M'kay. I'll do a chapter of this, and thin another chapter of The Artemis Punishment, since this one got more follows.
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Percy was an absolute nervous wreck.
The sun was peeking out over the horizon, meaning there had been some kind of time-lapse magic going on in Artemis's tent. Everyone had gone to bed at some point while he and Bianca were being diapered and dressed, but now they were waking up and packing up, and here he was, being held on Zoe's left hip, Bianca on the right, still wearing her messy diaper.
What were all these Hunters going to say about him in his diaper and footed pjs and pacifier? What were his friends, Grover and Thalia, going to say when they saw him? What was Nico going to say about his big sister dumping him for immortality as a baby?
But as the son steadily climbed higher, Percy noted how everyone was going about their business as if Zoe's wasn't standing there with a couple of teen-sized babies on her hips. Some waved happily, and Percy hesitantly waved back.
"Awe, what a couple of cuties!"
Percy felt the color drain from his face when he heard Thalia's voice. He buried his face in Zoe's neck so that he wouldn't have to see her.
"Now, now," the lieutenant chided, bouncing Percy with her arm. "No need to be shy. Look."
Percy turned his head just enough to be able to see out of the corner of his eye. Thalia filled his vision, but there was no derisive smirk on her face or manic gleam in her eye, nothing to suggest that she was taking a crude pleasure in his new status as a baby. Instead, Thalia looked totally enamored, her eyes sparkling.
"May I hold you, Percy?" the daughter of Zeus asked politely.
Percy swallowed, fearing a trap, but he nodded. At his nod, Zoe gently handed him over. Thalia took him in her arms, holding him to her own hips by supporting his butt, not a hint of strain on her face. Of course, being the demigod daughter of Zeus did come with some amazing physical perks.
"Gosh, Percy, you're so cute!" Thalia gushed.
For a moment, she even looked envious, as if she wished she could be diapered and babied, but that couldn't be. Percy put that thought out of his mind; there was no way that a tough girl like Thalia would want this baby treatment.
"Eww! Bianca's all stinky!"
Percy looked over. He'd been so occupied with Thalia he hadn't noticed Grover and Nico come over. Nico was waving his hand in front of his nose, smiling, and Bianca was giggling.
"You look good, Percy," Grover said, rubbing the top of Percy's head.
Percy didn't know what to think. On one hand, he was relieved. His friends didn't seem to be making fun of him or teasing him, but seemed to be genuinely supportive of his circumstance. Circumstance that he didn't really ask for or want, but ended up with anyway, and by this point, he was kind of scared to say anything.
On the other hand, were his friends blind or something? There was a pacifier in his mouth, a big one, bigger than any baby's pacifier, and he was wearing a big footed-sleeper—not that much of a big deal, there were plenty of kids, teens, and adults that wore such things, but those sleepers typically weren't decorated with cartoony Hunter items like bows, arrows, and knives…a little macabre, actually—and he obviously had a big diaper on, something Thalia had to know since her arm was under his butt, and something Grover had to see given how close they were.
"As I said," Artemis smiled. "No one will bully you."
As honestly relieving as that was, Percy still wasn't totally comfortable with his situation. He had just wanted to wear a diaper, not all of this. He wasn't even a Hunter but was still getting the same treatment Bianca was getting. It didn't make sense! What was Artemis playing at?
A quick, extremely out-of-place honk caught Percy's attention. Out of the light of the rising sun, a gorgeous Maserati Spyder come flying in to land on the cliff, melting all the snow within a 500-foot radius. The car was red as a fresh apple, steaming, with gleaming chrome wheels and shiny black tires.
The god Apollo stepped out from behind the wheel. "Morning, Lil' Sis!"
Artemis sighed. "How many times must we go over this, Apollo? I am the older sibling because I was born first and helped deliver you."
"You were only born first because I let you. What good big brother doesn't let his sister be born first?" Apollo asked with a dazzling, easy smile.
