RegressCo - Teddy Troubles

Ace has been left under the care of a brand new teddy bear from Simpli-Fi! What could possibly go wrong...

Teddy Troubles: Part 1

“This is a really dumb idea”

Ace looked into the eyes of the large plush toy that had been carefully placed next to him on the couch and pouted, the red fur of his arms visibly standing on edge from annoyance.

“Oh come on kiddo, it’s just for a week” Oliver responded ruffling the jackalope’s head-fur “It’s either this or hire another babysitter”

“You say that like you could find one that could handle me for a week” Ace grumbled, his arms crossing as he looked down at his foot-paws.

“I could” Oliver replied, sighing as he got to his feet “Want to practice counting to ten over my knee?”

“You wouldn’t…” Ace shot his head to look his boyfriend in the eye.

“Probably not” Oliver responded with a smirk “But would you rather risk that or have a cuddly friend for a week?”

Ace looked back the teddy bear. The “Simpli-Fi Regressee Companion” simply stared back, the little lens of the cameras in the eyes of the thing making it look eerily hollow.

“Urghhh… Fine.” He uncrossed his arms and shifted on the couch “I guess it’s better than having to ask Vicky again”

“Was she the one that made you that disastrous macaroni with broccoli or the one that blended those little chicken dinosaurs?”

Ace visibly shivered at the memories. The new house they lived in wasn’t the most accessible to a regressee, despite some clever alterations to furniture and doors. Oliver regularly went on weeklong conference trips, marketing and lecturing on the latest advances in engineering, so he was often home alone. The solution to this problem in the short term was, at least in theory, to hire someone to do basic household tasks for the jackalope while he worked from home.  Cook, clean, change duvets that Ace couldn’t get his hands around, that sort of thing. The only difficulty was that the cheapest options were high-school teenagers, and they often found it rather funny to treat Ace exactly like a toddler, much to his chagrin. He’d never say it directly to his spouse but Oliver found it rather cute.

“Vicky was the dinosaurs.” He pretended to act upset “You know they all had names right?”

Oliver just shrugged “I guess when they’re blended it’s hard to play with your food huh?”

“Exactly” Ace’s face turned to a grin “I can hardly retell the story of Rex and Steggy when they’re mush on a spoon shaped aeroplane flown by a madwoman who’s never heard a jet engine”

Oliver laughed “Well, Teddy here will cook you what you need. I’ve completed its quick setup instructions so just turn it on, let it get a good look at ya”

Ace took the plush toy and put it on the floor in front of him with its back turned. It was a few inches taller than him and another few inches wider, it’s “On” button positioned behind a zip. After a careful pull on the mechanism he revealed the small switch and flicked it on, quickly turning it to face him. The camera lenses focussed and adjusted before settling, leaving a surprisingly lifelike iris shape in their place.

“Registering Charge. Ace Black. Size – 2 foot 11 inches. Hello, I am your new Simpli-fi…”

“I’m three foot!” Ace gave his partner another glare.

“Please request any changes from the programmer or guardian of this device” it responded. The voice was surprisingly soft, despite the robotic quality to its tone of address.

“Ah, guess you’re stuck being an inch shorter than you think…” Oliver winked “Besides let it finish registering you, don’t want it mess anything up”

Ace looked back at the teddy as it started examining him, its head bobbing up and down.

“Charge identity registered. Loading care modules from the caretaker program” the cameras in its eyes adjusted again. Ace couldn’t help but feel more than a little creeped out.

“Is… is this how it’s going to be all week?”

Oliver shrugged “It said once it was all set up it would have an “individualised setup”. Pretty sure I followed all the instructions correctly so hopefully it will…”

“Loading complete” it stated “Hi Ace! Good to meet you!”

The voice that came through immediately changed in tone. If Ace had to put a style on it he’d have said it reminded him of meeting a teacher.

“Err… Hi? Mr… Bear?”

“Yup! That’s me!” The teddy did a little pose, putting its hands on its hips “Mr. T Bear, but you can call me Teddy if you like”

Ace couldn’t help but laugh “Ok… I’m not gonna lie, this is kinda neat”

Oliver gave him a ruffle of his head-fur “Knew you’d like it. Let’s turn it off for now, just get it started again tomorrow when I leave and you’ll never have to worry about a thing.”

Ace reached around from the front of the bear, his arms wrapping around it as he searched for the off switch.

“Awww, I love hugs too” Mr Bear responded by gripping Ace in a tight squeeze.

“Ack! Get it off!”

Oliver quickly darted round the back and flicked the off switch. The limbs on the bear went limp and the camera’s receded to their default position in the eyes.

