The plot thickens

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Sorry for the delay. In this chapter, we find that perhaps there is deeper meaning behind Dakota's surly demeanor.


Rio undid his belt and jeans, being extra careful not to catch himself in the zipper, and turned back towards the tub, catching sight of Mike's bundle next to the toilet. Cocking his head in curiosity, he was about to explore the possibilities of his friend's depravity when the doorknob jiggled behind him.

"Open up," Mike said, "I forgot to grab something."

"Did you, now?" Rio grinned to himself, "I'll think that I know exactly what you mean."

"Yeah, I'll bet you do. I don't want you digging through it, so open up."

"Why? You're gonna use it all on me anyway. What's the harm in me looking?"

"Cause it'll ruin the surprise! Besides, not everything in there has to do with you, so open up!"

"Well...." Rio stepped away from the door, and slid the bundle closer to him, "It's right here. All I gotta do is move this flap..."

"Don't!" The entire door shook back and forth on it's hinges as the bear cub shook the knob, "You're really gonna- Alright, fine, I dare you to open the door and go sit on the toilet."

"That's cheating." Rio chuckled, popping the lock and moving to perch on the toilet.

"Yeah, it is," Mike agreed as he opened the door and leaned through just enough to grab his stuff, "But as the saying goes; If all else fails? Cheat." With a wink, he went to leave when something caught his eye. "Hey... Photo op!"

"Photo op?" Rio questioned, raising one eyebrow.

"Yeah," the bear cub stepped in and picked up the pacifier from where it had fallen earlier before handing it to the bemused tiger and motioning to the wet and thrice slimed diaper on the floor.

"You want me to put that back on?" Rio grimaced, "Gross as that is, we don't have time. If we spend too long in the bathroom together, they'll start getting suspicious as to what we're doing."

"Fair enough," The bear cub nodded, before pulling a miniature tripod out of his bundle and setting it next to the camera on the counter top, "So do it yourself. If you think you can manage to get hard again this soon, it'd be a great shot, but I kind of doubt it. Anyway, have fun. I dare ya." Grinning wide enough to show all of his teeth, he waved and retreated from the bathroom, closing the door behind him yet again.

"What'dya mean 'if'?" Rio called after him, getting no response. Shaking his head, the young tiger got to his feet, his undone jeans sliding to his ankles as he grabbed the offending article and set it open on the side of the tub. Swinging his leg over, he gingerly sat down in the middle of the cooling, slimy mess. The mixed smells of several juvinile juices wafted up around his nethers as his weight caused his pee to ooze from the diaper's depths and run down the side of the tub.

"Ooohhh... this feels so weird...." The young cub grinned as his cubhood started stirring between his legs, "Can't get hard, huh? I'll show him." After clumsily fastening the messy diaper around his waist he started rocking back and forth as his fur soaked up the contents therein. He got to half mast before the extra bloodflow made the tip of his dick too sensitive to continue. Feeling the pins and needles of extra sensitivity, the tiger cub gasped and shot his hand down into the slimy depths to cup himself. "Okay, enough of that... guess I have to reload... Alright, let's do this." He stood and shuffled over to the counter, jeans still around his ankles, and popped the pacifier into his mouth. Picking up the camera, he set it on it's tripod before leaning against the wall and tossing up the double peace sign again. After a minute of nothing happening he rolled his eyes as he realized he forgot to set the camera to auto take the shot. Sighing in irritation, he lifted his shirt and slid his hand down the front of the diaper to cup himself before moving again, and was surprised by a blinding flash. Blinking his eyes to chase away the dark spots clouding his vision, he flipped off the camera and stepped out of his jeans before unfastening the tapes around his waist, letting the loaded diaper hit the floor with a thump. He knocked the garbage can onto it's side and used his foot to slide the heavy thing into it before tying the bag off and finally stepping into the shower. Turning on the water and adjusting it just past uncomfortably hot, he stepped in and let it flow over him, the near scalding pressure easing out the tensions of the day. Five minutes of relaxing later, he had grabbed his body wash and worked up a heavy lather of pinkish suds over half his body and was reaching up to scrub his face when he realized that he still had the pacifier firmly placed in his muzzle. Blinking in surprise, he spit it into his hand and stared at it for a few seconds before tossing it into the sink. Putting it out of his mind, he finished his shower, paying extra attention to his face and crotch to lift the smell of urine from his fur. Once clean, he just stood there, letting the water cascade down his fur, turning it off with reluctance when it started running cold. Shaking vigorously, he sprayed water droplets across the shower curtain, his eyes immediatly locking onto the pacifier as he stepped out. He reached for it, hand moving almost of it's own volition, and popped it back into his mouth before nodding to himself and reaching for his towel, suckling contentedly as he dried himself off. Wrapping the towel around his waist, he opened the door and jogged across the hall to his room, sliipping on a loose white tank top over clean undies and an old pair of basketball shorts before finally letting the paci fall into his hand. He tossed it and Mike's camera into his underwear drawer and stepped back into the bathroom. Grabbing his clothes and the garbage bag, he hopped down the stairs to find the living room empty.

