Gap Year - Chapter 26 (Patreon)

Here's this month's Community Story! I have this classified as a Short Story, just because the rest of the story is, but that's definitely a bit of a misnomer in this case, so hopefully you'll all enjoy this!

"Vivi!" 

Vivien flinched at the sound of her name, her diaper growing warmer beneath her, something that, at this point, barely even registered anymore, humiliatingly. Her control had been getting bad before, but now, after all this time, it was starting to feel like she might as well have never been potty trained at all, like she was truly on the same level as her new classmates.

"Y-Yes, Miss Norma?" she said meekly, turning away from her dolls to look up at her babysitter.

She hadn't known who her mother was going to get for the job, although it had grown obvious very quickly that she was serious about not allowing Vivi to babysit herself, which, of course, in her mom's mind, meant that she needed a babysitter herself, and one that could take Vivien's place.

A part of her had hoped for someone her own age. Maybe they'd be understanding, would be able to see how this had all happened... Instead, her mother had brought in Norma.

Vivi couldn't say that she had consciously remembered the woman - or, at least, that she'd actively thought about her for years - but as soon as she was led into her bedroom while she was in the middle of being dressed for the day the morning after her secret had been discovered, a million memories flooded through her brain. She was able to practically feel the years slipping off of her as she was yanked backwards in time.

It didn't help that Norma looked exactly the same. When Vivi had been younger, she'd thought she was so old; now, she seemed exactly the same, though that was likely because she really was the age that Vivien had assumed she was back then, which she realized now wasn't actually that ancient.

She'd always been a little disappointed when her parents hired Norma. Her friends talked about their babysitters, how they were cool teenage girls who would let them stay up late, or watch PG-13 movies, or eat junk food... Norma didn't do any of that. She was an adult, and she followed Vivi's parents' rules to the letter. She wasn't cool at all, and didn't care one iota to look like she was in the eyes of some little girl.

"Well, well, well," Norma had chuckled, seeing Vivi standing there in her shirt and diaper, eyes wide at the sight of her old - and now new - babysitter. "I know I said it seemed hopeless trying to get you out of your Pull-Ups, but I didn't think you'd still be having trouble now."

"If only you hadn't taken that other job," Vivi's mother had smirked, while Vivien blushed bright red, tugging at the hem of her shirt. "Maybe if you'd been able to stick with her, we wouldn't be in this mess."

"I'd hope not," Norma had said, stepping past Vivi to her closet door, left open when her mother had gone to answer the doorbell. She took over without a second thought, rifling through the girl's clothes before pulling out a jumper dress, holding it over Vivien's head. "I might have joked to you and your husband that it would be easier to put her back in diapers and start over... I wouldn't have actually done it, though!"

Vivi's mom had sighed, watching her daughter getting dressed. "I guess you didn't have to. It took her a few years, but she did it to herself."

"She most certainly did," Norma had agreed, giving Vivien's diaper a pat. "I saw your chart, young lady... And I agree with your Mommy that anyone who has that many accidents deserves to stay in these for a very long time. But don't worry, sweetie... This time, I'll be in it for the long haul with you."

And, true to her word, she'd been there ever since, with no signs of leaving anytime soon. And, by now, Vivi was more than familiar with the fact that she was happy to discipline her, more harshly than she would have when she was an actual child. So, hearing her name being spoken in that tone of voice was a scary thing, prompting her to do her very best to play innocent.

"What do you think you're doing?" Norma asked. "Didn't I tell you to clean up in here for your guests?"

"I was!" Vivi insisted. "I just... I saw them, and I got distracted..."

Norma took the two dolls from her hands with a sigh, setting them down in the toy box. Norma believed TV should be a very occasional treat, so her toys were her main form of entertainment... As embarrassing as it was, she'd gotten pretty into it, making up storylines for things happening between each of them and playing them out, the same way she'd seen other toddlers at daycare do. She'd always thought it was so silly, despite knowing she'd done it herself when she was younger. Now, with so few other options, she'd devolved back into it.

