Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Hi, Nicholas!” Samantha greeted as she opened the door. She didn’t know if she’d ever get used to seeing a demon boy when she opened the door, but at least he still had that shy face she’d known for so long. “Terry’s upstairs in his room if you want to go on up,” she said, gesturing for Nicholas to come in.

“Thanks…” Nick said as he stepped in. He had his duffel bag over his shoulder, and he gripped the strap of it tightly. He seemed…nervous, but Samantha didn’t quite know why. His tail flickered behind him as he scooted off to the stairs.

Nick took a deep breath as he made it to the top of the stairs. Terry’s door was shut, but Nick could hear My Chemical Romance spilling out from under the door. His mind flashed with memories of his life as Nick Close; he could remember introducing Terry to MCR and so many other bands, but in this life Terry found them when Welcome to the Black Parade became his favorite song. It felt weird to know there was a version of his life where the two of them weren’t the same kids as he always knew.

Knock, knock, knock. Nick stepped back from the door. He heard the music turn down, then Terry’s voice came from the other side.

“Door’s open, Nicholas,” he said, so Nick let himself in.

“Hey, dude,” he said as casually as he could as he came in. Terry sat at his desk with his feet up in the seat, his homework open and probably done knowing him. Nick plopped his bag down on the floor and dropped onto Terry’s bed. “Thanks for saying I could stay over.”

“Yeah, no problem,” Terry said with a shrug. “You said your dad’s here?”

Nick groaned, and he kicked his shoes off so he could roll over onto his back in bed. “Yeah, Dad’s visiting, and it’s not going well,” he said. “He’s changed a lot since…the whole demon thing.”

Terry got up from his desk to sit on the bed beside Nick. “He seemed pretty different last time I saw him…” he said with a shrug.

“Mom’s not a huge fan, especially since all Dad talks about is violence, killing, and reshaping Hell,” Nick said. “They fight a lot, now…”

“Yikes…” Terry ran a hand through Nicholas’s hair, just a soothing gesture that made Nick’s stomach flip.  “How are you handling it…? That sounds rough.”

Nick whined, and he rolled over onto his belly. “I’m…not really handling it, I guess!” he said with a nervous laugh. “Glenn came to visit last week, and we went to see a movie, and that was okay. But I can’t talk to him about all of this.”

“Can you talk to him about the Nick Close stuff at least?” Terry asked. Nicholas shook his head.

“When he was my dad…we didn’t talk. Like, I wanted to…but we didn’t do it. It felt too awkward, and it would have been a bummer, so we didn’t talk about anything. Not even my mom,” Nicholas explained. It still hurt to his very core to think about his mom being dead. He couldn’t even look her in the eye anymore, the image of her body in a casket seared into his mind. “It feels like everything’s falling apart, Terry…”

“Is there anything I can do to help…?” Terry asked. “Like, I don’t mind the sleepovers and stuff, but if you need something else, I don’t mind. Do you need to, like, talk to my mom about this stuff?”

“N-no, no, I don’t wanna talk to your mom…” Nick insisted. His face burned bright red as he sat up, and he avoided Terry’s eyes. “Um…but I did, like, uh…I figured out something that kind of helps a little bit…” he said. Terry raised a brow at him, and Nick wanted to chicken out.

“What’s up?” Terry asked. Nick considered tearing a portal into the air, jumping into Hell, and running far away. He knew the thing he found comfort in was weird. He knew there was every possibility that Terry would tell him as much, and Nicholas didn’t know if he could stand losing his best friend over something this stupid.

He brought his stuff with him because he wanted to tell Terry, though. Shit.

“C-can you hand me my bag?” Nick asked. Terry looked very concerned, but he still picked the bag up off the floor to give him. Nick thanked him and kept the bag in his lap for a long moment.

“If it’s, like, drugs or something—”

“It’s not drugs,” Nicholas said with disgust in his voice. “Who do you take me for?”

Terry squeaked out an apology, and he scooted closer to Nick, putting his arm around his shoulders. “Sorry, sorry, just…take your time,” he said. “If it’s something that helps you deal with all of this shit, then it’s probably not as bad as you think it is.”

“Right…” Nick breathed out. He unzipped his bag and dug to the bottom of it to pull out…well, a pacifier. And a sippy cup. And a plush bunny that Terry was already familiar with, but reintroducing him to her felt terrifying in this context. Nicholas popped his pacifier into his mouth so he wouldn’t have to talk. It was blue with a red handle, and he covered it in little stickers of Minions or puppies.

“Oh,” was all Terry said, and Nick squeezed his eyes shut, sucking on his pacifier until the shield practically vacuum-sealed around his mouth. Terry gave him such a soft, sympathetic look as he picked up the sippy cup. It was a Minions cup, a yellow cup with a blue lid, and it was pretty cute. The question Terry had, though, was why Nicholas had this stuff. “Nicky,” he said so softly, and he reached up to loop his finger around the handle of the pacifier. He tugged it gently from Nick’s lips, and Nick scrunched up his whole face. “What’s going on, Nicky?”

Nick flopped over to hide his face in the mattress, so Terry tried to let him take his time. The explanation came, shakily spilling from Nick’s lips as his need for affection and help finally beat his embarrassment. “A-age re…regression,” he whimpered. Nick sniffled, and he looked up to see if Terry even had a clue what he was talking about. He didn’t, Nicholas could tell, but he looked so patiently at him.

“I can kinda take a guess what that means just by looking at this stuff, but can you explain it to me?” Terry asked. “I don’t wanna make assumptions and hurt you accidentally.”

Nick whined as he rolled over on his back once again. “I-I found out about it ‘cause I was watching Land Before Time on Youtube, and somebody in the comments said, um, s-said it was their favorite movie to watch when they age regress. I didn’t know what it meant, so I looked it up…and it made me so mad.”

“It made you mad…?” Terry asked, his brows furrowed in confusion. Nick nodded.

“I-I got mad because, uh, ‘cause it sounded nice, but I didn’t do it. I didn’t even know what would happen if I did do it ‘cause my brain’s a fucking mess…” Nick said. “But I wanted it so bad, Terry…I-I wanted to be able to just turn off my brain and be a kid again ‘cause that was so much simpler than this.”

“So it’s about letting yourself be a kid?” Terry asked. He picked up the stuffed bunny from Nick’s things, and Nick blushed as he swiped her from Terry’s hands.

“It’s, like, y-you just…you let your mind regress back to being a kid,” Nick tried to explain. “It feels, um, kinda like everything’s far away, and like, um, like all that matters is the same stuff as when I was a kid. And I dunno if it feels more like me or Nick Close, or something else, but being able to, like, just watch cartoons and play with old Legos without thinking about my fucked up family is nice…”

“That does sound pretty nice,” Terry said so gently. Nick wanted to cry.

“S-sometimes it’s not nice, though, and I get scared because of everything bad happening…” Nick said. “Kinda like right now…”

“Are you regressed right now?” Terry asked. Nick shrugged. “Do you wanna be?”

Hesitantly, Nick nodded. His thumb slipped into his mouth, a nervous little habit that he hated most of the time.

“Hey, don’t do that when you’ve got this,” Terry fussed gently. He tugged Nicholas’s thumb out of his mouth and replaced it with the pacifier. Nick squeaked, and he buried his face in the mattress. “Nicky, it’s okay,” Terry tried. “Listen, if you want to regress, I don’t mind. It sounds like you need some help, anyway, if you get scared or overwhelmed…”

“You don’t think it’s weird…?” Nick asked quietly, almost too quietly, terrified of the answer.

“It’s not weird, Nicholas, I promise,” Terry said. He gave Nick a smile as he tried to roll back over. “It’s kinda cute, actually,” Terry said, laughing when Nick fussed loudly.

Nick sat up, his back leaned against the wall, and he cuddled his bunny to his chest. “Nicky’s nicer when I feel small…” he said, blushing profusely.

“Nicky it is, then,” Terry said. “Do you want anything right now, Nicky…?”

Nicky shrugged, but he grabbed his bag. He pulled out a star-shaped pop fidget to fiddle with since his nerves were absolutely destroying him. Terry felt bad for him, so he looked down at the sippy cup.

“How about a drink, then?” Terry asked. “I can go get you something, and maybe get us some snacks, and we can watch a movie?”

Nicky squeaked, but he nodded. He pulled his pacifier out just long enough to make his request. “Chocolate milk?”

“I’ll get you some chocolate milk, Nicky,” Terry said, snickering. He got to his feet with the cup, and he slipped out of the room quietly to avoid his parents’ concern. Nicky watched him go, but the moment he was alone he felt his anxiety rise.

What if Terry didn’t come back? What if his mom or dad saw his cup? What if they came to check on him? Nick spat out his pacifier and jumped to his feet. He needed to make this seem like a totally normal sleepover. What did they usually do at sleepovers? Right—pajamas. Sleepovers were meant to be for sleeping and games and shit. He needed pajamas for the sleeping part.

Nick grabbed his pjs out of his bag. They weren’t anything major, just a pair of sweatpants and an LA Galaxy shirt he’d cut the sleeves off of ages ago. He yanked his shirt off, and he pulled the pajama one over his head. He undid his jeans, yanking them off, but Nick felt so uncoordinated and clumsy, tumbling onto his bottom in his efforts.

Unfortunately, as he did, Terry came back into the room with his milk and a bag of chips. “Are you okay…?” he asked, concerned.

“I’m fine!” Nick insisted, his face burning. He grabbed his sweatpants off the bed and did his very best to get them on his feet so he could pull them up.

“Do you need help?” Terry asked.

“No, I’ve got it!” Nick insisted. He yanked his sweatpants over his bottom, and he slumped over on the floor, exhausted. Terry snorted a laugh, which earned him a glare.

“Sorry, sorry, just…” Terry sat on the floor beside Nick, who sat up to glare at him better. “Can you pull your arms in?” Terry asked. Nick didn’t understand why he asked, but he complied. As he crossed his arms inside his shirt, Terry took the hem in his hands and spun it around so Nick wore it correctly. “There we go,” he said, laughter barely contained. Nick stuck his tongue out at him, which Terry just rolled his eyes at. “C’mon, let’s get back in bed so we can find a movie or something,” he said as he got up.

Nick got up as well, and he tossed himself down against Terry’s pillows while Terry grabbed his iPad. While Terry crawled into bed, Nick snatched the cup off his nightstand.

“Nobody saw…?” Nicky asked, his anxiety replacing the embarrassed anger that made him act so childishly.

“Hm?” Terry looked over at him to see what Nick meant. “No, Mom was in her office and Ron was on the phone with Mr. Wilson, so he wasn’t paying attention to me,” he explained. Nicky nodded, sticking the cup in his mouth while he cuddled against Terry. “Do you wanna watch cartoons, or…? What do you watch when you feel like this?”

“Cartoons…” Nick said quietly. “Iron Giant?”

“That’s a cool movie,” Terry said. He found it quickly, and he set the iPad up between the two of them on his pillow stand.

What surprised Terry the most, he thought, was just how relaxed Nicky got. As the movie began, his head lulled onto Terry’s shoulder, his cup still in his mouth, and he let himself sink into Terry’s side. Around twenty minutes into the movie, his cup was out of milk, so Terry grabbed his pacifier and bunny for him. Nicky let Terry give him the pacifier again, and he cuddled his bunny while he cuddled into Terry, too.

Terry played with his hair, ignoring the little horns that stuck out of his head, and he felt honored that he got to see this side of his best friend. He tried not to think about how much Nicky trusted him, because if he thought about it too hard, Terry worried he’d cry.

By the end of the movie, Nicky was asleep. His pacifier bobbed in his mouth, and he buried his nose in Terry’s neck. He had no business being that cute, but Terry knew better than to tell him that.

A knock came on the door, and Terry’s mom opened the door. “Hey, boys, you should probably get ready for bed—oh!”

“Mom!” Terry squeaked out as he shot upright. Nick yelped as he fell over.

“Do we need to keep this door open tonight?” Samantha asked, but that only made Terry blush.

“No, Mom, we’re fine! We were just getting ready to go to bed, anyway!” Terry insisted. He glanced down at Nick, who covered his face with his bunny. “Good night!”

“Alright…” Samantha wasn’t convinced, but she didn’t want to push too hard. She made her way into the room to kiss Terry goodnight. When she glanced down at Nick, though, she saw the pacifier in his mouth.

…She decided it wasn’t the best idea to ask right then.

“Good night to you, too, Nicholas,” she said instead.

“Night-night!” Nicky said into the mattress.

Once the door was shut, Terry sighed in relief. “I think we’re okay, Nicky,” he said. Nick whined, though. “C’mon, sit up,” Terry said. “I’ve gotta change into pajamas, and then we’re gonna go to bed.”

“Fine…” Nick grumbled.

“Are you gonna sleep with that…?” Terry asked as he got up to change.

Nick shrugged, and he made no move to take out his pacifier. Terry wondered for a moment if it might affect his teeth, but he figured this wasn’t the best time to question it.

“Cuddle…” Nicky whined, his hands outstretched toward Terry.

“We’re gonna cuddle, hang on!” Terry said as he pulled his shorts on. He climbed back into bed, and the second he pulled the covers over them both, Nicky snuggled right back against him. Terry sighed, wrapping his arms around the little boy. “You’re clingy like this,” he teased.

“You’re comfy…” Nicky mumbled, and that felt like an arrow straight through Terry’s heart.

“Let’s get some sleep,” Terry choked out. He turned his lamp off, thankful for the darkness to hide his blushing face.

Chapter Text

Nearly a week passed before Nick even considered bringing up his regression again to Terry. It wasn’t that he feared Terry telling him it was weird or that he didn’t want to help, but Nick just feared how vulnerable he felt. He liked having Terry with him, and he liked Terry taking care of him, but Nick didn’t like that he felt so small and incapable. He couldn’t even put his shirt on properly! When he regressed at home, that wasn’t a problem. Nick fixed his own drinks, changed his clothes, everything all by himself. But, as soon as someone else was in the picture…

Well, that small side of Nick wanted him to let himself be taken care of. That small side of him wanted Terry to do the hard stuff for him because it was hard. For Nick, though, that simply would not do, so once he made it home that next day, he swore to himself that he would keep his regression to himself. Nick would only regress in the comfort of his own room where he was totally and completely in control of everything. Even if he desperately wanted another hug.

He suppressed that need—no, that want—until Terry came over to spend the day with him.

Nick watched out his bedroom window as it rained, sighing in frustration. He watched Terry run up the front path to his door, and he watched Terry’s mom drive off.

Terry asked the night before if he wanted to hang out, and Nick figured that saying no for a third time might seem suspicious. He didn’t want Terry to think he was avoiding him, even if he was. So, begrudgingly, Nick agreed for Terry to come over. The two of them could play some video games or watch a movie, after all, and Nick could avoid his regression so long as Terry played along.

“Why’re you just staring out the window?” Terry asked, and Nick jumped.

“Shit! Terry!” he yelped, jumping to his feet.

“Sorry!” Terry squeaked out. “I didn’t mean to scare you!”

Nick blushed brightly, flopping down in his desk chair. “I wasn’t scared,” he insisted. “You just surprised me.”

Terry rolled his eyes, the little shit, and he took a seat on Nick’s bed. “Then I’m sorry I surprised you, is that better?”

“Well, now you’re just being mean,” Nick said, smirking as he rolled his chair closer. “What’cha wanna do? We can’t really go outside or something, so…”

“I mean, we could,” Terry said with a shrug. “It’s just rain.”

“I watched you come up to my house, and you ran inside like you were terrified of melting,” Nick teased. “If you really wanna go outside, we can, but I’m throwing mud at you.”

“Spoken like a true toddler,” Terry teased right back, smirking when Nick blushed.

“I’m not regressed,” Nick blurted out, blushing brighter as the words left his mouth. He cursed himself internally; Terry hadn’t even been there for five minutes, and he already had brought up his regression. He was so bad at this.

Terry quirked a brow at him, and Nick shrunk back in his seat. “Are you doing okay, Nicholas?” he asked.

“I’m fine!” Nick insisted. He jumped to his feet to grab a pair of old sneakers. “C’mon, we’re gonna go outside,” he said as he yanked his shoes on his feet.

“Okay…?” Terry hopped up. “My shoes are downstairs, so I’ll grab ‘em when we go down.”

“That works!” Nick said. He grabbed his jacket out of his closet and pulled it on clumsily.

“Hang on,” Terry said, making Nick freeze in place. He grabbed the hood of Nick’s jacket and tugged it free from where it tucked itself in. “There you go,” Terry said in that gentle tone that made Nicholas want to regress.

“Thanks,” he managed out as he grabbed Terry’s hand. “Let’s go!”

Nicky dragged Terry down the stairs. Terry let go of his hand, much to Nick’s dismay, and he grabbed his sneakers from where they sat beside the door. Once he got them on, and his jacket, Terry held his hand out toward Nicky once again. Nick blushed furiously as he put his hand in Terry’s.

“What do you wanna do?” Terry asked. He gave Nick’s hand a little squeeze.

“Uh…” Well, Nick hadn’t really thought that far ahead. He stared at the street, and his eyes lit up when he saw the puddles forming on the road. “Follow me!” he squeaked out as he dropped Terry’s hand to run ahead. Terry followed closely behind him, and the two of them ran out onto the street. “Hey, Terry, watch!” Nick said, giggling to himself as he splashed in the puddles.

“Don’t fall!” Terry fussed, his hand going to grab Nick’s once again. But, as Terry reached for him, Nick kicked the water to spray Terry with it. Terry froze, mouth agape in utter shock while Nick cackled in delight. “Oh, it’s on,” Terry said. He reared his foot back to kick, and Nick screamed before taking off down the street. “Get back here!” Terry shouted as he ran after him.

Nick ran through the water, laughing as he went. He spun around to face Terry, and he kicked at the water once again to send another wave at Terry.

“Cheater!” Terry fussed, and he kicked at the puddles to spray Nick. The two of them kicked water at each other, screaming and fussing the whole time, until they made their way back to Nick’s front yard.

Panting, Nick threw himself down in the grass and mud.

“What’re you doing!” Terry fussed, reaching down to grab Nicholas by the hand.

“No!” Nick whined. He kicked one of his feet up in the air, aiming toward Terry until he backed away.

“You’re gonna be filthy, Nicky!” Terry fussed. Nick whined, doing his best to ignore Terry calling him Nicky. He knew he felt small, but that didn’t mean Terry needed to know, too.

Nick dug his hand into the mud, bringing his hand back up with a fistful of dirt and grass.

“Don’t you dare!” Terry yelled, backing away quickly. Nick cackled, and he dropped the mud onto the sidewalk. He scooped more mud up from the yard and dropped it onto the sidewalk. “What are you doing?” Terry asked as he hesitantly made his way back over to Nicholas’s side.

“Mud pie!” Nicky explained. He dug his hands into the mud as he started to shape it into a vaguely circular pie, and he stuck dandelions and clovers into the top of the pie for decoration.

“Oh, there’s a worm!” Terry said, pointing into the pie where a little worm wriggled out of the center.

“Ewwww…” Nicky said, giggling as he lifted the worm out of his pie. “You’re not ‘pose’a be there, worm!” he said, setting the worm gently on the ground.

“Well, to be fair, he probably was in one of those big handfuls of mud you took out of the ground,” Terry said, snickering when Nicholas glared at him. “The worm wanted to be in the ground, not in a little boy’s mud pie!”

“He shouldn’t’a got in the way!” Nicholas insisted, ignoring how Terry called him a little boy.

“He didn’t know what you were gonna do!” Terry said, laughing. “Are you satisfied, now, though?”

Nick looked down at his pie, and he looked at the ground where he could see so much more mud. He didn’t know why it seemed so inviting; normally, this whole thing would disgust him, but the longer Nicholas stared at the mud, the more he wanted to throw himself back into it and make mud angels.

“Nicky!” Terry fussed when he did just that. Nicholas giggled happily, waving his arms and legs in the mud. “Get up! What’re you doing?!”

“Play in the mud, Terry!” Nicholas tried.

“Absolutely not!” Terry fussed. “Who knows what bugs and stuff are getting all over you!”

Nicholas squeaked, and he sat upright in the mud. “I don’t want bugs all over me!” he said, scrambling to his feet. “Terry!” he whined, going for a hug.

“Ah—maybe not a hug!” Terry said as he took a big step away from Nicholas.

Nicky whined. His eyes stung with tears, and he sniffled. He just wanted a hug!

“Nicky?” Terry suddenly sounded very concerned, and he stepped closer, clean, rain-soaked hands taking Nicholas’s face in his hands. “What’s wrong?”

“W-wanted a hug…” Nicky whined. He felt so pathetic asking for a hug like this, but he didn’t want to be covered in bugs, and he wanted Terry to protect him. Was he not supposed to want that?

Terry sighed, and he took Nicky’s mud-caked hand. “You’re covered in mud, Nicky. How about we go inside, you take a bath, then I’ll give you as many hugs as you want?” he suggested.

“Hugs?”

“After you’re clean,” Terry said with a nod. Nick gave him a nod in response, and he raised his hand up to his mouth to chew on his fingers. “Ah—muddy fingers, Nicky,” Terry gently chastised. Nicky whined, though, and he stamped his feet. “Let’s go inside, and you can have your pacifier or something instead?” Terry tried.

“Fine…” Nick said through his teeth.

Terry led the way inside, never letting go of Nick’s hand as they entered the house. He kicked off his shoes first, and he shrugged off his jacket while Nick struggled to get his own jacket off. “Need some help?” Terry asked. Nick whined, but he still let Terry help him out of his jacket. “Can you take your shoes off?” Terry asked.

“I got it…” Nick insisted. He leaned against Terry, pawing his shoes off with his feet until his socks were caked in mud. “Terry…” he whined, looking up at Terry with wet eyes.

“Hold onto the wall,” Terry said, yanking Nick’s socks off. Nick whined, the uncomfortable-ness of his muddiness finally sinking in as he waddled off toward the stairs. Terry followed after him, and he guided Nick into the bathroom. “Okay, I’m gonna start you a bath,” he said as he plugged the bathtub and switched on the water. He made sure it wasn’t too hot before he stepped away. “Do you wanna stay here while I go get you some clothes?” he asked.

“Mhm…” Nick nodded.

“Okay, that’s fine. Just…try to get undressed without making the whole room into a mudroom?” Terry tried. Nick nodded again. “Where’s your pacifier? I’ll grab it for you.”

“Um…”

Well, there was a problem with that. Nick knew exactly where his pacifier was. He kept it, his sippy cup, and his other toys in an old backpack. Unfortunately, he also kept a package of Goodnites in there, and if Terry opened the bag to get out his pacifier, he’d see the pullups. Nick hadn’t thought of how to bring up something like that to Terry, especially since he had planned to never regress again in front of him. He really didn’t want Terry to know…

“Do you not want it?” Terry asked. Nick shook his head. “Okay…” Terry seemed surprised, but Nick couldn’t risk it, no matter how much he did want his paci. “I’ll just go get you some clothes, then…” he said.

Once Terry left, Nick’s eyes filled with tears again. He did want his paci. He also wanted Terry back. He didn’t want to get in the bath all by himself! He let out a little sob, but Nick cursed himself internally for it. He didn’t want to cry over not getting exactly what he wanted. He was a big kid! He could do this all by himself.

“Nicky…?” Terry called behind him, and Nick choked on a sob. “Hey, what’s the matter?” Terry asked. He sat down the pile of clothes in his hands to hold Nick’s face in his hands. “Why are you crying?”

Nick didn’t want to explain, so he just cried. That was easier. He was too small to explain this in a way that made sense. He just wanted Terry to make it all better.

“You’re okay, Nicky…” Terry whispered, thumbing over his skin gently. “You’re okay…”

Nick squeaked, and squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

“Do you need some help getting in the bath?” Terry asked, so Nick nodded. He needed help to do anything at this point, he feared. “Okay, that’s okay,” Terry said. “Can you pull your arms in your shirt?” Nick obliged, and Terry lifted his shirt off him. “Do you want me to, uh, help with your pants?” Terry asked.

“I-I-I can do it…” Nick managed out through his tears. He fumbled with the buttons on his jeans, and he yanked them down his legs. Terry held his hand while he stepped out of the muddy pants, and he tossed them aside so Nick didn’t step in the mud. Nick took his hand back so he could get his underwear off, then, and Terry stared up at the ceiling, a blush coating his face.

“Just gimme your hand, and I’ll keep you steady ‘til you’re in the water,” Terry said. Nick gripped his hand tightly as he got into the bath. “Sit down…” Terry said, and he finally looked as Nick lowered himself into the water. He switched off the faucet and kicked aside Nick’s dirty clothes. “Where’re your washcloths?” Terry asked.

“Closet…” Nick mumbled, pointing to a little cabinet beside the sink. Terry reached in to take out a bath towel and washcloth. He handed the cloth over to Nick, who dipped it into the water before grabbing his body wash. Terry took a seat on the floor beside him, and he kept his eyes anywhere but on Nick. “Sorry…” Nick said quietly, and that got Terry’s attention back on him.

“Why are you sorry?” Terry asked, brows furrowed in confusion.

Nick sniffled, and he wiped at his nose in hopes of keeping the rest of his tears inside. “D-didn’t mean’a be small…” he said since that covered nearly everything coursing through his head.

“Hey, it’s something that helps you,” Terry said. He leaned his arms on the edge of the tub so he could see Nick’s face. “You’re allowed to be small if you want, and I don’t mind helping you.”

Nick sniffled again, and he splashed his face with water.

“Is there a reason you don’t want to be small?” Terry asked.

“It’s scary…” Nick said quietly. “With…um…w-with you, I feel too small to help myself…and that’s scary. I just want a hug…I don’t wanna be helpless…”

“You’re not helpless, Nicky,” Terry said. “Like, if you feel like you’re small enough to need help, then you need help. That doesn’t mean you’re helpless, it just means you need someone. And I don’t mind being that someone. I get it that not being able to do everything you usually do is scary; that just sounds like a scary thing. But I’m not gonna let you get hurt.”

“Promise…?”

“I promise,” Terry said with his pinky held out. Nicholas hooked his pinky around Terry’s. “Now…do you want your pacifier?”

Nicholas blushed brightly, and he brought his knees up to his chest to hide behind. “I do…” he said quietly.

“I’ll go get it if you want me to?” Terry sounded so confused, and it made sense, but Nick was so scared of what he would say. “What’s wrong?”

“Um…” Nick squeezed his eyes shut. He just needed to rip the bandaid off. Terry wouldn’t be mean. Terry wouldn’t be mean. “Paci’s in the Yo Gabba Gabba bag in my closet…” he said.

“Okay, I’ll go grab it,” Terry said as he got to his feet.

“Terry,” Nick squeaked out. Terry looked down at him so confusedly. “Um…there’s other stuff in there, too.”

“Yeah, you’ve got your cup? Toys, too?” Terry tried. Nick nodded.

“And…um…pullups, too,” Nick said, his face burning in embarrassment. He wanted nothing more than to sink into the water and pretend this never happened. He needed to get some bath toys so he could focus on those instead.

“Pullups?” Terry questioned, his own blush growing on his face. “I didn’t know—uh, do you need one…?” he asked.

“No!” Nick squeaked out. “They’re for bedtime…” he said.

“Oh!”

“Sorry…” Nick said.

“No, no, you don’t have to apologize for that, Nicky…” Terry insisted. “Accidents happen, it’s fine. I’ll just get your pacifier, okay?”

“Okay…”

“Okay, I’ll be right back,” Terry said. He scurried out of the bathroom, and Nick worried that he ruined everything. There was no way that Terry thought him having pullups wasn’t weird. It was gross! Nick knew it was gross!

“Here, pacifier,” Terry said, startling Nick out of his head. Terry held out the pacifier for him to take, so Nicky took it between his teeth. Terry sat down on the floor again with his arms crossed on the edge of the tub. “I’ll remind you again, Nicky. Accidents happen, and I don’t think you’re gross or weird or anything. Do you know how old you feel when you’re regressed?”

Nick shrugged, and he pulled his pacifier from his mouth. “Maybe, um…maybe, like two or three…?” he said. “I ‘unno…”

“That’s really small,” Terry reminded him. “I was, like, six or seven before I stopped having accidents as a kid, so it’s not a big deal.”

“But I’m thirteen…” Nick whined.

“But you feel like you’re three,” Terry said with a shrug. “It’s okay, Nicky.”

Nick huffed. He stuck his pacifier back in his mouth and switched on the water in the faucet to soak his hair. It felt icky, and with everything else going on, he needed to fix something.

“Do you need help washing your hair?” Terry asked. Nick whined, and he splashed in the water. “Okay, fine, I won’t help,” Terry said. He sat back to give Nick a little space. “How come you told me about your regression, Nick?” he asked after a minute. Nick whined again, but Terry didn’t say a word. He wanted to go slow for him.

Finally, Nick spat out his paci so it floated in the bath water. “I…I wanted help…” Nick said.

“How long have you been doing this?” Terry asked. Nick shrugged.

“Like…a few months,” he said.

“So you decided after a few months that you wanted help with this whole thing,” Terry said, though it sounded more like a question. Nick nodded. “You’ve been doing this long enough to know what you need, at least. And you’ve been doing it long enough to know it helps you feel better, but you thought that having somebody else know might make you feel even better, right?”

“Mhm…”

“You told me, not your mom, because you wanted me to help, right?” Terry asked. Nick blushed bright red as he nodded. “I get it that this whole thing is probably really scary to share, but you did share it with me, and I want to help you. I don’t think you’re weird, I don’t think you’re gross. All I think is that my best friend needs help, and I wanna be there for him. Okay?”

“Okay…” Nick mumbled.

“It might be a little awkward sometimes, but that’s fine,” Terry said. “If you need help taking a bath, or getting dressed, or whatever, that’s okay. Because you’re small.”

Nick thought he might pass out. He switched the faucet back on to rinse out his hair.

“If having pacifiers or baby toys or pullups make you feel safer, more comfortable, anything like that, then it’s a good thing, Nicky,” Terry continued. “Okay?”

“Okay…” Nick said, keeping his eyes on the water. He picked up his paci, but he knew it was icky after being in the bath water. He looked up at Terry, eyes wet with unshed tears. “Um…it’s icky, now…” he said, voice wobbling.

Terry gave him such a soft, gentle look. He took the pacifier from him and got to his feet to clean it in the sink. “Here, let’s try again,” Terry said as he held the clean pacifier out for Nick to take. Nicky bit down on it and sucked it tight against his face. “Do you need anything else?” Terry asked. “Or do you wanna get out?”

Nick squeaked, and he kept his eyes down. “Um…I maybe, um…I’m sleepy…” he said since what he wanted to ask was far too hard still.

“Do you wanna get out and take a nap, then?” Terry asked. Nick nodded, still hoping that Terry would catch on. “I’ll help you get out, then,” Terry said. Nick whined loudly; why did he have to miss what he meant?! “What?”

“Terryyy,” Nick whined, burying his face in his arms on the edge of the tub.

“What’s wro—oh, wait,” Terry stopped himself, smacking his forehead. “I’ll be right back,” he said. Nick watched him go, and his heart sunk into his tummy when Terry came back with a pullup. It was what he meant, but still it felt so embarrassing for Terry to know. “This is what you meant, right?” Terry asked.

“Mhm…” Nicholas said with a nod. Terry sat the pullup on top of his clean clothes and picked the towel up once again. He drained the tub, helped Nick to his feet, and helped him get dressed. It was nice, Nick had to admit, even if he hated every moment of it. Terry even helped him brush out his hair, which felt so nice.

“C’mon, let’s go lay down,” Terry said, taking Nicholas by the hand to lead him out of the bathroom. Nicholas pulled his pacifier from his mouth until they made it back into his room, and he stuck it back in his mouth. He collapsed on his bed, scooting all the way to the wall while Terry made himself comfortable, too. Once Terry settled down, Nicky curled up against him with his head rested on Terry’s shoulder.

“Mo-mote’s on the table,” Nick mumbled around his pacifier.

Terry reached to the table to grab the TV remote. He switched on the TV and found a random episode of Avatar: The Last Airbender for them to watch. He barely set the remote down on the table again when Nicky shut his eyes and didn’t stir.

“You’re so ridiculous…” Terry mumbled, snickering when Nick didn’t move a muscle.

Chapter Text

Nick waited by his locker for Terry. He leaned against his locker, toes pointed together and his backpack hanging from one shoulder, while all the other kids funneled toward the front of the school to head home. Since he and Terry were locker neighbors, it was pretty convenient for the two of them to wait and hang out together.

Finally, he spotted Terry coming down the hall, and Nick perked up. He readjusted his backpack on his shoulder as Terry skidded to a halt in front of the lockers.

“You look eager,” Terry said with a little smirk on his face. Nick rolled his eyes.

“We’re going shopping for toys, of course I’m eager,” Nick said. He watched Terry put in his combination and open up his locker. Terry tossed in his books and grabbed a binder, shoving it in his bag. “Plus, it’s the weekend,” Nick reminded him. “That means no homework until Sunday night.”

“That’s how I know how much you’ve changed since everything,” Terry said, snickering. He shut his locker and took Nicholas’s hand. “Six months ago, you’d want to get all your homework done as soon as you got home because that’s the responsible thing to do.”

“Do you think it was better when I was like that?” Nicholas asked. He didn’t look at Terry as he asked, too afraid of the answer.

“I don’t think you were better then,” Terry said. “I don’t think you’re better now, either. You’re still Nicholas, just with a rebel streak.”

“I don’t know if I’d call it a rebel streak,” Nicholas said. He kept his eyes on the front steps of the school to make sure he didn’t trip. “It’s not my fault I’m half demon or whatever! Having that part of me makes it really hard to even do my work.”

“Is that what you’re going to tell your teachers? ‘Sorry I didn’t do that take-home quiz. I’m a demon, and I didn’t want to’?” Terry questioned, amused.

“If I thought they might buy it, maybe,” Nick said with a nod. “Maybe they’d put me in a separate room and give me extra time on tests,” he added with a little toothy grin. Terry rolled his eyes.

“They’d probably make you go see the counselor again,” Terry said. Nicholas groaned. “What’d she even talk to you about when you went in there last week?”

“Apparently they found out that Dad’s not living with us anymore, and I guess they decided that my ‘slacking’ on work was because of that,” Nick said with air quotes. “I had to convince her that I wasn’t upset because my dad isn’t home without telling her that he’s in Hell and I can go see him whenever I want.”

“Yikes.”

“It’s such a nightmare,” Nicholas groaned. He pulled Terry along a little quicker, leading him to a store just a few minutes away from their school. It was a toy store, of course, with a sign on the sidewalk bragging about educational toys and board games. Nicholas squeezed Terry’s hand as he dragged him inside the store. “Okay, I’ve got thirty bucks…” Nick said, fishing his wallet out of his backpack. He tucked it into the front pocket of his jeans for safe keeping.

“What kind of toys do you wanna get?” Terry asked. “You’ve already got Legos, some cars, and action figures…”

“Um…” Nicholas blushed, the realization of what he was doing actually hitting him. He knew what toys he wanted, but he didn’t know if he could talk about them out loud. Instead, he dragged Terry off toward the nursery toy section. At least Terry didn’t say anything about the aisle they ended up in. He waited patiently, so patiently, as Nicholas scanned the aisle for what he wanted while his head felt fuzzier and fuzzier by the second. It might have been easier to search with help, but he couldn’t get the words out. Then, he finally found what he was after, and he squealed in excitement as he let go of Terry’s hand and grabbed it off the shelf.

“A water doodle mat?” Terry questioned, a fond smile on his face. “That’s cute.”

Nicholas giggled, holding the box close to his chest. He looked around for the other toy he wanted, the one that was slightly more embarrassing, and he grabbed it off the shelf as well. “Look,” he said as he handed it to Terry.

“A toy game controller,” Terry said as he looked the toy over. It had a little smiley face and many light-up buttons that he couldn’t wait to see Nicky excitedly press all at once. “This should be fun. I can play regular video games, and you can think you’re helping,” he said teasingly, mussing Nicholas’s hair.

“You’ll lose without me helping,” Nicky said, giggling. Whatever bit of his big mind that wanted to cling on got stuffed to the back of his head, and Nick slumped against Terry’s arm.

“Oh, sure, yeah,” Terry said sarcastically, though he was sure Nick didn’t take it that way. “Is this all you want?” he asked.

“Um…” Nick looked at his new toys, then he glanced at the shelves where the prices were. Math did not work, apparently, so he looked up at Terry for help.

“The controller is eight dollars, and the mat is fifteen dollars,” Terry said. “What’s eight plus fifteen?”

“Um…uh…!” Nick squeaked, and he stamped his feet in frustration. Why did Terry try to make him do math?!

“Okay, fifteen and five is twenty, then plus three,” Terry said. “So, twenty-three dollars. You’ve got seven dollars left, and you’ll have tax.”

Well, this was clearly far too much work for Nicky. Math was an icky big kid thing, and that was what Terry was for. He shoved the box his mat was in into Terry’s hands expectantly. Terry sighed, glancing up at the ceiling as he tried to do the mental math for sales tax. “You can buy one more thing so long as it’s, like, two or three dollars,” he said.

Nicholas squeaked, his face turning bright red. He didn’t know what to do! What could he buy that was three dollars?!

“Hey, hey, it’s okay,” Terry said, taking his hand when it flew up to Nicholas’s face for him to chew on. “You don’t have to get something else. We can just get these two things, and we’ll go back to your house. Okay?”

“Okay…” Nicky said quietly. He hung his head as he and Terry started off toward the front. He felt embarrassed, making a scene like this. Terry was going to get frustrated with him. He was going to tell him that he couldn’t keep doing this. Nick was going to lose Terry all because he was too dumb to do mental math.

“Nicky?” Terry turned around when he heard a little sniffle. Nicky looked up at him with wet eyes, his face splotchy and his nose red as he held back his tears. “Hey, what’s the matter?” Terry asked. He sat the toys down on an end display so he could give Nicholas all his attention.

“S-s-sorry…” Nicky whimpered.

“Why are you sorry?” Terry asked. He kept his hands on either side of Nicky’s face, thumbing over his skin soothingly while Nicky tried to look away.

“Be-eing too hard…” Nick managed out. He put his hands over Terry’s shakily.

“You’re not,” Terry insisted. “I don’t mind helping you out, Nicky, okay? You’re little, and that makes things harder. But, hey, there’s not many babies out there that can do mental math. I barely can.”

Nick gave a little smile at that, and his eyes fluttered shut as Terry’s forehead met his. He sighed.

“Everything’s okay, Nicky, I promise,” Terry said gently.

“Okay…” Nick managed out. Terry leaned away, and he took Nick’s hand while he gathered up the toys in his other hand. They continued toward the check-out, though Nick still worried. As they made it toward the front, though, he spotted something. “Mmm…” Nick tugged Terry to a stop.

“What’s up?” he asked, turning around to see what Nick pointed at. “Oh! Pacifier clips?”

The display on the end of the aisle had hooks filled with different pacifier clips. Most of them were girly, pink or sparkly, but there were a few that caught Nick’s eye. He snatched one covered in cute dinosaurs, giggling as he held it up for Terry to see.

“That’s cute,” Terry snickered. “It’s only a dollar; do you want to get one?”

Nick nodded.

“Sounds like a good idea, then,” Terry said. He held his hand out for the clip, so Nick gave it to him. “At least this way you won’t just spit it out and send it into the void.”

“Still try,” Nick said, giggling.

“You’re still gonna try?” Terry questioned. Nick nodded. “That’s just not nice,” Terry said, though the grin on his face betrayed him. “You shouldn’t try to lose your paci since that thing keeps you from eating your hand or screaming.”

“Tha’s your p’oblem, Terry,” Nick giggled. Terry gasped, and he dropped their items on the self-checkout. He scanned everything and stuffed their items into Nicholas’s backpack while he fed the money into the machine. Nick got his change back, and the two of them headed out of the store.

“You’re being a little troublemaker,” Terry whispered in his ear as they made their way down the sidewalk. Nick laughed, and he leaned heavily against Terry. “You don’t care, though, do you?”

“Mm-mm.”

“Didn’t think so,” Terry said with a dramatic sigh.

The two of them made their way to Nick’s house. As they made it to the yard, Nick noticed his mom’s car wasn’t in the driveway. He furrowed his brows together, confused. He tossed open the front door, and he could hear noise coming from the kitchen.

“Hello…?” he called, summoning up any bit of his big brain to figure out where his mom went.

“Oh, hey, Nick!” called Glenn. He poked his head into the living room, big grin on his face. “Hey, Mama and Jodie are out for the evening, so they asked me to come keep an eye on you,” he explained.

“O-oh…” Nick felt his face turn bright red. Did his mom not trust him to stay home on his own?

“Hey there, Terry! I didn’t know you were coming over, too?”

“Uh, yeah, I was gonna stay the night…” Terry said, unsure.

“No problem!” Glenn said cheerily. “I was gonna order some food; how’s Raising Cane’s sound to you kids?”

“That’s fine!” Nick said a little louder than he meant. “We’ll be up in my room!” He snatched Terry’s hand and dragged him toward the stairs.

“Uh! Yeah, sure, I’ll let you two know when it gets here!” Glenn said up the stairs.

Nicholas tossed open his door and dragged Terry inside before throwing himself down on the bed. “This is a disaster, Terry!” he cried into the mattress.

“You don’t think he’ll leave us alone…?” Terry asked as he sat down beside Nicholas. “I mean, it’s Glenn.”

Nick flipped over and kicked his shoes off, sending them flying to different corners of his room. “If it were literally any other situation, yeah! He wouldn’t bother us! But since Mom asked him to watch me, that means he’s gonna be all over us all evening. And Dad’s with Mom, which means he’s gonna be all competitive about this, which is going to make it worse,” Nick explained. He groaned as he covered his face with his hands. “I don’t know what to do, Terry…”

It felt even worse, Nick thought, to have himself forced so quickly out of his regression. His head hurt, he felt fussy, and really Nick wanted nothing more than to let Terry take care of him and baby him like crazy. Unfortunately, by the time Nick could get himself settled back into his regression, their dinner would be there, and Nick had no doubt that Glenn would want to watch or movie or something with them. “I can’t even play with my new toys…” he whined.

“Maybe later,” Terry said. He tried to comfort Nick with a hand carded through his hair, but it didn’t do much to settle him down. “How about pajamas? That way you’re at least more comfy, and when we can be by ourselves, we don’t have to worry about a step.”

“Okay…” Nick said quietly, sitting up while Terry went to his closet.

“What’cha want?” Terry asked as he stooped in front of the dresser inside Nick’s closet.

“I dunno…” Nick said, picking at his nails.

Terry hummed as he sorted through the clothes, then he came back over to Nick with a pair of fleece Batman pants and a red shirt. “How’s this?”

“That works…” Nick said with a blush taking over his face. Terry set the clothes down beside him, and he headed back over to the closet.

“Do you want a pullup right now?” he asked so casually.

“Terry!” Nick squeaked out. “No! I’m okay!” He hopped to his feet and bundled the clothes up in his hands. “I-I’m gonna go change!” he said, running out the room. If it weren’t cartoonishly impossible, he was sure there’d be a trail of smoke pouring from his ears as he went.

Once Nick came back, he sheepishly crept into his room. “Sorry about that…” he mumbled as he flopped down on his bed beside Terry.

“Sorry I embarrassed you…” Terry said. “I didn’t think about it—just, y’know, I just wanted to make sure you were comfortable, so…”

“Yeah, no, I get it,” Nick said. He sat on his hands awkwardly, shifting in his seat. “I appreciate it, just—I’m not small anymore ‘cause of Glenn, a-and I don’t really want to…go that small until he’s gone…”

“I get it…” Terry said with a nod.

A knock came on the door, and the two boys looked up as Glenn poked his head into the room. “Hey, you two, food’s here,” he said. “C’mon, we’ll watch Top Gun while we eat, how’s that sound?”

“Sounds great, Glenn…” Nick said with a plastered-on smile. He wanted nothing more than to shut the door in Glenn’s face, toss himself on his bed, and let Terry baby him like crazy, but he had to put on a brave face and pretend he felt like a big boy in front of Glenn.

For two hours.

Shit.

Chapter Text

Glenn set up in the living room with their food laid out, the movie on, and drinks transferred to normal cups. That worried Nick at first, as he stared at the open glass beside his food. He at least swiped his straw from the styrofoam cup his drink came from so that he didn’t have to worry about pouring his drink down his front. His hands felt uncoordinated and clumsy as he picked up the to-go box his food sat in.

Terry sat beside him, a concerned look on his face as he picked up his own food. Nick shrugged, hoping that Terry wouldn’t fuss over him too much.

“Alright, kids, let’s dig in!” Glenn said, clapping his hands together as he sat down on Nick’s other side. The movie started, but it might as well have not existed as Nick spaced out. He focused hard on staying big, on not giving into the urge in the back of his head that said to snuggle right against Terry.

Nick tried to watch Glenn out of the corner of his eye. He thought he might be able to pass as relatively normal if he managed to just do whatever Glenn did. After all, that worked for Nick Close most of the time, so why wouldn’t it work for him? He watched Glenn shove his fries into his mouth three at a time, so Nick did the same, practically inhaling his fries.

“Slow down,” Terry whispered to him, concerned. “You’re gonna choke.”

“No ‘m not,” Nicholas insisted, though, and he shoved in more fries before he managed to swallow what he already had in his mouth. As a result, of course, the fries went down the wrong way, and Nicholas coughed roughly. “Sh-shit! Ow!”

“Told you,” Terry said, though his panic to help overrode the sass.

“Hey, what—you okay, Nicky?” Glenn asked, setting his food down to put a hand on Nicholas’s back. Nick coughed again and smacked his chest. “Here, take a drink, settle down…” Glenn picked up his cup and held it at Nicholas’s face until he took a few sips. “There you go,” Glenn said gently. Too gently. Nicholas sat up, his face red from the fit. “What’d you do, squirt? Fries go down the wrong pipe?”

“U-uh, yeah…yeah, I think…” Nick said with a shrug. He slumped against Terry’s shoulder.

“Gotta be a bit more careful, kiddo,” Glenn said. He picked his food back up and took a bite from his sandwich. “Might need to take smaller bites. You’re a small kid,” he added.

“I’m not that small!” Nicholas fussed. Terry patted him on the back comfortingly. Unfortunately, as he did, Nicholas burped.

For a second, the room was dead silent, then…

“Ha! Holy shit, that was great!” Glenn cackled, doubling over where he sat as he laughed. “I didn’t even know you could do that to someone who’s not a baby!”

“Sorry…” Terry said, wincing.

Nick blushed furiously, and he drew his legs up to bury his face. “Stop laughing!” he cried into his knees.

That at least got Glenn to shut up. He stopped, glancing over at Nicholas with concern. “Nick?” he tried, but Nicholas stayed curled up in a little ball. Glenn cursed under his breath as he sat his food back down and paused the movie. He scooted a little closer and put an arm around Nicholas’s shoulders. “Hey, I’m sorry for laughing about that, kiddo,” he said so gently. Nicholas tightened his arms around his legs. “It just caught me off guard, like I’m sure it did to you, but I shouldn’t have laughed at you.”

“That was so embarrassing…” Nicholas whined into his knees.

Terry’s hand hovered over Nick as he tried to figure out what to do. He wanted to offer some comfort, give Nick some way to feel a little better about this, but he didn’t want to make anything worse. He settled for a hand on Nick’s shoulder, and as he gave a little squeeze, Nick lunged for a hug. He wrapped his arms around Terry’s torso and buried his face in his chest. “Oh!” Terry squeaked out. He wrapped his arms around Nicholas and gave him a little squeeze.

Nick wanted to run upstairs, far away from Glenn. He wanted to run up to his room and collapse in his bed to watch cartoons, play with his new toys, do something to make him feel better. But then Terry put a hand in his hair, and Nick just melted against him.

“You doing okay, kiddo…?” Glenn asked after a minute. Nick nodded, sniffling as he pulled away from Terry.

“Sorry…” he mumbled as he rubbed at his eyes before any tears could find their way down his cheeks.

“What’s the matter?” Glenn asked, so concerned as he squeezed Nick’s shoulder. “It ain’t really like you to get that upset over something like that…”

“I’m not upset,” Nicholas insisted. He sniffled, and he picked up his food. “I-I’m okay, really. Just start the movie back up.”

“Okay…” Glenn leaned back, snatching the remote to resume the movie. He kept watch on Nicholas out of the corner of his eye, but he didn’t say another word.

Slowly, Nicholas grabbed his food once again and tried to eat. He tried to focus on his food, hoping that the embarrassment would pass. Nicholas didn’t budge from Terry’s side, instead he stayed glued to him for protection, hoping that Terry could keep him from embarrassing himself again. Once the credits rolled on the movie, Nicky grabbed his drink. Terry hovered as nonchalantly as he could, sighing in relief when Nicky didn’t drop his drink all over himself.

“So, did you wanna watch another movie, or do you kids want to just head upstairs?” Glenn asked.

“Hm?” Nicky looked over at him, confused. Glenn was going to let him go? That didn’t seem right, but Nicky didn’t want to argue. He wanted to go upstairs with Terry. He wanted to play and snuggle, so Nicky nodded.

“Alright, you kids head upstairs, then,” Glenn said as he hopped to his feet. “I’ll clean up down here so you two can go have fun.”

“Okay, bye!” Nicky squeaked out as he grabbed Terry’s hand to drag him to his feet. Terry didn’t fight him, instead he let Nicky drag him all the way upstairs. Once in Nicky’s room, he dropped Terry’s hand and jumped on his bed.

“I thought you said Glenn was going to be super weird and clingy?” Terry asked as he sat down on the bed.

“He’s bein’ nicer,” Nicky said with a shrug. “Don’t care! Wanna p’ay my new ‘troller!”

Terry snorted a laugh, but he still got out the controller for Nicky. He freed it from its packaging and changed it out of try-me mode. But, as he held it out for Nicky, he thought better of it. “Before we play,” he started, taking the controller back toward his chest despite Nicky’s whining. “How ‘bout you go potty?”

Nicky whined indignantly, and he reached his hands up to take the controller.

“Nope,” Terry said as he took a step backward. “Go potty, then we’ll play.”

Nicky dropped his arms down with a scowl on his face. “Fine,” he said through his teeth. He got to his feet, stopping by his closet to grab a pullup just so Terry wouldn’t interrupt him later, and he marched out of his room to go potty. As he came back, Nicky plastered back on that same scowl. He threw himself on his bed beside Terry with his arms crossed.

“All better?” Terry asked as though Nicky weren’t annoyed.

“Wanna play, now,” Nicky said instead of answering him. Terry handed him the toy controller, and he got to his feet to turn on Nick’s TV and Xbox.

“What should I play, Nicky?” Terry asked. “Since you’re gonna help me.”

Nicky sat up straight with a look on concentration on his face. He wrinkled up his nose as he tried to think, and he stabbed a few buttons on his toy controller. “Devil May Cry!” he said happily with a big nod. “I’m really good at that!”

“Okay, sure,” Terry said, snickering. He loaded up the game and plopped down on the bed beside Nicky.

“No,” Nicky said, and he pointed toward a blue backrest pillow in the corner of the bed. Terry scooted himself over to it, and as he reclined, Nicky plopped down right on his lap. He jammed his head underneath Terry’s chin, and he tangled up their feet together happily.

“Are you comfy?” Terry asked. He smoothed back Nicky’s hair, laughing when he nodded. “You know if you lay on me that I can’t do anything but play the game, right?” he asked. Nicky looked back at him with a glare. “Just saying! If you maybe wanted anything else before I hit ‘play’, now’s the time…”

“Paci!” Nicky yelped, and he rolled off Terry’s lap. Terry burst out laughing as he got up.

“Okay, okay, here!” he said through giggles as he pulled the pacifier out of the bag Nicky hid all his gear in. “Do you want it on your new paci clip?” he asked.

“Yeah,” Nicky said with a little nod. He watched as Terry tied one end to the handle of his pacifier, and he watched as Terry clipped the little strip of fabric to his shirt.

“There you go,” Terry said. He picked up the pacifier and held it up for Nicky to take, smiling at him sweetly as Nicky settled the paci in his mouth. “Did you want anything else before I lay back down?” Terry asked. Nicky shook his head, and he patted the bed where Terry had been before. So, Terry laid back down, and Nicky crawled back on top of him.

Terry started the game, and for quite a while the two of them sat in peaceful quiet, the only noise being Nicky’s toy controller and the game on the TV. Eventually the noise became only the TV, and Terry tried to glance at Nicky’s face. Nicky looked up at him with those big eyes. “Sorry, I thought you might be asleep,” Terry said. Nicky glared at him. “What, is that a bad thing?” Terry asked.

“I’m not sleepy,” Nicky pouted around his paci.

“Oh, right, of course,” Terry teased. He glanced over at the window to see that night had settled in.

“I’m not,” Nicky whined. He sat up so he could properly glare at Terry.

“I believe you!” Terry said, though the amused grin on his face betrayed him. “I’m getting kinda tired, though,” he tried. “Maybe we should turn on some cartoons?”

Nicky hated how much that sounded like a nice idea. He didn’t want to let Terry win this, but he did like the idea of cartoons and cuddling. “Minions?” he suggested.

“We can watch Minions,” Terry said with a little nod. “Do you want the Minions movie, or did you want to watch Despicable Me?”

Nicky furrowed his brows and spat his pacifier out. “Des…Despib…” He took a deep breath. “Despibable Me.”

Terry covered his mouth before he let out a laugh. “We can watch Despicable Me,” he said, voice strained as he tried his hardest not to laugh. “Go potty, and I’ll find the movie.” Really, he just needed a minute to compose himself.

“I don’t gotta!” Nicky insisted, though, legs crossed. Terry raised a brow at him, and Nicky’s face went bright red. “Be back.”

He hopped to his feet and ran to his closet, then he darted out of the room with a pullup in hand. Terry sighed, worried, but he decided that making a big deal of it wouldn’t help the situation. Instead, he laid back against Nicholas’s pillows and searched for their movie.

Nicky crept back into the room sheepishly, and crawled into bed beside Terry, fitting himself in his arms.

“You know you don’t have to be embarrassed, right?” Terry tried. Nicky squeaked, burying his face in Terry’s chest. “I won’t say anything else, just…you know. It’s fine.”

“Movie…” Nicky whined. Terry nodded, and he hit ‘play’ on their movie. Nicky twisted around to see the screen, thankful to keep his mind on something else. He popped his pacifier back into his mouth and sucked it tightly against his face.

They were only about twenty minutes into the movie when there was a knock on the door. Nicky sat up quickly, but it did nothing to help as Glenn poked his head into the room. “Hey, kiddo, Mom just called to tell me she and Jodie are on their way back—whaaaaaat’s going on in here?”

Nick spat out his pacifier, but it just hung off his shirt. Face bright red, he yanked his shirt off and threw it across the room. “Out!” he shouted since that seemed to be the only word he could muster up.

“Nick?” Glenn sounded so concerned, but Nick didn’t want to hear it. “Kiddo, what’s—was that a baby pacifier?”

“No!” Nick tried. Maybe Glenn would take his word for it!

…He might have taken his word for it if he didn’t go pick up the shirt.

“This is a pacifier,” Glenn said. He didn’t sound accusatory, just…worried. “Nick, what’s going on?” he asked, bringing the shirt back over. He put it back over Nick’s head, and he yanked it down when Nick put his arms through the arm holes.

“I…” Nicky tried to get his words together, but none of them wanted to work. He looked back at Terry, who froze the moment Glenn came in. Terry met his eyes, and thankfully that seemed to break whatever spell had fallen over him.

“Do you wanna tell him?” he asked quietly.

“Tell me what?” Glenn asked.

“Gotta…” Nicky said quietly, his index finger slipping into his mouth to chew. Terry swiped his hand out of his mouth.

“It’s called age regression,” Terry explained. Glenn looked at him expectantly. “Basically, just…” Terry sighed, trying to find the words he needed. “Nicholas has had it pretty bad recently, and he got all of Nick Close’s memories, and the demon and Hell stuff… He found out about age regression and thought it sounded like a good way to help him deal with all this stuff.”

“What does that mean, though?” Glenn asked. He didn’t sound angry or weirded out, thankfully, but Nick still worried that this reaction could turn sour. He dove for Terry to give him a hug.

“It just means, like…sometimes, his brain goes back to being a little kid, and he feels like little kid, he acts like a little kid, all that stuff,” Terry said. “It lets him turn off all the scary stuff for a while and just be little.”

“Oh.” Glenn looked upset, but in that concerned-parent way that made Nick feel like he did something wrong. He made him worry, and Nicholas could feel his tummy twisting up in knots.

Glenn sat down on the bed, and he put a hand on Nicholas’s leg to get his attention. “So, you feel younger than you are?” He waited for Nick to nod. “That sounds like it’s a bit scary.”

“Can be…” Nicky nodded. “Terry helps, though.”

Glenn gave him a little huffy-laugh, and he grinned. “You’ve got a really good friend here, then,” he said. “I’m gonna guess you don’t want Mama or Jodie to know about this?”

“No!” Nick yelped.

“Don’t worry, don’t worry, I won’t tell them,” Glenn said gently. “But, that’s on one condition…” he said with a finger held up. Nick waited for him to make his condition. “I need you to promise me that if you get upset, or if you, Terry, don’t think you can handle this, that you’ll tell me. I don’t want to see one of you rugrats getting hurt if any of this gets to be too much, okay?”

“Okay…” Nick said quietly.

“That’s fine,” Terry said with a nod.

“Just be careful,” Glenn said. “You two are best friends, and I don’t want to see you lose your friendship because you feel younger than you are, and Terry maybe says something that makes you upset.”

“He won’t,” Nick insisted.

“I hope you’re right, kiddo,” Glenn said. He got to his feet, shuffling toward the door. He stopped with his hand on the doorknob, though. “One more question…” he started. “You two are just best friends, right? This isn’t something…different?”

“Ew!” the two of them squeaked in unison.

“We’re friends, Glenn!” Nick fussed. He grabbed a pillow to use as a weapon, so Glenn took that as his cue to duck out of the room. “Stupid…” Nick grumbled.

“Adults are weird,” Terry said, and he laid back down. “We can cuddle, and I can take care of you, and that’s just being friends.”

“He’s just a stupid asshole,” Nick grumbled. He plopped down right against Terry again, and he put his paci back in his mouth.

“Should you be swearing when you’re small?” Terry asked. Nicky giggled, hiding his face in Terry’s neck. “I’m gonna take that as a no.”

“I can say bad words!” Nicky insisted.

“You just admitted they’re bad!”

Nicky paused, snorting a laugh into Terry’s neck. “No I didn’t!”

Chapter Text

Nicky split a portal into the air, and he leapt through with a sob jumping through his throat. Through a ring of fire and screaming and pain, he jumped and landed—

“Ah!” Terry yelped.

Immediately, Nicky wrapped his arms around Terry and buried his face in his chest as he cried.

“Nicky?” Terry tried, one of his hands combing through Nicky’s hair. He choked on his tears and sniffled as he held onto Terry tighter. “Nicky, what happened?”

“Bad…” was all Nicky managed to whimper out. He knew how rude this was, crashing into Terry’s bedroom, throwing himself at Terry. What if Terry was busy? What if Terry didn’t want to deal with him right then? Nicky coughed, his tears slipping down his cheeks as he squeezed his eyes shut.

“Did something happen with your dad?” Terry asked so softly. Nicky nodded. Terry sighed, and he stretched out one of his legs. As he moved, Nicky squeaked, and he nearly bolted. He might have if Terry didn’t hug him close. “I just needed to move my leg, Nicky, you’re okay.”

Nicky whimpered, and he buried his face in Terry’s chest with his arms wrapped around his back. His tail whipped around furiously, and the wings on his back beat hard against his shoulders. He didn’t want to be a demon right then, but he didn’t know if he could even get the spell out to change himself back to a human. Terry shushed him, and he smoothed back Nicky’s hair, ignoring the horns that dug into his collarbones.

Nick was supposed to spend the weekend with his dad in Hell. He dressed up in his usual demon garb, wearing spiky cuffs and bracelets, his battle vest that Glenn helped him make (which was also covered in spikes), and heavy boots that also had spikes on the heels and toes. The metal and chains all over him made him feel heavy, and Nicky whined as he tried to get any of it off himself.

“Here, let me help,” Terry said. Nicky scooted off him, and Terry helped him get his boots off first. They fell on the floor with a heavy thud that made both boys wince. Terry tried to ignore it, instead helping Nicky undo his cuffs and bracelets. He sat them on the bed with an open spellbook while he helped Nicky out of his jacket. “Is that a little better?” Terry asked. Nicky nodded.

“Thank you…” he whispered, his thumb winding up in his mouth. Terry opened his arms up for him, so immediately Nicky climbed back on his lap to snuggle into him. “Ow…”

“What’s wrong?” Terry asked, glancing down at him.

“Teef…” Nicky said quietly. He held his thumb up for Terry to see the little dot of blood.

“How sharp are your teeth?” Terry asked, his eyes widening. It had been a while since he saw Nick entirely in his demon form; typically, Nick would keep his tail or horns, but to see him with the red skin, tail, wings, horns, and apparently sharp teeth was rare. Nicky opened his mouth wide for Terry to see the set of fangs on both his top and bottom teeth. “Holy crap.”

Nicky clamped his mouth shut and glared at him.

“Sorry,” Terry said, a little smirk on his face. “I meant infernal crap.”

“Tha’s lame, Terry,” Nicky said, and he rested his head on Terry’s shoulder.

“Terry, what was that noise—oh!” Samantha stopped in the door, handle in her hand as she knocked. “Nicholas! When did you get here?”

Nicky waved at her shyly before he buried his nose in Terry’s neck.

“He was supposed to be in Hell with his dad, but he left and came here instead,” Terry said. He tried to convey with his eyes how that was not a good thing, and how there was something very wrong. Samantha’s eyes widened, as she looked down at Nick with the deepest sympathy on her face.

Samantha sighed as she crouched down beside the bed. She put a hand on Nick’s shin to get his attention; as he looked at her, she gave him a gentle smile. “Do you want me to call your mom to come pick you up, sweetie?” she asked.

“P’ease…” Nicky whimpered.

“Of course,” Samantha said. “I’ll go downstairs and give her a call; do you want a popsicle, too?”

Nicky’s eyes widened, and he nodded vigorously. That got a chuckle out of both mother and son, but Nicky only glared at Terry.

“What kind do you like, honey?” Samantha asked.

“Um…blue,” Nicky said slowly so he could ensure the word came out correctly.

“Coming right up,” Samantha said. She stood up, and in a quick motion she dropped a kiss on top of both boys’ heads before she took her leave.

Once Samantha disappeared, Terry tried again to figure out what happened. “What happened with your dad, Nicky?” he asked.

“I’m sorry…” Nicky whimpered. He sniffled. “Me ‘nd Dad were- were gonna go to Greed a-and make people fight…b-but I didn’t wanna,” he explained. “Dad got…got f’ustrated ‘nd hurt somebody, and I ran ‘way…”

“That sounds scary…” Terry said. Nicky nodded, crossing his arms over himself protectively.

“He’s changed, ‘nd he’s scary, now…” Nicky said. His eyes filled with tears again, vision blurry as tears slipped down his cheeks. “I dunno what to do…”

“Well, you can always come here,” Terry said. Nicky glanced back at the open spellbook, and he gave Terry a look to ask what it was for. Terry sighed, and he closed the book. “I was just studying some spells; you’re more important than making lights appear out of nothing.”

“S’okay I showed up?” Nicky asked, just to be certain.

“It’s totally okay that you showed up,” Terry said with a nod. He gave Nicky a little squeeze just to reassure him further. “Did you want me to go with you when your mom gets here?” he asked.

Nicky squeaked and squeezed his eyes shut. “Not bad?” he asked. Terry’s heart might as well have broken in two.

“I don’t mind spending the night with you,” Terry said. “If you want me to go with you, that’s fine with me. I doubt my mom or Ron would have a problem with it, either.”

Nicky nodded, then, and he gripped Terry’s shirt tightly in his hand. “Wha’time’sit?” he asked, all his words running together. He really didn’t want to talk, but he needed to make himself. He needed to be a big boy for when his mom got there.

“It’s only 5 o’clock,” Terry said. Nicky whined. “Did you want it to be later?” Terry asked, a little amused at the whine.

“I dunno,” Nicky whined. “I jus’ wanna go home…”

“Your mom will get here soon,” Terry reminded him. As he did, Samantha opened the door again with a little knock.

“Hey, sweetie, your mom’s on her way to pick you up,” she said, holding out the popsicle. “Here’s your popsicle, too.”

“Thank you…” Nicky said quietly before he put the end of the plastic tube in his mouth.

“Of course,” Samantha said with a smile. “Did you need anything else before she gets here?” Nicky shook his head, but Terry did speak up.

“Can I stay the night with Nicholas, Mom?” he asked.

“I think that’ll be alright,” Samantha said. She ran her fingers through his hair. “Just be home by dinner tomorrow, okay?”

“Thanks, Mom,” Terry said, smiling up at his mom. Once she made it out of the room, Terry gave Nicky one more good hug. “I need to get up and pack my bag, Nicky.”

“Noooo…” Nicky whined.

“I need clothes and my toothbrush, dork.”

“Nuh uh.”

“Uh huh.” Terry squeezed under Nicky’s armpits, which earned a yelp as Nicky jumped off his lap. Terry got to his feet, ignoring the glares sent his way while he grabbed out of his closet his old backpack that had been designated as his sleepover bag to stuff it with some clothes. “We’ll cuddle when we get to your house or something,” Terry tried. Nicky whined loudly. “Did you wanna do something else, then?”

“I dunno…” Nicky said. He threw himself down on the blankets, yelping when his head smacked into one of his cuffs.

“Careful!” Terry fussed. He grabbed all the dangerous stuff off the bed and put them in his bag. “Your mom might get mad if she picks you up with spike holes in your head.” Nicky stuck his tongue out at him, earning an exaggerated gasp from Terry, who folded up Nick’s battle vest. “Do you even listen to Led Zeppelin?” he asked when he noticed the patch. Nicky nodded.

“Glenn ‘nd Dad like ‘em,” he explained. He pointed out a few more patches, ones for AC/DC, Metallica, Three Days Grace, and Breaking Benjamin that he liked. Nicky even pointed out a patch that he and Glenn made just to irritate his dad, one that said ‘All Cops Are Buckos’.

The vest was black denim with studs all along the bottom edge and spikes all over the shoulders. Band patches, punk patches, and a few pins covered much of the surface of the jacket, but there was still space for more patches as Nick discovered more bands he liked for himself. The thread that sewed his patches on was mostly done in red, but there were a few patches with blue thread. Terry couldn’t help but think it looked incredibly uncomfortable for a little boy to wear.

“Have you ever thought about making a battle jacket for when you’re regressed?” he asked before he could think the question through.

“How…?” Nicky asked.

“Well, like, you’ve got those rubber spikes you used to cover Laserwolf Fartblaster’s doggy vest, right? Maybe using those instead the metal ones…?” Terry suggested. “We could always make you some buttons with, like, bottle caps, and put stuff on them like ‘demon baby’ or something.”

…Well, that certainly got a fit of giggles out of Nicky. Terry kept going.

“We could even make you some patches, too! Put a sippy cup on a patch, or a teddy bear, or use, like, iron-on patches of, like, Minecraft or whatever,” Terry said. “We could make it look really cool!”

“S’cool…” Nicky said, giggling still. “I got a denim jacket at home…! We can cut the s’eeves off.”

“Sounds like we maybe have a project, then,” Terry said with a grin. Nicky giggled, drawing his legs up to his chest shyly as he nodded.

They heard Morgan’s voice downstairs, and Nicky gasped. They heard her footsteps on the stairs, and Nicky jumped to his sock-clad feet.

Morgan tossed open the bedroom door. “Nicholas, honey?” she called, gasping when she saw her baby boy. Nicky threw his arms in the air, gripping toward his mother until she scooped him up in a hug. “Oh, my baby…are you okay? Samantha said you were up here crying?” Morgan asked as she let him go. She smoothed Nicky’s hair back and kissed his forehead.

“I’m okay, Mama…” Nicky said. He hugged her loosely. “Terry helped…”

“Well, I’m happy to hear that…” Morgan said. She patted his back and kissed the top of his head.

“Can Terry stay the night?” Nicky asked.

“I don’t see why not, as long as it’s okay with his mom,” Morgan said, shrugging. She glanced over at Terry stood awkwardly with Nick’s battle vest in his hands.

“My mom already said I could stay,” he said.

“Alright,” Morgan said with a nod. “Then, let’s get going…” She glanced down at Nick’s shoes on the floor, picking them up carefully. “I’m guessing you don’t want to put these back on?” she asked. Nicky shook his head. “Okay, just…take your socks off when we get home.”

“Okay, Mama,” Nicky said. He held his hand out for Terry, giggling happily as Terry took it in his hand.

Once in the car, Nicky tried to cuddle up against Terry. It was difficult with the seatbelts keeping them apart, but eventually he managed to lay himself down across Terry’s lap while his wings folded uncomfortably against his spine. Terry carded a hand through his hair and mentally prayed that they didn’t get in an accident.

Morgan’s phone started to ring about halfway to the house, which meant the car started to ring as well. Nicky read his dad’s name on the console screen, and he froze.

“Hi, Jodie,” Morgan answered deadpanned.

“Hey, honey, I know this is going to sound bad…but have you seen our son?” Jodie asked sheepishly. “I can’t find him.”

“Yeah, he’s in the backseat right now with Terry,” Morgan said. She didn’t try to disguise the anger in her voice, which made Nicky nervous.

“Terry? The Stamplers’ kid?” Jodie questioned.

“Yeah, and do you wanna tell me why I just had to pick Nicholas up from their house? Do you wanna tell me why our son was crying his eyes out at the Stamplers’ house?” Morgan asked, her voice seething with anger. “Because, let me tell you, it was humiliating to get a call from Samantha that our son was at her house crying in Terry Jr’s room when I knew he was supposed to be with you! And apparently she knew he was supposed to be with you, too!”

“I don’t know what happened,” Jodie said. “We were doing good! And we were trying to figure out what we wanted to do this evening! My idea was going up to Greed and making people fight, but apparently that wasn’t what he wanted to do! I was actually just looking for him to find out what he wanted to do!”

Morgan took a deep breath, her grip on the steering wheel tightening until her knuckles turned ghostly white. “Well, apparently what he wants to do is have a sleepover with his friend, so that’s what we’re going to do,” she said as calmly as she could. Nicky and Terry could see her look back at them in the rearview mirror, so they gave her nervous little smiles.

“Oh, come on, it was my weekend with him!” Jodie fussed.

“He has the ability to come home whenever he wants,” Morgan reminded him. “I didn’t make him come home; he doesn’t want to be in Hell.”

“Can he hear me?” Jodie asked. “Nicholas, kiddo, do you wanna come hang out with Dad?”

“No!” Nicky yelped, twisting around to bury his face in Terry’s belly.

“We’ll talk about this later, Jodie,” Morgan said with her hand hovering over the ‘hang up’ button. “We’re gonna have to talk, all three of us, about how this whole thing is going to work, because it clearly isn’t working.”

“Morgan, honey, I promise I’m trying here,” Jodie said.

“I know you are,” Morgan said. “I also know that our son deserves to feel safe and happy, not scared.”

Jodie sighed. “Okay, you’re right. I’ll call you back later, okay?”

“I’ll call you,” Morgan said. She pulled into the driveway, so Nicky sat up so he could unbuckle himself.  “Look, we’re at the house, now. I’ve got to go.”

“Okay…love you, Morgan,” Jodie said.

“I love you, too,” Morgan said through a sigh.

“And I love you, kiddo,” Jodie added.

“Love you, Dad…” Nicky said. He looked at Terry, motioning to the door handle so they could get out of the car. The two of them hopped out while Morgan hung up the phone.

“I’m sorry about that, boys,” Morgan said as she hopped out of the car. She moved her sunglasses to the top of her head while she motioned for them to lead the way. Nicky nodded, taking Terry’s hand to march with him inside the house. “It’s about suppertime, so what do you two want to eat?” she asked once they made it inside.

“Mac’n’cheese?” Nicky asked. Morgan gave him a little smile.

“I can make you some mac’n’cheese, sweetie,” she said. “How’s that sound to you, Terry?”

“I like mac’n’cheese,” Terry said with a shrug.

“Alright, you boys go get settled, and I’ll fix dinner,” Morgan said, waving them up the stairs. Nicky didn’t waste a second dragging Terry up to his room.

Once inside, Nicky shut the door and ran for his closet.

“That was a lot from your dad,” Terry said as he took a seat on the bed. “Did you wanna talk about it?”

“Found my jacket!” Nicky said. He ran over to Terry’s side to lay out the light-colored denim jacket. “We need stuff for patches!” he said before running back over to his closet to search for old t-shirts they could cut up. Terry sighed.

“I guess that’s a ‘no’ on the talking-about-your-dad thing?” he asked.

“Terry, I got markers in my desk drawers!” Nicky said, pointing to his desk.

“Right, I’ll get the markers,” Terry said. He just needed to do whatever would help Nick feel better. Even if what made him feel better didn’t make any sense to Terry.

Chapter Text

“What’re you doing?” Terry asked as he watched Nicky crawl underneath his bed. He leaned over to see him drag a storage box out from under the bed.

“I still got some c’othes f’om when I was little,” Nicky said. He opened the box and tossed the lid aside to dig through it for what he wanted. “Here!” he squeaked out as he grabbed a little black t-shirt with the characters of Yo Gabba Gabba on the front. There was text in the middle that said ‘Let’s Rock!’, and each of the characters surrounded it in cutouts of stars.

“I don’t think you’re gonna fit in that shirt, Nicky,” Terry said, snickering. Nicky looked up at him just to glare, and he threw the shirt on his bed to join the denim jacket.

“It’s not to wear, Terry,” Nicky said as though that should have been obvious. He snapped the lid back on the box and shoved it under his bed. “I need a back patch!” he explained. Nicky crawled up on the bed beside Terry. He flipped his jacket over so the back faced up, and he folded the shirt so it fit on the back panel of the jacket. “Like that!”

“Is your mom gonna get mad if we cut up one of your shirts from when you were a kid?” Terry asked.

“They’re my shirts,” Nicky reasoned with a shrug. Terry supposed he really couldn’t argue with that. Nicky jumped up to his feet to grab a pair of scissors off his desk. He grabbed the two other shirts he deemed worthy of chopping up, a plain back shirt with holes in the armpits and a plaid shirt that squeezed his arms when he moved. With shirts and scissors in hand, Nicky jumped back onto his bed.

“Don’t jump with scissors!” Terry fussed, snatching the scissors from Nicky’s hands. “I think I should do the cutting.”

Nicky whined. “I wanna do it!” he cried, reaching back for the scissors, but Terry held them above his head.

“Absolutely not!” Terry fussed. “You’re too little to use scissors.”

Nicky huffed, and he crossed his arms as he pouted. “Fine…”

“Should we start with the back patch, then?” Terry asked. Nicky nodded, so Terry marked with a pen where he needed to cut to make sure the image would fit on the jacket. “It’s not gonna be long enough to cover the whole thing, Nicky,” he said.

“Can fill in with ano’ver patch,” Nicky said with a shrug. “It’ll be okay.”

“Okay, as long you’re sure,” Terry said. When he got another nod, Terry started cutting out the graphic. While he worked on that, Nicky grabbed his fabric paint markers and shook them up. He sketched out with a pen a few different patch ideas, including a teddy bear head, a band-aid, and a pacifier. He grabbed his phone to look up how to spell different band names, making patches out of the logos for My Chemical Romance, Weezer, and Twenty One Pilots. Nicky even made a patch with ‘rock’n’roll baby’ written on it for good measure.

Terry finished cutting out the different patches for him, so Nicky arranged what he had on his jacket. He didn’t have a ton of patches, but he didn’t need to, not right away. He laid out his Yo Gabba Gabba patch on the back and grabbed a red marker.

“What are you doing?” Terry asked, snickering.

“I want them to have horns and tails,” Nicky explained while he doodled over the characters. He even gave the green monster furrowed eyebrows and a pitchfork just for fun.

“Dork,” Terry said with a laugh. Nicky stuck his tongue out at him, so Terry copied right back at him. “Did you want to make pins, too?” he asked.

“Yeah…!” Nicky squeaked out. He knew his mom had bottle caps from beer and sodas, so they could take a few of those easily. “How d’you make pins…?” he asked, though, since he didn’t know how to attach them to the jacket.

“We’ll need safety pins and hot glue,” Terry said with a shrug.

“Mama’s got those,” Nicky said with a nod. He jumped to his feet, determined as he headed for the door. Terry yelped as he got up to follow. The two of them made their way downstairs, but before they could go for the bottle caps stored in an old coffee can, Morgan saw them.

“There you two are!” she cooed, grabbing a pan out of the oven. “You’re right on time for dinner!”

Nicky squeaked, grabbing Terry’s hand.

“I’ve got your mac’n’cheese, and I went ahead and fixed some fish sticks for you two,” Morgan said as she fixed two plates.

“Thank you, ma’am,” Terry said, taking his plate. Nicky smiled at her and took his plate.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” Morgan asked.

“I’m okay…!” Nicky said, his face burning red. “C-can we have bottle caps? And hot glue?” he asked, since they were already there.

“What do you need bottle caps and hot glue for?” Morgan asked with an amused little laugh.

“Well, and safety pins, too,” Terry added. “We want to make pins.”

“Oh, how cute!” Morgan cooed. “You two can take as many bottle caps as you want, but we’ll wait until after you’ve eaten to worry about the hot glue gun, okay?”

“That works!” Terry said. “C’mon, let’s go eat,” he said to Nick, pulling him along toward the stairs. Nicky just let him pull him along. “Do you even know what kind of pins you want to make?” he asked as they sat in the floor to avoid messing up their project.

“I want a demon baby pin, and a Minecraft pin, and I want one with a puppy on it,” Nicky explained.

“Any reason for the puppy?” Terry asked. He tried not to laugh, but it was just so cute.

“I like puppies,” Nicky said, making it very difficult for Terry not to laugh.

“That’s a good reason!” he said instead, grinning wide. “And if you want more pins after this, we can make way more. They’re really easy to make.”

Nicky beamed, and he scarfed down his food so they could work on their project. Terry watched him, concerned only for the fact that Nicky hadn’t said a word yet about what his mom and dad said in the car. He worried Nicky would avoid it entirely if he didn’t say anything, but Terry didn’t want to interrupt this sweet project.

He finished his dinner instead, and he took Nicky downstairs with their dishes.

“We’re all done, Mrs. Freeman,” Terry said as they entered the kitchen. Nicky dropped his hand to sort through the bottle caps for a few good ones.

“Alright, I’ll get the glue gun out and set it up for you two in here,” Morgan said.

“Can we take it to my room…?” Nicky asked.

“Honey, the glue gun gets really hot,” Morgan said. “I don’t want one of you to get hurt, so I need to be near you while you use it, okay?”

“Okay…”

He sounded so nervous, but there was no way that Morgan would let them take the glue gun upstairs. She disappeared out of the kitchen, so Terry tried to calm Nicky down a little.

“We’re not painting them yet, Nicky,” he said. “We’re just adding the safety pins to them, but we’ll paint them upstairs, okay?”

Nicky sighed in relief. “Okay…” he said. “I picked out a few caps.” He held up his handful of bottle caps, most of which had different sodas labeled on the fronts.

“I think those’ll work,” Terry said with a nod.

Morgan came back in with the glue gun and safety pins. “Alright, boys, here we go!” she said while she plugged the gun into the wall. “That just needs a minute to heat up, so let’s get the pins settled on the bottle caps, okay?”

“Here, Mama,” Nicky said as he handed her his caps. Terry saw the little quirked brow, the little bit of confusion, that Morgan gave, but he tried not to worry. At least Morgan seemed to drop it as she showed them both how to put the safety pins in the backs of the bottle caps.

“And now, we’ll just put some glue in here…” she said, squeezing out some glue into each of the caps. She used a toothpick to push the glue around, and once she was sure that all the caps were secure, she unplugged the glue gun. “Alright, those just need a few minutes to cool, so don’t touch,” she warned.

“We won’t!” Nicky said, putting his arms behind himself. “Do you got thread and needles, too, Mama?”

“What do you need a needle and thread for?” Morgan asked.

“Making another jacket…!” Nicky explained.

“Oh!” She sounded so surprised, which worried Terry. “How cute…! You’ll have to show me when you’re done, honey!” Morgan cupped Nicky’s chin and gave him a little squeeze, and Nicky beamed up at her, his tail flicking happily behind him.

“I will, Mama!” Nicky said so happily.

“I’ll get you some thread and a needle, then,” Morgan said. She went to the living room and grabbed an old cookie tin. “What color thread do you want, Nicholas?”

“Um…” Nicky looked over his options, and he grabbed a multi-colored thread, clutching it to his chest.

“Something told me that you’d go for that one,” Morgan said, snickering. She picked out a needle for him, and she grabbed a couple of rubber thimbles. “Now, I need you to make sure you use the thimbles, okay? I don’t want one of you to get hurt, because the needle is very sharp, okay?”

“Okay, Mama!” Nicky said. He took the needle and thimbles while Terry gathered up their pins. With all their supplies in hand, the two of them headed up the stairs quickly.

“Don’t run, boys!” Morgan fussed, not that either of them slowed down.

“Give me the sewing stuff, and I’ll start on that while you paint your pins,” Terry said once they made it back into Nicky’s bedroom.

“Do you know how to sew?” Nicky asked.

“Yeah, my mom showed me how,” Terry said. Reluctantly, Nicky handed over the control of his jacket to Terry, giving him the sewing supplies while he instead took the pins. Terry plopped down on the bed and threaded the needle while Nicky dragged out all of his paints and his pacifier before he plopped down on the floor.

For a moment, the two of them worked in relative quiet. Unfortunately for Terry, he couldn’t handle that. Not when there was something wrong with Nicky.

“So,” he started, cringing when his voice cracked. Nicky looked up at him, sucking his pacifier against his face. “You’ve mentioned before that your parents fight… Is it always like what happened earlier?” Terry asked.

“Um…” Nicky spat out his paci and returned his attention to his pins. “Yeah, kinda…” he said. “Dad doesn’t know why Mama gets mad at him, so he just makes her madder all’a time…”

“Are you okay?” Terry asked. “Like, if my parents started fighting like that, I’d probably be upset…”

“I don’t like it…” Nicky said. “They never fought before…”

“That has to feel pretty bad…” Terry said. Nicky sniffled, and he nodded. He didn’t want to talk about this. Why was Terry making him talk about this? He just wanted to be little, and he wanted to work on his jacket. The jacket was Terry’s idea, so why was he trying to take it away?!

“Look at my pin,” Nicky said, hoping to distract Terry away from bad stuff. He held up his first completed pin that he painted yellow with ‘flame’ text that said ‘demon baby.’

“That’s a cool pin, Nicky,” Terry said with a little smile. Nicky smiled back, hoping that worked. He laid back down on his tummy to work on his next pin. “I know you already know that your parents love you and want what’s best for you, but it’s okay if your dad doesn’t actually know what’s good for you,” Terry said. Nicky squeezed his eyes shut. “Like, he’s a demon, and he lives in Hell.  That’s not usually a good basis for healthy decision making, y’know? So, like, it sucks that he makes you feel bad, but it’s not your fault. He doesn’t know what’s best, and it’s okay if that makes you upset…”

“Thanks…” Nick said. He shoved his paci back into his mouth, desperate for the comfort.

“Are you okay, Nicky…?” Terry asked.

“Can we talk about other stuff?” Nick asked. His eyes stung with tears; this wasn’t doing anything to help him feel any sort of better.

“Uh…sure, yeah,” Terry said. He blushed, knowing that he didn’t really help at all. Nicky looked worse if anything. Shit. “Um…I’m almost done with your patches,” he said. “I know it’s not really a lot of patches or anything, but that just means you have plenty of space for more patches! So it’ll get full eventually, and it’ll look really cool!”

“I can make more patches ‘nd buttons all’a time!” Nicky said, trying to sound excited.

Terry snickered, and he looked down at the scraps of extra fabric on the bed. He looked down to make sure Nicky wasn’t watching him, and he grabbed one of the little scraps. He grabbed the white fabric paint marker, too, giving it a good shake before he wrote on the piece of cloth. Once he wrote his little message, he flipped the jacket over so he could get to the inside, and he quickly whip-stitched the little patch to the inside of the jacket.

