff said as he and Heather walked slowly toward the jungle gym.

"Guess so," Heather said. "Just... try to be optimistic. It might be nice to talk with some people who know what we're going through."

"Do we tell them we're being paid to do this?" Jeff asked. "I'm guessing these are all people who actually want to live this way."

"I don't think it really matters," Heather said. "I say we just try to match their energy and blend in."

"I'll try," Jeff said.

"Just... lean into that hypnosis," she said. "It's done wonders for you so far."

Jeff glared at Heather as if she had crossed a line and he was deciding whether to snap at her. He knew that the hypnosis had definitely changed his personality so far, but it was still a touchy subject that he didn't like to talk about. It was a choice he made strictly to make his life at home easier, but he dearly hoped that he could go back to normal at the end of the year.

Suddenly, Jeff felt a hard tap on his back.

"Tag!" a voice behind him called out. "You're it!"

He and Heather turned around to see a skinny, tattooed man around their age running away from them. He wore only a diaper, which sagged low and yellowed beneath his waist, obviously soaked.

"I guess you're it," Heather said with a smile before running in the other direction.

It didn't take long before Rick and Marlene had met all the other bigs in the ageplay group, and within 30 minutes or so, they were talking as though they'd known each other for years. 

"Yeah, Jeff was a terror before he started hypnosis," Rick described to the group between bites of a burger. "We didn't think it would make a difference, but it really, really did. He barely ever fights us at all anymore and finally seems happy in his new life."

"Is he still on it?" asked Will, one of the other bigs who had just talked about using hypnosis to condition his adult baby girl into associating using her diapers with sexual arousal.

"Yes, but we think it's just maintenance at this point," Marlene said. "It's a three-month program and we're a little more than two months in. We're wondering if he'll start to backslide once he's not listening to the recordings overnight anymore."

"If he's responded this well to it, I doubt it," Jessie chimed in. "That stuff tends to be really hard to break once it takes hold. I'm jealous of you guys -- I tried hypnosis with Sarah and she didn't respond to it at all."

"What were you trying to get her to do?" Will asked.

"Mess in her sleep," she answered. "It was really just an experiment to see if it would work for us."

A few of the bigs laughed, and a lull in the conversation followed as they all ate another few bites. Marlene looked toward the bouncy castle and jungle gym, searching for an update on what Jeff and Heather were doing. Heather appeared to be having the time of her life, jumping up and down in the bouncy castle with a few of the other littles and laughing at full volume. With every jump, her dress flew upward, fully revealing her diaper. Marlene squinted, trying to discern whether she might need a change from across the yard, but couldn't get a great look with all the motion happening. Meanwhile, she spotted Jeff, sitting on top of the jungle gym with his legs dangling off the side. He was calmly sitting and chatting with a young brunette, dressed in a white t-shirt and pink shorts. Whatever they were talking about, they seemed to be hitting it off.

"Who's that cute girl Jeff is talking to over there?" Marlene asked aloud at the table.

"Oh, that's our Lily," one of the men said. "Hi, I'm Lee and this is my husband George."

"Pleasure to meet you both!" Rick said. "They definitely seem to be getting along."

George chuckled to himself.

"I bet I know what they're talking about," he said.

Jeff and Lily truly were hitting it off. They seemed to be the only two littles at the party who weren't visibly wearing diapers.

"So that's your sister?" Lily said, pointing to Heather in the bouncy castle. Jeff cringed at that description. 

"Uhm... kind of," he responded. "Let's go with best friend instead."

"That's cool," Lily said. "I wish I had a kind-of sister."

"Do you hang out with this crowd often?" Jeff asked.

Lily rolled her eyes in response.

"Unfortunately," she said. "My Daddies drag me out to one of these parties every month. I keep telling them that I don't want to hang out with a bunch of dumb babies, but they don't listen."

Lily stole a close look at Jeff, surveying him up and down, doing her best to be subtle about it.

"It's kinda nice to have another big kid to talk to," she said.

"What are things like for you at home?" Jeff asked.

"Probably about the same as you," she said. "My Daddies take care of me and make sure I don't have to deal with grown-up stuff. It gets lonely sometimes, though."

"How did you meet your Daddies?" Jeff asked. "How'd you get into this lifestyle?"

"We were friends for years," Lily said. "I used to work with Lee, believe it or not. I used to be an architect. But you know how it is -- I always had this fetish since I was a teenager, and one day I decided I wanted to stop wasting time and pursue it, and somehow it turned out that Lee and his husband were willing to pursue it with me. Go figure."

"Any regrets?" Jeff asked.

"No, not really," she said. "Except maybe that my Daddies got into the ageplay community as much as they have. I kind of like to keep my little girl side behind closed doors, you know?"

"Trust me, I know," Jeff said.

"I also miss sex," she said, making Jeff's eyebrows raise. "Sorry. Too much information."

"No, you're good, I hear you on that," he said.