"When I let you watch Rudolph last night, you said you were going to work extra hard tomorrow to get your whole room cleaned up," Norma reminded her. "I trusted you to keep your word."

Vivien sniffled, squirming in fear. She knew by now where this was going, what happened when she got lectured like this. "I-I'm sorry," she tried. "I was only gonna play for a couple minutes, but..."

"I think you should go visit your father," Norma interrupted. "Since he's home, and I apparently need to finish your work for you."

Vivi gulped, nodded, growing light-headed as she climbed to her feet. Arguing now would only make things worse, prompt Norma to punish her herself before marching her up to her dad and demanding he do the same. "Y-Yes, ma'am," she mumbled, toddling out of her bedroom obediently.

She still remembered, clearly, that first night, after her mother had driven Tessa and Dani home, explaining everything to their mother, who had seemed quite shocked to find the babysitter she'd hired was still in diapers, and had agreed that Vivi was no longer suited to look after her daughters, or anyone else, including herself. They'd driven home in silence, where her mom had followed through on her threat, making Vivi stand there and watch as she emptied out her underwear drawer, tossing away every single pair before leading her down to the living room to stand in the corner, hands on her head, skirt tucked into the waistband of her diaper to leave her padding on display, to wait for her father to get home.

Her parents had obviously at least texted one another about the situation, because her dad didn't sound completely shocked when he arrived and found his former college-student daughter in diapers - which, by then, were pretty soggy. "All right, young lady," he'd said sternly, making her spine stiffen as she heard something in his voice she hadn't experienced in a very long time. "I want you to tell me exactly what happened here."

She'd had plenty of time to think of a story, to plan it all out, but, instead, she'd been too worried about what was coming, and too humiliated every time she felt herself start to dribble, usually too late to do anything about it. She had no idea how much her mother had already found out, and knew that, if she was caught in a lie, that would only make things worse, so, at last, she came clean, giving them the whole story.

"You see?" her mother had glared over at her dad when it was all done. "That's why we need to order her a crib, and a changing table, and..."

"Mom!" Vivi had squealed, just to fall silent with a single pointed look, staring down bashfully at her feet.

Thankfully, her father seemed to agree. "You don't think that's a little extreme?"

"Weren't you paying attention?!" her mom had asked. "All of those lies... And all that money for this semester, wasted, without her saying so much as a word about it to us..."

Vivien had glanced up right on time to see her dad waver, wincing as she waited for his next response. "Maybe you're right," he'd said finally, to her chagrin. "At the very least, she's definitely earned a spanking, and then we can talk about the rest after you put her to bed."

"You heard your father!" her mother had snapped. "Go get your hairbrush right now, young lady! And don't you even think about using that toilet while you're in the bathroom!"

Vivi had scrambled away instantly, though she'd still heard her father behind her saying, "Are you sure about that, Julia? Do you really want to go back to changing diapers?"

"Trust me," her mother had replied. "I already have, and it's just like riding a bike. If you don't think she needs it, you ought to talk to the girl who's been looking after her at daycare..."

Vivien had gotten spanked as a child, but usually only for the very worst infractions. They were rare enough that the threat always remained scary as it loomed over her. She'd thought she'd built them up in her mind because of that, or that they wouldn't be so bad as an adult.

She was wrong. If anything, she was humiliated at how quickly she began bawling as she sprawled over her dad's lap, feeling so tiny and helpless as he delivered swat after swat. She'd wanted, so badly, to find a good enough excuse to do this to Dani... Now she was the one getting spanked, and she had no doubt that this was much worse than anything she could ever have managed on her own.

She couldn't speak for a few minutes afterwards, after he decided she'd had enough and tugged her diaper back up from where it had hung between her legs as they thrashed and kicked, giving it a loving, gentle pat before opening his arms up, letting her cuddle into them to cry. She felt herself slide her thumb into her mouth, but, by now, it seemed pointless to try to hide it, if she even could have convinced herself to remove it, to take away that soothing presence when she needed it most. Considering everything else, being a thumbsucker barely registered as embarrassing anymore.