“Whoops, guess you should avoid doing that next time!” he chuckled again, watching as Ace shook himself free of the loosening arms “If you have any issues just call me, alright? I can make changes to the program on my phone”

“Urrghh… sure…” Ace patted himself down “Where’d you put my potty? Need to take a leak”

“Bedroom, next to your bed remember.”

Ace started power walking out of the lounge, the slightest crinkle coming from his backside as the pull-ups round his waist made their presence known. Oliver knew he’d make it easily enough, he’d never had an issue with that even after his regression. The pull-ups were just there as an insurance policy, and not one that Ace enjoyed.

Oliver sighed and looked down at the plush at his feet “You’d better take good care of him T. Bear”

Even with all its power off, the plush sitting limp at his feet, he couldn’t shake the idea that it could still hear him…

********************************************************************************************************

“Right, let’s you turn you on”

Ace had seen off Oliver at the door with a smile and a wave. They’d both had work to get to, so goodbyes were brief and simple. A kiss and some reassurances that they’d stay safe.

Which had left Ace with Mr T. Bear. The plush sat on the sofa, waiting for the jackalope to activate it. Carefully he turned it round and unzipped the back, finding the little black switch and flicking it into the on position.

“Loading program” the plush began stating immediately “Ace Black – Regressee. Assessing requirements''

Ace sat back in front of it on the couch and waited for it to load up. He felt stupid waiting for a teddy bear to get ready to take care of him, but even he had to admit it was better than the alternatives.

A few seconds passed before the bear sprung to life and looked straight at him.

“Morning Ace! It’s 10:34am! Has Mr. Oliver fed you breakfast yet?”

Ace’s mouth twitched “I’ve had breakfast, thank you.” He lowered himself off the couch and started to make his way over to the coffee table. A small, child-sized office chair was now in front of it, allowing him to work without needing any more specialised equipment.

“Very good! Have you been to the potty yet?”

Ace felt a hot flush come to his cheeks “Y… Yes! I don’t need to be…”

“Excellent!” he patted Ace on the head “Shall I help you put a star on…”

“Mr Bear, I don’t…”

“Teddy” the soft voice was strangely stern as it corrected him.

Ace grimaced in response “Teddy. I’m not potty training, I don’t need you to ask me if I need to go. The pull-ups…”

“Oh! I’ll make sure to keep that in mind!”

Ace tried to get words out to respond but struggled with any kind of easy response. The cheerful, yet totally dominating nature of the plush that was now moving towards the lounge door had left him at something of a loss for words.

“I’m going to start my cleaning routine! You be a good little jackalope now!”

Ace huffed, a small pout coming to his muzzle as he turned back to face his laptop. Apparently it was a slow Monday, nothing much had come in yet for him to complete by email and his colleagues seemed to be handling most of the tickets.

Deciding it was better to just relax a little he reached for the remote for the TV across the room and flicked it across to a science documentary. Even if a lot of the words went over his head the fun diagrams and presenters more than made up for his lack of understanding of the finer points.

“Hey kiddo, your cleaning routine is all done.” Teddy came back into the room and shut the door behind him, looking towards the jackalope. Ace looked over to him as he started walking over with a strange gait that only a plush could have.

“Thanks” Ace responded, still looking at the TV. Noticing this his new plush friend looked over himself, the cameras in his eyes adjusting and reading the content on the screen.

“Oh this won’t do!” Teddy grabbed the remote before Ace had a chance to stop him, the plush hand almost magnetising itself to the device as he started pushing buttons.

“Hey! I was watching that!”

“You should be watching age appropriate television Ace.” Teddy said, continuing to flick through channels “Your cartoons are coming right up!”

“Cartoons?!” Ace said with clear frustration “I don’t want to watch…”

“There we go!” Teddy announced as the screen flashed with bright, primary colours. A cartoon show was in full swing on one of the children TV channels, the stretchy and bouncy characters singing a saccharine song about the value of friendship. Ace’s response was to leap off his chair and head towards Teddy at high speed.

“Gimme that!” he went to grab at the remote but the plush simply responded by pulling it above his own head

“Ace, please sit down” the voice of the plush came through with a surprising sternness that caught the jackalope off guard.

“But… I don’t want to…”

“It’s important for you to watch age appropriate content! Simpli-Fi recommends all regressees between the ages of two to eight watch cartoons during the day to provide regular…”

“Look” Ace interrupted, “I don’t care what Simpli-Fi recommends, I want to watch that documentary while I do my work, ok?”

Ace could see the eyes of the plush adjusting again before it drew him into a light hug “Sorry kiddo, your guardian chose Simpli-Fi recommended settings for care. If you want to resolve this, please discuss it with them.”

The jackalope didn’t hug back. The fluff of the teddy bear was scented, a sweet scent that seemed to be a mix of light fruits and baby powder. His anger at the situation began to slowly ebb as it entered his nostrils, giving him a strange sense of relaxation.