Suddenly, Jeff was picturing what Lily must look like naked. He missed sex, too. Sure, he had found time to masturbate late at night when Marlene and Rick were asleep, but doing it in a Pull-Up or childish underwear always made it feel weird. He felt his dick tighten from inside his Pull-Up as dirty thoughts clouded his mind, and he did his best to make sure his erection wasn't obvious. He wanted to get to know Lily better, but at the moment, he couldn't help himself from prying further into her sex life (or lack thereof).

"I'm guessing you don't really get any of that kind of attention from your Daddies?" Jeff asked.

"Nope," she answered with a chuckle. "They dress me and give me baths, but that's about all the touching I get."

"No diapers?" Jeff asked.

Lily responded by unbuttoning her shorts and slightly lowering one side, revealing a pink garment.

"Pull-Ups," she said.

Jeff smiled and did the same, revealing the waistband of his blue briefs.

"Me too," he said. 

"Well look at that," Lily said. "We match."

"Do you like them?"

"Honestly? Love them. They remind me that I'm just a little girl even when I'm trying to act like a grown-up. And I love the feeling of being wet. At least most of the time. I've been noticing my bladder control slipping for real which has been a little scary."

"Same here," Jeff said. "I've been waking up in the morning wet more and more often and I don't know how to feel about it."

"When did you know you wanted to live life as a little boy?" Lily asked. It was a tough question to answer. Jeff didn't know how she would react to finding out this was just a job for him.

"Well... recently," he said. "I'm still getting used to it, to be honest."

"It seems like you have a good thing going," she replied. "A Mommy, a Daddy, and a little sister? A lot of ageplayers would kill for a setup like that."

"I'm just glad Heather is doing all this with me," Jeff said. "It'd be a lot harder without her."

"She's a full-time baby, it seems?"

"Yup. And Marlene and Rick take things pretty far with her."

"Marlene and Rick? Is that your Mommy and Daddy?"

"Uhm... yeah," Jeff said. "She's got a nursery and isn't allowed to use the potty for anything. Eats baby food, wears baby clothes, the whole nine yards."

"That's nice, if she's into that," Lily said. "I tried that life before, but I just can't get comfortable being quite that helpless. I think what I have now with my Daddies is a good fit for me."

"Hey... do you maybe want to come over sometime?" Jeff asked. "Like you said, it's nice to have another big kid to talk with."

Lily looked at Jeff and smiled.

"I'd like that," she said. "I'll ask my Daddies about setting up a... 'playdate.'"

She winked as she emphasized playdate, sending Jeff's mind racing. Could that mean what he thought it meant?

Lily started giggling to herself, breaking Jeff out of his thoughts.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Sorry," she said with a smile. "I just wet myself. It always makes me laugh for some reason."

Lily stood up atop the jungle gym. As he looked up at her, Jeff saw a patch of wetness forming along the seat of her shorts.

"Shit," Lily said. "Leaking again. I better go tell my Daddies."

She leaned down to Jeff's level and, much to his surprise, kissed him on the cheek. 

"Bye, Jeff," Lily said. "Really nice to meet you."

And with that, she launched herself down the slide. Jeff watched, rock-hard within his Pull-Up, as she toddled over to Lee and George.

[BabyGirlieJess]

This is so cute and wholesome. I love it!!

[kirababy]

wonderful start to this story.   Looking forward to seeing how deep we go.

[therende]

I'm glad Jeff is being more accepting of his new lifestyle.

[frosted_jacques]

 

----- DECEMBER -----

 

Of all the awkward moments Heather had experienced in the last six months, what happened that morning was the hardest to bear. It had the potential to dismantle the entire arrangement, as well as Rick and Marlene's marriage. But, much to Heather's relief, everything seemed likely to turn out okay in the end.

It began before the sun came up. As she had secretly done dozens of times before, Heather had arranged the pillows in her crib in such a way that she could hump them and feel their pressure through her thick diapers. She had done it every few mornings since the arrangement began, always achieving her goal before Rick or Marlene caught her. She would then disperse her pillows again, lie down like nothing happened, and hope that whoever changed her morning diaper thought she was simply wet with pee. 

This morning, Rick caught Heather in the act. She immediately stopped what she was doing when he entered the nursery, but it was far too late. Her contract had never mentioned sex and masturbation -- while there was nothing explicit saying she couldn't do it, she knew that it very much violated the spirit of their agreement, let alone being extremely uncomfortable to address. She waited for Rick's reaction, terrified, but it didn't come. The man simply greeted Heather a "Good morning," and approached the crib to let her out.

He stripped Heather out of her pajamas and helped her onto the changing table, following the morning routine without any indication that he saw anything. He did note, however, that his adult baby girl's nipples were still hard and stiff, and her breath was still heavy.

"You know, sweetie, Mommy and I are here to take care of you in every possible way," Rick said as he peeled off Heather's wet diaper and gathered the changing supplies. "That includes your... uh... adult needs."

