"OK, fine. I'm sorry I threw sand at the other kids. I'm sorry I'm always mean to everyone here. I'm sorry for
whatever else I need to say sorry for.".
Mabel smiled and said "OK, you're not in time-out any more".
Jeremy felt a vague shiver up his back and somehow he knew he had stopped aging at 35 years old. He waited to
turn back into a kid, but his body stayed hairy and tall. "So am I not gonna be a kid again".
Mabel was confused "I thought you wanted to be an adult. Why the rush to be young again".
"Well I may be a grown up now, but I'm still 3 in my head. How do I do adult things with a kid brain?".
"Ah, of course. I wish you were mentally the same age as your physical age".
Jeremy felt a sharp pain in his head as it developed and matured to the 35 year old he was. He felt more at
ease with his body and understood things he never even knew existed as a toddler. His comfort quickly changed
once he realised he was naked and erect in front of Mabel. He quickly covered his dick with embarrassment. "Oh
jeez! Why didn't you tell me what this meant? Oh God, this is so embarrassing. And this is a day care centre!
What if some little kid walked in and saw me naked, we'd get arrested! Oh God, do something".
Mabel laughed at the man's awkwardness and replied "Oh fine, no need to be so prude. I wish you had age
appropriate clothing to wear. While we're at it, I wish everyone knew you as your new age and wouldn't
question it". The pile of rags that were once Jeremy's clothing combined into a ball of fabric which separated
into a polo shirt, jeans, underwear and sneakers. He grabbed the clothes and quickly put them on, happy to be
dressed again. Mabel was alarmed to realise she was finding him attractive. He was only a toddler an hour ago!
Yet that polo shirt fit tight around his body, hair sticking out from the undone collar. Feeling flustered she
said "OK, we'd better get back out before somebody comes to find us".
They left the building and went back over to where Elaine was watching the kids Mabel had left in her hands.
She saw them coming over and said "Finally! I was wondering where you'd got off to. Miss Ketcher came and
asked where you were and I had to say you'd gone to the restrooms. The next time you and your boyfriend want a
make-out session, you should probably do it at home".
"What boyfriend?"
"Oh, is it too early? I just assumed you and Jeremy were spending so much time together recently that you were
together now". She leaned in and whispered "Besides, isn't he a bit old for you? I mean 35? Ugh! He even has
grey in his beard already. And he's so hairy, eww. How do you stand it?"
Mabel got defensive about the man she didn't realise she was dating. "He's only 2 years older than me, that's
nothing when you reach our age. Besides, I like maturity in a guy. Someone who's not afraid to show their true
age. And that counts keeping body hair".
"OK, no need to tell me that stuff. Just keep that icky relationship stuff in the house next time or miss
Ketcher will get mad. She said I'm not old enough to look after so many kids by myself".
Jeremy felt a bit awkward about the way they were talking about him, so he cut in and said "I'm sorry, I guess
I came an hour too early. It shouldn't happen again. I'll see you back at home, uh, sweetie". He bent down and
kissed Mabel on the forehead before walking off in an undetermined direction. Mabel tried to stop him but
Elaine dragged her back to her group of kids, one of whom had tripped and scraped a knee.
Jeremy walked down the sidewalk, thinking about his current situation. He was only three at the beginning of
the day, and now he was 35. It was surreal. His parents were only 25. He wondered whether they still
remembered him. Probably not given that weird conversation back at the day care centre. How did that wish make
him and Mabel a couple? Was it even legal? Well he looked 35, and he had the mind of 35, and reality had
changed to make him 35. It had to be OK. But he still seemed to have dual memories now. Memories of being a
toddler, and his newer memories. According to them, he met Mabel at college because they were both taking the
same course. They got on well and stayed good friends, even renting a place together. They only just recently
decided to try dating and it was going well. Speaking of which, he had turned into the driveway of someone's
house. He dug through his pockets and found some keys. Testing them, he found it was their home. The place
seemed foreign to him and yet familiar all at the same time. Running up the stairs, he went into the bathroom
so he could actually see what he looked like.