“Did you wanna cut the sleeves off this jacket?” Terry asked.

“Yeah!” Nicky said. “I wan’it’a be a vest, not a jacket.”

“I can cut them off while you get out your spikes, then,” Terry said. Nicky squeaked, and he ran to his shelves to find the rubber spikes. Terry cut off the sleeves as neatly as he could, startling when Nicky crashed down beside him.

“I can do the spikes!” he said while he sorted them out. All of the rubber spikes were colorful, so Nicky sorted out two rows of rainbow spikes, a row for each shoulder. He punched the base of each spike through the vest, then he screwed on the colorful spikes.

“You’ve gotten really good at that,” Terry said, snickering. He folded down the backs of the bottle caps so that the pins were flatter, and he added them to the front of the vest wherever Nicky told him to put them. “I think we’re done, Nicky.”

“Yay!” Nicky squeaked. He scooped up his vest to look over it proudly. All of their hard work showed so well, and the rainbow thread looked so cool with his rainbow spikes. Then, Nicky noticed something on the inside of his vest. Brows furrowed, he held it up closer so he could read the patch that sat on left side of the inside:

Wear this jacket for a hug whenever you need one ♡

“Oh,” Nicky said, looking up at Terry, who watched him nervously.

“I just thought maybe, y’know, since you like getting hugs and cuddles so much…if you ever need one, and I’m not there, maybe…” Terry stopped himself, blushing furiously. “It’s lame, sorry, I can take it out—”

“No,” Nicky said, scooping the vest away from Terry. “My hug vest.”

“Oh, okay…” Terry managed out.

Nicky put the vest on, smiling as he pulled it tightly around himself. It almost felt like a hug, and knowing the message was there made his heart flutter. “Thank you, Terry,” he said, leaning over to hug Terry.

“I’m glad you like it…” Terry said. He hugged Nicky back tightly.

“I’ve gotta go show Mama!” Nicky said excitedly, then, jumping to his feet to find his mom.

“Ah, this’ll be fun…” Terry said, wincing. He followed after Nick as he ran downstairs.

“Mama, look!” Nick shouted when he spotted his mom on the sofa. She startled upright, but her worry was quickly replaced with excitement as Nicky stopped in front of her with his new vest on.

“Don’t you look so cute!” Morgan cooed. Terry stopped right at Nicky’s side to intervene if he needed to. “Let me look at you!” Morgan said, taking Nicky’s hands to spin him around. She paused, though, when she saw the back of the vest. “You used a Yo Gabba Gabba shirt for your back patch?” she questioned.

“He just wanted to modify it, see the demon stuff?” Terry tried, hoping that would suffice.

“Interesting choice…” Morgan said. She didn’t seem entirely convinced this was normal. Terry sweated. “Is that a pacifier on this patch?” she asked when she spotted one on Nicky’s side.

“Yeah, it’s cute!” Nicky said excitedly.

Morgan definitely didn’t seem convinced that was fine.

“Why did you want a pacifier patch?” she asked. “You’re not…this isn’t some signal for something, is it?”

“Huh?” Nicky looked at Terry, very confused. Why didn’t his mama understand that it was just cute?

“H-he just thought it’s cute, that’s it,” Terry tried. “It’s not for drugs.”

Morgan still didn’t seem convinced, but she let it go. She finished examining over the jacket, and she squeezed Nicky’s hands in her own. “Well, it’s very cute, but is there something going on you want to tell me about?” she asked.

“We’re gonna go watch movies!” Nicky said. He grabbed Terry’s hand and yanked him off toward the stairs. Morgan tried to call them back, but Nicky didn’t stop until he landed in his room.

“You might have to tell your mom,” Terry said. Nicky whined loudly. “I’m just saying! You just showed her all your regression patches and pins! She’s suspicious, and it’s probably a better idea to tell her what’s going on before she thinks you’re doing something illegal!”

“We’re gonna watch Despible Me!” Nicky said, pointedly ignoring Terry while he searched for his remote. Terry sighed, but he knew better than to force Nicky to talk at this point. They’d get there eventually…he hoped, at least.

Chapter Text

Morning arrived, not that Nicholas was too thrilled about that. Crimson light poured through his windows, and Nicholas squeezed his eyes shut tighter. He curled into himself before rolling over to face a still sleeping Terry. Brows furrowed, Nicholas spat his pacifier out, aiming it perfectly to hit Terry in the cheek.

“Ah!” Terry yelped as he shot upright in bed. Nicholas burst into laughter, burying his face in his pillow as he cackled happily. “You asshole!” Terry fussed. He grabbed his pillow and wacked Nicholas gently on the back of the head.

“How am I an asshole?!” Nicholas asked, still laughing as he rolled onto his back.

“You shot your paci at me!” Terry continued to fuss. “I was sleeping!”

“Yeah, and I wanted you to wake up!” Nick said. “Good morning!” he said before dissolving into a puddle of giggles again.

Terry groaned as he threw himself back down beside Nick. “So…you’re not small, now, I’m guessing?” he asked after giving Nicholas a minute to settle down.

“I’m big,” Nick said, a little blush on his face. He grabbed his pacifier from between the two of them and stuffed it into his pillowcase. Terry grimaced. “What?”

“When’s the last time you washed that?” Terry asked.

“I wash it!” Nick insisted. He huffed, and he sat up to tower over Terry. “Besides, I don’t want my mom to come in here to check on us and see my pacifier sitting out…” he grumbled as he picked at his nails.

“I still think you need to tell her about your regression,” Terry said, earning him a glare from Nick. “Just saying! You showed her your new jacket with all that regression stuff all over it, and now she’s got questions.”

“Well, maybe we should go have breakfast in Hell, then,” Nick said.

“You mean in the place that caused everything from yesterday?” Terry questioned.

“Shut up.”

Terry rolled his eyes. He sat up, leaning against the wall. “Why don’t you want to tell your mom?” he asked.

Nicholas huffed. “It’s weird, Terry…” he said.

“Yeah, well, you told me. And Glenn,” Terry countered. “It was weird when you told me, but you still told me. That’s been working out pretty good for you, yeah?” He waited until Nicholas shrugged and nodded. “You didn’t super want to tell Glenn, but we did, and he was cool about it. He promised not to tell your parents and said he’d help if you needed it. He’s not even your parent, technically, so why was that easier than telling your mom?”

“I don’t want to tell her that I’m struggling so bad with all this shit that I have to be a toddler sometimes to deal with it…” Nick said. “Like, telling my mom that I regress is basically just saying that she and Dad messed up so bad that I need a redo. That’s not…I can’t do that to her. She worries enough about me…”

“Maybe if she knew what was going on and how to help, she wouldn’t worry so much,” Terry tried as gently as he could. Nick glared at him. “I know because of the Nick Close stuff, it’s harder to talk to your mom, but…she still wants to take care of you. You’re still her kid. I doubt if she knew you regress that she’d be upset.”

Tears stung in the corners of Nicholas’s eyes. He couldn’t cry, not this early in the morning. Not over something like this. “Mom lost Dad, she lost part of me, a-and I have a whole other set of memories of another her that I lost, too…it’s not as easy as just telling her that I f-feel small and scared…it’s t-telling her that everything is messed up…I don’t wa-want her to worry about anything else…” he said slowly.

Terry sighed, and he scooted closer to pull Nicholas into a hug. “She’s still your mom, and she still wants to make everything better. If she doesn’t know what’s going on, she’s going to worry more than if she knew you regress to feel safe.”

Nick sniffled roughly, keeping his eyes down on his lap. “I don’t want her to worry…”

“Then you should probably tell her what’s going on,” Terry said. He squeezed Nick’s shoulder. “She doesn’t have to tell your dad if you don’t want her to, and it doesn’t have to be a big deal. But she’s gonna worry more if she doesn’t know what’s going on.”

“Okay…” Nicholas whimpered. “I’ll tell her…” He wiped at his nose and eyes, trying to dry his face. “This is gonna suck.”

“I’ll be right here,” Terry said, hoping to reassure him. Nicholas smiled, and he rested his head on Terry’s shoulder.

A knock came on the door, then, and Morgan poked her head into the room. “Oh, you two are up!” she said with a little smile. As she took in the scene before her, though, she furrowed her brows in confusion. “Is everything alright…?” she asked, pushing the door open further.

Nicholas opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He squeaked, looking at Terry for help.

“Everything’s okay, Mrs. Freeman,” Terry said. He sat away from Nicholas just a little bit. “But, there’s something that Nicholas wants to talk to you about…” he said.

“What’s going on?” Morgan asked. She sat down on the corner of the bed, so Nicholas scooted his way into her arms. When he didn’t say anything after a few moments, Morgan decided to try getting the conversation going. “Is this about yesterday, with your jacket?” she asked. Nick nodded. “I wanted to ask you about it, because I was a little worried about what the patches on your jacket were for. I called Mrs. Stampler about it, and she told me that she noticed a few weeks ago that you slept with a pacifier…”

Nick squeaked, looking up at her in surprise. “You talked to Terry’s mom?” he asked.

“I did…” Morgan said with a nod. She looked over at Terry. “She was a little worried about what’s going on between the two of you, if it was something she needed to have a chat with you about.”

“It’s not really something to be worried about, though…” Terry said. He squirmed where he sat, sticking his hands under himself nervously.

“Well, could one of you explain it to me, then?” Morgan asked gently. “I’m not mad about anything, I just want to make sure you two are safe.”

Nick took a deep breath as he tried his best to muster up the courage. His heart hammered in his chest, and his face felt like it might catch fire. “It’s called age regression, Mom…” he said, voice breaking as he spoke.

“Age regression…?” Morgan questioned, confused. “What does that mean?”

“I-it means that sometimes, everything is really stressful and bad, o-or I think too hard about the Forgotten Realms, or I think about the Nick Close memories too hard…and my brain decides the best way to handle it is by, u-um…is by being a little kid again,” Nicholas explained. “I-I’ve been, um, been doing this for a while. I watch, like, movies from when I was little o-or play games from when I was little, a-and I’ve got toys and a sippy cup and a pacifier because they make me feel safe. A-and Terry takes care of me because he feels safe, too…”

For a moment, Morgan was quiet. Nick squeezed his eyes shut so he wouldn’t have to see her face.

“I knew you were struggling, but I didn’t realize you were struggling that badly, Nicholas…” Morgan said. She hugged him tightly. “I’m so sorry, sweetheart…”

Nicholas’s eyes stung with tears, and he gripped his mom’s arm tightly with his hands. “It’s not your fault, Mom…” he choked out.

“When he’s small, he doesn’t think so hard about what’s wrong,” Terry said, hoping to explain a little more. “He can take a break from everything, or he can have a good cry about what’s wrong. Yesterday was a little bit of both…”

“That explains why you were slurring your words like that, then,” Morgan said.

“Words are hard when I feel small…” Nicholas explained. He swallowed hard, still waiting for this to get worse.

“He got upset about his dad and the Hell stuff, so he got small and came to me. I tried to help him feel better by making a battle jacket for when he’s small; it kept him pretty distracted,” Terry said. Morgan smiled at him, scooting further onto the bed so she could yank him into the hug.

“You’re a very good friend, then, Terry,” Morgan said.

“I do my best,” Terry said. Nick stuck his tongue out at him, and Terry rolled his eyes. “He’s kind of mean, though. He spat his pacifier at me earlier to wake me up.”

“Hey!” Nick whined. He kicked Terry’s shins in retaliation. Terry kicked back.

“Okay, okay, boys…” Morgan tried her best to not to laugh, but with two ridiculous boys, that was a bit difficult. “Well…thank you for telling me, honey,” she said, looking at Nicholas. She mussed his hair and kissed his temples. “I know it couldn’t have been easy to tell me about this, but I’m very glad you did. And if you need anything…I’ll do my best to help you, okay?”

“Okay, Mama…” Nicholas said. He hugged his mom, thankful this didn’t go horribly. “You can tell Terry’s mom, too, so she doesn’t try to talk to us about it…”

Morgan snorted a laugh at that. “I’ll tell her, then. Maybe she’ll even know a little bit more about this, and she can help you.”

Nicholas wrinkled up his nose, but he didn’t say a word.

“If you two are okay, I’ll go downstairs and start making breakfast, okay?” Morgan said.

“What’re we gonna have?” Nicholas asked.

“Mmm…probably pancakes,” Morgan said. She grinned when her son’s face lit up so brightly. He beamed a big smile at her, and he bounced in his seat excitedly.

“Uh oh,” Terry said, snickering. Nick glared at him. “Giving you sugar is not gonna go well, is it, Nicky?”

“Shut up, Terry,” Nicky fussed.

“Be nice, Nicholas,” Morgan fussed gently. She poked him on the nose as she got to her feet. “You two come downstairs in a few minutes, okay?”

“We will, Mrs. Freeman,” Terry said. Once Morgan left, Terry glanced over at Nicky just in time to see him collapse into his comforter. “I think that went well,” Terry said, ignoring the drama. Nicky whined loudly into the blankets. “Are you okay, Nicky?” he asked.

“I don’t knowwwwww,” Nicky whined. He rolled over to stare up at the ceiling, sniffling. “Mama’s worried…”

“She’s worried, yeah, but she’s a mom,” Terry said. “She’s doing her job, and she wasn’t so worried that she freaked out or anything. She just wants to make sure you’re okay.”

Nicky whined, covering his eyes with his arms before kicking his feet wildly against the mattress.

“Do you wanna take your cup downstairs?” Terry asked. Maybe if he got Nicky’s mind on something else, he could calm down.

“What!” Nicky yelped, sitting up with a big blush on his face.

“You told her you have it,” Terry said with a shrug. He dug into the closet and pulled out the Minions sippy cup, shaking it in the air. “At least this way, we don’t have to worry about you spilling anything or something.”

“I-I…” Nicky’s eyes were wide, and his face was bright red as he processed the idea. Would his mom worry more if she saw his sippy cup? Would she think it was just a return to his childhood?

Nicky held his hand out for the cup, so Terry handed it over. “I want chocolate milk,” he said, clutching his cup to his chest.

“With pancakes and syrup?” Terry questioned. “That is a lot of sugar.”

“I want chocolate milk!” Nicky insisted.

“Okay, okay, sure…” Terry sighed, holding out his hand for Nicky to take. Nicky snatched it up and got to his feet. The two of them made their way downstairs to the kitchen. Morgan had her back to the two of them as they came in, but she smiled at them over her shoulder.

Nicky climbed up onto one of the breakfast bar stools while Terry grabbed a cup for himself. Terry grabbed the chocolate milk out of the fridge along with the orange juice, pouring a cup of juice for himself and a cup of chocolate milk for Nicky. He screwed the lid onto Nicky’s cup before putting everything away, and he slid the cup across the counter toward Nicky.

“After that, you should probably just have water,” Terry said.

“Noooo…” Nicky whined. He jammed his cup in his mouth while he pouted.

“What’s going on—oh!” Morgan turned around, and her eyes fell on the sippy cup. “Where in the world did you get that, Nicholas?” she asked, turning back around to flip the pancakes in her skillet.

“Bought it…” Nick said. “Is it okay?” he asked.

“I don’t see why not,” Morgan said. She brought over plates for both boys. “As long as you clean it well, it should be okay.”

“I wash it…” Nick said.

“Can I see it?” Morgan asked. Nick handed it over, and Morgan unscrewed the lid. She took apart the stopper and bits of silicone in the lid to look it over, humming as she examined the lid. “After you’re done, I’ll clean it,” she said, reassembling the cup. “It’s not too bad, but I’d feel better knowing it was cleaned with some really hot water…”

“I didn’t know they come apart that much,” Terry said.

“Sippy cups are definitely hard to keep clean just because of how many pieces there are,” Morgan said. “I’ve cleaned plenty of them, though, so it shouldn’t be too bad.”

Nicky sheepishly picked his cup up and drank his milk. He didn’t want to make this harder on his mom…

“You okay, sweetie?” Morgan asked, brushing back Nicky’s hair.

“Yeah…” Nicky said. He sat his cup down and dragged his plate closer. “Sorry…”

“Why are you sorry?” Morgan asked.

“Cup’s dirty…” Nicky said.

“Cups get dirty, Nicholas, that’s okay,” Morgan said. “You don’t need to worry about it; I can show you how to clean it if you’d like?” Nicky nodded, so she kissed the top of his head. “When you two are done eating, I’ll have you help me, okay?”

“Okay, Mama…”

Morgan stepped away to get her own breakfast, so Terry reached over to take Nicky’s hand. He squeezed his palm, and Nicky looked over at him with a shy smile.

“You’re okay, Nicky,” he said. “She wants to help. She’s your mom.”

Nicky nodded. He just needed to learn how to clean his cup so that he didn’t make things harder on his mom. Then everything would be okay.

Chapter Text

Nick grabbed his notebook from his backpack as his teacher scribbled their work problems on the whiteboard. He grimaced as his spike cuff got stuck—again—on his bag, and he yanked the damned thing off, throwing it into his backpack.

Then, he felt a kick at his seat, and Nick saw red.

“What’s with the get-up, Foster?” the kid behind him, an annoying boy who made it his life mission to terrorize Nicholas, asked as he kicked again at the seat. “Did you think if you dress up like a bad boy everyone would just forget you’re a cop’s kid or something?”

“It’s none of your business…” Nick grumbled. He sat forward so his back didn’t touch his seat, and he hunched over his work.

“Oh, come on, what’s wrong, Foster?” The boy kicked his seat again, and Nick felt himself lift off the ground a few inches. He growled under his breath, and he felt a heat rising in his chest. “The spikes and chains don’t make you any tougher or cooler than before. Now you’re just a poser. You’re just Narcolas Foster with metal on. Is that cool to you, Foster?”

Sparrow looked back at them, concern on his face when he saw Nicholas so angry. He sat the next row over, but he was still a few desks in front of Nicholas since their teacher wanted him to have as few distractions as possible. “Nicholas?” he called, turning around fully in his seat to see what was going on. Nick bared his sharp teeth at him, a silent plea for help before this got out of hand.

“Aww, you and the furry are buddies, yeah?” the boy teased. A girl beside him snorted a laugh first, then a smattering of other giggles followed. Nicholas felt his ears burning. “Or are you guys together? You’d be such a good couple.”

Nicholas growled further, his face red in anger and a blush, and his nails hardened into claws. Sparrow caught sight of long, blackened fingernails, and he jumped to his feet.

“Nicholas, we should go—”

A chorus of oooooo’s came before Sparrow could even finish speaking.

“You should listen to your boyfriend before he starts howling like a wolf,” the boy teased, laughing.

“That does it,” Nick growled. In one swift motion, he spun around in his chair, let his hand catch fire, and grabbed the boy by the shirt. “Shut the fuck up,” he said through his sharp, pointed teeth. Nick was sure his eyes went wild as well, but he didn’t have time to think about it as Sparrow grabbed him by the arm and yanked him to his feet.

“What the fuck was that?!” the boy cried out, patting his shirt as it crumpled into ash.

Nick staggered to his feet, and he whipped his head around to face Sparrow, eyes narrowed on him in his anger.

“Grab your bag, c’mon,” Sparrow said. He grabbed his own backpack, and Nick threw his over his shoulder.

“Boys!” their teacher fussed. “What in the world happened?”

“He lit my shirt on fire!” the bully cried. “With his hand—he has a lighter or something!”

“Nicholas?” their teacher called.

“He was being a jackass,” Nicholas said. Sparrow grabbed his hand and yanked him out of the room despite their teacher’s protest. “What the hell, Sparrow? I had that!”

“What were you going to do to him?” Sparrow asked, leading Nicholas down the hall toward the stairwell.

“I was trying to shut him up!” Nick said. Sparrow yanked him down to sit on the steps. “He’s always been like that! It doesn’t matter what I do, he hates me! And he picks on me, and he picks on me, and he picks on me, but I couldn’t take it! I could—I-I could feel the anger and heat in-in my chest, and I knew I could shut him up, Sparrow!”

“It sounds to me like that demon side of yours that you don’t like came through,” Sparrow said.

“He deserved it,” Nick insisted through sharp teeth. Sparrow grabbed him by the jaw, which startled Nick as he looked him over.

“Can you make these go away?” Sparrow asked.

“Why would I?” Nick demanded. He yanked his face out of Sparrow’s hand, glaring at him.

Sparrow took his hand, looking over the claws that protruded from Nicholas’s fingers. He traced over Nicholas’s palms, but Nick yanked his hand back. “It’s still really warm,” Sparrow said.

“Yeah, it was on fire,” Nick said, clutching his demonized hand to his chest.

“You told us that you don’t like being a demon because it makes you angry,” Sparrow said. “You told us you don’t like hurting people, and violence makes you really nervous. But you just attacked someone because you could, yeah?”

“Like I need a lecture about that from the kid who wanted to commit genocide,” Nick grumbled.

“Maybe take it from somebody who stopped before he actually did that, then,” Sparrow said. “Why did you want to hurt him? Just because you could?”

It was a good question, and it made Nicholas stop. Everything Sparrow said was right. He hated violence, he hated the way his demon side made him feel, and…and he wanted to hurt that kid just because he could. The boy was frustrating, he embarrassed Nick, and he didn’t shut up, so Nick wanted to hurt him. That…that was evil, wasn’t it?

“Nicholas?” Sparrow called, putting a hand on Nicholas’s shoulder.

“I messed up…” Nick squeaked out.

“Maybe a little,” Sparrow said with a shrug. “But, it’s over. Just…don’t do it again?”

But, Nick did something very bad. That burning in his chest that propelled him forward just minutes earlier cooled to a dying ember, and it coated his insides like ashened coals in a firepit, crumbling the resolve that powered him to fight. His teeth sat uncomfortably in his mouth, piercing his lips and making him bleed. His clawed hand ached with stretched muscles extended to their limit and bone supporting weight it wasn’t meant for.

“Nick?” Sparrow called, concerned when he saw tears well in Nicholas’s eyes. A sob forced itself from Nick’s throat, and Sparrow jumped. “Hey, it’s fine, no one got seriously hurt, Nicholas. It’s fine! It’s over!”

“B-bad!” Nick squeaked out. “I-I…I!” He couldn’t even get his grief out, the words burning up just to fall back down into his gut. Nicholas felt the heavy weight of his anger, and it stirred his belly with a sense of dread that crushed him. He reached out for Sparrow, grasping at his shoulders until he pulled him into a hug.

“It’s okay, Nicholas, it’s okay…” Sparrow tried, hugging Nicholas back. He patted his back awkwardly, so unused to comforting anyone that wasn’t his brother. Sparrow hadn’t expected this strong of a reaction, but he supposed he wasn’t too familiar with how Nicholas reacted to things like this. All the high of his adrenaline seeped out of him, leaving only his shame and anxiety to fill in the cracks.

“I-it’s not okay…” Nicky cried. He gripped the back of Sparrow’s shirt with his nails, crying in relief that his claws were gone. “I-I don’t wa-wanna be mean…”

“Then you’ve just got to work on not being mean,” Sparrow said. He leaned out of the hug, surprised at the tear stains on Nicholas’s reddened face. Nicky sniffled and wiped his face. “Did you want anything? I can get you some water or something if you want.”

“Terry…” Nicky said. He wanted Terry. He needed Terry to tell him everything would be okay, to tell him that he wasn’t the monster he felt like. He wanted a hug from Terry, since those made his whole world feel better.

“I can go get him,” Sparrow said. “What class is he in right now?”

“Um…” Nicky honestly couldn’t remember. He knew Terry was downstairs, but he didn’t know what class.

“Doesn’t he have world history now…?” Sparrow asked. Nicky squeaked, and he nodded. That sounded right. Terry always complained about going downstairs for history. “I’ll go get him; you just stay here.”

“Okay…” Nicky curled up, bringing his knees up to his chest. He didn’t like being left alone, but he didn’t want to go with Sparrow. He wanted Terry to magically appear right by his side. Nicky tried not to cry harder as Sparrow left, but he failed at that little task.

Terry’s teacher droned on about land bridges. At least…he was pretty sure that was what she was talking about. He stopped listening in favor of staring off into space. He looked toward the clock over the door, but as his eyes drifted down he noticed Sparrow’s head poking over the edge of the window. Once Sparrow caught his eyes, he waved. Then Sparrow blew a frosty breath against the glass and scrawled ‘Nick’ backwards into the frost.

Oh, that couldn’t be a good thing.

“I need to use the bathroom!” Terry yelped, jumping to his feet. He slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed toward the door.

“And what do you need your bag for in the bathroom, Terry?” his teacher asked.

“Uh…just…” Terry didn’t know how to make this better. Shit.

He had no other choice but to try a spell, did he? There was no way he was going to get out of this easily without magic. Terry sucked in a deep breath and waved his hand in air, concentrating on the words he knew. He knew the spell.

“I’ve just got to step out for the rest of class, really, so I might as well take my bag!” he said nervously, unsure. He prayed the spell worked.

A blank look fell over his teacher’s face, and a little smile claimed her lips. “Oh, of course! Take all the time you need, sweetheart, honestly. I’ll be sure you get the rest of the notes, alright?”

“Thank you!” Terry squeaked out. He ignored the whispers coming from his classmates as he darted out the door. “Sparrow!” he hissed as he left, spinning around until he spotted the boy. “What’s going on? Where’s Nick?”

“He’s in the stairwell, c’mon,” Sparrow said as he took his hand.

“What happened?” Terry asked while Sparrow tugged him along.

“That creepy kid, Austin, was picking on him again. Nick got angry, he lashed out with his claws, and now he’s crying because he thinks he’s a bad person,” Sparrow said.

“Great…” Terry groaned.

“He asked for you,” Sparrow added. “He seemed really upset. Like, more than I thought he’d be.”

“That sounds about right…” Terry grumbled. He spotted Nicky on the stairs, and his heart broke for him. Nicky looked up when he heard them coming, and he reached his hands out toward Terry. “Hey, Nicky…” he said as he flopped down beside him. Nicky collapsed in his arms, hugging him tightly.

“Bad, Terry…” Nicky cried.

“Sparrow told me what happened…” Terry said. He petted Nicky’s hair, but it didn’t do much to soothe him. “You’re not bad, Nicky. I promise.”

“You don’t know…” Nicky said. He sniffled.

“If you were bad, you wouldn’t be so upset, right?” Terry asked. “Bad people don’t think they’re bad. And this isn’t something you do; you got mad. You can be mad.”

“B-but hurt…”

“Did he actually get hurt?” Terry asked. Nicky whimpered.

“His shirt got burned, but Nicholas didn’t touch him,” Sparrow said. “So, mental hurt, but nothing physical.”

“Wan’ed’a hurt him…” Nicky said quietly. “Sparrow made me not…”

“You weren’t acting like yourself, so I got you out of there,” Sparrow said. “I don’t think you wanted to hurt him; you wanted the bullying to stop.”

Nicky nodded. He still felt so embarrassed. Terry squeezed his shoulders and hugged him close.

“It’s over, now, and everyone’s okay,” Terry said. “Hopefully that was enough to keep him from being mean to you anymore, at least…”

“Why did you come to school in your demon stuff, anyway?” Sparrow asked. He’d noticed that Nick dressed like a demon, but he hadn’t said anything. It wasn’t really his business under normal circumstances.

“S-supposed to go to Hell after school…” Nick said, sniffling. “Didn’t wanna hafta change…”

“Do you want to take the vest off?” Terry asked. He didn’t want to mention that the spikes on Nicholas’s shoulders hurt like hell, not when Nicky was already so upset. Nicky nodded, so Terry helped him shrug it off. “How about some water, too?” Terry offered. He took his water bottle out of his backpack and handed it to Nicky, who took a few sips as he slumped against Terry’s shoulder.

“We should ditch the rest of the day,” Sparrow said. Nicky and Terry looked up at him with wide eyes. “Do you really wanna go back to class now?” Sparrow asked, knowing the answer. “If we just leave, we could go see a movie or go hang out at someone’s house or something! What about your house, Nick?”

“Mom’s at work…” Nicky said.

“Sounds like a good option, then,” Sparrow said, beaming.

“If we’re gonna skip…” Terry said with a sigh. He couldn’t believe he was even considering this. “You know that the school will call our parents. We’re not gonna get away with this.”

“Then let’s go to my house,” Sparrow said with a shrug. “I’ll go get Lark and Grant, and we can all just leave.”

“I wanna go home…” Nicky said quietly.

Sparrow nodded. “I’ll go get Lark and Grant, then,” he said before running off.

Terry sighed, and he took Nicky’s hand in his. “Are you feeling a little better?” he asked. Nicky nodded.

“Scared…” Nicky said.

“Of yourself? Or of your powers…?” Terry asked.

“Of me,” Nicky said. “I don’t wanna be mean, Terry…”

“You’re not mean,” Terry said. “That kid picking on you is mean. You were just trying to defend yourself, and it got a little out of hand.” He waited for Nicky to nod, and he squeezed his hand. “We’ll go to your house, hang out, maybe play some video games, and it’ll be okay. You’ll forget this ever even happened.”

Nicky gave him a little smile that quickly turned nervous as he squirmed in his seat. “I wanna be small…” he said.

“I’m pretty sure you already are,” Terry said, a teasing grin on his face.

“Noooo,” Nicky insisted, giggling.

“You don’t think you’re small?” Terry asked, snickering.

“No, I’m a big kid,” Nicky said.

“Because all big kids call themselves big kids, right?” Terry teased. Nicky huffed, and he stuck his tongue out at him. Terry laughed. “But, seriously, how do you want to deal with that? Lark, Sparrow, and Grant are gonna be with us, so if you’re small they’ll probably figure out that something’s different.”

“Oh well,” Nicky said. He leaned back, propping himself up on his elbows. “They’re dumb. They don’t know.”

Terry snorted a laugh. “You’re just gonna be small, and if they figure it out, they figure it out?” he said, trying to make sure of what Nicky meant.

“I’m gonna be small and I don’t care!” Nicky fussed, a pout on his lips. “My house.”

“Oh, of course, that makes perfect sense,” Terry said sarcastically. Of course, Nicky didn’t take it as sarcasm. “Are you gonna be okay with it if they figure out that you’re small?” Terry asked.

“I don’t care,” Nicky said. He jammed his finger in his mouth to chew, so Terry knew he was a bit more nervous than he let on, but he couldn’t push the issue much further without Nicky getting upset.

“Alright, we’re ready!” Sparrow said as he came back with Lark and Grant.

“We’re skipping?” Lark asked as he jumped down the stairs in front of Nicky and Terry. “Sparrow said you were crying,” he said as he leaned in closer to examine Nicky.

Nicky whined, and he shoved Lark’s face out of his. “I don’t wanna talk about it…” he grumbled.

“We should probably get going if we’re portaling out of here,” Grant said. “Class change is in a few minutes.”

“Think you can make a portal, Nicky?” Terry asked. Nicky nodded, and he got to his feet. He made a claw again, and he tore a hole into the air that led into his bedroom. One by one, everyone hopped through, and Nicky jumped in last so the portal would close behind him.

“Resident Evil!” Lark said excitedly as he looked through Nick’s video games. He nabbed it, ready to pop the game into Nick’s Xbox, but Grant grabbed his wrist.

“Seriously?” he groaned. “Why would we want to just watch you shoot shit?”

“Why don’t we play something a little more…easy-going?” Terry suggested. “Like Mario Party!”

“But, there’s five of us,” Sparrow said. “You can only have four people in Mario Party.”

“I’ll help Terry…!” Nicky said with his hand in the air. Terry snickered at him.

“Yeah, you’ll be a big help,” he said, grinning as Nicky giggled happily. He tried to ignore the looks from their friends.

“I’ll set it up…” Grant said, unsure as he turned on Nicky’s Wii.

“We gotta be Dry Bones,” Nicky said, laying down on the floor with his head in Terry’s lap.

“Why do we have to be Dry Bones?” Terry asked, amused.

“I like Dry Bones.”

“Ah, makes perfect sense.”

Chapter Text

Nicky stared at the TV while he watched his friends play Mario Party. He tried to offer his advice to Terry, but he insisted he knew what he was doing, so Nicky intended to let him lose on purpose. That would teach Terry not to listen to him! He rolled off Terry’s lap and laid tummy-down on the floor, huffing into his fuzzy rug.

“What’re you doing?” Terry asked, snickering quietly. He ruffled Nicky’s hair, grinning when Nicky squeaked and rolled further away from him. “Nicky, where are you going?” he asked through his laughs.

“Nowhere!” Nicky said. He scooted to the TV and sat up to stare up at it.

“You’re going to block the motion thingy!” Sparrow whined. “We cannot crush Terry if you’re in the way, Nicholas!”

“Hey!” Terry fussed.

“I’m not blocking it!” Nicky insisted. He scooted a little away from the TV, a pout on his face.

“Are you feeling okay, Nick?” Grant asked. He sat beside Lark on the bed, legs crossed with his remote in his lap as he leaned forward with squinted, skeptical eyes. “You’re acting weird.”

“No, I’m okay!” Nicky said. He got to his feet and headed for the door.

“Where are you going?” Terry asked.

“I want a drink,” Nicky said. Terry didn’t exactly like the idea of letting him go by himself, but he didn’t want to make their friends more suspicious by following Nicky downstairs to help him pour a drink.

“Be careful, then…” Terry settled on.

“It’s just a drink, Terry,” Lark said. “If he manages to drown himself on a glass of water, we will need to dissect his brain and study it to see how someone could be so stupid.”

“Whatever…” Terry grumbled, shoving Lark over so he fell on his side.

Nicky stuck his tongue out at Lark before darting out of his bedroom and downstairs. He ran for the cabinets in the kitchen, tossing open the one where all their cups and glasses were stored. Since telling his mom about his regression, it meant he could keep his gear in more appropriate places. He snatched his sippy cup and unscrewed the lid, setting them down so he could toss open the refrigerator. He grabbed the carton of milk and shut the door, unscrewing the lid.

Now for the hard part. Nicky held onto the carton with both hands, shakily holding it over his cup as he poured his drink. He cheered when only a little bit spilled. With his cup filled, Nicky screwed the lid back onto his cup and shoved the nib in his mouth while he put the lid back on the milk carton. He opened the fridge back up and put the milk away, and he grabbed a rag to clean up the little bit of milk he spilled. After all, his mama would get very upset if she came home to a sticky counter.

Nicky made his way back upstairs to his room, and he flopped back down with his head on Terry’s lap. Once he settled in Terry’s lap, he stuck his cup in his mouth and happily drank down his milk. As he did, however, he felt eyes all over him.

“Is that a baby cup?” Lark asked first.

“Why are you using a sippy cup?” Grant asked.

“Are those minions?” Sparrow asked.

Nicky turned his head up to see his friends, and he felt his face grow hotter. He knew this would happen, but it still embarrassed him to have them acknowledge it. With a little whine, Nicky rolled over to hide his face in Terry’s belly.

“Terry?” Grant locked eyes with him, and Terry shrank into himself, face reddening. “What’s going on with him?”

“He’s…small,” Terry said, but that did not help his friends understand what was happening.

“He’s the same size he always is,” Lark said.

Terry groaned, and he smacked his head back against Nicholas’s bed. He dropped a hand in Nicky’s hair, too, just to give himself something else to focus on. “I just mean, like…mentally he’s small. Younger. He regresses.”

“He…regresses…?” Grant questioned, brows furrowed. “He’s acting younger on purpose?”

“Kind of,” Terry said. “It’s hard to explain.”

Sparrow scooted closer and loomed over Nicky, who peered up at him nervously. “You think you’re younger than you are?” he asked. When Nicky nodded, he sat back on his haunches. “Why?”

“Why…?” Nicky questioned. He rolled over to face Sparrow, brows furrowed together. His cup dropped out of his hand and rolled off toward the TV, but he just let it go. Terry tried to get his hands under Nicky’s arms to make him sit up, so Nicky slumped against his chest instead. There was absolutely no way that he was leaving Terry.

“Yeah, why do you think you’re younger than thirteen?” Sparrow asked.

Nicky shrugged. “Bein’ smaller is easier,” he said. “It’s not as scary usually…”

“Is this ‘cause of the stuff earlier?” Sparrow asked.

“Part of it…” Nicky said. He picked his nails so he didn’t have to look at Sparrow.

“He started regressing because of all the Nick Close stuff, and all the stuff with his dad and Hell,” Terry explained. “He can let himself relax and feel safe when he’s small, or if he’s upset he can let himself actually feel all the bad stuff.”

“That makes sense…” Grant grumbled.

Lark hopped down from the bed and grabbed Nicky’s cup to give back to him. He handed it over, watching Nicky intensely while he sheepishly took the cup’s nib back into his mouth. “What do you do when you’re small?” he asked after a moment. “I don’t think you just sit here and drink milk out of a baby cup all the time.”

Nicky squeaked, and he dropped his cup down on the floor again.

“Do you wanna get out your jacket, Nicky?” Terry asked.

“Okay…” Nicky said, nodding. He crawled over to his closet and pulled out his baby battle vest, bringing it over for his friends to see. Grant got off the bed to join the rest of the group on the floor, so Nicky spread out his vest for them to see. “Me ‘nd Terry made this ‘cause Terry thought a baby jacket would be cool and he was right,” Nicky explained. “We made all the patches and pins!”

“That’s cool, Nick,” Grant said, snickering. “Why did you make all the Yo Gabba Gabba guys demons?” he asked, pointing to the back patch Nicky doodled all over.

“I wanted to,” Nicky said, shrugging.

“Cute!” Sparrow cooed, pointing out the different pins with animals on them. “You should have a wolf pin, that’d be cute.”

“I can’t make a wolf…” Nicky whined.

“I’ll make one for you,” Sparrow said, beaming a smile. Nicky gave him a shy one back.

“Here, do you wanna wear it, Nicky?” Terry asked. Nicky nodded, so he scooped it off the floor and helped Nicky get his vest on. Once he got it situated, Nicky hugged himself and plopped down on his bottom. “Do you want to get anything else out? Toys, paci, coloring books…?” Terry asked.

Nicky squeaked, and he crawled back over to his closet to get his pacifier out. He brought it over with the clip dangling off the handle, so Terry helped him clip it to the collar of his vest. Terry held up his paci for him, so Nicky settled it between his teeth. He slumped against Terry’s shoulder with his cup in his lap, feeling a bit shy when his friends stared at them.

Lark watched them for a moment longer before he decided this was fine. He hopped back onto the bed and grabbed his remote. “Should we finish the game?” he asked.

“Yeah, we can finish,” Terry said. Grant shrugged and hopped back up beside Lark while Sparrow scooted over to Terry’s other side.

Nicky watched his friends play their game, making his own pacifier-muffled commentary on their poor choices as they played. Eventually he flopped back down onto Terry’s lap, draping himself further so he could mess with Sparrow, too. He poked and prodded at the boy, making him yelp. A few times, Sparrow even lost the minigames because of Nicky’s interference, which Nicky was quite proud of accomplishing.

“He’s cheating for Terry!” Sparrow fussed.

“Nicky, don’t cheat for me,” Terry said, laughing. “That’s not nice, lil guy!”

“Oops,” Nicky said without an ounce of remorse. He giggled to himself and pushed against Sparrow’s arm.

“Just get up here with us,” Lark said, tugging his brother’s hair gently. Sparrow sighed, and he flipped around so he could hop up on the bed.

“Nooooo…” Nicky whined, grabbing the back of Sparrow’s shirt to keep him from running away. “Stay!”

“Are you going to keep impeding my ability to play the game?” Sparrow asked.

“No, I’ll be nice…” Nicky grumbled. Sparrow sighed, and he flopped down on the floor once again. Nicky kept his hands to himself until the end of the game. He watched as stars were handed out to each player, and he grinned wide when Terry got one more star than Sparrow. “We win!” he yelped before practically pouncing on Sparrow.

Sparrow yelped, falling back on the floor with Nicky on top of him. He kicked and thrashed around until he knocked Nicky off of him, and he jumped on top of him instead. “Terry only won because you cheated!” he fussed, dropping himself on Nicky’s ribs. Nicky cackled with delight and kicked at the back of Sparrow’s head.

“You guys are gonna hurt yourselves!” Terry fussed. He tried his best to break up the play-fight, grabbing Nicky under the arms to drag him off of Sparrow. Nicky still thrashed around, though, reaching toward Sparrow to continue their little squabble.

“I wanna get him!” Nicky whined, reaching for Sparrow.

“Seriously?” Grant questioned, laughing. “You’re ridiculous…” he snickered.

Nicky might have had more to say about that had they not heard the front door open downstairs.

“Shit—they got the phone calls,” Lark groaned.

“Any munchkins in here?” Glenn called up the stairs.

“Just don’t say anything,” Sparrow whispered. “Maybe he’ll go away.”

Unfortunately, just a couple of seconds passed before the stairs started to creak. “Hiding isn’t gonna help, kids!” Glenn said cheerfully as he made his way up to them. He pushed open Nicholas’s bedroom door, and his eyes fell on Nicky. Immediately, the nonchalant, cool demeanor melted into worry and softness. “Well, this explains a lot…” he said, holding onto the doorknob. “Bad day, kiddo?”

“Yeah…” Nicky said. Glenn sighed. He glanced around at the other kids in the room.

“Now, I can guess why Terry left with him…but what’s going on with the rest of you?” Glenn asked.

“Sparrow was in class with him, and he suggested we ditch,” Terry tattled. Sparrow smacked his shoulder. “Figured we might as well make this a whole-group thing if most of us were leaving…”

“Well, a heads-up to at least one parent might’ve been a good idea, kiddo, because everybody’s been getting phone calls,” Glenn said. He crouched down on the floor to see Nicky, who hid in Terry’s arms. “Your mom’s worried, your dad’s worried, and I promised I’d go find you. I’ve gotta have something to tell them, buddy.”

“You can tell Mom ‘m small…” Nicky said.

“Oh, you told her?” Glenn asked, surprised.

“Had to…” Nicky said.

“Well, that’s probably for the best. It’s good another adult knows what’s going on with you,” Glenn said, reaching over to pinch Nicky’s chin lightly. Nicky giggled and twitched away. “And as far as the rest of you kids go…your parents are looking for you, too.”

“Great…” Grant groaned.

“I’m pretty sure they’re all together if you want me to give ‘em a call?” Glenn suggested. Grant shrugged. Glenn pulled out his phone as he stood up. He gave Darryl a call, leaning against Nick’s bedpost while the phone rang. “Hey, Darryl. The kids are fine; they’re all over here at Morgan’s house playing video games. Looks like Nicky had a pretty shit day, so they’re all trying to make him feel better.”

Sparrow looked over at Nicky, who clung to Terry tightly. He reached over to grab his foot, making Nicky yelp and lunge for him. Terry groaned as Nicky leapt out of his arms to fight with Sparrow again.

“Look, they’re fine, they’re literally just all in Nick’s room playing video games. It’s not a big deal, Henry, I promise,” Glenn said into the phone.

Grant looked up at him, and he poked Glenn in the hand to get his attention. “Sparrow charmed mine and Lark’s teachers, so they’re getting our notes for class together, anyway. We’re not missing anything.”

Glenn stopped for a second, processing, before he put his phone back to his ear to interrupt Henry. “And Grant says your kid charmed their teachers, anyway, so it’s not like they’re going to be in trouble for ditching class. It’s fine!”

…They could hear Henry’s voice leaking out of the phone. Grant cringed. Maybe he shouldn’t have shared that little detail with Glenn. “Oh, Henry, what was that? I think you’re breaking up!” Glenn said into the phone. He tried to make static noises, holding the phone further away. “Yeah, you’re—crrrsh—you’re breaking—crrsh—up! I’ll call you back! Crsssh crsshhhh! Bye!”

Glenn hung up, and he pocketed his phone. “Well, at least they know where you kids are,” he said, clapping his hands together. “My work here’s done, but I can guarantee you that your parents are on their way here.”

“We should go to Faerûn,” Lark said.

“How are we gonna get there, Lark?” Grant asked, rolling his eyes.

“Nic—never mind,” Lark said, glancing at the boy laying on top of his brother.

“I’d suggest not running away if you don’t want your parents to get even more mad,” Glenn said. “I’ll head downstairs to at least try to diffuse the situation before they get to you kids.”

“Thanks, Glenn…” Terry said as Glenn headed out the door. He gave a little nod as he drew the door closed. Once they were alone again, Terry reached over to grab Nicky by the hand.

“What’re we gonna do?” Grant asked. “Our parents aren’t gonna be happy; they’re gonna freak out because we skipped school.”

“Oh well,” Lark said with a shrug.

“We just tell them that we needed to help our dear friend Nicholas when he was experiencing a mental health crisis,” Sparrow said without ever sitting up. “What are they going to do? Be mad that we’re such good friends?”

“But we didn’t ditch school to be good friends,” Grant said.

“They don’t know that,” Sparrow said with a shrug.

“My mama and Glenn can make it better,” Nicky said. “They’re smart!”

“Let them handle it, then!” Sparrow said. He jumped over to tackle Nicholas, who screeched as he hit the floor.

“You two are ridiculous,” Terry fussed, rolling his eyes. “Maybe it was a mistake letting you know about regression.”

Sparrow gasped, glancing up at Terry for only a moment before Nicky flipped them over and sat on top of him. “Cheater!” Sparrow cried.

“They’re gonna be like this all evening…” Grant groaned. He made eye contact with Terry, who nodded sympathetically toward him. “This is gonna be a looooooong evening…”

“Terry, he bit me!” Nicky whined. “Terry!”

Chapter Text

A knock on Nicky’s door nearly made all five kids jump out of their skin. The door opened, and Morgan made her way inside. Nicky sighed in relief, and he jumped to his feet to get a hug from his mom.

“Hi, sweetie…” Morgan cooed, hugging him tightly. She kissed his cheek and brushed back his hair while Nicky grinned up at her. “So…I heard from Glenn that you had a pretty bad day at school, and you kids just left without telling anyone…”

“I wan’ed to come home, Mama…” Nicky said.

“I understand, and I wouldn’t have been upset if you told me, but what ended up happening was all of us parents got phone calls from your school that none of you were in your last two classes,” Morgan said. “You were missing, we hadn’t heard anything from any of you, and that’s very scary. Does that make sense?”

Nicky nodded. He tried to hide his face in his mom’s tummy, hugging her tightly. His ears burned in shame; he didn’t want his mama to be upset!

“You’re not in trouble, sweetie,” Morgan said, brushing back his hair. “Just…if this sort of thing happens again, call someone, okay?”

“Okay, Mama…” Nicky mumbled.

“Are the rest of our parents here…?” Grant asked sheepishly. Morgan nodded.

“We were all going from house-to-house looking for you kids, so we all came over here together,” she said. “They’re not as mad as they are just…worried.”

“I’m surprised they’re not busting down the door trying to get to us…” Grant grumbled.

“Well, Glenn’s doing his best to keep that from happening,” Morgan said, snickering. “It might be best for you kids to go down there and see your parents.”

“They’re going to make us go home,” Lark fussed. “I don’t want to!”

“That’s kind of up to your parents, honey,” Morgan said. Lark huffed, annoyed. “C’mon, we’ll all go downstairs together so they can see that you’re all okay, and we’ll take it from there.”

“Is Dad here…?” Nicky asked.

“Dad’s downstairs, yeah,” Morgan said. “When I got the call that you weren’t in class, I called him to see if he snuck you out of school or something, so he was worried.”

“Okay…” Nicky yanked his baby battle jacket off, tossing it and his pacifier onto his bed. Terry hopped up to grab his hand, hoping to keep Nicky from getting too upset.

“Maybe we should let Sparrow do the talking,” Terry said. He glanced down at Sparrow, who still laid splayed out on the floor from his great battle against Nicky. “Think you could maybe convince them that this was a good thing, Sparrow?”

“Easy,” Sparrow said, waving off the concern. “I’ve got this.”

“I can’t believe your parents grounded you guys…” Nick groaned, bouncing a ball on the floor between himself and Sparrow. “I thought you said you could persuade them!”

“I did my best!” Sparrow fussed. He caught the ball and threw it back against the floor toward Nick. Since gym was the only class that all five of them had together, they usually huddled together in a corner to hide away from everyone else. So long as they had a ball or rackets, their teacher usually didn’t pay them any mind, which worked out well.

“Somehow Nick got out of being grounded, too, which is bullshit,” Lark said, hanging from rail of the bleachers so that he loomed over his friends. “How’d you do that?”

“My mom knows what happened,” Nick said, shrugging. “She wasn’t going to punish me for being upset and small.”

Lark huffed, and he jumped down from the bleachers, wincing when he impacted against the floor. “Maybe we should’ve used that as our leverage instead of just you being bullied.”

“I don’t think that would’ve made a difference,” Grant said from where he sat with Terry against the wall. “At least with my parents, their big problem was that we didn’t tell anyone where we were. Mom was afraid that we’d been taken back to the Forgotten Realms, and Dad was afraid we got kidnapped, so they were scared, and now I’m fucking grounded.”

“I didn’t have a lot to work with!” Sparrow whined, stamping a foot. “Nicholas didn’t want me to mention anything specific about him, and I get it, but that would’ve been very helpful to be able to use!”

“Let’s just forget about it…” Terry grumbled. “It’s just a week, and we can’t go Doodler Patrol in the Forgotten Realms this weekend. Oh well.”

“And my dad took my computer out of my room for the week,” Grant complained.

“We have to clean the yard by ourselves this weekend,” Lark groaned. He snatched the ball away from Nick and threw it to Sparrow.

“Could be worse,” Nick said. “You could have to go to Hell and bond with a man who has a collection of skulls, now.”

“That sounds kind of awesome, actually,” Lark said. Nick rolled his eyes. “I’ll switch with you.”

“I don’t think you can pass as me,” Nick said.

“I could try,” Lark said, a smirk on his face. He made little horns with his fingers, and he darted around between their friends with his ‘horns’ pointed forward. “Look at me, I’m a demon!” he cried out in a silly voice while the others laughed.

“I don’t sound like that!” Nick fussed.

Lark cackled, and he dropped the horns. “You’re right,” he said. “If I’m trying to be you, I should be more realistic!” He popped his thumb in his mouth. “Goo-goo gah-gah, I need cuddles!” he said around the digit.

Nick growled, and he leapt toward Lark to tackle him to the floor. A whistle-blow from the other end of the gymnasium followed.

“Okay, let’s not get in more trouble!” Terry fussed. He hopped to his feet to drag Nicholas off of Lark. Nicholas thrashed around and made his claws to grab Lark with. “Seriously, Nicholas!” Terry fussed further.

“Bring it, Narcolas!” Lark challenged. He got to his feet and put up his dukes, but Terry refused to let Nicholas go.

“Brother, do you really need to fight our friend like this?” Sparrow reprimanded with his hands on his hips.

“Seriously, Lark, you’re not helping,” Grant groaned. He got up, arms crossed as he stood in the middle of the squabble. “Do you want our parents to add a week to the grounding?”

“No…” Lark said through his teeth.

“Then let’s just calm down,” Grant said. “We could probably get the grounding lessened if we’re able to stay out of trouble the rest of the week. Maybe we could, like, have a sleepover or something Friday if we don’t beat the shit out of each other in gym class?”

Lark huffed, looking at Nick through narrowed eyes. Nick glared back at him, struggling still in Terry’s hold. Lark sighed, and he held out a hand toward Nick. “I won’t tease you anymore if you put the claws away.”

Nicholas stopped thrashing around in Terry’s arms. Though he still glared at Lark, he put the claws away to shake Lark’s hand in a truce.

“Good, we’re all friends again!” Sparrow said cheerily. “Everyone get in a circle, and we’ll pretend we’re doing gym, c’mon.”

“Oh, yeah, they’re gonna get suspicious…” Grant grumbled, moving to Sparrow’s other side to make a circle.

Nicky’s head filled with fog as he dropped his bag beside his usual seat. He slumped down in his desk, head cradled in his arms. He had no idea why he felt small, but everything suddenly felt overwhelming and horrible, and he wanted Terry. He wanted a hug. He could feel his sharpened teeth in his mouth, and he could feel his clothes rub against his skin. His head swam, and the only thing he could think about was running out the door to find Terry.

He heard Austin, his bully and the one who caused everything the day before come in, and Nicky tensed up. He couldn’t do this. He was too small for this.

“Miss, can I change seats?” Sparrow asked, which startled Nicky out of his head. He glanced over at Sparrow with his hand in the air as he asked his teacher about switching seats.

“I don’t know, Mr. Oak-Garcia…you’ve been doing very good up front,” their teacher said.

“Please?” Sparrow tried. Nicky swore he saw their teacher sit up straighter. “I think it’ll be beneficial to both myself and Nicholas if we can sit together!”

“Alright, alright, I suppose we can try this for a little while,” their teacher said easily. “Austin, you’ll take Sparrow’s seat.”

“What?” the bully said, glancing at Sparrow as he ran to sit behind Nicholas. “Oh, so the lovebirds are gonna sit together, now?” he teased, smirking as he plopped down in his new seat.

“Ignore him,” Sparrow whispered as he sat down behind Nicky. He did a doubletake, though, when he saw the look on his face. “You okay?”

“Mm-mm…” Nicky turned around in his seat so he could see Sparrow better. He folded his arms over the back of his seat and leaned down to rest his chin in them. “Small…” he said quietly.

“Oh,” Sparrow said, unsure of what else to say. “Good thing I switched seats, then.”

Nicky whined, and he pulled out his phone to text Terry. Maybe Terry could come kidnap the two of them or something. He’d text his mom, even, and they could run away again.

“Wanna play Story?” Sparrow asked, yanking Nicky out of his head.

“Wha…?”

Sparrow pulled out a sticker-covered notebook and flipped it open. Nicky watched him flip to the first blank page and grab a pencil out of his backpack. “If you don’t want to play Story, we could do tic-tac-toe or something instead?” he suggested.

“I dunno…” Nicky said with a shrug. He wasn’t even sure if he could actually form sentences right then, anyway. He wasn’t even sure if he could spell his own name.

Sparrow drew a little tic-tac-toe board for them.

“You go first,” he said, holding out his pencil toward Nicky. “X’s or O’s, it doesn’t matter.”

Nicky put an X in the middle square, smiling as he handed the pencil back to Sparrow. They went through the game quietly, Nicky giggling when he finally won. His phone buzzed in his lap, so he picked it up to see Terry’s text.

“Is that Terry?” Sparrow asked, leaning over his desk to see.

“Told him I’m small,” Nicky said. Sparrow read the text, noting that it did not actually say that Nick was small, but instead was a mess of letters that Sparrow supposed could be read as ‘regressed’ if he squinted. At least Terry seemed to know what he meant.

“Maybe we can draw him something,” Sparrow suggested. He flipped his notebook shut and dragged out a sketchbook, also covered in stickers. Sparrow opened it to a blank page and got out his colored pencils for Nicky to use. Nicky hummed to himself as he looked over his options, selecting a dark blue to draw with. “What’re you going to draw?” Sparrow asked, sitting up tall so he was at least a little bit taller than Nicky.

“Gonna draw a puppy…” Nicky said quietly as he worked. He knew that their teacher was charmed, but he didn’t want to make a fuss. After all, she was charmed by Sparrow, not him, so there was still the opportunity for Nicky to get in trouble. Once he finished the puppy, he sat back proudly.

“Cute!” Sparrow cooed. “Wanna color it in?”

“Um…” Nicky blushed, looking at the colors in the pouch. He didn’t want to mess it up! He worked so hard!

“Usually puppies are brown, but it doesn’t have to be,” Sparrow said, getting out a few different options. “Terry’s favorite color is purple,” he added with a shrug.

“Purple…” Nicky snatched the purple out of Sparrow’s hand, setting a determined look on his face. He could color in the lines. For Terry!

Nicky finished filling in the drawing carefully, using two different shades of purple to color the puppy. He sat back proudly, a grin on his face as Sparrow clapped silently.

“Here, you can give it to him,” Sparrow said as he tore the page from his book. He handed it to Nicky, who sheepishly folded it so he could put it in his backpack. “What do you usually do when you’re small?” Sparrow asked.

“Get Terry…” Nicky said, wincing. He didn’t want Sparrow to think he didn’t appreciate him helping, he really did! But…well, he wasn’t Terry. “Or my mom…”

Sparrow hummed, brows furrowed together as he tried to think of any way to help. Ditching class was basically out of the question at this point since he was already grounded…

Nicky stuck a finger in his mouth and gnawed on the nail nervously. His feet swung under his desk, too, and he popped his fingers on his other hand. Sparrow needed to get him to calm down. He could deal with that.

“Nicholas,” he whispered, getting the boy’s attention while he pulled out a few bottles of nail polish from his bag. “Want me to paint your nails?” he asked. Nicky’s eyes grew wide, and he nodded, plopping down the hand that he didn’t have in his mouth. Sparrow noticed that his other hand, his left, wasn’t as chewed-up, only his pinky and middle finger really looked bitten. Nicky’s right hand, however, was mangled up by sharp teeth on all of his fingers. “How about I do that hand first?” Sparrow suggested, pointing to his right hand that Nicky still chewed on.

Nicky whined, but he dried his hand off on his jeans and laid it down on the desk. Sparrow held out his options, so Nicky chose red.

“Do you want me to do something cool?” Sparrow asked. Nicky furrowed his brows, confused, but he nodded. Sparrow grabbed a second color, a black, from his bag. Nicky watched, enraptured, while Sparrow painted his nails. Seeing them so colorful did highlight to Nicky how mangled and nasty his fingers looked, but he tried to just focus on the pretty color. Sparrow blew on his nails to make them dry quicker, and he waved his hand over them as well. Once he was sure the red dried, he grabbed the black and put it over top of Nicky’s nails.

“Sparrow…!” Nicky squeaked out quietly.

“It’s okay, just watch,” Sparrow said. Nicky whined, but he watched the black on his nails. Slowly, it started to crack and shrink up so that the red showed underneath.

“Woah…”

“It’s crackle,” Sparrow explained. “Isn’t it cool?”

“Lava…”

Sparrow snorted a laugh. “Y-yeah, it’s lava…” he said, amused. “Gimme your other hand.”

Nicky smacked his hand down enthusiastically on the desk for Sparrow to repeat the process. By the end of class, neither of them had paid a bit of attention, but Nicky had lava nails. That was far more important than grammar lessons, anyway.

The bell rang, so they gathered up their stuff and darted for the door. Nicky ran for his locker, hoping that Terry would make it there quickly, too. He shoved half the contents of his backpack into his locker and grabbed his pre-algebra book to shove into his bag by the time Terry got to his locker.

“Terry!” Nicky squeaked, tossing his arms around Terry’s shoulders.

“Woah, Nicky? You okay?” Terry asked, concerned as he took Nicky’s hands in his.

“I’m okay! Look what Sparrow did!” Nicky said, holding his hands up for Terry to see.

“That’s really cool, Nicky!” Terry cooed.

“They look like lava, right?” Nicky asked. Terry snickered, but he nodded still.

“Yeah, they look just like lava, lil guy,” Terry said. He grabbed his pre-algebra book and shut his locker, walking beside Nicky toward their next class. “So, did Sparrow know you’re small?” he asked.

“Yeah, I told him,” Nicky said. He leaned against Terry as they walked. “We played tic-tac-toe, and he let me draw in his sketchbook, and he painted my nails!”

“And what did you learn in class?” Terry asked, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

“Nothing!” Nicky said, smile beaming on his face.

“Okay, then…”

At least Nicky was happy. That was all that mattered. He sat down at his desk, and Nicky plopped down right behind him.

“Drawed this for you, Terry,” Nicky said, handing Terry a drawing of a puppy over his shoulder. It was purple and lopsided, and one of the ears was much larger than the other, but it was still so cute.

“Thank you, Nicky…” Terry said, swallowing thickly as he tried not to get choked up. He folded the paper gingerly and tucked it into the front pocket of his backpack. He twisted around in his seat to face Nicky.

“Hug?” Nicky asked, reaching out his hands. Terry obliged, hugging him awkwardly over the desk.

Terry accepted, then, that there was no way in Hell the two of them were learning anything in math class, either. At least Nicky was happy, though. Terry couldn’t stomach the idea of seeing his best friend as upset as he was the day before, not again.

Chapter Text

Friday arrived, and Nick heard that his friends’ grounding got lifted. At least…they weren’t grounded as long as they went to the Wilsons’ for a cookout. That sounded like the most Darryl Wilson thing ever, and Nick rolled his eyes when he heard it from Grant. Apparently his dad and Glenn wanted him to come as well, and that meant the boys would have a sleepover. So, Nick stood in front of his closet staring into his dresser. He needed pajamas, and he needed clothes for the next day. He needed…well, he really wasn’t sure.

It had been a few days since he was small, the last time having been during school. He was fine with that, but he also knew how his brain worked at this point. That looming softness, fuzziness, that clouded his mind and made him feel so small sat ever-present in the faded corners of his mind. Nick knew it was just a matter of time before he dropped something, felt too embarrassed, or got angry enough for that softness to leap over his mind and make him small again. But, he didn’t know if that would be during the cookout, sleepover, or if it’d still be a few days away.

…Nick opened the bottom drawer of his dresser and pulled out Spiderman pajama pants, and he grabbed a t-shirt from some old event his dad took him to that had been made into a pajama shirt. He shoved them in his backpack, and he grabbed his underwear and a pair of socks. He grabbed a random t-shirt off its hanger as well as a pair of jeans, and he shoved those in his bag as well for the next day. Then Nick stared at his bag that he hid most of his regression gear in. He snatched up his pacifier and his baby battle jacket. Just to avoid potential horrific embarrassment, too, he grabbed a couple pull-ups, ears burning as he buried them under his clothes.

“Are you about ready to go, kiddo?” Jodie asked as he made his way up the stairs.

“Almost ready, Dad!” Nicholas said. He grabbed his stuffed bunny off his bed and put her in his bag as Jodie made it to his door.

“Did you remember underwear?” Jodie asked.

“Daaaaad…” Nicholas whined.

“What, it’s a valid question!” Jodie said, though the grin on his face said he just wanted to tease Nicholas. “C’mon, got everything?”

“Yeah, I guess…” Nicholas said. He slung his bag over his shoulders and fit himself against Jodie’s side as they headed downstairs. Nicholas slipped on his shoes as Morgan made her way into the living room with her earrings in hand.

“Okay, boys, we’re just trying to have a nice, easy time this evening,” she said. “No fighting, and no fire, got it?”

“I don’t think Mom trusts us, Nicholas,” Jodie said with mock offense. Nicholas snickered and shook his head. “We’ll just have to prove to her that we’re upstanding citizens, won’t we?” Jodie squeezed his shoulder and gave Nicholas a lopsided smile, which only made Nicholas laugh more.

“Upstanding citizens by whose standards, Dad? Hell’s?” Nicholas asked. Jodie nodded.

“Let’s try Earth’s!” Morgan fussed.

“We’ll see how it shakes out,” Jodie said. He smirked as Morgan glared at him, and he stole a kiss. Morgan took it, but she still pinched his side.

“Behave for once,” she fussed.

“Yes, ma’am,” Jodie winced. He still managed to tear open a portal, and the three of them walked through into the Wilsons’ backyard.

“Hey, Jodie!” Darryl greeted, waving a set of tongs in the air. “Hey, Morgan, Nick! Grant’s in the treehouse if you wanna head up there, Nick.”

“Cool thanks,” Nicholas said, and he took off for the trees. He grabbed the rope ladder and hauled himself up into the treehouse that he knew so well. “Grant?”

“Hey, Nicholas,” Grant greeted. “Should’ve figured you and your parents would be the first ones here,” he said. Nicholas sat down on the little porch and dropped his backpack down beside himself.

“Portals make it pretty quick to just show up places,” Nicholas said. He crossed his legs while Grant sat down beside him. Inside the treehouse, Nicholas could see blankets, pillows, and flashlights. “Are we sleeping out here?” he asked.

“Yeah, my dad thinks we don’t use this place enough, so we’re gonna sleep out here,” Grant said with a shrug. “It’s kind of lame, but whatever. At least we aren’t sleeping in the van.”

Nicholas rolled his eyes. “I’m pretty sure my neck still hurts from trying to sleep in the trunk.”

“That’s what you get for being the smallest,” Grant teased with a grin. He got to his feet to go inside the treehouse and open up the window. “By the way, we fixed the bucket,” he said, leaning on the windowsill.

“Oh, yeah?” Nicholas hopped up to come inspect. “So we’re totally loading that thing up with rocks, right?” he asked. Sure enough, in the corner of the treehouse was a small hole just big enough for a bucket to fit through. The bucket itself was tied to a metal spike driven into the tree, and it sat beside the hole.

“As long as we don’t put animals in it, I think we’ll be fine,” Grant said.

“And as long as the squirrels don’t eat through the rope again?” Nick added. Grant rolled his eyes, but he nodded.

Terry arrived a few minutes later with his parents, so he scampered up the ladder to meet his friends. “Oh, we’re staying out here tonight?” he asked, pointing at the blankets.

“You know how my dad is,” Grant said with a shrug.

“I mean, it’s cool, so long as we have bug spray,” Terry said. He glanced over at Nicholas, who laid on the rug stretching out his wings and tail. “And so long as you don’t burn the tree down,” he teased, kicking Nicholas’s foot.

“I won’t burn it down,” Nicholas insisted. “That’s the twins’ job.”

“Lark will just try to piss you off until you start spitting flames or something,” Grant said. Nicholas rolled his eyes. “He knows that talking about your regression makes you lash out, so he’ll probably try that.”

“Oh my gooooood,” Nicholas groaned, rolling over so he laid on his belly. He folded his wings against his back and dragged his claws against the floor. “I could have actually strangled him for doing that the other day.”

“We know,” Terry said. He sat against the wall with his feet legs stretched out, so Nicholas reached over to tie his shoelaces together. “Seriously?”

“Lark probably just doesn’t know what to do about it,” Grant said, ignoring Terry’s look that begged for help. “Really, I don’t know what to do about the regression stuff, either. It’s just something that’s there, now, and…I don’t know?”

“It’s not a big deal,” Nicholas insisted. “Like, I just…do it sometimes. I don’t usually get a choice in it, and it’s a little bit scary, especially when it’s not just…me or me and Terry.”

“Do you know when it’s coming?” Grant asked. Nicholas shrugged.

“Sometimes, yeah. Other times it just happens,” he said. “The other day it just happened, but I could have probably guessed that it would just because I was upset.”

“And sometimes you leap out of Hell because you’re small and scared,” Terry tattled. Nicholas stuck his tongue out at him. “Other times, you text me at, like, 11 o’clock that you decided to watch Despicable Me so you could be small, but now you’re lonely.”

“Tattle tale,” Nicholas grumbled. Grant snickered, though, and he watched as Nicholas put a final knot in Terry’s shoelaces.

“Why did you do this?” Terry asked, dragging his feet back to himself so he could undo the knots.

“You deserve it,” Nicholas said, rolling back over onto his back. He heard Glenn’s voice down on the ground along with his guitar, but he tried his hardest to keep his mind off of it.

“Are you gonna be small tonight, you think?” Grant asked. “We could probably, like, try to play some stuff that’s more your speed when you’re like that if you want.”

That certainly brought a blush to Nicholas’s face, and he brought his shoulders up to his ears in an attempt to hide. “I-I don’t know…” he said. “I brought some of my stuff just in case, but you don’t have to worry about it! If I regress, I’ll deal with it…”

“We’ll just keep you out of the sugar,” Terry said with a smirk on his face while he worked on one of the knots in his shoelaces.

Nicholas huffed, cheeks puffed out in annoyance. “You can’t keep me from s’mores, Terry. I will bite you.”

“Oh no, I’m scared,” Terry deadpanned. He finished getting the knots out of his shoes and retied his laces so nonchalantly. Grant snorted a laugh.

“Do you get super hyper or something…?” he asked.

“No, Terry’s just mean to me,” Nicholas said as he sat up.

“I am not!” Terry fussed. “I read you bedtime stories and play with you all the time!”

“He’s so mean, like all the time,” Nicholas said to Grant, doing his very best to ignore Terry. His grin betrayed him, though, and Terry kicked him in the hip to knock him over. “See what I mean!” Nicholas said, cackling.

“We’re sleeping in the treehouse!” came the twins’ voices as they appeared in the doorway. Grant, Nicholas, and Terry looked up toward them, noting the wild grins on their faces as they slid into the group.

“Father said we’re all sleeping out here,” Sparrow said. “Did you fix the bucket?”

“Yeah,” Grant said, now afraid of what the twins had planned.

“Excellent, excellent,” Lark said, a wicked grin on his face as he steepled his fingers together. Grant raised a brow, concerned.

“You guys can’t bring animals up here, you can’t put anything gross in the bucket, and you can’t drop it on someone,” he said, hoping that covered all their bases.

“Grant, you’re no fun!” Lark whined, which meant Grant probably missed something. Shit.

Sparrow crawled closer to Nicholas, who still laid in a pile where Terry had pushed him over. On top of his head were a pair of wolf ears on a headband, and tied to his waist was a wolf tail with different pony beads and letter beads dangling off a chain on the tail. Nicholas eyed it curiously, and he raised a brow at Sparrow for an explanation.

“Mother helped me make them!” he said, moving his tail to his lap. “Pet it, it’s soft!”

“Are you giving up on learning how to wildshape?” Nicholas asked, reaching over to pet the tail. It was very soft, he noted, and he kind of wanted to play with it…

“I’m not giving up!” Sparrow said, offended that Nicholas would even suggest that. “I’m just taking a break!”

“Right…” Nick sat up again just in time for Lark to throw his arms around him and drag him to the ground. “ACK!”

“I win!” Lark shouted, and he popped up with his fists in the air.

“You didn’t win anything!” Nick fussed. “You tackled me!”

“Yes,” Lark said, a smirk on his face as he stooped down closer to Nick. “You better watch your back.”

“I’ll light you on fire,” Nicholas said through his teeth. That only seemed to excite Lark more, though.

“Boys!” Darryl shouted up toward them. “It’s time to eat, come on down! All of you need to go inside and wash your hands!”

All five boys groaned, but they descended the ladder anyway. They marched into the house together, and while Grant and the twins headed toward the bathrooms to wash their hands, Nicholas and Terry stayed in the kitchen to wash up.

“So, you brought your regression stuff?” Terry asked. He leaned against the counter while Nick washed his hands.

“Just in case,” Nick said with a shrug. “Doesn’t mean I’m gonna need it.”

“It’s fine if you do, though,” Terry said.

“Yeah, I know,” Nicholas said. He shook off the water from his hands and reached for a towel. Terry took his spot in front of the sink. “I’m not trying to be small, though. I just wanna hang out, and if it happens, fine, if not, great.”

“I get it,” Terry said. He swiped the towel from Nicholas. “Just…I know it’s been a weird week, and being small in front of the others is still new. But if you want to be small, they’re not gonna be mean or something.” Terry thought about it for a second, and he rolled his eyes. “Lark might, but he’s not being mean on purpose, he’s just…a lot.”

“I know all that,” Nick said with a groan. “Look—let’s just go hang out, okay? It’s not a big deal.” It practically felt like he had to plead for it not to be a big deal, but at least it seemed like Terry finally listened.

“Yeah, let’s go hang out,” Terry said. He tossed an arm around Nick’s shoulders, and Nick copied on his shoulder.

Outside, they managed to get their food and drinks, sit down in the grass, and have the others join them without a hitch. Nick smacked Lark with one of his wings, smirking as Lark fussed at him. He leaned away from Lark, trying his best to avoid his wrath, and he swatted him away again with his wing. Lark cried out in offense, and Nick might have been able to lavish in Lark’s annoyance more if he didn’t hear his dad and Glenn arguing.

“There’s no fucking way that you think the wings and horns make you cooler than me, you fuck!” Glenn shouted.

“I’m just saying,” Jodie started. Nick could hear the grin in his voice. “I was born as cool as you want to be. I don’t have to try to be everything you grew up wishing you could be.”

“That does it!”

“Glenn, Glenn, sit down!” Henry fussed.

“Seriously, this is so stupid!” Darryl fussed.

“Jodie is a cop, though, so that’s points away from being cool…but he’s a cool demon with big wings and a whip, and that’s way cooler than a guitar…” Ron seemed to mutter to himself.

“Not helping, Ron!” Darryl said.

“Ron agrees that I’m cooler than Glenn, that’s all I need!” Jodie said.

Grant rolled his eyes and sighed. Nick looked over at him, hoping for something comforting. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand how the hell they’re able to argue about nothing…” he grumbled.

Nick nodded wordlessly.

“Man, fuck you, Jodie, no wonder Nick avoids you!” Glenn yelled. Nick squeezed his eyes shut tightly. He could practically feel all his friends’ eyes on him.

“He doesn’t avoid me, what the fuck are you talking about?” Jodie questioned. “Nicholas, come here a second!”

Shit. Nick sat his plate down on his shoes and got to his feet, hands shaking as he shuffled over to his dad’s side.

“Hey, bud, tell him that we’re still close. You don’t avoid me, right?” Jodie asked, plopping a hand on Nicholas’s shoulder.

“We’re still close…” Nicholas said. “You’re my dad, and I love you a lot…”

“Yeah, exactly!” Jodie said. He mussed Nicholas’s hair, but that just made the dizziness in Nicky’s head worse. “Okay, that’s all I needed, kiddo. Thank you.”

“Mhm.”

Nicky turned to go back to his friends, stumbling as he went, but he felt Morgan take his hand. He looked up at her with big eyes.

“Are you okay, sweetie?” she asked quietly.

“I’m okay, Mama…” Nicky whispered. “Wanna go back to my friends…”

“Alright…” Morgan said, unsure. “I’ll check on you in a little while, though, okay?”

Nicky nodded, and he made his way back over to his friends. He flopped down on the ground and picked his plate back up. For a long moment, the five of them were quiet, but then Nicky sniffled. Terry scooted closer to put an arm around his shoulders, and Nicky practically crawled onto his lap. “S-small…” Nicky whimpered.

“That’s okay, Nicky…” Terry said, rubbing Nicky’s shoulder. For an agonizingly long few moments, the group was quiet. All they could hear was the squabbling from the adults’ tables, but that only seemed to make Nicky more upset. They needed to come up with something to help him. They needed anything to distract him. Then, Grant got an idea first.

“Hey, Nick,” Grant called, smiling when he got his attention. “Do you like bubbles when you’re small…?”

“Bubbles?” Nicky repeated, intrigued.

“Yeah, we’ve got some big bottles of bubbles inside,” Grant said. “When you’re done eating, we can go get them?”

“I’m done!” Nicky insisted, pushing his plate away. He welcomed the distraction from his parents.

“Uh—” Terry picked the plate back up. “You only ate, like, half of your burger.”

“I’m done!” Nicky insisted more, though, pushing Terry’s hands away.

“Nicky.”

Nicky ignored Terry, hopping to his feet.

“Okay…” Grant winced, giving Terry an apologetic look. “I’m…not done yet, Nick. Can we have, like, ten minutes?”

“But you said!” Nicky whined. This wasn’t fair!

“Nicky, c’mon…” Terry took his hand and tugged him back down easily. He put Nicky’s plate back in his lap. “Ten minutes isn’t that long when you eat.”

“Fine…” Nicky mumbled.

“We should play dodge-bubble!” Sparrow said. Nicky’s eyes grew wide, and he nodded enthusiastically. “I bet we can kick your ass!”

“No, I’ll kick your ass!” Nicky insisted, giggling as he fell against Terry.

“I thought you said ass is a bad word?” Terry questioned, snickering.

“I can say bad words!” Nicky said, though, grinning up at Terry. “You can’t, though.”

“Why can’t I?” Terry asked.

“They’re bad boy words,” Nicky said. He reached up to poke Terry’s cheek. “You’re not a bad boy.”

“Neither is Sparrow,” Terry said.

“Sparrow’s a wolf, so he can do whatever he wants,” Nicky explained as though it made perfect sense. Terry rolled his eyes. “You and Grant can’t say bad boy words.”

“Why me?” Grant asked, hiding his laughter behind his food.

“You’re not bad,” Nicky explained.

“But Lark is?” Terry asked.

“Duh.”

“I’ll take it!” Lark shouted. “That means I can say fuck in front of the baby.”

“Fuck!” Nicky shouted back. Lark looked proud. Terry sighed; this would be a long evening…

Chapter Text

Grant came outside with a very, very large bottle of bubbles and a few extra wands. Nicky gasped at the sight, scrambling to his feet and clapping excitedly. He tried to help Terry up, but he only succeeded in pushing Terry back down.

“I can get up, Nicky, I can get it!” Terry laughed, swatting him away. Nicky giggled, darting over to Lark to “help” him up as well.

“Let me go!” Lark yelped, kicking around when Nicky pushed him back down. “Nick!”

“Get up, Lark!” Nicky giggled, still shoving Lark around.

“Hey, you kids, don’t get too rowdy!” Darryl fussed gently from the adults’ tables.

“Yeah, Nicholas, don’t be rowdy,” Lark said, glaring at Nicky, who only stuck his tongue out at him. Lark copied, and he got to his feet.

“Am I blowing the bubbles for this?” Grant asked.

“No, you should join, Grant!” Sparrow said. He looked over at the adults, then back at Nicholas. “One of our parents should…?” He didn’t exactly know who to ask, not with Nicholas small.

“Mama!” Nicky yelled, making the other kids jump. “Mama, bubbles!”

Morgan hopped to her feet, darting over to him. “What are you kids doing?” she asked, pulling Nicky into a hug before he screamed his little lungs out.

“Sparrow suggested dodge-bubble, and Nicky’s excited about that, so…” Terry trailed off, kicking at the grass.

“You just need someone to blow bubbles at you five, then?” Morgan asked. Terry nodded.

“You can do it, Mama!” Nicky said, beaming a proud smile. “Then Grant can play with us!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll do it,” Morgan said. She kissed his forehead, and Nicky giggled as he stumbled back toward Terry. “Should we get someone else to help…?” she asked. “There won’t be nearly enough bubbles to be a challenge for you five if it’s just me.”

“Um…” Nicky looked at Terry, eyes wide.

“What’re you kiddos up to?”  Jodie asked as he got to his feet. Nicky squeaked as his dad came over. Jodie dropped a hand in his hair, ruffling it gently to get a giggle out of him.

“Playing…!” Nicky said, doing his very best not to give away how small he felt to his dad.

“Do you want Dad to help me, Nicholas?” Morgan asked. Jodie glanced over at her with a confused look, but Morgan offered no explanation.

“That’s okay…!” Nicky said with a little nod. He gave his dad a quick hug before shoving him toward the patio with his mom.

“You okay?” Terry asked quietly while Morgan explained what they were doing to Jodie. Nicky nodded, though his pink face and nervous fidgeting told a different story. “If you don’t want your dad playing with us, we can tell him no.”

“N-no, it’s okay…” Nicky insisted.

“Alright, we need a good, clean fight!” Jodie said, startling the two of them away from each other. “If you get hit by a bubble, you’re out! Last one standing wins!”

Morgan dipped her bubble wand in the bottle, bringing it up while Jodie shoved two wands into the bottle to double-arm himself. They counted down from five, them they blew a barrage of bubbles at the kids. Nicky and Lark screamed, and Sparrow howled. Terry and Grant yelled, rolling across the ground to avoid the bubbles.

Terry was the first out after Lark shoved him into a few bubbles. Sparrow followed after, distracted for just a second too long so that a bubble popped in his hair. Lark got out next, used as an unwilling shield for Nicky.

Grant and Nicky fought well, but…well…Grant couldn’t see the little guy upset. He made it as convincing as he could that he just got hit accidentally. Nicky cheered, his fists in the air excitedly. While he cheered, the other kids ran over to the bottle of bubbles and filled up the extra wands, running back over to him to cover him in bubbles.

“Ahhh!” Nicky screeched, falling to the ground. He laughed and laughed as his friends covered him in bubbles until they ran out.

“Okay, okay, I think we’re done,” Terry said, snickering. “You okay, Nicky?” he asked.

“Y-yeahhhh!” Nicky said through his giggles. He reached his hands out toward Terry, who pulled him to his feet and into a hug. “I won, Terry!”

“You did!” Terry praised. “Good job!”

“Alright, if you kids wanna go clean up and get into your pjs, we’ll get the stuff out for s’mores,” Darryl said, laughing to himself. He didn’t need to say another word as all five kids took off running for the treehouse. They climbed up to grab their bags, then raced back down to get inside.

Nicky dragged his bag inside toward the downstairs bathroom. He slammed the door shut and locked it so he could wash off in peace. He scrubbed his face, arms, and feet off from where he got pelted with bubbles, then he stared into his bag.

It was one thing to be small and sleep over with Terry, the one person who knew and was used to everything about Nicky at this point. It was a completely different thing to be small and sleep over with all of his friends, with their parents still hanging around, too.

A knock on the door nearly startled Nicky right out of his skin. “Nicky, you okay?” Terry asked. Nicky sighed in relief.

“I’m okay, Terry!” he said, dragging his stuff out of his bag. “Almost done!”

“Did you get cleaned up?” Terry asked, that worried tone in his voice.

“Uh huh!”

A little pause followed, and that was worse than Terry talking, Nicky thought. Then, “Did you bring, like, your stuff?” Terry asked, trying his very best to be discreet.

“Mhm…” Nicky admitted since there was no reason to hide it.

“Well…” Terry cleared his throat awkwardly. “That’s probably a good thing since we’ll be in a tree all night.”

Nicky whined loudly, so Terry took that as his cue to shut up. A minute later, Nicky emerged dressed in his pajamas, though his pants hung awkwardly on his hips and his shirt needed to be straightened out. Terry sighed, fixing him up before Nicky tried to run off. He ignored the pullup entirely, not wanting to upset Nicky.

“I’ll be outside in a minute, okay?” he said, and Nicky nodded wordlessly. Terry disappeared into the bathroom, so Nicky headed outside. He took his bag back up to the treehouse, contemplating if he wanted his baby battle jacket on or not. After all, he could definitely use the bonus hug it gave him…

“Oh, I made you a pin for your jacket!” Sparrow said suddenly, startling Nicky as he took out his jacket.

“What…?”

Sparrow dug inside his bag to produce a little pin with a wolf on it. The wolf had Nicky’s hair with blue and red tips, and it had a pacifier in its mouth and a smile on its face. “I told you I’d make you a wolf pin,” Sparrow said, beaming as he handed the pin over.

“Cute…!” Nicky squealed.

“Need help putting it on your jacket?” Sparrow asked. Nicky nodded, and he point out where he wanted it, so Sparrow stuck it on. Nicky got his jacket on by the time Terry, Grant, and Lark got up to them.

“Brother, you cheated!” Lark fussed as he plopped down beside Sparrow.

“I told you I would push you out of the way, Brother,” Sparrow said, a grin on his face. “The Wilsons only have so many bathrooms, and I am simply faster than you.”

Lark pushed him over, but Sparrow pushed him back, the two of them quickly dissolving into giggles together.

“Terry, look what Sparrow made!” Nicky said to Terry, ignoring the brothers entirely.

Terry crouched down beside him to see the pin as Nicky showed it off proudly. “That’s cute, Nicky!” he said with a grin. “You’re gonna wear your baby jacket around all the grown-ups?” he asked.

“They’re stupid, so I can wear it,” Nicky insisted.

“I don’t think that’s…” Terry stopped himself. It wasn’t worth it to argue with the baby. “Okay, Nicky.”

“C’mon, guys, we’ve got s’mores to eat,” Grant said. Nicky squeaked, and he scrambled after Grant, following him back down the rope ladder. Grant jumped down five rungs from the ground, and Nicky wanted to copy him, but that seemed so high up…

“Grant, help!” Nicky whined, reaching a hand out toward him. He immediately yanked his hand back, though, when the ladder swayed.

“Just climb down, Nick, you’ve been doing okay this whole time?” Grant didn’t understand what was suddenly so scary about this, but he at least got a little closer just in case Nicholas needed help. “It’s just five more rungs, Nick,” he said.

Nicky whined, and he reached his hand back out when Grant was close enough for him to reach. He grabbed hold of the front of Grant’s hoodie, and he flapped his leathery wings hard against his shoulder blades as he jumped down. Nicky landed with his socks in the grass, stumbling a bit into Grant, who had to plant a foot behind himself to keep the two of them from falling.

“Why did you jump down if you were scared?” Grant asked. He pulled Nicky away a few more steps so Lark had plenty of room to leap despite his father and mother fussing for him not to.

“You jumped…” Nicky mumbled.

“You don’t have to do what I do?” Grant said, confused. “I wouldn’t have thought you were lame or a baby if you just went down every step, Nick.”

“Am a baby…” Nicky mumbled. Grant rolled his eyes.