Heather grabbed the nearest stuffed animal and covered her face with it, embarrassed.

"I can help you finish what you were doing, if you like..." he said.

Heather uncovered her face and looked at Rick in surprise. It had been so long since she had any action that, much to her own shock, she was actually considering it. After a short deliberation, Heather simply nodded, closed her eyes, and spread her legs wider on the changing table, leaving herself at Rick's mercy.

She jumped as she felt the cold touch of a baby wipe rub against her clit. Rick spent a few moments lovingly cleaning her up as he always did. Her eyes were still closed after he was done wiping her, and Heather lay there wondering whether anything else was coming. Sure enough, she then felt two of Rick's large fingers gently enter her, and she nearly exploded.

"Just relax, baby," Rick said softly. 

He felt wrong admitting it to himself, but Rick had wanted to touch Heather like this since they'd met. It was never a possibility he'd discussed with Marlene, and he wondered to himself how he would rationalize it to her if she found out. But in the moment, all Rick wanted was to see Heather cum. And it was clear from her reactions that she was enjoying it every bit as he was, as Heather's breaths built into gasps, then into moans. She arched one of her arms over the side of the changing table, grasping its edge to keep herself stable, while using the other arm to massage her breast. She found herself thinking about the week before, when Lily came to the house for a sleepover with Jeff. Heather had heard the faintest sounds of sex through the walls of her nursery, and they had stayed in her head ever since. She soon found herself in the throes of a full-on orgasm, her body convulsing against Rick's fingers.

"Good girl," Heather heard him whisper before catching her breath and opening her eyes.

As she came to, she saw Marlene standing in the doorframe, a look of hurt and anger on her face. 

"Rick," Heather gasped, staring past him as if looking at a ghost.

Rick turned around to see Marlene, and his heart hit his throat.

"Having fun in here, are we?" Marlene asked, her voice dripping with venom. 

"Marlene, I --"

Rick's wife had already begun walking away, and he immediately followed her down the hall, leaving Heather lying on the changing table wearing absolutely nothing but her humiliation. Tears began to roll down her face as she realized what she had done -- or at least, in what she was complicit. 

Heather hopped off the changing table and beelined for Jeff's room. She frantically opened his door and then shut it, waking Jeff out of his sleep with a start. His eyes widened as he looked upon his best friend, crying and completely naked. He had seen her in only her diaper plenty of times, but besides bath times, full nudity was still a rarity for him to see.

"What's wrong?" Jeff asked. "What's... going on?"

"I think I screwed everything up," Heather cried. 

"Just... calm down for a sec," Jeff said, getting out of bed. He himself was nearly naked, wearing only a wet Pull-Up. He wanted to comfort Heather with a hug, but wasn't sure about the etiquette given their platonic relationship and lack of attire. Instead, he sat on the edge of his spaceship bed and patted a spot next to him with his hand.

"Sit down," he said. "What happened?"

Heather suddenly realized that she didn't know the etiquette either. Were the details of this story something he'd want to hear?

"I... well... okay, look, I was masturbating, okay?" she began. "It's been so long since I've gotten any action and seeing you and Lily start getting together... I don't know. Anyway, Rick walked in on me and he... uhm... offered to help me finish up. And I let him. And Marlene saw the whole thing, and now they're probably down the hall fighting about me."

"Oh..." Jeff said, caught off-guard. "Well... I mean, YOU didn't really do anything wrong... It's Rick's fault."

"That doesn't matter," Heather cried. "Marlene's probably going to call this whole thing off now. What if they get a divorce over this or something? God, I'm such an idiot!"

"Don't beat yourself up," Jeff said. "They're not going to do anything that drastic because of one little mistake."

"It was a big mistake!" Heather exclaimed.

Jeff awkwardly put his hand on Heather's shoulder and pulled her in for a half-hug, being careful not to make any contact with her breasts.

"Just breathe," he said. Whether he wanted to or not, Jeff got an eyeful of Heather's naked body as he felt her inhale deeply against his chest.

"They didn't even put you in a new diaper, huh?" Jeff said. "Rick must have really panicked."

"I can't remember if my contract says I'm allowed to put myself into one," Heather said with a laugh. "I don't want to make things worse."

"Are they shaving your pubes?" Jeff clumsily blurted out.

Heather pulled away and looked at Jeff with confusion.

"Well... yeah," she said. "Almost every time I have a bath. They're not shaving yours?"

"Uh, no," Jeff responded.

Heather rolled her eyes.

"Dude, I can't believe we're getting paid the same amount," she said.

The pair of friends laughed together, letting Heather momentarily forget her crisis. She was so glad that Jeff was still here with her.

Suddenly, the door to Jeff's room opened. It was both Rick and Marlene, who wore grave expressions on their faces. Marlene's face, like Heather's, seemed stained with tears.

"Good morning, Jeff," Rick said. "Uh, Heather? Could Mommy and I talk to you in private for a few minutes?"