"Hello?"

"In da den!" Toby's voice floated up from the staircase to his left, leading the tiger cub to quickstep down to the bottom floor.

"About time, mate." Toby called from his postion on the back of the couch, game controller in hand, as Rio emerged into the short hall off the staircase "I taut cats hated gettin wet."

"Normally, but when you're dirty enough..." Rio responded, glaring at Mike, and tossed the rest of his clothes in the washer. Starting it up, he kipped out the side door and up the stairs in the back yard to throw away the garbage. Coming back in, he caught sight of Dakota. The towel clad rabbit was propped up against a pile of pillows and couch cushions in the corner of the room, a throw blanket covering his legs, watching the game Mike and Toby were playing. Nodding to him, he plopped down next to Mike on the couch and pulled a soda from the pack at his feet.

"You're never gonna beat this level with that loadout." He commented, popping his soda open.

"I already told him dat," Toby chuckled, "but he insists on using da catapault."

"And I told him, that the catapault is the best way to deal with entrenched kobolds." Mike replied, tapping the controls furiously.

"Maybe, but you don't have the support you need to..."

Several hours passed as the controls changed hands repeatedly, each cub trying to one up the other, before Mike noticed that all three bags of chips at their feet were empty.

"We need more snackage." He noted, talking the controler from Rio to start his turn.

"I got it, I need to grab the laundry anyway. Besides, you're not gonna be able to beat this one anyway." The tiger chuckled, ignoring the haughty retort and getting to his feet. Popping the drier door open, Rio dug through the mass of clothes, pulling out Dakota's stuff and tossing it onto the top before dumping his stuff back into his laundry basket. On his way to the kitchen, he glanced over and noticed that Dakota had fallen asleep and kicked his blanket off sometime over the past few hours. Stepping over to him, Rio grabbed the edge of the blanket and went to re-cover him. As soon as the cloth moved, Dakota jerked violently, bringing his legs up tight to his chest and burying his hands between his legs to cup himself protectively, teeth bared and eyes wide.

"Leave me alone!" He yelled, panicked eyes darting back and forth, "I don't want to play!"

"Whoa, man, chill out!" Rio said, raising his arms, palms out, and stepping back slowly, "I'm not gonna hurt you."

"Please don't touch me again..." Dakota responded, voice quavering a tears welled in his eyes.

"What did you do?!" Mike asked, raising his arms uncertainly.

"Nothing! All I did was move the blanket!"

"Is not what he did," Toby responded softly, "I'd bet dat he's woken up before to someone doin someting really bad to him, and I tink dat Rio gave him a flashback. Let him finish wakin' up."

Dakota's eyes flashed about, trying to find the danger lurking in his memories, panting heavily and starting to shake from the effort of keeping every muscle in his body clenched. When no threat presented itself, instinct relinquished control back to his consious mind and he remembered where he was. Upon seeing the concerned faces of the cubs around him, the last of his adrenaline faded and he relaxed with a strained groan, the pain of his violent movement with deep bruises finally setting in.

"Dude... are you okay?" Rio asked about to step forward again before Toby put a hand on his shoulder.

"Give him space, mate. I don' tink he does well with people touchin him..

"Oookay..." Mike said, slowly moving towards the stairs while giving Dakota a wide berth, "That can't have felt good, so... I'm gonna go grab the rest of the Tylenol and the frozen veggies."

"Hey, grab my batman pj's, k?" Rio called after him, getting a nod from the bear cub as he darted up the stairs.

A few minutes of nervous silence passed before Mike returned, and looked uncertainly at Toby.

"Here, I've got it." Rio said, taking the supplies from his obviously relieved boyfriend and slowly approaching the wounded rabbit.

"Hey..." Rio crouched well out of arm's reach and waited for Dakota to look at him.

"Ugh... what?" Came the clenched reply.

"I am very sorry that I scared you, I didn't mean to. I've got some more Tylenol for you, and some makeshift ice packs if you want. Oh, and I know that you said that you didn't want any pj's, but these ones are soft and silky and almost water proof so your fur won't get wet when the ice melts, plus I kinda figured that you'd be more comfortable with clothes on after... ya know." He waited for a few minutes for a reply, but all he got was suspicious scrutiny, so he sighed and stood up.

"Okay... Well, it's been a long day, so we're gonna go to bed."

"We are?" Mike asked from behind him.

"Ya, we are." Toby answered, grabbing his shoulders and steering him back towards the stairs.

"But, we had just gotten to level nine on Siege Crashers!"

"We can get dere again tomorrow," the parrot insisted, pushing the reluctant bear up the first step, "Besides, we forgot ta pause da game, and da Kobold's just broke yer catapault."

"Aw, man!!"