"It's all right," he'd cooed at her, rubbing her back. "It's over now, sweetie. You're going to be my good girl from now on, aren't you?"

"Y-Yes, Daddy," she'd told him with a sniff.

"I hope so," he'd smiled. "I don't really want to have to do that again. But if I have to..."

She'd known then her fate was sealed, though she'd had to try anyway. "D-Daddy," she'd stared up at him, wide-eyed. "C-Can you talk to Mommy, and see if she'll change her mind?"

He'd hesitated, brushing a strand of hair out of her face. "I don't think that's going to do any good," was the best she could get from him, the lack of committal to taking her side on the matter telling her all she needed to know. 

"Daddy!" she'd whined.

"If she thinks it's for the best, I don't think I'm going to change her mind," he had said, leaving the matter at that, wiping away her tears and picking her up, carrying her to her room, where her mom was waiting with a fresh diaper, her bed turned down so she could be tucked right into it immediately afterwards.

She found him in the living room, with the vacuum cleaner, and let out a sigh of relief, seeing her mom was nowhere around. She waited patiently behind him for a few moments before calling out, "Daddy?" when it seemed like he wasn't going to finish anytime soon.

He turned, switching off the vacuum. "Hi, sugarplum," he said. "Everything all right? Or did you just sneak in here to look at your presents again?"

She blushed, glancing over at the pile of boxes under the tree. It was pretty large, and if she knew her parents, there were at least a few they were holding back to put out on Christmas Eve after she went to bed, that would be marked 'From Santa.' They'd still done it last year, before this, so she couldn't imagine they were going to stop now.

"You really didn't have to do all that," she told him guiltily. "I know you guys already spent a lot on my nursery, and my diapers, and..."

"Hey," he stopped her short. "Don't worry about all that. It's Christmas!"

"But I didn't get you guys anything," she said. It wasn't totally true... At daycare, they'd been doing some crafts that they could give to their parents as gifts; compared to other years, however, when she'd been able to go out shopping for stuff, some clay handprints and macaroni art didn't feel the same. 

Vivi wasn't sure if he'd have come out and said it any other time of year, but he was a bit of a softy when it came to Christmas. "Having my little girl around more has been present enough." Whether he meant her being home more in general, or specifically as the little girl she'd become since her punishment, she couldn't say, and was too embarrassed to ask. "So," he continued after a moment, "what are you down here for, then?"

She'd almost forgotten. "Umm," she fidgeted, "Miss Norma sent me here, because I was supposed to be cleaning my room, and I was playing with my dolls instead."

"Oh, I see," he raised his eyebrow, fixing her with a stern look. "That's very naughty, isn't it?"

She pouted, but gave him a nod. "Yes, Daddy... I'm sorry."

His expression lightened, letting her see that he had only been joking. "Well, then, if you're sorry, I guess I can't be too mad at a little girl for playing with her dollies."

She smiled in relief, knowing that, if her mother, or her babysitter, had been in here, he probably wouldn't have been so lenient. She could count it as a minor Christmas miracle that she'd caught him alone. 

"You probably do need to be disciplined a little, though," he told her, giving her a second to tense up, imagine the worst. "I assume Norma is working on straightening up your room now?" She nodded. "Well, why don't we let her handle that, and your punishment can be staying down here with me to finish cleaning here?"

Vivi beamed with an enthusiastic, "Okay, Daddy!" Of all the adults she could be stuck working with, he was definitely her best option.

"Don't look too happy," he warned. "This is a punishment... If you stick around too long, you might have to hear me start singing Christmas carols."

She giggled and teased, "That's almost worse than a spanking!"

"I mean, if you'd rather we do that..." he joked.

"No, Daddy!" she shook her head. "I deserve the worst!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"You're going to keep this nice and clean, aren't you?" Vivi's mother asked, her voice leaving no doubt as to the only correct response while she fluffed out the floofy skirt of the girl's red party dress.