Artemis crossed her arms. "I suppose the same big brother that wets his diapers every other day."
The Hunters all giggled and snickered, and Percy tilted his head, still held in Thalia's arms. So it was true, what Artemis had said earlier, that Apollo did wear diapers. Though, to be fair, when you're a powerful immortal god, what did anything matter, least of all your underwear and what you did with them.
To Apollo's credit, at being outed a diaper-wetter, he didn't panic or blush or even seem the slightest bit embarrassed. "True, true, but remind me again who was it that pooped in her underwear the other day?"
Artemis's face turned about as auburn as her hair. "That was only because I lost a wager, and I, unlike some deities, honor my word."
"Uh-huh, sure. Anyway, since you called, I take it the lovely ladies here need a lift to CHB?"
"Yes, they do, and what have I told you about flirting with my girls?"
"Not flirting. Just simply stating the obvious." Apollo snapped his fingers, and his Maserati transformed in a flash of light into a school bus. The doors popped open. "All aboard!"
The Hunters filed in one by one, the sun god greeting each one by name.
"Good luck, my lady," Zoe said to Artemis.
"Thank you, Zoe. Look after the babies, yes?"
"With my life."
Artemis nodded, shared a longing look with her brother, and then took off into the forest.
Percy was still endlessly lost to this whole situation. He wasn't a Hunter, wasn't a girl, so why was he being as equally exalted as Bianca, who was a Hunter, who was a girl?
Thalia bounced him twice. "You okay, Percy?"
"Yeah…" he said around his pacifier.
"Are you hungry? Need a diaper change?"
Percy vigorously shook his head. He was kind of hungry, but he certainly did not need a diaper change. In fact, he planned on holding it for however long until this was over so he could use the toilet like the big boy he was.
Or was supposed to be.
With the tugging in his tummy and the pressure in his bladder, Percy feared for his odds.
"Oh, and who are these two little ones?" Apollo asked when Zoe and Thalia made their way up to the door of the bus.
"This is Bianca," Zoe introduced neutrally. "The new baby."
Bianca smiled and waved happily at Apollo, who beamed back.
"May I?" he asked.
Zoe nodded after a moment of consideration, and Apollo reached out and ruffled Bianca's hair, making her giggle. With a flurry of his wrist, he conjured a lollipop.
"If she's old enough for these yet," Apollo smiled.
It was a really good-looking lollipop, the super huge kind with the swirl pattern, and a rainbow of bright colors, like orange, red, and yellow, with white stripes all over. Percy found himself wanting a lollipop too.
Bianca bounced excitedly in Zoe's arms. "Pleasepleaseplease!"
Her dark eyes sparkled with need, making Zoe sigh. "Fine."
Bianca's squeal almost shattered the windows as she eagerly accepted the lollipop.
Zoe had a resigned look on her face. She already had a messy diaper to change, the odor of Bianca's poop seemingly getting stronger by the minute, and now she was going to have a messy face to clean up in due time as well since the girl was no doubt going to take full advantage of her new life as an irresponsible baby and go to town on her lollipop.
"And this little guy is Percy," Thalia introduced.
"Hey, cuz," Apollo said, and like with Bianca, he asked for permission to touch Percy. Without consulting Zoe in any way, Thalia nodded and Apollo ruffled Percy hair, eliciting the same pleased giggle that Bianca let loose. "Is he also old enough for a lollipop?"
"Percy, are you old enough for a lollipop?" Thalia asked with a smile.
Percy eagerly nodded.
"Okay."
With Thalia's permission given, Apollo gave Percy his own megasized lollipop, making the diapered boy radiate joy.
Zoe eyed the whole exchange from the steps of the bus. It was her responsibility as directed by Artemis to look after the new babies, and while she certainly had more care in mind for Bianca, that didn't mean that she was just going to sideline Percy. To do so would be a betrayal of her lady's instructions. So, watching Thalia take over Percy, her being the one to decide if Percy could be touched or given a snack, was an effective usurpation of Zoe's authority in this situation.