"Okay," Heather sniffled, following them out of the room and back into the nursery.

The three adults, one of them still stark naked, stood in the middle of the nursery, unsure of what to say. When someone finally spoke, it wasn't what Heather was picturing.

"Before we talk," Marlene began, "Heather, have you gone poopy yet today?"

"Uhm... no," she responded sheepishly.

"Then we better get you diapered right away," Marlene said. She looked at her husband sharply. "I'll do it," she said.

Heather hopped up onto the changing table uneasily, saying nothing as Marlene unfolded a new diaper and slipped it beneath her.

"I see that you've been crying, sweetie," Marlene said as she sprinkled powder over Heather's diaper area. "I want you to know that I don't blame you at all for what happened. There's no need for you to feel guilty. It's Daddy that should have known better than to play with you in that way."

Neither Rick nor Heather dared say a word, letting Marlene say whatever she needed to say. Marlene taped Heather's new diaper in place and took her by the hand, helping her sit up on the changing table.

"The fact is, I'm not even upset about what actually happened," Marlene said. "I'm upset that the decision was made behind my back. It's hard for me to see HOW this happened as anything but an attempt by Rick to fool around with a pretty, young girl without me knowing."

"Marlene --" Rick began.

"Let me finish," his wife interjected. "Heather, you're my baby girl, but I also realize you're an adult with certain needs. It's not realistic for us to expect you not to satisfy them. And I'm not even opposed to Daddy or I getting involved in that, if everybody's comfortable. But we also have to remember that Daddy and I are in a committed, exclusive relationship that depends on open communication. Rick, let me be clear: If either of us are going to get physically intimate with Heather, or Jeff for that matter, we have to communicate with eachother first. There has to be trust, honesty, and mutual respect. If this happens again without prior communication, I will leave you."

Heather's eyes went wide at Marlene's words. It was difficult not to respect her strength and conviction. It took a few heavy moments of silence before Rick responded.

"I understand," he said. "And I'm so sorry, Marlene."

"I know," she said. "And Heather, I know this must be awkward for you. I'm sorry you had to be in the middle of this. But it's important for you to communicate, too. If you feel tingly down there and you want my help or Daddy's with taking care of it, please don't be afraid to tell us. We're here to take care of all your needs, no matter what they are."

Heather nodded uncomfortably, avoiding eye contact with either grown-up.

"Okay, enough of that," Marlene said. "Let's go back to being a family. Rick, can you get Heather ready for the day while I go take care of Jeff? I want to have some time to tidy up before Lee and Lily come over."

Four hours later, Jeff and Lily were splayed out on the living room couch together in prime cuddle position. They were watching a movie about a talking dog, but could barely hear what was going on because Heather was on the floor noisily playing with a toy piano. Meanwhile, Rick, Marlene, and Lee were in the kitchen, drinking coffee and chatting. This was turning into something of a routine over the last few weeks -- after all, Lily and her Daddies lived only a few towns away, and Lily and Jeff's relationship had been blooming quite quickly. 

"She talks about Jeff all the time now," Lee said. "It's been pretty adorable to see our girl obsess over a boyfriend. I haven't seen that since she was a proper grown-up."

"Jeff's pretty smitten, too," Rick said. "He's actually been drawing pictures of her upstairs in his room. I wonder if he's showed her yet."

"Awww," Lee cooed. "Super cute."

"Speaking of cute couples, where's George today?" Marlene asked.

"Oh, he's out with his mom today, she's in town for the weekend," Lee responded. 

"How nice," Marlene said. "Well, we're glad you could find time to bring Lily over."

"Definitely! Lily had some energy to burn. George's mom brought her a bunch of candy this morning, so she's been on a sugar rush. I'm actually surprised Jeff got her to lie down on the couch."

"So... George's mom knows about Lily?" Rick asked.

"She does," Lee said. "She doesn't really get it, but I think she realizes Lily's as close to a grandkid as she's going to get from us, so she tries her best to be supportive. Sweet old lady."

"Wow," Marlene said. "It's rare that someone of that generation is so open-minded about this kind of thing."

"We're lucky," Lee said. "I mean, for a gay couple that treats an adult woman like a little girl, we don't have a lot of negative people in our lives. Anyway, how's Heather doing?"

Rick and Marlene exchanged a terse look, the shadow of the morning's events still on their minds. 

"A handful, but an adorable handful," Rick said. "Honestly, I think she's a little jealous that Jeff found such a close playmate in Lily. It'd be great if we could find a baby friend for her."

"But she and Lily seem to be getting along when she's here, too," Marlene said. "It's so cute seeing the three of them hang out. I wonder what they're talking about out there."

