Scary Movie
I should have listened to Uncle Muta! Alex yelled in his mind, his paws clenching the pillow in his arms even tighter. His eyes were wide, glued to the television, at the scenes unfolding before him. It was a truly gruesome, terrifying sight, something he knew would give him nightmares for at least the next week, but he couldn't bring himself to look away.

It can't be that much longer, right? I-It's been a while, so it's almost over? He hoped that was true, because he wasn't sure how much more he could stand to watch.

A woman on screen screeched in agony as the monster pounced on her, his maw opened wide, ready to eat her whole, and he bit down on the pillow to muffle his own mortified scream. The living room went dead silent, and Alex froze as he felt something warm, wet, pooling around his butt on the pillow he was seated on. Time seemed to stop as the urine continued to flow, a steady stream lasting for several long seconds.

“No no no---” As quickly as he could, he jumped up, staring down at the soaked pillow. “Not the carpet too!” Panicked, the lion ran into the kitchen, digging through various cabinets and drawers. “Come on, come on--” There had to be a bottle of cleaner somewhere. He'd seen Uncle Muta use it just earlier that day! “Aha!”

Bottle in hand, he snatched a dish towel off the counter, and dashed back into the living room. He had to hurry, clean up his mess before Uncle Muta came to check on him- and he knew he would.

It felt like hours had gone by as Alex scrubbed furiously at the pillow. The scent of the cleaner was strong, and while his use of the spray had dampened the pillow even more, he was almost certain that his Uncle would never be able to tell what fate the fluffy rectangle had suffered. 

As he moved onto the carpet, the pillow tossed to the side, he scrubbed even harder than before, determined to ensure his accident was kept a secret. Unfortunately for him... that wasn't going to happen.

“So, you wanna tell me what happened?” Alex's fur bristled and his ears folded back as he froze once more, fear bubbling in his stomach. He gulped, slowly turning his head to look over at Uncle Muta. The large, cream cat stood in the doorway, arms crossed impatiently over his chest as he stared down at the scared lion. “Well?”

“I-I--” Alex stuttered, trying to think of an excuse, any excuse. “I spilled my juice!” He held his breath after blurting it out, hoping with all his might that Uncle Muta would believe him. 

“Uh-huh, yeah.” The large cat stepped forward, reaching down to snatch up the soaked pillow. A quick sniff was all that was needed, and he knew. Alex could tell. He stood, cleaning items left on the floor forgotten as he stared down at his paws.

Tears welled in the corners of his eyes, his cheeks burning hot in embarrassment. “I-I'm sorry, Uncle Muta! It was an accident, I swear! I-I-- t-the movie--”

Muta shook his head, his tone gentle as he spoke, “This is why I don't want you watchin' scary movies. You're too little.” 

“I'm not too little! I-- It was just really really scary!” Sniffling, he rubbed at his eyes. “I r-really am-” he hiccuped, “sorry Uncle Muta!”

With a soft sigh, Muta turned to face Alex, “It's alright, kiddo. C'mon. We gotta get you cleaned up and into something dry.” With a nod, Alex held up his arms and Muta reached down, scooping him up with his free one. Alex's arms went around Muta's neck as he rested on the cat's hip, wrapping his legs around him as best he could.

Alex didn't realize it, not until it was too late. They weren't headed for his own room, or even for the bathroom (though Muta did pause in front of the door in order to toss the pillow into the hamper). No, he was being carried into Theodore's room. “U-Uncle Muta?” The cat looked glanced down at him, a silent 'hm?' hanging in the air. “Why are we goin' in Teddy's room?”

“Seein' as you already had one accident tonight, I think we should take precautions, in case you have another.” Alex was confused. What could his Uncle do? It was an accident... and he sure as heck didn't think he'd be having another one. It was the movie that had done it! No more movie meant no more accidents, right? 

Muta sat Alex on the changing table, a simple design, adorned with dinosaur decals and a home-made dinosaur changing pad. Diapers filled one of the two shelves, each one unique, with various colours and designs on them, and a thick pack of wipes sat beside them. The second shelf had pull out cloth drawers, each one filled with various items that one would need when changing the rambunctious corgi. Bottles of baby powder, baby lotion, a few spare pacifiers (just in case).

But Muta was interested in the closed cabinet door beside the shelves. Alex had never looked in there before, figuring since the rest of the stuff was for changing his little cousin, that anything in there wouldn't be of any interest to him.