“That’s by choice, and not what I meant,” he said. He glanced down when he noticed Nicky grab his hand. Grant raised a brow at him, but when Nicky only chewed his nails instead of giving him an explanation, he decided it was probably best not to ask questions. Instead, he led Nicky over to the tables and grill.

“Now, Darryl, I know you guys probably don’t keep vegan marshmallows around the house, so I did bring some,” Henry said as he brought out a bag of marshmallows from his cooler.

“Marshmallows aren’t vegan?” Ron asked.

“No, they’re made with gelatin, and that’s made from animal protein,” Henry explained. “But, that’s something that a lot of people don’t ever think about being non-vegan, so I just make things easier.” He opened the bag and brought it over to Darryl.

“Oh, thanks, Henry…” Darryl said. “I did remember to get dark chocolate instead of just plain milk chocolate for you guys, at least.”

“Hey, thanks!” Henry beamed.

“Father, I want a meat s’more,” Lark deadpanned.

“Uh, Lark, kiddo, there’s no meat in a s’more…” Henry said. “But, since the marshmallows Mr. Wilson bought aren’t vegan, I brought the ones we usually have at home, okay? You like them!”

“I want the other ones,” Lark said.

“Well, you can try one when you’re older, but for right now…you’ve gotta listen to Dad, okay?” Henry tried. Lark glared at him, and he darted over to Sparrow.

Nicky watched as Lark ran away from his dad, and he felt sad for him. He looked over at his parents sitting with Glenn, and he felt that same desire to run that Lark had.

Glenn caught his eye, giving him a grin as he moved his sunglasses to the top of his head. “Hey, bud, ya been having fun?” he asked.

“Yeah…” Nicky said, squeezing Grant’s hand tighter. Glenn glanced at his jacket, eyes narrowing as he tried to see it better. Nicky squeaked, and he tried his best to hide behind Grant.

“C’mere a sec, bud,” Glenn said, shifting around in his seat as he waved with a couple fingers for Nicky to get closer. Nicky groaned, but he dropped Grant’s hand to make his way over to Glenn. Morgan smiled at him, but it didn’t make Nicky feel any better. At least his mama kept his dad distracted while Nicky stopped by Glenn’s side. “Lemme see your jacket, kiddo…” Glenn grumbled as he held onto the jacket by the collar, tugging it around to see all the pins and patches. “When did you make this?” he asked.

“A while ago…” Nicky said, pointer finger jammed in his mouth. “Terry helped me make it, and Sparrow made this pin,” he explained, holding up his jacket where his new wolf pin was fastened.

“Cute,” Glenn said, snickering. “So this is just for when you’re small, I guess?” he asked quietly. Nicky nodded. “You okay?”

“Mhm…” Nicky said around his finger. “Terry ‘nd Grant are helpin’,” he said.

“Does Mama know?”

Nicky nodded, so at least that helped Glenn look a little more relaxed.

“Alright, go get your s’more, kid,” he said, patting Nicky’s back. Nicky took off running back over to Terry’s side.

“Hey, Nicky,” Terry said, unbothered when Nicky smacked into him.

“Hey, Nick, do you want peanut butter on your s’more?” Darryl asked.

“Yeah…!” Nicky said, nodding happily. He didn’t let go of Terry, though, as he watched Darryl and Henry wrap up all their s’mores in foil to put them on the grill. Behind him, Nicky’s tail flickered around happily, which earned some amused chuckles from the adults.

“Alright, these two are for my boys,” Henry said, making sure there was a little distance from the s’mores for the twins. Darryl nodded as he shut the grill.

“Father, do I get apples?” Sparrow asked, popping up behind Nicky and Terry just to startle them.

“I made what you usually like, kiddo,” Henry said. “Apple slices and caramel!”

Sparrow cheered, but Nicky wrinkled up his nose.

“What?” Sparrow questioned. He grabbed Nicky’s hand and swung it back and forth. “It’s good! You should try it, Nicky!”

“Yucky…” Nicky said, though, and he stuck out his tongue with his disgust.

“You kids just go take your seats, and we’ll bring your s’mores over when they’re done,” Darryl said, snickering. So, Terry led the two of them over to the tables, plopping down beside Grant and Lark at a table with Samantha and Ron.

“Are you having a good time, Terry?” Samantha asked.

“Yeah, we’ve been having fun,” Terry said.

“Well, good!” Samantha said. She glanced over at Nicky, her eyes soft as she looked at him. “What about you, Nicky?” she asked so gently.

“I’m havin’ fun…” Nicky said. He shared a chair with Terry, so at least that kept him from kicking it up in the back.

“Grant, honey, can you help me light the candles?” Carol asked. Nicky watched as Grant got up to help his mom light citronella candles and tiki torches. With the settling sun creeping down in the sky, bugs started to fill the yard. Nicky didn’t like bugs, but he also didn’t like the smell of citronella.

Grant caught his eye as he sat back down, and he snickered. “What’s that face for, Nick?” he asked.

“Yucky…” Nicky grimaced.

“It’s just candles?” Grant questioned, too amused.

“Yucky candles,” Nicky insisted, though.

“Everything’s yucky, apparently,” Sparrow said.

“No, just yucky stuff,” Nicky said. Lark snorted a laugh.

“Then maybe you’re just picky, Nicky,” he teased.

“No, maybe you’re a buttface!” Nicky tossed back.

“Alright, what if no one’s a buttface, and you kids just eat your s’mores!” Darryl said as he dropped off s’mores for the kids. “Then you kids can go play some more, until the sun sets.”

“We should play lawn darts,” Lark said.

“Do you want somebody to die?” Terry fussed.

“Sometimes there are casualties in great battles, Terry,” Lark said with a shrug.

“We should dig in the dig pit,” Sparrow said.

“Dig pit!” Nicky yelped. “Rocks!”

“I guess we’re digging up rocks and worms,” Terry said, snickering.

“We’re not bringing worms up to the treehouse!” Grant fussed.

“Worms in the treehouse!” Nicky cheered, though. Unfortunately for him, Grant was not a pushover like Terry.

Chapter Text

Two large bucketfuls of dirt later, the boys had a pile of rocks, bottlecaps, and small bones in the treehouse. The sun started setting as they sorted through their treasures, not that Nicky was tired. He wasn’t tired. He didn’t get tired! He was a big boy, and big boys could stay up super late if they wanted to!

…The yawning meant absolutely nothing.

“Hey, Grant, were we gonna use the projector?” Terry asked after he noticed Nicky’s yawn. Nicky whined, but that didn’t get him very far.

“Uh, yeah, Dad’ll have to bring it out here, but we’ve still got the screen in here,” Grant said, gesturing up to where a big white screen was rolled up near the ceiling. “We could watch pretty much anything. We got Detective Pikachu on DVD a couple weeks ago.”

Nicky gasped, and he looked over at Terry with a big grin on his face, kicking his heels against the floor. Terry snickered and reached over to ruffle his hair. “You wanna watch Detective Pikachu, lil guy?” he asked.

“Yeah!” Nicky said. He flopped over on the floor, still giggling as he rolled over toward Lark and Sparrow.

Grant snickered, and he got up. “I’ll go ask Dad for the projector, then,” he said, headed toward the ladder to get down.

“Hey, kids, your parents are getting ready to leave!” Darryl called. “Come down here and say bye!”

Nicky squeaked, and he darted for the ladder. The others followed not too far behind, but Nicky didn’t care as he ran straight for his mom. He crashed into her and gave her a hug.

“Oh, there’s my baby!” Morgan cooed, hugging him back. She kissed the top of his head and smoothed down his hair. “Are you going to be alright to spend the night, honey?” she asked.

“Uh huh, I’m okay, Mama,” Nicky said. He hid his face in her arms for a moment, just enjoying the hug while he had her.

“Alright…well, if you change your mind, you can come home, sweetie,” she said. Nicky nodded.

“I know I probably don’t need to say it, but don’t go causing any trouble for Mr. and Mrs. Wilson, got it, kiddo?” Jodie said, ruffling Nicky’s hair.

“I don’t cause trouble,” Nicky said, giggling. He gave his dad a little side-hug, and Jodie returned it with a little squeeze.

“That’s my boy,” Jodie cooed. He let go, and Nicky stumbled over toward Glenn, who held a fist out for a bump. Of course Nicky gave him the fistbump.

“If you need anything, don’t hesitate, okay?” Glenn said. Nicky nodded, giving him a little smile in hopes of keeping the worry down. “Alright, have fun, then. You guys gonna watch a movie?”

“We’re gonna watch Detective Pikachu!” Nicky said, that little smile growing twice its size. Glenn chuckled at him, amused.

“Have fun with that, then!” Glenn said. Nicky nodded, spinning around to hug his mom one last time before he took off running for Terry.

“Oof! Nicky!” Terry fussed, laughing when Nicky crashed into him. He hugged him, snickering when he buried his nose in Terry’s side. “Grant just went up the treehouse with the projector. Do you wanna go help him, or do you need to go potty before the movie?”

“Terry!” Nicky fussed, his face bright red as he looked up.

“What?” Terry questioned.

Samantha put a hand on his shoulder, and maybe Terry realized just then what he said out loud. “Ron and I are heading home, but we’re just a phone call away if you need anything, sweetie,” she said.

“Okay, Mom…” Terry said, blushing bright red.

“You be good, Nicky,” Samantha cooed, pinching his chin. Nicky squeaked and hid his face back in Terry’s side. Once she left, though, he let go and stood back upright.

“You seriously should go inside and potty, though,” Terry said, this time a little quieter. Nicky whined and stamped his feet. “We’re not gonna start the movie without you if that’s what you’re worried about.”

“Fine,” Nicky said through his teeth. He stomped his way inside, and Terry snickered to himself once he was sure Nicky couldn’t hear him.

By the time Nicky made his way back up into the treehouse, the projector was all set. Lark, Sparrow, and Terry arranged all the blankets and pillows on the ground to make a little nest for them while Grant tried to bypass the trailers at the beginning of the disc. Nicky crawled over to his bag and grabbed his pacifier, popping it in his mouth. He snatched his plush bunny as well before scooting over on his knees to the nest.

“Here, I got you a fuzzy blanket,” Terry said, unfolding a fleece blanket with soccer balls all over it. Nicky giggled as he laid down and let Terry drape the blanket over him. “Is that alright?” Terry asked, though he was pretty sure he knew the answer.

“Uh huh!” Nicky said, grinning big. He snuggled into Terry when he laid down, and he sucked his paci against his face tightly while Grant made his way into the pile. The movie began, and Nicky rubbed his eyes. He wasn’t tired, but his eyelids were heavy. That just happened sometimes. It meant nothing.

Lark laid on his belly with his chin propped up in his hands, and Grant laid beside him with a Minecraft pillow folded under his chin. Sparrow curled up in the middle of his friends, his fake tail draped over his lap so he could fiddle with it during the movie. Terry rested one of his hands in Nicky’s hair, playing with the locks gently as Tim met Pikachu for the first time. It made it difficult for Nicky to keep his eyes open, which made it very difficult to keep track of the movie.

When Nick opened his eyes again, he heard birds tweeting happily and he saw sunlight spilling into the treehouse. He cuddled against Terry’s chest while Sparrow used his legs as a pillow. Glancing around, Nick could see Lark cuddled up against Sparrow as well, and Grant fell asleep with his head lulled off his still-folded pillow. That couldn’t be comfortable.

Terry’s eyes opened when he felt Nick shifting around. He yawned big, stretching his arms over his head. “Morning…” he whispered.

“Morning,” Nick said, taking his paci out of his mouth.

Lark sat up, too, his eyelids drooping back together as he looked over at Nick and Terry. “Wha’time’s it?” he asked through a yawn, stretching.

Nick hummed, and he grabbed his phone to check. “It’s not even eight yet,” he said, tossing his phone back into the blankets. Lark groaned and plopped back down. Nick rolled his eyes and popped his pacifier back into his mouth, which earned him a confused look from Terry. “What?”

“Are you still small…?” Terry asked. Nick shrugged.

“Not really,” he said around his paci. He pulled it back out so he could talk. “I just like it, and we’re not hurrying to get up or anything, so…”

“Oh, that’s fine, I just didn’t know…” Terry said. He tried to sit up, which dropped Nick onto his pillow with a yelp. Terry snorted a laugh that he covered with his hand. “Sorry…!”

“I don’t think you are!” Nick fussed. He yelped again when Sparrow dug his fingers into his leg. “Sparrow’s awake!”

“Hard not to be when you guys aren’t quiet,” Sparrow fussed, rolling onto his back.

“You guys are so loud…” Grant groaned into his pillow.

“Sorry, Grant,” Terry cringed.

“When do we get breakfast?” Lark asked.

“I can go ask…” Grant said with a sigh. “Just gimme a second.”

Terry looked down at Nicholas, who stuck his paci back in his mouth and curled up closer to Sparrow, who still hadn’t moved off his legs. Terry noticed the back of Nick’s pullup poking out of his pajama pants, and he grabbed a blanket to throw over him. He seriously doubted that Nicholas wanted everyone else to know about that, so he tried to save him the embarrassment. Nick squeaked, though, and looked up toward Terry.

“Do you need to go inside, too, Nick?” he asked, eyes darting down then back to Nicholas’s eyes in hopes that he’d get the message.

Nicholas blushed, and he curled up a little tighter. “Maybe, yeah…” he said shyly.

“Maybe we should all go inside,” Grant said. “If Dad’s got breakfast nearly done, I’m not coming back out here to tell you guys.”

“Let’s go!” Lark said. He grabbed his bag as he hopped to his feet. Terry got up as well, grabbing his bag as well. Sparrow whined, though, snuggling into Nicholas.

“Sparrow, seriously, we should go inside…” Nick tried, blushing bright. “Get up.”

“Fine…” Sparrow said with a huff. He got up, so Nick scrambled to his feet and grabbed his bag. He spat his pacifier into his bag and stuffed his bunny inside as well before following his friends down the ladder.

Once inside, Nick tried to discreetly disappear to the bathroom. He ran off as soon as he heard Darryl’s voice, hoping that he’d get away without anyone noticing him. And as he came back, he sighed in relief to see his friends in the living room trying to start up the Xbox.

“What’re you guys doing?” he asked, dangling over the back of the sofa.

“Mr. Wilson said breakfast will be in about twenty minutes, so Grant’s loading Assassin’s Creed,” Terry explained. The look he gave Nick asked if he was alright, which Nicholas rolled his eyes at.

“Cool,” he said, rounding the sofa to toss himself down on top of Terry and Lark.

“Ack!” Lark yelped. “Get off!”

“I don’t think so,” Nicholas said, grinning up at him.

“Asshole!”

“Brother, you’re so loud…” Sparrow complained, curling up against Lark’s shoulder.

“Nicholas started it!”

“I didn’t do anything!” Nicholas said right under his nose, laughing to himself.

“Okay, here, look,” Grant said as he got his game pulled up. At least he managed to distract his friends from their scuffle before Lark and Nicholas ended up fighting on the floor. It was far too early to deal with something like that, after all.

“Did you boys sleep okay last night?” Carol asked as she came in. She leaned against the sofa, smiling down at the boys.

“Yeah, we just watched a movie and went to bed,” Sparrow said with a shrug. “I think Nicholas went to bed first, though.”

“I did not!” Nicholas fussed.

“I’m pretty sure you fell asleep within twenty minutes of us starting the movie, Nick,” Terry teased.

“Lies!” Nick insisted.

Carol chuckled at them. “Well, Darryl checked on you kids before we went to bed, and you were all asleep by midnight, so don’t feel too bad, honey,” she said. That, however, was the opposite of reassuring for Nick.

“He went up the treehouse to check on us…?” he asked, his blush growing darker on his cheeks.

“Yeah, he was just making sure all of you were set, that no one needed a parent or something,” Carol said.

“O-oh…” Nick looked over at Terry.

“I’m going to go check on breakfast,” Carol said, apparently not noticing the panic on Nick’s face.

“Terry,” Nick whined.

“Just because he came up there doesn’t mean he saw your paci, Nick,” Terry said.

“Dad probably just turned the projector off and left, Nick,” Grant said without taking his eyes off the TV. “Didn’t you notice it was off when you woke up?”

“I thought it turned itself off!” Nick said.

“What does it matter if he saw your pacifier?” Lark asked.

“I don’t want everybody to know!” Nick said. “I don’t want my dad to know, and Mr. Wilson talks to him a lot!”

“So does your mom,” Lark said with a shrug.

“She and Glenn already promised they wouldn’t tell Dad,” Nicholas said. “And Terry’s mom knows, but she doesn’t talk to him, so it’s not a big deal.”

“Does Ron know?” Sparrow asked.

“No, Mom didn’t tell him,” Terry said. “I made her promise she wouldn’t, and she’s used to not talking about this kind of stuff because she can’t talk about clients and stuff.”

“If he says something, just say it helps you not to snore,” Grant said with a shrug. “I seriously doubt Dad even noticed, though.”

“Boys, breakfast!” Darryl called.

Lark shoved Nicholas off of him, and he ran toward the kitchen. Grant paused his game to go get food, and Sparrow trailed after him.

“C’mon, I’m hungry,” Terry said as he tried to nudge Nicholas off of him.

“What if he asks, Terry?” Nicholas asked.

“Well, you should probably start by taking off your baby battle jacket,” Terry said. Nicholas looked down, only then realizing that he still wore his jacket. He shrugged it off and tossed it on his bag. “And if he asks…we’ll just have to deal with it. It’ll be okay, Nick.”

“This sucks…” Nicholas grumbled. He got to his feet, snatching up Terry’s hand for comfort as they headed into the kitchen.

The smell of pancakes greeted them as they entered the kitchen, and that did a lot to calm Nicholas’s nerves. He took a seat at the table beside Sparrow, and Terry plopped down on his other side.

“Here we go, kids,” Darryl said as he sat the plate of pancakes down in the center of the table. “We’ve got fruit and syrup, too,” he said, fetching the bowl of fruit and the different bottles of syrup.

“What does everyone want to drink?” Carol asked. “We have milk, juice…”

“I would like caffeine!” Lark said with his hand in the air.

“Mmm…last time I checked with your folks, you’re not supposed to have caffeine…” Darryl said. Lark dropped his hand down in his lap with a scowl on his face.

“Orange juice is fine for me and Lark,” Sparrow said with a pleasant smile.

“What about you other three?” Carol asked as she took out the orange juice. “Grant, sweetie?”

“Orange juice is fine, Mom,” he said over his shoulder.

“I’ll have milk,” Terry said with a shrug.

“Me too,” Nick said. He sunk down a little in his chair. Was that too childish? If Darryl knew about his paci, then Nick got milk, would that be suspicious? But…Terry got milk, too. It couldn’t be that childish, then.

“Coming right up,” Carol said. She fixed everyone’s drinks and dropped them off at the table.

“After you kids finish up eating, you should go clean up the treehouse,” Darryl said. “I turned off your projector last night, but it needs to come back inside before it rains.”

“That’s fine, Dad,” Grant said.

“You kids’ll probably have to rewatch that movie at some point, though, because it didn’t seem like any of you were awake to see how it ended!” Darryl said with a laugh. He poured a cup of coffee for himself, leaning against the counter. “I didn’t expect all of you to be asleep when I went up to check on you!”

“People just get tired!” Nick said perhaps a bit too loudly, his face red. He cringed as soon as the words left his mouth, though. That was just a little too much.

“Oh, I was gonna ask you, Nick…” Darryl started. He sat down his mug, and Nick braced himself for the question. “Did you sleep with a binkie?”

Nicholas’s whole face went bright red, his eyes wide. “U-uh…w- I…w-well, um…y-yeah…?”

“Oh, well that’s…interesting,” Darryl said. He picked his mug back up to take another drink. “I thought that’s what I saw, but I just wanted to make sure. Is there a reason for that, or…?”

“U-um…”

“He snores really loud,” Grant said. “Apparently they help with that or something.”

“Ha!” Carol laughed. “Maybe we should get one for you, Darryl,” she said, poking him in the tummy.

“Ha ha, very funny,” Darryl said, wrinkling his nose up at her. Carol did the same back at him. Darryl turned his attention back to the kids as he took another drink of his coffee. He did notice that Nick appeared to be a very concerning shade of red, and there were tears in his eyes. “Kiddo, is everything okay?” he asked. “I wasn’t trying to tease you or anything, I was just curious.”

“I-I…” Nicholas tried to speak, but the words caught in his throat. He swallowed thickly, and Terry reached over to take his hand. “Just don’t tell my dad!” he finally forced out. “O-or anybody!”

“Well, I don’t usually talk to your old man about how you sleep, so I think we’ll be okay,” Darryl said. “Is there more to this that I should know about…?”

“Nope!” Nick said. He grabbed a pancake off the stack and shoved it in his mouth whole so he wouldn’t have to talk. He really wished he could have just shut up while he was ahead.

Chapter Text

Nicholas sat on the floor in his room with his guitar in his lap. He strummed absentmindedly, and he stared at a spot on his rug. He needed to practice or at least do something that kept his mind occupied, but the only thing he could do was strum a few cords.

Two weeks had passed since the sleepover, and thankfully Darryl hadn’t said a word to Jodie as far as Nicholas knew. Nothing about his regression had gotten out to anyone else, but especially not to his dad. That should have made Nicholas happy. But instead, it just made Nicholas feel more anxious. He could only wait for the shoe to drop; Darryl wasn’t exactly known for being able to keep secrets, and since he didn’t even know what he was keeping secret…Nicholas didn’t trust him.

They’d gone into the Forgotten Realms twice since the sleepover, and Nicholas tried his best to act like normal. He fought with Lark, not that that was hard, and he sassed the adults (again, not that that was hard). Nicholas slashed through monsters and weird Doodler things with no problem, and he lit some stuff on fire just for fun. That was the most normal thing he could do, apparently. But, even with acting so normal, Nick still clung a little too much to Terry. He held his hand, he whispered with him, and he got maybe a few too many hugs to be seen as normal. Jodie noticed, but as soon as he asked any questions Nick just ran away.

The last time he ran away was the day before, and Nick knew that there were only so many times that his dad would let him get away with that before he tried to have a talk. At least, Nicholas knew that his normal dad would act like, and he assumed his demon dad would, too. He needed to figure out how to get a better grip on his emotions so this wouldn’t be an issue.

“What’s going on in here, honey?” Morgan asked from the doorway. Nicholas looked up at her, and he gave her a little smile. His mom had started dying her hair recently, and the green tips on her curled hair looked so pretty. Nicholas made himself laugh, though, when he thought that it looked like his mom had grass growing out of her hair.

“Just…practicing,” Nicholas said, strumming another cord on his guitar.

“You’re getting pretty good at that, hm?” Morgan said as she took a seat on the floor beside him.

“Trying,” Nicholas said. “I can remember a lot of it from Nick Close, and Glenn’s been helping me fill in the gaps.”

Morgan hummed, putting an arm around his shoulders to tug him a little closer. Nicholas let her, and he leaned his head on her shoulder. “Speaking of Nick Close…” she started, and that made Nicholas’s heartrate kick up. “How are you handling that? I know we haven’t really talked about it, but I’ve been worried about it… Especially since you’ve said it’s part of the reason you’ve been regressing.”

Nicholas blushed, and he shrugged. “The memories are there, but they aren’t…super strong, I guess? Like trying to remember dreams,” he explained. “Some memories stick out more than others, but some of them are hard to look at. They feel like I’m trying to look through a mask. I can tell what’s going on, but I can’t really see them or recall what happened.”

“Like what?” Morgan asked. “Anything like that that sticks out…?”

“There’s a memory of being in the guidance counselor’s office and playing with, uh, I think it was a monster doll?” Nicholas said. “I don’t remember what it was for, and I don’t know exactly why I was there, but I know I went there a lot. Like, more than once a week.”

“Did something scary happen in Nick’s life?” Morgan asked. She smoothed back Nicholas’s hair, tucking it behind his ear.

“There was a lot of scary stuff in his life…” Nicholas mumbled. He hadn’t really talked to his mom about Nick’s mom. He told her that Nick Close stayed home by himself a lot, and he told her that he knew a lot of ways to make ramen noodles more exciting, but he didn’t tell her about…well, her.

“Well, maybe that’s why he had to go to the guidance counselor so much,” Morgan said. “Are you sad for him?”

“He’s me, Mama…” Nick said. He sniffled, but he didn’t want to cry over this. Thinking about Nick Close too long did make him sad, though. It hurt too much. “I-if the stuff that happened to him happened to me…I-I’d probably be the exact same as him. I get sad for him b-because I know how bad he felt.”

“I’m sorry, honey…” Morgan whispered. She hugged him, and Nicholas squeezed his eyes shut. He tried to hide his face in her arm. He didn’t want her to see him teary-eyed over this. “I can’t imagine what you’re going through. I wish I could help you more…”

“Y-you’re enough, Mama…” Nick said. He gripped her shirt tail in his fist, an irrational fear that she might disappear clouding his mind.

Morgan kissed the top of his head, and Nick swallowed hard to keep his sobs at bay. “I know I can’t possibly begin to understand what’s going on in your head, but just know I’m here for you, okay? I’ll always be here for you, Nicholas.”

“And Nick?” he asked, looking up at her finally. The look Morgan gave him was one of utter heartbreak, and that scared him a bit.

“And Nick,” Morgan reassured. “And Nicky, too.”

He smiled, and Nicky buried his nose back into his Mama’s neck, hugging her close. Morgan squeezed him tightly, and it felt so good.

Nicholas sat back on his bottom, setting his guitar aside before he managed to break it. He wiped at his eyes, sniffling hard to keep his emotions somewhat contained. Morgan smoothed back his hair as she sat up a little straighter.

“So, I got a call from Glenn a little bit ago, and that’s actually why I came up here to see you…” Morgan said. Nicholas looked at her with confusion on his face. “It’s nothing bad, but he called me because apparently Mr. Wilson was asking about your snoring? He’s worried that your asthma is getting worse, apparently.”

Nicholas groaned, and he rolled his eyes. “He saw my pacifier at the sleepover, and Grant told him I have it because I snore,” he explained, though he blushed at the embarrassment. This was so dumb.

“Well, Glenn was apparently very confused about that, and he said that you don’t snore,” Morgan said, snickering in her own amusement. Nicholas groaned, and he flopped over on the floor. “Mr. Wilson even brought up that you have a pacifier, and Glenn denied that you have one.”

“Oh, great!” Nicholas groaned. He dragged his hands down his face in agony.

“I have no idea if Glenn gave Mr. Wilson another explanation, but…I thought you should know that’s what’s going on,” Morgan said, amused.

“I’m gonna kill Glenn!” Nicholas whined, rolling over on his stomach to complain into his rug. “I can never talk to Mr. Wilson again!”

“Ohhh, sweetie, I don’t think it’s that bad,” Morgan said. “He’s concerned about you! That’s not a bad thing!”

“I don’t wanna tell him about being small!” Nicholas whined. “Mamaaaaa!”

“You don’t have to tell him about that,” Morgan said. “Either me or Glenn could tell him that it’s a private thing, and you really don’t want to tell anyone about it.”

Nicholas whined into the rug, but he figured that was the best chance he had at getting out of this. “And Dad won’t know…?” he asked.

“Neither of us has any plans on telling Dad unless you want us to,” Morgan tried to reassure. “Is there a reason you really don’t want Dad to know, though…?”

“Just…” Nicholas sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. “I-I’m not scared of what he’ll think, b-but I am a little nervous, and I don’t want to tell him if I don’t have to,” he said. “Dad’s really different, now, and I don’t know what he’ll think if he hears that I act like a little kid sometimes because I’m scared or traumatized or whatever…”

“That makes sense, sweetie…” Morgan said. She sounded so sad, which only made Nick feel sad for her.

“I really only ever wanted to tell Terry…” Nicholas mumbled. “Glenn found out by accident, and I told you ‘cause I showed you my jacket without thinking and made you worry…”

“And your other friends?” Morgan questioned.

“Told them when we ditched school because I wanted to be small…” Nicholas said, cheeks pinkening. “And now dumb Mr. Wilson knows something’s going on…”

“We’ll take care of that, honey,” Morgan reassured. She pinched his chin, and Nicholas smiled at her. “If you’re okay, I’m going to go downstairs and see if I can talk to Mr. Wilson, okay?”

“Okay…” Nicholas said, nodding. “I’m gonna talk to Terry.”

Morgan quirked a brow at that, but she knew what he meant. She kissed his forehead and got to her feet, heading out the door.

Nick watched her go, and once his mom was out of earshot, he grabbed his phone to call Terry.

“Nick?” came Terry’s voice on the other end. He could hear some video game in background, and that made Nick feel a little guilty. He was interrupting. “What’s up?”

“U-um…” Nick swallowed hard, nervous. Why was he nervous? It was just Terry. “C-can I come over?” he asked.

“Are you small?” Terry asked, his voice softening as he asked. Nick’s heart ached.

“I wanna be…” he said in such a sad, small voice.

“You can come over, Nicky,” Terry said. “Is everything okay?” he asked.

Nicky sniffled as he got to his feet. He grabbed his backpack out of his closet. “Mama was askin’ about Nick Close…” he said. Nicky could hear the breath intake from Terry.

“I’m sorry, Nicky…” Terry said. Nicky nodded, though he knew Terry couldn’t see it. “You can come on over whenever you’re ready, lil guy.”

“Okay…” Nicky said with a sniffle. He made his claws, and he tore a hole in the air that led to Terry’s room. He stepped through, and he darted over to Terry’s bed to crash down beside him.

Terry tossed his controller down beside himself, and he opened his arms up wide for Nicky. As Nicky threw himself down into those waiting arms, Terry wrapped him up tightly. Nicky hugged him back, and he jammed his head under Terry’s chin.

The two of them laid for a long while just like that, silent except for the sound of Lego Batman in the background. Eventually, though, Nicky had enough, and he sat back on his haunches to wipe his face. Terry sat up, too, and crossed his legs.

“Do you wanna talk about it, or do you want a distraction?” Terry asked. Nicky sniffled.

“Straction,” he said so sadly. Terry nodded.

“Okay, c’mon,” he said as he got up. Nicky looked at him with big eyes, but as Terry offered his hand, he could only put his own in Terry’s and let him pull him to his feet. Nicky followed Terry out the door, and they headed to the kitchen downstairs.

“Wha’doin’?” Nicky asked with his finger jammed between his teeth.

“Look what we’ve got,” Terry said as he reached into the freezer. He held out a tub of cookies and cream ice cream, smirking as Nicky’s face went from sad to utterly excited. “Want some?” he asked.

“Gimme!” Nicky squeaked, his hands outstretched as he gripped toward the ice cream.

“Figured you wouldn’t say no to this,” Terry said, snickering. He sat the tub down on the counter, and he opened the fridge to grab a bottle of chocolate syrup. Nicky made a sound akin to that of a kettle on the stove, and Terry nearly lost it.

“What’s going on—oh!” Samantha poked her head into the kitchen. “When did you get here, Nicholas?” she asked.

“Few minutes ago…” Nicky said, nervous as she made her way into the room.

“He portaled over,” Terry explained while he grabbed a couple bowls out of a cabinet.

“So you decided to pump him full of sugar?” Samantha questioned.

“You eat ice cream when you’re sad!” Terry defended. Nicky chimed in with his agreement, and Terry gestured to him as though that made this sound any amount more credible. Samantha sighed.

“Alright, but how about I dish out the ice cream?” she suggested. “I know that your eyes tend to be bigger than your stomach,” she said, poking at Terry’s tummy. He squawked in protest, but he handed the scoop over to her.

“I want a lot…!” Nicky tried.

“Okay, sweetie,” Samantha said. She plopped two big scoops and a little half-scoop in each bowl. She opened the syrup as well, adding a drizzle across the tops of both bowls.

“More…” Nicky said around his finger when she stopped squirting syrup far too soon.

“I think that’s plenty, sweetie,” Samantha said, amused. “I don’t want you two to get tummy aches.”

“I won’t!” Nicky insisted, though.

“Mmm…I think your mom might disagree,” she said, though.

“Thanks, Mom…” Terry said, grinning at Nicky as he took his bowl. Samantha smiled at them, and she put away the ice cream. “C’mon, Nicky, let’s go.”

“I want more syrup!” Nicky whined, though.

“I don’t think that’s gonna happen, Nicky,” Terry said apologetically. Nicky whined, tears in his eyes, but he followed after Terry back up the stairs. “How about we watch a movie?” Terry suggested. “We can watch Detective Pikachu since you didn’t see much of it,” he teased. Nicky glared at him, cheeks puffed out, but he nodded.

“You’re a butthead,” Nicky said as he jumped onto the bed.

“How am I a butthead?” Terry questioned while he grabbed his remote. “I got you ice cream!”

“With no extra syrup,” Nicky fussed. Terry rolled his eyes.

“You just have high expectations,” Terry teased. He leaned back against his pillows, and Nicky cuddled up beside him. “If I were really a butthead, I’d make you talk about what’s bothering you.”

Nicky’s hands were very cold from his ice cream, so he jammed his frozen fingers into Terry’s ribs. Terry yelped, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. “Mean!”

“Pikachu,” Nicky said plainly, pointing at the TV until Terry hit play. He tossed himself back down against Terry, his fit quickly forgotten in favor of the fun movie, ice cream, and very chilly cuddles.

Chapter Text

Parks in Faerûn were very different from the parks on Earth, Nick thought. Rather than big slides or swings or monkeybars, parks in Faerûn tended to be a little more…abstract. There were big structures built from wood and metal that kids could climb, there sometimes large pits in the ground that they could fall in, and there was a myriad of other dangerous stuff to get hurt on, too. At least the parks were better than the ones in Hell; those were just like normal parks, but on fire. Nick shuddered to remember going down a slide and almost getting swallowed up by a demon squatted at the bottom with its mouth open.

Still, though, parks in Faerûn left a lot to be desired, so the dads introduced some new playground equipment into the realm. Which was how Nick found himself on a tire swing with Sparrow, the two of them spinning around as they kicked off the ground. Lark, Terry, and Grant climbed across one of the big structures and shouted about vampires as Terry chased after the two of them, fire bolts flying from his fingertips.

“I don’t think that’s how vampires work,” Sparrow said, digging his feet into the dirt.

“Apparently real vampires weren’t intimidating enough since our dads could kill one,” Nick said. He looked up toward their other friends, laughing as he saw Grant fall off the structure. He got back up easily, and he climbed back up the structure after Lark and Terry. “They decided to add fire.”

“Our friends are stupid.”

“One of them is your brother,” Nicholas said, snickering. He kicked off again to spin them around in the swing.

“I said what I said,” Sparrow said.

“Boys, be careful!” Henry fussed from the picnic table the dads sat at. They had a big map laid out along with all their notes. The whole reason all of them even stopped at the park was so the dads could try to strategize, so the kids all ran off to get away from them for a while.

“I don’t think telling them to be careful is gonna stop them from being stupid,” Nick said, rolling his eyes.

“Definitely not,” Sparrow said. He plopped his feet down beside Nicholas, who quirked a brow at him. “It’s been, like, a month since I got to play with Small Nicky,” he said. “How come?”

“I didn’t realize I was depriving you or something,” Nick said, a smirk on his face.

“It’s cute!” Sparrow fussed, digging his toes into Nick’s ribs despite the protests.

“I just haven’t been small around you, I don’t know what to tell you!” Nicholas said. “I’ve been small with Terry, but that’s normal.”

“Why’s he so special?” Sparrow asked with a pout. Nicholas snorted a laugh.

“He’s my best friend,” he said with a shrug. “I brought it up to him first, and I’m more comfortable with him. Not that I’m not comfortable with you guys, just…it’s different.”

“Fine…” Sparrow said with a sigh. He held onto the ropes and leaned all the way back so his hair dragged the ground. “I’m just saying, if you were small, we could play something together, and it’d be cute!”

“Do you wanna play or something?” Nicholas asked, laughing.

“If you wanna!” Sparrow said. He flipped off of the swing, landing on his feet while Nicholas rolled his eyes at him. “Do you want to be wolves?” Sparrow asked.

“Sure,” Nicholas said with a shrug. He hopped up, and the two of them ran off toward one of the shallower pits. Nicholas followed Sparrow’s lead, plopping down on all fours to run after him as they made up some elaborate story about flowers that came from the moon, special rituals with the flowers, and raising wolf cubs. It was fun, losing himself in a game like this, and Nick certainly didn’t mind it. At least he wasn’t being chased with fire bolts.

And it might have remained fun if there wasn’t a large rock right in the way of where Nick jumped. He jumped off a different rock, intending to land on the flowers that Sparrow made, but instead he smashed his knee into the ground, dragging it along a slab of jagged rock barely hidden under some sandy dirt.

“Owwwwww!” Nick cried, grabbing his knee.

“Nicholas!” Sparrow yelped. He jumped over to him from where he sat digging in the dirt. He tried to move his hands away from the scrape, but Nicholas only cried harder as he tried to keep it covered. “Can I see it, Nick?”

“N-n-n-no!” Nicholas cried, burying his face in his knee. It hurt too much, and it bled too much.

“Nick?” came Terry’s voice. Nicholas looked up through teary eyes as their friends made their way down to them. Terry sat beside him, and Nicky threw himself into Terry’s arms, crying hard. “What happened?” Terry asked.

“We were just playing wolves, and he jumped from that rock,” Sparrow said. “He scraped his knee or something…” He looked down where Nick had landed, wincing at the sight of blood on the rock.

“One of you knows how to heal, right?” Grant asked, looking at Terry and Sparrow.

“I need to be able to touch it,” Sparrow said. Nicky cried harder, curling up tighter with Terry. “We need Father,” he said with a sigh.

“I’ll go get him,” Grant said.

As Grant ran off, Lark plopped down in front of Nicky, who barely peeked up from where he hid his face in Terry’s chest. “You’re gonna be okay,” Lark tried. “Scratches happen all the time. I’ve got a bunch, see,” he said, gesturing to the bandaids that covered his hands, knees, and elbows. Nicky sniffled, and he gave a little nod.

“Hurts…” he whimpered. Lark wrinkled his nose up; he didn’t know what to do about the pain.

“Glenn’s gonna fix it,” Grant said as he came back, plopping down beside Sparrow. Nicky looked up as Glenn made his way over.

“Hey, bud, what happened?” Glenn asked, stooping down beside Nicky and Terry.

“H-hurt…” Nicky said. He sniffled, and he moved his hand away for a second so Glenn could see.

“Ah, that’s a pretty gnarly scrape there, kiddo,” Glenn said. “Hey, do you remember the lyrics to Some Beach?”

Nicky wrinkled his brow up, shaking his head. Glenn snickered, and he pulled his guitar around off his back. He strummed the tune, and he sang the silly song. “Some beach, somewhere, there’s a big umbrella casting shade over an empty chair. Palm trees are growin’ and warm breezes blowin’, I picture myself right there on some beach, somewhere.”

As Glenn played, Nicky’s tears dried up, and he didn’t even notice his knee hurt. By the time Glenn finished, Nicky looked down to see the scrape on his knee completely healed over. The blood still stained his skin, but the cuts were gone.

“Aye, there we go,” Glenn said, giving him a gentle smile. “All better, kiddo?”

“Mhm…” Nicky nodded.

“How ‘bout we go clean the rest of that up, and the rest of you kids come clean your hands. Darryl’s got the grill going, so it’s probably about time to eat,” Glenn said.

The twins and Grant took off to wash up, but Terry stayed with Nicky. He helped him to his feet, and he held his hand. “How about after we eat, you and Sparrow just play with us, yeah?” Terry suggested. “At least that way we don’t have to worry about rocks…”

“Wanna swing…” Nicky said, sniffling.

“I can push you on the swings?” Terry suggested. Nicky nodded.

“C’mon, you two can work that out while you eat,” Glenn said, ushering them up toward the picnic tables. “Take a seat, Nick,” he said, so Nicky did. Terry sat beside him. “Aye, Henry, where is the first-aid kit?”

“Is he still hurt?” Henry asked, surprised.

“Nah, just some blood,” Glenn said. Henry grabbed the first-aid kit from the van and handed it over. Glenn took it graciously and sat down on Nicky’s other side. “Alright, this is gonna be cold,” he said as he opened an alcohol wipe. “It shouldn’t hurt, because the spell got rid of the cuts.” Nicky nodded, and he watched while Glenn cleaned up his scrape. “How’s that?” he asked.

“Didn’t hurt,” Nicky said. He stuck his pointer finger in his mouth to gnaw on, though. Terry swiped it out of his mouth. “Can I have a bandaid?” Nicky asked. “Lark’s got lots.”

That got a laugh out of Glenn, but he nodded. “Yeah, sure,” he said, amusement dripping from his voice. He grabbed the different boxes of bandaids to offer Nicky. “What’cha want, bud?”

Nicky looked over his options: Minecraft, Disney, Spiderman, Paw Patrol, and Pokemon. He poked the box with Paw Patrol on it, and Glenn huffed a laugh.

“Of course you pick the cop dogs, huh?” he teased, a grin on his face as he opened the box. Nicky giggled, and he leaned back against Terry. Glenn grabbed one of the bandaids with Chase on it, and he peeled off the back to stick it on Nicky’s knee. “How’s that?”

Nicky giggled, looking back at Terry with a big grin on his face.

“I’m not kissing your knee,” Terry said before Nicky could ask.

“Terry!” Nicky whined.

“It’s already better!” Terry insisted, poking him in the knee. “Make Sparrow do it since he’s the reason you got hurt.”

“Okay!” Nicky said. He hopped to his feet to go after Sparrow. Terry rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t keep down the smile on his face. Why did Nicky have to be so adorable?

Glenn watched, too, as Nicky tackled a screaming Sparrow to the ground. He closed up the first-aid kit and got to his feet. “He’s something else…” he said, snickering.

“He wants everyone to forget he cried,” Terry said.

“Is that it?” Glenn questioned, looking up at Nicky again. Nicky held his leg up, hopping after Sparrow. “I guess I can see that.”

“He’ll be silly for a while, and he’ll cry again later,” Terry said, shrugging.

“I don’t know if I should be okay with you knowing this much about him like this or not,” Glenn said, brows knitted together.

“If I didn’t, then neither would you,” Terry said.

“Fair enough,” Glenn said. He headed back over to the van to put away the kit and avoid Jodie.

“How’s he?” Jodie asked, since apparently fate was a cruel mistress. Glenn sighed, plopping back down in his seat.

“He’s fine, Jodie,” Glenn said. “Just a scrape, and I healed it.”

“What happened?” Jodie asked.

“They were roughhousing, no big deal,” Glenn said with a shrug. Jodie grumbled, arms folded as he watched Nick run back over to Terry with a burger on his plate. “Any reason you couldn’t be the one to go over there and heal your kid?” Glenn asked. Jodie sneered at him.

“Demons aren’t really in the business of healing,” Jodie said. “I can’t do that anymore.”

“Sounds like quitter’s talk to me,” Glenn said. Jodie growled lowly.

Grant sat down beside Nicky, and the twins sat across from them. “So, are you gonna be small the rest of the day…?” Grant asked. Nicky shrugged.

“Don’t think so…” he said. He looked over at Terry, but he jerked his eyes back down to his plate. “It was an accident, so I don’t wanna stay small…” he said.

“Do you still wanna be pushed on the swings?” Terry asked.

Nicky squeaked. “Um!” He blushed, and he kicked his feet under the table. “I ‘unno!” He knew that something like swings wouldn’t do much to get him out of his regression. If anything, being pushed on the swings would probably make him feel smaller. But, he also really loved swings.

“If any of our dads say something about you, we can take them,” Lark said proudly. “We’ll beat them up for you.”

“Thanks…” Nicky said, unsure if he should be thankful for that.

“Let’s not beat up our dads…” Terry said with a sigh. “I don’t know how to make you feel not small, but we could always just…hang out and play as if you felt like normal. Or do you think that wouldn’t work?”

“Might work…” Nicky said. But, unfortunately, the longer he sat there thinking about it…he wasn’t sure if he wanted to be big again. Terry rubbed his back just between his shoulder blades where his wings made him ache, and that fuzzy, cloudy feeling hovered over him like a weighted blanket. It felt nice, even if it felt inconvenient. Why didn’t he want to be small, anyway? His dad? He could keep his dad from figuring out he felt small. Jodie hadn’t figured it out yet, and Nicky was sure he was smarter than his dad at this point. “I wanna play on the swings…” Nicky mumbled.

“You sure?” Terry asked. Nicky nodded. “Okay, finish eating, then we’ll go play on the swings,” he said. Nicky whined.

“I wanna play now…” he said, kicking his feet under the table.

“Well, I wanna eat, so…” Terry trailed off, picking up his burger. Nicky huffed, looking to Grant instead.

“Push?” he asked. Grant snorted a laugh.

“Uh, I’m trying to eat, but after?” Grant tried. Nicky sighed dramatically, dropping his head down on the picnic table. “Just eat your lunch, and by the time you’re done, one of us’ll be done, too.”

That didn’t appease Nicky, however. He whined loudly into the wood. He looked up with a glare on his face, staring at the twins.

“We can go back on the tire swing after we eat?” Sparrow suggested, not sure what to say. Nicky dropped his head back down.

“Why are you so upset that you can’t swing?” Lark asked. “You just said that you didn’t want to be small anymore.”

Nicky didn’t answer him verbally. Instead, he covered his head with his arms and whined loudly into them.

“This is very unhelpful, Nick,” Lark complained.

“You’re unhelpful!” Nicky cried, yanking his head up just to fuss at Lark.

“Hey, he’s not trying to be mean, Nicky,” Terry said. He put an arm around Nicky’s shoulders. “What’s going on? You were doing okay a couple minutes ago. You wanted to be big, and you weren’t upset…what’s wrong?”

“Wanna be small…” Nicky mumbled.

“Okay…” Terry nodded, confused. “You can stay small if you want, Nicky.”

Nicky sighed, turning his head up to look at Terry, who just offered him a soft smile. “Sorry…”

“What for?” Terry asked. Nicky buried his face back into his arms. “C’mon, eat,” Terry tried one last time, dragging Nicky’s plate closer so it bumped his arm. “If you eat half your burger and some of your chips, I’ll push you on the swings.”

“Okay…” Nicky whimpered. He sat up just enough to drop his head on Terry’s shoulder, and he snatched his burger off his plate to eat as pathetically as possible. It seemed like an agonizingly long time before Terry pushed his plate away, and Nicky threw his food down to jump to his feet. “Swings?”

“We’re going to the swings,” Terry said, nodding. Nicky cheered, and he ran off toward the haphazard swingset. He threw himself down on the seat and kicked his feet against the dirt while he waited for Terry to make his way over.

“Push!”

“I’m gonna push you!” Terry said, snickering. He grabbed the chain to bring it back, letting go so Nicky swung forward. As he came back, Terry pushed him gently forward again, and again, and again. Eventually the rest of their friends joined them, and Nicky smiled again.

“Don’t even think about it,” Sparrow fussed, though, and Nicky looked over at him with a look of surprise. “I know that look; that’s the look me and Lark had when we jumped off our roof. Don’t jump out of the swing!”

“Please don’t jump out of the swing,” Terry practically begged.

“I won’t…!” Nicky said, his cheeks turning bright red at being caught. He just wanted another bandaid!

Chapter Text

“So, what are we getting for Terry?” Jodie asked, his arms leaned on the buggy while he followed Nicholas through Best Buy. “And why?”

“His birthday’s tomorrow, and his dad’s having a birthday party for him, remember?” Nicholas explained. He looked back at his dad, who seemed to search his memory for any knowledge on this event.

“I think I remember Ron saying something about that, actually…” Jodie grumbled. “So, what are you getting him?” he asked.

“He needs a new headset for gaming,” Nicholas explained. “He broke his because he got mad at someone in a game.”

“Ah, gotcha,” Jodie said. Then he thought about it a little more. Headsets could get very expensive. “How much are you going to spend on this?” he asked.

Nicholas shrugged, darting down the aisle where display headsets hung on LED-lit stands. “Mom said I could spend $50 at the most,” he said as he looked over his options.

“That is a lot to spend on someone,” Jodie said.

“He’s my best friend!” Nicholas said, though.

“Yeah, I get that, but still,” Jodie said. “Are you sure there’s not something else you want to get him?”

Nicholas snatched a box off the shelf to read over it. “I just need ones that work with Xbox…” he said to himself as he read the sides of the box. He didn’t need to tell his dad anything else. He wouldn’t understand what Terry meant to Nick, nor would he really care. Jodie just wanted to get out of there so they could go to Hell and hang out there.

“Buddy, c’mon, I bet we could find him a cool hoodie or something?” Jodie suggested.

“These are $40, but they only say Playstation…” Nicholas grumbled. He put the box back on the shelf and looked for anything green.

Jodie sighed, hanging his head for a second. He glanced back up at the shelves to at least try to help. “What about these?” he asked, holding up a small box.

“Dad, those are wired,” Nick said.

“What’s wrong with wired?” Jodie asked. “See, these say Xbox,” he said, pointing out the compatibility list on the side of the box.

“I’m getting wireless ones,” Nicholas said, though. He grabbed another box to read over it. Jodie set the box he picked up back on the shelf, and he gripped the basket of the buggy as he tried to figure out what to do. “Here, these are $40, too, and they say Xbox,” Nick said as he laid the headset in the buggy.

“And you’re sure you want to get these?” Jodie asked. “We could get him a book? Or some candy?”

“I wanna get him some candy, too,” Nick said. “He likes Nerds gummies, and I think they have those up front.” Jodie tried his hardest not to get irritated. This was just a little ridiculous, though.

“Do we need anything else here, or did I get a buggy for no reason?” Jodie asked.

“I dunno why you got the buggy,” Nick said with a shrug. “We never buy anything that big here.”

“Fair enough,” Jodie said through a sigh. “So, nothing else?”

Nick shook his head. “I just needed Terry’s birthday present!” he said with a grin. “Mom said we have gift bags at home, so I don’t need wrapping paper or anything.”

“Alright, then let’s go check out…” Jodie said. He pushed the buggy forward, not quite ready to admit that he didn’t need it. “So, what are your other friends getting him?” he asked since he wasn’t convinced that Nicholas was buying something expensive for another reason.

“Grant’s getting him Legos, Sparrow’s getting him this weird starry projector thingy, and Lark’s getting him a knife,” Nick explained.

“Well, at least a knife is practical…” Jodie said under his breath. They got in line to checkout behind some old man with a bag full of parts, and Jodie worried that this would take a ridiculously long time. “So, what, are you kids having a sleepover at Terry’s house?” Jodie asked.

“Yeah, we’re gonna have a sleepover, and Mr. Stampler is apparently going to make a cake, and we’ll probably have, like, pizza or something,” Nick explained. “I don’t know how well it’s gonna go with Mr. Stampler making a cake. Hopefully it’s edible.”

“I’m sure Samantha will step in and help if he needs it,” Jodie said, snickering. He thought that might be an entertaining show, watching Ron try to bake.

“Are you gonna come, Dad?” Nick asked. He clutched the box to his chest, and he snatched a bag of Nerds gummies off a hook.

“If you want me to be there, I’ll come, kiddo,” Jodie said. “It sounds like this is just for you kids, though. Are the other parents staying?”

“Probably,” Nicholas said. “Like, I know everybody usually takes any chance they get to sit around and talk about all the problems in the realms and stuff, so…”

“Yeah, but this is a birthday,” Jodie said. “Hopefully everybody can kinda keep that stuff contained for one day, let Terry have his birthday. I know if it were your birthday, I wouldn’t want them talking about Doodler stuff the whole time.”

“It’d be nice…” Nick said. “Terry probably doesn’t want to talk about the Doodler on his birthday, either.”

“How old is he turning, by the way…?” Jodie asked. He really didn’t know any of these kids’ ages, just his son’s.

“He’s gonna be thirteen, Dad,” Nick said, rolling his eyes as though that should have been obvious. “We’re all in the same grade, remember?”

“Oh yeah.” Jodie did not remember, but he didn’t think that was too important to know. “For some reason, I forgot how that works. Of course you guys are the same age!” He laughed it off like he just made a little error, but Jodie knew that Nick didn’t buy it. Nick looked up toward the cashier, and he marched forward to put his presents on the counter.

“Hi, there!” the cashier greeted with a friendly smile. “Did you find everything you were looking for today?”

“Yes, ma’am,” Nicholas said, a small blush coming over his face. He kept his head down and fiddled with his wallet while she scanned his stuff.

“Oh, these are very nice headphones,” the cashier said. “My little brother has these for his computer, and he loves them!”

“Th-that’s cool,” Nicholas squeaked out. He really didn’t like being at the front of the checkout process like this.

“Well, that’s good to know!” Jodie said right behind Nick, plopping a hand on his shoulder. Nick swore he felt his heart stop. “He’s getting them as a birthday present for a boy, so—”

“Dad!” Nicholas fussed, his face growing hotter.

“Th-that’ll be $48.32,” the cashier said, barely stifling her laughter. Nicholas prayed that the ground might open up and swallow him whole. He handed over the $50 bill his mom gave him.

“What’s wrong, Nicholas?” Jodie asked. “It’s true! It’s not like I said that you like him or something. You’ve never even exactly said—”

“Dad, shut up!” Nicholas cried, his face practically on fire. The cashier handed him his change, and Nicholas ran out the door before his dad could embarrass him further. Nick held the box and candy against his chest as he leaned against the wall outside. He sunk down to the ground, curling up in a little ball. His eyes stung with tears, his nose tingled as pressure built up, and Nick wanted to cry. He hated that he cried so easily when he felt embarrassed, but the need sat there behind his face begging him to give in.

A shadow fell over him, and Nick looked up to see his dad standing over him.

“Go away,” Nicholas said, burying his face back in his knees.

“I don’t think I can do that, Nicholas,” Jodie said with a sigh. He sat down beside him, and he put an arm around Nick’s shoulders. “I’m sorry, bud. I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”

“I don’t like Terry, Dad…” Nicholas grumbled. “I dunno why every adult thinks that. Our friends get it.”

“I just assumed, and that’s wrong of me,” Jodie said. “Can you tell me why he’s so special, then? You two spend a lot of time together, and you’re always talking about him.”

“He’s my best friend,” Nick said. Why couldn’t the adults in his life get that? Did none of them know what friendship felt like? That was just sad.

“Okay, I get that,” Jodie said, but Nick didn’t believe him. “I promise I’ll leave it alone from now on, okay? But if you ever want to talk… Dad’s here.”

“Cool, thanks,” Nick deadpanned. He really didn’t want to talk to his dad about this stuff. If he talked for too long about Terry, it might come back around to his regression, and that was the last thing Nick wanted to tell his dad about. He sniffled as he got to his feet. “I wanna go home,” he said.

“To your mom’s?” Jodie clarified. Nick nodded. “Alright…” Jodie sighed. He got up, and he cut a portal for them to hop through. They landed in the living room, so Nicholas took off up the stairs toward his bedroom before Jodie could say another word to him.

Nicholas threw open the door to his room, and he dumped his presents on his desk. He kicked off his boots, shrugged off his jacket, and threw himself down on his bed to scream into his mattress. Why did his dad have to be a demon? Why did he have to be so…like this? Nick just wanted to buy his present for Terry and go home. That should not have led to him being embarrassed in the middle of a Best Buy.

The worst part, Nicholas thought, was that he wasn’t even sure his dad embarrassed him because he was a demon. Nicholas thought that his dad would have embarrassed him even if he were still just a cop.

“Knock, knock?” came Morgan’s voice after a few minutes of wailing. Nick didn’t have an ounce of energy left in him to fight. “Dad told me a little bit of what happened, sweetie,” Morgan said. She sat down on the edge of the bed, but Nick didn’t move. “Are you alright?” she asked, resting a hand on Nicholas’s leg.

“No,” Nicholas said in the mattress. “I can never go to Best Buy again…” he whined.

“I don’t think you’re the first person to be embarrassed by his dad in a store, sweetie,” Morgan said. She rubbed his back soothingly, but Nicholas still didn’t move. “Did you at least get the headphones you wanted to get for Terry?”

“Yeah…” Nicholas said pitifully.

“Well, that’s good,” Morgan said. “I’d hate for you to have to go to Target for headphones next.”

Nicholas groaned into his blankets. Morgan snickered.

“Can I see your face, or are you just going to keep sniffing your sheets?” Morgan asked. Nicholas didn’t move for a second while he contemplated what to do, then he inhaled deeply. “Oh, you stinker!” Morgan fussed gently. Nicholas laughed as she went at his sides with quick fingers, tickling him into flipping over.

“Mooooooom!” Nicholas screeched, kicking his feet. He landed on his back, breathing heavy. “That wasn’t fair.”

“Wasn’t it?” Morgan questioned, a grin on her face. She smoothed down Nicholas’s hair, and his eyes slid shut. “I’ll go get a bag and some tissue paper, and we can fix up the present, okay?”

“Okay…” Nicholas said. “Is Dad still here?” he asked.

“Yeah, Dad’s downstairs,” Morgan said. “Is that okay?”

Nicholas shrugged. He rolled over onto his side, and his thumb found its way into his mouth. Morgan gave him such a sweet, sad look as she got to her feet.

“We didn’t get Terry a card, did we?” she asked. Nicky’s eyes went wide, and he shook his head. “Maybe you should make him one, then!”

“Yeah…!” Nicky squeaked. “I can make one…!”

“I bet he’d love that,” Morgan said. She kissed his forehead and headed toward the door. “I’ll get you some cardstock, okay?”

“Okay, Mama!” Nicky sat up, and he shuffled over to his desk to get out his colored pencils.

Morgan came back just a couple minutes later with a red bag covered in candles, cake, and confetti. She also held some tissue paper and cardstock paper which she sat on Nick’s desk. “Alright, Mama’s going to show you how to package a present, c’mere,” she said while she sat up the bag on Nicholas’s bed. He shuffled back over with the headset and candy in his hands. “First thing we do is lay down a few sheets of tissue paper, and we fold up opposite corners.” She demonstrated, holding up the triangle of paper that she transferred to the gift bag. “Now we gently stuff it into the bag, and we fluff it up so it looks pretty.”

Nicky watched with intense concentration, his pointer finger stuck in his mouth. His eyes were big, and he seemed totally enamored. How cute, Morgan thought.

“We’ll add another layer just like this, but we’ll put it in the bag at a different angle so there’s more fluff,” she said, repeating her previous steps. She tugged on the paper gently to make sure that it looked nice. “Next, we’ll put the headphones and candy in the middle,” she said, adding the box and candy into the bag. “And then we’ll take two more sheets of tissue paper, and we’ll fold them in half hamburger-style so we can fit them in the bag,” she explained. She folded the tissue paper, and she added one sheet to the front and one to the back, fluffing everything up so it hid the gifts inside.  “What’cha think?” she asked.

“Tha’salotta paper…” Nicky said around his finger, looking up at his mom in amazement.

“You probably don’t need to use quite as much as I do, but I like to make it very fluffy,” Morgan said, grinning at him. Nicky giggled, and he looked down at the bag.

“Do I put the card in tissue paper…?” he asked.

“We’ll just put it down with the presents,” Morgan said. “Let me know when you finish your card, and I’ll help you put it in the bag if you want?”

Nicky nodded. He didn’t trust himself not to rip the paper to bits.

“Alright, I’m going to go downstairs and sit with Dad,” Morgan said. “Have fun with your card, okay?”

“Okay, Mama…” Nicky said. He hugged her, and of course Morgan hugged him back. She took her leave, and Nicky sat down at his desk to get started. First, he needed a plan, so he grabbed a sheet of notebook paper to sketch out his plans. He folded it in half and doodled on the front, deciding that he could draw Terry as a cool wizard and himself as a demon. Nicky drew some soccer balls, dragons, and he tried his hand at a wizard tower, too. Once he was sure he knew how he wanted his card to look, he grabbed the cardstock. Nicky folded it in half, and he sketched everything out in pencil.

The front of the card had a big wizard tower with Terry and Nicky standing outside playing soccer. There was a big sun in the corner, and there were a bunch of five-petal flowers on the ground. Then inside the card, Nicky drew a puppy, a Creeper, and Jake the Dog wearing birthday hats on one side. With the other side, Nicky tried to write a message for Terry. It frustrated him to no end, and in the end Nicky grabbed another piece of notebook paper to write out his message. He glued it into the card, and he added a few stickers around it to make it look less obvious that Nicky couldn’t spell.

‘Happy Birthday, Terry! Your my best freind and I love you! From Nicholas Nick Nicky’

Now he just needed to steal his mom back from his dad so she could help him. With as upset as Nicky felt toward his dad, he thought he could just bite him to get him away from her. At least he knew that was effective.

Chapter Text

“Are we all set?” Jodie asked, knocking on Nicholas’s bedroom door. Nicholas looked up from his backpack where he stuffed his clothes and regression gear that he hoped he didn’t need, and he nodded to his dad.

“All set!” he said as he hopped up from his bed. Nicholas slung his bag on his shoulder and darted out his bedroom door all the way downstairs with Jodie on his heels.

“Someone’s in a hurry!” Morgan said, snickering as Nick nearly slammed into the wall in a race to get his shoes.

“Just ready to go!” Nick said. He toed on his shoes and grinned at his mom, who held the bag with his present to Terry inside.

“Alright, alright, let’s get going,” Jodie said. He cut a hole into the air that led into the Stampler’s living room, and Nick jumped through before either of his parents could.

“Nick!” Terry yelped from the doorway into the kitchen.

“Happy birthday!” Nicholas said as he ran at Terry with his arms out. He crashed into Terry, who enveloped him tightly in a hug. At least they had the wall there to catch them before they hit the ground.

“Be careful, Nicholas,” Morgan said, snickering as she and Jodie made their way through the portal. “Don’t hurt the birthday boy!”

“He can handle it, can’t you, Terry?” Nicholas said, a grin on his face as he let go of Terry.

“No, I think you’re trying to kill me,” Terry deadpanned. Nick glared at him, and Terry cracked immediately, laughing as he took Nick’s hand in his.

“Where are we setting your presents, Terry?” Morgan asked, holding up the bag.

“Oh, uh…” Terry glanced back into the kitchen at his mom. “Where do you want presents, Mom?”

“Bring it in here, Morgan!” Samantha called. Morgan ushered the boys into the kitchen, and she carried the bag with her. “You can set it over here on the dining table,” Samantha said. She led Morgan over where a big purple tablecloth was spread out and some balloons bounced across the seats and ceiling.

“Seriously?” Nick whispered to Terry, who rolled his eyes.

“Ron wanted to do balloons, streamers, and a piñata,” Terry whispered.

“Oh noooo…” Nick covered his mouth to hide his laughter.

“Yeah, this was a compromise,” Terry said.

“Hey, kiddo, did you wanna lick the beaters?” Ron asked, pulling both boys’ attentions toward him at the oven. Nick snorted a laugh at the sight; Ron stood between the island and the oven with an apron that read ‘I like big buns and I cannot lie’ with an image of cinnamon buns. He had oven mitts on and a chef hat, and it appeared that he wore more flour than what made it into the cake.

“Uh…sure, Ron,” Terry said.

“Okay, do you know how to get the beaters off the mixer, because I don’t know how to do that,” Ron asked. Terry started toward him to help, but Jodie stepped in.

“Here, you just press this button,” Jodie said as he unlocked the beaters from the mixer. They came off in his hands, and he held one out for both boys. “Here, kids.”

“Oh, I was gonna try it, too…” Ron said sadly.

“There’s batter in the bowl, too?” Terry suggested.

“Yeah, I guess…” Ron said with a sigh.

“It looks like you did a pretty good job with the cake, Ron,” Jodie said, grinning as he watched Ron put the timer on.

“Well, this is actually cake number two,” Ron said. “But, we got it this time! This one won’t get screwed up!”

“What happened the first time?” Nick asked Terry quietly. He licked his beater, somewhat surprised that the strawberry cake didn’t taste bad.

“Somehow when he pulled it out of the oven, the whole thing was burnt to a crisp, and it glowed on the inside…” Terry whispered. Nick’s eyes grew wide. “I thought he somehow made lava out of cake batter.”

“Holy shit,” Nicholas said, laughing quietly.

“What’re you two kids laughing about?” Ron asked.

“Nothing!” both Terry and Nick said quickly.

“Right…”

“Hey, Terry, how about you go show Nicholas your new Switch?” Samantha suggested with a hand on his shoulder. “The other boys should be here soon, so you kids can play together until it’s time for pizza.”

“Okay, Mom,” Terry said. He abandoned his beater and snatched up Nicholas’s hand again and pulled him into the living room.

“You got a Switch for your birthday?” Nick asked as he slung his backpack down beside the couch.

“Yeah, my aunt got it for me,” Terry said. He grabbed it off its dock and handed it over to Nick. “It’s really cool. I’ve been playing a ton of Zelda all morning,” he explained while Nick pulled up the game. “She also got me Super Smash Bros…” Terry said, his voice trailing off as Nick grinned up at him.

“I’m gonna kick your ass,” he said so gleefully. Terry huffed, and he swiped his Switch back.

“You’re on,” he said as he plopped the device back into its dock and turned on the TV. “Do you want a joycon, or do you want a controller?” Terry asked, looking over his shoulder as Nicholas made himself comfortable on the sofa.

“Controller!” Nicholas said with his hands outstretched, grabbing the air until Terry plopped it in his hands. They loaded up the game, Terry picking Link and Nicholas picking Kirby as their characters. As they began, the front door opened for Grant, Darryl, and Carol to make their way inside.

“You got a Switch, Terry?” Grant asked as he sat down beside the birthday boy.

“My aunt,” Terry said plainly, too invested in not letting Nicholas beat him. Grant tried to help, tried to encourage him, but Terry still lost. “Oh, come on!”

“Ha ha!” Nick taunted, grinning wide and leaning against Terry.

“Grant, beat him,” Terry said, plopping his controller in Grant’s hands.

“Uh, sure,” Grant said, flustered. He started a new match, and this time Nick was far less confident. It didn’t take very long for Grant to win, and Terry cheered.

“That’s what you get!” Terry said, shoving Nick when he tried to lament his loss against him.

“Graaaaaaant, how could youuuuuuuu!” Nicholas whined, slipping off the couch in despair.

“Maybe you just need to get better at video games,” Grant said with a shrug. “It’s not hard to win against Terry—”

“Hey!”

“—So you just need to get better.” Grant tried to ignore Terry’s plight, but he still cracked up when Terry punched him in the arm.

“This is so dumb,” Nick whined. The door opened up for the Oak Garcias to come in, and Nicholas shot upright. “Lark, come beat Grant at Smash Bros!”

“Can do!” Lark said without hesitation. He asked no questions, and he made no move to even say hi to Terry as he ran over and snatched the controller from Nicholas. At least Sparrow squeezed himself between Terry and Nick to say hi.

“How did this happen?” Sparrow asked Terry, who rolled his eyes.

“Nicholas beat me, Grant beat him, and apparently that’s not acceptable,” Terry explained.

“Mm, well, I refuse to be a champion to another, so do you have a different controller?” Sparrow asked.

“Uh, yeah, there’s another joycon…?” Terry said.

“Ah, splendid!” Sparrow hopped up to grab the other joycon, and he flopped back down to join the game.

“So, it’s me versus Lark and Sparrow?” Grant asked.

“And if Lark wins, that’s a win for me and him,” Nick said with a nod.

“Well, now, hold on,” Lark said, a finger in the air as he twisted around to face Nick. “I didn’t agree to that, Narcolas.”

“That’s what I asked!” Nicholas fussed.

“No, no, no, you simply asked me to beat Grant, which I love doing, so I will do,” Lark said. “Never did you say that I am beating Grant for you.”

“Well, will you?” Nick asked, a scowl on his face.

“Only if you admit that you’re not good at video games, baby boy,” Lark said.

“This is stupid!” Nicholas whined.

“Don’t fight, guys,” Terry said with a sigh.

“We’re not fighting, birthday boy,” Lark said so smugly. “I will beat you next, after I win against Grant and Sparrow.”

Terry looked at Sparrow with pleading eyes. “Please, please, beat him.”

“I shall do my best, but not for you,” Sparrow said. Terry sighed, knowing that was as good as it would get.

“You guys are exhausting,” Grant groaned, hitting Play before they could fight anymore. Perhaps it was also that fighting that let him win again, or perhaps Grant was just better than his friends at games. “There, are we done with that?” Grant asked.

“I want a rematch!” Lark cried.

“No.”

The oven went off, and Terry sighed in relief. “That’s the cake,” he said. He hopped to his feet and poked his head into the kitchen where all the adults gathered around the island with a bottle of wine between them. Even Glenn appeared out of nowhere, not that that really surprised Terry at this point. “How’d the cake turn out this time?” he asked.

“Well, it looks like cake!” Ron said proudly as he held up the pan.

“Careful, don’t dump it on the floor!” Jodie said, quickly snatching the pan.

“Oh, gloves!” Ron fussed when he grabbed it with his bare hands, then he remembered. “Never mind, you’re hotter than that probably, so it’s fine.”

“That—okay, Ron,” Jodie said with a sigh. Terry snorted a laugh.

“Are you kids okay in there?” Samantha asked. “It sounded like you were arguing.”

“We’re fine, just playing Super Smash Bros,” Terry said. “That brings out the worst in people usually.”

“Well, maybe you kids oughtta play something a little less smashing and a little more…erect—no, wrong word,” Henry said, though he stopped himself while he was ahead. Mercedes patted him on the shoulder.

“I’ve got some other games that we’ll play,” Terry said with a nod. He cringed when he heard Nicholas and Lark fighting again. “I should probably go change it to Splatoon or something.”

“Go have fun,” Samantha said. Terry nodded, turning to go back to his friends when he heard a thud and Nick cry out.

“Shit!” Terry yelped, darting into the living room to find Nick on the floor cradling his head. “What happened?” he asked, flopping down on the floor beside Nick.

“I didn’t push him off the sofa, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Lark said perhaps a bit too defensively.

“I h-hit m-m-m-my head…” Nick said, barely biting back tears. Terry tried to check him over, sighing in relief when there was no blood.

“I think we need to play something else…” Grant said slowly.

“Agreed,” Sparrow said with a nod.

Terry helped Nick to his feet, quietly fussing over him. “You’re okay, it’s not bleeding. Did it scare you more than anything?”

“I’m fine, Terry…” Nick insisted, taking hold of his hands to push them away. “I’m not small, this is your birthday…we shouldn’t have been fighting like that.”

“It’s okay, Nick, it wouldn’t feel like you guys if you were suddenly well-behaved or something,” Terry said. “Are you sure you’re fine, because I don’t mind—”

“Seriously, let’s just play something else,” Nicholas insisted. He could feel his eyes sting with tears, but he refused to let them fall. This was Terry’s birthday, and he wasn’t going to ruin it just because he got an owie.

“Hey, kiddos, pizza’s on the way—Nicholas?” Jodie poked his head in the room, and his eyes fell on his son with teary eyes and a red face. “You okay, bud?”

“Mhm…” Nick said, biting down on his wobbly lip. He waited for Terry to sit down, and he squeezed between him and Sparrow. Jodie watched for a moment, wondering if he should step in, but he thought better of it. With as short of a fuse as Nicholas seemed to operate on these days, he thought he might just make things worse.

“Let’s play Splatoon,” Sparrow said as happily as he could. He got up to change the games, popping the new one into the Switch while he put the old one away.

“Hey, before you put Smash Bros away…” Grant started, leaning around Terry and Nicholas to see Lark. “I dare you to lick the cartridge, Lark.”

Terry snorted, and he covered his face with his hand. Nick laughed and sat up straighter. “I double dare you,” he said, smirking.

“Fine, give it here, brother!” Lark said. Sparrow rolled his eyes, but he handed the cartridge over to Lark. “How bad is it?” Lark asked before he put it anywhere near his tongue.

“It’s up to you to find out,” Grant said with a smirk.

Lark took in a deep breath, nodding. He stared at the cartridge as he tried to psych himself up, and then he placed it against his tongue—

“Eugh! Blech! No!” Lark dropped it on the floor, and Sparrow swiped it up immediately. “That was horrible! Ew! It’s still on my tongue!”

“Lark?” Mercedes ran in with concern on her face. “What’s wrong, sweetie?”

“He licked the game,” Sparrow said, giggling.

“Mami!” Lark whined.

“Ha ha, you got the icky game!” Nicholas taunted. Lark kicked him, not that he really cared.

“Why did you lick a game?” Mercedes asked, crouching beside him with her hands on either side of his face.

“Grant dared me to,” Lark whimpered.

“You could have said no,” Grant said. “We didn’t put it in your mouth ourselves.”

Mercedes sighed, and she got to her feet. “Does it still taste bad?” she asked.

“Yeah…” Lark whimpered. Nicholas rolled his eyes; he knew what it looked like to fake it for attention, and Lark was faking this so intensely. He almost had to respect it.

“Come on, mijo, let’s get you a drink…” Mercedes said. She held her hand out for Lark, and he took it. As they left for the kitchen, Lark looked back at his friends to stick out his tongue. Terry rolled his eyes. Why were his friends so dramatic?

“I should have let myself regress,” Nick deadpanned as he watched Lark leave. Terry burst out laughing, and Grant and Sparrow followed.

The doorbell rang, and Samantha made her way into the living room. The boys watched while she took the pizzas and paid the pizzaman. “Come on, boys, time to eat!” she said over her shoulder, and the boys followed immediately.

“After you eat, you can open presents, kiddo,” Ron said cheerily while the boys took their seats.

“Sounds good,” Terry said as he loaded up his plate.

“Balloons!” Sparrow shrieked, grabbing one to smack right into Grant’s head.

“Hey!” Grant fussed, grabbing another balloon to throw right back at him.

“Sparrow, c’mon, you know how you’re supposed to annoy someone with curly hair,” Nicholas said. He grabbed another balloon and rubbed it into Grant’s hair.

“Nicholas!” Grant shrieked, swatting at him. Nick cackled until Grant smacked the balloon out of his hands. “Why are you annoying?”

“I’m adorable, fuck you,” Nick said as he flopped down beside Terry.

“You think you’re adorable,” Terry said. Nick gasped as he turned to look at Terry with betrayal on his face. “I said what I said.” Nicholas kicked his leg, and Terry kicked back.

“Are we kicking Terry?” Lark asked as he came back over with a cup of juice.

“We are not kicking Terry!” Terry fussed even as Lark started kicking at him. He tried to retaliate until the adults fussed.

“Kids, settle down, settle down!” Darryl fussed. “Jeez, just eat!”

“I’m behaving, Mr. Wilson,” Sparrow said with little grin.

“Thank you, Sparrow,” Darryl said with a sigh.

“Kiss-up,” Nick hissed.

“Yes,” Sparrow whispered, sticking his tongue out.

“I think it’s present time,” Terry said.

“Oh, no, kiddo, you’re waiting until after you eat!” Ron tried.

“I don’t want to wait!” Terry said. He leaned across the table to grab the bag from Grant first. He peeked inside and gasped. “Star Wars Legos!”

“There’s another set in there, too,” Grant said, snickering.

“Fuck yeah,” Terry said as he pawed through the bag. “Minecraft? Oh, the wolves!” Terry held up a set with “Wolf Stronghold” on it.

“Wolves?” Sparrow leaned over his plate to get a better look. “We should build that one!”

“Open mine!” Lark said, giving Terry the little bag.

“Why is it so heavy?” Terry asked, concerned.

“Just open it,” Lark deadpanned. Terry pulled the little box out to reveal a large pocketknife with a shiny, iridescent blade.

“Ohhh…that’s fun…” Samantha winced.

“Hey, every young man should have a knife,” Ron said. “You never know when you need to stab something.”

“That’s what I’m afraid of…” Samantha said.

“Should’ve gotten him a butterfly knife so he could do some cool tricks,” Glenn said.

“Absolutely not,” Samantha fussed.

“Glenn, young boys do not need to do tricks,” Morgan fussed.

“Why not? I taught Nick everything I know!” Glenn said.

“Nicholas, do you remember any of that stuff?” Jodie asked.

“Sort of,” Nicholas said with a shrug. “I don’t know if I could do them, though…”

“And we don’t need to find out!” Morgan said. “Terry, keep going, sweetie,” she said in hopes of getting the conversation away from the knife talk.

Terry grabbed the bag from Sparrow, and he pulled out a large galaxy projector. “Woah, that’s so cool,” he said. “Thanks, Sparrow, this is so cool.”

“There’s an app that you can make your own galaxies,” Sparrow said.

“Awesome…” Terry said, giggling to himself as he put the projector back down. He grabbed the bag from Nick last, pulling out the paper and candy first. “Nerds!”

“Yeah, like you,” Nick said with his head on Terry’s shoulder. Terry nudged him in the ribs before he pulled out the box with the card flopping out.

“Oh, card—”

“Do that last,” Nick said, a blush taking over his face. Terry paused, pulling his hand away from the card to look at the box.

“…Oh, headphones, awesome!” Terry said. “I needed these!”

Nick snickered and nodded. “Yeah, since you rage-broke your others.”

Terry chose to ignore that in favor of looking at the card. The front was so cute, but Terry could tell immediately that Nicholas drew it when he felt small. The coloring was messy, and the faces looked a little lopsided, but that just made Terry love it more. He opened the card, smiling wide at the sight of characters in party hats and a stickered-in notebook page that Nicky signed.

“Thanks, Nick,” Terry said quietly, looking down at the boy cuddled into his arm. Nick looked up at him and gave him a shy smile, shrinking back in his seat just a little.

“Lemme see!” Sparrow tried, leaning around.

“No, it’s mine!” Terry fussed, holding his card away from Sparrow.

“I didn’t know we were doing cards,” Grant said, reaching for it.

“Mine!” Terry cried out, and he clutched the card to his chest.

“Boooooo,” Grant fussed.

“You kids should just finish eating, my goodness…” Carol fussed. “The sooner you finish up, the sooner you can go build Legos or something.”

“Legos!” Sparrow and Lark cheered. Nick squeaked, though, cuddling against Terry’s arm. He felt small, but he didn’t want it. He wanted to be a big kid and hang out with his friends. He wanted Terry to enjoy his birthday and be the special one. Nick didn’t want to ruin his day with regressing, so he needed to try extra hard to keep it in until bedtime.

Chapter Text

With the cake frosted and ready to eat, the adults called all the kids into the kitchen away from their pile of Legos in the living room. On top of the cake were thirteen little candles all arranged in two lines. The boys gathered around the kitchen island while the adults sang ‘happy birthday’ to a blushing, embarrassed Terry who hated this much attention. Samantha lit the candles, and Terry leaned closer to blow them out. Grant slapped a hand over Lark and Sparrow’s mouths just in case they tried any funny business.

Terry blew out his candles as Darryl tacked on “…and many mooooore” to the end of the song.

“What’d you wish for, kiddo?” Ron asked while Samantha and Carol grabbed plates and ice cream.

“I’m not supposed to say, right?” Terry questioned, a grin on his face. “I didn’t wish for world peace, or anything lame like that, if that’s what you’re thinking.”

“Since when is world peace lame?!” Henry asked in horror.

“No, he’s right,” Jodie said, and Terry thought maybe he should change his wish. Could he even do that?

“Here, birthday boy, go sit down,” Samantha said as she passed Terry a bowl with a slice of cake and a scoop of ice cream. Terry said his thanks and darted back over to the dining table.

Nick watched Terry go, his thumbnail caught between his teeth as he gnawed on it anxiously. He didn’t know why he felt so anxious, but that feeling bubbled up in his chest and refused to pop. Nick watched his parents and his friends’ parents buzz around with plates and cake, paper towels and empty beer bottles, until a bowl landed in his un-chewed hand. He looked up at Samantha, who gave him such a gentle look.

“Hi…” he said quietly, nervously, as a blush took over his face and he clutched the cake and ice cream.

“Go have a seat, sweet boy,” Samantha whispered. “You don’t want your ice cream to melt, do you?”

Nick squeaked, and he scooted off to Terry. He tried not to think too hard about how Samantha spoke to him; she probably thought he felt small because he chewed his thumb. But that didn’t mean anything, and Nick knew it. Chewing on his nails meant nothing, obviously.

“S-so…” he managed out, voice breaking. Terry looked at him with a quirked brow; Nick cleared his throat. “What did you wish for?” he asked.

“Yeah, I wanna know, too!” Sparrow said as he plopped down at the table. Lark sat beside him with his feet up in the chair, and he leaned halfway across the table to be involved. Grant rolled his eyes and sat down on Nicholas’s other side.

“I’m not supposed to say it!” Terry fussed with a pointed bite of ice cream.

“So you believe in birthday wishes, now?” Grant teased with a grin on his face. “That doesn’t sound like you, Terry.”

“We went to another realm with dragons, elves, and vampires, and my best friend is part demon, Grant,” Terry deadpanned. “I think I can believe in birthday wishes, now.”

“I think that’s a stretch,” Grant said, though his barely-contained laughter said otherwise.

“I can cast spells; I think wishes can be real!” Terry fussed, kicking Grant’s shin under the table. Grant cackled, and kicked back.

“Do you think there’s an actual spell for wishes?” Sparrow asked around a bite of cake.

“If there was, don’t you think our dads would’ve found it?” Grant asked. “Considering everything that happened, I think they could’ve used a wish or two.”

“They should’ve found a genie or something,” Lark said with a shrug.

“Genies are tricksters, though,” Nicholas said. “They take everything literally and screw you over, and I don’t think our dads handled tricksters very well…” He shuddered to remember swapping bodies with Paeden, Nick Jr, and the Roc.

“Yeah, our dads would’ve probably died if they had wishes,” Lark said after he thought about it for a moment. “Or they might’ve killed one of us.”

“But, since there’s no genie involved, I think that means Terry should tell us his wish!” Sparrow said with a big grin on his face, hands clasped in front of himself innocently. Terry groaned and slipped down in his seat.

“I’m not telliiiiiiiing,” Terry said. He kicked Sparrow’s seat for good measure.

“I bet he wished he could beat Nick at Super Smash Bros,” Grant teased.

“I did not!” Terry fussed.

“No, no, I think you’re on to something, Grant,” Nicholas said with a smirk. “Did you wish that you could be half as cool and awesome as me?”

“I should’ve wished that you could be less of a dork,” Terry said.

“Is that so?” Nick asked, keeping his eyes on Terry’s while he reached into his bowl to swipe icing off the slice of cake.

“Maybe then you’d be less stubborn and—” Terry stopped when Nicholas swiped icing over his nose. He yelped, jumping back against Sparrow while Nick cackled in delight. “You little shit!” Terry yelled, but his laughter interrupted his anger. “How could you!”

“You asked for that,” Nicholas insisted as he licked the rest of the icing off his finger. Terry wiped his nose off, but he rubbed it on Nicholas’s cheek. “Hey!”

“You asked for that,” Terry mocked.

“Food fight?” Lark asked with his bowl in hand.

“No, no, no—no food fight,” Grant insisted.

“So the baby boy can start it, but I can’t finish it?” Lark asked, whining.

“I’m not a baby, Lark,” Nicholas said through his teeth.

“Seemed like you were earlier…” Lark grumbled to himself.

“Brother, we shouldn’t make assumptions about whether or not Nicholas is or is not a baby,” Sparrow said. Before Nicholas could thank him, however, Sparrow kept going. “Clearly if he were small he’d be sucking his thumb or cuddling up to Terry—oh wait.”

“I did not suck my thumb, Sparrow!” Nicholas said through his teeth. “I’m not small, shut up.” He glanced over his shoulder at the adults, sighing in relief when they didn’t seem to pay them any mind.

“It looked like you were sucking on your thumb when we were in the living room, and you were hanging onto Terry like you do when you’re small,” Sparrow said with a shrug. “But, sure, you were not small.”

“I wasn’t!” Nick insisted. “I’m not!”

“Guys, don’t push him…” Terry said with a sigh.

“Terry…” Nick whined. He shoved his bowl away and laid his head down on the table, kicking his feet under his chair.

“Do you need a break?” Terry asked.

“No…” Nick insisted, sniffling. He wasn’t going to cry, but he hated being treated like a baby when he wasn’t a baby. He wasn’t. “I’m sorry…” Nicholas mumbled, burying his face in his arms.

“Why are you sorry…?” Terry asked with a hand on his back and concern on his face.

“It’s your birthday…” Nick said. “I don’t wanna make it bad.”

“You’re not making it bad, Nick,” Terry said. He glanced over at their parents to see Morgan looking right at them. If she came over, that would only make Nicholas feel worse, Terry feared. He looked over at the twins when he saw them both wince.

“Sorry, Nicholas,” Lark said with a sigh. “I wasn’t trying to make you small…”

“I’m sorry, too…” Sparrow mumbled.

