Published: February 6th 2023, 6:00:59 am
Author's Note: A continuation of a story from October 2020, this is one I've been meaning to continue for a while. The first iteration was furry with Ajax as a tiger, and the second which went into the free-write anthology was him as a human, which is the version I continued. Let me know what you think!
He was jealous. It was true. Jealous of all the childhoods he would never live. Jealous because you only get one.
"It's not fair," the man said, banging the dashboard in the mall parking lot.
He worked at crockery coop, a furniture and home goods store that sold to upscale clientele. The kids' section was something of any child's dreams with hand embroidered images of popular characters on the comforters, and expertly crafted bunk beds made of real wood, with amenities like shelves and built in stairs.
Ajax wished he could have a room like the ones that the room design team had mocked up. It didn't matter how fancy it was, it just brought back so many fond memories of an easier time in his life when his biggest worry was what kind of game he would play after naptime, or how far he would get in his play before he was told he had to come eat, or go to bed. Ajax had been so impatient to grow up, but nobody told him it was going to be so damned hard when he got there.
He looked at the time. 11:11 PM, time to make a wish. He closed his eyes and wished with all his might for another chance to enjoy childhood. But when he opened them, everything was the same. The time read 11:12 now, but that was it. Same as every time he made this wish. He sighed and turned on the ignition.
“It was a stupid idea anyway. Time to go home.”
Ajax drove down the highway, exhausted from his long workday, swerving a bit and shaking himself awake several times. This was bad. Now that he was working 10 hour shifts, he would have to start stocking his car with 300-minute energy drinks just to get home. Ajax could feel his eyes drooping again as he continued forward when suddenly in the middle of the street there was a bright figure. A man in a big purple dinosaur costume, and Ajax was headed right for him!
He swerved to avoid the man, and his car went into a spin. coming to rest inches from a tree in someone's front yard. He got out of the car and looked, but the man was gone. The porch light turned on and an irate woman started yelling at him.
"Sorry! Sorry!!" he said, as he hopped in the car and backed into the street once more.
Ajax high-tailed it out of there, but not before looking around one more time for any sign of the costumed figure. He could have sworn that who he saw was his old imaginary friend Blarney, but that was impossible. He must have been really tired. The adrenaline pumping through his system kept Ajax awake as he drove cautiously toward his house. Past the nice neighborhood near the mall, past the strip malls, and then to the more gritty part of town where he lived.
"Is this where you live, Frankie?"
"It's Ajax now," the man grumbled before doing a double take at the purple dinosaur in the rearview. He spun around. There was no one there. Then, he turned back just in time to slam his foot on the brakes for a red light. “Oh, Geez!!”
"You oughtta keep your eyes on the road kiddo."
Ajax looked in the rearview again and saw his old pal clear as day. Turned back, nothing. Looked in the mirror, there he was. He pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes.
"Okay, okay, Ajax. Get a hold of yourself man. You're obviously hallucinating."
"The light's green, friend."
"Oh right," he said looking up and stepping on the gas. "Wait, am I really doing this right now? Am I, a full-grown man, talking to an imaginary friend?"
"Looks like it," said the purple dinosaur. "But I think you'd better finish driving home before we chat any more. Go ahead. I'll wait."
Ajax just shook his head and drove on. After passing a few seedy motels, they arrived at the Affordable Arms apartment complex. Ajax pulled into his usual parking space and sat back, rubbing the bridge of his nose. He had to start getting more sleep. Nearly crashing his car was one thing, but imaginary purple dinosaurs? That was a step too far.
"Wow, Frankie. This doesn't look like the kind of place an astronaut lives."
"I'm not an astronaut," said Ajax, wrinkling his nose, his hand still pinching the spot below his closed eyes.
"Oh, so you decided to become a superhero instead! That's right, you never could decide which you wanted to be.
"There are no superheroes, Blarney."
"Oh, so you do remember me," said the large purple dinosaur, putting his hands on his hips. "I was beginning to think you'd forgotten."
"Not forgotten," said Ajax, "just...grown up."
He sighed and stepped out of the car, slamming the door shut behind him and trudging off.
"Hey, wait! I've still got to talk to you!"
Ajax ignored the dino's pleas, trudging up the stairs and pulling out his key. He let himself into the studio apartment. One grimy couch he'd found on the side of the street, that served as both his bed and his dining area. A low chipped particle board coffee table taken from the dumpster area outside. And an 'entertainment center' constructed out of plywood and cinderblocks. Those were the most notable features of this place.
"I'm beginning to think you're not an astronaut," said the dinosaur, whose reflection Ajax caught sight of in the glass of the TV as he plopped down on the couch.
"Ding Ding Ding, we have a winner!" said the man, grabbing a half-smoked cigarette and a lukewarm beer from that morning and taking a swig before lighting up.
"You really shouldn't smoke those! Those are so bad for you! Just say no, Frankie!" Ajax just kept smoking, still ignoring his dinosaur friend. "...Hey, who gave you those? Was it Billy from Mr. Henderson's class? Tell me the truth now."