Zoe was more than capable of looking after a couple of rambunctious half-bloods, but a helping hand was still welcome, it was just this particular helping hand was the rebellious daughter of Zeus who had a bone to pick with Zoe, and was using Percy to get to her. While Zoe was sure Thalia really did care for her cousin, no doubt seeing him right now as a substitute for her own dead brother, the underlying condition behind looking after Percy was spite, and if Percy got hurt in any way under Thalia's spiteful care, it would be on Zoe's head.
The Hunter was torn on whether to rest Percy back into her personal care, or let Thalia keep him and accept all the responsibility that came with a baby. Changing his diapers, feeding him, bathing him, clothing him, putting him to sleep, etc. Thalia caught Zoe's eye and sent a message.
I'll take care of him.
Zoe sent one of her own back. See that you do.
With that, Zoe got on board and took the seat right behind the driver's, and Thalia took the seat directly opposite, right next to the door, their respective babies happily licking away at their lollipops, their faces already splattered with sugary slobber. Apollo took his own seat and shut the doors.
"And away we go!"
The sun bus rocketed away from Maine, heading West.
On the rear window, a hazard sticker appeared that said "BABIES ON BOARD!"
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The ride was a simple one, the Hunters making idle chat amongst themselves, Nico telling Grover all about Myth-O-Magic, and Zoe and Thalia entertaining their respective Littles, because that's what they were as far the ageplay world was concerned.
Bianca was a complete Little, jumping at the first chance she got to cast aside all her responsibilities and be a baby. Percy had been far more reserved, but like Artemis and Zoe had both spotted right away was the same desire Bianca had. A chance to not have to be a big boy, having to be strong, having to fight for survival in a world of monsters and evil, a chance to throw it all off and enjoy the simpler, happier days of his youth, when his mother was always there, always smiling, always making him feel happy and loved.
Not that Sally didn't do those things now, but with Percy's advancing age, there were certain, completely natural expectations of him.
He was expected to be the man of the house now, since he was well into puberty, developing muscles, his voice deepening. He was trained how to fight and how to kill, how to control and use his powers, how to survive in the wilderness, and was expected to take care of himself in all facets besides the likes of financially, but even then he knew about money and its value.
Essentially, Percy was a young adult.
That was all well and good, except he was a young non-neurotypical young adult with dyslexia that made it hard to read anything besides Ancient Greek and ADHD which led to all sorts of disciplinary issues with teachers and bullies. So, take all the stress of everyday teen life, add in some minor disabilities, and pile in a heap of mythology, and you get the hard life of Percy Jackson.
The hard life of every half-blood, really, some worse than others, but the main idea is the same.
From one perspective, it made total sense for a demigod to want to revert back to the typically happier days of diapers and bottles; it made total sense for a lot of people to want that, and they did do it, entering what was called "Littlespace," a type of headspace in which they adopted the behaviors and mannerisms typical of a person younger than what they physically were.
Littlespace for some could be a crawling infant, others a toddler that still needed diapers, or a toddler in potty training, or a younger child that had accidents from time to time and so still wore a pull-up, or a completely potty-trained child of elementary age, like six or seven. Littlespace didn't necessarily mean you mentally regressed to babyhood, just to a younger age.
And that's what Bianca had done, and that's what Percy finally accomplished. Bianca had eagerly dove in head-first, but Percy had his subconscious reservations, reservations that had been broken down by Thalia's affections until he was just as happy a baby as Bianca.
Well, they were more like toddlers since they still communicated with all their faculties.
By the time Apollo touched down safely at Camp Half-Blood, Bianca had wet her diaper, and Percy had wet and messed his own while playing horsey with Thalia, a true testament to how much he'd slipped for the first time.