Bracing himself for the worst, he looked into the mirror above the sink and was underwhelmed. It may be the
first time he'd actually seen himself since becoming a man, but it was like he'd always known what he looked
like. His square, masculine face, his slightly thinning hair, his greying beard, those slight crinkles around
his eyes. But it was still interesting to him. His memories told him he used to be embarrassed about his
prematurely greying hair, yet Mabel convinced him to stop dying it and embrace it. She did the same once he
realised he was starting to go bald a few months back, saying she'd love him no matter how he looked. He
stroked his beard in thought. Mabel seemed to have a kink for older men. She practically admitted it to
Elaine. He pulled off his shirt, thinking about what she said. He really was hairy. He had an abnormal coating
of hair around his body, even spreading to his back a bit. He'd trim it, but Mabel said she loved a man being
natural. He was still muscular, but the abs he had in his twenties had faded to a flat stomach. In a few years
time, he'd probably have a sizeable gut. Thinking back to Mabel, she was starting to put on a bit of weight
herself. He loved her, but her looks were starting to fade. She always complained to him about her daily
routine to stay looking young and wished she could go back in time. An idea came to his head.
Mabel opened the front door and called out for Jeremy. He yelled out his location and she went up the stairs
to find him. He was in the bathroom checking out his reflection in the mirror without his shirt on, and she
involuntarily squeaked at the sight of his hairy muscles. He grabbed her by the waist and gave her a kiss as
she came in. "Oh wow, what was that for?".
Jeremy laughed and said "Well I'm just getting used to my, our, new life. I've been thinking about how
different I am now. And that got me to thinking about that ring of yours".
She gasped. "Wait, I didn't tell you about the ring. How did you know"
"Well I don't remember you ever owning such an odd looking piece of jewellery. And you did happen to use it to
make me your boyfriend. Anyway, I was wondering whether you wanted to experiment a bit more with it".
"Hmm, I'm listening".
Jeremy exhaled to think his words through and said "So I have all these memories of our relationship. A common
one is you saying you wish you could be younger again. And after looking at myself, I'm curious about being
even older. So why don't we exchange a few years. You take some of your years away while I gain them. Wouldn't
that be interesting?".
Mabel thought about it. She did want to be in her twenties again, back when he was slim and beautiful. And she
was secretly disappointed when Jeremy had apologized so early. She wanted to see him age until he was in his
forties at least. The larger age gap that would appear between them sounded thrilling as well. "That does
sound interesting. How does 10 years sound to you?"
"Well it's a little more than I wanted, how about 5 years and we can do more after if we want."
"OK, I wish I would lose 5 years of age which would then be passed over to Jeremy". Mabel felt a shiver down
her spine as she started to get younger. She nudged Jeremy away from the mirror and watched as the faint lines
she was starting to get fade away. The few grey hairs she had turned back to brown, and her hair lengthened
well past her shoulders with wavy locks. Her shirt and skirt started to get loose on her body as she slimmed
down, loosing a couple of dress sizes. Her breasts seemed to get a bit perkier. The changes slowed and stopped
once she reached 28 years old. She couldn't believe how much different she looked 5 years ago. Her face felt
so smooth.
While she looked at her younger self, Jeremy's changes started. He watched as his beard gained more grey hair.
His hairline was receding back quickly, a bald spot appearing on the back of his skull. The faint crinkles
around his eyes spread outwards and his forehead got more lined. The skin under his eyes sagged slightly, and
his cheeks got looser. Overall, he looked more rugged. His muscular body was fading as weight packed on around
his stomach, growing outwards but staying solid as it stuck out a bit. Despite the extra padding, his upper
body had mostly kept its shape, his pecs as beefy as ever, his biceps still massive. The changes to his body
slowed once he reached 40 years old. His head was mostly clear of hair, a thin strip separated the enlarged
forehead from the larger bald spot, and a small island of hair sat at the front of his head. His salt and
pepper beard had lengthened slightly. He had a round, hard gut threatening to hang over the waistband to his
jeans. He couldn't believe how much different he looked 5 years later. His felt felt so rough.
Mabel looked up at her older boyfriend, there was now a 12 year difference between them, and he looked down on
her. "So how do I look?".
Jeremy smiled and said "You look stunning. How do I look?".
"You look handsome, especially your new hairstyle. Or lack of it". Jeremy laughed at her remark, and gave her
another kiss. Mabel tried to lead him out of the bathroom. He took the hint and picked her up, carrying her
into the bedroom. They both undressed and Jeremy grabbed a condom from the bedside table. They couldn't keep
their feelings back any longer.