"Yes, Mommy," Vivien replied obediently. She was, of course, referring to her clothes, the dress, the ruffle-bottomed tights underneath, the matching red ribbons in her hair, the shiny black Mary Janes. She knew better than to demand that of the girl's diapers... And, as mortifying as it was to admit, Vivi knew she couldn't guarantee that. If anything, she had a bad feeling it was definitely going to happen, since she'd only done it once today, during breakfast, and usually she went at least one other time.

"And you know what your job is?" she adjusted the bow at the dress's waist. 

Vivi couldn't quite stifle her groan, wincing when she was given a glare in reply. "Yes, Mommy," she said quickly. They'd already had this fight, and, since they'd all been together - and, when that happened, she knew she couldn't count on him taking it easy on her - she'd gotten a spanking from her dad when she'd thrown a tantrum over it. She didn't want to rehash it now, to ruin the nice moment she'd had with him earlier by getting marched back up to him by her mother, and run the risk of her still being in the middle of her spanking when the guests started arriving. They'd probably do it in her nursery, so nobody would see, but they'd definitely hear her wailing, and, when she came toddling in afterwards, they'd surely see the pinkness peeking out at her thighs, even through her tights, beneath the far too short skirt of her dress. It wasn't long enough to hide her diapers completely, so it wouldn't do any good for that, either.

"Do I need to have Miss Norma stay with you to be sure you do it?" her mother crossed her arms. "I'd like her to be able to enjoy the party, but she's already offered to remain on duty if she has to..."

"No, Mommy, I'll do it," Vivien promised.

She didn't like it, but she'd do it. As soon as the doorbell rang the first time, she went to prove it, toddling to the front door to answer it, cheeks burning at the sight of one set of her parents' friends. She saw them every year at this party, and sometimes at the Fourth of July cookout, and, while they always politely asked what she was up to, and how school was going, she'd never been interested enough to find out much more about them, nor did they seem to mind.

"Well, look at you!" the wife exclaimed, kneeling down. "You look even more adorable than I'd imagined!" Vivi blushed as she got her cheeks pinched for what was certain to be not the last time tonight. "I could tell you weren't quite ready for college, but I never dreamed you needed to go back this far!"

"Yes, ma'am," Vivi gritted her teeth. "Merry Christmas."

It was the smart thing, her mother had decided, to have her greet all their guests. They'd been warned about her punishment, of course, though most of them hadn't seen her since it had begun, so it was good to let them see her right away, to find out exactly how far she'd sunk since last Christmas, when she'd gotten to wear a slinky dress, and heels, and even managed to talk a few of her parents' friends into letting her try some wine, telling them she would be twenty-one on her next birthday.

Now, she was back in diapers, with a sippy cup of juice at her side in case she got thirsty, being told by couple after couple how well this suited her, how they'd known all along, how cute she was... Or, worse, being treated like nothing was different, as if this was how they'd always seen her.

By far the worst was Dani and Tessa's family, however. They knew already, obviously... They saw her every day, after all, when Norma brought her to their house to pick up the girls to take them to school and daycare respectively, and in the afternoon when they came home from work. Norma looked after all of them, and, unlike with Vivi, there was no sign that she was even a little tempted by how fun Dani made daycare seem.

"Isn't that a nice dress?" Dani's mom smiled. "Merry Christmas, Vivi!"

"Merry Christmas," Dani parroted smugly. She was, of course, in diapers still, too, but she at least got to wear a dress that hid them. She'd probably gotten to pick it out herself, even. Vivi knew she was wearing them, and so did her parents and Norma... Most of the other guests didn't, unless they thought to look for a slight bulge, or listen for crinkling when she was around... She was allowed to keep it a secret, despite this whole thing being her fault.