“We should go finish the Lego set,” Grant said.

“Yeah, let’s go do that,” Terry said. Grant nodded and got to his feet first, holding a hand out for Nicholas to take. Nick took it, head down as he let Terry get up by himself. The twins hopped up as well, running ahead of the other three into the living room. “D’you want a drink or something, Nick?” Terry asked. “I’m getting soda.”

“Uh…what soda?” Nick asked, squeezing Grant’s hand tightly in his own.

“I’m getting strawberry Dr. Pepper, but we’ve got orange if you want it,” Terry said.

“I’ll take orange, yeah…” Nick said. “Sh-should I get it?”

“Nah, I’ll get it,” Terry said. He looked at Grant to ask him as well. “You want some Pepsi, Grant?”

“Sure,” Grant said with a shrug. “C’mon, Nick, let’s go stop the twins from eating Legos or something.”

Nicholas squeaked, but he let Grant pull him along into the living room. He dropped Grant’s hand, though, and he flopped down beside Sparrow.

Terry came back into the living room with three drinks, handing Grant his can of Pepsi and Nicholas a can of Sunkist. “Mom asked if we needed cups or something, but I think we’ll be okay,” he said as he cracked open his drink. Grant cracked open his can as well, but Nick just stared at his.

He knew that he felt small, and he knew that his friends knew. Nicholas was barely holding it back as it was, and he wasn’t even sure if he could open his drink. He needed to do it himself, though. He couldn’t ask Terry or Sparrow or Grant to open his drink for him. So, he tapped on the top of the can and tried to open it. Unfortunately, Nicholas couldn’t get his grip on the tab, and his clumsy hands just felt completely useless against the can.

“Need some help?” Terry asked, which Nicholas wanted to deny.

“I-I can do it…” he said, and he tried again to open the can. He tried to use his nails, but he didn’t exactly have nails to use. Nicholas could feel himself getting more and more frustrated, tears stinging the corners of his eyes.

“H-here, here, lemme help…” Terry said, gently tugging the can out of Nick’s hands. Nicholas whined, but he let Terry pop open the can. “See? All better,” Terry said gently, setting the can down in front of Nicholas.

“Thanks…” Nick said quietly. He picked up the can with both hands, thankful that none of his friends pointed it out, and took a few sips.

Nicholas needed to figure out something to feel less small. He couldn’t take away Terry’s attention. This was Terry’s birthday. He was supposed to be the focus, not Nicholas.

“Did we wanna watch a movie?” Grant asked.

“Yeah!” the twins exclaimed, looking over at Terry.

“We can watch a movie, yeah,” Terry said with a shrug. “What do you guys wanna watch?” he asked.

“It’s your birthday, you choose,” Nick said. He folded his arms and laid his head down. “Whatever you wanna watch.”

Terry blushed, but he got to his feet to pick something out. “Uh…” he stared at the stacks of DVDs in their entertainment cabinet, looking for anything that he thought all five of them would enjoy. He didn’t want to pick anything scary since Nicholas felt small, but he didn’t want to pick anything too happy-go-lucky since that would bore the twins. Terry also didn’t want to pick something with a lot of violence since Grant didn’t do too well with that… And vampire movies were still out of the question for himself.

“We’re watching How to Train Your Dragon,” Terry announced as he popped the disc into the Playstation. Cheers came from the twins and Nick, so Terry figured he did good. He grabbed his controller and made his way back over to Nick, plopping down beside him. “I’m not trying to do anything, but I just wanna ask…are you small and you don’t want to be? Or are you close to regressing, and you’re trying not to?”

“Um…” Nick sat up with a bright blush on his face. “U-uh…I think I’m just teetering…” he said, his head spinning suddenly from the shock. “I don’t want to be small, though,” he managed out. “It’s your birthday…”

Terry sighed, but he nodded. “Gotcha,” he said.

“Sorry.”

“N-no, no, you don’t have to be sorry, Nick…” he said. “Just—is there anything I can do to help?”

“No, I’m okay, promise,” Nicholas insisted. He tried to distract himself with the Legos, pushing Lark out of the way to work on the set. Terry sighed, watching him as discreetly as he could. He appreciated that Nick wanted his birthday to be about him, but Terry…well, he didn’t really like having all the attention on himself.

It was fun at first, getting presents and knowing he would have his favorite cake, but he had his limits. Terry didn’t want to see his friends push themselves aside just to say it was his birthday, he should be the center of things, and he should make all the decisions. That wasn’t the role that Terry liked to play in their friend group. He liked being second-in-command. He liked fussing, fighting, and annoying his friends like crazy. He liked taking care of Nicky.

Did Nick not realize that? Did he not see how much Terry liked taking care of him? That would explain all the apologies… But how could he fix it so that Nick understood that he wanted to be there to take care of him?

Terry picked up his card from Nicky off the small pile of presents. He could feel Nick’s eyes on him as he reread it with a little smile on his face. It meant a lot to him, even if Nick didn’t quite see that, to have something so intimately him to hold onto.

“D’you not wanna play with us, Terry…?” Nick asked, his voice wavering like he wanted to cry.

“I can, yeah,” Terry said.

“You’re missing the movie,” Sparrow said. “Are we allowed to see the card yet?”

“No, mine,” Terry said as he clutched the card to his chest once again. Sparrow sighed dramatically, falling back against Lark. Terry put the card back with Nick’s present and scooted closer once again. He took a drink from his soda, and the whole time he felt Nick’s eyes on him. “Wanna cuddle…?” Terry asked shyly. “We can if you wanna…”

“Mhm…” Nick scooted closer, sitting knee-to-knee with Terry. However, that wouldn’t do. Terry slipped his hands under Nick’s arms and pulled him onto his lap despite the squeak from Nicholas.

“There we go,” Terry said. He rested his chin on Nicholas’s shoulder and wrapped his arms around his tummy.

“T-Terry…”

“If you want to be small, you can be small,” Terry said. “I really, honestly promise you that I don’t mind.”

Nick’s whole head spun like a top, and he blushed brightly as he tried to lean away from Terry. Why did he want Nick to be small? Was he not annoyed that his birthday was ruined all because Nicholas wanted to act like a baby?

“Don’t chew on your nails, Nicky…” Terry fussed gently, tutting as he pulled Nick’s fingers from his mouth. He didn’t even realize he had them in his mouth. Oopsie.

Well. If Terry really didn’t mind… “Paci?” he asked quietly.

“Is it in your bag?” Terry asked.

“Mhm…”

“I’ll grab it,” Sparrow said. He grabbed Nick’s bag, but Nick’s eyes grew wide.

“N-no, I’ll do it!” Nick squeaked out just a little too late as Sparrow opened the bag.

“What’s this…?” Sparrow asked. He went to pull something out of the bag, but Nicholas lunged to grab it from him. “Is that a diaper?”

“No…” Nicholas said, his face bright red. “Pullup…”

“Oh.”

“I don’t need it!” Nicky insisted, though. He dug through his bag and grabbed his paci, popping it in his mouth so he didn’t have to say anything else.

“Hey, it’s okay, Nicky…” Terry said while Nicky zipped his bag shut. He scooped him back up onto his lap and hugged him close, but Nicky blushed furiously as he tried to hide his face. “So what if you need pullups sometimes? Nobody’s gonna pick on you.”

Terry made pointed eye contact with Lark as he said that last part, and Lark held his hands up in surrender. “You’re a baby, but that’s not a bad thing, Nicholas,” Lark said. “It’s fun, even if you need baby stuff.”

“Sorry for going through your bag…” Sparrow said. He leaned against Nicky and Terry, his cheek pressed to Nicky’s arm.

“Thanks…” Nicky said. He felt awful that all the attention went to helping him. He needed to get the attention back on Terry somehow.

“At least if you’ve got those, we don’t have to worry about Terry waking up cold and wet because you’re too cuddly,” Grant teased. Nicky gasped, his paci falling from his mouth as he spun around to smack Grant.

“Ack!” Terry yelped as Nick pinned him to the sofa so he could reach Grant. “Grant! Why’d you taunt him?!”

“It’s fun!” Grant said, laughing as Nicky kept smacking him.

Chapter Text

“Alright, boys, your parents are heading out!” Samantha said as she poked her head into the living room with a little knock on the door frame. Nicky yanked his pacifier out and jammed it under a pillow quickly, smiling up at Samantha unconvincingly. Terry nudged him off his lap as well, and Nicky blush brightly. “Nick…?”

Before any of the boys could try to say a word, Darryl came around passed her. “Aye, Grant, we’re heading home!” he said. “Come give Dad a big ol’ hug!”

“Daaaaad…” Grant groaned, but he still got to his feet. He shuffled over to give his dad a hug, and he gave his mom one as well when she came in.

“Are you all set for the evening?” Carol asked.

“All set, Mom,” Grant said with a smile. “We’re probably gonna go up to Terry’s room and just hang out.”

“We need to play with the projector!” Sparrow said from the floor. Grant rolled his eyes.

“We’ll probably play with the galaxy projector thing,” he said. Carol chuckled in amusement.

“Well, you have fun, then!” she said before giving him a quick kiss. Grant scrunched up his face and tried his best to ignore the giggles on the floor behind him.

“Lark, Sparrow, are you two all set?” Henry asked as he came into the room.

“We’re good, Father!” Sparrow said from the floor.

“Are you two going to come over for hugs?” Mercedes asked, her hands on her hips as she waited for her boys to get up. They both got up, one less willingly than the other, and hugged their mom. Mercedes squeezed them tight and peppered their faces with little kisses that they both tried to squirm away from. “You two be on your best behavior for Mr. and Mrs. Stampler, got it?”

“I will ensure that Lark is well behaved, Mother!” Sparrow said with a big grin.

“What about yourself, mister?” Mercedes questioned with a raised brow.

“That is yet to be determined.”

“I will keep him from committing any sort of crimes, Mami,” Lark said with the least assuring smile. Mercedes sighed, and she gave them both one last kiss on the forehead.

“That’ll have to do,” she said.

“Remember, we’re one phone call away, boys, so Mr. Stampler will let us know if we need to come get you!” Henry said.

“Have more faith in us, Father!” Sparrow said.

“I’ll try, so long as you two don’t give me a reason to question that faith,” Henry said. He scratched his back where his healing scar itched under his shirt.

“Nicholas?”

Nicky looked up when he heard his mother’s voice. He pulled his finger from his mouth and dried it on his jeans, a sheepish look on his face as he shrunk under her gaze. Morgan smiled at him and held open her arm, so Nicky scrambled up to his feet and into her arms. “Bye, Mama…” he mumbled, and Morgan squeezed him close.

“Are you gonna be alright here, sweetie?” she asked.

“Mhm…” Nicky looked up at her and tried again with a smile. “We’re gonna play with Terry’s new proje’tor and it’s cool.”

Morgan cooed, ruffling his hair. “Well, that sounds like fun,” she said. “Dad and I will be home if you need anything, okay?”

“Okay, Mama…!” Nicky said.

“Aye, you be good tonight, kiddo,” Jodie said as he joined them in the living room. He ruffled Nicky’s hair and gave him a quick hug, though he noticed that Nicky didn’t hug him back nearly as tightly as he would have hoped for. Jodie glanced down at him with furrowed brows, concerned. “You doing okay, Nicholas?”

“I’m okay,” Nicky insisted. “Just tired…! We’ve been playing a lot, you know…”

He didn’t think it sounded convincing, but at least Jodie let him off with just that.

“Well, don’t stay up too late, then!” he said, and he dropped a kiss into Nicky’s hair.

Once the parents left, Nicky reached behind the pillow he hid his paci with, and he snatched it up. Before he could put it back in his mouth, however, Terry took it from him. “Terry…!” Nicky whined, and he stamped his foot.

“You just stuck this behind a pillow, Nicky, it’s gross now,” Terry said with a laugh. He got to his feet as Nicky lunged to take the paci back, and he held it out of Nicky’s reach. “I’m gonna go wash it off, then you can have it back, okay?”

“I want it back now…” Nicky whined.

“It’ll just take a second, I promise,” Terry said. He headed for the bathroom, and Nicky wanted to follow after him, but Sparrow took his hand to keep him from running after Terry.

“I thought you didn’t want to be small because of Terry’s birthday?” Sparrow questioned, which only earned him a pout.

“Too late,” Nicky said, his brows knitted together in annoyance. He didn’t want to ruin Terry’s birthday with his regression, but that was what happened. Terry told him it was okay, and he tried to help Nicky be small, so really there was no other choice but to be small. He just needed to find a way to make this be about Terry instead of himself, which wouldn’t be an easy task, especially not when his brain felt so cloudy.

“Okay, here you go,” Terry said as he came back in with a freshly cleaned paci. He held it out for Nicky to take, and Nicky bit down on it happily. He rearranged it in his mouth so it fit comfortably before grabbing hold of Terry’s arm and hugging him tightly. “Oh! Now you wanna be cute?”

“Always cute…” Nicky insisted. Grant and Lark couldn’t help but laugh to themselves at that one while Terry rolled his eyes.

“Let’s go upstairs,” Terry said. Grant, Lark, and Sparrow cleaned up most of their stuff in the living room, and Nicky grabbed his bag to take upstairs. They made it up to Terry’s bedroom and shut the door, thankful to at least be away from their parents. “Okay, how does this projector thingy work, Sparrow?” Terry asked, grabbing the box to open it up.

“There’s an app!” Sparrow explained. He grabbed Terry’s phone and installed the app for him while Terry and Grant peeled the projector out of the box. “Now you can make your own galaxies, and you can just spray stars all over the screen, stuff like that,” Sparrow said, tapping away on the different settings to make a display with tons of stars and planets, purples and red and blues, that projected up onto the ceiling.

“Wow…” Nicky said as he looked up. It looked so pretty!

“There’s also other stuff, like our galaxy,” Sparrow said, displaying up the familiar stars and lights of the Milky Way. Nicky squeaked, and he flopped down on his back so he could stare up at the ceiling more easily. Sparrow noticed, and he tried to find other cool presets to display, soaking up every excited noise that Nicky made with each new look at the sky.

Terry smiled, and he laid down beside Nicky on the floor. “Sparrow, is there any that have the constellations?” he asked.

“Yeah, here,” Sparrow said, pulling up another preset. It looked so pretty, Terry thought, as he scanned the sky for any familiar patterns.

“Hey, look there, Nicky,” he said, pointing up at the big dipper. “What’s that one?”

“Dipper…” Nicky said after thinking for a second.

“Good job!” Terry praised, and Nicky lit up. He giggled and smiled behind his paci, hiding his face in Terry’s arm.

“What about this one, Nick?” Sparrow asked as he projected up Orion onto the ceiling.

“Orion!” Nicky said immediately, pointing up. “Got a bow, see!”

“Wow, look how smart you are!” Terry cooed.

“Find a difficult one,” Lark said, leaning over his brother’s shoulder. “Make him figure out what stars are in the constellations.”

“I don’t think that’s what we’re trying to do, Lark,” Grant whispered to him. “Would you expect a toddler to know the names of stars?”

“If they like stars so much, maybe,” Lark said. “He knows more than a toddler, if you can recall, Grant.”

Grant sighed, and he shook his head. “Doesn’t really matter right now what he knows when he’s big. Simple stuff like you’d ask a toddler, a baby, is more his speed right now. You guys can argue about Hydra or something later.”

Lark’s eyes grew wider. “Is Hydra on that thing?” he asked Sparrow. Grant rolled his eyes; he wondered why he even wasted his energy on trying to get Lark to understand anything.

“Here,” Sparrow said as he pulled up the constellations. Nicky oo-ed and aww-ed at the sight.

“How many stars are in this one, Nick?” Lark asked, jumping down from the bed to sit right beside Nicky.

“Um…” Nicky blushed, squirming as he tried to count all the stars he could see. However, with Lark’s eyes on him and the cloudy feeling in his head, that was a nearly impossible task. “Um!” He glanced over at Terry with big eyes.

“It’s okay if you can’t count that many,” Terry said. He sat up, a bit disappointed to have a sweet moment disturbed. “There’s a bunch of stars in Hydra. Even more than we can see!”

“Woah…” Nicky whispered. It didn’t alleviate his embarrassment entirely, but he felt a little better that even Terry didn’t have a number.

Lark huffed, looking over at Sparrow. He didn’t know what to do with Nicholas. Why did Sparrow seem to do okay with him? Why did Grant slip into taking care of Nicholas so well? He even knew why Nick sucked at adding up stars, apparently.

“Lark, what’s up?” Terry asked, reaching over to pinch his arm.

“Nothing…” Lark said. He hopped up to join Sparrow on the bed. Terry sighed, and he looked over at Grant, who nodded at him. “You don’t know anything about me!” Lark fussed loudly. Nicky squeaked. “N-no, I didn’t yell at you, Nick,” Lark said quickly.

“Maybe we should just watch another movie…” Terry grumbled. “We can watch, like, Ghostbusters or something?” If he remembered it correctly, there wasn’t anything necessarily scary or violent in that movie that might hurt Nicky or Grant.

“I’ll set it up!” Sparrow said, jumping to his feet to grab the remote from Terry’s TV. It took a moment, but he found their movie and plopped back down beside Lark.

“Should we go get changed?” Grant asked. “Somebody’s gonna fall asleep.”

Nicky squeaked, and Grant had to laugh at that.

“I didn’t say it’d be you, Nick,” he said, but he also did think it’d be Nick first. The twins ran off to change first after pausing the movie, and Grant went after they came back.

“Go change, Nicky,” Terry said, nudging Nicky up when Grant came back.

“U-um…” Nicky glanced down at him shyly, a blush on his face as he picked up his bag. He didn’t want to draw attention to himself, though he feared he already had just by existing. “O-okay…”

Nicky shuffled out the door with his bag, and he came back a couple minutes later in his pajamas. He tried not to think too hard about how his friends all knew he wore his pullup, even as their eyes fell on him. Nicky sat down beside Grant while Terry got up to leave.

“Nobody’s going to pick on you, Nick,” Grant said.

“Okay, yay,” Nicky squeaked out, hiding his face in his knees.

“Do you wanna make a big nest with me, Nick?” Sparrow asked, jumping down from the bed with a bunch of Terry’s blankets.

“Huh?”

“A nest!” Sparrow said again. “Put all the blankets and pillows on the floor in a cozy pile!”

“Okay…!” Nicky said with a nod. He helped Sparrow spread out all the blankets, giggling happily as they made a cozy nest.

Terry opened the door to come back into his room, and he paused in the doorway. “What’s going on…?” he asked, already amused at the sight of Nicky rolling around in a pile of blankets.

“We made a nest, Terry!” Nicky said excitedly, his arms up in the air reaching toward him.

“That’s cute, Nicky…!” Terry said. He sat down beside him and gave Nicky a hug.

“Sorry they took everything off the bed, Terry,” Grant said, snickering. “I could have stopped them, but I chose not to.”

“That sounds about right from you,” Terry said, turning his nose up. His grin betrayed him, though, before he burst into laughter. “Let’s just watch the movie!”

Terry claimed one of his pillows, which Nicky thought was only fair since it was his pillow. Nicky laid down with him, cuddled into his side, while the movie started to play. After about twenty minutes, Sparrow joined the cuddles, and Nicky thought that was a little strange. Still, though, Nicky wasn’t going to argue with it when Terry got more cuddles.

About halfway through the movie, Nicky started to yawn. His pacifier fell out of his mouth and onto Terry’s shirt, which earned him a snorted laugh while he shoved it back into his mouth. Nicky glared at Terry when he started laughing.

“S-sorry, that was just cute,” Terry said, though he wasn’t sorry at all, Nicky could tell.

“Lucky it’s your birthday or I’d bite you,” Nicky said matter-of-factly, laying his head back down with a little harumph that made Terry burst into laughter.

“Ow! You bit me!” Terry fussed when Nicky spat out his paci and chomped down on his arm. Nicky grinned at him, and he put his paci back in his mouth. “Sparrow, avenge me,” Terry said.

“No!” Nicky squeaked, jumping to his feet when Sparrow started crawling toward him. “Terry, don’t let him bite me!” he whined, running around the room with Sparrow on heels.

“Consequences for biting me!”

“Noooooooo!” Nicky jumped on the bed behind Lark. “Protect me!”

“Don’t worry, Nicholas, I’ll bite him back,” Lark said, smirking when Sparrow jumped up beside him.

“Out of the way, brother!”

“Never!”

“This is a bad idea…” Grant said just moments before the twins fell off the bed wrestling. He winced, but he knew those two would be okay. Nicky crawled over beside him, leaned against his arm while he watched Lark and Sparrow fight. Terry hopped up beside them, drawing his feet up before he got pulled down into the fight.

“Okay, maybe this was a bad idea,” Terry said, laughing. “Sorry for trying to get Sparrow to bite you, Nicky.”

“Sorry for biting you, Terry,” Nicky said. “I’ll be gentler next time.”

“Or maybe don’t bite me?” Terry suggested.

“No, I’ll still bite.”

“Okay…”

“At least he warns you,” Grant said, barely containing his laughter.

“I won’t next time,” Nicky said, though.

“Never mind.”

Terry sighed, but he knew he’d never do anything to stop Nicky. He was just too cute, and Terry hated seeing those big puppy eyes when he was sad. Besides, Nicky promised to bite him more gently next time! That had to mean something, right?

“Nick, I am victorious!” Lark said as Sparrow laid on the floor with a large bitemark on his forearm.

“Yay!” Nicky cheered, clapping his hands together.

…Terry probably needed to worry about that, but he could worry later. They were missing the movie, and he was missing cuddles.

Chapter Text

“Oh, Lark!” Morgan greeted as she opened the front door for the boy. Lark stood there with a scowl on his face that unnerved her just a bit, but she knew that the poor boy couldn’t help it. “Was Nicholas expecting you?” she asked. She couldn’t recall Nicholas telling her that Lark was coming over, but knowing boys…that didn’t mean much.

“He is not,” Lark said, his chest puffed up and his head held high. “I need to speak with him, though.”

“Well, he’s upstairs in his room with Terry,” Morgan said. She stepped out of the door so he could come in. “You know the way.”

“With Terry?” Lark questioned, though, stopping just a couple of steps away from Morgan. She sighed, looking down at him with a soft look. “Oh,” Lark said, suddenly a tad worried that he might be interrupting the baby.

“I don’t think he’s small,” Morgan said. “I think they’re just playing some video games, but…it can change at the drop of a hat.”

“Understood…” Lark said, staring up at the stairs. He really needed Nick not to be small, though. So, he took a deep breath and headed toward the stairs without another word to Morgan. He stomped up toward Nick’s bedroom and knocked on the door.

“Uh…come in?” came Nick’s voice, confused, from the other side.

Lark pushed open the door and made his way inside. Nicholas and Terry sat on his bed with controllers in hand and Resident Evil on the TV. They weren’t particularly cuddly, Nick didn’t have his pacifier, and they were playing a horror game. Those were good signs.

“Hey, Lark,” Terry said with a little wave.

“Hi.”

“What’re you doing here…?” Nicholas asked. “Not saying, like, it’s bad or anything…but I didn’t know you were coming over and Sparrow isn’t with you.”

Lark made his way over to the bed, and he plopped down beside Nick. “I want to know why everyone else somehow knows what to do with you when you’re a baby,” he said without any sort of questioning tone. Nick looked taken aback, glancing over at Terry to see if he understood what the hell Lark meant.

“Uh…” Terry glanced between the two of them, then back at the paused game. He figured they probably weren’t getting back to that any time soon, so he sat his controller away. “What do you mean, Lark?” he asked.

“I mean that you, Grant, and Sparrow know what to do with him, and you guys know what to say, and I don’t,” Lark said. “Why?”

“Maybe they’re trying a little more, Lark?” Nick said, brows knitted together in confusion. “Plus, taking care of someone isn’t exactly your area of expertise or anything.”

“I can take care of Sparrow,” Lark said matter-of-factly.

“That’s your brother, though,” Nick said. “And you two have known each other literally your entire lives. Of course you know how to take care of him.”

“Lark,” Terry started, getting his attention back to him. “Have you ever, like, taken care of someone younger than you?” he asked.

“Sparrow and I have had to watch our little cousins during family reunions, but usually the older kids end up watching us instead because of the one time we made a bottle rocket,” Lark said.

“So, the answer’s really no,” Terry said. Lark shrugged, earning him a sigh. “Okay, so…when Nick’s regressed, we treat him like he’s actually a little kid. What age, Nick?”

“It’s not super specific, but sorta…like, toddler age,” he said with a shrug. “I can’t really tell, like, if you asked me to hold up fingers for how old I am, I would probably just get frustrated.”

“But still, ‘toddler’ is specific enough to know how to take care of you,” Terry said. Lark looked at him like he’d grown an extra head. “Have you ever watched someone else take care of a toddler, Lark?” he tried.

“Yeah, my parents and my aunts and uncles and my grandparents,” Lark said. “Sometimes the older kids, too…”

“What do they do with toddlers?” Terry asked.

“Uh…” Lark tried to recall, but most of his memories from family dinners usually were more about what he and Sparrow did. “They held them a lot, and cleaned them a lot,” he said. “Sometimes they changed diapers or gave them toys to chew on.”

“It’s…kind of like that with taking care of Nick,” Terry said. “Less cleaning and diapers, though.”

“I don’t wear diapers,” Nick insisted, blushing brightly. “Pullups are different!”

“Sure,” Lark said, waving him off. Nick tried to protest, but Lark moved on. “Why do you know all this, Terry?” he asked.

“Because I’ve been taking care of him for a while?” Terry tried, unsure of what Lark wanted to hear, exactly. “I mean, I’ve also just…I know Nick, and I know the stuff he likes, so just making that be toddler-appropriate is usually enough. Like playing video games or watching movies that are okay for little kids instead playing Resident Evil,” he said, gesturing to the TV.

“And why do Grant and Sparrow know what to do?” Lark asked.

“Sparrow’s not perfect, to be fair,” Nick said. “Like, he teases me like you do, just less. But he does like taking care of people, little or not.”

“Yeah, he thinks it’s fun,” Terry said.

“He got upset that I hadn’t been small around him in a couple weeks before, and he asked me about it. Asked me why I hadn’t been,” Nicholas said. “So I think that’s a big difference with him and you. Sparrow wants to take care of people and he’s pretty good at it, but you…do you want to take care me…?”

It felt like such an intimate question, and Nick could feel his face heat up as the words left his mouth. Lark didn’t look much better, his cheeks red as he squirmed in place. But he didn’t look away, and that was surprising enough for Nicholas and Terry.

“I just want to not suck at it when Grant and Sparrow are able to do it…” he said.

“Well…” Terry looked between the two of them, wondering how best to approach this. “Grant knows how to take care of Nick because he did research. After we told you guys about regression, he looked it up so he would know what it was and what to do to help.”

“That sounds lame,” Lark said, his brows furrowed together.

“It’s the best way to learn what to do, besides just watching what we do and copying it,” Terry said with a shrug.

“Not everyone is built to take care of others, though, Lark,” Nicholas said. “It’s fine if you don’t know how or you can’t figure it out. You’re more…rough.”

“What do I do when you’re a baby, then?” Lark asked. “We’re all together a lot when you’re a baby.”

“You already try to play with me, and you’ve been doing okay,” Nick said. “I think you’re more critical of yourself than you need to be.”

Terry snorted a laugh at that one, and Lark glared at him.

“You can’t do math, and basic questions that you already know got you praised,” Lark said. “What am I supposed to do with that?”

“I can do math,” Nicholas fussed, his blush coming back with vengeance. “Look—like Terry said! Toddler stuff is the easiest to handle when I’m small, that’s it! Don’t ask me about stuff from class right now because I’ll probably just get frustrated trying to recall what I know. At best, it’s just frustrating, at worst, it pulls me out of my regression.”

“I didn’t know you could do that,” Lark said.

“It’s not fun,” Nicholas said with a huff.

“Okay…I think I get it,” Lark said. “Sort of.”

He got to his feet, ready to leave, but Terry tried to stop him. “Do you wanna stay and hang out…?” he asked.

“No, I didn’t tell my dad I was coming over here, so he’ll probably start calling everyone and panicking soon,” Lark said. With that, he left out the door, leaving Terry and Nicholas staring at each other with worry in their eyes.

Nicholas only shared one class with Lark, and that was art. The two of them sat together at the same table, a big mess of pencil-scribbles covering the wood in a conversation between them and the other class periods. They didn’t really talk much, nor did they really need to. Every now and then they’d ask each other if their work looked cool, and the other would reply with how sick it was. But, beyond that, they didn’t say much.

Their relationship was a hold-over from before they went to the Forgotten Realms. Even though they got along fine when all their friends were around, when it was just the two of them it felt incredibly awkward. Nick spent the whole time expecting Lark to tease him, and Lark spent the whole time assuming that Nicholas would be too lame to hang out with. Nicholas didn’t want to tell Lark that that might have had more to do with how well he did with taking care of Nick, but he suspected that it played a not-small part.

But unfortunately, all of that awkwardness in their friendship meant the steady drum of a quickened, anxiety-filled heartbeat only felt worse for Nicky at this moment.

He felt it coming earlier in the day. After he managed to drop his orange juice on his backpack, after he jammed his finger in his locker, and after the movie they watched in history class made him sad…Nicky was well and truly small. And his only option for help was Lark. Shit.

Their teacher didn’t pay any attention to them as she sat at her desk picking out music for the class to work to. That was a good sign for Nicky. He leaned closer to Lark and poked him in the arm, which only got him shrugged off as Lark turned away.

“Lark…” Nicky whined, huffing as he laid his head down.

“What?” Lark grumbled, looking toward him. “Why are you poking me?”

Nicky rested his head in his arms, his face warm. He kicked his feet under the table nervously, and his thumbnail landed between his teeth.

“Oh.” Lark twisted around in his seat to face Nicky. “You’re small.”

“Mhm…” Nicky nodded.

“Okay,” Lark glanced over at their teacher that still didn’t pay them any attention, and he grabbed his notebook from the corner of the desk. “Sparrow plays tic-tac-toe with you, yeah? D’you want to play?”

“Okay…” Nicky said quietly. He sat up enough to see the notebook, but he kept his thumb firmly in his mouth while Lark drew their board.

“Do you want to go first, or do you want me to…?” Lark asked.

“Don’t care,” Nicky said around his thumb. That was when Lark fully took in that he had his thumb in his mouth, and he reached up to yank it free. Nicky whined loudly, wrenching his arm out of Lark’s grip.

“Terry doesn’t let you do that,” Lark said.

“Terry’s not here,” Nicky hissed, and he put his thumb back in his mouth. He grabbed the pencil from Lark and put an X on the middle square of the board. Lark took the pencil back from him, glaring as he put an O in the upper righthand corner.

“Just because he’s not here doesn’t mean you should do that,” Lark said. “Where’s your pacifier?”

“We’re in class!” Nicky whined as quietly as he could.

“So?”

“So, I’m not gonna do that,” Nicky said. “I can’t have my paci here.”

“If anybody wants to be mean to you, I’ll be beat them up for you?” Lark suggested. Nicky felt a blush on his face, and he buried it in his arms. Lark groaned, frustrated. How was he even supposed to help Nicky if he wouldn’t let him?

“I don’t ‘anna pway…” Nicky mumbled.

“Okay, that’s fine…” Lark said through his teeth. “Do you wanna leave?” he asked.

“What…?” Nicky looked up at him with tears in his eyes while Lark put his notebook away.

“Let’s leave,” he said as he zipped up his bag. “We can go to the playground until next period or something.”

“Trouble…” Nicky said, worried.

“We won’t get in trouble,” Lark promised. “Mrs. Bleu already put us down as present for class, so if we go to next period, no one will know.”

Well, with logic like that even Nicky couldn’t argue. He nodded and got up with his bag on his shoulder. He reached for Lark’s hand, but he just missed it as Lark tried to lead him out of the room. Nicky whined, and Lark looked back at him with surprise on his face.

“What’s the matter?” he asked, but Nicky just stormed passed him out the door. Lark groaned, tossing his head back as he followed after the baby. He ignored their teacher when she asked where the two of them were heading, and he shut the door behind himself. “Nick, what’s wrong?” he tried to ask again once they were actually alone.

Nicky huffed, and he crossed his arms over his chest. “I wanted to hold your hand…” he mumbled.

“Oh,” Lark said dumbly. “I didn’t know.” Nicky nodded, and he kept his eyes off Lark and on the floor. “Do you…still want to hold my hand…?” Lark asked with his palm held out.

Nicky grabbed his hand, squeezing hard.

“All better?” Lark asked. Nicky nodded. “Then let’s go to the playground,” he said. Lark didn’t let go of Nicky’s hand, instead pulling him along out the door he usually tried to escape from. They went around the back of the building to the playground, and Lark looked over at Nicky unsure. “Do you still want to hold my hand, or do you wanna drop it?” he asked.

“Hold…” Nicky said, glaring at him like he was stupid.

“Okay, that’s going to make it hard to get in the jungle gym,” Lark said.

“Don’t care,” Nicky said, pulling Lark toward the jungle gym. He was at least glad that Lark didn’t say anything when he dropped his hand just long enough for them both to get in the large tunnel. Nicky took Lark’s hand back once they got settled, and he stretched out so his feet hung out of the tunnel onto the metal landing.

“Do you feel a little better out here…?” Lark asked.

“Guess so,” Nicky said with a shrug.

“How come you’re small?”

“Just am…” Nicky said. “Got an…anxious, and now I’m small.”

“Oh.” Lark didn’t know that was how it worked. He thought it took more than just a little anxiety to make Nick small.

Lark watched as Nick pulled out his pacifier from his backpack and stuck it in his mouth. He watched Nick put his feet up on the top of the tunnel, slowly inching them along until he nearly folded himself in half. He listened while Nick just babbled around his pacifier, talking to himself about whatever. Really, Lark didn’t know what he actually said, but Nick didn’t look at him for any responses, so he figured it was safe not to say anything.

“Swing?”

“What?” Lark snapped out of his head, focusing back down on the little boy staring up at him with big eyes.

“Swing?” Nicky repeated with a little shy smile.

“Oh, yeah, we can swing,” Lark said. He crawled out of the tunnel with Nicky right behind him, and they jumped down from the jungle gym to get to the swings. “Do you want me to push you?” Lark asked.

“Push!” Nicky said, plopping down on the seat. So, Lark did his best to push Nick on the swings. At least it didn’t seem to take very much to entertain him, so Nick was a giggly, happy boy no matter how high Lark managed to push him.

“Ahem?”

Lark turned around to see Terry, Sparrow, and Grant staring at the two of them. He grabbed the chains on the swing to pull it to a stop, much to Nicky’s dismay. “Hi.”

“Did you two skip class?” Terry asked.

“The baby was upset,” Lark said. He smirked when Terry softened so much, stepping aside so he could fuss over Nicky.

“You actually took care of him on your own?” Grant questioned, surprised. Lark stood up straighter, prouder, and he nodded. “Huh. Good job, then…”

“Why did Lark get to play with Nicky!” Sparrow whined, running over to Nicky and Terry to fuss as well. Lark rolled his eyes. His brother could be just a tad bit too dramatic.

“We should probably go to gym…” Grant said.

“I wanna swiiiiiiiing…” Nicky whined, kicking his feet into the dirt.

“You can swing later, Nicky,” Terry fussed. “Right now, it’s time for class. Do you want to get in trouble with our teacher?”

“No…”

“Then we need to go to class, lil guy,” Terry said.

Nicky huffed, and he grabbed his backpack as he got to his feet. He snatched up Lark’s hand and stomped off toward the door. Lark looked over his shoulder at their friends and stuck out his tongue tauntingly. Sparrow growled and took off after him, but at least Lark got to use Nicky as a shield. Terry and Grant did get mad at him for that, though. Oops.

Chapter Text

As Nicholas jumped through the portal into his dad’s house in Hell, he didn’t expect to see his grandmother sat on the sofa with a drink in her hand and a scowl on her face. He took a step back, confusion on his face. “Oh, hey, Nana…?” he greeted, shrugging his backpack up further on his shoulder.

“Hey, there, Nicky! Your daddy said you were coming over today, so I thought I’d stick around,” Dee said with a grin finally growing on her face. “We went out this morning just for a little fun, but I was telling Zhao earlier that it’s sad that we never get to take you with us!” She got to her feet after finishing her drink and stepped in front of Nick. “What’s this for?” she asked, tugging on the loop of his backpack.

Nicholas shrugged her away. “It’s my backpack?” he said with a questioning tone. “I need it for school; it’s what I keep my books and notes in.”

“Ohhh, yeah we don’t really have that sort of thing here,” Dee said. “Zhao has told me a little bit about what your school is like—you seriously have to just sit there for seven hours?”

“Well, we have gym class, too,” Nicholas explained with a shrug. “And we can go outside during lunch, and if you have a free period you can go outside and play on the playground.”

“And that’s where you play that whole…soccer thing,” Dee said, though it sounded more like a question.

“N-no, that’s different,” Nicholas said. “Soccer’s a sport, and we have practice for it outside of school. The playground is just…where you go play whatever you want?” He really didn’t think that this was a unique concept. Hell had playgrounds, after all, they just sucked. Nick really didn’t like going to them, and so his dad didn’t make him. “Like, earlier me and my friend Lark skipped class to go play on the swing set.”

“What’re the swings made of?” Dee asked. “Are you on big axes that you can swing around and try to decapitate someone?”

“What? No!” Nick yelped. “No, it’s a seat, and you sit on it, and it swings from a chain on top of a big bar,” he explained.

“Well that just sounds boring.”

“D-do you know where my dad is…?” Nick asked, hoping he could get out of this conversation.

“He had to go get some dinner, and I think he’s arguing with that Glenn again,” Dee said with a dismissive wave. “C’mon, come sit next to Nana and tell me about this school of yours.”

Nick swallowed the whine in his throat, but he took a seat on the sofa. The more he complied, the faster he could run off to his bedroom.

“Do you want a drink?” Dee asked him while she poured herself another.

“I’m thirteen, Nana,” Nicholas said, moving his backpack to the floor. One of his grandmother’s hounds came over to sniff it, and he swatted the dog away.

“So?” Dee questioned. “Since when is your age something that matters about drinking? Can you or can you not hold your liquor?”

“I’ve never had a drink before, and I’m not allowed,” Nicholas said. “The legal drinking age is 21 back home, and I plan on sticking to that.”

“Huh. Interesting.” Dee took a seat beside him, her arm over the back of the sofa while she sipped her drink. “So tell me more about this whole school mess you do. Your daddy mentioned homework?”

This was Nick’s out. He could get away from this conversation. He could run off to his room and do his homework, and maybe he could just jump through a portal and go back home if his grandmother stayed longer than dinner. “Yeah, homework’s really important,” Nicholas said. “My teachers give me worksheets and essay questions to do at home so I can practice and reinforce what I learn. A lot of it’s dumb, and I do it in the morning before school, but I like doing my science homework and my literature homework. Which I actually have a lot to do tonight, so…”

He started to get up, but his grandmother tossed her head back and groaned. “And I thought this place was Hell!” she said loudly, making Nick wince. “Honestly, what demon up there made the choice to give you extra schoolwork to do when you’re supposed to be home having a life? No wonder you’re never here!”

“Well, I still have a lot to do, a-and Mom’ll get mad at Dad if I don’t do it, so…” Nicholas got up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder. Dee scoffed, waving him off. Nicholas cheered internally, ready to run off. Unfortunately his dad and Glenn decided right then to come in with dinner.

“Oh, Nicholas!” Jodie said with a big smile. He slung the bag of dinner against Glenn’s gut and went to hug his son. “Hey, buddy, how was school?”

“Fine…” Nicholas said, hugging his dad. “If Mom asks, I didn’t skip school again. Lark dragged me out of class.”

“Why did Lark drag you out of class?” Jodie asked. “Do I need to have a chat with Henry?”

“No, it’s fine, he just didn’t want to be there, and it was just art class. We weren’t doing anything besides watercolor,” Nicholas explained.

“Okay…” Jodie said, unconvinced. “Do you have homework?”

“Yeah, so after dinner I need to go upstairs,” Nicholas said. He tried his very best to convey with his eyes that he needed away from his grandmother, but he wasn’t sure if his dad got that part.

“He said that Morgan would get mad at you if he doesn’t do his homework,” Dee said with her arms crossed. “That doesn’t seem quite right.”

“Well, it is technically my responsibility to make sure he gets his work done, just like it’s Nicholas’s responsibility to make sure he does his work,” Jodie said, turning Nick around to face his grandmother. He squeezed Nick’s shoulders. “He’s a responsible kid, though, so I don’t have to harp on him very much, right, Nicholas?”

“Right…” Nick said with a nod. He glanced over his shoulder at Glenn, who shot him a sympathetic look as he put his sunglasses on top of his head. “Can I go put my backpack in my room, Dad?” he asked, leaning back to look at Jodie.

“Yeah, go ahead,” Jodie said. He patted his arm and sent the boy up to his room.

The house his dad had in Hell looked almost identical to the house Nicholas and Morgan lived in, which Nick thought was a good thing. The differences laid of course in décor, since Hell meant brimstone and lots of flames, and Jodie liked shag carpeting. Nicholas’s bedroom was similar to his room at home, but his bedding was flame-patterned, his TV and games were gone, and the gaming and movie posters on his walls were replaced with metal and rock posters. He also had two guitars on the wall, an electric and an acoustic, and a bunch of string lights that helped make things a little less horrifying.

Nicholas shut the blinds on his window first, and he switched on the string lights to replace the light from outside with something a little softer. He dropped his backpack down on his bed, and he threw himself down beside it, grabbing his phone to check his notifications.

Terry messaged him just a few minutes earlier, sending him a picture of a Yorkie puppy. Nick laughed at the sight, rolling over onto his belly to send a string of different heart emojis.

He checked his Discord notifications, and he read an argument that Sparrow and Grant had about Minecraft, rolling his eyes at their antics. He watched a few videos on Youtube, and he checked his Instagram stories for anything interesting. The only thing interesting he saw was a pacifier shop he followed that posted some new cute pacifiers. He giggled at a few of them, enjoying the Spiderman, Paw Patrol, and Monster energy drink designs.

Then Nick heard a knock on the door, and he nearly jumped out of his skin. The door opened just enough for Glenn to poke his head in, and Nicholas let out his breath in relief.

“Hi…” he said around his thumb, and he looked down in confusion. When did that get in his mouth? He pulled it out and winced at the sight of blood from his sharp teeth.

“Hey, squirt,” Glenn said. He opened the door a little further and let himself in, closing the door behind himself when he heard the clacking of hound nails on the stairs. “You seemed a little upset earlier, so I just wanted to check on you…” he said. As Glenn stopped in front of the bed where Nicholas sat, his phone still showed a pacifier with Spiderman on it. “Apparently you were more upset than I thought, huh?”

Nick looked down, and he quickly put his phone to sleep and tossed it against his pillows. “I was just looking at Instagram, and that was there,” he said, but Glenn knew he was a terrible liar.

“Can I sit down?” Glenn asked. Nicholas nodded, and he moved his backpack out of the way. Glenn sat down with a grunt, and he brought his foot up onto his knee. “So, your grandma sure is, uh, something.”

“Tell me about it…” Nicholas grumbled. “I don’t think she likes Mama.”

“Uh, no, it doesn’t seem like it,” Glenn said with a nervous laugh. “Yeah, Dee isn’t much of a fan of anyone that isn’t a demon. And even then she’s pretty picky.”

“She doesn’t like me…” Nicholas whispered.

“I don’t think I’d say that, kiddo,” Glenn said. “She wants Jodie to be exactly the same person that she remembers. Her son was taken from her, and he was turned into a human cop, so that’s pretty different from a rock’n’roll demon. And for her…you represent that feeling she has that she’ll never have her son back just as he was.”

“For the better,” Nick said. Glenn shrugged. “You’ve got to admit it’s better that my dad doesn’t just kill everybody he sees all the time, and he can still be a person. Right?”

“It is better,” Glenn said with a nod. “It’s better for you, it’s better for your mom, but to your grandma it’s the worst thing that could’ve ever happened, and she sees a little half demon kid that can make her killing-machine son act more like a dorky dad who tells bad jokes and drinks bad beer. So you’re not her favorite person, but you really shouldn’t take it personally.”

“Hard not to…” Nicholas mumbled. He picked at his nails, trying to keep them out of his mouth.

“We need to get you one of those—have you seen those little necklaces that people wear to chew on? Or I guess moms use for their babies to chew on instead of their actual necklaces?” Glenn asked. Nicholas snorted a laugh.

“Yeah, I have one, but I don’t like it,” he said, pulling it out of his backpack. “Mom got it for me,” he said, holding up a silicone pendant that looked like a bat.

“Ah, rad,” Glenn said with a grin. “Why don’t you like it?”

Nicholas shrugged, holding the necklace loosely. “It’s just…not what I want,” he said.

“You want your pacifier,” Glenn said, and Nick’s face heated up. “Sorry, was I not supposed to say that?”

“Dad could hear you!” Nick hissed, slapping a hand over Glenn’s mouth. “I don’t want him to hear that!”

Glenn pushed his hand away. “Sorry, kiddo,” he said, snickering so Nick knew he wasn’t sorry. “Am I right, though?”

Nick groaned as he tossed himself down against the mattress. “Yes, you’re right. Asshole.”

“And who says I don’t know you well?” Glenn teased with a grin on his face. Nick glared at him. “Do you have it with you?” he asked, dropping the teasing.

“Yes…” Nicholas said slowly, his eyes never leaving Glenn’s face. “If I stay the night, then I’ve got it…”

Glenn hummed to himself, nodding. “That makes sense, that makes sense,” he said. Then, “So, why’d you and Lark skip class?” he asked.

“I was small…” Nick admitted. “I had a bad day, and I felt small, and he just got me out of there. We didn’t leave school, though. We just went to the playground until class was over, and Terry made me go back inside.”

Glenn nodded. “Does Mama know you were small again at school?” he asked.

“She doesn’t gotta know…” Nick said, shaking his head. “I don’t want her to worry.”

“Well, she worries about you a lot, anyway,” Glenn said. Nicky whined. “It’s not a bad thing for your mom to worry about you, kiddo. It’s her job.”

“She worries a lot…” Nicky whined.

“Yeah, well her baby’s a demon who’s scared of half of his life,” Glenn said so matter-of-factly. “That’d make me worry, too.”

Nicky drew his knees up to his chin, and he grabbed his chewable necklace, sticking it between his teeth to saw against.

“I’m not trying to upset you, buddy,” Glenn said, sitting a little closer to put an arm around Nick’s back. “I’m just trying to figure out what’s going on with you, that’s all. It’s okay.”

“I-I’m scared…” Nicky said. “Nana’s scary…”

“She can be, yeah,” Glenn said with a nod. “How about after dinner, you head back home? I’ll take the heat from your dad if you don’t want him to know why you’re leaving.”

Nicky nodded, and he leaned over to hug Glenn. “Thanks…”

“Of course, bud,” Glenn said, hugging him tight in return. He rubbed Nick’s shoulder and kissed the top of his head. “Let’s go eat. We got a KFC down here a few days ago, and I’m dying to see how shitty it is.”

That got a laugh out of Nicky, who buried his face in Glenn’s chest to laugh. “Why’s there a KFC?” he asked.

“I think KFC is just like that. Or maybe it’s my fault with all this Christmas stuff, KFC saw an opportunity.”

“What?” Nicky giggled.

“C’mon, upside daisy!” Glenn said. He stood up, and he picked up Nicky under the arms, spinning him around once before setting him on his feet. Nicky giggled, stumbling back a step or two.

“My phone!” he squeaked out, leaning over to grab his phone off his pillow.

“Yeah, wouldn’t want you to stop shopping on your phone,” Glenn teased, leading him toward the door.

“It just popped up!” Nicky insisted.

“Sure, I believe you,” Glenn lied. He opened the door, and outside stood a Hell hound.

The dogs were large, a cross between a German shepherd and a Great Dane, with bright red eyes and solid black coats. Dee had three, and the dogs were too curious for their own good. Nicky squeaked when he saw the dog outside his door, and he reached a hand forward to pet its nose.

“Good doggy…” Nicky said nervously. “Can I take your pi’chure?”

The dog barked, which startled Nicky, but it sat down on its haunches and panted happily.

“I think that’s a yes,” Glenn said, snickering. So, Nicky unlocked his phone and pulled up the camera, snapping a couple pictures of the dog to send to Terry.

“Terry sent me pi’chures of Magic, so I wanna pay him back,” Nicky explained.

“Oh, that sounds good, kiddo,” Glenn said. He shut the door to keep the hound out. He glanced down in surprise when Nicky took his hand. But, he didn’t say a word just in case he scared the boy off.

“Hope it’s not scary for him,” Nicky said with a mischievous giggle.

“I bet it’ll be terrifying,” Glenn said with a smirk.

“Terry’s a wuss.”

“Well, I would say he gets that from his dad, but I don’t think you can get traits from your step-dad,” Glenn said.

“He can because of magic.”

“Oh, is that how that works?”

“Yeah, we did punnett squares in science,” Nicky said. “I know what I’m talking about.”

“Well, I’m glad I’ve got an expert here to teach me new stuff,” Glenn said, snickering. He wished he could tell Jodie how cute the kid was, but Glenn also was thrilled to have little moments like this just for him. Nick was a cute kid, especially when he got so full of himself.

Chapter Text

As it turned out, KFC in Hell tasted exactly the same as KFC on Earth. Nicky didn’t know if that was a good thing or not, but at least it felt comforting to have something familiar. Jodie plopped a big scoop of mac’n’cheese on his plate and gave him the drumsticks out of the bucket.

“The boy can get his own food, Zhao, come on,” Dee said with a laugh, shooing her son away from the bucket.

“I’m just going for efficiency, Mom,” Jodie said. “Besides, he doesn’t like touching anything that he isn’t going to eat himself.” He picked up the container of green beans and portioned some out for Nicholas.

“I don’t want green beans…” he whined.

“You like green beans!” Jodie insisted.

“I don’t want them…” Nicky fussed. He kicked his feet under his chair, feeling a furry body against his foot that made a very surprised sound.

“Do you want the mashed potatoes instead?” Jodie asked. Nicky nodded, so Jodie managed to scoop the green beans back into their container, and he grabbed the mashed potatoes.

“Wait, no!” Nicky squeaked out, grabbing a napkin to clean up where the green beans had been before. “Okay.”

“Is it clean, now?” Jodie asked, snickering. Nicky nodded.

“Spoiled boy…” Dee grumbled.

“He doesn’t like when his food touches, it’s not a big deal,” Jodie said as he portioned out some mashed potatoes for Nicholas. He sat down and gave himself some potatoes as well as green beans before Glenn could take more than his share.

“It all goes to the same place; I don’t see why it matters if it touches or not!” Dee said, amused. “Is this really the sort of thing you worry about?”

“Hey, it’s really not a big deal,” Glenn fussed a little louder than Jodie would. Dee looked at him with a raised brow. “As long as he eats, what’s it matter to you if he’s a little picky? Shit happens.”

Nicky blushed brightly, keeping his head down so he could focus on his plate. He didn’t want anyone to fight just because he didn’t want green beans. His mama didn’t make him eat green beans, and his dad didn’t either, so why did his nana have a problem with it? Tears welled up in his eyes, but Nicky squeezed them shut to keep the tears inside. He couldn’t make a scene in front of his nana or his dad.

“Anyway…” Jodie cleared his throat as he looked at Nicky beside him. “Isn’t your last week of school coming up?” he asked. Nicky squeaked.

“Oh, it’s almost over?” Dee asked. “Congrats! Then you can come here and learn some actually useful skills!”

“To be clear, Mom, it’s the last week…for the summer,” Jodie said. “He’ll go back in a few months.”

“Oh, what the fuck!”

“Um, yeah…” Nicky said with a little nod. “Next week’s the last week…” He took a bite of his macaroni so he didn’t have to look up. “Lark ‘nd Sparrow’s dad put in a pool, too, so they’re having a pool party for all’a’us when school goes out…”

“Yeah, I remember Henry saying something about that,” Glenn said. “Apparently they also got a jacuzzi, but that’s above ground.”

Jodie hummed to himself, nodding. “I also remember there being a condition that you kids all pass your English and math tests…”

“I passed!” Nicky insisted.

“Have you already gotten your scores back?” Jodie asked.

“No, but I passed,” Nicky said. Glenn snorted a laugh.

“What are these tests for?” Dee asked.

“They’re the end-of-year tests,” Jodie said. “All the kids take them.”

“So he’s actually done with school, now?” Dee asked. “Because he said earlier he has homework.”

“We still learn after the tests,” Nicky said, swinging his feet nervously. The hound at his feet tried to lay on them to keep him still. It didn’t work.

“That seems like bullshit,” Dee said, pointing a fork at him. “Why would you keep learning after you already learned all the shit for your tests?”

“Not all the classes got tests…” Nicky said.

“Okay, I really don’t understand this shit,” Dee said, frustrated.

“It’s fine, Mom, it’s how it’s been for a long time,” Jodie said with a sigh. “Well, as long as you passed, then we need to get you some trunks to go swimming. I don’t think the old ones from two summers ago are gonna fit you still.”

Nicky giggled and shook his head. He didn’t imagine that the old Minecraft trunks he had would work anymore. Besides, he was thirteen, even if he didn’t quite feel like it. He needed to get big kid trunks, ones without characters on them. “Mama said we’ll go shopping on Saturday…”

“Did you want Dad coming with you?” Jodie asked. Nicky shrugged.

“You can come, too,” he said.

“Mom probably wants to put you in something cute, but we’ll get you some trunks that are really cool,” Jodie promised, grinning.

“Are you sure you should take him shopping if you want him to be cool?” Glenn teased. “Maybe I should take him.”

“You’ll put him in a speedo or something ridiculous like that,” Jodie fussed. “No, I’ll take him with Morgan.”

“Alright, alright, sure…” Glenn said, leaning closer to Nicky. “If you need any help getting something actually cool, just give me a holler,” he said in a stage-whisper. Nicky giggled and laid his head down on the table.

“You know what? I think I’m giving up on understanding your family,” Dee said to Jodie. “You’ve got something very strange going on here.”

“It’s not that bad,” Jodie insisted.

Nicky still giggled, and he took a bite of his chicken. Behind himself, he could hear dog nails clicking on the floor, so he turned his head around to see the hound. A gasp escaped his throat as soon as his eyes fell on the dog, and Nick’s blood froze in his veins, eyes wide.

Nick’s pacifier sat in the dog’s mouth, the handle missing and the rest of the shield chewed up.

Glenn’s eyes followed Nick’s terrified ones to the dog, and he cursed as he hopped to his feet. “Give me that!” he fussed at the dog, grabbing the shield of the pacifier to yank it from the dog’s mouth. As Glenn’s hands touched the pacifier, the hound started growling. It growled and lowered its stance as it tried to pull back and keep the pacifier. “This isn’t a fucking game, give me this! Drop it!”

The dog only growled more, pulling back.

“What does she have?” Jodie asked, getting up to help.

“I’ve got this!” Glenn insisted, though, moving to block Jodie. “Fucking drop it,” he said through his teeth, sending magic through his words to force the pacifier from the dog’s mouth. As Glenn came away with it, he quickly hid it behind his back and spun around to face Jodie. “Got it.”

“What was it?” Jodie asked. He took the hound by the collar toward the back door. “How about you go outside for a bit?”

“I’ll be right back!” Nick shouted, scrambling out of his seat and up the stairs. His heart sank when he saw the door to his bedroom had been opened. For a moment, he didn’t even think his feet could carry him into the room, but slowly Nick dragged himself to the door.

The sight in front of him made him want to cry. His notebooks were pulled out of his backpack, some with scorch marks and others with bitemarks. His headphones laid broken in half, and his pencil case splayed open with all its contents scattered across the bed. As Nick dragged himself to his bed, he saw the handle of his pacifier completely obliterated, the two pieces it had been chewed into almost crumbling to dust in his hands.

A sob tore itself out of his throat, and Nicky sank to his knees on the floor. Tears poured down his cheeks as Nicky cried, hard, wails escaping him terribly.

Glenn stood in the doorway, his heart breaking for the little boy. He looked down at the pacifier in his hand…or, at least, what was left of it. The shield had been chewed up entirely, and the nipple had several punctures all over that deflated it. Behind him came Jodie, concerned.

“Where’s…is he crying?” Jodie asked over his shoulder. Glenn sucked in a deep breath, pocketing the pacifier as he nodded.

“Yeah, looks like that hound got into his room…” Glenn said. He made his way inside with Jodie, who sat down on the floor beside his son.

“Hey, kiddo…” Jodie said quietly, his hand on Nick’s back. “Looks like Muffin caused a lot of problems…I’m sorry, Nicholas.”

“Sh-she got my bag!” Nicky cried.

“I’m sorry, buddy,” Jodie said. “At least it looks like she didn’t mess up too much? Your bag is still intact, and hey! We can get your notebooks back in here!” Jodie tried to put everything back, tried to clean up the mess, but Nicholas still cried his little heart out. “Nicholas…” Jodie pulled him into a hug; Nicky grabbed his shirt in both fists, sobbing into Jodie’s shoulder. “It’s gonna be okay, buddy. We’ll get you some new headphones, and everything’s gonna be okay.”

Nicky sobbed harder into Jodie’s shoulder. “M-my p-pa-aci!” he wailed.

“Your…what?” Jodie looked up at Glenn, who wore such a heartbroken, worried look. “Did you catch that?” Jodie asked.

Glenn sighed, and he sat on the floor, wincing. “Hey, Nicky, kiddo…” he said gently, reaching up to rub Nicky’s shoulder to get his attention. The boy spun around, his red face stained with tears. “Do you want me to tell Dad?” he asked.

“Tell me what?”

Nicky hesitated, glancing at his backpack as a wave of fresh tears sprung up in his eyes. He nodded, and he hid his face in Jodie’s neck.

“Glenn?” Jodie questioned, brow raised as he hugged his son once more.

Hesitantly, Glenn pulled out the mangled-up pacifier from his jacket pocket.

“What’s that?” Jodie asked. “I mean, obviously it’s a pacifier, but…?”

“It’s Nick’s,” Glenn said, nodding to the boy crying in his dad’s arms. When Jodie still looked entirely confused, Glenn continued. “He’s been struggling with all of this, with the demon stuff and getting my Nick’s memories. The way he copes with it is just…by acting like a little-little kid. And that includes this,” he said, waving the remnants of the pacifier at the end of his sentence.

“Oh,” was all Jodie said, and he tried to look down at Nick, though the boy kept his face hidden. “Nicholas…” he started, reaching up to his face to gently brush his cheek with a finger. “I’m sorry, kiddo. Are you—of course you are.” He shook his head, dismissing his question before it even escaped his lips. “What do you need from us right now?” he decided on asking instead.

“Paci,” Nicky cried, his fist smacking into his leg in frustration. “Mama…”

“Yeah, he should probably go home,” Glenn said. “Nicky, want me to pick you up so Dad can open a portal?” he asked. Nicky didn’t respond verbally, but his arms went up in the air to be picked up. Glenn scooped him up while Jodie got to his feet.

“Does he have something else like that…?” Jodie asked. He couldn’t believe that Glenn knew about his son’s struggles before he did; this felt entirely wrong.

“As far as I know, he only had the one pacifier,” Glenn said. “Is that right, bud?” he asked, petting Nicky’s cheek with his thumb. Nicky nodded, his own thumb in his mouth. At least the tears dried up, but Nicky just looked sad instead.  “Yeah, only the one…” Glenn said sadly.

Jodie picked up the backpack, tossing it on his shoulder. “Oh—shit, Mom…” he groaned.

“Fuck her, she’s the reason this happened,” Glenn said, hiking up Nicky in his arms. “Just hurry up; this kid ain’t exactly light.”

“Let me just…” Jodie poked his head out of the room to shout down to his mother. “Mom! We’ve got to take Nicholas home! I don’t know when I’ll be back, so you can just head home!”

“What?” Dee shouted back up at him, but Jodie didn’t say another word. He cut a portal into the air and let Glenn and Nicholas through first, following them into Morgan’s living room.

“What is going on—Nicholas?” Morgan gasped when she saw her baby. “What happened?” she asked with her arms out. Nicky cried, his arms outstretched toward his mama. Glenn deposited him in her lap, and Nicky clung to her instantly, sobbing into her neck. “You’re okay, baby, you’re okay…” she said, shushing him gently as she petted his hair and rocked in her seat. “Glenn?”

“This happened,” he said, holding up the pacifier. Morgan gasped, which only made Nicky cry harder. “Yeah, one of Dee’s mutts got in his room and tore through his bag. It got his paci, and it tore it up.”

“You know about this, too, honey?” Jodie asked, gesturing to the pacifier.

“I’ve known for a while, yeah,” Morgan said. She still tried to soothe Nicky, rocking from side-to-side until his tears dried up. “He and Terry told me about it.”

“Oh, so the other kids know, too?” Jodie asked, suddenly feeling a little bit angry that everyone else seemed to know what was going on with his son. “Does anyone not know besides me?”

“It’s just us, Samantha, and the kids,” Morgan said. “The rest of the dads and moms don’t know, the school doesn’t know, just…whoever he wanted to tell.”

“He didn’t want to tell me?” Jodie asked. His anger quickly changed to shock. Why didn’t Nicholas want to tell him about this?

“Look, we can worry about catching you up later,” Glenn said. “This is just a baby pacifier, store’s got a lot of ‘em, so let’s go get a new one.”

“Right, right…” Jodie said with a sigh. He hated it when Glenn was more rational than he felt.

“Do you want to pick out a new one, sweetie?” Morgan asked Nicky, looking down at the sad boy in her arms. He hesitated to answer, but he slowly nodded. “Okay…why don’t we go to the store and get you a new paci, then? And maybe we’ll get something to protect it…”

Nicky sniffled, sitting up slowly. He wiped his nose with the back of his hand. As he came down from his fit, his head pounded with pain, and his nose felt stuffy.

“How about first we get you a popsicle, and we just settle down for a minute or two?” Morgan suggested.

“Okay, Mama…” Nicky said quietly.

“You like the blue ones, right, kiddo?” Jodie asked as he headed for the kitchen.

“Blue…” Nicky said quietly, nodding. As Jodie came back with a popsicle, Nicky blushed brightly, but he took it from his dad. “Thanks…”

“So—”

“Jodie, we can talk about it later,” Morgan said firmly.

“Right, right…”

Chapter Text

Nicky held his mama’s hand as they made their way into the store. They ran down to the Ralphs just a few minutes from the house since it seemed to be the closest place with pacifiers. When they pulled into the parking lot, Nicky tried his best to pull himself together, sniffling and wiping his nose with the back of his hand. His eyes were red, his cheeks were red, and he just looked sad. As they made their way inside, Nicky took his mama’s hand so he could keep her close.

“Alright, kiddo, let’s see what we’ve got,” Glenn said, crouching down in front of the 3-foot section filled with pacifiers, sippy cups, and bottles. At first, Nicky didn’t budge from his mama’s side, but she nudged him forward.

“Go on, take a look,” she whispered to him. Nicky’s eyes welled with tears, but he managed to keep it together as he joined Glenn. His anxiety kicked up, however, when Jodie stood beside him, a hand on his shoulder.

“What kind was your old one?” Jodie asked, grabbing a package with two purple pacifiers inside.

“That, um, th-that don’t have a handle…” Nicky said quietly, shaking his head.

“Okay, we need a handle,” Jodie said, confusion in his voice. “Is there a reason we need a handle?” he asked.

“Got a clip…” Nicky said. He jammed his finger in his mouth to chew.

“Hey, these glow in the dark, bud,” Glenn said, holding up a pack of three. One of them had a basketball, one had stars, and one had a puppy. Nicky wrinkled up his nose and shook his head. “Not interested?”

“Don’t wan’a puppy…” Nicky said.

“Ah, gotcha,” Glenn said, nodding as he hung the pack back up. “What about these?” he asked, grabbing another pack with two, one with a little monster and the other with a rocket ship. “They glow, too, and they have a handle.”

Nicky took the pack, looking it over in his hands. It was the biggest size that they offered, and they looked pretty cute… He nodded, clutching the package to his chest.

“We have a winner!” Glenn cheered quietly as he got back to his feet.

“Are you happy with those, Nicholas?” Morgan asked when he rejoined her side. Nicky nodded, and he hugged his mama close. She patted his shoulder and squeezed him tight.

“Alright, let’s get out of here, then,” Jodie said. He led the way to the front, and the four of them paid through the self-checkout just so no one else had to see what it was that they bought for Nicky.

Once in the car, Nicky tried his hardest to open the package. He pulled on it, he bit it, and he even tried his claws, but his hands were far too clumsy to get through it easily. Jodie noticed, watching his son struggle for only a second. The frustrated tears in his eyes were a little too hard to handle, so Jodie held a hand out. Nicky looked up at him with big, scared eyes that hurt a lot to see.

“Here, I’ll open it, kiddo,” Jodie said as gently as he could. Hesitantly, Nicky handed over the package. He looked toward his mama as she got into the driver’s seat, and he twisted around to see Glenn get in beside him. As Nicky turned back, he watched his dad stand in the door and also struggle to open the pacifiers, but he did succeed. “Alright, which one do you want…?” Jodie asked.

“Um…” Nicky glanced at his options again, and he snatched the one with a little monster on the button. He stuck it in his mouth and finally, finally, felt like he could relax. Jodie gave a breathy laugh, as he tried to get Nicky into his seat.

“Alright, buckle up,” Jodie said, holding the belt out for Nicky to take. After a few tries, Nicky did manage to buckle himself into the seat, but he really didn’t care that it took some struggle. He slumped against the belt, and Jodie chuckled at him. He shut the door to get into the passenger seat beside his wife.

“Are we all set?” Morgan asked.

“We’re good back here, Morgan,” Glenn said. Nicky nodded, not that it really made a difference. He really didn’t care, either, as he managed to suck his new pacifier’s shield against his face tightly.

Once they made it back to the house, Nicky was nearly asleep. All the anxiety, fear, and exhaustion of the evening caught up to him, and he wanted to go to bed. The car turned off, and he rubbed his eyes sleepily, whining.

Glenn snickered, and he hopped out of the car, making his way around to the other side to open up Nicky’s door. “Let me guess,” he started, waiting for Nicky to look up at him. “You don’t want to walk all the way up to your room?”

Nicky shook his head, still rubbing his eyes.

“Alright, c’mon,” Glenn said. He reached around to unbuckle Nicky from his seat, and he scooped him up under the arms. Nicky wrapped his arms around Glenn’s shoulders and his feet around his waist. Glenn only struggled a tiny bit up to the door, and he made his way up to Nicky’s bedroom to deposit the boy in his bed. “There we go, bud,” he said as he pulled the covers out from under him. “Wanna take off these shoes?”

Nicky kicked them off without a word. He got Glenn’s help with getting his jacket off, and he collapsed in bed.

“Wanna be alone?” Glenn asked. Nicky nodded. With a sigh, Glenn gathered up his shoes and headed for the door. “One of us will probably come check on you in a few minutes, okay, kiddo?”

“Okay…” Nicky said. He waited until Glenn shut the door, then he waited a little longer until he heard his feet on the stairs. Once he was sure he was alone, Nicky fished out his phone from his pocket. He called Terry quickly, relief washing over him once he saw Terry’s face.

“Hey? What’s going on?” Terry asked, confused.

“Look wha’ I got…” Nicky said, holding up his new paci.

“You got a new paci…?” Terry questioned. “How come?”

“One’a Nana’s doggies ate mine…” Nicky said, his eyes quickly filling with tears once more.

“Oh shit,” Terry said. “Are you okay?”

The tears came quickly, then, with a quivering lip and pain in Nicky’s chest. “N-no…” he whimpered. Nicky sat up in bed and leaned against the wall. He drew his legs up to his chest with his phone still dangling from his hand. “G-Glenn helped, but we—we had to tell Dad, a-and he don’t like it, and I’m scared…”

“He doesn’t like it?” Terry questioned. “What makes you say your dad doesn’t like that you regress…?” He knew it was one of Nicky’s big fears, that his dad would get mad or upset at him for regressing, but he couldn’t really see Jodie acting that way. He hoped that he was right, and that this was just a misunderstanding.

“H-he just would-wouldn’t ask me nothin’ a-and he…he was upset…” Nicky said. “He don’t like it, Terry…” he squeaked out, burying his face in his knees.

“Hey, hey, it’s okay, Nicky…” Terry tried. “It doesn’t sound like your dad’s upset that you regress. It sounds more like he’s upset that you are upset. If you were crying like this, I bet he just wanted to figure out how to help.”

“I-I’m scared, Terry…” Nicky whimpered.

“I bet you are,” Terry said so gently. “Did your dad help you pick out your new paci?” he asked. Nicky nodded. “That doesn’t sound like someone that doesn’t like your coping mechanism. That sounds like someone who wanted to help his son feel better.”

“Can you come over?” Nicky asked, his voice wobbling as he did.

“I wish I could, Nicky, but it’s getting late…” Terry said.

“I-I come get you?” Nicky suggested. He just wanted Terry, no matter what he needed to do. “O-o-or I come stay with you?”

Terry sighed, a sad look on his face that broke Nicky’s heart. “I think you need to stay home, lil guy,” Terry said. A sob escaped Nicky’s throat, and it utterly broke Terry’s heart. “I’ll come over tomorrow, okay? It’s gonna be alright, Nicky, I promise…”

“O-okay…” Nicky managed out. He buried his face in his knees, and for a moment they were quiet, save for the sound of Nicky’s crying.

“Nicky, I love you, okay?” Terry tried.

“L-love you, too…” Nicky whimpered.

The door handle started to turn, and Nicky gasped. He hung up on Terry as his mama made her way into the room.

In front of her was such a sad scene. Nicky sat on his bed with tears streaming down his face, his new paci dangling from his finger. He looked completely heartbroken, and she had no idea how to fix this, not entirely.

“I heard you talking in here,” she said as she took a seat on the edge of the bed. Nicky crawled over to lay his head in her lap. Morgan carded her fingers through his hair soothingly, and Nicky’s eyes slid shut. “I take it you were talking to Terry?” she asked. Nicky nodded.

“Wan’ed him’a come over…” Nicky mumbled. “He said no…”

“It’s probably close to his bedtime, honey,” Morgan said. “I know you’re upset, but he can’t come over every time you’re small… I’m sorry.”

“S-sad…”

“I know you are…” Morgan said. “Believe me, if I could take away all the sadness you’re feeling right now, I’d do it in a heartbeat. I don’t like seeing my baby so upset.” She tucked his hair behind his ear, and a tear hit her knee.

“Wha’s Dad say…?” Nicky asked. Morgan sighed.

“Dad’s worried about you,” she said. “He wanted to be the one to come up here to check on you, but I talked him out of it. I kind of figured you might want a little longer to decompress… But, he does want to talk to you tomorrow.”

Nicky choked on another sob, squeezing his eyes shut tight.

“I know, honey, I know it’s scary, but Dad’s not going to do anything. He just wants to understand what’s going on with you. He’s worried about his baby…”

“D-don’t want him’a worry…” Nicky whimpered.

“I know…” Morgan said through a breath. She patted Nicky’s shoulder. “How about you just go to bed, and we’ll figure this out in the morning, okay?”

Nicky sniffled, but he still nodded. He let his mama help him get into bed, and he jammed his new paci into his mouth while she pulled the covers up to his shoulders. “It’ll be less scary in the morning, I’m sure,” she said just before she kissed his forehead. Nicky didn’t know if he believed her, but he didn’t say another word as his mama drew up his door and left him alone to cry himself to sleep.

Birds chirped cheerily, sun shown brightly through the windows, and Nick laid in the corner of his bed with his phone in hand. The last thing he wanted to do was leave the comfort of his room to go face his dad. So, instead, he scrolled through Youtube for anything stupid to keep his mind occupied. It worked for a while, but after only half an hour of skateboarding turtle videos, Nick heard footsteps on the stairs. He squeezed his eyes shut and threw his blankets over his head.

Just for good measure, he even took out his pacifier and jammed it under his pillow.

Knock, knock, knock.

“Hey, Nicholas, it’s Dad,” Jodie said. Nick scrunched up tighter. “Can I come in?”

Maybe if he didn’t say anything, his dad would go away. Nicholas didn’t think he was that lucky, but maybe the universe would be kind to him for once.

“Are you still asleep in here?” Jodie asked, pushing open the door. Nicholas didn’t move a muscle, still wishing the universe might take pity on him. He heard his dad give a little sigh, then he sat down on the edge of the bed. “Mom and Glenn told me a little bit about what’s going on with you, y’know…” Jodie said. “I didn’t realize how hard this was for you. I mean—I should have been able to guess, probably, that you wouldn’t be completely okay…you’ve always been a sensitive kid. You’ve always been anxious, nervous, all that, and I’ve always tried to help you through it, but I guess this time I kind of screwed up, huh?”

Jodie stopped for a moment, waiting to see if Nick was awake. When Nicholas didn’t move, he continued.

“You’ve got the memories of a completely different life, too, and from just knowing Glenn these past few months…I can see how hard that must be. So, that, and trying to navigate this half of yourself that you didn’t have before… No wonder you’ve needed this,” Jodie said. “I didn’t realize that acting like a little kid might be comforting like it is, apparently, but Mom told me about it. You and that Terry kid—I knew there was something going on with you two, but I did not think it was going to be that he takes care of you when you’re small. It’s sweet, I guess.”

He stopped himself, cringing. “I’m just rambling, now. Just—I’m here for you, Nicholas. I might not always get it, but…I don’t want you to be scared of me. You’re my boy, and I love you so much. I’d never do anything to hurt you, not on purpose, and I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you or made you feel like you needed to be small just to cope…”

Nick sucked in a deep breath, and he threw the covers off himself.

“So you were awake,” Jodie said, giving a dry laugh.

“I love you, too, Dad…” Nicholas said. He sat up, his face red. He drew his legs up to his chest, crossing his arms over his knees. “I…I won’t lie. I’ve regressed because of you before, b-because you’ve argued with Glenn, o-or because you embarrassed me…but it’s not always your fault or anything,” he explained.

“I’m sorry, buddy,” Jodie said sadly.

“It’s okay, Dad, promise…”

They were quiet for a moment, but Jodie couldn’t stand it. “So—uh, so, Glenn mentioned that you have a ‘baby battle jacket’ for when you’re small…?”

Nick scoffed, but he crawled off his bed and headed to his closet to grab his jacket. “It’s still a work in progress, but this is what me and Terry have got done,” he said as he handed it over to Jodie. “The wolf button is from Sparrow, though.” He sat back down on the bed beside his dad.

Jodie had to laugh fondly as he looked over the jacket. “How cute…”

“I was worried you’d be mad or that you’d think regression was a bad thing…” Nick said. “I was really worried that you’d blame yourself or worry that you’re doing something wrong. This is just…this is just how I feel better. It’s not your fault, it’s not Mom’s fault, it’s not Glenn’s fault…”

“I get that, buddy,” Jodie said, putting an arm around his shoulders to squeeze Nick close. “I’m not saying that Mom and I aren’t you going to be worried about you, that’s not avoidable.” Nick groaned. “I’m glad you’ve got a way to feel better, and I promise I’ll do whatever I can to help, okay?”

Nicholas nodded, and he rested his head against Jodie’s shoulder. “No offense, but I don’t even get Mom to help a lot with this,” he said. “She does what she can, but…I didn’t want her to know, either. Or Glenn.”

Jodie sighed in relief. Nick snorted a laugh.

“You don’t have to be so happy that I didn’t want Glenn to know.”

“I—you don’t understand how much of a relief that is, kiddo,” Jodie said, snickering to himself.

“It was just supposed to Terry that knew, but then everything kind of fell apart,” Nicholas explained.

“I wouldn’t say it all fell apart,” Jodie said. “You have a good support system, even if that support system has to go out at 8 o’clock at night to buy you a pacifier.”

“Daaaaaaaad…” Nick groaned in embarrassment.

“What’d you do with it, anyway?” Jodie asked.

“It’s under my pillow…” Nicholas explained, a blush growing on his face. “I stuck it under there when I woke up. That’s where I used to keep my old one, anyway…”

“Except when it was in your backpack,” Jodie said. Nicholas shrugged.

“Sometimes I’m small at school,” he said, voice cracking in his embarrassment.

“That should be worrying, then,” Jodie said.

“Don’t worry about it.”

“Nick.”

“Don’t worry about it!”

Nicholas really needed Terry to hurry up and get to his house. Luckily, he heard his mom’s voice shout up the stairs, “Breakfast!”

“Breakfast time, Dad!” Nicholas shouted, running out the door before his dad could ask him another question.

Chapter Text

After breakfast, Nicholas ran away up to his room. His dad asked him a million questions, asked about what he liked to do when he was small, what it felt like, why he couldn’t speak very well, and so many more questions that Nick thought his head might explode. At least his mom took over after a few minutes, answering questions as well as she could. Nicholas just sank down in his seat and tried to eat in peace, but still he wanted nothing more than for the floor to open up and swallow him whole.

At least as he sat in his room he could keep watch out the window for Terry. He didn’t know what he wanted to do when Terry got to his house, but Nicholas knew he wanted to get away from the house. He needed some peace, some time away from his dad, before the man managed to drive him insane.

Nicholas spotted Terry’s mom driving up to the house, and he cheered inside. He jumped to his feet and ran downstairs just as his mom made it to the front door. “Terry!” he screeched the second he saw the boy on the stairs. Nicholas darted out the door under his mother’s arm and tackled Terry to the ground before he could even get a scream out.

“Oof!” Terry groaned as he collided with the ground. “Hi, Nick…”

“Hi.” Nicholas grinned down at him, sitting up eventually so that Terry could get out from under him. “I would say sorry, but I’m really not.”

“I could tell,” Terry fussed. He shook the grass from his hair, glaring when Nick laughed.

“Are you okay, honey?” Samantha asked, concerned as she hovered over her son.

“I’m fine, Mom, he’s not that heavy,” Terry said, waving his mom’s concern off. Nicholas gasped and shoved him back into the dirt.

“Boys, be careful,” Morgan fussed. “Nicholas.”

“I didn’t do anything, Mom!” Nick insisted. “Terry had it coming!”

“What’d I do?!”

Nicholas didn’t give him an answer, laughing as he got to his feet. He held a hand out for Terry to take so he could pull him to his feet, and he led him inside. Unfortunately, as they came inside, Jodie piped up.

“Hey, Terry,” he greeted with a little smile and wave. “So, you’ve known about Nicholas’s regression for a while now, huh?”

“Daaaaaaaad…” Nicholas groaned, tossing his head back. “Can we please just go upstairs?”

“I can’t talk to Terry?” Jodie asked. Nicholas faced the wall to smack his forehead against it as his dad continued. “I just wanted to say thank you, Terry, for being so good to him. He really thinks highly of you if you were the only one who was supposed to know about this.”

“Uh, yeah, I mean…I don’t mind taking care of him, and he asked me to, and he’s my best friend so…I wanted to help him however I could,” Terry said. “Yeah…”

“Well, you’ve done a very good job, so thank you,” Jodie said, grin on his face. Nicholas wanted to explode.

“No problem…?” Terry said, confused.

“Let’s go upstairs, Terry!” Nick said, grabbing Terry’s hand to yank him upstairs. The two of them barreled into his bedroom, and Nicholas collapsed on his bed. He grabbed his pillow, slapped it over his face, and screamed into it.

“At least your dad seems to be taking it well…?” Terry tried, sitting down beside him. “He’s a little extra, but it’s not that bad.”

“He asked a billion questions during breakfast, too,” Nicholas whined into his pillow. He dragged it down his face so he could talk. “Dad asked me how old I regress to, so I just said toddler, not specific or anything, and he was all like oh well at least you’re not a baby again, you were awful for diaper changes and feeding! and I thought I was going to die, Terry.”

“Oh no…” Terry cringed.

“So he can never know I have pullups or I will die,” Nick said. “That’s not a threat, that’s a promise.”

“Did your mom try to get him to stop or anything?” Terry asked. He laid down beside Nicholas, who shifted around until he laid his head on Terry’s belly.

“She took over answering questions eventually,” Nicholas said. “I think she knew I was very close to exploding, but she didn’t know if everything should just stop or not. And Dad was clueless that he was prying too much.”

Terry sighed, and he ran his fingers through Nicholas’s hair. “Well…what do you want to do, then?” he asked. “Is your dad going home?”

“I don’t know…” Nick said. “He hasn’t mentioned going back yet. If he’s sticking around, I want to get out of here. I need to breathe.”

“We could just go walk the path at the park or something?” Terry suggested. “Did you wanna be small?”

“Maybe…” Nick said, a little blush on his face as he sat up.

“Why just maybe?” Terry asked.

“I’ve been small since yesterday because my Nana, and then the hound taking my… a-and Glenn and Mom tried to help, Dad tried to help…” Nicholas sighed, squeezing his eyes shut. “I feel like I haven’t slept in five years; I’m tired, my head hurts, and I don’t know if being small will be better than being big…”

“Well, you don’t have to regress or anything,” Terry said. “We could go take a walk, you could climb a tree when you see a squirrel since you’re basically part cat—” Nick protested that one, which Terry laughed at. “If you regress, you regress, if not…we’ll find some cool rocks or something.”

“That works for me, I guess,” Nick said with a shrug.

“You should probably change out of pajamas first, though,” Terry said, snickering. Nicholas looked down, blushing brightly that he still sat there in pajama pants and an old shirt.

“Right…” he said as he jumped to his feet. He grabbed a pair of shorts and a clean shirt from his closet. “I’ll be right back…”

When he came back, Terry held up his baby battle jacket. “Did you want to wear this?” he asked. Nicholas grinned, nodding, and he darted over with his arms out behind himself for Terry to put it on him. “What about your paci?” Terry asked. “Do you want to bring it with us just in case you want it?”

“Uh…” Nick looked over to his bed where his new pacifier sat. Did he want to bring it when he wasn’t even sure he would be small? They were going to be in public, on the walking path, where other people might see it and laugh at him… “We can leave it here,” he said.

“Okay, that’s fine,” Terry said with a shrug. “If you want it, you can have it when we get back or something.”

“Yeah, that’ll work…” Nick said with a nod. “Let’s go.” He held his hand out for Terry, who fit his palm against Nicholas’s. They made their way downstairs, Nick slipping on his shoes as Terry reached for the door handle.

“Where are you two heading?” Jodie asked. Nicholas cursed under his breath, and Terry raised a brow at him.

“We’re just gonna go to the park for a while, Dad!” Nick said with a grin. “We’ll be back in a little bit!”

“Oh! Do you need a lift?” Jodie asked.

“Nope!” Nicholas formed his claws and cut a hole in the doorway. “I’ve got it!” Before Jodie could say another word, the two of them jumped through the portal to land in the parking lot.

“Your dad seems like he really wants to be involved,” Terry said, taking hold of Nicholas’s hand before he could run off.

“I can’t do that yet, Terry…” Nicholas said. “I’m not ready for him to be involved with regression. It’s not like it was with Mom; Dad’s completely different.”

“I get it…” Terry said. He started off toward the little walking path, tugging Nick along toward the copse of trees. “It’s because of the demon stuff, isn’t it?”

Nick shrugged, leaning against Terry’s arm. “Part of it, yeah, I guess…” he mumbled. “Hellfire, brimstone, and the permanent smell of blood aren’t exactly as comforting as, like, the smell of baby shampoo… Dad isn’t as comforting as he was when he wore cowboy boots for fun and let me ride with him in his cruiser…”

“I can see that,” Terry said. He squeezed Nick’s hand. “He changed a lot from who you knew when you were little, but your mom really hasn’t.”

“Even Glenn, like…I’ve got Nick Close’s memories, and Glenn’s basically still the same guy as Nick grew up with, so that’s a different kind of comforting, too…” Nicholas said. “I don’t know if Dad gets it that a lot of this is because of what changed with us, so the stuff that changed doesn’t make me feel better…”

“He’d know that if you told him that,” Terry tried. Nicholas rolled his eyes.

“You’ve met my dad,” he said. “He wouldn’t get it unless I broke his heart…”

Terry sighed, and he gave a little nod. “Let’s not worry about that, then,” he said.

“Let’s look at this rock instead!” Nick said. He dropped Terry’s hand to dart over to a large rock stuck in the ground. Terry trailed after him, watching while Nick pried the rock up from where it stuck in the dirt. As he lifted up the rock, Nicholas gasped. Bugs skittered away to hide, a few worms tried to burrow away, and rollie-pollies rolled up.