"Ugh, get off my back, Blarney! I haven't thought of Billy since I was six! What are you doing here, and why can I only see you in reflections?"
"Well... It's because the mirror world is where magic comes from. And... well, I was called here by magic. But... well, I don't understand...I should be able to step through and join you... wait a second. What do you mean 'was six'? You are six, silly Billy."
Ajax snorted derisively.
"Shyeah, 20 years ago. I'm 26, Blarney. I don't have time for Imaginary friends anymore. I have to work." He took another bitter swig of beer.
"Ohh... that explains it. I can't come through because you grew up and now you don't fully believe. But... but then... why am I here? I couldn't be here if you were a full-grown adult, either."
The man shrugged and took another drag of his cigarette. Then, he leaned back on the couch letting out a telltale crinkle before he exhaled a plume of smoke with a satisfied sigh.
*cough* *cough* “Gross, Frankie!" Blarney waved his hand in front of his face as if to clear away the smoke.
Ajax shifted again and scratched his crotch. Another loud crinkle.
"Hey, wait... what's that sound?"
"Uh, nothin." Said Ajax, strangely embarrassed to admit to his imaginary friend what he was wearing underneath his pants.Blarney squinted and listened harder as Ajax shifted uncomfortably.
"Is that a diaper I hear? It is!"
"N-No, it's not it-"
"I knew you weren't really a grown-up, Frankie! Haha, and you really had me fooled for a minute there, buddy. We should really get you out of here, buddy boy. It's not a safe place for a little boy like you. You should be home with Mommy and Daddy."
Ajax, embarrassed and at a loss for words, stubbed the butt of the cigarette out in his ashtray and got up to go, muttering to himself.
"Why did I have to pick an annoying kid's show character to be my imaginary friend? Couldn't I have picked something more original and less annoying?"
Ajax stalked off to the bathroom to take a shower. He stripped off his shirt and slacks and pulled down his diaper. It landed on the ground with a thud.
"Wow, Frankie," said the dinosaur, who could be seen in the mirror bending down and examining the undergarment. "You sure did a number on your diapers. But you shouldn't have taken that off yourself. That's a grownup's job! And just where are all the grownups anyway?"
"All gone." said Frankie, waving his hand off in the air and speaking in a mock child voice. "Bye-bye. Frankie all alone now." Blarney looked stricken.
"Oh Frankie, I'm so sorry. No wonder you made that wish!"
"Wish? O-oh, yeah. I did make a wish, didn't I?" The man stepped into the shower and out of view.
"You wished for a second childhood, right? And I'm here to give it to you!"
"Yeah, well, thanks Blarney, but no thanks. You're not real. You're a figment of a crazy overtired man’s imagination. Now go away."
There was no response. Ajax peeked his head out of the shower and checked the mirror. Nothing. He wasn't surprised. It was the same wish he made whenever the clock struck 11:11, and he didn't see why today would be any different.
"Hm. Well, good riddance. I don't need a trip to the looney bin to be the icing that tops off this shit cake of an adult life." Satisfied, Ajax went back to scrubbing himself in the shower.
But Blarney was there.
"That poor kid," said the imaginary friend to himself. "He may look different, but I can tell he's the same boy I knew all those years ago, and if that's the case then he needs me. There must be something I can do to make Frankie's wish come true."
The dinosaur thought and thought, and then he snapped his fingers.
"That's it!"
He clapped and rubbed his hands together. Frankie was going to be so happy when he found out what Blarney had in store for him. But it would have to be a surprise. And it would start as soon as he got out of his shower.
[Chapter 2 23.2.5]
"Blarney? You out there?" asked Ajax, as he stepped out of the shower. He finished toweling off his head and looked around. No sign of the purple dinosaur. He even wiped away the fog from the mirrors. Nothing. Good. "Well, that's a relief, I... Hey! What gives?!"
Ajax looked down in shock to see that the wetness he felt on his thigh was coming right from his penis in a big yellow stream. He quickly pinched if off with conscious effort and quickly tossed the towel on the floor to soak up all the urine. The puddle around his feet quickly disappeared under the fluffy fabric, but now his legs were covered in pee.
"Aww, man," he said. "Now I gotta get another towel and get back in the shower..."
A quick rinse later, and he was clean, but he noticed something that worried him - he seemed to be peeing whenever his concentration waned. It happened a couple times in the shower, which was no problem, really. He often peed in the shower. But now he saw he was constantly dribbling down there, and that was majorly inconvenient. He wrapped the towel around his waist and between his legs, fogetting all about the Blarney incident as he rushed to grab a fresh diaper from his linen closet.
In two minutes, he was sitting on top of a fresh diaper and taping it up between his legs. He could already see a little wetness forming on the front, which was both exciting and somewhat concerning to him as he had no idea how this happened.
"What the heck is going on? Was it the beer? Or maybe it's from smoking? I hear that stuff makes you impotent... maybe Blarney was right..."
He barely noticed a soft chuckle coming from the dinosaur who was watching the changes unfold with satisfaction.