Chiron was there outside the doors. "Welcome back…"
The old centaur started out strong enough, but quickly lost his happy intensity when Thalia came out carrying the stinky, bubbly Percy Jackson.
"Hey, Chiron," Thalia said. "We'll talk later. This little munchkin needs a new diaper."
"I can smell that, yes."
With a diaper bag slung over her shoulder, courtesy of the Hunters, Thalia practically trotted across camp to Cabin Three, figuring it would be better to change Percy's diaper in his own cabin as opposed to taking him into Zeus's. It had already crossed Thalia's mind that there might be drama on Olympus, the gods poking fun at Poseidon for having a diapered son being taken care of by Zeus's daughter, and she really hoped that wasn't the case because if it was, there was going to be an ass-whipping unheard of.
No one makes fun of her munchkin.
Yes, her munchkin.
One could make the argument that Thalia was just substituting Jason, her dead little brother, with Percy, or for Annabeth back when they were on the run together prior to Grover's botched exodus, and she'd kick you between the legs for it.
Jason was Jason.
Annabeth was Annabeth.
Percy was Percy.
All individual people with individual places in Thalia's heart.
Granted, that didn't mean Thalia didn't enjoy having someone rely and look up to her once more, like Jason and Annabeth had done.
Thalia, with Percy on her hip, happily playing with her spikey hair, opened the door to the Poseidon cabin, and her jaw dropped. To put it shortly, it looked like Poseidon had been in here earlier and redecorated the whole cabin, transforming it from a venue to house kids away for summer camp, into a beach-themed nursery.
The floor was all light tan hardwood, that same color climbing about three feet up each wall before fading into light blue with white here and there, which in turn faded up into a slightly darker blue with fluffy white shapes. The paint scheme of the whole cabin reflected the beach, with sand, water with waves cresting over, and clear skies with sparse clouds.
There were some additives, like painted beach balls, sandcastles, cartoon crabs that were waving hello, and out in the water, Ariel and Flounder were saying high along with Marlin and Dori, and a black pirate ship sailed by on one wall—Thalia was certain that was supposed to be the Black Pearl. There was a plane fling by, and plenty of generic birds made of a couple of black arches.
The furniture was also different. Gone were all the bunkbeds, and instead there was only a large crib with blue-painted wood and a mobile comprised of happy sea creatures, and a queen-sized bed directly across the way with electric blue pillows and storm cloud-grey sheets and blankets. Thalia was slightly startled at the implication.
Next to the crib was an equally large changing table with open cubbies beneath the mat that contained plenty of large, plain white diapers that looked to be disposable as opposed to washable, and bottles of lotion and powder. Next to the changing table was a sink built into the wall for handwashing.
On the other side of the sink was a blue dresser, and inside the drawers were clothes and other baby items, as Thalia discovered. Pacifiers, clips, bottles, sippy cups, socks, snap-crotch onesies, sleepers, beanies, blankies, shirts meant for little kids but sized up for a growing teenager, shorts, pants, and even Toy Story pull-ups and superhero-print underwear boasting designs of Captain American, Spiderman, Ironman, Superman, Batman, and Flash, all in Percy's size.
If Percy decided he was a bit bigger than a toddling baby, he had plenty of paraphernalia to help him live in his headspace.
Further help included bins and buckets of toys that included everything from foam 3d shapes to plug-and-play style video games like the Atari, for children figuring out that a square peg didn't fit very well into a round hole, to children developing godlike hand-eye coordination.
Thalia was almost in a state of shock, and based on the look on Percy's face, so was he.
"Alright, kiddo," she said. "Let's get that diaper changed and then figure out what all this stuff is."
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Hope you liked it!
Percy accepts his little side here, and Poseidon has completely set him up for whenever he does feel little, and however little he feels at the time.
Next chapter will be about how Baby Bianca and Percy will fit in to the Titan's Curse, but first, a chapter for the Artemis Punishment.