“Did you scare the bugs away?” Terry asked, snickering.

“It’s not my fault!” Nick said. “I’ll cover you back up,” he said to the bugs, lowering the rock slowly to cover the bugs. He got up from where he sat in the grass, dusting his hands off. But, before Terry could say anything, Nick wandered off toward a patch of clovers.

Terry squatted down beside him while he watched Nick run his fingers through the flowers and clovers. “Are you looking for a four-leaf?” he asked.

“Yeah, I want one…” he said, and Terry raised a brow at the sound of his voice. He sounded smaller. Terry tried to help, but he distracted himself by watching Nick. He was almost certain that the poor guy was teetering, but he didn’t know if he needed to nudge him over the edge or let him step back. “Oh, here!” Nick said, snapping Terry out of his head.

“You found one?” Terry asked while Nicholas picked the clover.

“Look, it has five leaves!” Nick said, grinning proudly as he held the clover up.

“Wow, good job!” Terry praised automatically. He squeaked, blushing. “Sorry, habit.”

Nick blushed, keeping his head down as he twirled the clover between his fingers. “Um…here,” he said as he held the clover out. Terry took it, but not without a bit of confusion.

“Do you not want it…?” Terry asked.

“No, I want you to have it,” Nick said. “They’re supposed to be magic, and you’ve got magic, so it’s yours.”

Well, if Terry wasn’t endeared before, he certainly was at this moment. Nicky was too sweet. “Thanks, Nick,” he said, reaching up to ruffle his hair. Nick squawked and shoved his hands out of his hair.

“I’ll take it back!” he fussed, but Terry rolled his eyes at the empty threat. Nick huffed and got to his feet. “We should walk more!” he said, stomping back onto the path. “C’mon, Terry!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming…” Terry said as he got to his feet.

Nick walked several steps in front of Terry, his arms swinging stiffly as he marched ahead. He saw a bird dart in front of the path, and his eyes narrowed on it in the trees. Nicky’s claws replaced his nails, and he felt a beating against his shoulder blades where his wings showed themselves.

“Nick?” Terry called, but that only seemed to propel him forward. “Nicky!” Terry fussed, but Nicky ignored him, scrambling up the tree.

The bird flew away, and Nicky whined loudly. “Terry, it flew away!”

“You would, too, if you were a little bird that saw a big kid climbing after you!” Terry fussed. Nicky stuck his tongue out at him, so Terry did the same back. “Can you get down?” he asked.

“Um…” Nicky looked over the edge of the branch he perched on. “Uh oh…”

“Jump down to this lower branch,” Terry said, pointing out a branch just a few feet down from where Nicky sat. “You can make it, lil guy.”

“I’m not little!” Nicky whined.

“Okay, you can make it to that branch, big guy, is that better?” Terry tried. He knew better than to argue.

“I can do it…” Nicky insisted. He took a deep breath, and he dropped down to the lower branch. His foot slipped, and he plopped down on his bottom. “Ow! Terry!” Nicky whined. He looked at his hands which were scratched up. At least they didn’t bleed…

“It’s okay, Nicky,” Terry said. He got under the tree where Nicky sat, and he held up his arms. “C’mon, just drop down, and I’ll catch you.”

“No, I’ll fall!” Nicky cried.

“I won’t let you fall, Nicky,” Terry said. He watched Nicky’s wings beat against himself, and it was a pitiful sight. “C’mon, your wings will catch you if I don’t, but I promise, I’ll catch you.”

“You won’t drop me?” Nicky asked pitifully.

“I won’t drop you,” Terry promised.

“Okay…” Nicky squirmed forward a few inches, pausing as his nerves caught up with him. He wanted to scramble back up the tree, that felt safer than this. “You’re gonna catch me?”

“I’m gonna catch you,” Terry said. Nicky nodded, taking a deep breath before he let himself drop into Terry’s arm. “Gotcha!” he said as he enveloped Nicky in his arms, swinging him in a half circle.

“You caught me!” Nicky said excitedly.

“Did you still not trust me?” Terry asked, snickering.

“Noodle arms,” Nicky said, squeezing Terry’s arms. Terry scoffed, which only made Nicky laugh.

“That’s the last time I help you out of a tree!” Terry fussed.

“Nuh uhhhhhhh,” Nicky said, giggling. “You’ll help again!”

Terry sighed, but he didn’t give Nicky the satisfaction of a yes response. “How about you just don’t chase animals up a tree again so you don’t get stuck?”

“No p’omises…” Nicky said.

“Silly lil guy,” Terry said, mussing Nicky’s hair. Nicky whined, shoving his hands away.

“I’m not little!” he insisted.

“Oh, then what are you?” Terry asked, knowing full and well that he had a little boy on his hands.

“I’m a big kid!” Nicky insisted, though.

“Right, right, of course,” Terry said. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes, knowing that would only make Nicky mad.

“I need bandaids, Terry,” Nicky said, holding his hands out for Terry to examine. He didn’t even bleed, but Terry knew that Nicky just liked having bandaids.

“Do you wanna head home right now to get some?” he asked. “Or do you want to keep playing out here?”

“Um…” Nicky jammed his very dirty finger in his mouth so he could think. After all, this was a very big decision to make…

However, a butterfly flew by right then and made the decision for him. “Butterfly!” he yelped, taking off after it as the butterfly made its way up a tree.

Terry sighed, and he chased after Nicky. At least the little guy was feeling better, but Terry could do without getting Nicky out of trees.

Chapter Text

“Oh, what about these, Nicholas!” Morgan cooed, holding up a pair of swim trunks off the rack. The shorts had shark silhouettes all over them, and Nicholas blushed brightly.

“Mom,” he whined, pushing them down before anyone saw them. “Those are for kids!”

“I thought they were cute,” Morgan said. She held them up against Nicholas, who squeaked and jumped back against Jodie. “You’d be adorable in these, Nicholas!” she insisted.

“Morgan, honey, I don’t think he’s wanting adorable,” Jodie said, snickering. “He wants to be cool, right, Nicholas?”

“I just want a swimsuit that doesn’t scream kid,” he said. Nick thought his best bet might be just to hide far, far away from his parents.

Morgan sighed, and she hung the shorts back up. “Okay, okay, well…what about these?” she asked, pulling off a pair with palm leaves all over them. “These look a little bit like Dad’s old shorts, Nicholas.”

“They’re too loud,” Nicholas fussed.

“Here, maybe something more subtle?” Jodie tried, grabbing a pair of plain blue shorts with light blue stripes at the top that thinned out toward the legs.

“Those are better…” Nick said with a nod. He glanced around, hoping to avoid being seen by any of his classmates. The last thing he needed was to be caught shopping for swim trunks with his parents—honestly, Nicholas could only think of one thing more mortifying, and that was his regression getting out. This was the worst thing that could happen while he was big, and he wanted to disappear.

“Oh, are you sure you don’t want something cute, sweetie?” Morgan asked, cooing as she picked up a pair of shorts with blue cheetah print. “These are darling!”

“Moooooom…”  Nick whined, blushing terribly. Clearly, she wanted to embarrass him. Why else would she have such bad choices? Nick’s teeth gnashed in his mouth, sharpened canines aching to bite something. He jammed his fingers in his mouth for relief.

“Okay, okay, well what do you want, honey?” Morgan asked.

“Just…” Nicholas groaned, shuffling forward toward the rack of swimsuits. He already had a rash guard shirt, which was plain blue, but all the trunks just looked too flashy. Nick grabbed a pair of split blue-and-red shorts and shoved them in his mom’s hands. “There, that’s fine…” he mumbled, blushing.

“I don’t see what the big deal is, kiddo,” Jodie said, rubbing his shoulder. “It’s just a swimsuit; it’s not any different from shopping for regular clothes?”

“That’s embarrassing, too!” Nick squeaked out.

“Well, what can we do to make it less embarrassing…?” Jodie tried.

“I don’t knowww…” Nick whined. He stomped away from his parents, ears burning, and he made his way over to a big display of sunglasses and cheap jewelry. At least he could hide for a few minutes. Nicky whined to himself, though, scanning over the shelves of accessories for anything fun. Maybe he could find cool sunglasses like his dad used to have!

Nicky grabbed a pair of aviators and slipped them on, giggling at himself in the mirror. He looked pretty cool, he thought…

“Those make you look like a cop,” a girl Nick’s age said from behind, startling him nearly out of his skin. “Sorry!” she said, stepping closer with her hands up. “Didn’t mean to scare you!”

“Y-you didn’t scare me,” Nick said, willing his heart to settle down. “I just didn’t expect someone to be behind me, that’s all.”

“Well, maybe you should expect it more,” the girl said, giggling. “My name’s Cassie, by the way. Cassie Swift!”

“Nick-olas,” Nicholas said, stumbling over himself to say his whole name.

“Nice to meet you Nick-o-las,” Cassie said, giggling. She grabbed a different pair of sunglasses, ones with thick pink frames, and she put them on her face. “What do you think of these?” she asked, striking a little pose.

“U-uh, they’re cool…” Nicholas said. He took off the aviators and set them down on the shelf.

“I have a photoshoot tomorrow, so my mom told me to pick out some sunglasses,” Cassie said. She set down the pink frames and grabbed another pair that were shaped like butterfly wings. “What do you think of these?” she asked, pursing her lips and kicking up her leg.

“C-cute…” Nick squeaked out.

“You think?” Cassie asked, grinning wide.

“Yeah, uh…th-the glasses, they’re cute…!” Nick said. He cleared his throat, hoping not to sound like a complete loser. “Butterflies are cute.”

…And he fucking nailed it.

At least Cassie giggled again. Nick liked her laugh. It was…cute.

“I think these’ll match my dress, anyway, since it has butterflies on it,” Cassie said. “Are you trying to pick out some glasses, too?” she asked.

“Uh…I-I—yes,” Nicholas said, nodding dumbly. “My school, uh, just let out for the summer, a-and my friends and I are having a pool party, so…um, so I’m just trying to get stuff together.”

“Ugh, you’re so lucky!” Cassie groaned. “I’m homeschooled, and I’m always working, so I never get to go to parties…”

“Working?” Nicholas questioned, voice cracking. He cleared his throat again.

“Yeah, I’m an actress!” Cassie said, standing up straighter. “Maybe you’ve seen me? I’ve been in a lot of commercials, and I was on NCIS.”

“Oh, that’s cool…!” Nick said, his voice trailing up higher. “W-what—I don’t watch a lot of TV, um, so I probably haven’t, uh, seen you—I’d remember! Because you’re pretty, and—”

“You think I’m pretty?”

Could the Doodler kill him? Nick thought that might be a mercy. Why couldn’t he be randomly struck dead, right at this moment? “U-uh…yeah…!” he squeaked out. “You’re, um, really pretty… No wonder you’re an actress…!”

Cassie giggled again, and she looked at the display of sunglasses. She picked up a pair of red ones and slid them on Nick’s face. She took a step back, humming to herself with her chin on her fist. “Those look really cute on you,” she decided with a pointed finger.

“Y-yeah…?” Nicholas lifted them up and set them on top of his head. “Maybe I’ll get them, then.”

“You should!” Cassie said. “You could be an actor; that’s all you need is a good pair of cool sunglasses, and a good smile. Now you’ve got both.”

“You like my smile…?” Nick asked. He could feel his sharpened teeth pressing against his gums.

“I do!” Cassie said, beaming. Then, the two of them heard a woman’s voice calling for her, and she sighed. “That’s my mom…” she groaned. Cassie took off her sunglasses and folded the arms, looking down at the floor as she did. “I’ve gotta go…”

“Oh, okay…” Nick said, trying his best to shove down his disappointment. “I-it was nice meeting you!” he said, holding out his hand awkwardly. Cassie looked down at it, and she wrinkled up her nose. Then, she leaned over to kiss his cheek, and she darted away.

“Nice to meet you, Nicholas!” she said over her shoulder.

…

……

………Well, there was really only one way that Nicholas could think of to deal with these emotions. His entire face erupted in a deep blush, and he jumped around as high as his legs would let him. He covered his mouth with both hands to scream into, and he collapsed on the floor behind the sunglasses display just in case Cassie saw him.

“Nicholas, honey, are you okay…?” Morgan asked, stooping down beside him. “Honey?”

“I’m okay!” Nick insisted, sitting up quickly. His whole face still burned, but he tried his best to play it cool.

“I’d say he’s more than okay, Morgan,” Jodie said, snickering. Nick jumped up to try to stop his dad from talking. “The boy’s got a little crush!”

“Shush!” Nick whined.

“It’s not a bad thing, kiddo!” Jodie said. “Crushes are normal, and she seemed like a nice girl!”

“Were you watching me?!” Nick cried out, mortified.

Jodie paused. “No…we weren’t watching…”

“Daaaaaaaaad!” Nick smacked his head against his dad’s chest, whining into his shirt.

Jodie sighed, rubbing Nicholas’s back in hopes of soothing the boy. “It’s alright, kiddo, I’m not gonna tease you, I promise,” he said. “We don’t have to talk about it anymore if you really don’t want to, okay?”

“Thanks…” Nicky said into his shirt. He wrapped his arms around his dad and buried his face into his shirt. “I don’t wanna talk about her anymore…” he said.

“That’s fine, we’ve got plenty else to talk about!” Jodie said, glancing at Morgan for some help.

“Well, we need to finish getting everything we need to bring to the party,” Morgan said. She glanced down at her list and crossed off Nick’s swimsuit. “We need sunscreen, chips, ear plugs, and we’re bringing soda, too…”

“Let’s get the rest of our stuff, then!” Jodie said. “Ready, Nicholas?”

“Mhm…” Nicky nodded, and he slipped his thumb in his mouth, eyes wet and cheeks still tinged pink.

“Nicholas…?” Jodie tried, but Morgan tried to get his attention.

“He’s small,” she whispered, and Jodie made a noise of acknowledgement. “We’re nearer the groceries, so let’s go get the chips and sodas first, okay?”

“Works for me,” Jodie said. He patted Nicky’s shoulder, which only earned him a little squeak.

Down the drinks aisle, something caught Nicky’s eye. He gasped, and he squeezed his dad closer.

“What’s up, kiddo?” Jodie asked. But, rather than answer him, Nicky jumped forward and grabbed what interested him: a juice bottle with a monster truck on the spout. The juice was orange mango, and it had a monster truck on top.

“Mama!” Nicky squeaked, holding the bottle up to her. “Mama, can I have it?”

“I don’t see why not,” Morgan said, snickering. “Is that for tomorrow, or do you want it now?” she asked.

“Now…” Nicky said, clutching the bottle to his chest excitedly. “Can I have one for tomorrow?” he asked.

“Go ahead,” Morgan laughed.

For his second one, Nicky picked out a bottle of fruit punch juice with Spider-Man on top of the spout. He giggled happily, tossing his juices into the buggy while his mom added two cases of soda to the basket, and Jodie grabbed a few different bags of chips.

“Have you had those juices before, kiddo?” Jodie asked. “You seemed awfully excited about them.”

“I dunno,” Nicky said with a shrug. “It’s got a monster truck!”

“That’s all it takes, huh?” Jodie teased, snickering. He mussed Nicky’s hair to earn a little squeak.

“He used to get them when he was younger, remember?” Morgan said. “He had a collection of Spongebob ones, Cars ones, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. We had to keep all the lids, and he’d only drink if he had one of those.”

“Ohhhh, yeah I do remember that,” Jodie said. He glanced down at Nicky, who gleefully examined the bottles in the buggy. “Are you gonna stop drinking out of anything but those?” he asked.

“Maybe.”

That got a laugh, and Jodie nodded. “Can’t blame you there. Monster trucks are really cool.”

Morgan sighed, shaking her head fondly at the two of them. Nicky giggled, and he dug out his phone to take a picture of his juices to send to Terry. Surely he’d properly appreciate the monster truck and Spider-Man combo.

Sure enough, just a minute later Nicky got a text from Terry telling him just how cool his drinks were.

“Let’s go get the sunscreen and earplugs, boys,” Morgan said, leading the way toward the health and beauty department. She picked out a sunscreen, but Nicky complained immediately.

“Mama, that one’s for babies!” he whined, pointing out where the bottle said Babyganics in big, childish lettering.

“This is the one we always get you, honey,” Morgan insisted. “It’s not just for babies, I promise.”

“But it says!” Nicky whined.

“A lot of these that are SPF50 say they’re for babies, but they’re for anyone, I promise,” Morgan said. “I bet even Terry uses one that says it’s for babies.”

Nicky stamped his feet, frustrated, and he took out his phone to ask Terry for proof that his sunscreen said it was for babies. Terry sent back a photo of a bottle that just said it was for sensitive skin, not babies. “See, Mama!” Nicky fussed, holding his phone up for his mom to see. “We should get this one!”

Morgan sighed, but she nodded. The bottle was still SPF50, so at least it would keep him protected. “That bottle isn’t a spray like this one, though,” she said. “Are you going to be okay with that?”

“It’s not for babies,” Nicky said since that seemed to be all that actually mattered to the little boy.

“Okay, we’ll get that brand,” Morgan said. Jodie snorted a laugh, which got him a glare.

But, just to be on the safe side, Morgan also got their usual spray-on sunscreen. She just made sure Nicky didn’t see it in the buggy. She also grabbed a little box of earplugs to make sure Nicky didn’t get an earache, then they were finally ready to leave.

“I want my monster truck juice,” Nicky said the moment they got out the door. Jodie snorted a laugh.

“Can you wait until we get in the car, buddy?” he asked. Which, of course, earned him an enemy. Nicky didn’t want to wait, but he supposed he could. Terry wouldn’t have made him wait. He should have asked Terry to come shopping with him. But if Terry had come, he might not have ever met someone as pretty as Cassie…but he also would have gotten to have his juice.

Why did these sorts of situations have to be so complicated?

Chapter Text

Jumping through the portal, Nick landed in the Oak family’s backyard with his parents just a few steps behind. He dumped his bag on the patio as soon as he spotted Grant, Lark, and Sparrow, and he took off running toward them. “Guys!” Nick shouted, running around the edge of the pool toward an old club house that still barely stood in the corner of the yard. He collided with Sparrow, who sat on the ground picking dandelions.

“Hi, Nick!” Sparrow squeaked out, patting his back. “Get off of me!”

Nick rolled off him, giggling as he kicked his feet into the air.

“What’s wrong with you?” Lark asked, eyes narrowed suspiciously. “Why are you acting weird?”

“Yeah, you’re being weird, even for you,” Grant said.

“Oh, thanks, that makes me feel great, guys,” Nick pouted, rolling over onto his stomach. He didn’t care if he got grass stains all over his swimsuit, after all, so he could do whatever he pleased. “Terry’s not here yet, is he?” he asked, glancing around.

“No, Ron called our father a few minutes ago, though. They’re on their way,” Sparrow said. “Are you not going to tell us why you tackled me until Terry’s here?”

“Well, I don’t want to explain it twice,” Nick said.

“Do we get a hint?” Lark asked. “You’re not a baby right now, so there’s something else going on, clearly, but I have no idea what it could be.”

“Y’know, I’m not always regressed, Lark,” Nick fussed.

“Could’ve fooled me,” Lark said with a shrug, and Nick had half a mind to leap on top of him.

“Lark, seriously…” Grant groaned, shaking his head. “But, yeah…hint?” he tried. “You’re so excited that you tackled Sparrow, that’s not normal from you.”

Nick sucked in a deep breath, glancing over toward the adults to make sure they weren’t eavesdropping. “I met a girl yesterday, and she kissed me,” he whispered. Unfortunately for him, Sparrow was the only one that seemed impressed. Both Lark and Grant just wrinkled up their noses and sneered. “What!”

“Congrats?” Grant tried. “Like…what else do you want us to say?”

“Why would you let a girl kiss you?” Lark asked, disgusted. “She could’ve been an enemy who only wanted to get to your weak points so that she could slice you in half or something.”

“Lark, that’s stupid,” Nick said, rolling his eyes.

“Well, I wanna know more!” Sparrow said. “Was she pretty?”

Nick’s eyes lit up, and he nodded excitedly. “She was super pretty, and she’s an actress,” he said. “She was picking out sunglasses for a photoshoot that she’s doing today, and she asked me to help her pick some out!”

Sparrow gasped, his face lighting up. “Did she help you pick those out?” he asked, pointing out the sunglasses on top of Nicholas’s head. He smirked and moved them down over his eyes.

“She picked them out, and she said they look cute on me, and she said I have a good smile, so I could be an actor,” Nicholas said.

“And she kissed you?” Grant questioned, confused.

“Why are you having a hard time believing that part?” Nick fussed, blushing. “I’m kissable!”

That got a blush from Grant, and Nicholas thought he perhaps should have phrased that differently. Whoops. “It’s not that I don’t think you’re—that—” Grant stopped himself, clearing his throat as his blush grew darker. “Just! Why did she kiss you?”

“We’re waiting for Terry!” Nicholas fussed. “I don’t want to tell the whole story twice!”

He heard a laugh from where the adults all sat around together, and Nicholas blushed furiously. Nick could see his dad talking, and for a quick moment he feared that he was telling everyone else about Cassie. As Nicholas tried to watch them through the smoke of the grill, he saw Terry come outside with Ron and Samantha behind him, and he jumped up to go grab him.

“Terry!” Nick shouted, running over to the patio to grab his hand.

“Oof!” Terry groaned, nearly faceplanting into the concrete. “Hi, Nick…”

“C’mon, I’ve gotta tell you something,” Nicholas said as he tried to pull Terry along.

“Aye, Nick!” Glenn called before the two of them could even make it three steps out from under the awning. Nick cursed under his breath as he turned around to face Glenn. “Nice sunglasses, Casanova,” he said as he raised his beer bottle up to his lips to hide his grin.

Immediately, Nicholas’s face erupted in a deep blush. “You told?!” he whined, glaring at his dad.

“I didn’t know it was off limits!” Jodie insisted, snickering. “Can a dad not be proud of his boy?”

Nick threw his head back and whined loudly, dragging Terry back toward their friends.

“What’s going on?” Terry asked as he sat down in the grass. He twisted around when he heard Glenn’s big laugh, but he couldn’t tell what was going on.

Nick groaned as he flopped down between Terry and Sparrow. “Okay, so like I was saying to the others…I met a girl yesterday, and she kissed me,” he explained. Terry’s eyes grew wide, and he shifted around in the grass.

“What—why did—what happened?” Terry asked.

“She was trying to pick out sunglasses because she’s an actress and she had to do a photoshoot today for something, so she asked me to help her pick out sunglasses. Then she picked these out for me, said I was cute and I have a good smile, said I could be an actor, and then she had to leave. I tried to be nice and just shake her hand, but she kissed me instead,” Nicholas explained, grinning proudly as he recounted the story to his friends.

“Did she kiss you, like, on the lips?” Terry asked, astonished.

“Well, no…” Nick said, blushing. “I-it was on the cheek.” He pointed to his right cheek as if they could tell it had been kissed by anyone besides his mother. “But still! She kissed me and said I was cute, so like…that’s super impressive.”

“Did you get her number or something?” Sparrow asked.

“Um…no…” Nick said nervously. Was he supposed to get her number?

“So how do you plan on ever dating her if you have no way of contacting her?” Sparrow asked.

“No one said anything about dating her!” Nicholas squeaked out.

“So you don’t want her to ever kiss you again?” Lark asked, very confused. “Why are you so happy about this if you don’t want to continue this?”

“I think you’re missing the point,” Nick tried, his face nearly catching fire.

“Do you have a point?” Grant asked. Nicholas seriously considered jumping into the pool.

“What’s her name, at least?” Terry asked. “Did you get her name, or did she get your name? Or did she kiss and run?”

“Her name is Cassie Swift,” Nick said. “And I told her my name!”

“Well, if she’s an actress, then she probably has a public Instagram,” Terry said. “You could probably find her online and message her or something if you wanna go out with her.”

“Then you get to tell her you’re a demon and she can meet your demon dad,” Lark said, cackling. Nick growled, and he leapt over the circle to tackle Lark to the ground. Lark yelled, kicking and throwing fists while Nicholas tried to bite him.

“Boys!” Henry fussed. “Boys, no fighting! Nicholas, get off of Lark!”

Nick growled, but he fell to the side.

“Hey, boys, why don’t you come get some food!” Darryl called.

“C’mon, let’s just stop fighting and go eat,” Terry tried. He got up, and he held a hand out for Nicholas to take. As he pulled Nicholas to his feet, he gave him a worried look. “Everything okay with your dad?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah, it’s been okay…” Nick said, shrugging. “He was with me and Mom yesterday, and he was really good. Except when he teased me about Cassie…”

“Was that before or after you were small?” Terry asked.

“Before,” Nick said, blushing once again. “Kinda started feeling small because of the teasing, but then he was being nice about me being small, and he was just…acting like my dad. Like he used to be.”

“Well, that’s what you wanted,” Terry said. He held Nicholas’s hand as they walked slowly toward the others. The twins and Grant ran ahead, which made it easier to check in with Nick, at least.

“I liked it,” Nick said, nodding. “I wish I could have that version of my dad all the time…”

“Have you told him that?” Terry asked. Nicholas scoffed, which earned him an eye roll.

“Who do you take me for?”

“Well, I can have some hope,” Terry groaned. “You’re impossible.”

“You loooooove me, shut up.”

Terry wanted to protest, but Nick jumped ahead of him to grab a plate. Darryl set him up with a burger, and Nick went over to the little folding table that had all their condiments, veggies, and chips.

“Nicholas, honey, did you want your juice?” Morgan asked as she got up from her spot beside Jodie. Nick looked up, his face red, and he shook his head.

“Uh! N-no, no, I’m just gonna get some soda, Mama!” he said, grabbing a can of Sunkist. “I don’t, um, I’m not…yeah.”

Morgan quirked a brow, but she didn’t push. “Alright, well if you want it, I’ve got it in the cooler, okay?” she said. Nick nodded.

“Great, thanks, that works!” Nicholas said, shuffling over to the table where the twins and Grant already sat.

“What kind of juice did your mom get you?” Lark asked. “Prune juice? Pickle juice?”

“Ew, what?” Nick groaned. “No, it’s just…for later, if I’m small…” he mumbled, sinking down in his seat.

“Which one did you bring? The monster truck, or the Spider-Man?” Terry asked, taking the seat beside Nick. “I’m guessing Spider-Man?”

“Duh,” Nick said, shrugging. “I wanted the monster truck one yesterday.”

Terry snickered, and Nicholas had half a mind to shove him. He thought better of it, though, if he wanted to make sure that Terry wouldn’t try to keep him from having candy later. Terry would be that mean, Nick thought, even if Terry had never been that mean before. It could happen.

“So, what’s going on with that house across the street, Henry?” Ron asked. “When we drove up, we saw all the construction outside, and we saw that big dumpster, but there was nobody there working on anything.”

Henry sighed, so Nicholas perked up to listen. “Yeah, they sold that house a couple months ago, and it’s been nonstop construction ever since. They’re completely gutting the whole thing and redoing it, and it’s been terrible for the birds and squirrels around the neighborhood. Not to mention the gorgeous trees in the front yard that they cut down!”

…Well, Nicholas didn’t know if he actually cared to listen. This sounded boring.

“Do you know anything about the people moving in?” Darryl asked.

“Other than that they clearly have no concern for the wildlife in our neighborhood?” Henry questioned. “No, no I don’t know anything else about them.”

“They drive a Range Rover, so they definitely have money,” Mercedes said. “No idea why they’re moving into our neighborhood.”

“Maybe that Range Rover was all the money they have,” Glenn said with a laugh.

“So you don’t know their names or anything?” Samantha asked.

“I think their last name was Swift?” Mercedes said, and Nick nearly choked on a piece of lettuce. “Not related to the singer, I’m pretty sure.”

“Nicholas?” Grant questioned quietly. “Did she mention that she was moving?”

“She just said she’s homeschooled!” Nick hissed, his face erupting in a deep blush once again.

“Maybe she’s our new neighbor!” Sparrow said, beaming. “We can have her over, and you can see her in a swimsuit.”

“You’re not helping, Sparrow!” Nick whined. He coughed roughly, trying to get the tickle out of his throat. Terry grabbed his soda and opened the can, holding it out for Nick to take.

“Here, take a few sips before you cough up a lung or something,” he said.

“Thanks…” Nicholas said, taking the can. He downed a few quick drinks, setting the can back down as he slumped against Terry’s shoulder.

“Honey, is everything okay?” Morgan asked, concerned when her son coughed again.

“I’m okay, Mama!” Nick insisted. But, when he glanced back at Terry, he didn’t seem so convinced. “What?”

“You said ‘Mama’ instead of ‘Mom’,” Terry said. “That usually means you’re teetering.”

Nick scoffed, and he rolled his eyes. “You’re being ridiculous,” he said, squirming in his seat. He sat up and took another bite of his burger. “I can call my mom ‘Mama’ and it not mean anything. Lark and Sparrow still call their mom ‘Mami’, remember?”

“But you don’t say ‘Mama’ unless you feel small,” Terry said.

“Well, maybe I do, now,” Nicholas said with a huff.

Terry didn’t seem convinced, and maybe Nicholas knew he wasn’t very convincing, but he wasn’t going to let Terry win this easily. He took another drink of his soda.

“Hey, Ron, wanna help me fill up the water guns?” Glenn asked, which grabbed Nick’s attention. He twisted around in his seat to see Glenn get up.

“Uh—yeah, sure, I guess…?” Ron said, standing up slowly. “Why are we filling up the water guns? Shouldn’t the kiddos do that?”

Glenn snickered and patted Ron on the back. “It’s funnier when they can just grab and go, trust me,” he said. Nicholas watched what guns they had, looking for the biggest one that he could grab as soon as Glenn said they were ready.

“I’m gonna kick your ass,” Lark said, challenging tone dripping from his voice. Nick spun around with a wicked grin on his face.

“You’re gonna have to catch me first,” he said. At least with water guns, Nicholas could shove down the growing cloudiness in his brain. He could play with his friends and not worry about being small so long as he had a water gun in his hands, and that was all Nicholas needed to push him through eating the rest of his lunch.

“Hey, kids! Water guns!” Glenn shouted, and all five kids shot out of their seats after their weapons of choice.

Chapter Text

Nicholas sat on the edge of the pool, his hair dripping into the water while he kicked his feet to splash around. He held a washcloth up to his nose while he tried hard not to sniffle. It really wasn’t fair that he got a nosebleed after only being in the pool for a few minutes.

Terry swam over, leaning his arms on the edge of the pool. “Feeling okay?” he asked. Nick just shrugged, holding the washcloth away from his nose to check on the bleeding. “Still going?”

“Not as bad, now…” Nick said. He pulled his legs out of the water so he could stand. “I’m gonna go get something dry to clean it off again…” he said.

“Do you want some help?” Terry asked. Of course he asked—Terry was so convinced that Nicholas was small when Nick knew he wasn’t small. He wasn’t! No matter what anyone said! But, also…Nick didn’t really want to be alone. He shrugged.

“You can come if you wanna,” he said. So, Terry climbed out of the pool and grabbed his towel to dry off with. Nick waited on him with his bloody washcloth pressed to his nose again. They passed by the adults, but Nicholas ignored them when they tried to ask how he was doing. He didn’t want to talk to anyone else, not as his eyes stung and his nose tingled.

Inside, the two of them made their way into the bathroom just off the kitchen. Terry pulled off a wad of toilet paper from the roll to replace Nicholas’s washcloth with. “Here, try to dry it up,” he said, letting Nick take the toilet paper.

Nick tossed down the cloth into the sink and tried to clean up his nose. “Are you supposed to blow your nose?” he asked, sniffling.

“Yeah, just be gentle,” Terry said. “If you blow your nose too hard, it’ll start bleeding again.”

Nicholas tried to be gentle as he blew his nose. He checked the tissue, grimacing at the sight. “That’s gross…”

“What’d you expect?” Terry asked, snickering. “If something not-gross came out, that’d probably be a worse problem.”

“I dunno, if chocolate came out or something, that’d be pretty cool,” Nicholas said. He crumbled up the tissue and tossed it away, grabbing more just to make sure he was in the clear.

“If chocolate came out of your nosebleed, I would really hope you wouldn’t eat it,” Terry said.

“Of course I wouldn’t; who do you think I am?” Nicholas said. He wiped his nose clean and leaned against the counter. “I’d dare Lark to eat it.”

“Gross,” Terry grimaced, but he still couldn’t help laughing. Nick laughed with him, and he leaned his head on Terry’s shoulder. “So, seriously, how’re you feeling?” Terry asked. He squeezed Nick’s shoulder and hugged him close.

“Been better,” Nicholas said. He still sniffled, his nose still stuffy. “We were all having fun…I got to shove Grant in the pool…it was going great. Then my stupid fucking nose started bleeding.”

“I’m sorry…” Terry said. “Did you need anything…?” he asked. It was a leading question, Nick knew. So, instead, he shrugged again. “Maybe we should ask your mom if there’s something else you need, then?” Terry tried.

“It’s done bleeding,” Nick said with a shrug. “I know I can’t get back in the pool, but it should be done…”

“Boys?” Morgan called from the doorway. Both boys looked up at her, and she offered a little smile. “Hey, how’s it going?” she asked.

“It’s stopped bleeding,” Nicholas said. “Just feels a little stuffy still.”

“I bet,” Morgan said. “Mercedes said they have some nasal spray in here,” she said as she went for the medicine cabinet.

“I-I don’t need that, Mama,” Nick insisted.

“Honey, I know you don’t like nasal sprays, but it’ll help make sure your nose doesn’t start bleeding again, okay?” Morgan tried. She took out the bottle from the cabinet, one marked Children’s, of course, and she gave it a little shake. “It’s just two spritzes on both sides, that’s it, okay?”

“I don’t want it…” Nicholas whined. Morgan sighed, glancing at a very worried Terry.

“How about you hold Terry’s hand, and Mama will do the spritzes?” she tried. “Terry, think you can do that?”

“Yeah…” Terry took his hand, but Nicholas still whined, stamping his feet in protest.

“I don’t want it, Mama!”

Morgan tried to shush him, tried to settle him down. “It’ll be over just as quick as it starts, okay, honey?”

Nicky whined, tears welling up in his eyes. He hated sprays…

“It’s okay, Nicky…” Terry whispered, squeezing his palm. “We’ll get ice cream after it’s done. I’m pretty sure I saw that Mr. Oak got gummy worms, and there’s even M&M’s and Reece’s Pieces.”

“I want ice cream…” Nicky whimpered, his forehead pressed on Terry’s shoulder.

“Then you’re four little spritzes away from it,” Terry said, nodding to Morgan.

Nicky hesitated for a moment, considering his options. Ultimately, however, his desire for ice cream overruled his hatred for nasal sprays. He nodded, so Morgan gave him the medicine before he could change his mind. “Eugh…ew!” he whined, stamping his feet in frustration. “I hate it!”

“I know, I know…” Morgan said, sighing. She put the bottle away and cleaned up the sink. “You know where the ice cream is. Bowls are on the counter, too.”

“C’mon, let’s go,” Terry said, tugging Nicky along. In the kitchen, all Nicky’s troubles seemed to melt away. “They’ve got vanilla, but also, candy,” Terry explained, pointing to the bags of candy on the island.

“Candy…!” Nicky squeaked, grabbing the bag of gummy worms. He pulled out a couple from the bag just to eat, his face puckering up almost immediately. “Sour…”

“Too sour?” Terry asked, snickering.

“Try it,” Nicky said. He grabbed another worm to dangle over Terry’s face. Terry sighed, opening his mouth for the worm. His face puckered up, and Nicky laughed in delight.

“Too sour…” Terry said, nodding. “Hopefully the ice cream helps.”

“I want a lot,” Nicky said while Terry tried to portion out their treats.

“I know,” Terry said. He gave them both two big scoops, ignoring Nicky when he tried to bargain for more. “If I let you do the chocolate syrup yourself, will you use half the bottle?” Terry asked instead. Nicky hesitated.

“No…” he lied.

“Okay, I’ll do it, then,” Terry said. He gave both bowls more than enough syrup. “Where’re the Reece’s?” he asked, and Nicky handed him the bag. For a moment, the two of them worked in silence while they loaded their ice cream up with candy. Gummy worms, gummy sharks, M&M’s, Reece’s Pieces, Skittles, and sprinkles made for a very sweet treat. “Are you done?” Terry asked, waiting for Nicky’s nod. “C’mon, we’ll go sit down outside.”

“Okay…!” Nicky followed behind him, plopping down beside Terry at their table.

“Oh, that is a lot of candy…” Jodie winced.

“Uh, boys?” Henry called. Terry and Nicky looked up at him confused. “That’s a lot…”

“Nicky’s upset,” Terry reasoned with a shrug.

“I think he’ll be more upset if he’s got a bellyache from all that sugar,” Henry said, concerned.

“Why did you get so much, too, then?” Samantha asked, snickering in amusement.

“I had to deal with him saying that he wanted his blood to be chocolate, so I deserve this,” Terry said. Samantha snorted a laugh into her arm.

“Ice cream?!” came the shouts from Grant, Lark, and Sparrow. Before anyone could try to stop them, all three of them crashed into the kitchen unsupervised.

“Boys, be reasonable!” Henry shouted, running in after them. “You’re all going to have tummy aches at this rate!”

“Father, we are responsible boys,” Sparrow tried. “We are capable of portioning out our own sweets!”

Darryl laughed from outside. “How well does he think that’s going to work?” he asked Glenn, laughing harder and harder the more insistent Sparrow got.

“Grant, seriously, that’s way too much syrup,” Henry tried.

“No it’s not,” Grant insisted. “I want chocolate ice cream, so I have to mix them. It takes a lot, obviously.”

With a bit more bickering, Henry emerged from the kitchen defeated. He sunk down into his seat between Mercedes and Darryl. “I don’t think I stood a chance at winning that,” he deadpanned.

“Oh, my love, no…” Mercedes said, giggling. “No, you did not.”

Grant, Lark, and Sparrow emerged proudly with their monstrous bowls of ice cream, and they sat down with Nicky and Terry.

“Did your nose finally stop bleeding, Nick?” Grant asked.

“Yeah…” Nicky took a big bite of his ice cream, finding a sour gummy worm once more that made his eye twitch. “Mama made me take nose spray to help, too…”

Grant raised a brow at him, and he glanced at Terry for confirmation. Terry nodded, so Grant shifted in his seat. “Well, since you can’t go back in the pool and we should probably not do anything that might hit your face, how about we just watch a movie?” he suggested.

“We can watch Despicable Me if you want, Nicky,” Sparrow said, grinning.

“Ew, why would we watch that?” Lark asked, grimacing. Sparrow squeezed his hand, gesturing to Nicky with a nod. Lark looked between his brother and Nicky, confused until—“Ohhh…fine, yeah, we can watch Despicable Me if the baby wants to.”

“I’m not small,” Nicky insisted, however, to the surprise of all his friends, especially Terry.

“You’re not?” he asked, brows knitted together in confusion.

“Nope,” Nicky said, shoving another too-big spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. “Wanna p…play Mario?” he asked slowly just to make sure his voice didn’t sound too incriminating.

“Uh…sure?” Terry sat up a little straighter, trying to figure out why in the world Nicky wanted to say he wasn’t small. It was obvious, and Nicky had to know that Terry knew. “We can play, like, Mario Party or something in a few minutes?” he suggested.

“Yeah, I’ll kick your asses,” Nicky said, sitting back in his chair with a little grin on his face.

“Are you sure you’re not a baby?” Lark asked. He was entirely confused…

“I’m big, Lark…” Nicky groaned.

“Uh…” Terry really didn’t know what he needed to do. Why was Nicky trying to pretend he wasn’t small? “You know it’s fine if you want to be, though, right?” he asked. “Like—we’re just playing video games, and you were small, maybe you’d feel a little better?”

Nicky shook his head. “I’m big,” he said. He finished off his ice cream and hopped to his feet. “I’m gonna go change.” After all, wearing wet swim clothes felt disgusting after a while.

“Sure…?” Terry watched him grab his bag and head inside, utterly confused.

Nicky made his way back into the bathroom with his towel and his bag so he could change into his lounge clothes. He dried himself off as well as he could before changing into basketball shorts and a plain red muscle shirt. He brushed out his hair as well, but he didn’t bother with socks or shoes.

He knew he felt small, and he knew Terry knew as well, but Nicky didn’t want to give in. Ever since he arrived, it felt like he wasn’t allowed to be as big and grown up as he wanted to be. His friends didn’t care that he had been kissed by a girl, and his dad tattled about his kiss to the other adults as though he told a story about Nicholas picking dandelions for his mom when he was five. Nicky tried to play with the others normally, but even his body rejected that idea with a nosebleed. So, rather than joining his friends in the pool, Nicky had to sit out and be babied…

Why couldn’t he be a big kid? Why did Nicky—no, Nicholas—have to always be a baby? He wasn’t a baby. He was thirteen. Nicholas didn’t need any of this. He didn’t need to be babied, he didn’t need his pacifier, he didn’t need baby juice or sippy cups or pullups or toys or anything. What Nicholas needed was to get a grip. His dad didn’t need to regress or act like a kid to get over his problems, so why did Nicholas?

Knock, knock, knock.

“Nicky?” came Terry’s voice from the other side of the door, and Nicholas squeezed his eyes shut. Why did hearing that soft tone in Terry’s voice make his heart hurt so much? Nicholas wanted to throw the door open, hug Terry tight, and never let go…but that was childish, and Nicholas was a big kid. “Nicky, you okay in there?” Terry asked so sweetly.

Slowly, Nicholas opened the door to poke his head out. Terry smiled at him, but Nicholas just frowned. “I’ll be out in a minute, Terry,” he said, and he went to shut the door.

“Okay, but!” Terry put his hand on the door to keep Nicholas from shutting him out. “What’s going on with you? Why don’t you want to be small?”

“I don’t need it; I’m big,” Nicholas insisted, shutting the door before Terry could say another word. He locked the door to be sure he was alone, and he sat on the floor. There was nothing more that Nicholas wanted at that moment than a hug from Terry. He wanted a hug, he wanted to be babied, he wanted his pacifier, his juice… Hell, he even though he wanted his pullups even if he didn’t like them most of the time… At least when he wore them, he knew he was being cared for. He knew he was safe and loved, and he was a baby…

But Nicholas wasn’t a baby. Nick wasn’t a baby. He was a big boy, dammit.

Nick sniffled, his eyes wet with tears. He wiped his nose, squeaking when he saw a streak of red on his hand. “N-no…” he whimpered.

“Nick?” Knock, knock, knock. “Nick, what’s wrong?” Terry asked.

Nicholas struggled back to his feet, and he threw open the door, face red and tears slipping down his cheeks. He could feel the drip of blood from his nose, and Terry sucked in a sharp breath.

“Need some help, Nicky?” Terry asked.

“Mhm…”

Terry ushered him back inside, having Nicky sit on the lid of the toilet while he wet a cloth. “Here, hold it—you know what to do.”

“I-I-I wan…I wanna be s-small, Terry…” Nicky whimpered, sniffling as cold water met his very unhappy nose.

“You can be small, Nicky,” Terry said, stooping down in front of him. “What made you think you couldn’t be?” he asked.

Nicky shook his head, eyes locked on the floor in embarrassment. None of it mattered; Nicky just wanted Terry to take care of him. “I wanna be a big kid…” he whispered.

“You are,” Terry said, but Nicky glared at him. “I mean it. Just because you’re small right now doesn’t mean you’re not a big kid. You’re just struggling. It happens. And it’ll get better, but first you’ve gotta take care of yourself and let people help you.”

Nicky nodded. There really was no arguing with that, was there?

“Everything okay in here?” Grant asked, poking his head into the room. “Uh oh—started bleeding again?”

“Yeah, we’ll be out in a second, Grant,” Terry said, nodding to the door.

“Right, I’ll tell Lark to get a few practice games in before I kick his ass,” Grant said. He grabbed the doorknob to shut them into the room.

“Lemme check your nose…” Terry said, pulling Nicky’s hand away from his nose. “Looks like it’s stopped again.”

“No more spray?” Nicky asked, his tears pooling in his eyes once more.

“No more spray, I promise,” Terry said. He stood upright with a bit of tissue to clean up Nicky’s face. Nicky whined and scrunched up his face, tearing away from Terry’s grip. “Okay, okay, do you need anything else? Paci?”

“Um…” Nicky blushed, looking down at his bag like it might jump up and bite him. Terry looked down, glancing into the open bag for just a second before seeing what Nicky might need.

“I can go stand outside the door if you wanna put on a pullup…?” Terry suggested. Nicky nodded, so Terry opened the door and slipped back outside. After a moment, the door opened again to show a red-faced Nicky with his pacifier firmly between his teeth. “All better?”

“Mhm…”

“Are you guys coming?” Sparrow asked as he came in. “Terry, you’re still in your trunks?”

“Yeah, Nicky started bleeding again, so I was helping him,” Terry said.

“Oh.” Sparrow looked over at Nicky, who slumped against the door frame with his paci in his mouth and his bag dangling along the floor. “Nicky, wanna come with me? We’ll go join Lark and Grant in the living room and watch Grant destroy Lark at Mario Party minigames?” he suggested.

“Okay…” Nicky said with a little nod. He held his hand out, so Sparrow took it to lead him to the living room.

“I’ll be there in a minute, guys,” Terry said, but Nicky kept his head down so he could keep his tears inside.

“Don’t forget underwear!” Sparrow said over his shoulder, snickering as he took Nicky with him to sit on the couch together.

“I want Terry…” Nicky whimpered as he sat down, curling up into Sparrow.

“He’ll be back in just a minute, Nicky,” Sparrow promised. “He just has to change.”

“W-want him now…”

“He’ll be super quick, I’m sure,” Sparrow tried. Nicky sniffled, though, sinking down in the seat.

This was his own fault. If Nicky had been able to just accept that he was small, Terry wouldn’t have left him. If he hadn’t been such a pain in the butt, Terry wouldn’t have passed him off to Sparrow. Nicky just needed to choose; he couldn’t keep making things so hard on Terry.

“I’m back,” Terry said, and Nicky could’ve cried. Terry sat down on his other side, tugging him into a hug, and Nicky did cry. “Your mom gave me your juice if you want it, lil guy,” Terry said gently.

“J…juice…” Nicky whimpered. He took the little bottle of juice, never leaving Terry’s ribs as he drank.

“There you go, just settle down…” Terry whispered to him, running his fingers through Nicky’s hair. “One of these days you won’t catastrophize everything, I promise.”

…Well, Terry earned the pinch he got from that. Calling Nicky out like that was just uncalled for, clearly.

“P’ay Mario,” Nicky insisted, kicking toward the controllers.

“Are you gonna help me?” Terry asked. “You know I can’t win without my big guy’s help.”

That finally got a smile out of Nicky, but he quickly hid it in Terry’s side. “I’ll help…” he said, giggling.

“Thank goodness! I don’t know what I’d do without my cheerleader,” Terry said, grinning wide. “You’ve gotta yell really loud to throw Grant off, got it?”

“Got it!”

Chapter Text

Moonlight poured in through the windows, casting long shadows on the walls that formed the shapes of Nicky’s friends. He laid on the floor half-awake, glaring at the dust that floated through the air, circling the ceiling fan above his head, and he spat out his pacifier. Beside him, Grant snored lightly, and in one of the beds, Lark mumbled in his sleep. Terry laid at Nicky’s other side fast asleep, his face right beside Nicky. Sparrow laid in his bed fast asleep as far as Nicky could tell, which meant only one thing: Nicky was entirely alone.

He didn’t mean to wake up, but he just did. It wasn’t very nice, either, when he realized what exactly woke him up. He felt cold, clammy, and Nicky needed badly to get up to change. But, the fear that he might wake up the others also popped into his head. Would they get mad at him? Would they be annoyed that the baby couldn’t even get through one night dry and clean?

…Or would they be more mad at him for ignoring it? After all, Nicky knew how that would turn out. He would get a rash, and he would be miserable.

That, thankfully, decided what he needed to do. So, Nicky crawled out from his pile of blankets, careful not to wake Terry, and he shuffled over to his backpack. He grabbed a new pullup and headed out the door, ever so careful to keep the hallway light from hitting any of his friends. Nicky snuck into the bathroom to change, and he buried his wet pullup deep in the garbage can, even wrapping it up in a layer of toilet paper just to make sure it was hidden.

Tears stung his eyes as Nicky pulled his shorts back on his hips. Why did he have to be such a baby? Why couldn’t he keep the nice elements of his regression and ditch all the gross stuff? He didn’t want to wet the bed, he didn’t want to cry his eyes out because he felt lonely, he didn’t want to practically eat his fingers just because he felt nervous. Nicky just wanted cuddles, and he wanted to watch comforting movies. Was that so much to ask for?

A knock on the door froze his blood in his veins, and Nicky slapped a hand over his mouth.

“Nicky?” came Sparrow’s voice, and Nicky relaxed just a little. “Are you okay?”

“Go back to bed, Sparrow,” Nicky said, doing his very best to sound bigger than he felt. He hoped if Sparrow just though he was big and needed to pee that he’d leave him alone.

“I can’t sleep,” Sparrow said, however, and that sounded…odd. Nicky opened the door, greeting Sparrow at the door with confusion on his face. “Hi…” Sparrow said, yawning.

“Hi…” Nicky said quietly.

“Still small?” Sparrow asked, noticing how Nicky fidgeted in place with his shorts. He caught quick sight of a pullup waistband, and he answered his own question.

“I’m fine,” Nicky insisted, though.

“Not what I asked,” Sparrow said. He rubbed his eyes sleepily, and he reached a hand out toward Nicky. “Wanna go outside?” he asked.

“What?” Nicky questioned. “It’s the middle of the night…”

“So?” Sparrow shrugged. “C’mon, it’s fun,” he said. He tugged Nicky’s hand just enough to get him to follow, and Sparrow led him to the office his parents rarely used. Nicky wanted to ask what they were doing, but his question was quickly answered when Sparrow tossed open the window and hopped out onto the roof.

“Sparrow!” Nicky squeaked, his face erupting in a bright blush.

“It’s okay, I promise,” Sparrow said. “I come out here all the time. You won’t get hurt.”

Nicky didn’t seem convinced as he stared down the window at the street below. He felt his wings beat against his back with his nerves, and he squeezed his eyes shut tightly.

“See, you’ve even got wings to catch you,” Sparrow said. “C’mon, I’m trying to do something.”

Well, that startled Nicky just a bit. He looked up, staring at Sparrow’s outstretched hand intensely. Ultimately, though, the desire for someone to just be with won out, and Nicky took Sparrow’s hand. He squealed as Sparrow pulled him out the window, stumbling as he found his footing. His wings beat rapidly against his shoulders, and Nicky curled up tightly in Sparrow’s arms.

“You’re okay, Nicky, you’re okay!” Sparrow said, giggling. “C’mon, take a seat,” he said, pulling Nicky down onto the shingles. They felt warm even with the cool night breeze that blew through him. Nicky curled up closely with Sparrow, his head tucked under the other boy’s chin. “Dang, you really are small right now, aren’t you?” Sparrow cooed, ruffling his hair.

Nicky whined, but he didn’t move or protest.

“Sometimes, if I have a really bad day, I come out here and just sit for a little while,” Sparrow said. “It feels weird up here, especially at night. It feels like I’m not supposed to be here, like this isn’t actually part of our world.”

That earned Sparrow a very confused look, so he continued.

“It doesn’t really feel like the Forgotten Realms, either, really. That weirdly feels like home, and so does being inside the house. Both Earth and Faerûn feel like home, like we’re supposed to be there. But out here, in the middle of the night, it feels different. Like the roof is another dimension that we can only get to when it’s dark outside,” Sparrow explained. “I’m probably explaining it badly, but…do you see what I mean? It’s quiet, it’s still, and it doesn’t feel like this is real…”

“Feels cold…” Nicky said, shivering as the wind picked up just a touch.

“A little bit, but then you can just lay down on the shingles,” Sparrow said. He laid back, so Nicky followed him down. “I like laying out here. It clears my head and reminds me that all of this is just made up.”

“How so?” Nicky asked. He rested his head on Sparrow’s chest, smiling to himself when Sparrow petted the top of his head.

“Daytime is supposed to be the important hours, and that’s when we have to be real people. I’ve gotta take care of Lark and keep him and Father from fighting. I’ve got to practice magic, and all of us have to fight the Doodler and keep people safe. We also have to go to school and learn shit,” Sparrow explained. “But, at night we can just exist. We can look at the stars, feel the wind, feel the gravel off the shingles, and we can just be whatever. And I like that.”

Nicky supposed that made sense. Sparrow certainly seemed to feel like it made sense, and who was he to say otherwise?

“Do you…” he started, but he stopped himself when he realized how stupid this sounded.

“Do I what?” Sparrow asked, though, practically pulling the question back out. Nicky swallowed hard.

“Do you ever wish you could stay out here forever and never deal with…with bad stuff ever again?” Nicky asked.

“Sometimes,” Sparrow said, and that surprised Nicky. “I wish we could go back to normal sometimes, and even though being up here doesn’t make me feel like that’s back…it feels better than what we’ve actually got going on.”

“That’s how being small feels…” Nicky said. “It…it’s not like before, but it feels better than the Doodler, Hell, and all the bad stuff…”

“Then how come you’ve been so upset?” Sparrow asked. Nicky tried to hide, but he realized quickly that he didn’t have anywhere to go. “I just mean, like, you’ve been acting like you don’t want to be small anymore, like it’s hurting you…but if it’s better than your normal life…?”

“I wanna grow up…” Nicky said sheepishly. He sat up, watching the street below while a raccoon scurried away from the neighbors’ with a chip bag. “I try to be grown up, but it feels wrong, and that’s scary. I try to get rid of the parts of regressing that I don’t like, but they don’t go away… I don’t wanna be messed up all the time. I don’t want you guys to have to take care of me…”

“I like taking care of you,” Sparrow said with a shrug. Nick rolled his eyes. “I understand if you feel too vulnerable, or you’re frustrated, but I think fighting it is only going to make you feel worse. And seriously, none of us mind taking care of you. We fight over you.”

“No you don’t!” Nicholas insisted, blushing. Sparrow had to laugh.

“Yes we do!” he said. “Grant really likes to brag that he knows what you like, and Lark taunts us when he gets you to laugh! And Terry is very smug. It’s so annoying.” Nick squeaked. “So, yeah, if you’re frustrated with being small, I get it, but if you’re mostly worried that you’re too much for us or something, or you think we don’t like playing with you when you’re small, you are very wrong.”

“Stop that,” Nick managed out, blushing brightly.

“Nope, I have to tell you the truth because you deserve to know that we all love you, dumbass,” Sparrow said.

“That’s so fucking lame,” Nick whined, plopping back down face-first into the roof. The tips of his ears burned as well, and Sparrow leaned over to flick one. Nick squealed and shrunk up in a tight ball.

“You know what else I like to do out here?” Sparrow asked. Nicholas barely looked up at him through his bangs. As soon as Sparrow met his eyes, however, he got to his feet and howled like a wolf at the moon. Nicholas jumped, startled, but that didn’t deter Sparrow. He howled and howled until his lungs ran out of air. “C’mon…” Sparrow said, panting as he held out a hand for Nick to take. “Give it a try.”

“You’re crazy, I hope you know that,” Nicholas said as he got to his feet. Sparrow didn’t dignify that with an actual answer, instead patting him on the back to try getting him to howl. Nick took a deep breath, staring up at the sky. “I can’t believe I’m gonna do this…” he said, mortified. Then, he let out a howl, and Sparrow cheered.

“How do you feel?” Sparrow asked, proud grin spread across his face.

“Like a total idiot,” Nicholas said, panting as he caught his breath. “Why did that make me feel better?” he asked.

“That comes from lovewolf magic,” Sparrow said so matter-of-factly.

“I don’t think that’s true,” Nick said, though, shaking his head as he laughed.

“Boys!” came Henry’s squeaky little reprimand. Nick jumped, startled, and Sparrow groaned. “Get inside! What are you doing out on the roof? You could get hurt!”

“We’re coming, father…” Sparrow grumbled, leading the way back to the window.

“Careful!” Henry fussed, taking hold of Sparrow to yank him back inside. He grabbed Nick as well and pulled him back inside. “Seriously, boys, it’s the middle of the night! You should be in bed!”

“We needed to howl at the moon, father,” Sparrow said to a very unpleased Henry. “There are times when growing boys need to have a good howl at the moon. It’s good for our energies, wouldn’t you agree?” he tried.

Henry hemmed and hawed, ultimately sighing in defeat. “Okay, but next time tell an adult that you’re doing that, is that fair?” he said, hoping to meet Sparrow in the middle.

“Absolutely, father,” Sparrow said with a smile. “Can we go back to bed, now?”

“Yeah, go back to bed…” Henry said. He ushered both boys out the door, shutting the door behind himself so he’d be sure they didn’t just run back outside.

Sparrow took Nick’s hand and led him back to the room. “You’re not small anymore, are you?” he asked quietly with his hand on the doorknob.

“Um…” Nick shrugged. “No…but, um, but I think I wanna be…” he said, blushing at the confession. “If you don’t mind.”

“I don’t mind,” Sparrow said, giving Nick a smile. He opened the door to the bedroom and led Nicholas inside. “If you wanna cuddle, we can cuddle in my bed, and Terry can be jealous in the morning,” he said with an impish little grin. Nick couldn’t help giggling at that, and he nodded.

Nick grabbed his pacifier off the floor, cleaning it off on his shirt before shoving it back in his mouth. Sparrow climbed into the bed first, and he held up the covers for Nick to crawl in with him. He grabbed his iPad off the bedside table, and he grabbed his earbuds for them to share.

“Wanna watch some Youtube or something?” Sparrow asked while Nick made himself comfortable. Nick nodded, so Sparrow found a random playthrough of Five Nights at Freddy’s for them to watch, and he propped up the iPad with his knees.

It didn’t take long for the two of them to get comfortable. Nick rested his head on Sparrow’s shoulder, and Sparrow laid his head on top of Nick’s. He held Nick’s hand and rubbed his knuckles with his thumb, which felt just soothing enough for Nick to sink into the softness. Even with jumpscares playing in his ears, he felt sleepy. His paci bobbed in his mouth, and his eyes fluttered shut. Nicky felt a kiss on his forehead, and with that he sunk into sleep, cared for and loved.

Chapter Text

“Terry, it’s so hot…” Nick whined, draping himself over Terry’s back from where he sat in the grass. As it turned out, summers in Faerûn were just as bad as they were on Earth. This did not bode well for Nick, who hated the heat and humidity. His skin felt gross, clammy and sticky and hot, and his hair stuck to his forehead as beads of sweat trailed down from his scalp.

“Then get off of meeee…” Terry groaned, leaning away from Nick, who yelped as he flopped onto the grass.

“Shouldn’t you be fine with the heat, Nick?” Grant asked while he fanned himself with a crumpled-up McDonald’s bag he found on the floor of the van. “Like, you’re a demon. You go to Hell a lot. It’s on fire.”

“It’s not the same…” Nick whined. “That feels completely different from this!”

“Would that be because of your demon form, or does that have no effect on your ability to tolerate heat?” Sparrow asked, which actually stumped Nick for a moment.

“Actually…” He sat up, and in just a blink of the eye he let his demonic form take over. “Oh, that is so much better,” he said with relief.

“That’s great and all, but can you put the wings away!” Terry fussed when Nick nearly hit him in the face. Nicholas snickered and poked Terry in the cheek with the tip of his wing. “Nicholas!”

“I thought you liked my wings?” Nicholas asked, cackling with delight as he folded his wings against his spine.

“You’re still sweaty!” Terry whined.

Nicholas snickered, plopping down in the grass to stretch out his wings, arms, and legs.

“Well, now he’s just showing off,” Grant groaned.

“Showing off?” Lark teased, nudging Grant. “Not the way I’d put it, Grant.”

“Shut up, Lark,” Grant said through his teeth. “That’s not what I meant!”

Nicholas rolled over onto his belly and traced the ground with his claws. Little flames jumped up from the grass, but he quickly tapped them out before they could grow. It had been twenty minutes since their dads left the five of them as “guard duty” while they went into Neverwinter for…whatever it was they went to Neverwinter for. In that twenty minutes, the five of them had argued about squirrels, practiced spells, and decided what lunch they wanted to beg their dads for when they got back. After all, Taco Bell was very much worth throwing a fit for, Nick decided.

However, the heat seeped in around them the longer their dads were gone, and Nicholas felt a little fussy. It felt better in his demon form, but still that fussiness tugged at his head. He wondered if his friends would mind him being small… Even with his talk with Sparrow from the week earlier still fresh in his mind, Nicholas still worried. But he wanted to test what Sparrow said, he wanted to know if they really, really didn’t mind him being small.

“Do we have juice still?” Nick asked, pushing himself up on his arms.

“Uh, yeah, there’s still a few in the cooler,” Terry said, twisting around to see him.

“Can you get it?” Nick asked, pulling out the big puppy eyes and the little pout he usually reserved for when he truly felt awful. Terry sighed dramatically, but Nick saw a little grin on his face as he hopped to his feet.

“Does anybody else want something while I’m up?” Terry asked from the trunk of the van.

“No, we’re good,” Grant said.

“You don’t speak for me,” Lark fussed. “I don’t want anything, Terry!”

Grant rolled his eyes, and Terry peered around the van just to make sure Lark saw the look he shot his direction. Lark just snickered to himself, and Nick couldn’t help grinning.

“Here,” Terry said as he handed the juice over to Nicholas. The bottle had a twist top, and Nick knew he could get it off himself, but…well, that felt too big. Only big boys could open drinks, and he didn’t want to be a big boy…

“Terry…” Nick started as soon as Terry sat down beside him. “Can you open it?” he asked, blushing. Terry looked at him with confusion on his face. “Um…n-never mind…”

“I can open it, that’s fine?” Terry said, though it sounded like a question. He wanted to know why Nick wanted him to open the drink, but Nicholas didn’t know if he could explain himself. “Give it here,” Terry said with his hand out, so Nick handed over the bottle for Terry to open.

“Are you small, Nick?” Grant asked, brows furrowed in confusion. Nick certainly didn’t appear small. There were certain habits that Grant could pick out to tell Nicholas was small, things like picking or chewing his nails, hunched shoulders, or fidgeting in place. However, Nick sat with his back against the van, not a single trait that Grant was used to present.

“Um…” Nick took his opened juice from Terry and drank it instead of answering Grant.

“Everything okay?” Terry asked. He scooted back against the van so he sat next to Nick. “What’s up?”

“N-nothing…” Nicholas insisted nervously. He still sipped his juice, avoiding eye contact with his friends. He was beginning to regret this decision. Nick had not prepared himself for such sincere concern. Though, really, Nick couldn’t remember the last time he had regressed just for fun around everyone. Most of the time, something went wrong that made him feel small…

“So nothing’s bothering you?” Terry asked, taking Nicholas’s hand in his. That move certainly had the impact Nick wanted, making his brain spin. Why did something as simple as Terry holding his hand make him feel so incredibly tiny? Nick probably needed to think about that more, but he certainly wasn’t going to do that while Terry rubbed his knuckles with his thumb so gently.

“Nothin’s bothering me…” Nicholas whispered, a little grin growing on his face.

“You just want to be small, huh?” Sparrow piped up with a proud smile on his face. Nicholas squeaked and tried to hide his face in his knees.

“Ohhhh…” Grant and Terry said at the same time. Lark snorted a laugh, falling back into the grass.

“You guys just assumed there was something wrong, but the baby just wants to be a baby!” he teased, kicking Grant with his bare foot. Grant grabbed his foot and flipped him over onto his belly despite the protest Lark gave.

Sparrow crawled over on his knees, plopping down in front of Nick with that smile still on his face. “What do you wanna do? We could always play something like tag, or maybe we could go find cool bugs? Or do you wanna be a baby who gets taken care of?”

Nick felt his whole face flush at that, but he tried not to fight against the fuzzy feeling in the back of his head. “I-I wan—”

“Boys, get in the van!” came Darryl’s frantic yell. Nick jumped, startled, and he scrambled into the van with the rest of his friends. “Everybody get buckled up, go!” Darryl fussed.

“What’s going on?” Grant asked, buckling himself in.

“Are we in danger?” Terry asked, reaching over to buckle Nick in. That made all that fuzziness cloud up Nick’s head; Terry didn’t need to do that, but he did it without a second thought.

“We might have pissed off Sheriff Boreanaz,” Glenn said as he jumped into the van.

“Is everyone buckling?” Henry asked as he jumped into the passenger seat. “Boys, are you buckling up?”

“We’re buckled, father!” Sparrow said. He didn’t bother telling his dad that Lark hadn’t buckled since they were in the very back with Grant.

“Okay, hi, kiddo,” Ron said as he got into the van. “Have you seen the Teddy Grahams?”

“Uh, yeah, they’re in the back…?” Terry said.

“Ah, Darryl, I need a minute!” Ron said, unbuckling himself.

“No time, Ron! Sit down!” Darryl fussed. “Grant, can you reach the Teddy Grahams?”

“Yeah, whatever…” Grant grumbled.

Jodie hopped in last, plopping down in the floor with Glenn. He slammed the door shut, and Darryl punched it forward. “I’ll open a portal when we don’t have anyone on our tail,” he said, looking out the window as the cult followed after them. “We’re gonna have to put a lot of distance between us first, though.”

“That’s fine,” Darryl said. “Who has the whistle?”

“I have it,” Glenn said, holding up a silver whistle that glittered in the light.

“We have the Cult of the Doodler on our asses again for a whistle?” Grant said, irritation dripping from his voice. “Why do we have a whistle?”

“It’s a train conductor whistle,” Jodie explained. “It has the ability to summon creatures, though, so we really didn’t want the cult to have it.”

Grant huffed, but he didn’t flop back into his seat. He tried to lean over Nick’s shoulder to check on him. He saw Nick chewing his nails, and Grant’s heart melted. Of course this stress pushed him over the edge… It sucked. Grant wanted to help ease Nicholas into his regression; he couldn’t even remember a time that Nick had ever just casually chosen to be small, but the choice of it was taken from him all because of something stupid like a whistle.

Meanwhile, Terry pulled out his phone when he noticed Nicky chewing his nails. “Hey, wanna watch me play Minecraft?” he asked quietly. Nicky nodded, shifting a little closer.

“Can we turn on the air conditioning?” Sparrow asked. “It’s hot back here!”

“Oh! Yeah, yeah, sorry!” Darryl said as he turned on the air. “Make sure your vents are open back there!”

Sparrow pawed at the vents on the ceiling until he felt cool air come out. He aimed one of them at Nick, who glanced back at him with a shy smile.

Glenn noticed first how the kids acted with Nick, and he tried to catch Jodie’s eye. Unfortunately, Jodie focused entirely on watching out the window for anyone attacking them. Glenn rolled his eyes, and he sat up on his haunches. “How’re you feeling, kiddo?” he asked, patting Nicky on the leg.

“I’m okay…” Nicky insisted, but he never moved his thumb from his mouth.

“Did we scare you a bit?” Glenn asked. “You look a little…well, uh, little.” He tried to keep his voice quiet, but still Nicky blushed and tried to hide his face in Terry’s shoulder. “I’ll take that as a yes, then,” Glenn said.

“We’ve got it, Glenn,” Terry said.

“Are we still getting lunch?” Lark hollered from the back seat.

“We just need a few minutes, Lark,” Henry said. “We’re still going to Taco Bell, don’t worry.”

“Excellent!”

“Alright, boys, go get your drinks,” Henry said as he handed out the cups to all five boys. “Get us a good table where all of us can sit together!”

The boys hardly paid attention to him as they took their cups and ran to the drink machine. The twins and Grant filled up their cups first, heading over for lids and straws while Terry helped Nicky get his drink.

“Go ahead and get your ice, lil guy,” Terry said sweetly. Nicky pushed the back of bar to fill up his cup with ice, jumping back when the ice startled him. Terry snickered, which earned him a glare. “Okay, what do you want to drink?” he asked.

“Orange Coke…” Nicky said. So, Terry found the option for him. “I wanna push the button!” Nicky said quickly before Terry could press it for him.

“Go ahead, then,” Terry said, snickering. Nicky pressed the button as hard as he could, which might have been more satisfying if it were an actual button. “Can you carry your drink to Grant so he can help you with a lid?” Terry asked.

“I can carry it,” Nicky insisted even though he filled his cup up too much.

“Use both hands!” Terry fussed as Nicky picked it up. Even using both hands, however, Nicky still spilled a bit of soda on his hands as he shuffled over to Grant.

“Holy shit, Nick, you filled your cup way too much,” Grant said, snickering as Nicky set his cup down.

“I wanted a lot,” Nicky said, hoping Grant wouldn’t realize that he messed up.

“Well, you definitely got it,” Grant said. He grabbed a lid and popped it on top. While he grabbed a straw, Nicky punched in all the indicators on his cup lid. “Really?” Grant questioned, laughing when Nicky grinned up at him. He put the straw in for Nicky, shaking his head fondly. “Are you going to carry your cup, or should I?” he asked.

“I can do it!” Nicky insisted. He picked his cup up with both hands as carefully as he could. Grant laughed fondly at him, but he let Nicky carry his cup.

“You’re a big boy, huh?” he teased as they joined the twins at the table. Terry followed behind just a second later.

“Nuh-uh,” Nicky said, shaking his head.

“No?” Grant questioned. “You’re not a big boy?”

“No!” Nicky wasn’t a big boy, nor did he want to be a big boy. He just wanted to show his friends that he was able to carry his own drink!

“Well, that explains the pop on your hands,” Terry fussed, grabbing a napkin to clean off Nicky’s hands. Nicky giggled shyly at that, and he sat down beside Terry. Grant sat beside Lark, who shuffled down with Sparrow to make room. “What did you order?” Terry asked.

“Nachos,” Nicky said, sticking his nails in his mouth to chew.

“Well…at least it’s not a burrito or something…” Terry said, cringing. “Are you gonna make a mess?”

“Mhm!” Nicky gave a full-body nod.

“At least your dad knows, then,” Grant said, laughing. “He’d be really suspicious if you started making a big mess with nachos.”

“He don’t know right now,” Nicky said, kicking his feet under the table.

“Glenn knows, though, so he might’ve told your dad,” Terry said. Nicky wrinkled up his nose and shook his head. “No, you don’t think Glenn told?” Terry questioned.

“No, Glenn don’t like Dad, so he don’t tell him nothing,” Nicky said.

“Oh, boy…” Grant mumbled, but he couldn’t help the grin on his face.

“Here we go, boys!” Darryl said as he dropped off the trays of food at their tables. “Oh, shoot, I didn’t get any hot sauce.” He scooted off toward Henry and Ron to get hot sauce and napkins.

“Alright, who got what?” Jodie asked, plopping down next to Terry to dish out the food. “Nick, you got nachos, right?”

“Mhm…” Nicky sat up to take the little box from his dad.

“Do you have a fork?” Glenn asked, grabbing his own food out of the pile.

“No,” Nicky said.

“Do you want a fork?” Glenn asked, snickering.

Nicky opened his mouth to say no, but Lark interrupted. “He’s gonna wear all those nachos without a fork,” he said, smirking at Nicky when he received nothing but a glare for his valiant effort to keep Nicky clean and fuss-free.

“I’ll get you a fork, bud,” Glenn said. Jodie raised a brow, however, at the kids when he noticed them all focusing on his son.

“Is everything alright, bud?” Jodie asked.

“Yep!” Nicky said. He grabbed his drink with one hand, but just as quickly as he did, both Terry and Grant jumped to catch it if he dropped it.

“Two hands, two hands!” Grant fussed. Nicky whined, but he took the cup with both hands.

“Ah,” Jodie said as he realized what was going on. Nicky giggled, though, and he set his drink down as Grant and Terry tried to make sure he didn’t drop it.

“Here, fork,” Glenn said as he tossed the plastic fork at Nicky.

“Terry, open it?” Nicky asked.

“Gimme,” Terry said with a dramatic sigh that made Nicky laugh more. “You’re gonna be a handful all day, aren’t you?” Terry asked, laughing to himself when Nicky nodded. “At least you’re honest.”

Nicky still laughed, and he glanced over at Sparrow. The look on Sparrow’s face said everything that Nicky needed, that little smile showing just how much he adored all of this, how much fun this was for all of them. This felt good. Regressing when he wanted to felt good, Nicky decided, even if it had been interrupted briefly with panic and stress. Now he just needed to keep the other dads from noticing, which Nicky was sure he could do. They were stupid, after all, and he was a very smart baby.

Chapter Text

“Alright, we’re heading on over to Jodie’s, right?” Darryl asked as he gathered up the garbage all of them had made. Nicky tried his hardest not to squeak in surprise, instead reaching over to grab his drink (with both hands, lest Terry or Grant fuss at him) to occupy himself.

“If we’re talking about contacting Scam, then either my place or Ron’s is probably the best,” Jodie said. He watched Nicky out of the corner of his eye, watching as Nicky leaned against Terry and giggled so pleasantly. “I, for one, think we should do this at my house,” he said. Jodie didn’t think it was selfish to want to give Nicky the option of hiding in his room. His son felt small, and he needed a good place to settle down. Jodie still didn’t know exactly why Nick felt small—had the rush to get out of the Forgotten Realms really scared him as badly as his mother’s hounds destroying his pacifier? Damn.

“Then let’s get out of here,” Darryl said, clapping his hands together.

Nicky looked up from Terry’s shoulder when he noticed everyone getting up, and he glanced at Terry with wide eyes.

“We’re going to your house, c’mon,” Terry said, holding out a hand for him. “We’ll go play Mario or something, and you can be my helper.”

“Okay…!” Nicky squeaked out, giggling as he hopped to his feet and took Terry’s hand. “Oh, I wanna take more drink!”

“We’ll get you a refill, then,” Terry said, snickering. Nicky grabbed his cup and let Terry take him over to the drink machine. This time, Terry did press the button for him just to prevent any spillage or overflow. “Can you carry it to the car?” Terry asked as he fastened the lid back on the cup.

“Mhm!” Nicky insisted. He took the cup back with both hands, but he quickly noticed that that meant he didn’t have a hand to hold Terry’s. “Uh!” A little bout of panic rose up in him, and Nicky stamped his feet nervously against the tiled floor. “Terry!”

“Okay, okay!” Terry glanced behind him where Grant and the twins stood. “Can somebody else carry your drink, then?” he asked.

“I’ll take it, Nick,” Grant offered. Nicky looked back at him with big eyes, a gracious look on his face as he handed over his cup so he could take Terry’s hand.

“Everything alright, boys…?” Henry asked when he noticed none of them had hurried along out the door yet.

“We’re fine, father,” Sparrow said, darting toward Henry. “Nicholas wanted more to drink, that’s all!”

“Uh—sure?” Henry didn’t sound entire convinced that filling up a drink required five people, but considering all that these kids had gone through…he didn’t question it too much. “Let’s just get in the car, boys!” he said, waving them toward the door.

Terry tugged Nicky along toward the door, and Grant and Lark scooted along after them. Once they made it into the car again, Terry buckled Nicky into his seat. “All good, Nicky?” he asked quietly.

“Mhm…” Nicky bit his nails, but Terry quickly fussed and tugged his hand away from his mouth. “Drink?” Nicky asked, glancing behind himself into the very back seat.

“Here, Nick,” Grant said, handing the drink over.

“Thank you!” Nicky squeaked out, and he put the straw in his mouth to chew on instead. Terry didn’t know if that was a much better solution or not, but he didn’t think he would win that fight if he started it. “Wanna play Rayman at home?” Nicky asked, glancing around to all his friends.

“We can play Rayman if you want, Nick,” Grant said, leaning his arms on the back of the seat. “Did you want to play, or are you just watching us?”

“I make sure Terry wins,” Nicky said, a proud grin on his face. Grant snorted a laugh at that.

“You think you’re gonna make Terry win, but I’m going to kick his butt,” Lark said, sitting up on the seat to lean over Nicky’s shoulder no matter how much his dad fussed.

“Nuh uh,” Nicky said, sticking his tongue out at Lark. “I’ll kick you in the head and make you lose!”

“So you’re a cheater!” Lark fussed.

“No, you’re just bad at games,” Nicky deadpanned, turning around with a proud grin on his face. He could hear Sparrow and Grant laughing behind him, and that made his pride swell even more. He slipped the straw back into his mouth and sipped his drink, feet kicking happily.

Once the group made it to the Foster’s house, Nicky was one of the first out of the van, even shoving past his dad to run to the porch.

“Slow down, Nicky!” Terry fussed, but he couldn’t help laughing. He jogged up the steps to join Nicky, grabbing his hand to prevent him from running away again. “You’re a little troublemaker, aren’t you?”

“Noooooo!” Nicky insisted, but his giggling gave him away. “You’re a troublemaker!”

“How am I a troublemaker?” Terry asked, pushing open the door. “I haven’t run away or threatened to kick anybody, unlike some little boys I know…”

Nicky gasped, and he blew a raspberry in Terry’s face.

“Charming,” Terry deadpanned.

Nicky huffed, and he started to drag Terry up toward his bedroom. He could hear their other friends behind them, but Nicky paid little attention to them as he marched into his room and ran to his closet. From his bag of little gear, Nicky grabbed his paci and shoved it in his mouth.

“Now you think you’re cute, huh?” Terry asked, teasing tone in his voice. Nicky nodded vehemently, earning him a laugh. “I guess you’re right.”

“You guess!” Nicky whined, his pacifier falling from his mouth. He pouted, so Terry picked it back up to clean off. “I’m cute!” Nicky insisted, stamping his feet once more.

“Did you tell him he’s not cute?” Sparrow asked, far too amused as he entered the room.

“I did not tell him that!” Terry fussed. Honestly, Sparrow was going to get him in trouble with Nicky at this rate.

“I can’t believe you’d tell such a cute baby that he’s not cute!” Sparrow fussed. He caught Nicky’s eye and held his arms up for a hug, so Nicky shuffled over to him with sniffles and crocodile tears. “Don’t worry, Nicky, I think you’re cute,” Sparrow cooed, dragging Nicky onto the bed for cuddles.

“You’re being dramatic,” Terry said, rolling his eyes. He held out Nicky’s cleaned paci for him to take, and he ruffled Nicky’s hair when he took it. “You know you’re cute, Nicky, you don’t need Sparrow to tell you that.”

“I like Sparrow more, now,” Nicky whined, which got a laugh out of Grant and Lark in the doorway. “I’m gonna help Sparrow win!”

“Ha!” Sparrow cheered with a fist in the air.

“Oh, that’s not fair!” Lark fussed, running over to jump on the bed. “You wanna help anybody but Terry win, right? I think you’re cute!”

“No, I like Sparrow, now,” Nicky said. He cuddled in closer to Sparrow, burying his face in his neck.

“This should be interesting, then,” Grant said, snickering as he tried to set up the game. “We’re not going to start fighting over who’s Nick’s favorite, right?”

“No, we don’t need to,” Terry said. “I’m his favorite.”

“No, I am!” Sparrow chimed.

Grant sighed, knowing how long this could go on for. But, at least if he played the right cards, he might be Nicky’s favorite before the end of the day.

Evening settled in, and Nicky looked up when his mama came up to check on him. He beamed, paci falling from his mouth, though, and he held his arms out for a hug whenever she came into his room.

“Hi, honey, how’re you feeling?” Morgan cooed as she stooped down to hug her son. She carded her fingers through his hair, and she kissed his cheek. “Dad told me that you were small; did something happen?”

“Wan’ed’a be small,” Nicky said. He leaned back against Grant, who had gotten him a cookie just twenty minutes earlier and had earned his favor.

“You just felt like it?” Morgan asked, unsure. Nicky nodded, though.

“He said he wanted to be small before our dads got back with the whistle thing,” Terry said. “So, he’s just small all afternoon. He’s not upset or anything.”

Morgan nodded, and she looked down at her son with a little smile on her face. “Well, we’ve ordered some pizza, so that’ll be here in just a few minutes, okay?”

“Okay!” Nicky said, big grin on his face.

“Did you want a drink in your sippy cup, or do you want to have a big boy cup?” Morgan asked.

“ ‘M not a big boy…” Nicky grumbled, brows knitted together. Morgan snickered at that.

“I didn’t say you had to be a big boy!” she insisted. “I just wanted to know what you wanted to drink from, that’s all! I’ll get your sippy cup, okay?”

Nicky nodded, practically using his whole body to do so.

“Are you sure you want a sippy cup…?” Terry asked. “The rest of our dads are here, too, and they’re gonna notice.”

“No they won’t, they’re stupid,” Nicky said, picking at his nails.

“While I agree with that sentiment, I do believe our father would notice a baby cup,” Lark said, leaning over to drape himself across Nicky’s lap. “He tends to pick up on that sort of thing, even when you think you’re being sneaky.”

“Mm-mm!” Nicky insisted, however. “I want my cup!”

“You’ll get your cup, honey, I promise,” Morgan said. “Do you want me to tell Dad that you’re not upset about anything?”

“Don’t care!” Nicky said, tossing himself backward on his bed. Morgan nodded, and she took her leave, already planning to at least catch Jodie up to date on what she thought was going on. Once Morgan left and shut the door, Nicky sat up and popped his pacifier back into his mouth.

“We should probably get ready to go downstairs,” Terry said, hoping to hint to Nicky that he needed to leave his pacifier in his room.

“Mmm!” Nicky reached his arms out toward Terry, however, gripping the air to beg Terry to carry him.

“Nicky…” Terry groaned, tossing his head back. “C’mon, I’ll carry you if you leave your paci here and go potty.”

“Nooooo…” Nicky whined, jerking his arms down by his sides. “I don’t wanna!”

“You don’t want to leave your paci here, or you don’t wanna go potty?” Terry asked.

“Don’t wanna leave my paci or go potty…” Nicky grumbled. He crossed his arms and pulled a pout, looking to his other friends for support in this decision. Surely they understood that he should be allowed to bring his paci with him anywhere and that he didn’t need to go to the potty.

“When’s the last time you did go?” Grant asked, however, earning him last place on Nicky’s list of favorites.

“I ‘unno…” Nicky said, glaring at him.

“Then you should probably go…” Grant said.

Nicky whined and kicked his feet, looking over at Sparrow and Lark for backup. Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like either of them were on his side, either.

“You don’t want to have an accident or something, Nicky…” Sparrow tried.

“And we’re going to be eating, so it’s not like you’ll even be able to have your paci…” Lark added.

Nicky whined and whined, kicking his feet until he slipped off his bed onto the floor. He glared up at Terry when he snorted a laugh, fixing Terry’s outstretched hand with a look that could set it on fire.

“It’ll be really quick, I promise,” Terry said. Nicky realized he didn’t have much choice, then, so he took Terry’s hand and let him pull him to his feet. He shuffled over to his closet to grab a pullup, face pink as he stomped out of the room in anger. The bathroom door slammed shut, and Terry sighed. “Well, I was going to stand outside to wait for him, but I don’t think that’d go too well, now…”

“Let him pout, he’ll be fine,” Grant said with a dismissive wave.

“I don’t know about you two, but I think we’ve fairly well secured our places as Nicky’s favorites,” Sparrow teased.

“For now,” Terry added, not ready to give up his throne. Nicky stomped back into the room, attracting all four of his friends’ attention. Terry softened, even as Nicky glared at him with his arms crossed and his face red. With that paci still in his mouth and his tousled hair, he looked far too cute for his own good. “All better?” Terry asked gently, hoping not to stir up Nicky’s grumpy attitude.

“Had to go potty…” Nicky grumbled. He spat out his paci and scooted himself into Terry’s arms. “Up…!”

“Okay, okay, I’ll carry you,” Terry said. He lifted up Nicky so that the boy attached himself to his front, arms and legs wrapping around Terry tightly.

“Don’t drop me.”

“I won’t drop you, I promise.”

Terry made his way out the door first. He glanced over his shoulder at Sparrow, who pouted at him after having just said he was Nicky’s favorite. Now, most of the time, Terry prided himself on not taunting his friends or lauding his closeness with their favorite little boy over them, however this was not one of those times. He stuck his tongue out at Sparrow, who gasped in betrayal.

“Get back here, Terry Jr!” Sparrow yelled, running out the door.

“Oh, shit,” Terry whispered, and he hurried himself down the stairs, cursing.

“Shit!” Nicky shouted cheerfully, which Terry shouldn’t have found as cute as he did.

“Hey, it’s my job to make the baby curse!” Lark fussed, joining the chase with his brother.