Much to Jeff's delight, Lee had decided that Lily could not wear anything over her Pull-Ups today. He had said it was something about making it easier to see if she needed a change, but everybody got the sense that it was really because Lee was fully in support of her and Jeff's relationship turning sexual. After all, Lily was much more manageable when she was satisfied in that way that Lee and George didn't feel comfortable helping her achieve. Jeff, for his part, decided to take his pants off shortly after Lily arrived. He claimed he just wanted to make Lily feel more comfortable -- a show of solidarity. But the reality was he wanted to show off. It had been two days since his last accident, and he was allowed to wear his big-boy underwear today. He was proud of himself, and wanted everybody to see his accomplishment. 

Jeff and Lily lay in spooning position on the couch. Lily seemed focused on the TV, but Jeff could only focus on how good Lily's butt looked in her exposed Pull-Up. The downside to wearing underwear was that it was difficult to contain his erection discretely, and he had hoped she wouldn't notice it pressing against her bottom. Lily wore a faint smile as she pretended to follow the talking dog's adventures -- she felt everything going on in Jeff's undies, and loved it.

Heather, meanwhile, was completely oblivious to what was happening on the couch. She plucked away on her tiny, plastic piano with no particular cadence, lying on her stomach and absentmindedly kicking her legs in the air behind her.

"Where'd you learn to play like that, Heather?" Lily asked, making Jeff giggle.

"Lots of practice," Heather said. "I love my little piano."

"I barely even hear it anymore because she plays it so much," Jeff said. "Thank God."

Lily chuckled to herself.

"Don't be mean," she teased. "She's so cute."

"Lily, what's your favorite toy?" Heather asked.

"Oh, that's a tough one," she responded. A fun idea crossed her mind. She subtly reached behind her and gently grasped Jeff's dick through his underwear, making him flinch and his breath quicken. "Well I have this new toy that I really like. It's really soft and feels good in your hands and I'm always smiling when I get the chance to play with it."

"What's it called?" Heather asked. "Maybe I can get Rick and Marlene to get us one."

"Oh... uh... you know, now that you mention it, I can't remember what it's called," Lily said with a giggle. "I'll think about it and let you know."

"Cool," Heather said. "I love new toys."

"Hey, you know what I just realized?" Lily said. "Why don't you guys call Marlene and Rick Mommy and Daddy?"

An awkward silence followed. Jeff and Heather looked at eachother, unsure of what to say.

"I do sometimes, if I'm feeling really babyish," Heather said. "But I guess I don't really know... it just feels more natural to call them by their names most of the time."

"Yeah," Jeff agreed. "We definitely see them as Mommy and Daddy but it just feels kind of weird to say it out loud..."

"Whatever works," Lily shrugged. "Just something I noticed."

Heather went back to playing her piano, poking away at keys randomly and filling the room with an awkward, dissonant melody. Lily was still fiddling with Jeff's dick, and he was responding, kissing Lily's neck and running his hand down her curves. They wanted eachother desperately, and both hoped they would get permission to go upstairs for "private playtime" before today's playdate ended.

Heather suddenly stopped playing. She lifted her thickly diapered butt slightly off the floor, and let out a deep sigh as she pushed out a large, mushy load. Another wave followed a few seconds later, making her diaper puff out behind her and filling the room with an odor. Heather seemed unaware of what she was doing until a few seconds after she finished.

"Oh my God," she said, looking at Jeff and Lily and covering her mouth in shock. "I... uh..."

"Don't worry about it," Jeff said. "I've seen you do that a bunch of times now."

"Yeah, don't stress," Lily agreed. "I smell a lot of messy diapers at those ageplay meetups."

"I really don't like doing that in front of people," Heather said, looking at Lily. "I didn't even really think this time... I felt like I had to go and just let it out..."

"Well, that's what Marlene has been trying to get you to do," Jeff said. "Seriously, don't feel bad about it. We don't care."

Not two minutes later did Marlene enter the living room. She was already carrying a towel, a new diaper, wipes, and baby powder, much to Heather's bewilderment.

"It smells like someone here has a stinky diapie," Marlene sang as she kneeled down next to Heather. "I wonder who it could be?"

Heather cringed. She rather enjoyed being babied like this most of the time, but not in front of guests. 

"You all don't mind if I change her right here in the living room, right?" Marlene asked Jeff and Lily. "I don't want her to miss the movie."

"Go right ahead," Lily said with a snicker.

Heather had grown to embrace certain shorthand behaviors for expressing emotions during the last six months. One of them, perhaps the most often used, was crying when she felt distressed. And she was getting rather good at it. Her eyes immediately welled up at the prospect of having her diaper changed in front of Lily and Jeff, and within seconds, tears were streaming down her face.

"No!" she protested.

"Sweetie, what is it?" Marlene asked.

"I don't wanna get changed here," Heather cried. "Let's go upstairs."

"Oh, relax," Marlene said. "I already have all your supplies here. Let's just get this over with and you can go back to having fun with your piano. It'll take two seconds."

Heather began to throw a full-blown tantrum, but Marlene was already setting up the towel and pulling Heather by her ankles into place over it. 

"Heather, relax," Jeff said from the couch. "She's right, just get changed."