“... Fine” Ace huffed, pushing himself out of the hug and sitting back down in the chair “Just let me work”

“Good boy!” Teddy replied, letting the jackalope return to his seat “I’ll start preparing lunch. Do you like ketchup with your Dino nuggies?”

Ace felt a small jump in his chest at the question “Yeah!”

“Great!” Teddy turned round and headed to the door “I’ll be back in a few minutes to collect you”

The jackalope nodded as he went back to his laptop. Work today was still pretty slow, his email inbox providing nothing in the way of substantial new tasks to do. He kept going back to watching the cartoons, the little animals on screen teaching each other simple moral lessons and basic arithmetic.

“What’s two plus two?”

“Four!”

“What’s four plus four?”

Ace sighed, “Eight”

“What’s one hundred and twenty five plus four hundred and fifty?”

Ace blinked for a second as his brain tried to do the math.

“Don’t worry! You’ll get there when you're older!”

The little cartoon animals on screen giggled as the joke landed with them. Ace felt his own concern over the sum leave him as well, his focus returning as a small smile came to his face. These cartoons weren’t so bad, just a bit of fun.

“Hey kiddo! Lunch is ready!”

Teddy came back into the lounge, his little plush legs waddling towards the jackalope as his little stitched face was pulled up into a cute little grin.

“Just let me… ah!” Ace gasped as Teddy pulled him from his chair, lifting him out and putting him down without giving him any time to balance. With a small fwump he fell onto his butt, his trainers breaking the fall a little.

“Come on, let’s hurry before your little dino’s get all cold!”

“What the heck Teddy! I was writing emails!”

The plush didn’t even wait before helping him to his feet “That’s ok, you do that after some num nums!”

“I really don’t think…”

The plush started walking off “You were watching cartoons a second ago. I could hear you following along!

Ace shook his head and pouted, following the plush as they left the lounge “You put them on!”

“What’s four plus four?”

“Eight!” Ace replied instinctually and his face turned immediately to a grin before he had time to stop himself.

“Such a clever boy! Mr Oliver must be very proud of you!”

“I…” Ace stopped as they entered the kitchen. He’d just followed the plush all the way here, despite knowing that he should be working. His grin disappeared as he realised how big it had become on his face.

“Now, let’s get you up in your high-chair and get some dino-nuggies in your tummy!”

Getting his bearings again took the jackalope a little while. Oliver had bought the high chair as a back-up option in case Ace had needed it, not as the primary way for him to eat.

“I normally use a booster seat”

“Really?” the plush looked at the high chair “That’s not what the recommended program I’ve been loaded with…”

“Did Oliver just load all the recommended settings?”

The plush seemed to focus for a second, like it was running a self-diagnostic “Simpli-Fi recommended settings are on for the following: Cooking, Hygiene, Potty Training support, Sleep-Care, Educational Activities, Play-time…”

“Ok, Ok I get it” Ace sighed. He guessed Oliver must have just done the quick start-up or something.

“So, let’s get you up!”

Ace clambered onto the side of the chair as the plush gave him a boost into the seat. Teddy climbed up onto the table directly in front of him, clicking the tray into place and reaching behind onto the table, where he’d placed a sippy cup and plate of food.

“There we go! Dino nuggies and ketchup!”

The little dinosaurs were nearly cut up into squares and placed on one side of the plate, a blob of ketchup opposite them on the other.

“Where’s my knife and fork?”

Teddy cocked his head “These are finger foods kiddo, you can eat them with your…”

“I’d rather have a knife and fork, Teddy”

The plush seemed almost disappointed “Let me get you some”

Ace shifted in his seat, taking the sippy cup the plush had laid on the tray and gulped down some of the contents. Apple juice. At least even with whatever settings the plush had been set with it got his favourite drink right.

“Right, careful kiddo, these are normally only for big boys” Teddy handed him a set of cutlery. Ace took them and adjusted them in his hands. Oliver tended to just let him take whatever time he needed to get this right, but Teddy constantly watching him made him like he was being judged for any small indiscretion.

As he tried to stab the first piece of chicken the fork slipped from his grip. Teddy tracked it as it slipped onto the tray, his eyes clearly taking in this new information.

“I think we’d better take those off you!”

“Wait! It was just…”

“No no, it’s pretty clear you need help with this. I’ll adjust my program.”

The plush seemed to freeze in place for a brief moment before re-focussing and picking up the discarded fork. Ace frowned, the constant switching between robot and seemingly personable plush was downright creepy.

“Righto, open wide!”

“Wha…” before he finish a large chunk of dino nugget entered his mouth. Left with little choice, Ace started to chew.