“Guys, you’re gonna hurt him!” Grant fussed, but he didn’t get in too big a hurry. Especially not when he heard the parents reprimanding them for running. Maybe being the responsible one would get him priority seating with the baby, after all.

Chapter Text

Nick could still feel the lingering cloudy, fuzzy remnants of his regression holding on in the back of his head as he and his dad hopped into the portal to Hell. Morning came far too quickly, and after a slightly messy breakfast of pancakes, Jodie took Nick with him to Hell so that he could work on getting ahold of Scam. Since it was summer and Jodie wanted to spend time with Nick, he took him along, but Nicholas still braced himself to leave at a moment’s notice.

“Oh, good, you’re back!” came Dee’s voice as Nicholas adjusted to the much warmer surroundings. “I was beginning to think you weren’t coming.”

“Sorry, Mom, we took a little longer with breakfast than I thought,” Jodie said. Nicholas jammed his fingernails in his mouth to gnaw on, and he leaned against his dad sleepily. Jodie snickered, glancing down at Nick with a little smile on his face. “Are you still sleepy, kiddo?” he asked, rubbing Nick’s shoulder. Nick nodded, and he gave a yawn. “How about you go lay down in your room, then? You kids were up for a while last night.”

Nicholas nodded once more, but just as he was about to step away from his dad, he heard nails on the floor, and his heart dropped. Sniffing and panting behind him signaled that one of the hell hounds sat far too close, and Nicky wanted to jump right back through the portal.

Jodie noticed, thankfully, how quickly Nicky seemed to fear the hound, and he hugged Nicky closer. “Hey, Mom, is there anyway we can keep all the hounds outside?” he asked.

“What?” Dee poked her head out of his kitchen with a plate of food in her hands. “Why would we do that? They haven’t done anything.”

“It’s just…” Jodie tried to think of how to phrase this without embarrassing Nicholas. “Nicholas isn’t really…he doesn’t like—he’s a bit scared of them after one broke into his room and tore up all of his stuff, so it’d make him feel better if we could just put the hounds outside.”

“They won’t go in his room,” Dee said, waving off the concern. She took a seat on the sofa and patted the space beside her; as she did, the hound behind Nicky made his way over to her. “Sit,” she commanded in infernal, and the hound sat. “Don’t go in Nicholas’s room without his permission, got it?”

The hound barked, startling Nicky. He flinched and hugged his dad tighter.

“Are you going to give that command to the rest of them?” Jodie asked. His mother’s nonchalant tone about this whole thing irritated him, really. All Jodie asked for was that she consider his son’s anxieties, yet she couldn’t be bothered to do that.

“I will, I will,” Dee said, groaning. “Honestly, Zhao, it’s not that big of a deal. So what if they go in there? He’s not in school right now, so there’s no homework for them to eat.”

“There may not be any homework, but Nicholas has belongings, and the hounds get into everything,” Jodie said. “He doesn’t want them in his room, period.”

Really, it made Nick happy to see his dad going to bat for him like this. He’d resigned himself to the fact that his dad was no longer the dad he grew up with, but in this moment…it almost felt like he had his old dad back. It felt like Jodie really, truly cared so deeply…

“They won’t go in his room, Zhao,” Dee said with an eyeroll. “You know, I’m starting to think you spoil that boy too much,” she said with a pointed fork toward Nick.

“Thanks for the input, Mom,” Jodie said. He looked down at Nick and patted his shoulder once more, rubbing it in what he hoped was a soothing gesture. “How about you go on upstairs and lay down, kiddo?”

“Okay…” Nicky said quietly, his head hung as he bound up the stairs. At least when he made it to his room, the door was shut and there were no other hounds in sight. He quickly slipped into his room, kicked off his shoes, and hopped onto his bed. Nicky slung his backpack off his shoulder so he could reach inside for his paci, and he crawled into the covers with his phone in hand.

From downstairs, he could hear his dad and grandma arguing, so Nicky turned the volume up slightly on his phone. He tried to focus on a let’s play he picked at random to watch, hoping it would lull him back to sleep. Nicky rubbed his eyes sleepily, and he yawned big enough to pop his ears. Under his blankets and with his paci in his mouth, Nicky felt very cozy. His eyelids drifted together as sleep slowly cradled him close…

…Until a loud bark outside his door startled him upright in bed.

Another bark came just after the first, and Nicky felt tears sting his eyes. “Go away!” he yelled in infernal, smacking his fists against his blankets. There was a small pause, then another bark. Nicky groaned and threw himself back against his mattress. So much for the hounds knowing and listening to commands in infernal, apparently…

The hound scratched outside the door and whined, and Nicky let out a little sob in frustration. Why couldn’t the stupid dog leave him alone?! Nicky hopped to his feet, eyes narrowed, and he stuffed his paci into his bag for hopefully safe-keeping. He stomped over to the door and tossed it open, coming nearly face-to-face with Muffin, who panted happily upon seeing him. She barked, and she bowed down with her tail waggling happily behind her.

“Go downstairs,” Nicky commanded, pointing toward the staircase. The dog glanced over at the stairs, then back at Nicky before barking once more. Nicky whined, and he stamped his feet in frustration. “Dad!” he cried.

“Muffin, come downstairs!” Jodie yelled after the dog. She ran down the stairs, and she barked a few times, her nails clacking against the floor as she jumped around. Nicky nodded, and he turned back to retreat under his covers once more, but then he saw Muffin make her way back up. “Get back downstairs!” Jodie fussed, running up the stairs after her. “Go, get downstairs!”

Muffin barked again, struggling against him when Jodie grabbed her collar.

“Mom, call for Muffin!” Jodie fussed. The hound barked louder, frustrated as she strained to make it to Nicky.

As he saw the dog encroaching on him, growling and barking to reach him, Nicky gasped and backed against the wall. His eyes filled with tears and his face flushed bright red as he trembled in fear. Nicholas didn’t like dogs, he never had. He could tolerate them, especially little dogs, but after being bitten by a drug-search dog when he was little…big dogs scared him. “Daddyyyy…!” he cried, looking at Jodie with desperation on his face.

Jodie saw the look in his boy’s eyes, and he finally got the strength to send Muffin downstairs. He gave the command this time with magic behind his words, and he locked eyes with Dee at the bottom of the stairs.

“What was she doing?” Dee asked, patting the hound’s side lovingly.

Jodie didn’t respond, instead looking back at his son cowering behind his door. It broke his heart to see, and Jodie stooped down in front of him with a wing out to block Nicholas’s view. “Hey, kiddo, it’s alright. I’m sorry Muffin didn’t leave you alone…”

“S-scared…” Nicky whimpered, still hiding himself just in case.

“I know you were, but it’s okay. Dad’s not gonna let anything bad happen to you,” Jodie said. He held his arms out for a hug, and Nicky practically threw himself into it. Jodie held onto him tightly, kissing Nicky’s hair and petting the back of his head. “You wanna try that nap again, bud?”

“Mhm…”

“Alright, c’mon, I’ll tuck you in,” Jodie said. He let go of Nicky, who stumbled over to his bed and climbed in under his covers. “Where’s your paci?” Jodie asked when he didn’t see Nicky grab it immediately. Nicky grabbed it from his bag and tossed himself back against the pillow, so Jodie tucked the blankets around him. “Comfy?” he asked, and Nicky nodded. “Alrighty, I’ll let you get some rest, kiddo…”

“Daddy, stay…?” Nicky asked, his eyes wide as he reached his hands out for his dad. Jodie sighed; how could he even think about denying his boy?

“I’ll stay for a little while, bud,” Jodie said even though he knew full and well that he’d stay as long as Nicky wanted. “I’ve gotta try to call Scam eventually, but that can wait a little while, hm?”

Nicky scooted over to make room for his dad, so Jodie plopped down beside him. As soon as he laid his head back against the pillows, Nicky cuddled against him and used him as a prop-up for his phone. Jodie laughed at that, but Nicky whined around his paci.

“Makes the video shake, stop!” he whined, kicking his feet.

“Oh, sorry, I’ll be still,” Jodie said, barely containing his laughter while Nicky made himself comfortable.

Really, Jodie knew nothing about the video Nicky played. It looked like a video game, a horror game if he had to guess, and video of some guy he could recall hearing screaming from Nicholas’s laptop months earlier played in the corner. Jodie had no idea why this kind of video appealed to his kid, but as long as it helped him relax and get to sleep, he wasn’t going to argue.

It only took a few minutes for Nicky to grow heavier against him, and for soft, gentle snores to escape the boy. Jodie watched him for a moment, smiling down at his son lovingly. He was glad they could be close again after all the fuss from the past few months, even if being close meant that his son acted like a small child sometimes out of anxiety.

“Well, isn’t this a precious sight?” Dee cooed from the doorway. Jodie rolled his eyes, glancing over at his mother. “Like I said before: spoiled rotten.”

“At least he’s well loved,” Jodie said. He turned his head away from his mother to pet Nicholas’s hair.

“You’ve gone terribly soft, Zhao,” Dee said. “I don’t know quite what to do about that. I almost don’t recognize you, especially not with you cuddling a child.”

Jodie wanted to protest that. He didn’t think he was soft enough, not with the fear he’d seen in Nicky’s eyes, not with the sad looks Morgan gave him these days. That pull of his granted humanity toyed with his heart, but it rarely instructed him on what to do. At least he’d figured out how to make his son comfortable…at least that felt soft, and that felt human.

“I’m starting to think my nana actually hates me,” Nick said as he jumped up on a brick wall on a hill in the park. He put his arms out for balance when he realized he couldn’t use his wings in public, and Terry braced himself to catch him if he fell.

“Why do you think that?” Terry asked, fidgeting in place before Nick could fall.

“I thought you drew this conclusion when your grandmother gave you a mace and told you to go fight imps in the neighborhood?” Lark asked. He already sat on the wall with his feet rested on Grant’s shoulders, though not by Grant’s choice.

“Well that was the first sign that she doesn’t like me,” Nick said. He sat down and tried to dig his heels into the brick so he wouldn’t fall. “The second sign was her telling Dad that he spoils me too much after he tried to keep her hell hounds out of my room.”

“Yikes…” Grant winced. “Why were the hounds trying to get in your room?”

Nicholas shrugged, laying down against the wall. “Don’t know, all I know is I need to get Dad to teach me a command spell so I can get rid of them myself…”

“I know how to command,” Terry said. Nick squeaked, and he nearly fell off the wall, only stopped when Lark grabbed his ankles.

“If you don’t want to force the hounds into anything, I know how to talk to them?” Sparrow offered. “It might be a little less cruel if you just try to talk to them about what you want and what they want?”

“I’m not really interested in chatting,” Nick said. “I just want them to not get in my room and destroy my stuff again.”

“That’s fair…”

“Could always assert your dominance and bark and attack them first,” Lark suggested. “Then they’ll see you as the alpha and leave you alone.”

“I don’t think that’s how anything actually works, Lark,” Grant fussed.

“And I don’t want to fight dogs that are bigger than me and have fire breath!” Nicholas fussed.

“Have you considered talking to your grandma?” Terry suggested, hoping he could offer some sensibility to this conversation before it got too off the rails.

“That’s not an option; I don’t want to talk to her if I don’t have to,” Nicholas said, shaking his head. “She’s mean, doesn’t listen, and she sees me like a little kid.”

“Well…” Sparrow dragged out. Nicholas had half a mind to shove him off the wall.

“I don’t need my nana seeing me as a little kid when as far as she should know, I’m not,” Nick said.

“Maybe she’d see you as less of a little kid if you talked to her like an adult,” Grant said, and Nick glared at him. “Just saying.”

“I think the only way she’d respect me is if I started killing stuff just because I could,” Nicholas said. He sat back up, glaring down at Terry. “You’re on my side, right?”

Terry sighed. “Personally, I think you need to tell your dad or mom, and it’d probably be a good idea to have a talk with your grandma…” he said. “It’s just the healthiest option, Nick.”

Nicholas huffed, turning his nose up. At least as he did that, he couldn’t see Terry roll his eyes fondly. “I’m getting down,” he said, and he readied himself to jump. Unfortunately, he then looked down and yelped. “T-Terry!” he squeaked, clambering back with his feet up on the wall.

“Seriously?” Sparrow deadpanned. “You can fly, and you’re this afraid of heights?”

“Shut up, Sparrow!” Nick whined.

“Come on, Nick, I’ll catch you…” Terry said, holding up his arms.

“No, I’ll fall!” Nick said, eyes wide.

“I won’t let you fall, I promise!” Terry said.

“Terryyyyy…!” Nicky whined and kicked his feet against the wall.

“Nicky, I promise, I won’t let you fall,” Terry said.

It took a little more persuasion, a little bit of tender fussing, but Nicky let himself drop into Terry’s arms. He giggled as Terry spun him around and hugged him close, and for the moment all treachery in the form of talk to your nana disappeared so that Nicky could hug his best friend.

“Told you I’d catch you, lil guy,” Terry said, snickering.

Nicky huffed, glaring. “I’m not little.”

Terry rolled his eyes, but he let him get away with pretending for the time being.

“You’re impossible,” Terry said.

Before Nicky could protest, Grant piped up. “How about we get ice cream?” he suggested. “Seems like a fair reward for facing one of his fears.”

“I want ice cream, Grant!” Nicky said, hopping over to grab his hand with a big smile on his face.

“That’s cheating!” Lark fussed, though. Sparrow patted him on the shoulder comfortingly, knowing that Grant won this round with the baby. At least they didn’t have Terry’s impossible task of convincing Nicky to face more pressing fears.

Chapter Text

“Nicholas, honey, come downstairs!” Morgan called as she headed toward the kitchen with her phone between her cheek and shoulder. Nicholas made his way down, rounding the corner with his hand on the wall to swing into the kitchen.

“Hi, Mom…?” he said, questioning tone in his voice as he waited for her to explain.

“Hey, can you set the table for me?” Morgan asked, pointing to the pile of cloth and dishes in the middle of the table while she reached into the fridge. “Dad’s bringing Nana and Glenn over for dinner, so I need to start cooking.”

“Nana’s coming over…?” Nicholas asked. He could feel that seed of dread growing in his belly, the worry over how this evening could possibly go. He didn’t want to defend himself or his mom all evening. He didn’t want to fight with his nana. “Can she just…stay home?” he asked, but the sad look on Morgan’s face answered his question. “She doesn’t want to come up here. She likes Hell.”

Morgan sighed. “Jodie, I’ll call you back in a minute…” she said into her phone, pulling it out from between her shoulder and face to hang up. She laid out a pack of pork from the fridge on the counter and turned toward her son. “Honey, I know you don’t like Nana…but she’s important to Dad.”

“She doesn’t like me or you, though,” Nick tried. “She doesn’t want to be here; why is she coming?”

“As far as I know, it was Dad’s idea,” Morgan said. She took Nicholas’s hands in hers and held him tightly. “He wants us to all get along as one family, and he thinks part of Nana’s problem might be that she doesn’t know us, and she doesn’t know what being human is like. So he wants to get us all together in one spot, and he wants us to get to know each other.”

Nick watched her face, seeing the hesitance in her eyes. “You don’t wanna do this either, Mom…”

Morgan took a deep breath, and she set a smile on her face, tugging Nicholas into a side hug. “This is not going to be easy, but I’m trying to be supportive of Dad. He hasn’t had his mom in a very long time, and now he has her back. I don’t want to take something like that away from him or make him choose. That’s not fair to him, so I will try to get to know Dee.”

“I won’t let her hurt you, Mom…” Nicholas said. He hugged her tightly around the middle, his head jammed under her chin to keep her close. He knew what it felt like to lose a mom, and he knew what it felt like to get her back. That mixture of emotion, that pain and elation and confusion all bundled up in a pit of anxiety sat in his belly every time he even looked at his mom…but he loved her so much, twice, and he couldn’t take that feeling away from his dad. But he wouldn’t let anyone, especially not his grandmother, hurt his mom.

“I don’t think that’s something we’re going to have to worry about tonight, honey,” Morgan said. She patted his shoulder and kissed his hair. “This is just dinner, just an hour and a half of awkwardness, then she’ll go home and we can watch Gilmore Girls, okay?”

“I have to watch Gilmore Girls?” Nicholas whined, which earned him a laugh.

“You’ll love it,” Morgan promised, but Nick wasn’t sure he bought it. “Just set the table, and you can go back up to your room until everyone gets here, okay?”

“Okay, Mom…” Nicholas said. He stumbled out of her arms toward the table, his head swimming as he grabbed the tablecloth.

Why did this have to happen? Nick had decided only a week earlier that he was never speaking to her again, but suddenly his dad ruined that plan. His dad always ruined these sorts of plans without meaning to, and it sucked. Nick had half a mind to pull his phone out just to text Grant that he deserved more ice cream for this. Really, Nicholas thought he deserved a whole damn carton just to himself, but he figured Grant would say no to that.

Nick finished spreading out the tablecloth, so he laid out the placemats, plates, cutlery, and glasses. Just to be a pain, he set all the places left-handed, and he grinned to himself.

“All done, Mom,” he said over his shoulder.

“Thank you, honey!” Morgan said. She poked her head into the room, noticing the place settings, but she decided against pointing them out. “If you want, you can go change into your demon…stuff. Only if you want to, though, okay?”

“Okay…” Nicholas said with a little nod. He crossed his arms over his chest as he headed back toward the stairs, and he made his way up to his room. He flung open his closet door, staring at the mirror hung inside, and it…it made a bout of anger fill up his belly.

Nicholas’s reflection showed someone who could conceivably be a demon, in his eyes. He wore ripped, baggy jeans, a plain gray t-shirt with a dorky little pocket on the chest, and an open blue plaid flannel shirt that used to be his dad’s. He had to roll up the sleeves, and he had to cuff the bottoms of his jeans. Nick’s hair was long enough at this point to sort of tie back, so he had it gathered in a half-ponytail since most of it fell out of the band. Nothing about his reflection said Nicholas, and while it felt comfortable most of the time…as he stared at himself in this moment, it felt horrifying.

Who the hell was he anymore? Where did Nicholas go?

He spun around quickly and reached for the handle to the other side of his closet, tossing open the door to search for anything else to wear. He shoved anything black, spikey, or leathery out of the way in favor of his old wardrobe. Nicholas grabbed a pair of khaki cargo shorts, a blue striped polo shirt, and he quickly changed. He grabbed a pair of black socks out of his dresser and pulled them up is calves, and he grabbed his long-forgotten Sperrys out of the back of his closet.

As he turned around to look at himself in the mirror, he saw most of himself. Nicholas tried to fix his hair, tried to part it or smooth it down, but that only did so much. If he wanted to truly fix it, he needed to cut it. He went to grab scissors, but he saw the nail polish on his hands, and that had to go. Nicholas searched the top of his dresser for the nail polish remover and a couple of cotton balls, and he cleaned off his fingers.

Then his phone rang with Terry’s contact displayed. Nicholas swiped to answer and quickly hit the speaker. “Hey, Terry,” he said while he tried to dry his hands off.

“Hey, what’s up?”

“Getting ready for my dad, Glenn, and my nana to come over for dinner…” Nicholas grumbled. He grabbed his phone as he turned back to his mirror. “I would ask if you wanted to come over, but apparently Dad has some sort of weird plan to get Nana to like me and Mom or something…”

“And you sound…very mad,” Terry said.

“I don’t want to do this, Terry,” Nicholas said. He set his phone down and reached for the scissors. “You know, I just…I just want to be Nicholas again,” he said. “I don’t want to deal with the demons and Hell stuff, I don’t want to worry about my mom, and I don’t want to worry about my dad! I just want things to go back to normal!”

“I don’t think that’s an option anymore, Nicholas…” Terry said as gently as he could.

“I know it’s not, but I’m making it an option,” Nicholas said. He took his scissors to the hair at the back of his head, snipping off a lock of hair.

“What was that?” Terry asked.

“I need a haircut,” Nicholas said plainly. He grabbed the next section and snipped it off as evenly as he could. “I’ve never kept my hair messy and long, and I’m not gonna start,” he said, snipping off another little section.

“Nicholas, you shouldn’t cut your own hair,” Terry fussed. “You can’t see the back of your head, you’re gonna mess something up, and that’s not gonna go well.”

“Too late,” Nicholas said. He cut the last little section at the back of his head before running his fingers through his hair to feel for any longer bits. As he found them, he trimmed them off. “If I mess up too bad, Mom’ll fix it.”

“I thought you liked having longer hair?” Terry questioned.

“Not anymore,” Nicholas said. He trimmed the longest pieces around his ears, trying to remember just how long his mom used to cut them.

“So all of a sudden you don’t like it because…?”

“Because it’s not me,” Nicholas said. “I’m not Nick.”

“No, you’re not Nick Close…” Terry said carefully. “Do you think you liked having long hair because of Nick Close?” he asked.

“I never had it before him,” Nicholas said as he trimmed his bangs up to his eyebrows. “I never listened to the music he did, I never dressed like he did, and I always kept my hair neat, unlike him.”

“So you think because of someone that you’re not, you liked having long hair?” Terry asked.

“His memories made it fuzzy in my head,” Nicholas said with a nod Terry couldn’t see. “I don’t want to be anybody but me, Terry, no matter who doesn’t like me. I dealt with plenty of people not liking me before all this demon bullshit happened, and I can deal with it now.”

“Nicholas, what’s going on?” Terry asked. “Why—you don’t hate Nick. Why are you so mad about looking like him?”

“He’s not me,” Nicholas said louder into the phone. “I’m not like that. I’m not a demon like Nana, I’m not a demon like Dad, not like Glenn, not like him.”

For a moment, Terry stayed quiet. He listened to Nicholas breathe, that rapid breath of anxiety. How was he even supposed to fix this? Clearly, something was happening in Nicholas’s brain, but Terry had no idea what went wrong. “You…you do remember that Nick Close wasn’t a demon, right?” he asked after a minute. “He was just a kid. He was you.”

“He’s everything I’m not, so of course he’s a demon,” Nicholas said through his teeth, staring at his own reflection. “Every fear, every anger source, every time my wings come out or my teeth feel sharp or horns show up on my head, everything feels like him, not me.”

“What do you mean by that…?” Terry asked.

“I don’t get scared. I don’t get angry. I don’t—”

“You sound pretty angry to me right now,” Terry said. “And scared.”

Nicholas stayed quiet, which Terry took as an invitation to continue talking instead.

“After the whole Nick Close thing happened, you explained it to us that he is you, and you’re him, just different. You’re the same kid raised differently, and you understand him. You said you feel bad for him because of what he went through, and you feel like those things happened to you, too,” Terry said cautiously. “Nick wasn’t a demon. He was a scared kid, and he lost everything. He’s part of you, and maybe that part is your demon half, but…that’s still part of you, isn’t it?”

For a moment longer, Nicholas stayed quiet. Then Terry heard him start to cry. “I-I don’t want to be like this, Terry…” he cried. “I…I wa-wanna go home.”

“Are you not at home, Nicholas…?” Terry asked, confused.

“I wanna go home!” Nicholas cried, louder then, frustrated. “This isn’t home! I-I can’t go home ever again! I can’t be me, I-I c…can’t have anything back! I wanna go home!”

As he screamed in his frustration, the lights in the room went completely out. All the lightbulbs shattered, and darkness coated every inch of the house. Nicholas collapsed on the floor in his tears, screaming into the rug and clothes discarded on the floor.

“Nicky? Nicky, are you—what’s wrong, Nicholas?” Terry tried, but he was utterly helpless with a phone between them.

“Nicholas?!” Morgan cried out as she ran up the stairs into the room. She stopped in the doorway, her heart breaking at the sight on the floor. “Oh, Nicholas…”

Morgan crouched on the floor, barely touching Nicholas’s back before he lurched forward into her arms.

“He’s really upset, Mrs. Freeman…” Terry said sheepishly. “I-I don’t know what to do. He said he doesn’t want to be Nick, and he doesn’t want to be a demon…and he wants to go home?”

“Honey…?” Morgan looked down at the boy in her arms, but Nicholas only cried harder, gripping onto her as tightly as he could as he soaked the front of her shirt with his tears. Morgan shushed him gently, hoping to settle him as she glanced around the room at the hair on the floor, the clothes…

“I wanna go home…I w-wanna…g’home…” Nicholas whimpered into her chest, choking on his sobs.

“What do you mean by that, honey?” Morgan asked. “You’re already home. You’re right here, I promise…”

“N-no…”

“No?”

Morgan had no idea how to fix this.

“Do you want me to call Dad and say not to come over?” she asked, already practicing that conversation in her head. But, Nicholas shook his head. “No? You want Dad to come over?” Nicholas shook his head.

“W-wanna…want home…”

“I don’t know what you mean, honey…” Morgan said sadly. She grabbed the flannel shirt off the floor and draped it over Nicholas’s shoulders, hoping that it might bring any amount of comfort to her baby. It didn’t work.

“Should I ask my mom if I can come over, Mrs. Freeman…?” Terry asked.

“Oh, sweetie, I can’t ask you to do that…” Morgan said.

“He’s my best friend,” Terry said, though. “I wanna help…”

Morgan took a deep breath, and she nodded. “Alright, you can ask your mom, then. But if things get out of hand, you’re heading back home.”

“I’ll be there in a few minutes,” Terry said, and he hung up. Nicholas only cried harder, then, when he realized Terry wasn’t with him anymore.

“Shhh…baby, you’re alright,” Morgan whispered, rocking with Nicholas in her lap. “You’re alright, baby, you’re safe. You’re home, I promise, you’re home…”

“N-n…” Nicholas buried his face in her chest, his arms around her shoulders while he cried. His energy faded fast, and his neck itched with little hairs. He kicked off his shoes to bring his feet up, and he gnashed his teeth when they felt too long.

The front door opened downstairs, and Morgan squeezed her eyes shut tightly.

“Hey, we brought fireworks!” Glenn cheered downstairs. “Turns out, in Hell they have all your favorite illegal fireworks!”

“Get out of the door Glenn—Morgan…?” came Jodie’s voice, next. “Nicholas?”

“Damn, do they not even have lights in here?” came Dee’s voice lastly. “Why’s it so damn dark in here?”

Nicholas whimpered in Morgan’s arms, gripping her tighter and curling up smaller in her lap.

“Shh…it’s okay, baby…” Morgan whispered.

“Morgan? Nicholas? Where are you two?” Jodie asked. The stairs creaked as he made his way up. His steps stopped, and for the longest moment Nicholas had ever experienced, everything was quiet. Then, “Oh, my baby…”

Nicholas shot off his mother’s lap, tears streaming down his face as he ran to his dad for a hug.

“I’ve got you, buddy, I’ve got you…” Jodie whispered to him, hugging him tightly.

“W-wanna go home, Daddy…” Nicholas whimpered, and the pitiful sight of it all made Morgan feel like he reached into her chest to rip out her heart. Jodie didn’t feel much better.

Chapter Text

Nicholas slumped in his dad’s recliner, a pitiful pile of tears and blankets that broke his parents’ hearts. He wrapped himself up tightly in a blanket, and he focused his eyes forward as tears threatened to spill down his cheeks. The air in the house was heavy, thick with worry, and Morgan truly had no idea what to do for her baby. She stooped down beside him and ran her fingers through his choppy hair, but it did little to soothe the boy.

Then the front door opened, and Terry slipped inside.

“Who’s this?” Dee asked, even more confused over what was happening.

“Um—hi,” Terry said with a nervous wave. “I-I’m Terry…”

“Zhao?” Dee ignored Terry in favor of looking at her son.

Jodie sighed, and he squeezed Terry’s shoulder. “This is Terry, he’s Nicholas’s best friend,” he explained. “Go see if you can talk to him… We got him to settle down enough to not cry, but he’s still really upset.”

Terry nodded. “Will do.” He darted over to Nicholas, who scooted over in the chair enough for Terry to sit beside him. “Hi, lil guy…”

Nicholas sniffled, and he let his head fall on Terry’s shoulder. “Sad…” he whimpered.

“Yeah, I see that…” Terry said. He hugged Nicholas around the shoulders, letting the little boy curl up closer to him. “What can I do to help? I know you said you want to go home, but you’re already here…”

Those barely-held-in tears welled up closer to the surface, and Terry felt a surge of panic. Nicholas buried his nose in Terry’s arm, choking out a little sob pitifully. “I-I dunno what to do, Terry…” he said. “H-hurts…”

“What hurts?” Terry asked carefully. Nicholas gripped his chest right where his heart sat. “Oh, Nicky…”

The lights flickered back on, then, and Dee cheered. Terry did not miss how Nicholas flinched at that. “Finally!” she said. “How in the world does a whole house lose power like that?”

“It was magic, Mom,” Jodie said, annoyed. “If you can’t tell, Nicholas is upset, and his magic fired off.”

“You still haven’t explained what’s happening there?” she said, questioning tone as she pointed at Nicholas and Terry.

“It’s hard to explain,” Jodie said unhelpfully. Dee opened her mouth to say something else, but Glenn came in from the garage right then.

“Okay, everything should be up again,” he said as he shut the door. “Turns out, the breaker was not kicked, but I figured it out.”

“Thank you, Glenn…” Morgan said. She stood up, glancing down at her son with sad eyes. “Do you think you could stay here with them while I talk to Jodie?” she asked.

“Yeah, ‘course,” Glenn said with a shrug. So, Morgan took Jodie’s hand and dragged him in the kitchen. Once they were both out of sight, Glenn stooped down where Morgan had been beside Nicholas. “Hey, kiddo, how’re you feeling?” he asked, reaching up to pet Nicholas’s cheek.

“Sad…” Nicholas said quietly.

“I’m sorry, buddy…” Glenn glanced over at Terry, hoping he had more to say. Unfortunately, Terry had no more context, just tight hugs that Nicholas sunk into. “Bud, do you think you can tell me what home is?” Glenn asked. “I know you don’t mean just being here. What’s home?”

“Home…” Nicholas whined, kicking one foot out in frustration. He didn’t know how to describe it. All his words felt so far away, so inaccessible, and he wanted to cry. “Home!”

“Okay, okay, you need some help, then,” Glenn said. Terry quirked a brow up at him, confused. “Here, I’ve got an idea…” Glenn got to his feet, going to the coffee table to grab a pad of paper and a pen. He held them out to Nicholas, who took them with confusion on his face. “Sometimes it’s easier to draw than it is to think up words, isn’t it?”

For a moment, Nicholas stared at the paper and pen with no clue what to do. Then he clicked the pen and took it to the paper, drawing his mama, his daddy, and his dad’s old cruiser. He drew himself smiling, he drew his dad with a police badge, and he drew his mama holding both their hands. Nicholas tried to draw a soccer ball, and he tried to add a few love-hearts just for fun. He added their house in the background, but that didn’t matter. He wanted it all, but most of all he wanted his parents just as they were supposed to be.

Nicholas handed the paper over to Glenn, and he buried his face in Terry’s neck, hugging him close.

“Yeah, that’s kinda what I thought…” Glenn grumbled. Morgan and Jodie came back in, and he hopped back to his feet with the paper.

“What’s going on?” Jodie asked as Glenn handed him the pad of paper.

“Home,” Glenn said, pointing to the picture while both Jodie and Morgan looked it over. “He’s homesick for his past. For what he had before becoming a demon.”

“Damn…” Jodie whispered.

“What can we even do, then?” Morgan asked. “We can’t give him that back, as much as I’d love to…”

“Maybe I should just take Mom home, and we’ll just be out of your hair, hon…” Jodie said. “I know you said we should reschedule, but I don’t…I don’t think this is going to get any better for him if we keep trying to bring his demon world to him…”

“I have an idea,” Glenn said, holding up a hand to keep Jodie from making any sort of rash decision.

“That’s not comforting.”

“Shut up,” Glenn said, glaring. He looked at Morgan since she was clearly the better one to talk to. “I’m gonna guess I already know the answer, but are you guys a real or artificial tree family?” he asked.

A smile twitched on Morgan’s face, amused, and she glanced over at Nicholas. “We have an artificial tree because of Nicholas. He gets hay fever with the pollen, and it triggers his asthma…”

“Yeah, kinda what I figured,” Glenn said. “Where’s your tree?”

“Where are you going with this?” she asked with a small laugh. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw Nicholas look up at her.

“I have an idea, and I need a tree. Also—” Glenn gave such a smug look, and Jodie wanted to punch him in the face. “I’m guessing you guys are uber-sentimental ornaments people. Kept every little foam Santa ornament Nick’s made in class?”

“Yep…” Morgan said, giggling. “Seriously, what’s the idea?”

“Jodie, show me where your tree is,” Glenn said, clapping him on the shoulder.

“Why not…” Jodie groaned. “Can’t go worse for us than having Nicholas crying all evening…” He motioned for Glenn to follow him outside.

“Mama…?” Nicholas looked up at her, watching out the windows as his dad led Glenn to the building outside.

“Dad and Glenn are just getting something from outside, sweetie,” Morgan said. “I need to go check on dinner; are you okay here with Terry?”

“Mhm…” Nicholas nodded, and he leaned back against Terry.

“What are they doing out there, Morgan?” Dee asked. She got up to watch them outside, rolling her eyes at the two men bickering with a tree box and a box of ornaments. “Ridiculous boys…”

“They’re just getting our tree out, Dee, it’s no big deal!” Morgan said from the kitchen. Then, the back door opened, and Glenn came in first with the box.

“Here we go!” he said proudly, plopping the box down on the floor. Nicholas sat up, intrigued. “We got the smaller one—Nicholas’s tree or whatever—since I doubt you guys wanna go through the whole damn process of putting up a seven-foot tall tree right now.”

“Yet you had me carry this heavy box of ornaments!” Jodie fussed, kicking the door shut. He plopped the box down while Glenn pulled out the little tree and plugged it in beside the TV in an empty socket.

“Well, you could’ve carried the tree, but you said no,” Glenn said with a little grin.

“It’s July, Glenn…” Nicholas said, chewing his nails as he watched the lights twinkle on the little tree.

“Ever heard of Christmas in July, squirt?” Glenn asked. He got a little nod, so he continued. “Yeah, lots of people put up their trees in July for a little bit just to celebrate. It’s fun, and I bet you and your parents could have a lot of fun…” He popped open the lid on the ornaments just to get smacked in the face with the smell of old cardboard and plastic. He breathed it in happily. “Hey, Morgan, switch places with me!”

“What?” Morgan came in from the kitchen with a towel in her hands and confusion on her face.

“C’mon, I’ll go handle the kitchen and you stay here with your kiddo, put some ornaments on the tree,” Glenn said.

“Uh—alright, yeah, I can do that…” Morgan said, nodding. Glenn passed by here, and Morgan took a seat on the floor in front of the tree. “Nicholas, honey, why don’t you come down here with me and Dad?”

“Okay…” Nicholas said, plopping down so he could crawl over to his mama.

“Hey, Terry, why don’t you come help me in here?” Glenn suggested. “I don’t know how to cook, so you’re my sous chef.”

“Usually you only get a sous chef if you know what you’re doing,” Terry said as he got to his feet.

“Alright, smartass, then I’m your sous chef,” Glenn said, clapping him on the back. “Dee, want a drink? They’ve got a bottle of vodka in here.”

“That’s the first good suggestion someone’s had this whole evening,” Dee said, and she followed Glenn into the kitchen, which left only the little family in the living room in front of their little tree.

“Here, kiddo, sit with Dad,” Jodie said, scooping Nicholas up under the arms to settle him on his lap. Nicholas squeaked, but he didn’t protest. “Wanna pick out the first ornament?” he asked.

“Um…” Nicholas sat up straighter to peek inside the box. He fished out one of his favorites: a fairly large ornament that looked like a window with a family photo inside. The photo was from when Nicholas was only three years old, and all three of them smiled big for their picture.

“That’s a good one, sweetheart,” Morgan said softly. Nicholas smiled as he hooked it onto a branch.

“Mama’s turn,” Nicholas said.

Morgan smiled, and she reached into the box for her prize. “I know what I want,” she said as she pulled out an ornament. It was a wooden ornament colored in with markers; the ornament was shaped like a mouse, though it was colored in with a dark green, and its beanie was colored orange. The eyes were googly eyes, and the mouse looked so silly, but it still made Morgan happy. She hung it on the tree. “Jodie?”

“Oh, I know what we need on here,” he said, and he fished out his favorite ornament, one that looked like ballet slippers. “Do you remember this one, Nicholas?” Jodie asked, leaning in closer to Nicholas until the boy giggled and nearly slipped off his lap.

“Uh huhhh…” he said, still giggling.

“Yeah, the one and only time you stole something!” Jodie tattled. “I had to take you back into that Hallmark and explain what happened while I was in uniform, you little stinker.”

Nicholas laughed with no remorse. He couldn’t be held responsible for something he did eight years earlier, after all.

Jodie hung the ornament up, and he tickled Nicholas so he could see that smile brighten. “Pick another one, little criminal.”

“Not a crimal!” Nicholas insisted, still giggling as he reached into the box. Slowly those giggles dissipated, but his smile stayed as he pulled out another ornament. This time, he found one that looked vaguely like a polar bear made out of clay, and underneath the polar bear was a cub. Nicholas made the ornament in fifth grade for his mom, and he was still proud of it. He hung it on the tree and sat back against his dad happily. “Mama’s turn.”

“Well, there’s another one that Mama loves,” Morgan said as she reached in for what she wanted, a little metal ornament painted to look like a plate of cookies. On the back of the ornament was an engraving that simply said ‘From: Santa, To: Nicholas’. “Do you remember these?” Morgan asked, pulling out a few more of these simple, metal ornaments. “You got one of these every year from Santa!”

It took a second, but Nicholas giggled and nodded. “Caught Dad hanging one up, too…” he said, leaning back to look at Jodie.

“Yeahhhh, then we had to tell you about Santa…” Jodie said with a sigh. “You should go back to believing, that was cute.”

“Don’t be dumb, Daddy,” Nicholas fussed, looking forward at the tree once more. At least as he looked forward, he missed Jodie losing it laughing.

Morgan snorted a laugh, but she still hung up all of Nicholas’s Santa ornaments. “Alright, Jodie, pick another one…” she said.

“How about…” Jodie reached in and pulled out a very glittery police car with even more glittery presents on top. He held it out for Nicholas to see, waiting for a little twitch of a smile. “You got me this one, didn’t you, bud?”

“Mhm…” Nicholas said, and he giggled.

“Yeah, I thought it was very cute. But then I had to go to work with glitter on my uniform,” Jodie said, and he hung up the ornament. Nicholas giggled without any remorse.

They picked out a few more ornaments, hanging them up as they recounted the memories around each one. By the time the tree was full, Nicholas felt…better. He didn’t know if he felt good, but he felt better. Each ornament added to the tree was a different memory from before the Forgotten Realms. Each ornament added to the tree represented the life and family that Nicholas loved so much, and it made him smile to look at these symbols of the life he truly loved.

“Do you wanna put the topper on for me, kiddo?” Jodie asked, holding out a little Scooby Doo plush with a very jingly hat. His paws were positioned perfectly to hold onto the top of the tree, so Nicholas fit him right on that top branch.

“How are we doing in here?” Glenn asked, poking his head into the room. “Ah, that’s a very full tree!”

“It’s a good tree…” Nicholas said.

“Wanna try getting something to eat, buddy?” Jodie asked. Nicholas nodded, but he didn’t make a move to get up. So, Jodie had to carry him to the kitchen, but at least there were no tears. “You can go look at the tree with Terry after eat, how’s that sound?” Jodie suggested.

“Wanna show Terry,” Nicholas said.

“Yep, after we eat.”

Nicholas darted over to Terry, taking his hand. “We decorated the tree…” he said quietly.

“Did that help a little bit…?” Terry asked. Nicholas nodded. “Good. I hate seeing you so upset…”

“Still sad, but… s’not as bad. We still have all the memories, and those are good…” Nicholas said.

“Do you feel like you’re home?” Terry asked. Nicholas glanced around, watching his mom and dad smile together, hold hands. He saw Glenn laugh with them, and he looked down at his and Terry’s hands. This wasn’t the home he craved so much, but that one was gone. That home was confined to photographs and ornaments, memories that only Nicholas and his parents held. But Nicholas wasn’t sure that it had to be his only home. He liked having Terry, and he liked having Glenn.

“No, ‘m not home…” Nicholas said, still a little sad. “I can’t go home, but…I can try to make a new one…”

“Doesn’t have to be all at once, either,” Terry said. “I’ll help however you want me to, though.”

“Can you help me get rid of Nana?” Nicholas asked. Terry snorted a laugh.

“I’ll help you in any way that doesn’t involve hurting or killing someone.”

“Damn.”

Terry pushed his shoulder. “You’re small; you’re not supposed to say bad words.”

“I can say damn!” Nicholas insisted. “What if I was a beaver?”

“Then you could definitely make a new home,” Terry said, which only got him an annoyed glare. “I’m sorry, that was really bad.”

“That was a Mr. Oak joke,” Nicholas complained. “Be more sorry.”

Terry had to burst out laughing at that one, even if it only made Nicholas glare more daggers at him.

Chapter Text

“Oops…” Nicholas said as he spilled some of his coffee onto the floor. He stared down at the little puddle, considering what he needed to do before he decided just to drop a washcloth on top of it. That seemed good enough for him, so he grabbed his chocolate syrup-coated sippy cup and poured his coffee over the chocolate. He grabbed the little pot of milk, sugar, and cocoa powder off the stove and did his very best not to spill it on the counter.

He mostly succeeded.

“Nicky, what’re you d—what are you doing?” Terry asked, waking up very quickly when he saw Nicky sat on the counter with coffee and— “Turn off the stove!” He dove over to turn the knob for the very red eye on the stove.

“Oopsie,” Nicky said without an ounce of remorse. He screwed the lid onto his cup and stuck the nib in his mouth.

“Get off the counter before you get hurt,” Terry fussed, tugging Nicky’s hand until he got down. “Seriously, how’d you not burn yourself?”

Nicky shrugged, and he stuck his hand on top of the still-hot eye before Terry could stop him. A little bit of steam came away, but otherwise he was unscathed. “Demon baby.”

“Show off’s more like it,” Terry grumbled. He picked up the washcloth from the floor, quizzical look as he tried to figure out what happened. “Did you—” He sniffed the rag, grimacing when he smelled the coffee. “You’re so messy…”

Nicky giggled, and he had to nod. “I made coffee!” he said proudly around his cup.

“That’s great, but now you need to clean up,” Terry fussed. He rinsed out the rag and held it out to Nicky, who glared at him. “Do you wanna deal with Mr. or Mrs. Oak-Garcia finding out you made a big mess, or do you wanna clean?”

Nicky took the rag in his unoccupied hand, crouching down to wipe up his mess. He cleaned off the counter as well, grumbling to himself as he went. Once Terry was satisfied, he took the rag and rinsed it in the sink once again before draping it over the faucet. He held out his hand for Nicky to take, glad that the boy didn’t pout too badly as Nicky fit his palm against Terry’s.

“C’mon, let’s go lay down before anyone else wakes up,” Terry said. He tugged Nicky along, although Nicky tried his best to bury himself in Terry’s side rather than walking by himself. “Is there a reason you’re suddenly small? You weren’t when we went to bed last night…”

“Dreamed ‘bout bein’ small and we went to Build a Bear and we had fun, and I woke up and I was small,” Nicky explained. “And we had a fish f’iend but I don’t think that was important,” he added.

Terry snorted a laugh at that one. “A fish friend?” he questioned, grin on his face. “Are you sure that’s not important?”

“He was in a bowl and he talked f’rough bubbles…” Nicky explained, a little grin spreading across his face. “Sparrow didn’t even got to tell us what he said because we all could hear him.”

“Well that’s handy,” Terry said. “What was his name?”

“Patrick.”

“Oh, so you’re lifting names from Spongebob?” Terry teased.

“I didn’t get to choose it!” Nicky whined. Terry snickered, and he opened the door to Lark and Sparrow’s bedroom, letting Nicky inside first. They found their friends already awake, Sparrow sprawled out on top of Grant with his phone in hand.

“Where’d you two go?” Lark asked from his bed, sitting up with a scowl on his face.

“Someone,” Terry started, pointing at Nicky, “decided to make himself coffee.”

Nicky giggled, running over to Lark’s bed to jump on him. “I did it all by myself!” he said proudly, kicking his feet against the mattress while Lark attempted to squirm out from under him.

“You made coffee while you’re small?” Grant questioned, brow raised as he looked up from where he laid on the floor. Terry groaned as he sat beside him and Sparrow.

“How’d you know ‘m small?” Nicky questioned, surprised. Grant had to laugh at that one.

“Nicky, you’re using a sippy cup,” Grant said. Nicky looked down at the cup as though it betrayed him. “Also you jumped on Lark and you’re hyper.”

“I’m not!” Nicky insisted. He jumped up, nearly falling off the bed until Lark grabbed him. “I’m not hyper, Grant!” Nicky took another drink from his cup, his foot bouncing against the mattress.

“Give me some,” Lark said. Nicky held out his cup for him, but Lark wrinkled up his nose. He took the cup and unscrewed the lid to take a drink.

“You’re gonna spill it!” Nicky whined.

“I’m not a baby, so I won’t spill,” Lark said. He took his drink, then he screwed the lid back onto the cup and passed it back to Nicky with a grimace on his face. “That’s too much sugar…”

“How much sugar did you put in there…?” Terry asked, suddenly more concerned than he thought he needed to be just moments earlier. “I saw the chocolate syrup, but what’d you do?”

“The milk has chocolate and sugar in it, too,” Nicky explained, taking another drink.

“Can I try?” Sparrow asked, sitting up. He scooted over to Lark’s bed on his knees and propped himself up on his elbows. Nicky shrugged and held the cup out for him, so Sparrow stuck the spout in his mouth and took a drink. He handed the cup back to Nicky with a grin on his face. “That’s a lot of sugar…” he said, giggling.

“Uh, maybe no one should drink that, then,” Grant said. He got up to take the cup from Nicky, unscrewing the lid while the boy protested. With one sniff, Grant could swear he got at least three cavities. “Eugh…how are you drinking this?”

“Give it back!” Nicky whined.

“This is chemical warfare,” Grant said, holding the cup above his head. “There’s no way you can have this back.”

“Graaaaaaaant!” Nicky whined. He stood up on the bed and grabbed the cup, throwing himself down on top of it to protect it.

“Nicky, give it here,” Terry said. “You’re gonna get sick, lil guy.”

“No I won’t!” Nicky insisted.

“Nicky.”

“No!”

Grant groaned, reaching over to grab the cup from under Nicky, who bit his hand. “Ow!” he yelped, jumping back. “Seriously?!”

Nicky growled, his eyes red and his teeth sharpened in his mouth. Grant tossed his hands up in defeat; it was far too early in the morning to fight with him like this.

“Fine, get a tummy ache, but when you do just remember we told you,” Grant said through his teeth, but that nearly animalistic look in Nicholas’s eyes did not waver.

“Is this what coffee does to you?” Lark asked, quite confused.

“No,” Terry said with a sigh. He watched Sparrow crawl up beside Nicky and calm him down, which Terry could only roll his eyes at. “This is what coffee and sugar does to a demon who feels like he’s a toddler, apparently.”

“Maybe we should let him loose the Forgotten Realms in the pit of despair that popped up,” Lark suggested. “I’m sure he would be an effective weapon against them.”

“I think that’s a terrible idea,” Terry fussed.

“You never want to do my ideas,” Lark groaned, throwing himself down against his pillows.

“Because setting a hyper-demon loose in the pit of despair is going to hurt way more people than it’s gonna help!” Terry fussed.

Sparrow rolled his eyes, and he laid down on his side beside Nicky. “No one’s gonna take your cup away, I promise,” he said quietly. At least that seemed to get Nicky to relax. He laid on his side as well, his cup cradled against his chest protectively. “Can you talk to me, or is something wrong?”

“I can talk…” Nicky said through his teeth. His eyes darted around to keep watch on Terry and Grant, but they always fell back on Sparrow. He growled once again, and he curled up a little tighter.

“I don’t wanna have to spell you, Nicky, c’mon…” Sparrow chided. “We’re not hurting you, and we’re not taking your cup away. Put the claws away.”

Nicky glanced down at his hands where claws nearly dug into his cup. He relaxed back at into his human hand before he punctured it.

“Can I have another drink?” Sparrow tried. “I liked it, so…”

It took a moment, a long moment of intense staring and teeth gnashing, before Nicky handed the cup over for Sparrow. Nicky kept a close watch on him as Sparrow took another drink, and he snatched the cup against his chest when Sparrow handed it back to him.

“Y’know, that’s really good, but I bet we can make something even better if you want,” Sparrow tried. “My mother taught me and Lark her very special hot chocolate. It won’t hurt your tummy or anything.”

Nicky kept a glare on him, but as he tried to drink from his cup, he realized he was nearly out of coffee. Maybe hot chocolate would be nice…it’d certainly be chocolatier than his current drink. “Okay…”

“Let’s go make some!” Sparrow cheered, hopping to his feet. He startled their friends, but Sparrow didn’t mind.

“Make what…?” Terry asked, worried.

“We’re going to make hot chocolate,” Sparrow said with a grin.

“I think we should probably help with that…” Grant said. Nicky growled, but he didn’t try to stop Grant, Terry, or Lark from following him and Sparrow back downstairs.

“Can I rinse out your cup, Nicky?” Terry asked. Nicky growled at him, tail flicking behind himself. “You’re not scary, lil guy,” Terry said, though, rolling his eyes. That got Nicky to hand over the cup begrudgingly.

“Are we making enough for everyone, brother?” Lark asked, leaning over Sparrow’s shoulder to see how well the hot chocolate was coming along.

“Of course, brother,” Sparrow reassured. “I’m not a monster; we all deserve hot chocolate.”

“Excellent, excellent…” Lark nodded in approval, backing over to Grant.

“I’m shocked you’re allowed to use the stove,” Grant teased, watching Sparrow stir.

“We’re not,” Sparrow said, however, planting a seed of dread in Grant’s belly. “We set a pan on fire with caramel in it to see what would happen, and our mother and father banned us from using the stove.”

“Oh, great…” Grant grumbled.

“So we need to hurry,” Lark said. “This will probably wake them up, and they will not be very happy to learn that we still use the stove behind their backs.”

“It’s done!” Sparrow cheered, and he tossed open a cabinet to grab four more cups or mugs. He grabbed three mugs, one his brother’s favorite that he made in a pottery class two years earlier, and then grabbed a stainless steel cup with…a spout? Grant couldn’t help but think it looked similar to Nicky’s sippy cup, just harder plastic.

“What’s that for, Sparrow?” he questioned, which got Terry’s attention. He looked just as confused as Grant.

“It’s a travel cup,” Sparrow said with a shrug. “It doesn’t burn my hands, and it keeps my drinks hotter longer.”

Grant looked at Lark with questioning brow raised. Lark didn’t seem to understand what might be confusing about this, far more concerned about getting his hot chocolate before his parents woke up.

“Nicky goes first,” Sparrow said, which Lark whined about. Nicky handed over his cup happily, and Sparrow ladled in his drink. He screwed on the lid and handed it over to Nicky before filling up all the mugs for Grant, Terry, and Lark. Sparrow grabbed his cup, and he untwisted the cap so he could fill it up with the rest of the hot chocolate. As he twisted the cap back on, he stuck the spout into his mouth, nursing it just the same as Nicky with his sippy cup.

…Grant looked at Terry, who seemed just as skeptical as him.

They watched Sparrow grab Nicky’s hand and run off with him laughing.

“Okay, that’s weird, right?” Terry asked.

“Right?”

“What’re you talking about?” Lark asked, confusion on his brow.

“Does Sparrow do that a lot?” Grant asked. “I’ve never seen him use that cup, and it’s got the same kind of lid like a sippy cup.”

“He doesn’t use it a lot, no,” Lark said with a shrug. “Usually he uses it when we’re out for the day or something, and we have a lot of different lids.” He opened up another drawer to reveal a collection of reusable cup lids.

“How often does he use that lid, then?” Terry asked.

“I don’t know!” Lark groaned. “I don’t exactly keep track of my brother’s beverage consumption habits. Why would I?!”

“Maybe we’re reading into this too much, Terry,” Grant said with a sigh.

“Reading what?” Lark asked, frustrated.

“Why was Sparrow on top of you earlier?” Terry asked. Grant shrugged.

“He just got out of his bed and laid on me,” Grant said. “I thought he was just being cuddly, but maybe he was…small?”

Silence fell for a moment too long while Lark finally caught up with what his friends meant. “You think Sparrow’s a baby like Nicky?” he asked. For once, concern filled his voice, and he seemed nervous. “Why would he be like that…?” he asked nervously.

“We don’t know for sure or anything, Lark,” Terry said. “We could be reading too much into this, and Sparrow could just want that cup lid for no reason, or he could’ve been cuddly because he’s just a cuddly person.”

“What do we do…?” Lark asked.

“Maybe we just keep an eye on Sparrow and see if he acts differently?” Grant suggested. “If he’s playing with Nicky, that makes it a little harder, but we know how he is when Nicky’s small. If he acts differently…maybe Sparrow’s small?”

“I guess that’s our best option,” Terry said with a shrug.

“We should probably go get them,” Lark said. “If Sparrow is a baby like Nicky, then neither of them are being supervised, and they have a lot of sugar…”

“We’ve gotta go!” Terry yelped, darting off toward the stairs with Grant and Lark on his heels.

Chapter Text

“D’you wanna see something cool?” Sparrow asked as he and Nicky made their way back into the bedroom. Nicky plopped down on Sparrow’s bed, grinning while Sparrow went to his closet.

“What is it…?” Nicky asked before replacing his sippy cup in his mouth. His hot chocolate was already getting cool, so he needed to drink as quickly as possible.

Sparrow grabbed something out of his closet and shuffled over, unfolding it to hold out proudly in front of himself. “Tada!” he said excitedly, holding out a wolf onesie with a big hood and tail. Nicky squeaked in surprise, his eyes wide and a grin on his face.

“I thought you just got ears an’ a tail!” Nicky said, giggling.

“My mom let me get it,” Sparrow said, grinning big. He took another drink from his hot chocolate before setting it down on his nightstand for safe keeping, then he laid the onesie down and took off his pajama pants. He unbuttoned the front of the onesie so he could get in, pulling his feet through the holes and sticking his arms through the sleeves. The buttons proved to be a bit harder to re-button as he fumbled with them. “Stupid buttons…” Sparrow grumbled, giving up halfway through. Instead he just tossed the hood on his head and jumped on the bed beside Nicky. “Rawwwwr!”

Nicky shrieked, and he kicked at Sparrow.

“My bed!” Sparrow fussed, not that it dissuaded Nicky from his attack. If anything, it encouraged Nicky to growl. Sparrow tried to growl back, and he leapt on top of Nicky to fight. Nicky bit his arm, but Sparrow bit his shoulder back. He kicked wildly as Nicky flipped them over and pinned him to the bed, and Sparrow managed to knock Nicky in the head. “My bed!” he squeaked out.

“You jumped on me!” Nicky fussed. He yelped when Sparrow pushed him over, and he clambered to grab the bedding before he fell on the floor. “Terry!”

“What’re you guys doing?!” Terry fussed as he, Grant, and Lark made their way back into the room. “You’re gonna wake up Mr. and Mrs. Oak-Garcia!” Terry tried to help Nicky up before the little guy hurt himself.

“Nicky bit me!” Sparrow tattled with a pointed kick in Nicky’s direction. Nicky growled and pulled himself back onto the bed just in time for Sparrow to grab his cup off the bed and steal a drink.

“Terry!” he whined, pointing at Sparrow.

“Sparrow, give me that…” Terry groaned. He snatched the cup from Sparrow and handed it to Nicky, who stuck his cup in his mouth and hugged Terry tightly.

“What are you wearing, brother…?” Lark asked, very confused. Sparrow beamed and stood up on his bed to show off his onesie. He even made sure to twist his hips just so his little tail swung back and forth. “Where did that even come from?”

“Mami and me went shopping last week,” Sparrow explained. He plopped down on his bottom once again, and he grabbed his cup from his bedside table.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have more sugar…” Grant said, reaching to take the cup away from him. Sparrow shrieked and held it as far away from Grant as he could manage. “Okay, fine, keep it, fine!” Grant groaned. He looked over at Terry with Nicky in his arms, and Grant gave him an exasperated look. Terry gave him a look of sympathy as he patted Nicky’s back.

“Sparrow, can we ask you something…?” Terry started cautiously. He didn’t know how this might go. If Sparrow didn’t even know, or if he thought he was sneaky…this was risky.

“What?” Sparrow groaned, rolling his eyes. He laid down against his pillows, and Nicky pulled himself out of Terry’s arms to lay down beside him as if they hadn’t been fighting just moments prior. Sparrow let Nicky cuddle close, and he pet his hair while he drank his hot chocolate.

“Are you a baby?” Lark asked before Terry could figure out a gentle way to ask. Terry and Grant winced, but Sparrow just looked up at them confused.

“No…?” he said, questioning tone in his voice.

“Are you sure about that?” Grant asked. “You’re being really childish…”

“No I’m not!” Sparrow whined. Nicky squeaked, and he hid his face in Sparrow’s arm. “I’m taking care of the baby, duh,” Sparrow said.

“Which is why you took his sippy cup, or you got that cup for yourself?” Terry tried. “Or why you’re wearing a wolf costume…or why you’re always the first one to really, really want to play with Nicky, even when he’s not small?”

Sparrow looked down at his own cup quizzically, trying to figure out what was wrong with it. He just liked it, and it certainly made it easier to drink when he was playing. Was it strange for him to play? He just liked playing with Nicky. They had fun together, and Nicky was cute… Sparrow wished he could be cute like that. He even wished sometimes he was small, but he wasn’t small.

…Right?

……How was he supposed to even know?

“Sparrow…” Lark sat down on the bed, ignoring the growling from Nicky as he scooted up to his brother. “If you wanted to be a baby like Nicky, that’s fine. We just want to help…”

“I’m not small…” Sparrow pouted. Pouted. He didn’t want to talk about this anymore. Couldn’t he go back to playing with Nicky already?

“Have you tried or something?” Grant asked. Sparrow shrugged. “I mean, if you want to, Nick’s obviously the best one to ask about it…later, I guess.”

Sparrow whined at that, and he covered his face with his pillow.

“Sparrow…” Nicky fussed when he got a face-full of pillow.

“C’mon, Nicky, maybe give Sparrow a little space…” Terry said. He held his hand out for Nicky to take, and he pulled him to his feet. “Lark?”

Lark didn’t say a word. He stayed sat beside his brother with no signs of moving.

Grant motioned with his head for Terry to let them have a moment, so the three of them sat against Lark’s bed with Grant’s iPad between them. “Wanna watch some cartoons, Nick?” Grant asked. When he got a little nod, he found some Backyardigans episodes for Nick to watch.

Sparrow pulled his pillow away when he heard the theme song start. He liked Backyardigans when he was little…

“Are you okay, brother?” Lark asked, nearly startling Sparrow out of his skin.

“Why’d they leave?” Sparrow asked quietly. He looked up at Lark with such big, sad eyes, and it hurt Lark’s heart to his brother look so upset.

“You seemed upset, so they’re giving you space,” Lark said. “Do you not…want space?”

“I thought me and Nicky were playing…” He liked taking care of Nicky! He wanted to play with him!

“You were, but then you covered your face with your pillow,” Lark said. “What’s going on with you, Sparrow?”

“I don’t know…” Sparrow said, sniffling. “I just wanted to, um…I wanted to play with Nicky, a-and I wanted to cuddle, but now they all left…”

“Do you need a hug…?” Lark asked. This felt a bit out of his usual area of expertise, but for his brother he could step out of his comfort zone. Sparrow nodded, so Lark pulled him into a hug. They stayed like that for a moment, but Sparrow pulled away. He sat up, and he stuck his cup in his mouth. That earned a look from Lark that had Sparrow shying back against his headboard.

“What…?” he questioned around the spout.

“Are you sure you’re not a baby?” Lark asked. “You’re acting like that cup is a bottle or something.”

Sparrow’s face quickly reddened, and he yanked the cup out of his mouth. “I’m not!” he whined.

“Why are you so insistent that you’re not a baby?” Lark asked. “It’d be one thing if you weren’t acting any differently, but you’re acting like Nicky does when he’s trying to be sneaky.”

“Because I’ve tried before and it didn’t work…” Sparrow grumbled. Lark raised a brow at him, and Sparrow squirmed. “I thought it seemed nice, and Nicky likes it, and everyone takes care of him, so…I thought I might like it, too, but it didn’t work…”

“How do you know it didn’t work?” Lark asked.

“Didn’t feel that different…” Sparrow mumbled. “Just tired.”

“Maybe you should ask Nicholas, then,” Lark suggested. “He’ll help.”

Sparrow shrank back against the headboard once again. He didn’t know why he felt so nervous at the idea of asking Nicky for help, but he did. This whole thing felt big, scary, and Sparrow just wanted to hide.

“How are you feeling, Sparrow?” Grant asked, startling him. “Sorry…”

“I-I’m okay…” Sparrow said, blushing. He felt embarrassed for all of this… How did he cause such a mess by playing with Nicky? Was he going to be in trouble for this?

“Do you wanna watch Backyardigans with Nicky?” Grant asked. “He asked about you, so…if you want to, he’d be happy.”

“I can watch with him…” Sparrow said with a nod. He hopped to his feet, but Grant made a little noise to stop him. “What?”

“Here…” Grant took hold of the front of Sparrow’s onesie to finish buttoning it up. Sparrow’s blush grew brighter, and he avoided Grant’s eyes. “There, at least now you’re dressed,” Grant said, a little smirk on his face that Sparrow didn’t see. He scrambled over to Lark’s bed and hopped up on Nicky’s other side.

“Hi…” Nicky said.

“Hi…”

Sparrow cuddled up against him, and Nicky rested his head on top of Sparrow’s. Terry slipped out from Nicky’s side to join Grant and Lark on Sparrow’s bed.

“He’s totally small,” Grant said once Terry sat down beside Lark. “He couldn’t even button up half of that onesie by himself.”

“He told me he doesn’t think he’s small because he’s tried before and it didn’t work,” Lark said. “I didn’t know he’s tried to regress like that before…”

“I guess it makes sense,” Terry said with a shrug. “He puts a lot of pressure on himself because of the Doodler stuff, and he doesn’t really give himself a break…”

“Except the one time he apparently tried to be small,” Grant said.

“So how do we tell him he’s already small?” Lark asked.

“Maybe Nicky needs to do it?” Terry suggested, unsure. “I mean, he’s the expert, he knows what it feels like, so maybe he can tell Sparrow he’s small and help him just let it happen?”

“That’s probably our best option…” Grant said with a little nod.

“Terry…” Nicky whined from the other bed, and all three heads snapped up. Nicky squeaked, blushing at the sudden attention. “Paci…?” he asked sheepishly.

“Yeah, I’ll get it,” Terry said. He grabbed Nicky’s bag and fished around for his pacifier, bringing it over for him to take. Terry watched Sparrow track it, eyes locked on Nicky as he shifted the paci in his mouth until it sat comfortably. Oh, that was jealousy. Terry just hoped it wouldn’t lead to a fit from Sparrow. “Did you need something, too, Sparrow?” Terry asked.

“No, I’m okay…” Sparrow said, but he didn’t sound the least bit happy about it. Terry wondered if he should say something, but nothing that he could think of would go over well, he feared.

“We’re out of hot chocolate, Terry,” Nicky said, holding up his and Sparrow’s cups.

“Did you want something else to drink?” Terry asked, snickering. “Or—actually, you should probably go potty, really.”

“Noooo…” Nicky whined, kicking his feet. “I don’t wanna! We’re comfy!”

“You can get comfy again,” Terry said. “It’s less easy to get comfy again if you have an ac—”

“I’m going!” Nicky squeaked, hopping to his feet before Terry could finish his sentence. He tossed his paci down on the bed beside the iPad and scooted out the door, blushing.

“What about you, Sparrow?” Terry asked, which surprised him.

“I’m okay…” Sparrow insisted. He paused their show, and he sat up straight.

“You’ve drank just about the same as Nicky, so when he gets back you should probably go…” Terry said. Sparrow glared at him, wondering who Terry thought he was to tell him what to do like this.

“I don’t need to,” Sparrow insisted. He didn’t have to listen to Terry. He wasn’t small like Nicky. Sparrow was a big kid.

Grant hopped up when he heard the annoyance in Sparrow’s voice. “You really like your wolf onesie, yeah?” he asked. Sparrow nodded. “You don’t want it to get icky, then, right?”

“Right…”

“Well, maybe you should go when Nicky gets back just to be extra-sure you’re not gonna have to change. You’re a really cute wolf right now, and you don’t wanna have to change, right?” Grant tried.

Nicky ran back in, plopping down on the bed. Sparrow sighed in annoyance and he hopped up.

“Oh, uh…” Grant tried his very best not to think too hard about what he was about to ask, but it still felt horrifically awkward. “Did you, uh, need help undoing your onesie…?” he asked, blushing brightly.

“Oh…” Sparrow looked down, and he realized just how difficult it might be to undo all those buttons… Why did there have to be so many? “Um…mhm…”

“Maybe just go with him, Grant,” Terry suggested quietly, hoping to avoid the bulk of the embarrassment if the two of them just went together.

“Uh, yeah, I’ll do that…” Grant said. “C’mon, Sparrow…”

“Okay…” Sparrow took Grant’s hand, walking with him out toward the bathroom.

Lark joined Terry and Nicky, his brows knitted together and his arms crossed. “We should just go downstairs and fix breakfast,” he suggested.

“That seems like a really great way to wake up your parents,” Terry said.

“They’re going to wake up eventually, anyway,” Lark said with a shrug. “If they say anything, we’ll just go to someone else’s house or something. At least if we go downstairs, we can watch their cartoons on the big TV instead of an iPad.”

Terry sighed. He hated to admit that Lark was right. “Okay, yeah, when they get back we’ll go downstairs, then...”

“Boys…?” came Henry’s voice, surprised and high-pitched in a way that could only mean—“Why were you in the bathroom together?”

Terry squeezed his eyes shut, hoping against all odds that a small Sparrow would possibly have some tact or ability to lie.

“Grant had to help me, Father…”

Or maybe Terry’s morning just got so, so much messier. He felt Nicky grab his hand, and he squeezed it back.

Chapter Text

Sparrow and Grant quickly shuffled into the bedroom, and Sparrow dove for Nicky on the bed. Nicky squeaked, but otherwise he let the boy hug him tightly and cuddle.

“We’re screwed,” Grant grumbled to Terry and Lark, who both stood in front of the bed nearly blocking the view of Nicky and Sparrow. “Mr. Oak’s so—”

“Boys, don’t just run away from me when I’m trying to—what’s going on in here?” Henry asked as he pushed open the door, confusion coating his features as he blinked, brows furrowed together, at the sight in front of him. “Sparrow, kiddo, what in the world is going on?”

Nicky pulled his paci from his mouth to hide it, but Henry spotted it before he could get it tucked away.

“Nicholas, what is that?” Henry asked. Nicky whined, though, and he didn’t say a word. Henry looked at the other boys as he waited for one of them to crack. “Someone’s gotta tell me why Grant and Sparrow were in the bathroom together, boys.”

“He’s regressed,” Terry said as he finally caved. It was easier than trying to come up with a lie at this point. Sparrow kicked his leg, but Terry thought he could deal with that much easier than Henry grilling them.

“I don’t—what does that mean?” Henry asked. The irritation in his voice started to fade, which at least made this a little easier, Terry thought.

“I don’t regress, Terry!” Sparrow insisted though, frustrated. Grant groaned, spinning around to face him. He held Sparrow’s face in his hands and looked him in the eye as he spoke.

“Sparrow, you’re small right now. Trust me, I wouldn’t have gone to the potty with you if you weren’t,” he said. Sparrow’s eyes grew wide, and he shrank back against Nicky. Grant stood up with a sigh, and he held a hand out for Sparrow to hold, a small smile twitching onto his face when Sparrow took it. “We’ll talk about it later, okay? Just…be small, I guess?”

“It was—Nick kind of started it,” Terry said. Nicky kicked his leg this time, a scowl on his face. Henry raised a brow at that, but Terry kept going. “He started regressing not long after we all made it home the first time because being a demon and having all of Nick Close’s memories really messed with him, and he needed something to feel better. So he regressed, and as it turns out being a toddler and chasing bubbles or something is a lot easier to deal with than being a demon who lives in Hell with an entire other life jammed in your brain.”

Terry waited to see that Henry was still with him, then he continued. Nicky hugged him from behind, his arms around Terry’s tummy, so Terry covered his hands with his own.

“When Sparrow found out that Nicholas regresses, he thought it was cute, and he wanted to help and play and all that. But apparently, he also started wanting to regress, too. He told Lark that he’s tried before, but it didn’t work, so he just stopped trying. Then this morning when he woke up, he was small, so we’re just trying to help him,” Terry finished explaining.

“So, Grant…?” Henry turned to him, waiting for further explanation.

“He put on the onesie earlier, but he couldn’t button it up because he’s too little to really, y’know, understand buttons very well, so I buttoned it up for him…” Grant explained, his cheeks pink. “Sparrow and Nicky had way too much hot chocolate, so we made them both go to the bathroom before they had a—”

“Graaaaaaaaant…” Nicky whined.

“—Accidents or something,” Grant continued. “Since Sparrow couldn’t do the buttons on his onesie, I went with him…”

“And it’s just that simple?” Henry questioned. He didn’t sound fully convinced, especially as he looked over Grant’s shoulder at Sparrow and Lark. “Why couldn’t you help your brother, Lark?”

“Grant already was,” Lark said with a shrug. “He’s better at dealing with babies than me, so he did it.”

Sparrow hugged his brother’s arm to keep him close, looking at their dad with big eyes. He didn’t even realize he regressed—what was he even supposed to do about this? He didn’t mind his dad knowing about this, but Sparrow wished maybe he had more time to actually understand what regressing even felt like before telling his dad about this…

Henry sighed, and he stooped down in front of Sparrow, patting his knee. “Are you okay, Sparrow?” he asked.

“Mhm…” Sparrow nodded. “Lark, Terry, ‘nd Grant are helpin’…”

“What made you feel like you needed to do…this?” Henry asked. Sparrow shrugged.

“Sometimes it’s scary being a big kid…” Sparrow said. “I don’t wanna always be the big kid…”

“Maybe talk about this sort of stuff when he’s not regressed…” Terry said. “With Nicky, we can’t really get much out of him until he’s big again, and it’s kinda stressful to talk about big stuff…”

“Oh—okay…?” Henry stood back up, still very confused.

“Breakfast?” Sparrow asked, big eyes looking up at his dad.

“Yeah, yeah, uh…” He tried to clear his head so he could think. “Uh, the other dads are coming over with breakfast, so I need to go check my phone to see if they’re on their way yet…” he said.

“Nicky’s parents know about this,” Terry said. “If you wanna talk to somebody about it, maybe…”

Henry nodded. “Yeah, yeah, that sounds good, kiddo…” he said. “So, uh, I’m gonna go wait downstairs—just, uh, we’ll holler when breakfast gets here.”

“Bye,” Lark said, hugging Sparrow back tightly. Henry took his leave sadly, looking back at Sparrow for a moment before he headed downstairs.

“Well, that could have definitely gone worse…” Grant said, plopping down beside Lark and Sparrow on the bed.

“I want breakfast, too…” Nicky whined. He hugged Terry still, and he dragged him down onto the bed. Terry didn’t fight it, just letting himself be pulled around.

“You heard Mr. Oak,” Terry said. “When our parents get here, they’ll have breakfast.”

Nicky whined louder, kicking his feet in protest. “Gimme my phone! I’ll call Mama and she’ll bring breakfast faster!”

“I don’t think that’s how that’d work, lil guy,” Terry said with a laugh.

“I’m small…” Sparrow squeaked out. A little grin took over his face, and he squealed into Lark’s arm.

“You’re really happy about that, huh?” Lark asked right before Sparrow bit his arm. “Hey!”

Sparrow sat up, and he scooted over to lean against the wall. “I wanna play…!”

“Well, we’ve probably got a few minutes…” Grant said with a shrug. He regretted that, however, as Sparrow tackled him off the bed. Nicky cheered, and he joined in, much to Grant’s despair. Why did he think these two were cute when they regressed?

Breakfast arrived, and the boys went downstairs. Sparrow held Lark’s hand, Nicky held Terry’s, and Grant somehow got the honor of carrying down empty cups. At the sight of all their parents, Nicky grabbed Sparrow’s unoccupied hand and pulled him from Lark. He tugged him over to the side while the other headed toward the kitchen.

“It’s okay if this is scary…” Nicky said, glancing over Sparrow’s shoulder at the adults. “It can be really scary to be small in front of everybody, so if you need help, I’ll help…!”

“Okay,” Sparrow said, a little grin on his face. “Think ‘m okay, though…”

“Well, if you get scared!” Nicky tried, his face flushing. Why wasn’t Sparrow scared like him?

“C’mon,” Sparrow said, pulling Nicky along toward the kitchen. “We should get chocolate milk!” he announced to Grant, who rinsed out their cups in the sink.

“Uh, no,” Grant said. “I think it’s probably time you two get water, or you’re gonna just lose all your teeth or something.”

“But!” Sparrow whined, stamping a foot. “Chocolate milk!”

“Not happening, lil guy,” Grant said.

“I want chocolate milk, too!” Nicky tried. Maybe if he and Sparrow worked together…

“It’s three against two, Nicky,” Terry said. “Sorry, but no.”

“What are you kids arguing about?” Glenn asked as he came in with the food. Henry came in behind him with another bag of food.

“Glenn, we want chocolate milk!” Nicky tried, pointing at Grant. “He won’t let us have none!”

Nicky expected Glenn to be on his side, to snatch the cups out of Grant’s hands and load them up with plenty of chocolate milk. However, instead of doing what Nicky tried to will into existence, Glenn looked confused. He glanced down at Nicky and Sparrow holding hands and looking…well, small. Together.

“When did this happen?” Glenn asked, pointing between the two of them.

“Sparrow’s small, now,” Terry said. “He thinks that means he gets whatever he wants, too.”

Glenn snorted a laugh. “And how much chocolate milk have they already had?” he asked, which Nicky protested.

“None!” Sparrow insisted, but Glenn didn’t listen to him.

“They’ve both had big hot chocolates, and Nicky had some weird bastardization of a mocha earlier, too,” Terry tattled. Nicky gasped in betrayal. There was no way that Glenn was going to get them chocolate milk at this rate!

Glenn sucked in a breath, giving Nicky and Sparrow a sympathetic look. “Sorry, kiddos, it sounds like the last thing you two need is more sugar…”

Sparrow pouted, and he shuffled over to Henry. He didn’t really want to ask his dad, but at this point he was getting desperate. Maybe since he didn’t know much about regression, this would work in his favor! “Daddy, I want chocolate milk,” Sparrow said, pulling out the cutest voice he could muster up to see if that swayed his father.

“Uh huh, and I want to know why there’s a dirty pot on the stove covered in chocolate?” Henry said.

“Oopsie…”

Lark smacked his forehead. “We forgot about the pot…”

“You two know you’re not supposed to use the stove by yourselves!” Henry fussed.

“We didn’t!” Sparrow insisted. “Terry ‘nd Grant was here, too!”

“You need an adult!” Henry fussed. “Especially if you felt like a baby at the time, Sparrow. What were you kids thinking?”

“Thinkin’ we wanted hot chocolate…” Sparrow pouted. He pointed his toes together, twisted at the hips so his little tail waved back and forth, and he jutted out his lower lip. “Didn’t mean to do nothing bad…”

Henry groaned in defeat. “You’re lucky you’re so darn adorable…”

That got a big grin from Sparrow. Lark high-fived his brother, and that nearly changed Henry’s mind.

“Unfortunately, if you kids already had that much sugar this early in the morning, I think it’s time you had some water or something instead…” Henry said, and Sparrow despaired. Grant filled up the cups with some water, handing them out to Nicky and Sparrow with a smug grin on his face. Nicky had half a mind to bite him for that.

The parents handed out breakfast to the kids, Glenn boasting about how Hell had gotten a Bojangles recently, and he planned to eat there as often as possible. With their breakfast in hand, the boys all scooted off to the table while the adults ate around the kitchen island.

“Okay…so what do we do, now?” Grant asked once they were all sat down. Sparrow sat with Nicky, leaning against him while the two of them ate. “Sparrow,” Grant called, startling him. “What do—is there anything you want for regressing?” he asked.

“Um…” Sparrow shrugged, blushing, as he looked at Nicky for any sort of direction.

“I’ve got lots of stuff, but I dunno what you want,” Nicky said. “Toys, sippy cups, paci…some people like bottles instead of sippy cups, too. Or some people like teethers ‘stead of pacis. Toys are pretty similar no matter what, though.”

“We’ve got toys from when we were little kids, still…” Sparrow said. “They’re all in the attic except what we kept in our room…”

Well, since Terry really had nothing to lose, he piped up. “You seemed kind of jealous of Nicky’s paci earlier, so do you want one of those?” he asked, watching as Sparrow rapidly turned red. “I take it that’s a yes?”

“I dunno…” Sparrow squeaked out. He kicked his feet under the table nervously, fidgeting in place. He knew how much Nicky liked having his paci, and Sparrow had to admit it seemed nice, but he didn’t know if he was even going to be small like this again. Would it make sense to get a paci when he wouldn’t be small enough to use it? …Or could he use it without being small? That seemed awkward.

“He wants one,” Lark said matter-of-factly. Sparrow glared at him, wondering how his brother could be so sure like that. “We can go shopping and get you one, and get a cup since you like that, too.”

“I like the sippy cup…” Sparrow said shyly, nodding.

“We can get you stuff with wolves on it!” Nicky said, and Sparrow’s eyes got very big. “That’ll be really cute!”

“Yeah…!” Sparrow squeaked out.

“Do we ask someone to take us, then?” Grant asked.

“My mama can take us,” Nicky said, a big, proud grin on his face.

“Cool, then Sparrow?” Grant started, waiting for Sparrow to look at him. “You’re gonna have to wear big kid clothes. You can’t wear a onesie to the store.”

“But I don’t wanna!” Sparrow whined.

“He can wear a onesie!” Nicky insisted.

Grant could feel a headache coming on, realizing how difficult this would be with two regressors on their hands.

Chapter Text

“These ones are the biggest ones, so they’re the easiest to use,” Nicky explained to Sparrow as he pulled a 2-pack of 16m+ pacifiers off the hook. “That’s what I’ve got, at least, but if you want littler ones you can get them, but I dunno why you’d want a littler one.”

“I like these ones…” Sparrow said as he picked a pack off the hook. One of the pacis had a wolf in the center while the other had stars. Lark snorted a laugh beside him.

“Gee, I wonder why you like those,” he teased. Sparrow narrowed his eyes and stuck out his tongue.

“Is there anything else you want, Sparrow?” Terry asked. “You said you wanted a sippy cup, right?” He faced the wall of cups, and Sparrow spun around still with Nicky’s hand in his. “What about these?” Terry held up a 2-pack of cups labeled as ‘Tropical Rainforest’. One cup was orange with a smiling toucan while the other was green with a cheetah printed on the front.

“Cute!” Sparrow squeaked out, snatching the pack away from Terry. “Look at it, Nicky!”

“It’s cute!” Nicky said, absolutely beaming.

“How about you put ‘em in the buggy, and you guys can look at toys or something?” Grant suggested. He had to laugh when Sparrow took off running over to his dad and Nicky’s parents. Nicky ran after him, smacking into Sparrow while he put his stuff in the buggy.

“Did you find some things you like, honey?” Morgan asked sweetly, and Sparrow beamed up at her.

“Yeah! Nicky helped me!” Sparrow said.

“And all this is…good? Okay?” Henry asked, still unsure as he stared down at the pacifiers and sippy cups in the buggy. He remembered the nightmare that it was when Sparrow was an actual toddler to get him to give up his pacifier, how quickly that fell into constant crying and fighting. Henry could remember giving up, exhausted, and letting him have his pacifier back just to stop the tears, but he also remembered the day Mercedes cut his pacifier. That was…an awful day. How badly might this go?

“I mean, as long as they don’t use them constantly and give themselves breaks, there’s not much to worry about,” Jodie said with a shrug. “Their teeth should be fine.”

“Oh, I didn’t even think about the teeth thing…” Henry winced. The twins already needed braces…

“Let’s go look at toys…” Nicky whispered to Sparrow, taking his hand once again to pull him along. Sparrow followed giddily as they made their way toward the aisle filled with rattles, dancing toys, musical toys, puzzles, and push-carts. There was a pen of stuffed animals as well that Sparrow made a beeline toward, and he gasped as he found a wolf inside.

“Nicky!” Sparrow squeaked, dropping Nicky’s hand to hold up the toy. “Look!”

“Cute!” Nicky cooed. He jammed the side of his finger in his mouth to gnaw on while Sparrow looked over the little plush wolf. The wolf plush was fairly long and floppy with soft fur and two icy blue eyes. As Nicky looked at it, he had an idea. “D’you wanna d’ess it up?” he asked Sparrow, who looked a bit confused.

“What do you mean…?” he asked, looking down at his wolf plush. He already planned to make some cute little bracelets for it, but he didn’t know about dress up.

“Come with me!” Nicky said, grabbing Sparrow by the hand again to head toward the baby clothes. He searched around for what he wanted, gasping in delight when he saw what he wanted. “Here!” he squeaked out, and he grabbed a little denim jacket off the rack. It was positively tiny, but it looked like the perfect size for the wolf. Well…except in the arms.

“It doesn’t fit…” Sparrow pouted as he watched Nicky put the jacket on the plush. The sleeves flopped around wildly, and Sparrow could only liken them to the wavy guy outside of a car dealership.

“We’re gonna cut the sleeves off,” Nicky said. Sparrow just looked at him with confusion on his face, so Nicky tried to explain. “We can make a battle jacket for your wolf, and he’ll be really cool!”

Sparrow gasped, eyes wide, as he looked down at his wolf plushie excitedly. Nicky mentioned that they needed fabric for the patches, and that only made Sparrow more excited. “Can we get f’ower- flower fla- fabric?”

“We can,” Nicky said with a nod. He thought flowers might look silly, but it was Sparrow’s toy, so he needed to be nice. “Let’s go look!”

The two of them ran off toward the arts and crafts section hand-in-hand, barreling down the aisle filled with fabric bolts, stuffing, yarn, and most importantly, fat quarters. Sparrow stared at their options, wrinkling his nose up at the superheroes, princesses, and ugly red-white-and-blue fabrics. He looked all over for what he wanted, only looking away when he heard Nicky gasp.

“Here,” he said as he grabbed a pack of four different fabrics. All four were florals, each calico a different color, with poppies, daisies, roses, and leaves making up the pretty fabrics. Sparrow squealed and hopped in place. “You like these?” Nicky asked, already proud for how well he did.

“I like ‘em!” Sparrow said, giggling.

Above their heads, the music cut off and the loud speakers crackled to life. “Attention shoppers, would Nicholas and Sparrow please head to the electronics counter. Your party is waiting for you. Again, would Nicholas and Sparrow please head to the electronics counter!”

“Uh oh,” Nicky said, snickering. “They think we got lost.”

“We know what we’re doing,” Sparrow said, rolling his eyes. “Probably Father getting worried, though…” he mumbled. “I don’t think he likes regression.”

“He’s prob’ly scared,” Nicky said with a shrug. He squeezed Sparrow’s hand as they slowly started toward the electronics department. “My mama and dad were scared, too, and it took a little while for them to be okay…”

“Hope he’s gonna be okay…” Sparrow said. “I’m having fun…”

“That’s more important than your dad,” Nicky said. He could feel himself starting to slip out of his regression, especially with Sparrow seeming upset. “He’s stupid if he thinks badly about you being small, and you should still do what makes you feel better.”

“Thanks…” Sparrow said, a little shy smile on his face as he leaned against Nick’s arm. They made their way toward the electronics counter, but they heard Henry before they saw him.

“There you boys are!” he shouted, shuffling over to scoop up Sparrow. “We were worried sick! You kids can’t just run off without telling someone where you are!”

“Sorry…” Sparrow said as his dad sat him back down.

“We were getting stuff for his wolf,” Nicholas explained, holding up the fabric and jacket. Terry snorted a laugh, leaning his chin on Nick’s shoulder.

“You’re gonna make a battle jacket for his wolf, I take it?” he asked, teasing tone in his voice.

“It’s gonna be really cute,” Nick said, snickering. He swore just having Terry back around helped lull him back into his regression, though Nicky didn’t know if it stuck as much as usual. He wasn’t sure if he liked that or not…

“You picked out a wolf?” Lark asked Sparrow, looking over the toy with interest. “What’re you gonna name it?” he asked.

