"Timoooon," Simba whines. He shakes his haunches and more driplets of urine spring off his fur, misting the ground around him. Tears roll from his eyes down his face and past his shameful frown. He looks back to his tree stump, the one he's been sleeping at for the last few nights. The ground beneath it is once again damp from his now becoming routine nighttime wetting. Small sprouts of grass have even begun to grow in the dirt where he's wet, mocking him with their success built from his failure.
The waxing moon illuminates the jungle on this warm night. Stars coat the sky like firebugs and a light breeze alleviates the heat every so often. The soggy lion cub finds himself whispering to his new caretakers as they sleep and snore.
"T-timoooon… Puuumbaaaa…" Simba whispers again, this time a bit louder, his voice cracking through his silent cries. The snoring warthog stirs slightly and his ears perk up, but he continues to snore sloppily. Simba's frown descends deeper, and he considers giving up and returning to his sodden bed. He turns away from the duo and takes a few steps before Pumbaa's snorting inhale of a quick breath startles him. He shoots back around to see Pumbaa's eyes flitting open.
Pumbaa's deep, croaky voice cuts through the night as he says, "Simba, is that you? What's going on?"
Simba gasps quietly, embarrassed and worried about how his new pals will react to his continued lack of nighttime control. He whispers, "Pumbaa I- I… uh… it happened again."
Pumbaa looks toward Simba as his eyes adjust to the night. He asks, "What happened agai- oh-" Pumbaa pauses as he sees the soggy backside and wet stump of his little friend. Simba continues to sniffle and cry, standing uncomfortably before Pumbaa and Timon.
Pumbaa shifts and starts to get up. He moves a hoof over and pokes Timon while saying, "Hey Timon, wake up. The kid needs us."
"Huh- what?" Timon shoots up, startled awake. He looks around multiple times, clearly still adjusting, before he focuses on Simba. He says, "Oh, wet the bed again, kiddo?"
Simba inhales sadly and whispers barely audibly, "Yes…" His voice breaks as the word ends, and he drops to the ground. He starts to sob quietly.
Timon and Pumbaa rush over to him. Timon puts a hand on Simba's head and pats him consolingly. Timon says, "Hey, it's okay, Simba. Accidents happen. You're just a cub. It's nothing to be sad about."
"But this never happened before!" Simba cries, covering his face with his paws.
Pumbaa pushes his nose under one of Simba's paws and nuzzles his cheek before saying, "You were lost, Simba. You've been through a lot. Your body might just be having trouble adjusting is all."
"Yeah, kiddo," Timon repeats, "you're just adjusting."
Simba peaks out of his paws and whispers, "You guys still like me?"
"Of course, Simba!" Both Timon and Pumbaa say in unison. Timon continues, "We're your friends! We care about you! We don't want you to feel bad about some little thing you can't control."
"But I can't even sleep anymore without soaking myself" Simba cries.
Timon looks at Pumbaa, thinking something over. Then he states, "Well, kid. If it's just having the ground be wet that you're worried about. I think we've got something that can help with that."
Pumbaa asks, "What Timon?"
"Let me go get it," Timon says, and he scurries off to the fallen log where they keep their extra things. Timon shouts from the log, "I swear we left them here! … Ah, yeah, here they are!"
Timon returns dragging a large piece of soft looking cloth as well as two big shiny ovular ring-like objects.
Simba looks confused and asks, "What is that?"
Pumbaa responds, "It's a diaper!"
Timon continues, "Humans wear them when they've got problems like yours." He elbows up to Simba and puts his hands over one of his ears to whisper wryly, "We took some from the humans a while back to see if they'd help Pumbaa with his- uh… flatulations. Obviously that didn't work, though. These diapers are too small for him and only seemed to localize his… smells."
Timon gets back up and grabs the cloth, folding it into a triangle shape.
Pumbaa comments, "They look like they'd fit you perfectly, Simba."
Simba smirks, still confused, and asks, "What do we do with them exactly?"
Timon responds, "It goes over your butt and your privates in case you've gotta go. It'll make sure your bed stays dry all night."
"So I pee in those!?" Simba asks, shocked.
"Yeah," Timon says, and he pats Simba's head reassuringly before continuing, "It's certainly better than on yourself or your bed."
"But, what if it leaks!?" Simba shouts.
Pumbaa interjects, "Woah- hey now, kid. That's not very hakuna matata of you. You remember what that means, right?"
Simba looks at Pumbaa, then Timon, then the thick looking diaper. He whispers, "No worries?"
Timon affirms, "Exactly kiddo, it means no worries. For the rest of your days. Or, I guess in your case, nights."
Simba looks over the scene again skeptically and doesn't respond. Timon takes the lead of the conversation and says, "Why don't you at least try it on? See how it feels, and then you can cuddle up with us and we can all get back to sleep."
"What do I do to put it on?" Simba asks sheepishly.
"Nothin'. Just lay down on your back and Pumbaa and I will do all the work." Timon says, his tone turning very fatherly and supportive.
Simba reluctantly lays down on his back, and Pumbaa wordlessly puts a tusk under Simba's foot paws and lifts them up, hoisting Simba's butt with them. Timon holds the safety pins in his mouth and places the base of the gause triangle at the base of Simba's tail. Then, he grabs the front of the diaper and leaps onto Simba's belly with it, pulling it up over Simba's front. The diaper does fit exceedingly well, and Pumbaa smiles heartily at Simba while continuing to hold his feet up. Timon holds the diaper to Simba's stomach and reaches with a hand and a foot on either side to grab both sides of the diaper. Simba giggles as Timon accidentally tickles his belly, but Pumbaa holds him in place and prevents him from bucking. Timon holds the sides together and wraps the front over them, then he uses one safety pin to secure everything together, nice and tight. Finally, Timon gets on his back and slides under Simba's bum. He pulls up the back of the diaper and folds a portion of it around Simba's tail and again secures it to the rest of the diaper with the second pin. Timon hops out from under Simba, and Pumbaa sets Simba down.
Simba sits up and feels the bulky fabric between his legs. It completely prevents him from closing them, and he sits open legged, peering down at the diaper curiously.
"How's it feel?" Asks Pumbaa.
"Really soft," Simba says, a slight purr in his voice, and he continues, "and warm, and… safe?"
"Glad to hear it, kid." Timon says with a yawn, dusting his hands off and looking over his work. Simba tries to stand and wobbles a bit with the added cushioning between his legs. The three of them all look back at his now big, padded rump. Timon and Pumbaa both smile, seeing the cute, safe state of their ward.
Timon pipes up, "Okay, now that that's done, why don't we get back to sleep?"
Pumbaa and Timon make their way back to their tree, then turn around to see Simba standing quietly, just purring and swaying comfortably.
"You coming, kiddo?" Timon asks. Simba is pulled out of his mesmerized state of just enjoying the new, secure feeling of his very first diaper. He waddles over to his caretakers. Pumbaa lays down on his side with plenty of space for Simba. Simba curls in against Pumbaa's belly, his forehead brushing against Pumbaa's chin. Timon ambles up as well and paternally pats Simba's diapered rump. Timon hops onto Simba's back and curls in before whispering, "Sleep well, kiddo. And remember, no worries."
Simba kisses Pumbaa's chin lightly and whispers, "Thanks Pumbaa." Then he bends up and kisses Timon on the top of his head. Simba whispers again, "Thanks Timon."
Timon scruffs his hair, but seems to loosen up and sprawl out on Simba's back.
"Goodnight," the three of them whisper back and forth to each other happily, and Simba smiles deeply and truly for the first time in days. They all lay cuddled together and quickly fall back into a deep, snoring sleep.