His eyes widened though as Muta turned back to him, a diaper in one paw, the pack of wipes in the other. “No way! I'm t-too big for diapers! I'm five, Uncle Muta! I'm not a baby!”

“Of course you aren't, but we aren't takin' any chances. Now scoot back and lay down. You're not getting' outta this.” With a soft whimper, the lion nodded, scooting himself back on the pad and lying down, his head resting on a small green pillow, his legs angled, feet resting on the wooden extension, normally used as a small table. The heat in his cheeks quickly spread, and he covered his face with his paws, not wanting to watch.

His briefs, a plain pair -green with purple outlines-, were removed and placed into the small hamper by the bedroom door. Another whimper escaped him, and he bit down on his bottom lip as he heard the crinkling plastic of the diaper. “It's not that bad, kiddo.” Muta spoke with a soft smile, his voice was comforting. 

The wet wipe was cold, even through his fur, and he squirmed at the feeling of it. “It's cold!” 

“I'm almost done. Gotta make sure you're cleaned up, y'know.” The wipe was set to the side to be disposed of after, and Alex felt himself being lifted, just enough for the diaper his Uncle had grabbed to be slid under his bottom. “Almost forgot..” Muta chuckled, and Alex peeked through his fingers to see what was going on. Forgot? The bottle of powder came into view and he scrunched up his face. 

“Do you gotta use that too? This is already embarrassing..” Alex grumbled, and Muta reached over to ruffle the thick red fur atop his head.

“Yes, I do. Now we're almost done, and then it's bed time, alright?” The lion nodded silently. “Atta boy.” With Alex cleaned and powdered, Muta smiled as he secured the thick diaper in place with it's blue tapes. “Now up.” 

It wasn't until he was back in a sitting position that he lowered his paws from his face, immediately looking down. The diaper itself was... well, he had to admit, it could have been worse. It was white, mostly, but the trim was blue, and little suns were stamped along the whiteness, that he could see. There was even a bigger picture of the sun in the sky in the middle where the tapes were. At least it's not a baby design...

Muta walked around the table, tossing the used wipe into the diaper pale and putting the pack of them, and the powder, back in their place on the shelves. “One last thing.” He reached over, taping up the little opening above Alex's tail. “There we go. All set. You can hop down now.”

And so he did, tugging at his shirt as soon as his feet touched the floor, trying to cover up as much of the diaper as he could. “How long do I have to wear this?” 

“That depends on you, kiddo.” Alex followed Muta out of Theodore's room and down the hall. “If you're dry in the morning, you're off the hook, but if not...” He trailed off, though Alex knew exactly what he meant. “Now, would you like to sleep in my bed with me and Teddy? Or do you want to sleep in your own?”

Alex fidgeted, playing with the hem of his shirt, “I-- uhm... with you.. please?” After that movie, he wasn't about to sleep alone, even if he had his pirate ship nightlight and stuffed tiger to protect him. “Can I bring Noah with me?” Muta nodded with a smile. “T-then I'll be right back! Wait here!”

The lion stuck his hand into the dark room first, batting the wall in search of the light switch. Noah, his stuffed tiger, lay at the foot of his bed, underneath a crumpled pile of blanket, and he snatched him up, running back out of the room as quickly as he could. Muta reached in and flicked off the light. “Alright. You ready?”

As Alex nodded and held up one paw, Muta took it into his own and lead him the rest of the way down the hall to his own room. It was dark inside, the only light coming from the moon shining in the window. Alex hesitated. “Uncle...” 

“Up we go.” Once again, Alex was in Muta's arms, and the large cat held him close as he carried him over to the king sized bed on the back wall of the room. Theodore was happily asleep, sprawled out in the middle of the bed, his own stuffed friend resting at his side, a smile on his face. Muta pulled the covers back on the left side of the bed, setting Alex down on the cream sheets. He scooted down onto his back, Noah in his arms. “If you need me, I'll be right here.” Leaning down, Muta placed a soft kiss on the lion's head before pulling the covers back up and over him.

“Goodnight, Uncle Muta.” Alex spoke softly, not wanting to disturb his sleeping cousin.

“Goodnight, Alex. Sweet dreams.”

Alex turned into his side, facing Theodore, holding tightly to Noah. As he closed his eyes, taking in a long, deep breath, he could only hope for two things. One, that he really would have sweet dreams, and two... that he would be completely dry in the morning.