“Um…” Sparrow wrinkled his nose up in thought. “I think…Sage.” He liked the name, and it was easy to say or spell, just in case Sparrow felt too small to say something more complicated.

“Do you have everything you wanted to get, Sparrow?” Henry asked, so Sparrow nodded. Really, he only wanted his pacifiers and his sippy cups, so getting his wolf and accessories were a bonus. Certainly a great bonus to make up for putting on big kid clothes. “Alright, then let’s get out of here. Do you want to put your wolf in the buggy?”

“No, I wanna hold it,” Sparrow insisted, clutching his toy to his chest.

As they started toward the front of the store, Sparrow glanced over at Terry and Nicky. The two of them hugged each other close, Nicky’s head tucked under Terry’s chin and his arms around his middle while Terry rubbed his shoulder. Sparrow wanted to talk more with Nicky, but he seemed tired…

“Everything okay, Sparrow?” Grant asked, startling him out of his thoughts.

“Yeah, ‘m okay…” Sparrow said. He watched Grant reach to take his hand, and he smiled as he held on tightly to Grant’s hand.

Lark marched ahead of them all with a jar of jam in one hand and a box of Legos in the other. He seemed perfectly content, which Sparrow thought was very silly. Grant grinned down at him, and he squeezed his hand.

“What’re you laughing at? You think Lark’s silly?”

“He’s silly,” Sparrow said, giggling.

“We should get all your stuff out of the buggy and have you march up there with him,” Grant teased.

“Nooooo,” Sparrow said, laughing. He buried his face in Grant’s arm. “Make Nicky do that.”

“I don’t think Nicky wants to be that silly,” Grant said. “That’s an Oak boys thing.”

“Noooooo!” Sparrow insisted, but he knew Grant was right.

They went to the Foster house after their little trip to the store, which Nicky was happy about since it meant he could get their sewing supplies. As they made it through the door, he dragged Terry upstairs to his bedroom, not bothering to check if the others were behind them.

“Woah, woah, okay!” Terry yelped when he nearly faceplanted into the top step. “Why are we running?” he asked, following Nicky into his bedroom.

“I want my jacket!” Nicky said over his shoulder. He grabbed it out of his closet and held it out toward Terry. “Help!”

Terry snorted a laugh, but he helped Nicky get his baby battle jacket on. “Did you wanna put your paci on the clip?” he asked. Nicky nodded, and he fished his paci out of his bag to hand to Terry, who fixed it onto the clip on his jacket. “There you go,” he said, holding up the paci for Nicky to take.

Nicky beamed, and he dug in his closet for toys, tossing his water doodle mat out as well as his toy controller and several stuffed animals, musical toys, and action figures. Then he thought about it for a moment…and he grabbed a pullup. “Be right back!” he yelped over his shoulder.

“What’re you d—oh,” Terry watched him run off, slightly confused. As Nicky disappeared, Grant, Lark, and Sparrow made their way upstairs. Sparrow held his wolf against his chest, and he held one of his new sippy cups up to his mouth.

“We had to get him some juice before he would come upstairs,” Grant explained, snickering.

“Where’d Nicky go?” Lark asked, jumping onto Nick’s bed.

“He went to the bathroom, so he’ll be back in a second,” Terry said with a shrug. Sparrow plopped down beside Lark, laying back against the bed with his cup balanced in his hand. The sight made Terry coo, and he leaned over Sparrow to see his face. “I take it you like your cup?” he asked. Sparrow nodded.

“How’re you guys gonna make a jacket for your wolf?” Grant asked. Sparrow grabbed the bag from Lark to pull out the denim jacket, and he held it out for Grant to see. Then he grabbed the fabric, mumbling around his cup as if that explained anything.

“I’m back!” Nicky squeaked out, darting over to Terry for a hug.

“Yayyy!” Terry cooed, hugging him tightly. “Did you wanna start on the jacket with Sparrow?”

“Uh! Yeah!” Nicky ran over to his desk to grab some markers, and he grabbed the scissors.

“Ah—let me have those!” Terry fussed, swiping the scissors from him quickly. Nicky shrugged and flopped down on the floor, patting the space beside him for Sparrow to sit.

“We need the s’eeves off’a the jacket,” Nicky said, laying the jacket out. He looked at Terry expectantly, so Terry cut off the sleeves for him. With them off, Nicky put the jacket on Sage just to make extra sure it fit, and he beamed happily when he saw how perfectly it fit.

“It works gooder now—better now,” Sparrow said, blushing brightly.

“What patches you want?” Nicky asked. He laid out their fabrics, trying to figure out how many patches they could put on the vest without it looking too full.

“Want one to say Sage…” Sparrow said. He tried to look at Nicky’s jacket for inspiration. “Can one say baby wolf?” he asked sheepishly. Nicky nodded, and he wrote it out in pencil on the fabric. They sketched out several more patches, ones with little doodles of hearts or smiley faces, one with ‘little one’ written on it, and one in Grant’s handwriting that said ‘hugs for love’ that he protested as long as he could. Sparrow’s damned puppy eyes won in the end, though.

Terry cut out the patches, and he sewed them on while Sparrow and Nicky watched. Thankfully, Grant and Lark played video games so he didn’t have that much of an audience while he worked.

“Okay, here we go,” Terry said, fixing the jacket on the wolf plush. “Did you wanna button everything up?” he asked.

“No, leave it…” Sparrow said. He hugged his wolf close, smiling big. “Thank you!”

“Of course,” Terry said, leaning over to muss Sparrow’s hair. Sparrow squeaked, giggling, and Terry cooed at him. However, as he did, Nicky nudged his other hand. “Jealous?” Terry asked, teasing tone in his voice as Nicky glared at him. At least Terry still did pet his hair, and that got a smile out of Nicky.

“Look at Sage’s jacket!” Sparrow said, hopping to his feet to show off his plush to Lark and Grant.

“Cool,” Lark said, smiling. “Are you gonna make some pins for it, too?” he asked.

“Yeah, but not right now…” Sparrow said, giggling as he cuddled Sage close.

“It looks really good, Sparrow,” Grant said. “I bet Sage really loves his new jacket.”

“He matches Nicky!” Sparrow said proudly. “He likes being like his dads!”

“Dads…?” Nicky looked up at Sparrow with wide eyes. Sparrow plopped down beside him, grinning happily. “We’re both Sage’s daddies?”

“Duh,” Sparrow said, and he held up Sage for Nicky to hug. “We both picked him, and we both maked his jacket!”

Well, this wasn’t what Nicky expected, but he still hugged Sage. When he let go of Sage, Nicky dove for Terry, hugging him tightly. He hid his face in Terry’s tummy, hiding the blush on his face.

Chapter Text

Light poured into the room, and Nicky flinched. He curled into himself on reflex, and he squeezed his eyes shut. He could hear feet pad around the room, slowly, as boards creaked underfoot. Nicky held his nose shut when dust stirred up near his face.

“What’re you doing under there, bud?” came his dad’s voice, and Nicky squeaked, surprised. “You haven’t hidden under me and Mom’s bed since you were—oh.” Jodie stopped himself as he put the pieces together. “Wanna come out, kiddo?”

“No…” Nicky said quietly. “I wanna stay put.”

“Well, that makes it a lot harder to have dinner, y’know…” Jodie said with a grin. He laid down on his belly, chin on his arms and the ends of the comforter over his head while he talked with Nicky. “What’s got you hiding under here?” he asked.

Nicky shrugged. “Don’t wanna talk to everybody…” he said quietly.

“That’s alright. You don’t have to talk to anyone if you don’t want to, but it’s still probably better if you don’t hide under the bed…” Jodie tried. “Is there something wrong? How come you don’t want to be around your friends?”

Nicky shrugged. At his side sat Sage, so he dragged the wolf closer to bury his nose in.

“Oh, who’s that?” Jodie asked, pointing to the wolf. “Did you get a new plushie?”

“It’s mine and Sparrow’s,” Nicky said. “He says we’re both Sage’s daddies…”

“Ah, well that’s cool,” Jodie said.

“When he and Lark got here, he said Sage wanted to be with me, so ‘m watching him…” Nicky explained.

“Are you…alright with that?” Jodie asked. It didn’t seem quite like Nicholas wanted to handle the toy, but Jodie didn’t even know how the two boys ended up with shared custody of a stuffed animal. He knew Sparrow did this whole regression thing, too, but Jodie didn’t know much about Sparrow’s experiences with it. Nor did he really give a shit.

“I dunno,” Nicky said, shrugging once again.

“Is Sparrow small right now, like you?” Jodie asked. Nicky nodded. “Are you alright with that?”

Nicky whined, and he buried his face in Sage’s fur.

“Come on, bud, it’s okay. You can tell Dad what’s going on,” Jodie tried.

“I…I don’t mind Sparrow being small,” Nicky said. “I just dunno what to do. He’s not like me, and he don’t get scared, but I think ‘m always scared…”

“Well, maybe he’s more scared than you think, and he needs someone there to show him it’s alright to be small,” Jodie tried. Nicky rolled his eyes, but Jodie didn’t know what other angle to try. “I’m just saying, maybe the two of you can learn from each other? I know you usually like playing with Terry more when you’re like this, but maybe, y’know, being with Sparrow would help both of you not be so scared? Maybe that’s why Sage wanted to be with you.”

At least it seemed like Nicholas considered it for a moment, staring at a spot on the floor with deep concentration. Then, “Is everybody here yet?” he asked.

“Everybody’s here except for Erin, but she said she’s running a little late,” Jodie explained. “But, all your friends are here, all their dads and moms are here, and I think Ron is trying to teach Scam Likely how to use a computer…and it’s already got, like, four viruses on it.”

…That got a laugh, so Jodie gave Nicky a little grin. The smile grew wider when he got one in return. “If you wanna come downstairs and play with your friends, I’m sure they’d be happy to have you back.”

Nicky took a deep breath, and he nodded. “I’ll try…” he said, and Jodie cheered. He scooted out from under the bed with Sage in his arms, and Jodie nudged him toward the door with a hand on his shoulder. “I gotta go to my room first,” Nicky said, though, so Jodie nodded.

“Alright, I’ll be downstairs, then,” he said.

Nicky nodded, and he shuffled off into his room. He tried to dust off Sage since the poor wolf was coated in dust, and he dusted himself off as well, sneezing when it got in his nose. Nicky pulled out his battle jacket for an extra hug, even wrapping his arms around himself for a moment just for that extra hug, and he fastened his paci to his jacket just in case he wanted it.

He didn’t know how he’d feel downstairs, but Nicky wanted to be small. With Sparrow around, though, he didn’t know if that’d last. Nicky hoped once he could glue himself to Terry’s side that he’d stay small, but even just thinking about trying to help Sparrow made him feel that soft, fuzzy feeling start to fade. He tried not to think about it, and instead Nicky just grabbed another stuffed animal, his childhood bunny that he adored, and with the two toys he made his way downstairs.

“Nicky!” Sparrow squeaked when he saw Nicky make his way down. “Where were you?”

“Why are you dusty?” Terry asked, running his fingers through Nicky’s hair despite the squeaky protests. “Stay still!” he laughed, using both hands to dust Nicky until he laughed, too.

“Um—I think Sage wants’a go back to you,” Nicky said, handing over the wolf to Sparrow.

“Are you sure?” Sparrow asked, but he took Sage back. “He said he wanted to make you smile…”

“He wants you,” Nicky insisted. “I’ve got my bunny…”

“You know, wolves and bunnies don’t usually get along,” Lark said, leaning over Nicky’s shoulder. “You guys should probably keep the two of them separate, or Sage might eat your bunny.”

Nicky squeaked, eyes wide in horror.

“Lark, don’t tell him that!” Grant fussed. At least that was enough to land Nicky in Grant’s arms for a hug on the sofa.

“Sage is too nice to eat bunnies!” Sparrow insisted. “He’s a lovewolf like me!”

“Maybe he’s a lovewolf, but wolves still get hungryyyy,” Lark said, cackling as he hugged his brother from behind and dragged him onto the sofa. Sparrow yelped, squirming in Lark’s hold.

“Lovewolves are vegan!” he insisted as he struggled. “They don’t eat bunnies!”

“Fiiiiiine,” Lark said with a deep sigh. He released Sparrow, who immediately returned the attack on him, dragging Lark onto the floor. “This isn’t very lovewolf, brother!”

“Yes it is!” Sparrow said, though, and Terry had to laugh. He maneuvered around the twins, taking a seat beside Grant and Nicky.

“So, how come you took off running earlier?” Terry asked, resting a hand on Nicky’s leg. “You seemed scared…”

Nicky shrugged, and he stuck his paci in his mouth. Maybe they wouldn’t make him talk if he had it.

“You’re still nervous about not being the only small one, aren’t you?” Grant asked. Nicky’s eyes widened in surprise. “It makes sense,” Grant said with a shrug. “You were the only one for a long time, and you had all our attention, and you know what that looked like. Now it’s all divided, and it’s different.”

“Not much of a sharer, huh?” Terry asked with a little grin, hoping to keep Nicky from being too upset.

“Didn’t have to before,” Nicky said, shaking his head. “Sparrow’s okay to be small, but I dunno what to do…”

“That’s okay, lil guy,” Terry said. “We still wanna take care of you, and Sparrow still likes helping. That’s why he wanted you to have Sage; he thought it might help you be comfortable.”

“Oh…”

Well, now Nicky felt bad for pushing Sage away. Still, though, it felt wrong to take Sparrow’s toy for himself, even if Sparrow insisted they share it.

“You still have dust on you…” Grant grumbled, picking lint off Nicky’s shoulders. It made him laugh, and Nicky buried his face in his bunny to laugh. “Seriously, where were you hiding?”

“Un’er Mama’s bed,” Nicky said.

“Your mom needs to vacuum more,” Grant said, laughing.

“Maybe you should play with the twins, and that’ll dust you off,” Terry suggested.

“I’m not that dusty!” Nicky insisted, a pout on his face.

“Uh huh, go ahead, then,” Terry said, nodding toward the twins on the floor. Lark looked up, confusion on his brow. Nicky huffed, and he handed Terry his bunny. Then in one quick jump, Nicky landed on top of a screaming Lark.

“This will be a most incredible battle!” Lark shouted, rolling over with Nicky to pin him to the floor.

“Be careful, Lark!” Sparrow squeaked out, diving over to help Nicky.

“Brother!” Lark lamented as his brother teamed up with Nicky. The two regressors pinned Lark to the floor, tickling him as Lark screeched and thrashed around wildly. “Two against one isn’t fair!”

“Would it be fair if it were you and Sparrow against Nicky?” Terry asked, snickering.

“That is beside the point!” Lark shouted. Sparrow bit him, and Lark tried to bite back. Nicky scratched him, not on purpose, so Lark scratched back on purpose. Still, though, Lark laughed brightly. Once Sparrow and Nicky let him up, Lark tried to suck in breaths, chest heaving, and he grinned wildly. “That was exhilarating. Round two?”

“Maybe a little less fighting, and a little more…playing?” Grant suggested. Lark rolled his eyes, groaning as he fell back against the floor.

“Nicky, wanna play wolves?” Sparrow asked.

“Um…” Well, the answer was no, Nicky knew, but he didn’t know if he should say that or not. He didn’t really like playing wolves, and the last time he tried, he ended up hurt. Granted, this time they were in his living room on the carpet, so there wasn’t as much opportunity to hurt himself, but Nicky really didn’t want to take that chance… Was it mean to tell Sparrow no, though? He was small, too, and Nicky didn’t want him to have a bad time just because he didn’t want to play the same games Sparrow liked…

Terry saw that look on Nicky’s face, that worried look of a little boy who felt overwhelmed. That look had been on his face earlier, too, when Sparrow handed over Sage to Nicky and said he wanted to be with Nicky. That look was the last warning before Nicky shot off like a rocket up the stairs, the last warning before Sparrow cried with worry that he messed up with Nicky. Terry slipped off the sofa to sit with the two of them, hoping to prevent a round two of that.

“I think Nicky might want to play something else, Sparrow,” Terry said. Nicky squeaked, eyes wide and watery, so Terry took his hand. Sparrow looked at Terry with wet eyes, fidgeting in place with the ends of his hair. “You know what Nicky usually likes to play when he’s small. He likes video games, his toys, and he likes gentle games. Playing wolves can be a bit more dangerous; remember when Nicky got hurt?”

“I remember…” Sparrow mumbled.

“What else could you guys play that you’d both like, then?” Terry asked. He glanced over at Nicky, tears slipping down his red cheeks. “…What’s wrong, Nicky?”

“D-don’t wa-wanna be bad to Sp-Sparrow…” Nicky cried.

“Hey, no, no, you’re not being bad…” Terry insisted. “You guys are still figuring out how to play together when you’re both small, and that’s okay. It’s okay if you two don’t always want to play the same thing.”

Nicky shook his head, sniffling hard as he wiped his nose.

“How about we play something all of us like,” Grant suggested. Both Nicky and Sparrow looked up at him with sad looks, and that did do a number on Grant’s heart. “We could play some video games or something?”

“Okay…” Sparrow said, nodding.

“How’s that sound to you, Nicky?” Terry asked.

He didn’t want to make things any more difficult. Sparrow was okay with video games, and it was something that Nicky didn’t have to worry so much about… “Okay…” he said, nodding. He stuck his paci in his mouth once again, shying back into his shoulders.

“Think you can help me set it up, Nicky?” Grant asked as he got to his feet. He opened the entertainment cabinet to see the Xbox as well as the stack of games beside it, and Nicky crawled over to help him pick out a game. With Sonic All Star Racing selected, Grant passed around controllers.

“It’s only four players, so who’s playing?” Terry asked.

“I’m playing!” Lark said with a hand in the air. Terry handed him a controller. “I call being Eggman!”

“You didn’t need to call that one,” Grant deadpanned. “Sparrow?”

“I wanna play…” he said, nodding, so Grant gave him a controller.

“Do you want to play, or do you want to help me, Nicky?” Terry asked. He knew how they usually played, but he didn’t want to take the option of being in control from Nicky.

“I wanna do it…” Nicky said, much to Terry’s surprise.

“Oh, alright,” Terry said with a nod. “Who’re you going to play as? Sonic?”

“Shadow…” Nicky said, a little grin on his face. He used to play as Sonic, and he liked Sonic, but there was something fun about being Shadow. He felt a little more relatable, and he looked way cooler than Sonic.

“Well, then I’ll cheer you on this time,” Terry said, snickering. He sat back against the sofa, and he tugged Nicky onto his lap. Nicky made himself comfortable, and he leaned back against Terry’s chest.

“Then I guess I’ll play, too,” Grant said with a grin. He sat down on the sofa, and Sparrow climbed up beside him. “Who’re you gonna play as, Sparrow?”

“I like playing Knuckles,” Sparrow said. He curled up beside Grant, head on his shoulder. “You should be Sonic…”

“Yeah, I was either going to be him or Metal Sonic,” Grant said, smiling down at Sparrow. Why did he have to look so sweet? It was far too adorable.

Sparrow wrinkled up his nose and shook his head. “Don’t be Metal Sonic.”

“Okay, fine, I see how it is,” Grant said with a laugh.

“Grant isn’t cool enough to be Metal Sonic,” Lark said, plopping down on Sparrow’s other side with Sparrow’s paci in his hand. “D’you want this? You seem sad.”

Sparrow took his paci with a little ‘thank you’, and he popped it in his mouth before Grant could question him. He saw Nicky look up at them out of the corner of his eye, but Sparrow didn’t acknowledge the look. Really, he didn’t want to make Nicky worry more; Sparrow already felt like he messed up with offering him Sage earlier, so he didn’t want to make this worse.

“Are we all set?” Terry asked, glancing up at the sofa.

“Let’s start!” Lark said, punching the ‘play’ button.

Nicky saw his mama watching them from the doorway, and he saw Mr. Oak watching as well. He hoped his mama wasn’t too worried. The last thing Nicky wanted was to make her worry more when he thought they finally had things settled down. She talked to Mr. Oak, and that was distracting, nearly costing Nicky the race.

“Watch out, Nicky!” Terry squeaked out, and Nicky yelped in surprise, righting himself on the course. “You’re in first place; you don’t wanna lose on the first race, do you?”

“No, I gotta kick everybo’by’s butts…!” Nicky said, a little grin on his face.

“That’s right!” Terry cooed, hugging him tightly. “You’ve gotta beat Grant!”

“Why does it always have to be me?” Grant fussed, but he knew exactly why.

“Gotta beat Grant…!” Nicky said, and he giggled shyly.

“Yeah!” Sparrow tried.

“Now you guys are just ganging up against me,” Grant lamented. “What did I ever do to you? I thought we were friends, and I’m always nice to you.”

“Babies gotta win, though,” Sparrow said, grinning at Grant as he passed him on the course.

“Plus, it’s just fun to win against you,” Lark added, and he smacked his car against Grant’s.

Grant sighed dramatically, but at least it seemed like Nicky and Sparrow could unite under a common goal: winning against him. Hopefully they wouldn’t notice if he let them win a few times… As long as he still won against Lark, he could lose to the babies.

Chapter Text

The door opened, and light poured into the room. Morgan squeezed her eyes shut tighter on reflex, but the second she heard a little sniffle, she opened her eyes. In front of her stood a very sad-looking Nicholas, who trembled where he stood, arms crossed over his belly protectively.

“Nicholas?” Morgan sat up, concerned, and she placed a hand on his arm. “Oh, you’re burning up, baby…” She moved her hand to Nicholas’s forehead even as he whined and squirmed under her touch. He felt clammy, sweaty, and his skin was far warmer than it was meant to be.

“S-sick, Mama…” he finally managed out, little tears welling in his eyes.

“Did you get sick somewhere?” Morgan asked. Nicky nodded, which earned him a coo as Morgan got to her feet. “Can you show me?” she asked, so Nicky led the way out of the room. Outside, Morgan noticed he already dressed differently than when he went to bed. Spiderman pajama pants and a gray shirt were replaced by an old Aruba shirt that belonged to Jodie. It broke Morgan’s heart to think her baby had suffered so much without her knowing…

Nicky led the way into his room, and the tears came quickly. His bed was a mess, and Morgan sighed. She petted his hair when he hugged her. “It’s alright, baby, I promise…I’ll get this cleaned up, okay?”

“S-sorry…”

“No, no, it’s not your fault, Nicholas,” Morgan said. She rubbed his shoulder to hopefully soothe the poor boy, but he just cried. “What did you do with your PJs, honey?”

“Th-throwed ‘em ‘way…” Nicky said. “In the b-bathroom…”

“Alright, that’s alright,” Morgan said. “How about…” She really didn’t know where to start. The last time Nicholas was sick, she had Jodie to pass Nicholas to so she could clean up, but he wasn’t there… “Jodie, if you’d come along, that’d be great…” she grumbled to herself. When he didn’t come immediately, Morgan figured the first thing she really needed to focus on was Nicholas.

“Nicholas, honey, can we go downstairs and get you some medicine?” she asked, but Nicky whined pitifully. “I know, I know, but Mama’s going to get you some juice, too, and maybe a popsicle…”

“Popsicle…” Nicky mumbled, his fingernail caught in his mouth.

“Yeah, so let’s go downstairs real quick, okay?” she tried. Nicholas nodded, and as they turned around, a portal opened up for Jodie to step through. Morgan sighed in relief.

“What’s—oh, that’s…yikes,” Jodie said as he poked his head into Nicholas’s bedroom. “Feeling bad, buddy?”

Nicky whined, and he reached out for his dad to pick him up. Jodie didn’t hesitate, lifting him up easily.

“If you can get him some Tylenol, that’d be great, Jodie,” Morgan said through a yawn. “I told him he could have a popsicle, too, and get him some juice…”

“Can do,” Jodie said with a nod. “You got all…that?”

“I’ll get it,” Morgan reassured. So, Jodie nodded, and he took Nicholas downstairs despite his whining.

“Mama…” Nicholas whined into Jodie’s shoulder.

“We’ll go back to Mama in a few minutes, buddy,” Jodie said. He set Nicholas down on a stool at the kitchen island while he went to get the medicine. He measured out some liquid Tylenol, but then he realized he needed to get Nicky’s drink—“Do you know where your cups are?” he asked, looking over his shoulder at Nicky. The pitiful thing pointed to one of the cabinets, and Jodie grabbed a sippy cup. “Do you want apple juice, or do you want some strawberry lemonade?” Jodie asked.

“Lemomade…” Nicky said quietly. Jodie filled up his cup, screwed the lid on tightly, and handed the cup and medicine to the boy.

“Over the lips, through the gums, look out tummy, here it comes,” Jodie said, hoping to get a little smile out of the boy. It didn’t work, but at least Nicky took his medicine. He grimaced and stuck his cup in his mouth to wash the taste out. “Alright, and then a popsicle, yeah?”

“Want purple…” Nicky said, so Jodie snatched a purple otterpop out of the freezer. He opened it and handed it over, and Nicky happily stuck it in his mouth while he leaned against his dad. “Feel icky, Daddy…”

“I bet you do,” Jodie said, rubbing the boy’s back. “Has Mama taken your temperature yet?” he asked. Nicky shook his head, so Jodie scooped him up. “Let’s go do that, then…”

He took Nicky back upstairs and to the bathroom, setting Nicky down on the toilet lid while he grabbed the thermometer from the medicine cabinet. Jodie tried not to look at the trashcan stuffed with soiled clothes; as much as he tried to help Morgan and offer his help with clean-up, Jodie really didn’t have the stomach for it. Instead, he turned on the thermometer and kept his eyes on the shower curtain.

“Alright, open up,” Jodie said, and he stuck the thermometer under Nicky’s tongue. When it beeped, he picked it out of Nicky’s mouth while the poor boy continued to eat his popsicle. “102.3…that’s pretty high, buddy.”

“Feels hotter,” Nicky whined.

“Yeah, I bet so,” Jodie said with a sigh.

“Wanna go’a bed…” Nicky finished his popsicle, and he dropped the wrapper into the trashcan before sticking his arms up for Jodie to pick him back up.

“There you two are…” Morgan said as she poked her head into the room.

“Mama, wanna stay with you…” Nicky whined. Morgan cooed, giving him a small smile.

“You can sleep in my bed, honey, that’s okay. I got your bed cleaned up, but it’ll take a little while for it to dry,” Morgan said.

“Think it’s the flu?” Jodie asked Morgan, confused. “It’s August, so that seems…wrong.”

“I don’t know…” Morgan said, shaking her head. “Nicholas, did you eat anything icky?” she asked.

Nicky shook his head. “Ate the same as Terry, Grant, ‘nd the twins…” he mumbled.

“He’s got a temperature, too,” Jodie said. “Hundred and two.”

Morgan sucked in a breath, worried. “That’s high…” she said. “I’m…gonna go see if I can call the other moms, see if any of the other boys are sick. Nicholas, did you take a shower or something?”

“Tried’a clean up, but it was icky…”

“I’ll get him a bath, Morgan,” Jodie said. Morgan nodded.

“Oh—gimme the trashcan, I’ll take care of that,” she said with her hand out. Jodie hesitantly picked the can up and handed it over with his nose pinched closed. “Try to give him as cool of a bath as he can stand.”

“Will do…” Jodie said as he tried not to gag.

Jodie ran the bath, and he helped Nicky into it, surprised only for a second to see him in a pullup. He supposed it made sense with the whole regression thing, but it just never occurred to him.

“Wanna go’a beeeeed…” Nicky whined, a fresh round of tears welling in his eyes.

“I know, bud, but we’ve gotta make sure you’re clean,” Jodie said. “It’ll help you feel better, I promise.”

“Noooo…” Nicky kicked in the water, wanting out. “Tired, Daddy…”

“I know, I know,” Jodie said, running shampoo through the boy’s sweaty hair. “I’m going as fast as I can, I promise.” Nicky cried, still, so Jodie worked quickly. “Alright, Dad’s gotta go get you some clothes,” he said. After all, he needed some clothes that didn’t come out of the laundry hamper. “Where are your…pullups?” he asked, hoping that Nicky wouldn’t have a fit.

“C’oset, in my bag…” Nicky mumbled.

“I’ll be right back,” Jodie said with a nod. “Don’t fall asleep, Nicholas!”

Luckily, Jodie came back moments later with new pajamas as well as Nicky’s paci. “Want this?” he asked, stooping down with the paci in his hand. Nicky swiped it from him and settled it between his teeth while Jodie pulled the plug in the tub and grabbed a towel. He dried the boy off and helped him dress by the time Morgan came back.

“Well, none of the other kids are sick…” Morgan said as she came back. “So, sounds like the flu.” She leaned against the doorframe as Jodie tried to instruct a very, very sleepy, and very fussy little boy to put his feet in the pajama pants.

“Alright, alright, you don’t need pants,” Jodie said, giving up when the tears started to fall again. He pretended he couldn’t hear Morgan snickering at him. He looked up at her, still confused about Nicholas having the flu. “Shouldn’t the flu be in, like, the winter?”

“Not necessarily,” Morgan said, shaking her head. “Who knows, maybe he caught it in Hell. Maybe the water park that Darryl took the boys to wasn’t as snot-free as it could’ve been.”

“Well, in that case the other boys should be sick soon, too,” Jodie reasoned. He felt Nicky smack against him and stretch his arms out to be carried, so Jodie scooped him back up. Morgan cooed at the sight.

“It’s possible, but who knows,” Morgan said. “When I called Samantha, Terry apparently overheard us, so he’s dying to come over tomorrow…”

“Terry…” Nicky whined.

“Tomorrow, honey,” Morgan said. Nicky pouted, turning his head the other way.

“I think he’s about spent,” Jodie said, snickering.

“Let’s get him to bed…” Morgan said. She led the way to her bedroom, and Jodie laid Nicky down, handing him his cup of juice. Nicky took his paci out for a moment to drink his juice, sleepy eyes quickly fluttering shut before either Morgan or Jodie could say goodnight. “Thank you,” Morgan whispered to Jodie, who gave a little shrug.

“I’m his dad; this is what I’m for, right?” he asked, a little grin on his face.

“You can be a good dad once in a while, hm?” Morgan teased, and she gave him a quick kiss. Jodie tried to chase after her lips, but Morgan held up a finger to stop him. “Did you need to head back?” she asked.

“I can stay the night, help make sure he’s okay,” Jodie said with a shrug. “I don’t think all three of us fit in the bed still, but I can stay downstairs.”

“I think there’s room if you want to stay with us,” Morgan said. “You might have to keep a bucket on your side, just in case.”

Jodie cringed, which Morgan snickered at. She loved to tease him, and under other circumstances it might have been fun, but with sickness…Jodie shuddered.

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to,” Morgan said.

“I’ll stay up here,” Jodie said with a sigh. “At least if he wakes up, we can both be here…”

“I knew there was a reason I like you,” Morgan teased, and Jodie scoffed.

“She just likes me now, I see how it is,” he said as he sat on the edge of the bed to take off his shoes. Morgan laughed to herself as she went to grab some towels and a couple of buckets. Jodie laid down, and Nicky rolled over to curl up against him. The poor kid felt so warm, and already he sweated. Jodie kept an arm around him, brushing his thumb against Nicky’s cheek as the boy sighed.

Morgan sat down a bucket on Jodie’s side of the bed right by his hand, and she set another one down on her side in reach. She crawled into bed, and Nicky rolled over to cuddle against her, his head on her collarbone as Morgan hugged him close.

“Did you ever think he’d be like this still at thirteen?” Jodie asked, watching the two of them lovingly.

“I didn’t, but I’m not mad about it,” Morgan said, running her fingers through Nicky’s hair. “I don’t care how big he gets, he’ll always be my baby…”

“Yeah, I think he agrees with that,” Jodie said, snickering to himself. Morgan rolled her eyes, which only made him laugh more.

Nicky tried not to let them know he was still awake, but it made him happy to know his parents still loved him as their baby. He felt safe, loved, and happy in his mama’s arms with his daddy right beside them. So, even if his tummy hurt badly and his head felt stuffy enough to make him even sicker, he felt right having them both taking care of him. He was their baby, forever, and they loved taking care of him…

Chapter Text

Nicky sniffled from where he slumped on the sofa. His head rested against the arm of the couch, and across his legs was a Minecraft throw blanket that he ran his fingers across soothingly. He still felt hot, but he didn’t want to take his blankie off. Instead, he cuddled a cold stuffed animal that his mama handed him from the freezer. So, cozy enough, Nicky sniffled and whined, watching the windows for any sign of Terry.

He heard his mama’s phone ring, and if he had even the smallest drop of energy, he would have sat up. Instead, Nicky tried to track his mama with glazed-over eyes while she darted into the kitchen after her phone.

“Hi, Samantha!” she said into the phone. Nicky whined, hoping that Terry’s mom was calling to tell his mama they were on their way. “Oh, that’s what I was afraid might happen…” Morgan said, wincing.

Nicky summoned up all his energy to lift his head toward his mama, and she gave him a sympathetic look.

“Mercedes texted me earlier and said the twins woke up sick this morning, too…” Morgan said, and Nicky’s heart dropped. “Have you talked to Carol?” she asked, pausing a moment while Samantha spoke. “Well, knowing Grant, if he is sick, that poor kid is going to hide it…”

“Mama…?” Nicky called. Morgan stepped over just to run her fingers through his hair. Nicky’s tired eyes slid shut, and his cheek hit the sofa arm again.

“I don’t know if it’s a good idea to keep them all together or not…” Morgan said. Nicky whined, burying his face into the sofa. “They might just get sicker together, or keep each other sick…”

“Mama!” Nicky whined. “Mama, Terry!”

“Nicholas, honey…” Morgan tried to shush him, brushing his hair back. “Terry’s sick, too, so he needs his mom to take care of him, okay?”

“Mama, Terryyyy…” Nicky whined. He smacked his arm against the sofa and tossed his blanket off his lap. It was all the energy he had in him, so he glared at his mama.

Morgan sighed. “Is Terry still wanting to come over?” she asked, waiting for Samantha’s response. She pinched the bridge of her nose and nodded. “Alright…if you’re fine with staying to help, I guess he can come over. And I’ll call the other moms and see if they want to have a sick party or something…” she grumbled. “Just take you’re time getting here, don’t let Terry get too worked up or something… We’ll see you guys in a little bit.”

As soon as she hung up, Nicky dragged himself up to lean against the back of the sofa. “Terry?”

“Terry’s coming over, honey,” Morgan said. She picked up his sippy cup as she dialed another number, noticing the cup was empty. “Jodie! Can you get Nicholas some juice!”

“Coming!” Jodie shouted from upstairs.

The front door opened up, and Nicky summoned up every ounce of energy left in himself to sit up. In first came Ron with a large backpack on his shoulder and a big tumbler of soda, which Nicky didn’t care about, then came Samantha practically holding Terry up. Terry wore an oversized hoodie and shorts, sneakers replaced with slide-on sandals, and his face was entirely pale. He shuffled inside still with a hand around his belly, sad and pitiful.

“Terry!” Nicky squeaked out, coughing roughly. At least that seemed to brighten Terry up, and he let go of his mom to shuffle over to Nicky. Terry plopped down beside him, and Nicky curled up at his side. “You look sick…” Nicky whimpered.

“You don’t look much better,” Terry said before a cough tore through him. “Eugh…I hate this.”

Nicky hated to see him so sick, so he tried to think of anything he could do to help. He looked down at the stuffed bunny in his arms, and he passed it to Terry.

“What’s this for?” Terry asked. He sank into the sofa cushions further, trying to move enough to let Nicky cuddle up to him.

“Mama put her in the freezer to make her cold…” Nicky said. “Thought you might be warm, and she can help…”

Terry snickered at that, and he held open his arms for Nicky to curl up with him. “Right now, I’m super cold and hot at the same time, so I think I need both you and the bunny,” he said. Nicky didn’t hesitate to curl up with him, wrapping an arm around Terry protectively.

“Okay, boys, we’ve got drinks refilled, and we have some pails here just in case…” Samantha said as she dropped off Terry’s drink, Nicky’s refill, and an emptied trashcan. “If you need anything, let us know, okay? Don’t try to just rely on each other. I know how you two get.”

Terry rolled his tired eyes, coughing again. He smacked a hand over his mouth when that cough nearly catapulted his belly upward, waiting just a moment for everything to settle back down. “We’re okay, Mom…”

“Clearly,” Samantha said, pressing a kiss to his forehead. Terry whined at that, but Samantha just brushed his hair back. “Be sure you still drink. I don’t want to see you sicker because you’re dehydrated.”

“Okay, Mom…” Terry whined. At least that seemed to satisfy Samantha, so she took her leave. Unfortunately neither Terry nor Nicky got an opportunity to settle into their cuddles before there was another knock on the door. They watched as well as they could as Jodie opened the door to the Oak-Garcias.

Now, where Nicky and Terry braced themselves for the usual gusto with which the twins entered a house, ready for loud voices or running that would certainly hurt their heads, none of that came. Instead, Henry spoke. “Hey, Jodie, we’re getting the boys all together for a sick party, apparently?” he said, questioning tone in his voice. In his arms, he held Sparrow, the poor boy looking entirely exhausted with his plush wolf in his arms and his eyes reamed red.

“Yeah, that’s what Morgan said,” Jodie said, stepping to the side to let them inside.

“It might be easiest this way,” Mercedes said. “I know our boys just haven’t been able to move all morning, but we finally got them able to keep down liquids, so…here we are.” She held Lark, hiking him up so she didn’t drop him.

“Well, you can drop them off with Nicholas and Terry, then,” Jodie said.

Henry and Mercedes dropped off the twins beside Nicky and Terry, and immediately Lark cuddled up to Sparrow, holding him close while he coughed.

“Baby, don’t cough with your mouth open…” Mercedes fussed gently, reaching out with a napkin to wipe up the drool that spilled out of Lark’s mouth.

“How are you two doing?” Henry asked Nicky and Terry, who groaned. “Yeah, that’s about what I figured…we’ve got some tea that might help you boys all feel better, though.”

“Noooooo, Daddy…” Lark whined, burying his face in Sparrow’s arm.

“Icky…” Sparrow whined, coughing into his elbow.

“Hey, how’s it going in here?” Morgan asked as she poked her head into the room. Nicky reached over to the coffee table to grab his sippy cup, sticking it in his mouth before his mama could ask about it.

“Well, looks like we’ve got a very pitiful pile of boys in here…” Mercedes said with a sigh. She held up a thermos, though, and both twins whined loudly. “This might help them feel a bit better, if you think we can get them some drinks ready?”

“Uh…” Morgan looked down at the twins, who looked up at her with pleading, wet eyes. “Maybe we should just try some Tylenol for now,” she said. “It’s almost time for Nicholas to have some more, so we can get all the boys some…”

“Well, we can give them that, and we can give them some of our tea,” Henry said with a shrug. “Trust me, this stuff’s a miracle worker, and we’ve given it to the boys before.”

“Is that the secret stuff you gave Darryl?” Jodie asked, worried. “Because…I don’t think I want my boy to have that.”

“No, no, this is much less potent than what that was,” Henry said with a dismissive wave. “This is a green tea with some embellishments just to help it really work fast.”

“It’s grass…” Sparrow whined, kicking one foot against the sofa.

“Gross…” Terry grimaced.

“Yeah, let’s try the Tylenol first…” Jodie said, mumbling under his breath “and only” so Henry couldn’t hear.

“I’m sure that Darryl would agree that my methods are very effective,” Henry said. “Is he bringing over Grant?”

“I actually just got off the phone with Carol,” Samantha said, leaning against Morgan. “They’re coming over. Darryl just had to pick up Grant off the floor because the poor thing felt too weak to even get up…”

“Uh oh…” Sparrow whispered.

“Well, when they get here, I’m sure Darryl will agree that we can at least try with the tea,” Henry said with a huff.

“Wouldn’t he maybe rethink giving his son tea after what it did to him?” Ron asked, shuddering to remember the terrible sight.

“No, he would want to do whatever might help Grant feel better, Ron,” Henry insisted.

“I don’t think that includes the grass tea…” Ron grumbled.

Terry rolled his eyes, doing his very best to sit up with Nicky so they could be closer to the twins. “How’re you two feeling…” he asked quietly, swallowing thickly to keep his stomach down.

“I don’t like being sick…” Lark whimpered. “My belly hurts, and my head hurts, and this sucks…”

“Feel really bad…” Sparrow said quietly.

“I blame Nick…” Lark said, and Nicky squeaked hard enough to make himself cough.

“Why are you blaming me?!” he asked.

“You were sick last night, now we are, too…” Lark reasoned.

“S’not my fault!” Nicky whined. His mama came in with medicine for each of them, and all four boys downed their medicine with grimaces, finishing off their drinks to wash away the taste.

“Lark, Sparrow, what do you two want to drink?” Morgan asked.

“Not tea…” Sparrow whimpered, hugging Sage closer.

“Do you like ginger ale, honey?” Morgan asked. Sparrow shrugged. “Alright, that’s what I’ve been giving Nicholas, so I’ll get you two some, too, okay?”

“Okay…”

Morgan brought their drinks in, making sure each boy had theirs, as a knock came on the door. She made her way over to answer, letting in Darryl, Carol, and Grant, who was carried by his dad since the poor thing couldn’t hardly move.

“I’m sorry, I know this is a full house, but…I’m hoping seeing his friends might help him a little bit…” Carol said, wincing when she saw the bags under Morgan’s eyes.

“No, no, it’s alright,” Morgan said. She took a peek at Grant, who looked so sad. “Has he gotten sick, or did he just get weak?” she asked.

“He admitted on the way over here that he got sick overnight, but he just didn’t tell us,” Darryl said. “Kid’s always been way too good at knowing when he was about to throw up, so he always made it to the bathroom.”

“Poor thing…” Morgan cooed.

“You wanna sit with the other boys, Grant?” Darryl asked as he carried him over. “Here, sit with Terry and Lark,” he said, setting Grant down before he could say a word.

Grant groaned, his belly hurting, and he drew his legs up protectively. He coughed roughly, tears pricking the corners of his eyes.

“Uh oh…” Nicky said quietly, looking up at Terry. He paid no attention to the very confused look on Darryl’s face.

“Grant…” Sparrow pouted, sitting up well enough to see him. He held out his sippy cup in offering.

“I’m okay, Sparrow,” Grant managed out, though not a one of the boys believed him. He looked up when a cup and straw fell into his line of sight, and he took the drink graciously from Samantha.

“We’re blaming Nick for this…” Lark said, which Nicky protested. Grant smiled, but he couldn’t even get himself to laugh.

“It’s probably more like we went to the waterpark, and it was gross…” Grant grumbled. “Or we’ve been poisoned. One of the two.”

“Daddy brought grass tea if you want it…” Sparrow mumbled, sniffling. “Said your daddy had it before…”

Grant shuddered. “I don’t want that…” he said. He looked around at his friends, trying to pull himself together as he sat up as well as his stomach would allow. “I take it you and Nick are small?” he asked Sparrow, who nodded sadly.

“That doesn’t mean you’ve gotta try to take care of them,” Terry fussed. Grant tried to glare at him, but it didn’t work when he looked so tired. “Just saying. I’m not fussing over Nicky because I feel like shit…”

“I’m not that bad right now,” Grant insisted. “I can help take care of them.”

“Shuddup, idiot…” Lark grumbled into the sofa cushions. “You can’t take care of them when you’re still puking…” He chose not to mention how it seemed like Terry absolutely was fussing over Nicky, though.

“You’re the idiot…” Grant whined. He smacked a hand over his mouth, then, panic in his eyes. Nicky grabbed the pail at his side and held it up for Grant to take, and he emptied his stomach into it.

“Mamaaaa…” Nicky cried, eyes wet. The smell made his already sore tummy worse, and the twins and Terry didn’t look too thrilled…

“Oh, give me that, give me that…” Carol fussed as she came to collect the bucket. She replaced it with a popcorn bowl that Grant held like a lifeline.

Sparrow tried to help, tried to offer out Sage for Grant, but he quickly gave up on that when Grant just spat into the bowl. Terry shut his eyes, not wanting to watch this happen. Nicky pressed his no-longer-chilly bunny into Terry’s chest, and that helped only a little bit. This was going to be horrible, Terry thought…

Chapter Text

The parents helped the boys set up a nest of blankets, pillows, and completely necessary stuffed animals on the floor. It made things easier, at least, than the five of them slumped over on the sofa trying not to puke on one another. Instead, Nicky curled up with his blanket in his lap, surrounded by his sniffly friends, plush bunny in his arms, and he took a nap. After waking up three times over night to empty his stomach, and being kept awake by his parents while they cleaned him up, it was safe to say that Nicky was utterly exhausted. So, nearly as soon as his head hit his pillow, he fell asleep, and he didn’t move for several hours.

When Nicky woke up, he expected to feel better. Some source of magic, some great healing power of naps and ginger ale should have made him at least not feel so queasy or dizzy. Instead, Nicky felt…gross. And wet. And as frustrated tears pricked the corners of his eyes, he choked out a little sob.

“Aye, you awake, bud?” came Glenn’s voice, and Nicky looked up at him with confusion on his face. Glenn stooped down beside him and placed a hand against his forehead. “You’re still pretty warm…how’re you feeling?”

“Mama?” Nicky whimpered, curling up protectively. He dragged his blankets closer around himself, hoping it was subtle enough for Glenn not to pay attention.

“Mama went out with your dad and Mrs. Wilson to pick up some dinner for you kids,” Glenn said. “She just left a few minutes ago, but she’ll be back really soon, I promise.”

Nicky sniffled, either from his tears or his stuffy nose he didn’t know, and he nodded.

“Think you can get up and maybe try to stretch a bit? Might help you feel a little better,” Glenn suggested. Nicky shook his head. He couldn’t get up, not without Glenn noticing a problem.

“Nicky…?” came Terry’s voice, mumbled and tired, followed by a cough. Nicky looked over his shoulder at Terry, who tried to give him a smile, even as it felt tiring to do. “You okay, lil guy?” Terry asked.

“Yeah…” Nicky said quietly. He couldn’t even roll over to face Terry, too afraid of the movement. “You okay?”

Terry sniffled, and he nodded. “Yeah, don’t worry about me, Nicky…” he said. Nicky glared at him for that. He knew Terry felt just as bad as he did, so why wouldn’t he just let himself be sick?

Beside him, Grant, Lark, and Sparrow started to stir, the three of them groaning in pain as they slowly woke up. Nicky squeezed his eyes shut; why couldn’t they stay out of it? At least if they were still asleep, he could try to sneak out of the room and make his way upstairs once he got rid of Glenn.

“Aye, kids, dinner’s on its way,” Glenn said. The response was mixed, either groans or whines for or against a meal. “I know you might not really wanna eat right now, but you guys can’t just not eat. You’ll get even sicker that way.”

Grant rolled over to hide his face in his pillow.

“Glenn, drink?” Nicky tried, grabbing his sippy cup where it sat on the floor.

“Oh, yeah, I’ll get you something to drink, bud,” he said as he took the cup and got to his feet. “You kids all try to sit up at least, okay?”

A chorus of complaints followed, but Glenn didn’t pay them any mind as he disappeared into the kitchen.

Nicky moved his blanket to the side, and he tried to scoot out of the little nest. But, as he did, Terry whined and snatched his wrist. “Terry, I gotta get up…” he whined, pulling his wrist out of Terry’s grasp.

“No, stay…” Terry whined. He patted the blankets to hopefully entice Nicky to lay back down even as he coughed. “I need cuddles…”

“I’ll be right back, p’omise…” Nicky said.

“Here we go, kiddo,” Glenn said as he came back, but he stopped right in the doorway. “Trying to get up?” he asked, snickering. Nicky whined, falling back into the nest. “Alright, alright, here…” Glenn sat down the cup and reached to help Nicky to his feet. Unfortunately, as soon as Glenn slipped his hands under Nicky’s arms, he let out a terribly squeaky scream that dissolved into a coughing fit. “Hey, hey, hey, it’s alright, Nick, you’re alright, what’s wrong?”

As Nicky tried to wriggle free, he felt his tummy lurch, and he grabbed the little trashcan nearest him.

“Okay, get it all out…” Glenn said with a sigh. He rubbed the boy’s back until Nicky finished, and Nicky went slack in his arms.

“Nicky…?” Terry sat up, concerned, even if he could barely hold his eyes open.

Tears followed suit, and Nicky hid his face in Glenn’s chest to cry. Glenn scooped him up into his arms, letting the poor thing cry. He rubbed Nicky’s back soothingly, and he held him up so that Nicky could cry into his shoulder. As Glenn lifted him up, however, he quickly noticed something off about Nicky—

“Ah, so that’s the problem…” he grumbled when he noticed the…pullup situation. “Need some help getting upstairs, bud?” he asked Nicky, who only cried harder. Glenn nodded, and he got to his feet with Nicky in his arms.

“Nicky…!” Terry whined, coughing hard.

“I’ll bring him right back, kid, don’t worry so much,” Glenn said as he made his way toward the stairs. He saw the other three sitting up slowly, and he cursed under his breath. Glenn just needed to take care of Nicky before those four knew what was going on.

Terry fell back against his pillow with a huff, and he groaned in misery. Everything ached, and he just wanted some cuddles from Nicky. Why did Glenn have to take his little boy away from him? Terry was better at taking care of him anyway, so he should’ve just left Nicky with him.

“Terry?” his mom called, and Terry squeezed his eyes shut. He wouldn’t cry over this, even if his eyes stung and everything felt so terrible.

“Why’re you crying, Terry…?” Sparrow asked quietly. Unfortunately, that tiny voice he used when he was small only made Terry want to cry more. He wanted his little guy back.

Samantha sat down at his head, and she placed the back of her hand against his forehead. “You’re still burning up, honey, try to take it easy…” she said.

“This sucks!” Terry cried, coughing roughly. He swallowed thickly, just trying to keep his stomach down, and he sniffled.

“What’s wrong?” Samantha asked. She tried to run her fingers through his hair, scratch at his scalp, do anything that she thought might settle him down. It didn’t work.

“I-I hate this!” he cried, rolling over half onto his stomach to cry into the floor. He hated being sick, he hated feeling bad, and Terry just wanted his best friend back. Was that so much to ask? His one major source of comfort, his biggest distraction, was taken from him, and Terry hated it.

Samantha tried to shush him still, her nails scritching at his scalp and tracing out his face until Terry’s cries turned to pitiful whimpers. “Goodness gracious…” Samantha cooed. Terry sniffled. “Let’s hope getting some food in you boys will help calm you down…”

“No…” Terry whined.

“Do you not want to calm down?” Samantha asked.

“I want Nicky back…”

“Where’d Nick go…?” Lark asked.

“Glenn,” Terry said with such bitterness in his voice.

“He’s gonna bring him back…” Grant said. He let his eyes shut, and Grant did not open them back up. Instead, he yawned and laid back down, letting Sparrow curl up beside him, too. Lark stayed sat up, but he did try to play with Sparrow’s hair.

“Can you sit up, honey?” Samantha asked, but Terry shook his head, face still pressed into the blankets. “How come you can’t sit up?”

“Don’t want to,” Terry mumbled. He wanted Nicky back.

Samantha sighed, trying to figure out what she could do to help her baby. She didn’t even know why Glenn took Nicholas upstairs, but she figured it might have been from him throwing up again. Not that she thought telling Terry that would make him in any way feel better.

They heard the stairs creak, and Terry lifted his head up to see Glenn carrying down a very red-faced, teary-eyed Nicky. Terry squeaked, and he rolled over with his arms outstretched.

“Yeah, yeah, here,” Glenn said with a chuckle as he laid Nicky back down beside Terry. It seemed immediate, Nicky curling up into Terry’s arms, and Terry hugged him so tightly back. “Well, those two are happy, now,” Glenn said. Samantha looked up at him with concern on her face. “C’mon, we should probably get plates ready before they get back.”

“Right…” Samantha got up with one more sad look at Terry.

“Terry cried over you leaving,” Lark tattled once the five of them were alone again. Terry cried out in offense, turning his head back to glare at Lark. “It’s true,” Lark said with a shrug, unfazed.

“You cried…?” Nicky asked, very surprised.

“S’not a big deal,” Terry insisted. “He’s exaggerating…”

“No he’s not,” Grant grumbled. Terry could feel his face grow hotter, and he was sure it wasn’t from his fever. Nicky giggled, though, and he hid his face in Terry’s chest.

“Don’t listen to them,” Terry practically begged. He hugged Nicky close, just thankful to have him back in his arms, even if Nicky was a living heater. “How come Glenn took you upstairs…?”

Nicky squeaked, ducking his head down. “Had to change…” he admitted as quietly as he could, and Terry hummed in acknowledgement.

“Well, then it’s probably a good thing he took you upstairs…” Terry said. He carded his fingers through Nicky’s sweaty hair. “You still feeling okay?”

Nicky pulled his head up just so he could glare at Terry. “You?”

“I’m fine,” Terry insisted, but Nicky didn’t believe him for a second. “I’m fine!”

The front door opened, and in came Morgan, Jodie, and Carol with bags of food. “Oh, they’re actually awake!” Morgan said, surprised, as she kicked off her shoes. “Hi, honey! How are you feeling?”

“Tired, Mama…” Nicky whined.

“I’m sure,” Morgan cooed. “We’ve got some food for you boys, so we’ll dish everything up and bring it over in just a few minutes, okay?”

The boys all nodded, Grant said his thanks even if he didn’t necessarily want to eat, so the adults made their way to the kitchen. Terry groaned as he tried to sit up and lean against the sofa, and Nicky whined as he scooted along to keep his head in Terry’s lap. Sparrow stayed cuddled up with Grant, but Lark scooted over to Terry’s other side, leaning against his shoulder with his heavy head. Meanwhile, neither Grant nor Sparrow made any sort of move to sit up again, and really Terry understood entirely why they wanted to stay put. Sitting up like this was exhausting.

“Alright, boys, here we go,” Jodie said as he, Henry, and Darryl brought out the food.

“Sparrow, kiddo, you’ve gotta sit up so you can eat,” Henry said gently, but Sparrow just whined in protest. “I know you don’t want to, bud, but you’ll feel better if you eat some…”

“Grant, bud, come on,” Darryl said, crouching down in front of Grant. “Mom got you some of that chicken noodle soup you like from the deli, and you’ll feel a lot better if you eat.”

“I’m tired…” Grant whined.

“That’s because you don’t have anything in you to give you any energy,” Darryl tried. “C’mon, if you want, Dad’ll even feed you if it’s too much to feed yourself.”

“Daaaaad…” Grant whined. He dug the heels of his hands into his eyes, and he kicked his heels against the floor. Grant tried his best to sit up, dragging Sparrow with him despite the protests Sparrow gave.

“Here, you two,” Jodie said as he handed over some soup and toast to Terry and Nicky. “Try to eat as much as you can, okay? Just don’t push yourselves too much.”

Terry watched Nicky holding his bowl cautiously, and he worried that it would end up in Nicky’s lap. If his soup ended up in his lap, they’d take Nicky away from him again, and Terry couldn’t have that. So, he sat his food down to gingerly take the bowl from Nicky. “Here, I’ll help…” he said, holding up a spoonful for Nicky.

“Uh, kiddo, you—here, I’ll take care of Nicholas,” Jodie said, taking the bowl from Terry. He didn’t expect the loud whine he got in protest, but Jodie tried not to think about it. “Just eat your own food, Terry, and I’ll take care of him.”

“Fine…” Terry said through his teeth, picking up his bowl again to eat.

“So much for not fussing over the small ones, huh, Terry?” Grant grumbled. Terry shot him a look, but it lacked any bite when Terry looked so tired.

“Is everything alright here…?” Darryl asked.

“Terry’s being a hypocrite, that’s all,” Grant said.

“No I’m not,” Terry whined. “Shut up, Grant.”

“You shut up, Terry.”

“You first.”

“You first.”

“Alright, alright, let’s not argue…” Henry said with a sigh. “C’mon, Darryl, let’s give them a little space…so long as you boys are alright?”

“Go away,” Lark said into his soup. Henry decided not to fight it, so he dragged Darryl out of the room so the boys could eat, taking the dirty trashcan with them.

Terry glared at Jodie, watching him feed Nicky while he tried to eat his own soup and toast. After one piece of toast and a few spoonfuls of soup, Terry tried to abandon his food in favor of Nicky. “I can take care of him, Mr. Foster…” he said with his hands out for Nicky’s bowl.

“Hm?” Jodie looked over at Terry and his barely-touched bowl. “I’ve got him, Terry, really. Don’t worry about it; eat your own food.”

“I’m not hungry anymore.”

Jodie sighed, setting the spoon in Nicky’s bowl despite the whining from his son. “Hey, Samantha, think you can come help in here?”

“Yeah, I’m coming!” Samantha said from the kitchen. Terry had half a mind to kick Jodie. He might have, too, if he even had an ounce of energy to do so with. He just wanted Nicky, was that so much to ask?

Chapter Text

Nighttime fell, and Nick woke up. Everything ached, from the top of his head to the bottom of his feet everything just felt bad. He sniffled as he looked around, glad to see that his friends all seemed to be asleep still. Sparrow curled up beside him, but sometime in the night he had rolled over toward Lark and cuddled into his brother, which was good for Nick. He sat up, though he regretted that choice when it made his head throb.

Only as he sat up did Nicholas notice that Terry was missing. The pile of covers that he’d been under the last time Nicholas was conscious were tossed into a pile, and there was no Terry to be found in them. Odd. Even more odd was the spilled drink beside Nick’s sippy cup.

Nick got to his feet to look for Terry, careful not to disturb the others as he crawled out of the little nest they buried themselves in. He made his way down the hall, and Nick saw light under the door to the bathroom. “Terry…?” he called. The door pushed open, and Terry sat crumpled on the floor holding his stomach and leaning against the tub. “Ah, that explains it…”

“What’re you doing up…?” Terry asked. He didn’t open his eyes, nor he didn’t move from the cool surface of the tub.

“I’ve been sleeping for, like, eight hours already,” Nicholas said as he stooped down beside Terry. “Got sick again?”

“It sucks so bad, Nick…” Terry whined. He curled up a little tighter, hugging his belly as he groaned in pain.

“Can I get you something…?” Nick asked.

“Kill me?” Terry tried, finally opening his eyes to meet Nicholas’s just as he rolled them.

“That’s not a choice, c’mon…” Nicholas grumbled. He stood up, and he offered a hand down to Terry. “Are you empty, or are you hugging the ground because you’re scared you’re not done?”

“I think I’m done…” Terry said. He took Nicholas’s hand, and slowly he climbed up to his feet.

“Rinse your mouth, it’s gotta be gross…” Nick said. He filled up a plastic cup and handed it to Terry, who swished the water in his mouth and spat it down the sink. “C’mon, let’s get you back to bed…I’ll get you a drink.”

“S’posed to be taking care of you…” Terry whined. He kept his arms crossed over his tummy protectively as they made their way to the living room.

“I’m not small right now, so it’s my turn, dumbass,” Nick said. “Lay down.” He pointed to the covers until Terry caved, and Nick picked up Terry’s cup as well as his own sippy cup. In the kitchen, Nicholas unscrewed the lid of his cup and rinsed it out, and he replaced the drink with some Gatorade in both cups. He screwed on the lid to his own cup, not trusting his shaky hands with something less clumsy-proof.

“Thought you said you’re not small?” Terry asked in a whisper when he came back into the living room. He took his own cup graciously while Nick plopped down beside him.

“I’m not,” he said, and he stuck his cup in his mouth. A snore behind them startled him, and Nicholas looked back to see Glenn fast asleep with his head on the arm of the couch. Henry and Mercedes cuddled up together on the other end of the sofa, and Ron slept in the armchair soundly. “We’re surrounded…” Nicholas whispered, snickering to himself. He sniffled to keep the snot inside, and he laid back down against his pillow.

“At least they’re asleep,” Terry said. He laid back down and opened up his arms for Nicholas, who snuggled closer. “I don’t know if I can get back to sleep…” he said through a yawn.

“I think you’ll be fine,” Nicholas insisted. The problem, he thought, would be himself. He didn’t even feel sleepy at this point, just bone-tired.

“Nicky, wake up…” Sparrow whined, and Nicholas whined in protest. He didn’t want to wake up, he was so comfy… “Nickyyyy…”

Sparrow sounded more and more desperate, though, and that made Nick worry. He cracked open one eye, noting how dark it still appeared outside. The smallest traces of light, a hint of orange on the horizon, was all that illuminated the dark room and Sparrow’s tear-stained face.

“What’s wrong?” Nicholas asked, sitting up as quickly as his skull would allow. It appeared that in the past few hours, his stomach’s protests were replaced with ones from his head, and that hurt just as badly. Still though, with a throbbing head at least he could help out his friends.

As Nicholas’s surrounding slowly focused in, he noticed how the blankets, sleeping bag, and pajamas he and Sparrow had were…significantly colder and wetter than he thought they should be.

“Oh…” he said to himself, and Sparrow’s tears slipped down his cheeks. “Hey, hey, it’s okay, I promise,” he said. “Did Sage get wet?” he asked.

“No…” Sparrow said, holding up the stuffed wolf away from his waist.

“Can he stay here for a minute, then?” Nicholas moved his and Sparrow’s pillows off the covers and patted the spot for Sparrow to place Sage. He set him down gently while Nick got to his feet. “C’mon, let’s go clean up…” he said quietly. Sparrow nodded, sniffling as he got to his feet. He took Nicholas’s hand and let him pull him along up the stairs. “Do you want a pullup?” Nicholas asked once they were out of direct earshot of the adults.

“Think it’ll happen ‘gain?” Sparrow asked in a sad little whimper. Nick shrugged.

“Happened to me earlier,” he admitted. “That’s why Glenn took me up here earlier…”

“Oh…” Sparrow said sadly. “Okay…”

Nick nodded, and he led Sparrow into his bathroom. He ran a bath, even adding some of his bubbles to the water to hopefully make Sparrow smile. “You can take off your clothes and get in, and I’ll be right back, okay?”

“Okay…” Sparrow said with a little nod, so Nick scooted off to his bedroom. He grabbed clothes for them both, and he grabbed pullups for them both. Nicholas didn’t know how long he would stay big, and he didn’t want the next time he woke up to be because of his own rude awakening. He made it back into the bathroom, and Sparrow had already climbed in and shut off the water.

“Scoot over…” Nicholas said, taking off his own wet pajamas to climb into the water. Sparrow made room, and at least it seemed like his tears had come to a stop. He breathed in deeply, his first deep breath in a while as far as Nick had noticed, and he shut his eyes to lean back against the wall. “Don’t fall asleep,” Nicholas fussed before a cough caught him off guard.

“I’m tired, Nick…” Sparrow whined, smacking the water with his hand. “I wanna go back to bed…”

“Yeah, I know, I get it…” Nicholas said. He grabbed a washcloth off the back of the toilet, noticing how it appeared the bathroom had been prepared just in case of emergency baths. He wondered for a moment if he missed this same setup downstairs when Terry had gotten sick earlier. “Here, let’s get you cleaned up, then we’ll go back to bed.”

Sparrow whined, but still he let Nick clean him up. He waited while Nicholas washed himself off, too, and Sparrow played a little bit with the bubbles while he waited.

Nicholas got out first, drying off and changing as quickly as his exhausted body would allow. He wondered if he should have gotten one of the parents to help them, but Nick didn’t really want to do that. “Let’s get you out of there…” he said after he took a moment to catch his breath. Nicholas pushed himself off the counter with whatever strength remained in his muscles, and he pulled the plug in the tub and helped Sparrow stand.

“I can dry…” Sparrow insisted when he noticed just how tired Nick looked.

“Okay, just…lemme know if you need help,” he said. Nick certainly wasn’t in any shape to insist on helping Sparrow, so he took a seat on the toilet lid and tried to catch his breath again. At least this way, maybe Sparrow wouldn’t be as embarrassed, he thought to himself, justifying letting the sick little one dress himself.

“Boys…?” came Mercedes’ voice, and Nick sat up far quicker than he should have, face hot. “Oh!” She examined the sight in front of her with soft, caring eyes, and Sparrow teared up again.

“Mami…” he whimpered, stumbling forward to hug his mom. He coughed hard, and he shivered in her arms.

“Poor thing…” Mercedes cooed, petting his hair. “Did you boys take care of everything, or do you need some help still?” she asked.

“We need clean blankets…” Nick said sheepishly. Sparrow blushed brightly and tried to hide his face in his mom’s tummy.

“Well, we’ve got some out, so that’s alright, honey,” Mercedes said. She took Sparrow’s hand to lead him back downstairs, and Nick followed suit. His head hurt terribly, though, so he sat on the stairs while Mercedes took the blankets to the laundry room. She started the washing machine, and she came back with an old Cars comforter and several more blankets.

Sparrow sat on the floor near her while Mercedes made up their nest, folding the comforter in half and inserting it between Lark and Terry. She unfolded the blankets, and Sparrow crawled onto the comforter beside his brother, dragging Sage and his pillow closer. He grabbed his paci from where it laid beside Lark’s head and popped it into his mouth.

“Nicholas, did you want to lay back down?” Mercedes asked.

“Um, yeah…” Nicholas hopped up, head spinning as he shuffled over to the nest. He laid down between Terry and Sparrow, and he pulled his pillow under his head. Once he was settled, Mercedes tossed a blanket onto them both, and she made sure they were cozy.

“The sun’s coming up, so you two just rest for a little while longer, alright?” Mercedes said quietly, careful not to wake her husband, Glenn, Ron, or the other boys. Sparrow nodded, so his mom laid back down on the sofa with Henry.

Sparrow fell back asleep just a minute or two later, but Nick didn’t. The room spun, he felt terribly heavy, and Nick wondered for a moment if his body might sink right through the floor. He squeezed his eyes shut, but that only made him aware of how warm he felt. He kicked off his blanket, and he whined as he dug his hands into his eyes. This was too much. Why was the room so quiet suddenly? Why was he so damn hot?

Nicky whined, and he kicked his heels against the floor as he rolled onto his tummy. He felt so heavy, and he wasn’t even sure he could make it onto his tummy as he moved. Nicky swore his limbs were made of lead, and the room spun faster until he buried his face in his pillow. He felt so terrible suddenly, and he cried into his pillow.

“Hey, you’re okay, you’re okay…” Terry whispered, pulling Nicky closer. Nicky cried into his chest, hiccups escaping his throat. This felt too warm, too much, but Nicky didn’t want to let go of Terry.

“Everything okay…?” Grant asked as he sat up at the other end of the nest.

“Little guy just started crying…” Terry whispered to him. Grant crawled out of the nest to make his way over to Nicky and Terry, and he tried his best to soothe Nicky, even rubbing his back right between his shoulder blades.

“You’re alright, Nicky,” Grant whispered, but Nicky didn’t feel alright.

“Can you tell us what happened?” Terry asked.

“Yeah, you and Sparrow went upstairs,” Grant said.

Nicky coughed, and he tried to shrug off both of them before he passed out from the heat. “S-Sparrow had’a acc’den’…” he managed out, little hiccups interrupting him. “H-helped him take a bath ‘nd get changed…”

“Were you small, too?” Terry asked, ready to fuss if he needed. Nicky shook his head, though.

“Was…was big, but I got tired…” he admitted. “H-hurts, Terry…”

“I’m sorry, lil guy…” Terry said with a sigh.

“How come you didn’t get an adult to help?” Grant asked. “You were big, but you’re still sick…”

“Helped Terry ‘nd that was okay…” Nicky whimpered.

“That wasn’t as much as a bath, though,” Terry said. “I appreciate that you helped me get a drink and get up, but that’s a lot different than going upstairs and giving someone a bath…”

“Wan’ed’a help…” Nicky whined.

“And you did,” Grant said. “But, now you should let us help you…”

Terry grabbed his sippy cup, offering it out to Nicky. He took it graciously, sipping his drink sadly with a few sniffles.

“Do you want a popsicle or something?” Grant asked. Nicky nodded sadly, so he got to his feet and quietly made his way to the kitchen. He came back a moment later with three popsicles, handing one to Nicky and one to Terry. “Maybe this’ll help cool you down again…” he said.

Nicky didn’t sit up, but thankfully he didn’t need to. He ate his popsicle sadly, and he drank some more of his Gatorade, and thankfully that seemed to help him cool off. “Paci…” he whined, looking around for it. Terry found it, and he held it out for Nicky to latch onto.

“Do you think you can sleep some more, or do you want to watch some TV?” Grant asked.

“TV…” Nicky whined. It was too quiet for sleep, now.

Grant nodded, and he snatched the remote off the TV stand. He switched on the TV and turned the volume down as low as it could go without muting. He found a random episode of Doctor Who on the scifi channel, and Nicky nodded in approval. The three of them dragged a little bit of the nest away so they could lay down a little closer to the TV, and Nicky laid between Grant and Terry happily.

Why had he even tried to be a big kid, again? This was so much better, being taken care of. Terry kept an arm around him, and Grant held his hand, and Nicky thought nothing could be better.

…Well, he thought that until he sneezed hard enough to hurt his tummy again. Not being sick would be the only way he could make this entire morning better.

Chapter Text

Morning came, finally, and the parents prepared the boys their breakfast in hopes that they could eat. They gathered all five boys around the coffee table in the living room, afraid that moving them too much might make them sick again, and passed around oatmeal courtesy of Henry and Mercedes. Nicky grimaced as he looked down at his bowl of oatmeal; it wasn’t that he didn’t like oatmeal, but at the moment…nothing looked appetizing.

“C’mon, you’ve gotta eat something, lil guy,” Terry tried from beside him, picking up Nicky’s spoon. “You’ve been up half the night, and you’re totally wiped, so you’ve gotta eat.”

“I don’t wanna…” Nicky whined. Terry held out his spoonful of oatmeal to Nicky, who whined and leaned away from him. “Terryyyyyy!”

“Just eat a little bit, please? For me?” Terry tried. Nicky still whined, and he leaned against Grant on his other side for protection.

“Grant…”

“You’ve gotta eat something, Nicky,” he said with a shrug. Of course, Grant had only taken about two spoonfuls of oatmeal himself, but he wasn’t a particularly huge fan of it anyway. His mom brought over some toast for him to nibble on, thankfully. “D’you want some toast instead?” he asked, offering out a half-piece.

“No…” Nicky said into his arm.

“If you eat, then we can try to play some Mortal Kombat?” Terry offered. “Only if you eat, though.”

“But, I wanna play!” Nicky whined. He dropped his head onto the table, staring at Sparrow across from him and Grant. “Sparrow…”

“I wanna play, too…” Sparrow whined. He stared down at his bowl of oatmeal, and he nudged around a few of the dinosaur eggs until they melted into dinosaurs. He scooped up a small bite with two dinosaurs in it to eat, and he looked at Nicky expectantly.

“If you eat the oatmeal, we can play Mortal Kombat, and since Grant feels like shit we may be able to defeat him, Nick,” Lark said. He stretched his hand across the table palm-up toward him. “This is an opportunity we cannot afford to miss. I need your word that you will eat and build your strength so that we may crush Grant.”

“Why is it always me?” Grant asked, snickering.

“Because you somehow always know how to win, and it is infuriating,” Lark fussed. He looked away from Grant to make eye contact with Nicky again. “Do I have your word?”

“I’ll try…” Nicky said, sniffling. He still didn’t want to eat, but he felt he needed to try so he wouldn’t let Lark down.

“Here…” Terry held out a spoonful again toward Nicky, who took the bite begrudgingly. It took every ounce of his willpower to swallow, and just as he did Terry held up another spoonful for him to take.

“Terry, honey, you need to eat, too,” Samantha fussed from the chair she sat in with Ron.

“I’m okay, Mom…” he insisted as he held up another bite for Nicky, who leaned against his shoulder and tried to pluck the spoon from his hand. “Are you gonna do it by yourself?” he asked Nicky, who nodded and dropped his spoon into his oatmeal without picking it back up. “Nicky…”

“I don’t wan’anymore,” Nicky said.

“You had, like, four bites,” Terry fussed. “Eat more.”

“Terry,” Samantha said with a sigh. She slipped off the chair to sit beside him, a hand on his back as she reached for his bowl. “Eat. You don’t have to take care of Nicky right now.”

“I’m fine, Mom…” Terry whined. He tried not to look at her, keep his focus on Nicky, but his mom hooked his chin with her finger to make him look at her.

“I know you care about Nicky, and you want to take care of him, but you’re sick, too, honey,” Samantha said. “Nicky can feed himself, or his parents can take care of it, but right now you need to eat, too. Okay?”

“But, I don’t want to…” he whined. “I’m not hungry, so I can just help…”

“You’re just as sick as Nicky, Terry,” Samantha fussed. “I need you to eat, Nicky needs you to eat. Your body will thank you that you’re taking care of it so that you can do the things you want, including helping your best friend.”

Terry looked down at his own bowl, and he let out a pitiful sigh. He really didn’t want to eat. His belly still felt sore, his hands were shaking, and the heat that coated his entire body made everything feel gross…

“Can I wait ‘til Nicky’s done?” he tried.

“Honey…” Samantha sighed.

Nicky watched the two of them, and it surprised him how much Terry’s whining sounded like his. Terry was supposed to be the big kid! He took care of Nicky! He was the responsible one! How was Nicky supposed to handle this? Maybe he needed to take care of Terry… After all, he did a good job during the night, surely he could do just as well with breakfast!

He grabbed the spoon from Terry’s bowl and held it up to his face.

“What?” Terry looked over when he saw the spoon coming at his face. “N-Nicky, I’m okay! What’re you doing?” he asked, giggling as he pushed the spoon away.

“My turn!” Nicky insisted. He even tried to make airplane noises as he approached Terry’s face with the spoon.

“You don’t have to do that, Nicky!” Terry squeaked out. He coughed as he laughed, and he took Nicky’s wrist gently.

“I think even Nicky understands that you need to take care of yourself, honey,” Samantha said amusedly.

“Fine, fine…” Terry took the spoon from Nicky and ate his oatmeal off it. “Happy, lil guy?”

But, Nicky was not happy. He wanted to feed Terry just like Terry fed him! He pouted, a scowl on his face as he crossed his arms and dropped his chin onto the table. Grant snorted a laugh and took the spoon in Nicky’s bowl to try feeding him again.

“No!” Nicky fussed, though. “I wanna do it!”

“Okay, sure, you do it, then,” Grant said. He tried to give Nicky his spoon, but Nicky smacked it back down into his bowl. “What’re you—”

Nicky grabbed the spoon out of Grant’s bowl and held it up at his face with a deep scowl on his face.

“Ah,” Grant started, realizing what Nicky was doing. Unfortunately, the second he opened his mouth, Nicky stuck the spoon in. “Nick!” Grant fussed, tossing the spoon down on the table.

“Terry?” Nicky turned back to him when he realized that Grant didn’t want his oatmeal.

“You need to eat your own breakfast,” Terry tried, but Nicky didn’t seem convinced. “I’ll eat mine if you eat yours.” Nicky grabbed Terry’s spoon and held it up to Terry’s face until Terry finally took the bite off it. “Happy?”

“Mhm…” Nicky grabbed his own spoon to feed himself, satisfied at least that he helped Terry some.

“Hm?” Grant looked down when he felt a little head lay on his leg to see Sparrow. “How’re you feeling?” he asked, running his fingers through Sparrow’s hair, smiling when his eyes slid shut.

“I’m okay…” Sparrow said with a shrug. He rubbed his eye with the back of his hand and adjusted his paci in his mouth. “Daddy dipped m’paci in honey, so it’s yummy now…” he said, giggling.

“Probably for your cough…” Grant said. He’d noticed how it seemed Sparrow’s cough was his worst symptom this morning. At least that was easier to deal with than nausea, which unfortunately Grant still dealt with. “Did you wanna play the game?” he asked, but Sparrow shook his head.

“Wanna watch…” he said. Sparrow held up Sage to Grant’s face, smiling behind his paci. “Sage ‘nd me are gonna cheer you on…!”

“Aren’t you sweet?” Grant cooed, combing back Sparrow’s bangs with his fingers. Sparrow just beamed up at him. Unfortunately, their sweet moment fell apart when Lark gasped.

“Betrayal,” he squeaked out, coughing hard. “How could you, brother?! Conspiring with the enemy!”

“It’s okay, brother!” Sparrow insisted, but Lark did not believe him. He huffed as he hopped up on the sofa beside Grant, and he moved Sparrow’s legs onto his lap.

“We’re supposed to beat Grant, not cheer for him!” Lark insisted.

“But I like Grant…” Sparrow whined. He brought Sage up to his face and hugged him close. “Wan’ him’a win…”

Lark huffed and grumbled to himself, staring forward at the TV to pick his character.

“If Sparrow’s not gonna beat Grant, I gotta,” Nicky insisted from the floor where he still cuddled with Terry. He felt confident that he could beat Grant, especially when Grant had Sparrow cuddling with him.

“That’s nice, Nicky,” Terry said, snickering as he brushed back Nicky’s hair from his tired eyes.

“Are you playing, Terry?” Grant asked.

“Yeah, I’m playing,” he said with a shrug.

“We’ll do round robin, then,” Grant said.

“I want to go first against Grant!” Lark insisted with his hand in the air. Grant rolled his eyes, but he still agreed.

At first, the battle seemed kind of boring. Sparrow really didn’t care, if he was honest, and he was sure that Sage didn’t care, either. He tried to balance Sage on Nicky’s head, but Nicky looked back at him with narrowed eyes.

“What’re you doing?” he asked, deadpanned.

“Sage wanted to say hi,” Sparrow said with a tired smile. “This is boring.”

Terry glanced over at him, snickering, and he shook his head. “Aren’t you supposed to be cheering Grant on?” he asked.

“I gave up on that,” Sparrow whispered, not that Grant couldn’t hear him. The snorted laugh from Grant even told Sparrow just how well he heard. “Still want him to win, though…”

Terry saw how badly Lark was losing, and he thought maybe he could…influence this situation. After all, Sparrow wanted cuddles, so he could help in a small way, right? “I bet Grant could win a lot easier if you hug him instead of lay on him,” Terry said to Sparrow as quietly as he could. Sparrow squeaked, and he looked at the TV where he saw his brother slowly whittling down Grant’s health bar, and he made up his mind quickly.

“Sparrow!” Grant squeaked out, coughing in surprise when Sparrow hugged him around the shoulders. Sparrow giggled, and he fit his face right in the crook of Grant’s neck, straddling Grant’s lap as he slumped into him and made himself comfortable. “Sparrow, seriously?! I can’t play like this!” Grant fussed, frantically mashing the buttons to make up for the lost health he suffered from the surprise.

“Ha ha! Yes, Sparrow!” Lark cheered, frantically mashing down on the buttons as he tried to beat back Grant. “I knew you were on my side, brother!”

…Unfortunately, Grant still managed to beat him, delivering a brutality.

“What!” Lark whined. “This sucks…” He sneezed, and he fell forward to despair in the sofa cushions.

“Grant won?” Sparrow asked, eyes wide as he looked at the screen.

“Yeah, Grant won!” Terry said. “Good job, Sparrow!”

Grant groaned, tossing his head back. “I should’ve known this was you, Terry…” he grumbled.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Terry said, snickering. “Clearly, Sparrow just wanted to help.”

“My turn!” Nicky whined, though, to get the attention back onto himself. “I wanna beat Grant!”

“You can try, Nicky,” Grant said. He tried to cross his legs to hopefully readjust Sparrow since it seemed the boy wasn’t going to move.

“You’ve got this, Nicky,” Terry insisted.

“Beat him, Nicky,” Lark said. “I’m putting my faith in you.”

Of course, Grant knew he could’ve thrown the match. After all, Nicky was small, and he never won video games except against Terry, but Grant also needed revenge against Terry. So, his finishing move against Nicky was a babality, and Nicky gasped.

“How’d you turn me into a baby?!” he cried, and Grant could only laugh.

“Only kicks, and no blocking,” Grant said. “It’s not too hard.”

Nicky squeaked in protest. “Terry!”

“You can turn people into babies?” Sparrow asked, looking over his shoulder at the screen. Sure enough, there laid Liu Kang on the ground as baby with little blocks spelling out ‘Babality’ above him.

“You can also give them birthday cake or balloons, too,” Grant said. Sparrow gasped, looking at him with wide eyes. “There’s a bunch of silly options. It’s not all killing.”

“You should give Terry cake,” Sparrow said, giggling.

“Why is he just assuming Grant’s gonna beat me?” Terry asked Nicky and Lark, who practically begged him to win.

“I play as Mileena, so she doesn’t give anyone cake, but she does have a big teddy bear that she has a tea party with,” Grant said. Sparrow considered it, and he nodded. Grant snickered. “Is that good?”

“Yeah, that works,” Sparrow said. He snuggled back into Grant happily.

“Terry, beat him!” Nicky whined.

“You’re our last hope, Terry!” Lark added.

“So much for this being a round robin,” Terry grumbled, but he picked out Scorpion and got ready to fight.

…At least Mileena’s teddy bear tea party looked pretty cute. Sparrow giggled happily, and he clapped for Grant, who looked far prouder than he should’ve been for such easy victories.

Chapter Text

Nick crashed on the sofa in his dad’s house, rolling his eyes as his dad shut the portal behind them. “I just started feeling better, and now we’re here?” he whined, and he dragged his feet up on the sofa. Nick hadn’t even bothered changing into his regular demon clothes, instead leaving a pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt with a skeleton hand giving the devil horns, and a red flannel on instead of anything spikey, black, or leathery. His wings folded against his back, and his tail flickered near the floor. “I thought we were gonna have fun for the last weekend before school…”

“We are having fun!” Jodie insisted, but Glenn rolled his eyes. “Look, Nana’s out causing problems near the throne, so you don’t even need to worry about her for the weekend, which means the two of us—”

Glenn cleared his throat.

“—the three of us can have a good time!” Jodie said. “I got us tickets to the carnival that’s happening this weekend, and we’re gonna have a great time!”

Nicholas’s head still hurt from his flu, and he still had a small cough, but at least the worst of his symptoms were over. Still, the sickness meant an entire week of his summer vacation was gone, and with the new school year just a week away, Hell was the last place Nick wanted to be. After all, this was the eighth grade, the last year before high school, which mean Nicholas needed to be prepared to be at the top of the school. He needed to be prepared to run the halls, to be in charge at all costs. Not to mention he was taking drama with Terry and Sparrow, so he needed to be ready to act his little tail off. Being in Hell did not make these preparations easier.

“They’re even opening up the fair to the other planes, which means there’ll even be some kids your age there that aren’t, y’know…devils and imps and really bad dudes,” Jodie said, hoping to entice his son.

“What do you mean…?” Nicholas asked. “Does that mean my friends can come?”

“Uhh—”

“We’d probably have to run that by the parents,” Glenn said with a laugh. Jodie looked at him skeptically, but Glenn just shrugged. “It’s gonna be in the snow with Christmas music playing, man, what trouble do you think’s gonna happen?”

“I think the kids that aren’t demons or Lark might end up dead, enslaved, both, or tortured,” Jodie said.

“Nah, just keep them on the very upper-level and it’ll be no problem, right?” Glenn said.

“I’ll go if my friends can come,” Nicholas said, sitting up straighter.

Jodie sighed, and he pulled his phone out from his back pocket. “Alright, alright, I’ll text the other dads and ask them if they want to bring the kids…” he said. “But, I still want to see you this weekend, got it?”

“You’ve seen me for an entire week!” Nick whined.

“That wasn’t a good time seeing you!” Jodie fussed. “You were sick, and I just wanted to make everything better for you, and I felt so bad for you, that doesn’t count!”

“Fine…” Nick said with a sigh.

Nicholas stood by the door the next morning impatiently. He still didn’t dress entirely demonic, the joggers and red tie-dye t-shirt not doing much to make him look like a bad boy demon. Still, though, he wore his battle vest he made with Glenn, his spiked boots, and his thin spikey cuffs around his wrist. At least with those, he wouldn’t have to worry about anyone attacking him.

“Is that a fanny pack, dude?” Glenn asked incredulously, tugging the strap of Nicholas’s bag around his chest.

“It’s not a fanny pack, it’s just a belt bag,” Nicholas insisted.

“Why do you have a fanny pack?” Glenn asked. He barely contained his giggles, the little grin on his face showing just how difficult they were to keep in.

“I have money, my inhaler, and a taser in here,” Nick explained. He did neglect to mention that his paci was also in the bag, but he didn’t think Glenn needed to know that. After all, Nicholas didn’t plan on being small during this little adventure, but he knew himself well enough to know he needed to be prepared anyway.

