"What have you little scamps been up to?"
Dylan and I looked up from our hug to see mommy standing above us, her hands on our hips as she regarded us with mock reproach. When our eyes met we couldn't help but giggle our little heads off, to which the towering woman merely chuckled in response.
"Well, whatever it was, it's resulted in a couple of wet little boys," she said with a dramatic sniff. "I think it's bath time for my little troublemakers."
The two of us let out a simultaneous squeal of joy as mommy took us by our hands and led us to the bathroom, Dylan no doubt thinking as I was about bubbles and boats and all other manner of bathtime fun. Sure enough, upon reaching our destination we found the tub overflowing with suds and all sorts of colorful plastic, my eyes lighting up at the sight of all the water-resistant toys that awaited us; some from my first childhood, some that I could only dream of owning. Even the tub itself had been upgraded to a gleaming, claw-footed model with more than enough room for two silly little toddlers to play in. That fact was confirmed when mommy effortlessly plucked us off our feet and set our pudgy bottoms on the porcelain, cooing and sighing as the warm, soapy water eased away my lingering stress from our encounter with Seryth. I was only able to relax for a second, however, as a grinning Dylan immediately splashed me like the mischievous pre-schooler he was. In doing so, he set off a bubble fight that sent water sloshing out onto the tiles, our giggles and squeals filling the room as we played with pure joy and innocence.
Mommy, for her part, didn't seem the slightest bit annoyed by our silliness. She simply smiled as she - with remarkable efficiency given our inability to sit still - soaped up a washcloth and used it to tenderly clean us from head to toe. A strange tickling made itself known in the back of my mind when she reached my privates, a warm little twinge that made me feel as though there might be something wrong with the idea of allowing my mommy to scrub my pee-pee. But then she moved on up to my tummy and I forgot all about it, suddenly more concerned with helping Dylan guide our plastic tugboat through canyons of froth. The moments where I had been frozen by shame or embarrassment seemed like little more than bad dreams, my hazy memories of feeling naughty or bad growing more and more distant the longer we played. When we were plucked from the water and simultaneously dried with a big fluffy dinosaur towel, I thought nothing of standing naked before the beaming woman who dried us; it didn't even occur to me that I had anything to be embarrassed about. When mommy rubbed baby powder into our tushies and privates in anticipation of putting us in fresh diapers, the only reaction I had to popping a stiffie was that of a giggle at how funny my pee-pee looked standing up like that. And when we were all dressed - first in thick, soft, crinkly Huggies, then in matching striped onesies - all I could think of was how cozy comfy I felt.
"There!" She said as she hefted us up into her arms. "I think I know of two silly little boys that have earned a nice long nap."
Suddenly drowsy, I yawned and nuzzled up against her neck, eyes dropping as my thumb - as though of its own accord - found its way into my mouth. I sucked rhythmically as mommy gently lay the two of us onto the same beanbag chair, where I saw that Dylan was engaged in similar simulated nursing. For some reason it made me happy to see that, and when our eyes met we giggled again around our bobbing thumbs. Though there was plenty of room in the chair for a pair of napping toddlers, we cuddled up just the same. It felt so nice to be in the arms of my best friend as we drifted off to sleep, even nicer than the soft kisses mommy favored our foreheads with before leaving the room. I felt sleep overtaking me but was pulled from the brink of unconsciousness by Dylan gently shaking my arm.
"Hey," he whispered around his thumb, a naughty glint in his eye and a hint of a blush in his cheeks. "Dere's one fing I wanna do before we sweep."
"What's dat?" I murmured, barely able - despite my curiosity - to stay awake.
At this Dylan's grin widened. He closed his eyes as though concentrating, a moment of silence passing before he squirmed and let out a squeak of a grunt. He had pulled his knees up to his tummy - whether out of instinct or to give me a better view, I don't know - which allowed me to see with perfect clarity the slow but steady expansion of the seat of his diaper. Suddenly stone sober, my thumb froze between my lips as I watched Dylan - who was now giggling between his grunts - push what looked to be a massive load into his Huggies, the plastic of his diaper and the cotton of his onesie expanding to accommodate his efforts. My trance was broken only when Dylan opened his eyes and locked them on mine. The daring, encouraging expression painted upon his adorable features made known exactly what he expected of me. I whimpered and blushed as I felt that same warm tickle re-emerge with twice as much power as before, and suddenly it felt as though I could almost express what was wrong with what Dylan was asking me to do. The lingering threads of my adult shame clashed with my babyish desires, and it was a moment before I could determine which side would emerge successful.