"I can't think about all this right now. I gotta put something on to get my mind off things..."
He walked out of his bedroom in just his diaper, tossig his damp and yellowed towel in the bathroom to clean up later with the rest of the pee-soaked linen, and heading straight toward the fridge without breaking stride. Beer was what he needed, even if it did guarantee he would have a wet night before waking up. He was already in a diaper so it would be no problem for him.
"Let's see what's on TV," he said grabbing the remote and sitting down to crack open his fresh beer. What came on, right away, was the Blarney show. "Oh no, not this! I've had my fill of Blarney for today."
He immediately changed the channel. Then changed it again. And again. It was blarney on all channels!
"What the-" His eyes went wide as he took a sip of beer and it tasted all wrong. He spit it out in a spray of white fluid. "Milk?!"
He stared wide eyed at the can in his hands and realized he was no longer holding a can but a big baby bottle full of milky liquid. He looked up to see that Blarney and friends were dancing on the screen and singing a song just for him.
"It's time for Frankie to be a baby again! Time to be a baby again! Oh, it's time for little Franky to stop playing a pranky and be his little baby self again!"
He frantically clicked the off button but to no avail. The remote didn't seem to be responding at all, because each time it seemed like the screen would blink in response and change right to the same episode of the same show. In frustration, he threw the remote at the screen, causing the picture to go black, and tossed his bottle to the floor, heedless of the terrible stench a spilt bottle of milk would leave in his apartment.
"I must be going crazy! Did somebody put acid in my beer or something?"
He was really scared now, and only the banging on the wall from the neighbor lady seemed to jar him out of his freak-out.
"Quiet in there, before I call the cops!"
"Sorry!" He yelled back. "I'm just going crazy! Nothing to worry about!"
This was completely nuts. He was in nothing but a diaper, which certainly wouldn't help appearances if someone walked in on him like this. Ajaxretreated to his room. "This isn't real. This isn't real."
"Calm down, kiddo," came Blarney's voice. "Everything's going to be fine. You just need to breathe."
Ajax found himself taking a deep breath, which calmed him down a bit, but when he looked up and saw Blarney's reflection in the glass, he began to freak out again. "It's you!"
"That's right, buddy! It's me!"
Blarney's friendly face seemed more substantial as he came closer and suddenly jumped into the room, standing there in the flesh. Ajax grabbed his blanket and wrapped it around himself, ready to bolt at any second.
"Y-you're doing all of this aren't you?"
"Of course I am, buddy! You made a wish, and I'm just making it happen!"
"B-b-but how? How do I know I'm not going crazy?"
"You're completely fine, friend. It's magic, that's all you need to know. Hey, why are you getting dressed?"
"I'm going out for a walk, this is all too strange for me." Ajax opened his closet to find that all the clothes hanging were baby clothes in his size. He flipped through the options. A Cookie Beast sleeper, a pair of bright red shortalls with snaps in the crotch, a couple of coute onesies with animal prints, a Baby Bap sleeper which looked just like Blarney's kid sister, and a few other babyish options. He shook his head and looked back to Blarney. "Seriously?!"
"They're perfect for you! Very age appropriate for a little boy in diapers, don't you think?" Ajax's face went bright red as he was reminded once again that he was not only in diapers, but apparently needed them for the moment. He looked back at the clothes one more time before grabbing the shortalls. "Fuck it..."
"Hey, where are ya goin', buddy?" asked Blarney, looking concerned as Ajax hooked the shortalls on over his shoulders and headed toward the front door wearing his cute ducky shoes.
"Out. I need to clear my head and sober up from whatever drug I got slipped today."
"Hey, I don't think you're quite ready to go out that way buddy!"
"Who asked?" Ajax shot back, gripping the door handle and stepping through with no regard to Blarney's warnings. The moment he stepped through, he was blinded by the sunlight.
"Happy birthday!!!" yelled the crowd. He blinked confused, and pulled his head back as a tall slice of many-layered chocolate cake was set down on the tray in front of him. He looked around, blinking to clear his vision, and realized that it was daytime. He was sitting in a high chair, in a backyard, at a long table with a lot of people around it all looking at him and applauding.
"What the...."
"Surprise," came the voice of his purple friend, who was standing among the crowd, apparently unnoticed. "You forgot it was your birthday, didn't you? That's why today you get to have your special wish come true!"
Ajax was taken aback. He hadn't even remembered his own birthday. He really was getting old. Except... he looked down to see he was in a soaked diaper and little else. He looked back up at the cake. The adults were encouraging him to eat up, but he saw no utensils nearby. He looked around, his heart beating fast. Could he? He reached out with his hand, tentatively at first, and grabbed a piece of cake, pausing as if he was going to get yelled at for using his hands, but all he got was encouragement to keep going.
"Go on, kiddo! Give it a try!"
"It's okay, baby! You can do it! Eat up, birthday boy!"
He began to smile, bringing the cake up to his mouth and taking a big triumphant bite to applause from everyone around him. His small smile became a wide grin. He didn't know if this was real or not, but this might just be more fun than he thought...