Heather was upset beyond words, and simply wailed at the top of her lungs as Marlene untaped her diaper, exposing the mess as well as her private areas to Jeff and Lily. 

Alarmed by the commotion, Rick and Lee entered the living room moments later. At this point, five different people were watching what was technically an adult woman screaming and crying while sitting in a pile of her own poop, resisting every attempt to be cleaned up. 

"She really is a baby, isn't she?" Lily whispered to Jeff.

"She gets like this sometimes," he responded. "Just try to ignore her."

Marlene focused as best she could, expertly changing Heather's diaper even as she fussed and fidgeted in her distress. Only when she was in a fresh diaper and Marlene had left the room did she finally calm down.

"It's not fair," she sniffled.

"I don't get why you're so upset," Jeff said. "Would you rather have stayed sitting in your own poop?"

"I just... didn't want you to see," Heather said. "I feel ridiculous."

"Heather, you're a baby," Jeff said. "Babies poop, then they get changed. Like we said, we don't care."

Tears in her eyes, Heather looked at Lily.

"I don't care either," Lily said. "It was pretty cute to see you get changed, if I'm honest."

A few minutes later, Lee walked into the living room on his way to the bathroom. 

"Uh, Daddy?" Lily piped up. 

"Yes, honey?"

"Can Jeff and I, um, go upstairs for a while?"

Lee looked at the pantsless couple, the yearning apparent on both their faces, and smiled. 

"Let me go ask Jeff's Mommy," Lee said. "But it's fine with me. You kiddos have fun."

 

[sherlock]

I would love to read more for this. Excellent premise. Please continue 

[bigbabyjoseph]

Oh my goodness I love this story and where it’s going! Please please please please continue it! I’m so in need of more of this! =)

[frosted_jacques]

Thanks for your kind words and your patience. As the end gets closer, I'm having a hard time figuring out how to wrap it all up! I think that frustration comes across pretty clearly in this next chapter:

 

 

-- FEBRUARY --

"I just... don't know why you waited this long to tell me," Lily said, unsure of how to react, as she and Jeff sat together on the outskirts of this month's ageplay gathering. "So you're not really into any of this? You're just in it to get paid?"
"It definitely started that way," Jeff explained. "To be honest, I don't know anymore whether I'm into it or not. But I know I'm into YOU, no matter what."
"How can you not know?" Lily asked, mind racing. "Does ageplay turn you on or not? Are you just going to go back to your grown-up life in June? What happens to us?"
"Look... you know I don't like talking about this, but sometimes it's hard to tell which thoughts are mine and which are from the hypnosis," Jeff said. "Yes, it does turn me on now. I love it when Rick and Marlene treat me like a little kid. But I know I used to hate it, and that I really wanted to get back to my grown-up life. I just... don't really remember why anymore. And now I don't even know if I can go back without pissing myself all the time."
Jeff saw tears welling up in Lily's eyes. He'd never seen the headstrong young woman cry before, not even that time he watched her get a spanking from George for cursing at him.
"Lily, I... I want to be with you more than I want to go back to my adult life," Jeff said. It surprised him that those words had come from his mouth, but he didn't regret them. "If being with you means I need to stay Rick and Marlene's little boy forever, I'll do it."
"Well what about Heather?" Lily asked, a tear rolling down her cheeks. "If you only got into this deal because of her and she takes the payout in June, she's going to go back to being a grown-up -- a grown-up with money. And you're going to choose a relationship where we need to arrange playdates and ask for permission to sleep together instead? Keep having your Pull-Ups checked by this random old couple forever while your best friend goes and lives her life? Plus, what about your real parents?"
Jeff's mind flooded with confusion about whether Rick and Marlene truly were "a random old couple" at this point. He'd come to truly care for them and even depend on them, perhaps even more than his real parents. Rick and Marlene seemed to truly love him while his real parents, in the last few years, had done nothing but make him feel like a burden and a disappointment.
"I don't know how to answer any of that," Jeff said, honestly. "I don't know what Heather wants to do in June. I just know I want to be with you, whatever it takes."
"Well... I want to be with you, too," Lily admitted after a few moments. "But I don't see how it's going to work in the long run."
"Give me a chance to figure it out," Jeff pleaded. "I'm begging you. I... I love you, Lily."
"I love you, too," Lily said through her tears. "I don't know why we haven't said it earlier. But I just wish you told me about this from the beginning."
"I know," Jeff said, wrapping his girlfriend into a hug. "I'm sorry."