It was almost enough to make Vivi want to grab the girl's skirt and haul it up over her head, to show everyone that Dani was just as big a baby as her, if not more-so, maybe even rip it off her dress so she couldn't hide, and pretend to still be an adult. That would definitely end with her over her dad's knee, however, possibly right in the middle of the party, so she scowled at Dani silently instead.

"Oh, there you are!" Vivi's mother exclaimed, flouncing over. "I'm so glad you could make it! That's pretty much everyone, Vivi, so if you want to take your friends to your room to play, you can."

"Yeah, Vivi," Dani smirked, "let's see your room!"

Vivi didn't particularly want her in there, but it was better than staying out here, on display. And Norma had worked hard, straightening it all up. "Fine," she sulked. "Come on..." She trudged through the house, through the partygoers who cooed at her as she passed, patting her on the head, or even, in some cases, her diaper, which, of course, was soggy by then, to their delight.

"Here it is," she sighed, turning on the light and letting Dani and Tessa in. 

"Wow," Dani marveled. "They did a good job, huh?" 

To be fair, they had. There was no sign that the room had ever been occupied by a college student. Her parents had gotten her the crib, and the changing table, but they'd also painted the walls a pale pink, replaced all her decorations with soft, sweet pictures of sleeping kittens and baby ducklings, replaced her desk with her toy box, and stocked it well with 'age'-appropriate toys.

"It's like I'm back at daycare!" Tessa observed.

She wasn't wrong. There was no escape from daycare now, essentially. All she'd really wanted was a place to relax, like Dani had told her it was, and now it had followed her home, taken over her life...

"That's where babies like her belong," Dani said to Tessa, who nodded sagely.

"I'm not a baby!" Vivi stomped her Mary Janes, instantly recognizing how ridiculous that was to say here, dressed as she was, in the middle of the nursery she now lived in. "Not any more than you! You decided to be a baby first, and you still are!"

They were alone now, so she couldn't resist the urge to grab Dani's skirt and lift it to prove her point, only to gasp in disbelief at what she saw there. "Wh-Why do you have Pull-Ups?!" she demanded.

"Mommy and Daddy let me open one of my presents early," Dani replied. "They're going to let me give potty training another shot, to see if I can be ready for big girl panties by fall."

"That's not fair!" Vivi huffed. She knew the arrangement Dani had with her parents, how, if she was able to get out of diapers, they'd let her finally start college... Whereas, with all the money her parents had spent on her room, she was certain they expected her to be using it for quite a while... Along with the stacks and stacks of diapers waiting for her on the shelves of her changing table.

"Well, she hasn't been doing very well so far," Tessa chimed in.

"Hush!" Dani pouted. "I-I still have a while... I'm sure I'll get used to it again sooner or later..." She didn't sound as positive as her words indicated, however, and Vivi smirked as she noted that the designs on the training panties were starting to fade already, perhaps due to the girl's excitement at seeing her former bully's bedroom. Vivi suspected it wouldn't be long before Dani was back in diapers, too.

That didn't make her any less jealous that she was getting a chance, though, stewing in her envy, arms folded, until she saw Tessa lean over and whisper something to Dani, both of them giggling.

"What's... so funny?" Vivi asked, her own question answered as she heard the grunting that broke up her words, and wiggled her bottom, nose wrinkling as she realized she was right, and she was, indeed, going to have another messy diaper today, right in the middle of the party.

She knew, by now, there was no point fighting it, or doing anything other than letting her knees bend, her tummy push. The tights stretched over her diaper made it a bit harder for the soft mush to spread, but not enough to make any difference, to stem the tide as she helplessly filled her pants, growing more and more grumpy about it as she thought about how, mortifyingly, these two babies had noticed it was happening before she had, and at how much Dani was laughing at the sight, like she hadn't done the same herself countless times. There was something about it that almost sounded proud, as if, somehow, this was all her doing... 

"Shut up!" Vivi huffed, though, at the moment, she was unable to do anything to make that happen, or even move from the spot.

"Hey!" All three of them fell silent at the sound of the voice in the doorway, turning to look at it. "I come to see three of my favorite girls, and this is how you're behaving?"