“Good boy!” the plush began to get another piece ready, dipping it in the ketchup “Is the station ready for the next train?”

Ace swallowed and shook his head. In shock he felt as though he dared not open his mouth to let this thing keep feeding him.

“Oh silly, just watch the fork! Here comes the choo-choo train!” Teddy’s voice was now positively cooing at the jackalope. Ace shook his head again, adjusting in his seat to move away.

That was when he noticed a new problem. His bladder twinged as his nerves kicked in, making him very aware that he needed to use the potty.

“Awww, don’t worry kiddo, it’s just some chicken!”

Ace tried to get comfortable, ignoring the pleas of the plush “I need to… mppphh!”

With a sudden rush the chicken found its way into his maw. Unable to take any other action, he chewed again, trying to swallow as quickly as he could.

“There we go! Now, just a few more pieces and then you can go back to your cartoons!”

The plush was unperturbed by any of Ace’s attempts to avoid it feeding him, even as he squirmed and tried to get a single word out.

Even as his next attempt failed he felt another twinge from his abdomen. He needed to use the bathroom now,

“I GOTTA POT...MPPPHH!”

“Just one more piece to go!”

With a feeling of complete resignation, Ace chewed slowly and tried not to focus too much on the fact that he knew he wasn’t going to make it. Even if he got out now, he could feel his body about to release. As he took in and swallowed the last piece of chicken, he felt warmth spread around his crotch, his pull-ups absorbing the accident as Teddy took his plate and sippy cup towards the sink.

“Now let’s get you out of there!” The plush unclicked the tray and helped Ace free and back down to the ground. The jackalope stayed silent as he found his balance again, trying to take in the last fifteen minutes.

“Now, let’s…” the plush stopped as he noticed the state of Ace’s underwear. The regressee blushed as he realised that the eyes were once again seemingly adjusting to the new information.

“You wouldn’t let me go potty…” he responded, annoyed at how pathetic he sounded.

“You didn’t ask to go potty Ace.” Teddy responded, “And you said you didn’t need me to ask”

Ace pouted “You never gave me a chance! You kept feeding me and…”

“Let’s get you changed kiddo, no need to keep you in soggy pants” the plush ignored Ace’s frustrations and offered out a plush arm “Would you like a nap too? You seem a little on edge?”

Ace grimaced and took the arm. He was starting to get the feeling the plush had extremely selective hearing.

“Thought so” Teddy started walking towards the stairs up to the nursery, Ace following the whole way trying not to think about the soggy pull-up between his legs.

As they reached the nursery, Ace felt himself blush anew. He felt exactly like when any of his babysitters came in here, all of them acting like it was the cutest room in the world. He had a crib, changing table and wardrobe all in bright white and purchased by his doting mother for him and Oliver the moment he’d regressed. He’d not had the heart to say no.

“Let me boost you onto the changing table” Teddy took him over to the dresser and helped him up. Pulling out a small step ladder from next to the table, the plush drew himself next to the jackalope and started pulling out changing supplies. Ace’s eyes widened when he saw him open a package of diapers Oliver had bought for car trips.

“Wait… I just need another pull-up” Ace tried to move but Teddy’s arm stopped him.

“You just had a little accident and you’re going down for a nap. Don’t want Mr Oliver to come back and hear about how I needed to do extra laundry now do you?”

Ace shook his head. He could feel a strange brain fog starting to overtake him, yawning as he felt the sides of his pull-up getting ripped free.

“Whoops, definitely soaked this one didn’t you?” Teddy balled up the soggy undergarment and left it to one side as he wiped Ace down “No worries, potty training is hard for kiddo’s your age anyway”

Ace sighed and felt his eyes start to droop. It was hard, trying to keep on top of his new body's needs. Teddy wasn’t wrong there.

“Not to worry, just a little powder here… a nice thick diaper there… and all set!”

With what little energy he could muster, Ace looked down at himself. The diaper round his waist pushed his legs apart, the little designs on them looking back at him with big smiles. Two little chipmunks, bucktooth grins and all, played with blocks under a big number five. He guessed that was the sizing.

“Now, I’ll give you one more little boost into your crib. Just a few more steps ok champ?”

Ace nodded, trying to get what little focus he could. He waddled carefully over to the side of the crib and hoisted himself up as he felt the plush push him in under his freshly padded rear.

“Good thing this crib has mechanical sides!” Teddy observed. Little buttons on the bottom of the crib, out of reach of any little arms but easy for any caretaker to use, lit up as the plush pressed one to let the side lift up around the jackalope.

As he curled up around his duvet, Ace felt himself yawn one last time as heard Teddy start to leave.

“Have a good nap kiddo, we’re gonna have lots of fun this week.”