September 26, 2022: Love a Bunch Pt. 4 (Patreon)

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"And that's why caring is important," said Softheart, dusting his hands as the witch of apathy apologized and swore she'd never be apathetic again.

"Wow," said Ben. "I guess I've been pretty apathetic too..."

"It's okay, Ben," said Softheart, rubbing his back. "It's never too late to change." Softheart was now almost as tall as Benjamin, though Benjamin hadn't quite noticed their gradual growth as they went from adventure to adventure.

"Hold on a second," said Ben. "What time is it?"

"It's 9pm," said Smart Bear.

"That's past our bedtime!" said Baby Bear. "We'd better go back to the castle for ninis!"

"9pm? Oh no!" said Ben. "I have to be at the airport!"

"But we have the crib all set up..." said Baby bear.

"And a beautiful star mobile, and galactic projector, and starry night blankie, all accurately mapped," said smart bear.

"No, buddies, I really need to-"

"Oh, come on! Sleep is the best adventure there is!" said Cheery Bear.

"Well, I mean I guess a tiny nap wouldn't hurt..."

"That's the spirit!" said Softheart.

The bears had talked him into one adventure after another. They knew Ben so well, that once they got started, he didn't have a chance. They marched him back to the castle, and through the magic of Love A Bunch, what had been an hours long journey only seemed to take a few steps.

But when they got to the crib, which looked like the comfiest bed Ben could imagine, they stopped him.

"You can't climb into bed dressed like that!" said Grumpy. You've gotta change into your special nighttime undies!"

"Oh gods," said Ben. "Not this again. Are you going to try to make me wear a pull- hold on... Oh my gods, I forgot I was wearing..."

In a panic, Ben pulled down his pants to reveal that he was totally soaked yet again.

"Oh! I can't believe this!"

"It's okay, buddy! Boys can be very distractible when they play," said Softheart.

"Not grown up boys like me!" moaned Ben.

Softheart gave Smart Bear a meaningful glance.

"Why don't you check the front door, Ben? We got something special for you..."

"Front door? What front door?" he said, looking around.

"The hotel room, silly," said Grumpy bear. There was a sharp rapping on the door, and ben Started. Then, he felt dumb for having practically forgotten where he was. He took off his visor and stashed it under the hotel bed pillow, then waddled over in his soaked pull-up and cracked open the door to see a bellhop standing there.

"W-who is it?" he asked, before spotting something in the bellhop's han. "What's that?"

"A package sir."

Benjamin took the package, half suspicious of the young man and half self conscious about the soggy garment sagging between his legs.

He sat down on the bed and opened the package.

"More diapers? For me? Weird..."

The bears looked at each other.

"Don’t you think you’d feel better if you put one on?"

"I don't know... wait, who is saying that? Is that you Softheart?" Ben looked around. He wasn't wearing the headset so why could he hear them.

"It's me!" said the voice. Ben looked down and realized it was coming from his wrist... no... his smart watch.

"Softheart! What are you doing in there?!" asked Ben. "Oh, this is really bad..."

Ben should have realized it earlier when they mentioned connecting to his technology. There were no security protocols separating programs back when these games were created - not like there are today. He was in deep shit now.

"Don't worry, Ben. We've been integrating with your systems. That's all. You should put on your nini diaper. You don't have much time left to sleep..."

"But I..."

"Shhh, relax," said Sleepytime bear's soft voice. Ben hadn't seen Sleepytime bear all day, but he would know that voice anywhere. It was relaxing. "Just try one on. It'l be much better than those soggy pull-ups you're wearing now... and oh so comfy."

"You guys," began Ben, sighing in annoyance as he held up the night time diaper with clouds, and baby bears, including a very sleepy bear laying in the crook of the crescent moon. "How many times do I have to tell you, I'm not a baby anymore?"

But the bears were insistent.

"Try em! For us?"

"Just put em on. They're gonna be so comfy! Trust us!"

"For old time's sake, Ben!"

"Oh," said Ben, feeling super silly. "Alright. Fine, just this once."

The diapers were pretty cute, he thought to himself, as he unfolded them and nervously put them on. The tapes were forgiving, which was lucky because he had to refasten them several times to get them right. But eventually, he did, and when he stood up to admire his handy work, he was shocked at just how comfortable they were.

"You look so cute in those, Ben," came Softheart's voice. Ben blushed a bit, looking down at himself. He felt cute. That was a nice feeling.

"Put your visor on, Ben. We've got a surprise for you!"

Ben did as he was told and put on the visor, and sure enough, he was surprised. He saw the whole room was lit up with stars, and even his cozy comfy starry blanket was lit up with glow in the dark stars decorating its surface like bright UV fibers. It looked so inviting... And his favorite sleepy time music from when he was little... it was making him feel really sleepy and good.

"That's it, Benji. Just lay down. We'll make sure you get to your destination on time..."

No sooner had Ben laid down his head then he was out like a light.

The bears looked at their little boy with affection.

"It's so good to have him back..."

"But what about the airport? We'll get in big trouble if we are taken there..."

The bears looked over to Smart Bear for guidance, and he looked much too confident to be a bear on the brink of disaster.

"Don't worry about that," he said. "They won't hurt Ben."

They nodded. That was all that mattered.

"We'll be okay too," he added. "But everyone will have to be really brave. Can you do that?"

"We can do that!" said Softheart, puffing out his soft chest. His bravado encouraged the other bears, who had been on many adventures of their own.

"This isn't going to be like all those adventures, though" said Smart Bear. "It's the real world we're dealing with..."

"Well, tell us what we have to do," said Grumpy bear. "We'll do it."

"Yeah!" agreed the others. And so Smart Bear nodded and told them his plan.