Heather, sitting across the massive living room against a colorful mountain of cushions and stuffed animals with a few of the other adult babies, was having a far better time than Jeff and Lily. Each of the littles was hard at work peeling out stickers from a series of stickerbooks and using colored markers to decorate their exposed diapers. Heather's work of art was shaping up to be particularly adorable. She giggled as she stuck a Cupid sticker just beneath her waistband and encircled it with a big, red heart. Meanwhile, the babies were swapping stories. Sarah was in the middle of a steamy one that had, admittedly, made it hard for Heather to focus on stickers. Sarah's kink was hard for Heather to fully wrap her head around -- she was heavily into humiliation and cuckolding as well as ageplay -- but Heather still listened, hanging on every word.
"So, I'm sitting in this filthy diapie, it's been an hour, and Mommy is still on the phone with her girlfriend," Sarah begins. "Eventually I crawl over and ask for a diapie change, which Mommy says is against the rules, but I was getting really, really uncomfortable and decided to just deal with the consequences. Mommy tells her girlfriend that I messed myself and that I was begging her for a change, and her girlfriend tells her I should have to earn one. So Mommy drops her pants and beckons me over, and the whole time I'm eating her out, she's telling her girlfriend about all the things she wants to do in the bedroom later, and --"
An absolutely beautiful young woman with short, black hair and matching lipstick walked purposefully toward the group of babies, silencing Sarah with her mere presence. She walked directly toward Paul, an adult baby boy who had only attended his first ageplay gathering last month.
"Hey, cuties," the woman sang sweetly to the group. She looked toward Paul and her tone turned sharp. "Diaper check, Paulie."
Paul immediately stood up off the living room floor, bent over, and grabbed his ankles, presenting his bottom to the woman. His diaper was comically thick, dwarfing his skinny legs in comparison, with a few stuffers clearly added inside. All his movements were awkward, and as the woman placed her hand beneath the seat of the diaper and inspected the front and back, Paul winced.
"Good boy," she said, prompting Paul to sit back down. His face was red with embarrassment. She leaned down to kiss him on the cheek, then turned around to rejoin the grown-ups. "You all be good now, babies."
"So... how's everything going with you two?" Sarah asked Paul after the woman was out of earshot.
"Well... not bad," Paul said. "I guess things are just moving a little fast."
"How so?" asked Tony, whose diaper was now covered in multicolored marker scribbles. Paul sighed.
"She only went from being my wife to my Mommy a couple months ago... we're supposed to still be in the trial period to see if we both like the 24/7 lifestyle, but she's already acting like it's a foregone conclusion that this is going to be permanent," he explained. "It's like she has a new, extreme idea every day, and I'm just along for the ride to see if they actually happen. Most of them do."
"Well what are some of the ideas?" Sarah asked. "What do you mean by extreme?"
"Where to begin?" Paul said. "Well you all probably noticed these diapers. She said she wanted me to struggle to walk just like a real baby would, so she puts these stuffers in every morning. It's so hard to move around or do anything, really."
"I think they're cute," Heather said. Rick and Marlene sometimes added stuffers to her diapers, too. She knew they made movement difficult, but she also loved how adorable and helpless they made her feel.
"We don't sleep together anymore as of last week, which has been an adjustment," Paul continued. "She came home out of the blue one day with a giant crib and said I have to sleep in it from now on. I guess it's nice to have my own space, but I miss sleeping next to her and waking up on my own terms, you know? I usually get up before her, so most mornings I'm just sitting in my crib waiting for her to let me out."
"I love my crib, if I'm being honest," Tony said. "Just pile in all your stuffies and a bunch of pillows and embrace the relaxation."
"I know I'll get used to it," Paul said. "It's just still weird. But... well... the biggest adjustment has definitely been the chastity."
A collective groan of sympathy rang out amongst the babies.
"That's tough, man," Tony said. "She have you caged?"
"Yep..." Paul said. "It's been a few weeks since I've been allowed out of it and I'm just so pent up. The hardest part is she likes to tease me. She'll kiss my neck or stroke the inside of my thighs during diaper changes. Sometimes she wears something sexy around the house, or even walks around naked just to get me hard. It hurts so bad."
"Been there," Tony said, turning to Sarah and Heather. "You girls are lucky you don't have to deal with that."
Sarah just rolled her eyes.
"Trust me, we have punishments, too," she said. "You'd be surprised how painful a dildo can be when it's held in place all day with a diaper."
"The way she's talking now, it's pretty clear she has no intention of letting me be a grown-up again even if I asked her," Paul bemoaned. "She's talking about getting me laser treatment to keep my pubes from growing back in, and she's been doing a lot of research online about how to make me incontinent. This morning, she mentioned taking pills that would make her start lactating, and if they worked, that I'd have to start drinking from her exclusively. And she just keeps buying more and more baby clothes and moving all my grown-up stuff out of the closet."
The conversation was making Heather a bit uncomfortable. Nobody knew about her business arrangement and she understood that, maybe, all of this was just part of Paul's kink and he was truly enjoying it. But he appeared to be in genuine distress, completely lacking any kind of control in his own relationship. Sure, Rick and Marlene sometimes made her do things she didn't want to do -- but they were also paying her a huge amount of money, and always emphasized consent. If she truly protested, they would usually back off. That didn't seem to be the case for Paul.
"Have you tried talking to her about slowing down?" Heather asked. "It doesn't really sound healthy that you don't get a say in all this."
"I bring it up, but she just reminds me that I wanted this," Paul said. "And, well, she's kind of right. I did ask her to be my Mommy and take control."
"Just... try to remember that you're still an adult on the inside," Heather urged. "You still have the power to look out for yourself if things get really uncomfortable, no matter what your Mommy says."
"I guess," Paul said uneasily. "It's just easy to forget sometimes. I still love her so much, I'm just a little nervous about the future."
Heather was nervous about the future too, for that matter. Her mind had been drifting lately to her plans for June, when the agreement was set to end. She'd wanted to talk to Jeff about it -- make sure they were on the same page -- but now that Lily was involved, the timing never seemed right. The fact was, Heather wasn't sure exactly what she wanted. She'd gotten so used to being helpless and having all her needs met. The learning curve to become a grown-up again somehow felt exhausting beyond belief. However, Heather knew she didn't want to be a baby forever -- this was just a means to an end, after all.