"Miss Katie!" Tessa yelled out first, running over to her to give her a hug.

"Hi, there!" Miss Katie smiled. "It's good to see you, sweetie! I hear you're doing well at school!"

"Uh-huh!" Tessa nodded proudly.

"And I hear we're going to give Pull-Ups a try after the winter break," Miss Katie ruffled Dani's hair, who smiled bashfully and nodded, too. "You aren't being mean to Vivi about it, are you? Everyone learns at a different pace, and I think you know that better than anyone. You wouldn't want me to tell your parents that I changed my mind about you being mature enough now, would you?"

"No, ma'am," Dani replied, quickly changing the subject. "I-I didn't know you were here."

"Vivi's Mommy was nice enough to invite me. I was running a little late, but I made it finally," Miss Katie said, turning to the third, still-grunting, girl. "And what about you, young lady? Are you just having a case of the grumpies?"

Vivi didn't want to admit to that, to say that she had no other reason for being upset, but none of her other options felt right, either, seemed an appropriate justification. Even though Katie had confessed to her that she knew the truth about her months ago, she hadn't let that change the way she'd treated her, so Vivi knew if she nodded meekly and accepted the girl's explanation for her actions, Katie would let it go, which was exactly what she did.

"I bet you were just upset because your tummy was full," Miss Katie told her. "Go on and finish up, Vivi, and I'll get you changed."

That sounded good to Vivi, who was afraid, if Katie hadn't been there, Dani might have dragged her through the party to find Norma so she could loudly ask her to do it in front of everyone. Once she was done, however, she felt a little differently, blushing as Miss Katie took her by the hand.

"Y-You don't hafta do this," she said. "You're here for the party, not to work..."

"Don't you worry about that," Miss Katie winked, booping Vivi on the nose. "We'll call this my Christmas present to you, okay?" Vivi smiled, nodded. "And this," Katie giggled, patting the seat of Vivi's diapers, "is yours to me... It's a pretty big one, isn't it? Come on, sweetie, let's get you up on the table so I can get it unwrapped."

Vivi still didn't think it was fair that, somehow, she'd become the biggest baby of the three of them, by far, but she couldn't help giggling again. There was something nice, she had to admit, about being the baby, getting the most attention... If she was going to be stuck in her second babyhood for a while anyway, she might as well get whatever enjoyment she could out of it, right? And she had a feeling, as she glanced over at Dani in the middle of her change, that she felt the same way, that she could see a bit of jealousy there, in other girl's eyes.

"Miss Katie?" Dani spoke up impatiently. "Could you take me to the potty?"

"When I'm done here," Miss Katie replied. 

"But I think I need to go now!" Dani pouted.

"I'll take you!" Tessa offered eagerly.

Dani blushed bright red. "No, I want Miss Katie to do it! Please? I don't wanna have an accident already!"

"Then go with your sister," Katie told her. "I'm in the middle of something, Dani."

Vivi smirked, certain, now, that this was getting under Dani's skin. She might not even have to use the bathroom, she could just wanted to be the object of Miss Katie's attention. Of course, if she was wrong, if Dani did need to go, that made it all the better... Either way, though, since Dani had been so eager to show off, Vivi knew she'd already gone, that if Miss Katie did take her to the toilet, and help her onto it, she'd discover that. Dani herself might not be aware of that, might not know what she was setting herself up for... She likely didn't, considering how hard it would be for her to hide her accident when Miss Katie did get to her... An accident that, if Vivi milked this change long enough, was probably going to get worse, more incriminating, more indicative of how little she was ready for potty training...

"Miss Katie?" Vivi blinked up at her innocently, waiting for her to put the bottle away, and prepare to start taping up her diaper. "Could I have some more powder?"

"Of course, sweetie," Miss Katie smiled. "This is your present, after all... You should have it however you want."

Vivi grinned as she heard Dani groan, watched her sulking. Sure, Vivi might be the baby now... But maybe that wasn't all bad...