A victor emerged.
I grinned around my thumb, closed my eyes, and started to push.
The immediacy of my little, immature body's response took me by surprise, a tiny whine of pleasure leaking out of the corner of my lips as the warm, sticky, heavy mass quickly coated my bottom. My Huggies crinkled up a storm as they expanded beneath the weight that was being forced into them, a weight that squished its way between my chubby thighs and tickled the bottom of my empty little balls. The relief of untying the knot in my tummy intertwined with the pride I felt at the size of the mess I was making, as though there were no greater accomplishment I could aspire to than that of completely devastating my diaper. When I finally pushed out the last little bit, I turned to my companion with a grin so that we might revel in our joint achievement.
Dylan was gone.
The world seemed to freeze around me as my smile disappeared, as I sat bolt upright and scanned the room for any sign of my friend. I found none. It was as though he had vanished into thin air, and with every passing moment of solitude it felt as though I came closer and closer to being overcome by the powerful and volatile emotions befitting a boy of my age.
"You are so adorable."
I was an instant away from breaking down bawling when the voice of a grown-up rang out from above me. Mustering what little dexterity I had left, I squirmed and squished until I could crane my neck back to see Dylan - adult Dylan - standing behind the beanbag chair. The smile he favored me with held no malice; it was as adoring as that of a beloved relative tasked with caring for the littlest member of the family.
"That's one thing I hadn't planned on," he chuckled as he scooped me into his arms and gave me a bounce, wrinkling his nose playfully at how stinky I had become. "You being the perfect playmate."
Though I didn't understand most of what he was saying, it was more than enough to be in the arms of my great big grown-up friend. Dylan beamed and gave me a nuzzle as though rewarding my cooperation, a gesture that kept me feeling warm and safe even as he laid me out on the changing table.
"Seryth was right, you know," he explained as he started cleaning me up. "Partly, anyway. Control over this place is exactly what I was after. Problem is that a sandbox's owner can't consciously hand over control; he has to be lulled into a place of perfect contentment before a guest can take command from him. What Seryth got wrong was the idea of me pretending to enjoy everything we had done today. That couldn't be further from the truth. I had the time of my life."
I was naked from the waist down and baby-wipe clean, Dylan grinning at the way I laughed and squirmed when he tickled my chubby tummy.
"I was truthful when I said that I'd been looking for someone like you for a long time," Dylan mused as he began putting me into a fresh diaper. "I couldn't commit to any of the other fantasies of any of the other sandbox owners, and so I failed in taking control from them. But you and I are on the same wavelength - we both know where to find the deepest, truest happiness that this or any other world can offer. I guess I'm a little greedy in thinking that that's not enough. Much as I love being a baby with you, I now have the power to do literally anything I want. That's not an opportunity I'm willing to pass up."
Dylan pulled me back into his arms once I had been lovingly re-diapered, bouncing my giggling self with every step as he carried me back to the beanbag chair.
"Don't worry, though," he cooed as he laid me back onto it. "I wouldn't dream of doing anything to ruin your fantasy. Your life is going to continue just like this for as long as you desire it to. Always young. Always happy. Always innocent. You won't even remember that you used to be an adult; as far as you're concerned, you always have been and always will be a joyful, silly three-year-old with a proclivity for streaking. Heck, I might even come back every once in a while and play with you if I need a break from the whole 'being a God' thing."
Though I couldn't quite grasp the meaning of what Dylan was saying, his gentle expression and tender tone let me know that he was going to take care of everything, that everything was going to be all right. Soothed by that thought, I yawned and curled up on the beanbag, eager to get back to the nap I had been denied. I heard a chuckle as my eyes closed. I felt a warm, strong hand stroke my soft curls.
"Sleep tight, kiddo," Dylan whispered. "We'll play together again real soon."
With that, he vanished; and in a room where so much magic had occurred, there was now nothing but a dozing little thumbsucking toddler, dreaming in his blissful sleep of all the fun that he and his friend would have the next time he came to visit.