Marlene and Rick were carefully, quietly asking themselves the same questions with increasing urgency as June got closer. And as the makeshift family drove home from the ageplay gathering that afternoon, it was Rick who finally decided to break the ice.
"We need to talk," he announced, breaking the silence in the car and prompting the other three to perk to attention. "June is getting closer."
Discomfort quickly manifested on everybody's faces. The car remained silent for several, heavy seconds, nobody daring to engage Rick's statement until he did. Rick turned to face his wife, who seemed just as surprised as Jeff and Heather.
"Rick..." she began, "Don't you think we should discuss this in private before talking to the kids?"
"No, I don't," he replied. "We all have a decision to make, and I think we should just be honest with each other and make it together. Jeff and Heather should know how we're feeling as much as we need to know what they're thinking."
"I suppose," Marlene conceded. "But... is now the best time?"
"I don't know if there will be a better one in the next four months," he said. "Isn't it better if we get a sense of what we're all thinking nice and early? That way we can make plans and there are no last-minute surprises."
Another few moments of uneasy silence. Jeff and Heather looked at each other, dreading the conversation and unsure of even what the other was thinking.
"I'll go first," Rick said. "When we started this whole thing, Marlene and I said that we were open to continuing the arrangement past June if there was any interest. I'm only speaking for myself, but I'm sticking by that statement."
Marlene's eyebrows raised. She, of course, still loved having Jeff and Heather in her life, but she didn't imagine Rick felt the same way anymore. He had been less enthusiastic about the arrangement than she was from the very beginning, and at times, seemed like he was only still playing his role to satisfy her. That the arrangement would end after a year, Marlene assumed, was a foregone conclusion based on his attitude the last few months.
"I... uhm... well, I agree with Daddy," Marlene said. "Of course we understand if you both took your money and went back to your grown-up lives in June, but we'd also love to extend things, too. It's completely up to you two."
Jeff and Heather still looked at each other, silently deciding amongst themselves which one of them would speak up first. Heather picked up her stuffed animal from beside her oversized carseat and clutched it against her chest, sticking her thumb into her mouth. It had gradually become her go-to defense mechanism when she felt uncomfortable.
"I... I don't really know," Jeff said. "Before Lily, I would've said I was ready to take the money and run. Now, I just want to stay with her... I just don't know what that looks like after June."
"Lily seems pretty dug in as far as this lifestyle goes," Marlene said. "Does she know about the arrangement and the choice you have to make?"
"She does now," Jeff said. "I just told her today. She's pretty upset."
Yet another few silent seconds.
"I guess things are a little more complicated than we were expecting," Rick said. "Heather?"
Heather's first reaction was to let out an involuntary whine. She hadn't been asked to make an adult decision in months, and she didn't feel ready.
"Baby, it's okay," Marlene cooed, turning toward the backseat to look at her. "Just tell us what you're thinking. We won't get upset no matter what."
"I... well, I wanna be a grown-up again," Heather squeaked out.
Jeff was afraid of that. He had hoped that, somehow, Heather might be willing to extend the agreement, which would have made his decision far easier. Instead, it seemed as though he'd have to choose either a life as a little boy with a devoted girlfriend, or a return to adulthood alongside his lifelong best friend.
Marlene's heart skipped a beat. She had grown to love Jeff during their time together, of course -- but the bond she'd forged with Heather was undoubtedly stronger. She felt silent tears well up in her eyes and roll down her cheeks as she processed what Heather had said, but quickly wiped them away before they were noticed.
"We respect that," Rick said solemnly.
Yet another round of awkward silence.
"Thanks, guys," Rick said. "That's enough for now. We'll talk more about this later. I guess we all have some decisions to make."

 

[kirababy]

Wow.   heavy topic, and a lot of stress now.   Really curious how this plays out.

[aldl4811]

This is so good!

[derj]

It's very good and I would like to read and see what happens in the next chapter. 🙂

[sherlock]

Dear author, is this story dead? I too love it and wish to read more of it