"Anyway," Rio chuckled, turning back to the still motionless Dakota, "We'll be upstairs, and you have my cell number. Call if you need anything, okay?" With a wave, he turned and headed toward the stairs.

"Wait!" Dakota yelled, halting the tiger in his tracks.

"What's up?"

"My phone is upstairs somewhere. I think it might be in the kitchen. Could.... could you grab it for me?"

"Yeah, no problem." Rio sprinted up the stairs and paced a few laps around the kitchen and living room until finally spotting the old school flip phone on the floor against the wall. Jogging back, he stepped towards Dakota then stopped short, unsure of how close to get.

"I'm not contagious or anything, ya know..." The rabbit glared, noting Rio's reluctance at closing the distance.

"What does that... I mean, obviously, you're not... but I thought-" Rio sputtered, caught completely off guard by Dakota's sudden malevolence. Before he could marshall his thoughts, the young rabbit's expression changed again, this time becoming a desolate mix of remorse and depression, "Hey, are you okay?"

"No... I'm really not..." the bunny replied, burying his face in his hands, "You and your friends are trying to help me and I keep yelling at you for no reason....I'm sorry, it's been a long day," he dropped his hands into his lap and met Rio's gaze with a humourless chuckle, "What am I saying? It's been a long life."

"Well, did you want to talk about it?" the tiger cub asked, dropping to his haunches, "we've got all night."

"No... I mean yes... but, not now. I'm too on edge right now, I don't think it would end well... but hey, thanks for the pjs." Closing his eyes, the young rabbit made a visible effort to gather his courage before opening them again, "Could you maybe help me put them on? I can't bend very well right now, so-"

"Hey man, no problem. Can you get the shirt?"

"Yeah, the pants though..."

"I've got you, here, stand up." He stepped up and reached out, Dakota taking his hand after taking a second to secure his towel, and levered the bunny to his feet. "Okay, so out your hands on my shoulders so you don't fall over and lift up your left foot." Dakota followed his instructions, flinching everytime Rio's fingers brushed his leg as he guided the left pant leg over his foot, "Now the right... Okay, so this part is gonna be hard for you. You're gonna need to lose the towel before I can pull these up, but I promise that I won't touch you, I'll even close my eyes. Let me know when you're ready."

Several long minutes passed with Rio crouching patiently at Dakota's feet, holding the waist band stretched out with his eyes clamped shut. Eventually, he got his assent.

"Okay..." Dakota said very softly, "I'm ready."

Rio waited until he heard the towel land next to him before standing up very slowly, bringing the pj's up with him.

"Am I close?" He asked, "I don't wanna hit your.. ya know."

"Oh, yeah, about two more inches."

"K, all covered?"

"Yeah."

"Okay then," Rio grinned, opening his eyes, "All set. did you want to lay on the couch or stick with your nest here? The angle the cushions are at is probably better for you back."

"Yeah, if you could..."

"Totally."

Between the two of them, they leveraged the injured bunny back down to the floor and got him covered up. Making sure to set the frozen veggies and the remnants of their soda stash within arms reach, Rio stepped back towards the stairs.

"All good?"

"I've slept in worse places. Damn it.... I mean thank you."

"Don't worry about it. As you said, long day. Again, call if you need anything. Night."

Dashing up the stairs, he closed the door behind him. About to follow the sounds of the still complaining bear up the second steps, he paused, and looked back at the door. Unsure of when his parents would get back and not wanting their arrival to startle the obviously traumatized rabbit, he grabbed the pad of paper from earlier and scrawled a note before tearing it off and taping it to the door:

'If you get back before we're awake,

DON'T OPEN THIS DOOR!!!!!

Come talk to me first!!!

I MEAN IT!!

-Rio'

Nodding, he bounded up the stairs and into his room where Mike, still whining about his game, had pulled a pair of sleeping bags out of the closet.

"We totally had that, too! All I needed was a few more mana points and we could have enchanted the ladders and gotten over the wall. We didn't even need the catapault."

"Dere was no more mana on dat map, Mike," Toby replied, moving slowly through some stretches before laying down, "Da faeries were stopping us from getting to it, remember?"

"We could have beaten them-"

"Wit what? You used da only fire spell we had on da moat snake."

"If you two are done, I am actually tired." Rio interrupted, turning off the light and hopping over Mike's sleeping bag to get into bed.

"Yeah," Mike replied glancing at the clock, "It is getting late. Hey, you think that what's his toes is gonna be okay?"

"Dakota? He's fine for tonight, but some real bad stuff has happened to him, I think. So long term? Not sure." Rio replied, propping his arms behind his head.

"No way ta know." Toby's voice floated through the darkness, "We did what we could, if he wants ta talk, he'll call. Not much more ta do but check on him in da morning."

"Yeah... I guess you're right." Rio agreed, but his friends bantering had drifted into the even breathing of sleep long before he managed to slip into dreams himself.