“Where did you get a taser?” Glenn asked. Nick shrugged.

“Dad had it in his old cop stuff, and it’s not like he needs it when he’s got a big flame sword, now,” Nicholas said.

“And a whip, don’t forget about the whip,” Glenn added.

“So yeah, with a sword and a whip, I don’t think he needs the taser, so it’s mine now,” Nick said with another shrug.

“That’s fair enough,” Glenn said, snickering. “It’ll be real intimidating to whoever you use it on when you pull your taser out of your fanny pack.”

“It’s not a fanny pack!” Nicholas whined.

The portal opened, then, with Jodie leading everyone into his living room. “Nick!” Terry yelped, darting over to him for a hug. Nicholas opened his arms up and tossed them around Terry happily.

“Alright, boys,” Henry started, and Lark rolled his eyes. Sparrow grabbed his hand just to keep his brother from wandering off. “We’ve never been here before, and this is a real dangerous place, so I need you two to be real big buddies and watch out for each other, okay?”

“Of course, father, of course,” Sparrow said with a grin. “My brother and I will defend each other from any sort of ne’er-do-wellers or fiends we may encounter.”

“If Sparrow becomes a baby and cannot defend himself, I will lay down my life for him, I promise,” Lark said, which was not what his father asked for.

Darryl seemed nervous, which Nicholas supposed made sense. After all, they were in Hell. It didn’t matter if two of his closest friends were demons who lived in Hell, being there himself was a completely different matter. “Grant, just—be on your guard today, okay? We don’t know what to expect here, and I don’t want you to get in trouble, o-or get hurt, or—”

“Relax, Darryl, the boys’ll have Nicholas to keep them safe,” Jodie said with a hand on Darryl’s shoulder. “Plus, there’s going to be a larger amount of alive humans and other creatures here today that aren’t evil, so they’re in significantly less danger than they would be on a normal day.”

“That’s not as reassuring as you seem to think it oughtta be,” Darryl said plainly.

Grant rolled his eyes, shuffling over to Nicholas’s side. “So, what’s happening?” he asked. “Dad pretty much just said that there’s a carnival in Hell, and everyone’s invited no matter the realm?”

“Basically, yeah,” Nicholas said with a shrug. The twins joined the three of them, so Nicholas tried to explain. “Dad basically said that this whole fair or whatever is how Hell does fund-raising for the year to fund Greed, which means it also funds us, so it’s gotta be a pretty big event. But it’s basically just a regular carnival with a lot more death and blood.”

“That sounds riveting, Nicholas,” Lark said with a grin on his face.

“Here, kids, before we head out…” Jodie started, and he held out a knife to each boy. “Just in case.”

“Just in case?” Henry squeaked out. A shiver went down his spine when the twins chuckled to themselves.

“It’s Hell, Henry,” Jodie deadpanned.

“Why’re we letting them do this?” Darryl asked, which Nicholas took as his signal to book it out the door with his friends in tow.

The carnival took place on the upper-most level of Hell, near the residential area, so it wasn’t a very far walk (or run) for the boys. Once inside, there was a bit of an assault on their senses as the five of them took in everything surrounding them. In the middle of the fairgrounds was a huge Christmas tree, decked out in flaming ornaments, teeth, tinsel, and an imp with lights all over its body at the top acting as a star. Stalls, games, and rides filled the grounds, and the smells of different foods permeated the air.

Nicholas felt Terry grab his hand, and maybe a little bit of pride swelled in his chest that he was the one in charge. He was the big kid taking care of everyone else. He puffed up his chest and held his head high as he marched forward.

“There is not nearly as much destruction and pain as I was expecting,” Lark lamented.

“There’s people from other realms here, so they’re all behaving,” Nicholas explained. “That, and when Glenn brought Christmas here, a lot of stuffed mellowed out on this layer.”

“But the other layers?” Sparrow questioned.

“Still pretty bad,” Nicholas said.

“What’re we gonna do here, then?” Grant asked. He kept his hands in his pockets, and he did his very best not to make eye contact with anyone who happened to be on fire.

“We can play some games or something!” Nicholas suggested, pointing toward some of the games.

“Step right up, step right up, hit three balloons and win a prize!” a carnie announced as the boys got closer. “You boys look like you enjoy a good game!” he said, leaning out of the booth.

“How much?” Nick asked.

“Ah, that’ll be a copper a piece,” the carnie said with his hand out. Nick handed over a copper, as did Lark and Grant, and they each got five darts. “Alright, you have five shots to pop three balloons!”

“You first, baby boy,” Lark said, gesturing for Nicholas to go first.

“I’m not a baby,” Nick fussed, not that Lark listened.

“Baby, baby, baby boy!” Lark taunted, a big grin on his face. “Can you hit the balloons, baby boy?”

Nick growled, and he threw his darts with all his strength. He popped five balloons, all of which exploded blood out toward them and hit Nicholas in the face.

“And we have a winner!” the carnie cheered, ringing a bell beside him. He grabbed a large plush demon bear with fangs and red eyes, and he handed it to Nicholas.

“Nick, you okay?” Terry asked, worry in his voice. He placed a hand on Nicholas’s shoulder, but Nick shrugged it off.

“I’m okay, Terry,” he said, but he didn’t quite sound okay. Nicholas tried to wiped the blood off his face, desperate not to think about it too hard. He heard a few balloons pop behind himself, and he heard some cheering and the bell ring again, as Lark and Grant joined them again with more demon stuffed animals.

“Maybe we should do something besides playing games,” Sparrow suggested. He saw another game just a few booths down that appeared to just be axe throwing, but the target was a crying goblin. “What about snacks?”

“We can get snacks,” Nicholas said with a nod. He tried to lead the way, but the pride that had propelled him forward died in his chest just to be replaced with fear. Terry must have noticed it, and he took Nicholas’s hand.

“It’s okay, Nick, promise,” he whispered. “You’re safe.”

Nick didn’t speak. He just nodded, and he pulled Terry along toward the row of food trucks.

The options seemed pretty standard at first. Hotdogs, hamburgers, fried chicken, fried Oreos, fried pickles, fried bacon, fried butter, and walking tacos were advertised heavily, but there were some unconventional options in fried toes, fried ears, or even something simply called ‘mystery meat’ that made Nicholas feel a little queasy.

“Me and Grant can get some food if you guys wanna get drinks?” Terry suggested.

“That works!” Sparrow said, grabbing both Nick’s and Lark’s hands. They headed over to a booth advertising sodas and lemonade, and they got drinks for all of them.

“We should get a table,” Lark said, holding his X-treme Gulp with both hands so he didn’t drop it.

“Yeah, we can clean that one off,” Nicholas said, pointing over at a table where a few orcs got up to leave. The three of them hurried over and wiped off the table just as Terry and Grant came back with nachos, tacos, and a funnel cake.

“That is the biggest funnel cake I’ve ever seen!” Sparrow said in shock, eyeing the treat with big eyes.

“Eat some actual food before you eat that, please,” Grant tried. He slid one of the trays under Sparrow’s nose to hopefully entice him.

“Fiiiiiiine, if you insist,” Sparrow said with a dramatic sigh.

“Maybe we should try some of the rides after this,” Terry suggested.

“Yeah, we can do rides,” Nicholas said, nodding. He shoved a chip in his mouth, nearly piercing his lip with his fangs. “That’ll probably be a little better than the games since I don’t think there’s as much blood on those.” He tried to sound casual about it, but still the image of blood spraying back at him clouded his mind. Nicholas stuck the straw of his drink in his mouth, gnawing on it nervously.

“…And then maybe we should just look at the souvenirs and stuff instead trying games again,” Terry said, worried. “Are you sure you’re okay, Nick?”

“You worry too much,” Nicholas said instead of answering him.

“I think I worry just the right amount,” Terry said, leaning forward to try to get a look at Nicholas’s face. “This place is kind of scary, so it’s alright if that’s getting to you, y’know.”

“It’s whatever. I’m fine, Terry,” Nicholas lied. With every scream in the background, every yelp of pain, and every drop of blood, Nick felt less and less fine. He wanted to run back home and hide, or he wanted to cut a portal into the air and leap back to his mama—his mom, not mama.

Barking and yapping came up behind him, and Nicholas’s heart sank.

“Puppies!” Sparrow and Lark cooed.

“Hellpups for sale!” a woman said with a big grin on her face. “Pups from one of the most famous Hellhounds in all the realms, Edythe!”

A bigger bark came, and Nicholas dove to Terry’s chest, hugging him tightly for protection. “Hey, hey, you’re alright, Nick, you’re alright…” Terry said, hugging him back.

The hound still barked happily, and the twins squealed with delight as they darted over to pet her. Grant watched them closely, but he couldn’t help looking over at Nick every now and then to make sure he was okay.

“Are you boys interested in a puppy?” the woman said. Lark and Sparrow looked up at her, both startled to see her eyes slitted like a snake’s, and her forked tongue flicked out of her mouth.

“I, uh…” Sparrow glanced over at their friends, worried when he saw Nicholas looked scared. “We just wanted to pet your doggy, that’s all. We have a dog back home! His name’s Laserwolf Fartblaster, and he’s a very good boy.”

“Well, what an…interesting name…” the woman said, standing up straighter with her brows furrowed in irritation.

“We’ve got to go,” Lark said. He grabbed Sparrow’s hand and dragged him back to the table, surprised to see Nicholas cowering in Terry’s arms. “The puppies weren’t even that scary, Nick, promise. They just looked like chocolate lab puppies.”

“The puppies aren’t what scared me…” Nicholas mumbled. He shoved his plate of food away, and he laid his head on a napkin on the table.

“Here…” Terry said as he dug out Nicky’s paci from his bag. “Want this?”

“How’d you know I brought it…?” Nicky asked in surprise. Terry snorted a laugh.

“You’re very predictable, lil guy,” Terry said, which Nicky huffed at. He still took his paci, though.

“Are we still gonna go on the rides, or do we need to go back to your dad’s house?” Lark asked.

“We should probably go back,” Grant said, worried. “I don’t see this getting any better…”

“No, we’re gonna go on rides…” Nicky said. He kicked his feet under the table in irritation. “Just need a minute to be small, bu’ I’m not gonna stay small…” he insisted.

Grant nodded, but he didn’t seem entirely convinced. Really, he knew this wouldn’t go well, but he at least would try with Terry to keep this from exploding. Maybe they’d run into the adults later, and Jodie could convince Nicky to leave. Grant wasn’t going to hold his breath on that one, though. Instead, he tried to at least give Nicky a chance at being a big kid again. “Do they have any coasters here, or do you know?” he asked, and Nicky perked up, yanking his paci from his mouth.

“They’ve got two coasters, and they’re real big!” he started, so Grant tried to listen intently. Terry, meanwhile, tried not to worry.

…He failed at that, though.

Chapter Text

After a ride on a rollercoaster, a ride on the teacups, and a ride on the flying chairs, Nicholas was feeling better about Hell. Not great, not by a longshot, but he felt better. He held his new demon bear stuffed animal as he leaned against the gate where Grant, Sparrow, and Lark were going to ride the scrambler, and he actually smiled. Nicholas never actually smiled in Hell, not easily.

“Is this ride going to be as dangerous as the teacups?” Terry asked from beside him, and Nicholas shrugged.

“I don’t think so since they’re not in control of the speed, but who knows,” he said. “This is Hell, after all.”

“Oh, there they go…” Terry grimaced, watching as the ride slowly started to spin. They could hear Lark and Sparrow cackling as their seat spun, and soon that laughter grew louder and louder as the ride went faster and faster.

“Hi, guys!” Sparrow said as they passed in front of Nicholas and Terry, but neither of them could get a response out before they were whipped away. Grant yelped as he fell against Lark, and he fussed when he got thrown against Sparrow. Nick laughed, though, thoroughly amused, while Terry winced at the sparks and small flames he saw coming from the center of the ride.

Eventually, it came to a stop, and Terry sighed in relief as Lark, Sparrow, and Grant stumbled off the ride toward the exit.

“How was it?” Terry asked when they rejoined them.

“Exhilarating, Terry!” Lark said. “We should again!”

“I’m not going again…” Grant said.

“You look a little green, Grant…” Nicholas said. No sooner had the statement left his mouth did Grant double over into a nearby trashcan.

“Oh, I never want to puke again…” he despaired as he sat up and sniffled.

“Perhaps we should not take Grant on the ride again,” Sparrow said. “Nick? Do you want to join us?”

“As fun as that sounds, I think I’d rather stab myself with a sword than get in the middle of you two on a ride,” Nick said. Sparrow just looked excited, though, and Nicholas shivered. There was no way that was a good sign.

“What’re we gonna do next?” Grant asked, still a bit woozy as he gripped the sides of the barrel used as a trashcan.

“I think we need to get you a drink and sit down for a minute…” Terry said, but Grant just rolled his eyes.

“I’m fine, Terry, don’t worry so much,” he fussed.

“Can you see why I don’t believe you?” Terry asked, grabbing Grant by the arm to lead him back to the food area. Nick, Lark, and Sparrow followed after them, and after getting drinks they sat down for a little break.

“Did you want to try the games again, or do you maybe want to see what the vendors are doing?” Grant asked, determined to get the attention off himself and onto something more fun for the others.

“I’d like to try my hand at the axe toss,” Lark said with his hand in the air.

“The axe toss is using live goblins as the targets,” Terry said.

“Correct, Terry!” Lark said far too happily.

“You can’t go throwing axes at living people,” Terry fussed.

“I don’t see why not,” Lark said with a shrug. “He’s clearly consented to this.”

“How can you say he’s clearly consented?” Nicholas asked. “You remember where we are, right?”

“I remember that we are in Hell, Nicholas, but it is not nearly as violent or evil as I expected, therefore that goblin appears to be enjoying himself,” Lark said.

“Let’s just go look at the vendors and stuff,” Sparrow said with a sigh. “Perhaps there will be knives or swords or other weapons you could partake in, brother.”

…At least that seemed to satisfy Lark. He nodded, so the five of them got to their feet to explore. Nick still tried to lead the way as they went, though the confidence he started the day with had yet to return. He led the group down the first aisle of craft vendors, and it only took a moment for them to find weaponry. Knives, swords, and blades of all lengths and flame-lengths adorned the table, and Lark…Lark salivated.

“So many beautiful options, brother…” he squealed, pouring over everything on the table.

“Ah, I see we have a blade lover on our hands,” the demon running the booth said. “For someone like yourself, might I offer this?” She held up a knife with a blade as long as Lark’s forearm, and he made a sound akin to a kettle on the stovetop. Nick rolled his eyes, and he glanced around at the other booths for anything more his speed, which was when he spotted a booth selling cowboy hats.

…Well, he didn’t want to admit to his friends how much he enjoyed cowboy movies, but he really loved westerns. His dad introduced him to the movies when he was very young, and they were one of their favorite things to watch together. Nicholas had a cowboy hat when he was younger, but he outgrew it a couple years earlier…

He slipped away from his friends to go down a couple of stalls to the hats.

“Oh, well aren’t you a cutie?” the vendor cooed when Nicholas stopped to look. “Are you Zhao’s boy?” she asked.

“Yeah, that’s my dad,” Nicholas said.

“Well, you know your dad and I used to be friends,” she said. Nicholas looked up at her with a quirked brow, unsure if he could trust this woman. “Yeah, we ran a torture ring together for a while. It was great; your daddy’s a very wicked man.”

“Thanks…” Nicholas grumbled. “Uh, cowboy hats?” he questioned. “That doesn’t seem really, y’know, demonic.”

The woman hummed, and she glanced over at Terry as he made his way over to Nicholas. “Why don’t you have him try one on,” she suggested, nodding to Terry as he took hold of Nick’s hand.

“Uh…” Nicholas knew that was a bad idea. There was no way it could even come close to a good idea.

“What’s going on?” Terry asked.

“I was looking at the hats…” Nick said.

“He seems to be having trouble picking one out, sugarpie, so why don’t you help him out and try one on?” the demon vendor suggested.

“I guess I can—”

“No!” Nick yelped, snatching Terry’s wrist before he could even touch the felt on any of the hats.

“What’s the matter, honey?” the vendor asked, a wicked grin on her face.

“He’s human,” Nick said, and she nodded.

“He sure is; I can smell him from here. Those other three are, too, aren’t they?” A long, pointed tongue snaked out of her mouth and flicked the air, making Terry flinch back. She laughed. “If they wear one of these hats, you can make them your little minions. Doesn’t that sound like fun?”

“Ni—”

“We should go,” Nicholas rushed out before Terry could say his name. “C’mon, let’s go get the others before Lark buys a weapon at every booth.”

“Grant got throwing stars, too, so that’s dangerous,” Terry said as Nicholas dragged him away.

“What’s going on?” Grant asked when Nick and Terry stopped right beside them.

“Lady trying to convince me to turn you guys into minions, and that was really weird,” Nick said.

“You’d have to kill me first,” Lark said matter-of-factly. “Also, look at my knife.”

“Your dad’s gonna be so mad,” Nicholas said, noticing how the blade was longer than Lark’s forearm. “What else—Sparrow?” he tried, glancing over at Sparrow while he looked at fountain pens and coloring supplies.

“These are too expensive,” Sparrow said with a shrug, turning away from the booth. He grabbed Nicholas’s hand and dragged him along a few booths down. Once he was sure the vendor couldn’t see them, he pulled out a fountain pen made of bone.

“Did you steal that?” Nick asked, eyes wide.

“Maybe,” Sparrow said. “It depends on how cool you’re going to be about it.”

Well, when Nicholas thought about it…the vendor probably did kill people. He probably did a lot of bad stuff. He had to get the bone from somewhere, after all, so maybe this wasn’t bad…

“I’m not gonna tell…” Nick said.

“Excellent.” Sparrow grinned, and he squeezed Nicholas’s hand. “There’s something I saw that I wanna show you,” Sparrow said, and Nicholas raised a brow at him. “It’s not a bad thing or a scary thing, I promise.”

“How can you promise that?” Nick asked. Seriously, it was like none of his friends actually understood how Hell worked.

“Just trust me,” Sparrow said, rolling his eyes. He stopped in front of a stall with…pacifiers?

“What?” Nicholas looked at him with confusion on his face. “Seriously?”

“Apparently there’s no shame here about it,” Sparrow said, shrugging.

“Oh, there’s plenty of shame,” the vendor said with a cackle. “So many adults never want to accept that they appreciate…such simple desires.”

“Gross,” Nicholas said, wrinkling up his nose. The vendor just smiled bigger.

“He’s weird, but don’t mind him,” Sparrow said, waving off the man’s concerning laughter. “Look at these!”

The pacifiers were heavily decorated and larger than the baby pacifiers Nicky and Sparrow had. Sparrow picked one up that had a wolf howling in the center. There was a moon in the corner, and the rest of the pacifier had been hand-painted with a nighttime scene, and off-center glow-in-the-dark beads on the handle spelled out ‘AWOO’. “Look how cute it is, Nick!”

“That is really cute…” Nicholas said. He couldn’t deny that the little part of his brain clawed its way forward once again as he looked over all the options. He felt the others’ presences as they came up behind him and Sparrow, and Nick wrapped his tail around Terry’s leg.

“Are you guys gonna get new pacifiers?” Terry asked.

“Look at this one!” Sparrow said, spinning around to face Terry, Grant, and Lark. “It glows in the dark!”

“Can you even sleep with that?” Lark asked. “Wouldn’t all the stuff fall off?”

“We use the strongest glue available to ensure nothing comes off, I assure you,” the vendor said with a chuckle.

“That’s really cute, Sparrow,” Grant said, and Sparrow squealed in delight as he turned back around to pay. “Is there one you like, Nick?”

“Um…” Well, truthfully, there were several that he liked, but one drew Nicky’s attention more than the others. He picked up a black paci with red and blue paint splatters across the front. There were spikes in the holes on the shield, and there was a small, thin chain decorating the handle. In the center was a glittery guitar charm, and Nicky loved it.

“That’s really cool,” Terry said, squeezing Nicky’s hand.

“Mhm…” Nicky did worry that his other paci might feel bad, though, if he bought something so special. He knew it was a silly worry, but it was a worry nonetheless in the back of his head.

“Don’t put that in your mouth!” Grant fussed, startling Nicky out of his thoughts just in time to see Grant yank Sparrow’s new pacifier out of his hands before he put it in his mouth. “You don’t know who’s handled this thing all day!”

Sparrow let out a cry with a few crocodile tears slipping down in his face, but Grant didn’t give him the pacifier back.

“I’m gonna get it…” Nicky said, and he handed over the pacifier to the vendor.

“Ah, splendid choice!” the man said with a delighted laugh. “Be careful not to poke an eye out, now! Those are still spikes!”

“I know…” Nicky said. “It’d be pretty dumb if I hit my eye with something in my mouth…”

“Oh, aren’t you a little smarty?” the vendor cooed. “That’ll be a silver.”

Nicky handed over the coin, and he took his new paci back, holding the baggie happily.

“Let’s go back to your dad’s house!” Sparrow said excitedly, darting ahead. “I wanna be small!”

“You already are!” Grant fussed, grabbing his hand before Sparrow managed to get lost in the crowd.

“I wanna be smaller!” Sparrow said, then, giggling as he swung his and Grant’s joined hands back and forth.

“What do you think, Nicky?” Terry asked. “Wanna go back to your dad’s house?”

“Mhm…” Nicky said. He dug out his old paci from his bag, sticking it in his mouth as they walked. At least this way he would be sure that it didn’t feel neglected just because he got a new one.

“Do you have any games here, or are they all at your mom’s?” Lark asked.

“They’re at Mama’s,” Nicky said. “We can watch movies, though! We got lots of movies, and we can watch Youtube on the TV, too.”

“Movie time!” Sparrow insisted.

Nicky giggled, and he held his new teddy bear close as they went. For a day that started so poorly, Nicky was happy. He got a teddy bear, he got a paci, and he had fun. But, for as much as he had, he couldn’t wait to crash at home and just let himself be small for a while.

He did notice some people and creatures stared at him as the five of them went, but Nicky didn’t understand why. He leaned against Terry’s shoulder, watching as ahead of them Lark stabbed the air with his knife, Sparrow twirled and danced around with Grant’s teddy bear, and Grant tried in vain to wrangle the two of them before someone got hurt. Nicky giggled at them, far too amused.

“Are you laughing at them?” Terry asked, coo in his voice.

“Yeah, they’re silly…” Nicky said, giggling.

“They’re very silly,” Terry said, snickering. “I’m sure Grant’ll be happy to know you laughed at him, though.”

“Don’t say that!” Nicky fussed. But, he did wonder how much bluster Grant would have if Terry did tell him… He giggled more, hoping that Terry would tattle.

“We’ll see,” Terry said with a grin.

“Candy!” Sparrow shouted in delight, pointing to a booth filled with lollipops, hard candy, taffy, and what looked like Hell Fundip.

Nicky gasped, and both Grant and Terry shuddered to realize they still had one more stop before they left.

Chapter Text

“No, put the big blanket over the couch like this,” Nicky explained to Grant as he moved one of the blankets to cascade down the sofa and the dining chair they dragged into the living room.

“I think it would’ve worked fine the way I had it, Nick,” Grant said, snickering when Nicky patted the blankets in satisfaction.

“No, it looked dumb,” Nicky insisted, which got an amused snort out of Grant. Nicky ignored that, though, and crawled into the blanket fort with the rest of their friends.

“Are you fine with the blankets on the floor the way they are?” Terry asked, looking up at Grant as he came in behind Nicky rolling his eyes.

“Yeah, this is fine,” Nicky said.

“I’m sensing some favoritism here,” Grant teased.

“Mhm!” Nicky nodded, though, and that hurt just a little more than Grant would admit. “Sparrow likes you more, but I like Terry more because he’s Terry.”

“That explains nothing, but okay,” Grant said with a laugh.

“It’s not nice to pick favorites, Nicky,” Terry fussed at the same time.

“Nicky, shush!” Sparrow said at the same time as well, pink on his cheeks. Lark cooed at him, leaning in teasingly until he knocked Sparrow over. Sparrow spat out his paci and hit Lark in the cheek, but that only made his brother jump on top of him and roll over to throw Sparrow across himself.

“Alright, seriously, Lark?” Grant said with a sigh. “You’re gonna hurt the baby.”

“I’m not gonna hurt the baby,” Lark said, rolling his eyes. “I know his limits better than you. I could push him off the roof and it’d be fine.”

“Please don’t push him off the roof…” Terry said, cringing. The last thing they needed was a crying, on fire Sparrow…

“I’m not going to! I’m nicer than that; he’s a baby!” Lark said.

The front door opened, and all five boys looked over as their dads came in. Jodie and Glenn led the way, coming in with two buckets of KFC chicken each, while Darryl, Henry, and Ron came in behind them, Henry carrying a bag of Chipotle, Ron carrying a huge teddy bear with glowing red eyes, and Darryl carrying drinks.

“Boys!” Henry called up the stairs. “Oh—never mind!” He startled to see them piled into a blanket fort together in the middle of the living room.

“I told you they’d be back by now,” Glenn said, snickering. He kicked off his shoes and shrugged off his jacket before heading toward the kitchen. “Did you kiddos have fun?” he asked as he disappeared.

“Uh huh!” Nicky said. He laid down with his head in Terry’s lap as if he didn’t know he needed to get up soon. “Grant f’rew up, though.”

“Nick…” Grant groaned. Sparrow giggled, and he laid his head in Grant’s lap, preening as Grant played with his hair.

“Grant? What happened?” Darryl asked, concerned as he brought the drinks to the kitchen.

“I just got sick on the rollercoaster, you know how it is…” Grant grumbled, blushing.

“Did you kids see the nightfillies?” Jodie asked, and Sparrow gasped.

“What’s a nightfilly…?” Terry asked.

“It’s a baby nightmare,” Jodie said with a grin. Henry shuddered.

“Cannot believe horses here are just…evil and on fire,” he said. “Who knew you could make horses worse like that.”

“They’re neat!” Jodie said. “You know, when I was Nick’s age, I had a nightmare. Her name was Debrah.”

“I had a lot of nightmares as a kid,” Ron said. “I still have them, but not as many.”

“Not that kind of nightmare, Ron,” Darryl said.

That seemed to be when Jodie made a decision. “Hey, Nick, what do you say about learning how to ride a nightmare?”

Nicky squeaked, and he rolled over to hide his face in Terry’s stomach.

“Nick…?” Jodie called, stooping down at the entrance to the blanket fort. He spotted Nicky’s baby battle jacket and Sparrow’s pacifier, and it hit him. “Oh…” He should’ve guessed. “Hey, buddy, it’s not so scary… Nightmares aren’t much different from horses. Just, y’know, they can fly. But so can you!” he tried, hoping to make them not seem so scary.

“They can fly?” Sparrow squealed, clearly more interested in the horses than Nicky.

“And they’re on fire, is that correct?” Lark asked, also more interested than Nicky.

“Boys, you’re not getting a nightmare,” Henry said quickly. Sparrow and Lark both despaired.

“They sound really cool, Nicky…” Terry said, running his fingers through Nicky’s hair. “What do you think, lil guy?”

“Scary…” Nicky whined into Terry’s tummy.

Jodie sighed, and he nodded. “Alright, bud, it was just an idea. If it seems too scary, we don’t have to worry about it, okay? Let’s just eat dinner.”

Nicky lifted his head up, confused. His dad made his way to the kitchen, so Nicky sat up. Were they supposed to follow? Did his dad understand why it sounded so scary? Nicky hadn’t even ridden a pony since he was maybe five years old, and that was at the fair where the ponies only went in a circle. Riding a big nightmare seemed scary! Why was his dad sad?

“C’mon, let’s get up,” Grant whispered, and he ushered Sparrow out of the blanket fort. Lark went with them, and Terry tried to get Nicky to go.

“Is it okay?” Nicky asked Terry as he stood up. Terry furrowed his brows in confusion.

“Is what okay?” he asked.

Nicky didn’t even know for sure what he was asking. Terry was just supposed to know these things. “Dad…?”

“Um…” Terry glanced toward the kitchen where he could see Jodie trying to serve up dinner. “It seems like he’s a little sad you didn’t want to ride a horse…?” he tried. “But it’s okay if you don’t want to. If it’s too scary, you don’t have to.”

“But…” Nicky sighed in irritation. That wasn’t even what he said. He just said it was scary!

He stomped into the kitchen, frustration on his face and arms crossed over his chest.

“Nicky…?” Terry called, following after him. Jodie looked up when the two of them stopped in front of him. “What’s wrong, lil guy?” Terry asked.

“Said nightmares is scary, Daddy, didn’t say they’re bad…” Nicky said to his dad. He then tossed himself back into Terry’s arms, much to Terry’s surprise.

“Uh…?” Jodie looked at Terry for any explanation, but that only got him a shrug. “So you do want to learn how to ride one?” he asked. Nicky whined into Terry’s shoulder.

“Maybe let’s wait on this sorta thing ‘til the kids have some dinner,” Glenn suggested, nudging Nicky and Terry’s plates toward them. “Go hang out, kids. Worry about fire horses later.”

Nicky huffed, but he grabbed his plate and stomped off toward the blanket fort once again. Terry tried to apologize before running off after him.

“Do you know what’s happening there?” Jodie asked Glenn, still very confused.

“I think he’s trying to say he’s nervous, but he wouldn’t mind learning,” Glenn tried. “Just, y’know, he’s scared about it. Probably because he doesn’t know what he’s doing, and he’s always been the kind of kid that’s gotta know exactly what’s going on and how something works or he freaks out a little bit.”

Jodie hummed to himself. Maybe Glenn was right…

“Where’d you boys get these…?” Henry asked later that night when he noticed the new pacifiers scattered on the blankets in the fort. He picked one up, surprised by how much bigger these pacis were compared to the ones he was used to seeing at this point.

“There was someone selling them at the fair,” Sparrow explained. “I also found this!” he said as he held up his bone pen.

“Is that—oh, boy…”

“It’s made of real bone!” Sparrow said, utterly delighted.

“How much did you spend on a bone pen…?” Henry asked, but he was a little afraid of what the answer would be.

“Nothing!” Sparrow said, though, with a big smile on his face. “The vendor just let me have it!”

“Mmm…is that true, Lark?” Henry asked.

“Sure,” Lark said with a shrug. “Why wouldn’t it be true? Aren’t you more concerned that it is a pen made entirely of bone?”

“The ink isn’t blood, if that is a concern of yours, father,” Sparrow said.

“I wasn’t worried about that until just now, but thank you,” Henry said. He thought he might pass out. “So, someone sold pacifiers at the fair?” he questioned since that just seemed…odd.

“He had a lot of them!” Sparrow said. “He was kind of weird, though, but we just ignored that part and got what we wanted.”

“Weird how…?” Henry asked.

“We washed them before Sparrow or Nicky were allowed to use them,” Grant said in hopes of reassuring Henry just a bit. “We were a little bit worried that they could’ve had something on them to drug them or something, or just a lot of dirt. There was a lot of dirt, actually.”

“Ah…”

Jodie glanced into the blanket fort when he heard Henry talking to the kids about pacifiers. He thought it was strange, too, that someone sold them at the fair, so he wanted to see what his son bought. “What do we have here?” he asked, stooping down beside Henry. He picked up a large pacifier with a guitar in the middle that certainly seemed like it was his son’s.

“Sparrow found the booth, and I’ve seen the bigger pacis like that online before, so…it was kind of cool to find them like this,” Nick said with a shrug. He blushed bright red and reached over to snatch his paci out of his dad’s hand. “It’s not a big deal, I promise.”

“Did you get a pen, too, kiddo?” Henry asked.

“No, that was Sparrow’s thing,” Nick said. He made eye contact with Sparrow, and they both fell over laughing.

“That’s not concerning, not one little bit,” Henry said with a nervous laugh.

“Don’t worry about it, Mr. Oak,” Terry tried.

“Yeah, unfortunately, kiddo, that doesn’t make me not worry,” Henry said.

“Father, these things are not nearly as worrying as they seem to be in your eyes,” Sparrow said. “Nick and I were under supervision, and my pen is not even a weapon! Lark got a weapon, and while many people claim that the pen is mightier than the sword, they are wrong.”

“Lark got a weapon?” Henry asked, suddenly much more concerned.

“Brother, how could you?” Lark asked in dismay.

“I apologize for nothing, Lark.”

Nick rolled his eyes, leaning back against Terry. However, he did notice that his dad had not left yet, and he worried that he knew exactly why that was. “It’s really not a big deal, Dad,” he tried again, scooting over to the entrance of the fort as he tried to hide his paci behind himself.

“As long as you’re okay…” Jodie said, but it was clear he had more worries than just a new pacifier from a sketchy vendor at the Hell Carnival. He cleared his throat. “So, uh…since you’re not small anymore…can I ask about how you reacted to the idea of learning to ride a nightmare?”

Nick groaned, and he sat his pacifier away. He leaned back on his hands to seem more casual than he felt. “I didn’t say that I don’t want to learn or anything…” he said. “Just, y’know, it’s kind of scary. They’re horses that are on fire and that hate everybody except their one person. And that fly. Which is messed up.”

Jodie huffed a laugh, and he nodded. “It’s definitely hard to fathom, that’s for sure,” he said.

“I’d be okay with learning. You did it as a kid, and I’m just as cool as you were, so I think I can do it,” Nicholas said.

“Well…we could always start with a horse on Earth, and we can work our way up to a nightmare,” Jodie offered. “One of the guys I worked with has a bunch of horses, and he does classes, so…we could maybe teach all you kids. It’d be a helpful skill to have, just in case.”

“And then I get my own nightmare?” Nicholas asked.

“Yep. You’ll get to name her and everything,” Jodie said, hoping to entice his son. He grinned when Nicholas actually seemed a little excited for something in Hell.

“Well, no offense, Dad, but I’m probably not going to name her after Debrah,” Nicholas teased, and Jodie gasped in mock offense.

“Fine, I see how it is,” Jodie said, snickering. “But, seriously, if you kids are interested, I’ll call my buddy tomorrow and see about getting you kids in for lessons.”

“Okay, Dad…” Nicholas said with a little grin. “It’ll be kind of fun to do something like this that we can do together, maybe…”

“I think so, too,” Jodie said. He almost wanted to uninvite the other kids just so he could teach his kid by themselves. But, Jodie also understood that Nicholas was more likely to do something if he could have all his friends around. That was fine, he could handle that, because his son wanted to hang out with him, too.

“Lark, you cannot have a knife like that!” Henry fussed.

“Uh oh, we’re about to have a fight on our hands,” Jodie said.

“This isn’t good…” Nick groaned. Terry scooted over with wide eyes when he very narrowly missed getting a haircut from Lark’s wild swings.

“Are you sure you want him to learn how to ride a horse?” Terry asked. “Then he’ll be armed and mounted.”

“If it’s terrifying for us, it’s worse for our enemies,” Nick reasoned.

“It’s definitely terrifying…”

“We’ll put Lark on a slightly more docile horse,” Jodie said. “Maybe that’ll teach him to settle down and not go the most dangerous route every time.”

“Dad, you’ve met Lark,” Nicholas said with an eyeroll.

“Okay, fair point,” Jodie snickered. “When did you get sassy? Go back to being a cute little kid, not a sassy teenager.”

“I can be both,” Nicholas said, sitting up taller with his chin up. Terry rolled his eyes and grabbed Nick’s pacifier to press to his face.

“You’re mostly a cute little kid,” he teased, and Nick screeched as he fell over.

“Dad, Terry’s being mean!” Nicholas tattled, and Jodie had to laugh out loud. Maybe the ways he and Nicholas bonded had changed, but at least Nicholas was still the same kid he loved so much. At least Jodie was still his dad, even if the circumstances led to breaking up petty squabbles instead of playing silly games together.

Chapter Text

The stables Jodie and the dads brought them to were…quaint, Nicholas thought. He hadn’t ever really used the word quaint before, but it was on his first vocabulary list of the school year, so it was at the front of his mind. There were several horses grazing in a field, there were a few more inside being groomed, and there were even other animals running around.

“Is that a sheep?” Sparrow asked, gasping when the baby sheep ran up to him bleating. “Do you want to come home with me?” he asked, petting the sheep that rubbed its head happily against his leg.

“We can’t take a sheep home, Sparrow,” Henry said with a laugh. “But she’s a very cute sheep.”

“There’s even chickens, too,” Terry said, laughing when one of the chickens ran under a fence, then back the way it came, then back under again.

“Dad, I thought you said they do lessons here…?” Nicholas asked.

“They do!” Jodie said. “Drew’ll be out here in a minute to start teaching you kids, but he said he had to take care of something first.”

“Why don’t you kids go play with the horses over there?” Darryl suggested, pointing out the ones grazing not that far away. “Might be helpful to get familiar with them first!”

“Sure, whatever,” Grant said with a shrug. He tried to lead the way over, act like he wasn’t scared, but he had to admit that seeing such big horses did scare him just a bit. Nicholas followed along beside him, and Lark walked on his other side, neither of them seeming quite as afraid as Grant felt. Which wasn’t fair.

“Woah, look at this one,” Nicholas said as one of the horses trotted over to them. The horse was black-and-white splotched with a black mane. One of the spots on its flank almost looked like a heart, and that made Nicholas grin. “You’re cool…” he said, reaching his hand out to pet the horse. It leaned into his touch and let him pet its nose.

“Cute!” Sparrow cooed. “Did you see its side?”

“It has a heart on its side,” Terry said, snickering. He reached out to the pet the horse as well. “I wonder what its name is…”

“That would be Licorice,” came a voice from behind, startling all five boys as they spun around. A man stood behind them wearing a cowboy hat and cowboy boots, and he had a little grin on his face. “Sorry, didn’t mean to scare you!” he said, but the amusement in his voice said he wasn’t very sorry. “Which one of you is Jodie’s boy?” he asked, but his eyes fell on Nicholas.

“Me,” Nick said with an awkward wave. “I’m Nicholas…”

“Well, last time I saw you, you were about this big,” he said, putting a hand out level with his hip. “But your daddy says you boys are gonna learn how to ride! So this’ll be a lot of fun! My name’s Drew, by the way.”

“Are these the horses we’re going to ride?” Lark asked. He looked back at Licorice and all her friends, all of whom seemed a bit…small. “Aren’t there really big horses with furry feet? I want one of those!”

Drew laughed, and he shook his head. “There are horses a lot bigger than these guys, but we don’t have them here, and those are generally not good horses to start riding on.”

“You underestimate my abilities,” Lark said, which only earned him more amused laughter. He didn’t appreciate that.

“Well, maybe one of these days we’ll work you up to a bigger horse,” Drew said. He clapped his hands together, and Grant tried to pretend he didn’t jump. “For now, though! We’re not using these guys; these horses are ones we take care of, but they have other owners. We’re going to get you kids set up on some other horses that we’ve been getting ready for you, and we’ll start our lessons!”

“Who does Licorice belong to?” Nick asked, giving her one more quick pet.

“A little girl probably around your age,” Drew said. “Maybe she’s in class with you kids? Her name is Cassie.”

Nicholas tripped over his own feet as he walked, and all eyes landed on him. “C-Cassie?” he questioned, his voice pitching up.

“Do you know her?” Drew asked.

“Oh, he knows her alright,” Terry said, teasing grin on his face.

“Shut up, Terry!” Nicholas fussed, smacking his arm. Terry cackled as he ran ahead with Nick chasing after him.

“Hey, you’re looking good up there, Nicholas!” Jodie said, snickering as Nick led his horse, a sandy-colored mare with a white mane named Apple, over to his dad. “Are you having fun?” Jodie asked.

“Yeah, this is pretty cool,” Nicholas said with a shrug. The horse didn’t stay still, though, stepping forward then back. Nick squeaked as he tried to steady himself. Just a little ways down, Drew chased down Sparrow before he figured out how to jump his horse over the fence. Grant tried to help him, but his stuttering and blushing didn’t do much to stop Sparrow. “I think Grant has a crush on our instructor,” Nick said with a laugh.

“Poor kid,” Jodie said with a snorted laugh. “So, I heard that your girl has her pony here,” he said, and Nick turned a bright enough red to rival Grant.

“She’s not my girl! I haven’t even talked to her since I met her!” Nicholas said.

“Well, if we come out here for lessons more and more, you might run into her,” Jodie said with a grin. “That’d be fun, wouldn’t it?”

Nick thought he might throw up.

“I’m gonna go find Terry!” Nick squeaked out, nudging Apple’s side until she trotted away from his dad. Nicholas rode all the way over to Terry, who still struggled to make his horse go forward rather than backward. “You’re going the wrong way, you know,” Nicholas said as he came up beside Terry.

“Believe me, if we could go forward, we would go forward,” Terry said, frustrated. “I think my horse is broken.”

Terry’s horse was a solid gray one with a darker gray mane, and it was named Earl.

“He’s not broken, you’re just bad at this,” Nicholas said, snickering.

“Well not all of us were obsessed with horses when we were little,” Terry said. Nick stuck his tongue out at Terry, who copied the action back at him. “Speaking of…” Terry started, and Earl took another step backward. “This isn’t making you feel small, is it?”

If Nicholas weren’t already blushing so brightly, he was sure that would’ve ignited his face. “I’m not small, Terry,” he said, and he fidgeted in his saddle. Apple seemed a bit nervous with all that, but she just turned her head toward him. “Like, yeah, I liked horses and cowboys and stuff when I was a kid, but just being around horses doesn’t make me feel small…”

“I just wanted to check,” Terry said with a shrug. “It’s okay, y’know. I wasn’t trying to imply anything, promise.”

“I know…” Nick said with a pout.

“How about we take a break, boys!” Drew said. Terry and Nick looked toward him, and the poor man looked out of breath and flustered. Sparrow and Lark scowled as they trotted off toward the stables.

“Alright, I brought some snacks for you kids,” Henry said as he placed an orange in all five boys’ hands, and he grabbed some small cartons of chocolate coconut water, handing them out.

“What’s this…?” Terry asked, confused.

“It’s basically vegan Yoo-hoos!” Henry said with a grin. “Go ahead and try it! I bet you boys’ll love it!”

Terry watched Grant first to see if he liked it. Grant shrugged, and he stuck the straw in his mouth. “S’okay,” he said, glancing at Terry. “Definitely not a Yoo-hoo, but it’s not bad.”

“So, what do you kids think so far?” Jodie asked, grinning happily as he leaned against the wall opposite of where the boys sat.

“I think we’re ready for the nightmares,” Lark said matter-of-factly.

“Uh—I don’t know about that,” Henry said.

“You’ve had one lesson, kiddo,” Darryl said, snickering.

“Yes, and now I am ready to ride something more flammable,” Lark insisted.

“I think he should just get to ride one,” Ron said with a shrug. Lark’s eyes grew wider, and he pointed at Ron as though that might sway the other dads in any way.

“Sorry, Lark, but I don’t think so,” Henry said, wincing. Really, there were few other things that sounded like as bad an idea as that sounded.

“Fine,” Lark groaned.

Nick snacked on his orange, and he watched out into the field. He didn’t see Licorice anymore, which was…sad. She really was a pretty horse, but it made him even happier to have that reminder of Cassie. Then he saw Licorice canter past the stables with a rider on her back. Nicholas squeaked in surprise, which unfortunately grabbed everyone’s attentions.

“Nick?” Terry questioned until he saw Licorice with a girl her on back. The girl had long black hair, freckles galore, and she had butterflies on her helmet. “Ohhhh…” Terry recognized her if only from Nicholas’s rambling.

“Was that who I think it was?” Jodie asked, which only made Nicholas blush even brighter.

“Gonna go say hi?” Grant asked, smirking as he nudged Nick’s arm. This felt like good payback for the kissy faces Nick made at him for talking to Drew.

“Sh-she’s busy,” Nick said, shaking his head.

“You’re gonna miss out on another kiss, though,” Grant said, far too amused. Nicholas shoved his shoulder and almost knocked him onto the ground.

“I’ll go with you, Nick?” Sparrow offered, but Nick only shrank back further against the wall.

“What’s going on?” Henry asked, confused.

“Is that the little girl he likes?” Darryl asked.

“You don’t have to say that so loud!” Nicholas cried. He jumped to his feet, dizzy, and marched out toward the field before anyone could humiliate him more. Nicholas didn’t look back as he went, too afraid that he’d see everyone watching him. “This is stupid, this is stupid, this is so stupid.”

“Nick-o-las!” Cassie said, which nearly sent Nick running back to his friends. “I didn’t know you came out here!”

“U-uh, well, actually…um, I’m getting riding lessons with my friends,” Nicholas said, pointing over his shoulder toward his friends. Cassie glanced over, and she giggled, which Nick knew meant everyone was watching them. “I-I didn’t expect to see you here!” he said, voice rising higher and higher.

“Yeah, my dad is friends with Mr. Drew, so we keep Licorice here,” Cassie said, patting the horse’s side. She hopped off her horse so she could be eye-to-eye with Nicholas, grinning as she stood in front of him. “Did you see her earlier? Mr. Drew said there were some boys hanging around her…”

“Y-yeah, yeah, my friends and I were petting her…” Nicholas said. “She j-just came right up to us! And she’s really pretty!”

“Thanks,” Cassie said, giggling. “Licorice loves people, so she was probably really excited to meet a bunch of new folk!”

“That’s cool…” Nicholas managed out. He cleared his throat. “S-so, do you come out here a lot? Because we’ve got lessons every Saturday for a couple months…”

“Yep, I come out here all the time!” Cassie said. “Riding kinda helps clear my head, and it’s relaxing.”

“C-cool! So we’ll see you a lot more!” Nick said.

“Maybe when you get good enough, we could race,” Cassie suggested with a smirk. “Unless you’re the type of boy that hates to lose to girls.”

Oh, there was that spark that Nicholas needed. He grinned, and he nodded. “So long as you’re not the type of girl that thinks boys’ll throw the competition for you,” he added.

“I’ll have a lot more fun kicking your butt if it’s genuine, believe me,” Cassie said.

“If you’re so confident, then maybe we can make a bet?” Nicholas tried. Cassie raised a brow, intrigued, so Nicholas shot his shot. “Loser has to take the winner on a date a-and do everything for them, be all sweet and all that.”

“I like that bet,” Cassie said. Nicholas thought he might pass out. “Let me know when you’re over-confident, and we’ll have that race, okay?”

“O-okay!” Nick barely even registered the words she said. Did she even say anything to him? When did the world start spinning so fast?

Cassie leaned over and kissed his cheek before she hopped back on Licorice, and Nicholas’s knees held up until she had her back to him.

“Let’s get you back inside…” Jodie said, barely containing his laughter as he carried Nick back to the others. Nick didn’t even realize his dad was anywhere near them. When did he get there? How long had Nicholas been on the ground? He really hoped Cassie didn’t see him collapse.

“She kissed you again, huh?” Terry asked, amused, as Jodie sat Nick back down beside him.

“She kissed me,” Nicky said, giggling. He curled up beside Terry and hugged his arm. “We’re gonna go on a date! She likes me!”

“You’re gonna go on a date…?” Grant asked, surprised.

Nicky giggled, nodding, and he stuck his thumb in his mouth while his other hand flapped at his side just to get his excitement out. He buried his face in Terry’s shoulder and let out all of his excited, happy squeals.

“We’ve lost Nicholas,” Lark said. “He’s too far gone.”

“He’s in love, brother, that’s sweet!” Sparrow insisted. Nicky squeaked, but he couldn’t argue with Sparrow. He was in love with the prettiest girl he’d ever met, and she kissed him again.

“Daddy, I gotta get better at horses!” Nicky said, and Jodie just laughed.

“We’ll get there, buddy,” Jodie said.

“Now!”

“You might be a bit small for that right now…” Jodie tried, but that only got him a pout. “Maybe you could just watch Cassie ride for a few minutes?”

Well, Jodie didn’t have to say that twice. Nicky grabbed Terry’s hand and dragged him to a bench outside the stables with a good view of the field Cassie and Licorice were in. At least Nicky didn’t have to worry about Terry being mean, and he knew Terry wouldn’t be able to resist playing with his hair if Nicky laid in his lap, so Nicky made himself comfortable.

“You’re not a bit spoiled,” Terry commented while he ran his fingers through Nicky’s hair. Nicky whined, but he didn’t argue. “Are you calmer, now?” Terry asked.

“No, never,” Nicky said. He jammed his thumb in his mouth, and Terry sighed.

“Maybe I should go warn Cassie about how rotten you are,” he said, which only got him a glare from Nicky. “She deserves to know,” he said, barely containing his laughter.

“Maybe I should say you’re a poopyhead to her so she knows how mean you are,” Nicky mumbled. Terry couldn’t help but burst out laughing at that, which was the opposite effect Nicky meant to have. Oops.

Chapter Text

A portal opened into the living room, and Nicholas looked up as his dad and Glenn stepped through.

“Hey, kiddo!” Jodie greeted with a big grin on his face. “Where’s your mom?”

“She’s upstairs getting ready,” Nicholas said, pointing with his pencil toward the ceiling. Jodie nodded, and he took off up the stairs.

“So, looks like it’ll be us tonight, kid,” Glenn said, groaning as he took a seat on the opposite end of the sofa. “What’cha been up to? Your dad’s been saying some pretty interesting stuff…”

“We started our riding lessons over the weekend,” Nicholas said, sitting up straighter. He dropped his pencil into the spine of his textbook and set it aside. “Cassie apparently has a horse there, too,” he said so seriously. Nicholas saw the twitch of amusement on Glenn’s face, but he tried to ignore it.

“That’s exciting, then,” Glenn said. “Did you see her?”

“Yeah, she was there after we finished out lesson, and I got to talk to her,” Nicholas said. He puffed out his chest, smiled proudly, and looked for all the world like a man far too confident considering he stammered and stuttered his way through talking to her.

“Well, look at you, big man!” Glenn praised, snickering.

Jodie and Morgan came downstairs, then, Morgan still fixing her earrings as she walked over to Nicholas.

“Okay, we’re just going out to dinner, so we shouldn’t be too long,” she said, kissing the top of Nicholas’s head. “Are you done with your homework, hon?”

“Just about,” Nick said with a shrug.

“Alright, well be sure to get it done, and don’t eat a bunch of junk for dinner,” Morgan said. “There’s some leftovers from yesterday still in the fridge, okay?”

“Okay, Mom…” Nicholas said with a groan.

“Love you, sweetie!” Morgan cooed, and she hugged him. Nicholas hugged her back.

“Love you, too… Have fun,” he said.

“Try not to bug him all night about Cassie, Glenn,” Jodie said, and Nicholas squeaked.

“You told him?” he whined. “I was gonna do that!”

“Relax, I still wanna hear it from you, kiddo,” Glenn said, ruffling Nick’s hair despite the protests he got.

“Sorry, buddy, I was proud of you, that’s all!” Jodie said. He opened the front door for Morgan, and he waved toward Nicholas. “Love you, bud!”

“Love you…” Nick grumbled.

Once the door shut, Glenn looked at Nicholas with a big grin on his face. “So, Casanova, your dad did say that you and Cassie are going on a date?”

“We have a bet,” Nick said, which intrigued Glenn. “When I get better at riding, we’re gonna have a race, and whoever loses has to take the other on a date and, like, be all romantic and take care of the other, do all that kind of stuff.”

“Ohhh, so no matter what, you two are going out?” Glenn asked, snickering. “Sounds like you’ve got it made.”

“I’m really nervous, though,” Nick said. “Like, um, sh-she’s kissed me twice, now, and I think she likes me, but…how do you, like…do romantic stuff?”

“Well, the best thing you can do is figure out who she is, and be her best friend, and then learn what her favorite flowers are and send her at least two dozen of them,” Glenn said. “Then send her steak.”

“Is this what you did with Nick’s mom…?” Nicholas asked.

“Oh, yeah, when I met my Morgan, I sent her this huge thing of chrysanthemums that she loved, sent it to her at work, and then the next day I sent her a big pack of ribs,” Glenn said.

“Why ribs…?” Nicholas asked. “Mom doesn’t like ribs.”

“Yeah, found that out the hard way,” Glenn said. Nicholas had to cover his mouth to hide his laughter. “I sent her an apology edible arrangement the next day.”

“Where did being her best friend come in?” Nicholas asked.

“Ah, that was when we went to Disneyworld together, when I started going with her for just little things all the time. Like, she would just have errands to run, she’d call me, and I went with her just to be company,” Glenn said. “We got groceries together so often that I think she just forgot we weren’t that serious yet, and next thing I knew we were living together, and I’d never been happier.”

“That’s cool…” Nick said, face far warmer than he wanted.

“Now, you’re only thirteen, so don’t think about moving in with your girlfriend yet,” Glenn said, and Nicholas’s warm face nearly caught fire.

“I wasn’t thinking about that!” he shouted. “We aren’t boyfriend and girlfriend yet, anyway!”

Glenn laughed, and Nicholas grabbed a pillow to scream into. “Relax, kiddo, I was just teasing you,” Glenn managed through his laughter, tugging the pillow away before Nick smothered himself. “Man, you’re really nervous, aren’t you?”

“Of course I’m nervous!” Nick fussed.

“Is there more to it than just being nervous about potentially having a girlfriend?” Glenn asked. Nicholas shrank into himself, and he picked at his nails.

“I’m a demon, I’m a big baby…and she’s perfect,” Nicholas said. “Even after just seeing her for five minutes, I got so nervous and excited that I was small, and Terry had to take care of me the rest of the time we were there… I-I can’t date her. I’m gonna screw it up.”

“Have you thought about maybe taking one of those things off your plate?” Glenn suggested. “Maybe tell her a little secret, see how she reacts, and go from there?”

“I want her to like me, Glenn,” Nick fussed. “Either secret I tell her, she’s not going to like me anymore, and I know there’s the whole oh if they don’t like the whole you, they don’t like you at all thing, but—”

“Oh, yeah, no, that’s bullshit,” Glenn said, waving him off. “Look, you don’t have to give her everything about you, kid. But, she still needs to know who it is she likes,” he explained. “Right now, what does she know about you?”

“That my name is Nicholas, I can’t ride a horse, I go to public school, and she thinks I’m cute and she knows I think she’s cute…” Nick said.

“She might need a little more than that,” Glenn said. “You don’t have to tell her your whole story. It’s okay if you never tell her everything you’ve gone through, or that my Nick went through. It’s okay if you never tell her about Nick or anything else that you want to keep quiet. But she does need to know who Nicholas is.”

“So I should tell her I’m a demon…” Nicholas said, questioning tone in his voice.

“If you want that to be part of Nicholas that she knows about,” Glenn said with a nod. “If she likes you, then she’s going to want to know who you are. You don’t have to tell her everything, but maybe figure out what you do want her to know…”

For a moment, Nick stayed quiet, thinking. He nodded, and he shifted in his seat. “I almost think I’d rather her know I’m a baby than have her know about the demon stuff.”

“That’s your choice,” Glenn said.

“I don’t want her to know about that. I don’t want her to know either thing,” Nick said.

“That’s not helpful here, bud.”

“What if we go on a date, and I regress?” Nicholas asked, suddenly horrified as the idea popped into his head. “That’d be so embarrassing!”

“Maybe that’s why you should tell her a little bit about yourself,” Glenn tried.

Nicholas squeaked, and he gathered up his books to run off to his room, practically billowing a cartoonish trail of smoke in his wake. Glenn sighed, and he smacked his leg. “Great talk, kiddo!” This was why he didn’t do talks.

“Terry!” Nicky squeaked as he crashed through a portal into Terry’s room.

“I should’ve realized when you asked to come over that you’d portal in,” Terry said, giggling in bed.

“Couldn’t wait,” Nicky said. He shuffled over to the bed and hopped up beside Terry. Already, Nicky wore his baby jacket with his new paci hanging off it, and he cuddled his plush bunny to his chest as he snuggled against Terry.

“Rotten lil guy,” Terry cooed teasingly, and he wrapped an arm around Nicky. “So, what’s going on? Were you just feeling small and snuggly, or…?”

“Wanted cuddles!” Nicky insisted.

“Uh huh, and why’s that?” Terry asked.

“ ‘Cause I like cuddles,” Nicky said. “Glenn gave Nick Close’s mama ribs as a p’esent.”

Terry snorted a laugh at that. “Okay? How’d you learn that?” he asked.

“He said,” Nicky explained. “Asked him how to go out with Cassie ‘nd he told me…”

“Ohhh…” The pieces started to fit together, Terry thought. “Are you scared about Cassie?” he asked.

For a moment, Nicky was quiet, and he buried his nose in Terry’s arm. Then, “What if I’m small around her?” he asked quietly. “What if she don’t like me ‘cause I’m small o-or…or if she finds out ‘m a demon…”

“Most people probably would think that’s really cool,” Terry said, ignoring it when Nicky kicked him.

“Glenn said I should tell her something…”

“He’s probably right,” Terry said. “Does she know anything about you?”

Nicky huffed, and he didn’t answer, which told Terry everything he needed to know. “If you’re worried about being small around her, then just…tell her sometimes you act small, but it’s not a big deal, and you’re still happy, just nervous?”

“Or what if I throw up ‘stead?” Nicky said.

“Well that probably wouldn’t go over well,” Terry said. “Most people don’t like getting thrown up on.”

“Throw up on you…” Nicky grumbled, pouting.

“That’s just not nice,” Terry fussed, but he couldn’t help snickering. “You’re worrying about stuff that isn’t even close to happening yet, Nicky. Can’t you just…relax, let yourself be friends with her, then just let stuff happen naturally?”

“No.”

“You’re impossible, I hope you know that.”

“You’re a butthead.” Nicky huffed, and he hugged Terry close, burying his nose in his neck. “I’m cute, yeah?”

“I mean, yeah?” Terry said carefully. What was Nicky thinking?

“More cute than demon?” he tried, and that at least told Terry a little bit of what was going through his head.

“You’re a very cute demon, how’s that?” Terry tried. “Both things are you.”

Nicky huffed. “Not bad?” he tried.

“You’re not bad, Nicky,” Terry said.

“What if I got a date with Cassie ‘nd I don’t tell her I’m a demon, and I don’t tell her ‘m scary, and then she’s scared later?” Nicky asked.

“That’s what you have those puppy eyes for,” Terry tried. At least that seemed to make Nicky happy, and he giggled. Terry grinned at him, squeezing Nicky closer. “You’ve got those cute, big eyes, and she won’t be able to be scared of you.”

“She’ll kiss me again…” Nicky said, squealing into Terry’s shoulder.

“You just like when she kisses you,” Terry laughed.

“Mhm!” Nicky nodded, absolutely beaming at Terry. “She could kiss me forever ‘nd that’d be awesome!”

“Dork,” Terry said, snorting a laugh. “This is why I know she won’t be scared of you even if you tell her you’re a demon. She’ll see your tail, like, curl into a heart or something, and she’ll just kiss you, and she’ll know what a dork you are.”

“My tail don’t do that!” Nicky whined.

“It could, though,” Terry said. Nicky kicked him again, which Terry laughed at. “Are you going to let the rest of us talk to her next time? Because I’ve got some tips for her.”

“No!” Nicky whined. “You can’t talk to her ever.”

“I can’t ever talk to her?” Terry questioned, amused grin on his face. “Why can’t I ever talk to her? What, am I not going to be your best man at your wedding?”

“That don’t mean you gotta talk to her!” Nicky said. “You can’t talk to her ‘cause you’ll tell her ‘m rotten and stuff, and you’ll tell her I can’t have candy even though I can!”

“That’s fine, Grant can tell her that stuff for me,” Terry said. Nicky gasped.

“Grant can’t talk to her ever, neither!”

Terry burst out laughing at that one. “Who can talk to her, then? The twins?”

“Sparrow can talk to her…” Nicky grumbled. “Lark’ll tell her ‘m a baby because he’s mean.”

“Yeah, you’re probably right,” Terry snickered. “I don’t know how much Sparrow will help you out, though, because he’s a little shit, too.”

“Gonna tell her ‘bout magic so maybe she’ll think you guys are weird ‘cause’a that,” Nicky said. Terry snorted a laugh. “Tell her you’re a vampire.”

“As long as she also knows I’m not your boyfriend, just your caregiver, and that I don’t plan on turning you into a vampire,” Terry said.

“Maybe you should talk to her,” Nicky said, realizing just what Terry could clarify. “My dad can’t talk to her.”

“Oh, but I can, now?”

“Two sentences.”

“Compound-complex?”

“No.”

Chapter Text

“Can I help you?” Nick laughed as Sparrow climbed onto his horse behind him. “What’re you doing?”

“We’re sharing,” Sparrow deadpanned, and he cuddled Sage to his chest. “Sage says you’re better at this than we are, and he wants his other daddy to give him a ride.”

Nicholas rolled his eyes, but he couldn’t help being amused. Sparrow was pretty cute when he was small (though, Nick would argue not quite as cute as him), so he let him get away with whatever he wanted. Their riding lessons were mostly over for the day, so they were just playing around on the horses for a little longer while their dads got snacks together.

“Do you not like riding, Sparrow?” Nicholas asked as Apple trotted toward the fence.

“I like riding…” Sparrow mumbled. He rested his head against Nicholas’s shoulder and sighed heavily.

“So how come you don’t want to ride with Sage?” Nick asked.

“My horse don’t like me…” Sparrow grumbled. He sniffled and moved his head to the other side, staring at the tree line while Nicholas came to a stop. “I tried to speak to him, and he was mean. Said I smell bad and my teeth whistle…”

“Well, that’s just mean,” Nicholas said. He hopped off his horse and held his arms up to help Sparrow down. “You don’t even smell bad this time. He was just being mean for no reason.”

Sparrow shrugged. He didn’t smile, he didn’t laugh about not smelling bad this time, nothing. He just hugged Sage close under his chin. Nicholas was not built for this side of caring.

“Wanna go get a big hug from Grant?” he suggested, and Sparrow thankfully nodded. Luckily for them, Grant was also done for the day, so he dismounted and looked up to see the two approach.

“What’s up?” Grant asked. Sparrow opened his arms without a word, and Grant tugged him in against his chest without another question. He squeezed Sparrow tight, swaying from side to side with him until he got a smile. “Did something happen?” he asked Nick, who sighed.

“Apparently his horse thinks he smells bad and that his teeth whistle, so he doesn’t like him,” Nick explained. “When that made Sparrow small, I dunno, but I figured…y’know…hugs make things better.”

“And you couldn’t hug him?” Grant asked, snickering in amusement.

“He likes you more!” Nick insisted.

“Then why did he go over to you first?” Grant asked with a smirk.

“I don’t know!” Nicholas fussed, blushing. “Shut up.”

“Everything okay?” Lark asked as he came over with Terry. “Sparrow?”

“I’m okay…” Sparrow mumbled into Grant’s chest, burying his face in his shirt.

“His horse was a jerk, so now he’s upset and needs Grant hugs,” Nicholas explained.

Terry raised a brow, glancing over at Grant, who rolled his eyes. Lark didn’t seem to notice or care about their silent conversation as he leaned over Grant’s shoulder to see his brother’s face.

“Do we need to fight a horse?” he asked so genuinely, and were the circumstances different Grant might have laughed. Sparrow shook his head, though, so Lark backed down. “Just let me know, and I will be by your side.”

“Please don’t try to fight a horse,” Terry tried, but he knew his words fell on deaf ears. He sighed, and he looked over at Nick chewing his nails. “Everything okay?” he asked.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Nick said with a shrug.

“Boys!” Henry shouted. “Snacktime!”

Well, there was certainly no faster way to get all five boys inside. They ran for the stables, nearly collapsing on the straw floor as they went. Sparrow held onto Grant’s hand, which the dads clocked fairly quickly. Henry looked at Grant or Lark for any sort of explanation, but neither boy offered up anything.

“We’ve got some granola bars, bananas, and some Gatorade, boys,” Darryl said. The boys greedily snatched up their snacks and took their seats on the benches against the wall opposite the stable stalls. “Did you kids have fun out there?”

“It was pretty fun,” Nicholas said with a shrug, shoving half his banana in his mouth at once despite Terry’s fussing.

“What about you, Sparrow?” Henry asked since it seemed he would only get an answer from him.

“My horse don’t like me…” he mumbled, and he squeezed Sage closer.

“Well, there’s others you can ride, kid,” Jodie said with a shrug.

“Henry, how does it feel that even your son is bullied by horses just like you?” Ron asked. Henry sighed.

“Thanks, Ron, it doesn’t feel good!” Henry fussed. “Do you need anything else right now, Sparrow?”

“No, ‘m okay…” Sparrow said.

Nick watched him as subtly as he could, trying to make sure that Sparrow was actually okay. He didn’t like seeing him upset. He knew how bad it could feel to be small and hurting, and he didn’t want Sparrow to go through that if he could help it. Unfortunately, Nicholas didn’t know how to help it. Sparrow didn’t always like the same things that Nicky did. Where Nicky could be entertained with silly jokes, hugs, and easy distractions, Sparrow didn’t always feel better unless something changed. He needed an answer, a solution, something to make him feel better, and the only thing Nicholas could think of was going with Lark to beat up the horse that was mean to Sparrow.

“Already done for the day?” came a very familiar voice, and Nick squeaked. He jumped to his feet, ignoring the smattering of snickers that came from his dad and friends. Cassie stopped right beside him, a bright smile on her face.

“We’ve been here for two hours, so, y’know, we’ve been practicing a lot!” Nick said. He could feel his face heating up.

“Well, quitting after two hours doesn’t sound like a very good way to win our race, you know,” Cassie teased.

“I-I-I would’ve gone for way longer, but—uh, but, um—b-but my friend, Sparrow, wasn’t feeling good, s-so I stopped to help him,” Nicholas said. Cassie glanced around him at the others, and Nicholas worried for perhaps a second too long that she might switch to someone else.

“Who’s Sparrow?” she asked, and Sparrow shyly raised his hand.

“Hi…”

“Do you think Nicholas is a good rider?” she asked. “Or is he fibbing because he doesn’t want to let me know how badly I’m going to beat him?”

“Nick’s a good rider…” Sparrow said, glancing up at Nick with big eyes.

“You’ve probably got stuff to do!” Nicholas squeaked out, jumping to get rid of Cassie before she asked his friends anything horrifically embarrassing.

“Hang on, hang on, I don’t get to talk to anyone my age without a script in my hands very often, you know,” Cassie fussed. Nicholas blushed brighter, shrinking back against the wall. Cassie giggled, and she reached over to squeeze his hand. “I’m just teasing, don’t get too shy on me!”

“Right,” Nicholas squeaked out, his voice cracking. He cleared his throat, though he didn’t think it would help in the slightest.

“So, that one’s Sparrow…who’s everybody else?” Cassie asked.

“I’m Terry, and that’s Grant, and that’s Lark,” Terry explained. He did feel a little bad for Nick, so he tried to make this succinct.

“I’m Cassie!”

“Trust me, we know,” Lark said. Terry nudged him in the ribs, but Lark didn’t take the hint. “Nick’s told us all about you and how cute you are.”

“Lark,” Nick growled. “Shut up.”

Cassie giggled, though, and for the first time Nicholas noticed a little blush on her face. “You talk about me, Nicholas?” she asked, twisting cutely at the hips. Nick worried he might pass out. Was the room spinning he was sure the room was spinning. Uh oh.

“I-I, um, I m-mean, yeah, I’ve…I’ve told them a little bit a-about you,” he managed out, inching closer to Terry. He heard his dad snort a laugh, and for a brief moment Nicholas thought he might erupt into actual flames. That might have felt better than this.

Terry glanced up at Nick, and he swore the poor guy looked about ready to cut a portal into the air. He tried to help him out, though Terry worried that Nicholas was far too gone to actually help. “Hey, you know, Cassie, Nicholas did mention that he wishes he had your phone number so he could text you or something? So you guys can be friends?”

“Oh! Yeah!” Cassie pulled out her phone. “Sorry, I just never actually have to give anyone my number, so it completely slipped my mind!” she said with a laugh.

“N-no worries, you’re perfect,” Nicholas managed out as he pulled out his phone. He froze when he realized what he said, and Terry had to lunge to keep his phone from hitting the ground. “Forget I said that, please.”

Cassie giggled behind her phone. “I don’t think I will…”

“Great!” Nick graciously took his rescued phone from Terry and shakily pulled up a new contact for Cassie to fill out. “I-I’ll put my number in your phone, too?”

“Yeah, here you go!” Cassie said, handing over her phone. Nicholas felt a bit awkward holding it, not just because it was Cassie’s phone, but also because the abhorrent amount of rhinestones on the case made it difficult to hold. Still, though, he added his number to her contacts and handed it back. When he looked at his own phone, he saw that Cassie put a little heart beside her name, and his knees felt weak.

“Th-thanks, Cassie…” Nick managed out.

“I should probably get going,” Cassie said. “Mr. Drew is probably waiting for me with Licorice.”

“Right, yeah, totally…” Nicholas tried not to look too expectant. He tried not to lean in, cheek ready for a kiss, but he feared that he couldn’t prevent it.

Cassie ran off, though, and Nick nearly faceplanted on the ground. Terry caught him, and he sat him down on the bench beside him once again.

“Maybe she’s nervous because you two weren’t alone this time,” Grant tried.

“Y-yeah, yeah, that makes sense…” Nick said, though he wasn’t sure he believed it. Cassie didn’t get nervous. She loved teasing him and making him blush. Why would she get nervous this time?

“I almost forgot!” Cassie shouted as she ran back in. Nicholas looked up with big eyes, and he didn’t have time to react before Cassie leaned down and planted a kiss on his cheek. She ran back out the door shouting over her shoulder, “I’ll text you later, Nicholas!”

As soon as she disappeared, all eyes fell on Nick. He shrank into himself, face as red as it could be, and a little grin wormed its way onto his face. Nicholas covered his face with his hands, and he squealed into them while kicking his feet under the bench.

“Thank goodness she ran back in,” Jodie teased, snickering as he placed a hand on Nick’s shoulder. “I thought she might not give you that kiss you wanted so badly!”

“Daddy!” Nicky whined, grabbing his dad’s shirt as he screamed into his side. Jodie just laughed brightly and patted the top of his head.

“You’re alright, buddy,” he tried, but that didn’t seem to settle Nicky down.

“Sparrow, play?” he asked, and Sparrow’s face lit up. He nodded and jumped to his feet, and the two of them ran outside the stables hand-in-hand.

“Don’t get in the mud!” Henry fussed, but neither boy paid him a bit of attention. “Oh, this is going to be messy…”

“We should probably go get them,” Terry said. Grant and Lark nodded, so the three of them jumped up to go after Nicky and Sparrow.

“Jump in the mud, Sparrow, like this!” Nicky shouted. He still held onto Sparrow’s hand as he jumped into the middle of a big mud puddle. Mud sprayed everywhere, coating the two laughing boys as Sparrow jumped in as well. Their faces, arms, and especially their legs were soaked in mud by the time Terry, Grant, and Lark pulled them out of the puddle.

“Seriously, you two?” Terry fussed. He held onto Nicky’s hand tightly to prevent escape.

“Terry, she kissed me ‘gain!” Nicky squealed. He tried to hug Terry, but that was quickly thwarted.

“That’s great, lil guy, but does getting kissed mean you need to jump in the mud?” Terry asked.

“Mhm!” Nicky pulled against his hand to jump back in, but Terry didn’t budge.

“Why’d you jump in, too?” Grant asked. He held onto Sparrow tightly, though Sparrow continued to pull on his hand, whining and slipping down onto the ground.

“Wanted to!” Sparrow said. He sat on his bottom, still clawing at Grant’s fingers to get them off, but it was no use. “Graaaaaant!”

“I’m not letting you go so you can jump in the mud again,” Grant said, and Sparrow squawked in offense.

“Looks like Sage is going to need a bath just as badly as you and Nick,” Lark said, snickering. Sparrow squeaked, looking at his very muddy wolf. “Mami is not going to be happy.”

“Sage doesn’t need a bath…!” Sparrow tried, but he knew better than that.

“You boys seriously jumped in the mud?!” Henry fussed as he and the other dads made their way out toward them. He groaned, and Sparrow’s eyes quickly filled with tears. “No, it’s okay, Sparrow, it’s okay…”

“I’ve got some towels in the van, so they’ll just have to sit on them,” Darryl said.

Grant helped Sparrow to his feet, and Sparrow reached his hands out to be carried. “Uh, you’re a little muddy, Sparrow…” he said, cringing. Sparrow didn’t seem to care, though, and he wiggled his fingers impatiently. Grant tossed his head back and despaired. “Put your hands on my shoulders…” he said begrudgingly, and he lifted Sparrow up, letting him wrap his legs around his waist. Sparrow giggled happily and buried his face in Grant’s shoulder.

“You’re gonna need a towel, now, too, Grant,” Lark teased, laughing as he ran ahead.

“Shut it, Lark!” Grant fussed.

Terry laughed as quietly as he could, and he held Nicky’s hand as they made their way to the van. Nicky chewed on his fingers…well, at least until Terry noticed. “Hey, don’t do that, you’re too muddy for that!” he fussed, and he took Nicky’s hand out of his mouth despite the whining.

“Terryyyyyy!” Nicky stamped his feet and growled.

“You’ve got your paci in the van, right?” Terry asked. The doors slid open, so he grabbed Nicky’s bag and took out the paci. “Here,” he said, holding it out for Nicky to take.

“Cassie…” Nicky whined, though, glancing toward the field she rode in.

“She won’t see it, Nicky, you’re fine,” Terry tried to reassure. Nicky huffed, but at least he latched onto his pacifier.

“Alright, towels are down,” Darryl said. He pretended he didn’t notice the pacifier as he went to the driver’s seat. Nicky didn’t pay any attention to him as he climbed in onto one of the towels. Terry sat beside him, and Sparrow and Grant sat behind them on their own towels with Lark on Sparrow’s other side.

“Terry, I think the two of us are the only clean boys,” Lark teased, snickering when Grant flicked him.

“Next time, you can carry your own brother,” Grant fussed.

“Doubt it!” Lark said, laughing.

Nicky giggled, and he looked over his shoulder at the other boys playing around. Sparrow giggled at him, and he held out Sage for Nicky to pet.

“As soon as we get to the Oak’s house, you kids are getting in the bath,” Jodie fussed as he took a seat on the floor of the van.

“No baths!” Nicky shouted.

“No baths!” Sparrow chimed in.

“Boys…” Jodie groaned.

“No baths! No baths! No baths!” Nicky and Sparrow chanted together. “No baths! No baths!”

“I’ll hose you two down in the garden if I have to,” Jodie tried, but unfortunately that seemed to intrigue both boys.

“Hose! Hose! Hose!”

“You really shouldn’t have given them the choice, Jodie,” Henry said.

“I realize that, now…”

“Hose! Hose! Hose!”

Chapter Text

“What are you two doing?” Terry asked, leaning over the railing on the Oak family’s front porch. In the garden dirt surrounding the porch sat Nicky and Sparrow, the two of them crouched down over a sizable hole in the dirt and mulch.

“Digging,” Nicky said. He scraped his claws into the ground like a trowel, and Sparrow squealed with delight as he searched the fresh dirt for…well, it appeared he looked for bugs. Great.

“Why are you digging in the dirt?” Terry asked, hoping for an actual explanation this time. Grant and Lark came over behind him, Grant at his side while Lark sat on the floor and leaned out of the rails of the porch. Sparrow held up a worm for him to see.

“Nicky’s got claws, so it’s a lot easier to dig!” Sparrow said as though that served as an actual explanation.

“But why are you digging?” Terry asked, snickering.

“Are you two just looking for bugs or something?” Grant asked.

“Yeah!” Sparrow beamed and held up a very wiggly, very upset beetle that wanted to go back home. “See!”

“I see, yeah, but maybe the bugs don’t want you guys digging them up?” Grant tried. He already knew their dads were going to be upset since Nicky and Sparrow just had baths not thirty minutes earlier, and seeing the dirt caked on their feet, knees, and hands—or, claws, in Nicky’s case—did not bode well for them.

“They love it,” Nicky insisted, clawing up more dirt onto his feet. His wings spread out on the ground around them, and his tail flicked around excitedly while he searched for bugs. Terry worried how this would go, but he didn’t dare voice his concerns out loud lest he give Nicky ideas. “Look, grub!” Nicky said proudly as he held up a large white grub that wriggled between his claws.

“Dare you to eat it,” Lark said so quickly that Terry couldn’t stop him.

“Don’t!” Terry shouted after the fact, but Nicky already stuck the grub in his mouth. “Lark…” Terry grimaced. Both Nicky and Lark laughed.

“That’s not nice, Nicky!” Sparrow fussed, though. At least Terry and Grant didn’t have to worry about Sparrow joining Nicky. “Bugs don’t want you’a eat ‘em!”

Nicky stuck his tongue out at Sparrow, and he kicked the dirt back into the hole he dug.

“Do you think as much as the bugs don’t want you to eat them, they don’t want you to dig them up, either?” Grant tried.

“Oh…” Sparrow glanced down at his little plastic box of bugs sadly.

Terry held a fist out for a fist bump, and Grant tapped his fist.

“We gotta bury ‘em back, Nicky,” Sparrow said, flopping back down in the dirt beside him. Nicky whined, though, and reached for the container of bugs. “No, you’ll eat them!” Sparrow fussed, grabbing the container and kicking Nicky over.

“Terryyyyy!” Nicky cried, crocodile tears quickly slipping down his cheeks. “Sparrow pushed me!”

“That’s all you,” Grant said, patting Terry’s shoulder.

“Thanks, Grant,” Terry said through his teeth. “Sparrow, don’t push Nicky, and Nicky, please don’t eat bugs…”

“Terryyyyy!” Nicky whined. He trudged out of the dirt and hopped up the stairs, but Terry grabbed his hands before Nicky could try to hug him.

“Now you need to go clean up, dork,” Terry said, snickering. “Your dad’s gonna be mad if you need another bath.”

“Don’t need another bath…” Nicky grumbled. His tail flicked behind him in annoyance, but Terry paid it no mind.

“Sparrow, just dump the bugs back in the dirt,” Lark tried. “They’re smart, so they’ll figure it out. They know how to get back home.”

“They know?” Sparrow asked, looking up at his brother with big, wet eyes.

“Of course they know,” Lark said. “You could find your way home from the park, couldn’t you?”

“Yeah…”

“Then the bugs can find their way home from just a few inches above ground,” Lark said with a shrug. Sparrow nodded, and he dumped the container of bugs back into the dirt. Very quickly, his tears were forgotten in favor of watching all the insects burrow their way back into the ground. He giggled and poked the holes they left behind. “Told you, brother.”

“C’mon, Sparrow, you and Nicky need to get cleaned off,” Grant said. “Let’s go inside, okay?”

Sparrow looked up at Grant with those big eyes, and he reached his hands out toward him, grabbing the air pitifully. Grant blanched, and he fidgeted in place.

“I just got cleaned up, too, so I don’t think, uh, I don’t think I should carry you…” Grant said. Sparrow whined, and he squeezed the air more forcefully, tears in his eyes once more. “Sparrow, really, you need to walk…”

“Grant, please?” Sparrow tried with his best puppy eyes and his very best sweet baby voice. Lark snorted a laugh and covered his face to laugh more. And poor Grant caved.

“Fine, fine…” Grant groaned. He stepped off the porch and made his way over to Sparrow to pick him up. Quickly, Sparrow wrapped his arms and legs around Grant and let himself be carried inside. “You’re impossible, I hope you know that…” Grant grumbled. He avoided Terry’s eyes and deposited Sparrow on his feet in the bathroom. “Wash your hands.”

“I don’t wanna,” Sparrow said, grinning up at him. Grant rolled his eyes and switched on the water to give him no other choice.

“Nicky, wash your hands, too,” Terry said as he nudged Nicky into the bathroom.

“But, I used claws!” Nicky whined. He let his hands return to normal, but they were still coated in a layer of dirt.

“Yeah, you need to wash,” Terry deadpanned. He reached around the two for a couple of washcloths and he soaked them in the sink with a bit of handsoap. “Stay still,” Terry fussed as he tried to clean up Nicky’s arms, legs, and feet.

“That tickles!” Nicky whined, flicking Terry in the face with his tail.

“Here, gimme the other one,” Grant said to Terry, and Sparrow gasped.

“No, I don’t wanna be clean!” he cried, and he tried to run out the door, but Lark stood waiting for him.

“Nice try, brother,” he said with a grin, and he spun Sparrow around with his arms at his back.

“Brother, let me go!” Sparrow cried, kicking his feet.

“Stay still, Sparrow!” Grant fussed, but Sparrow had no plans of listening. At least Lark had a good grip, and he didn’t relent for a second.

“What are you boys doing—” Mercedes gasped when she saw out the front door. “What happened?”

“Mami, we were playing with the bugs!” Sparrow said over Lark’s shoulder. “Me and Nicky are being punished for being curious, Mami!”

“Don’t lie to your mom,” Grant fussed.

“Mami, they are filthy babies, and we know that as the responsible adults here we must keep them from tracking dirt through the house, or else they might get in trouble,” Lark said with a big grin toward his mom. “Unfortunately, it seems the babies do not wish to be clean.”

With their mom as a distraction, Sparrow managed to slip out of Lark’s grasp and run over to her, tossing his arms around her waist as he hid his face. “They were being mean, Mami!”

“Your hands are soaking wet…” Mercedes said with a sigh. “Honey, you can’t track dirt all through the house, then we’ll have bugs inside, and they much prefer being outside…”

Sparrow whined, but he didn’t fight back against his mom. He buried his face in her arm and tightened his grip around her, and Grant rolled his eyes.

Nicky watched them for a moment, grumbling when it seemed all the attention went to Sparrow. This wasn’t fair…

“Why are you upset, now?” Terry asked. “Tummy hurt?”

“No…” Nicky pouted. He didn’t even know why his tummy might hurt!

“What’s up, then?”

Nicky furrowed his brows together, and he threw his arms around Terry’s shoulders, hugging him tightly. Terry tried to stand up, confused, and he hugged Nicky back. When he tried to pull away, though, Nicky squeaked and scrambled back into the hug. “Okay, okay, I’m not letting go…?” Terry said.

“Hugs…” Nicky said into his shoulder.

“I’m hugging you, I’m hugging you,” Terry said. Nicky tried to lift up on his feet, tried to wrap himself around Terry, but that only sent the two of them sprawling out on the floor. “Ack!” Terry yelped, and he braced against the wall while Nicky giggled. “I can’t carry you, Nicky, you’re too heavy.”

“Try harder!” Nicky said, giggling. He knew Terry couldn’t carry him, but it was funny to watch him try!

“Boys, why don’t you come to the kitchen and get something to eat before one of you gets hurt?” Mercedes suggested.

“We’re coming, Mrs. Oak-Garcia!” Terry said as he struggled to his feet. “C’mon, upsie daisy!” He grabbed Nicky’s hands to pull him up, but Nicky had a better idea.

“Down!” he squeaked out, pulling on Terry’s hands back.

“No! Nicky!” Terry yelped as he stumbled to keep his footing. He could hear Grant and Lark laughing behind them, and his ears burned. “C’mon, we’re gonna go eat. Then you won’t have to eat bugs out of the garden.”

Nicky sighed, but he obliged. He let Terry stand up, and he got to his feet, taking Terry’s hand to follow after him. The boys got their dinner, just simple enchiladas and rice, and they darted out the front door before their parents could try to make them sit around the table.

“Okay, so how long are we going to have to wait until we can ride nightmares?” Lark asked. “I think we are all proficient with the normal horses at this point, so it only seems right that we should get a shot at riding nightmares.”

“They’re probably going to make us wait until Drew says we’re good enough,” Grant said. “He said our lessons are for three months, and it’s barely been one month, Lark.”

“I still think we’re good enough,” Lark said with a shrug.

“We’re riding regular horses right now, that’s way different than riding something that actively hates you and wants you to die,” Grant said.

“Maybe the nightmares are nicer than horsies…” Sparrow grumbled, stabbing his fork into his rice.

“Your horse was very mean to you, but I don’t think that means the ones called nightmares are gonna be nicer, Sparrow…” Terry said.

“You don’t know,” Sparrow said.

Nicky huffed, and he shoved his plate away when no one seemed to pay him any attention. Both Terry and Grant glanced over, brows raised in confusion.

“Are you not hungry?” Terry asked. Nicky shook his head, but Terry didn’t take that as an answer, instead picking up Nicky’s plate and cutting a bite for him. “C’mon, try to eat a little more?” he tried, holding out the fork. Nicky huffed, but he took the bite off his fork. He tried to hide his grin, tried to hide how satisfied he was as Terry got another bite ready for him.

“Jealous little guy,” Grant said, snickering. Nicky glared at him, a low growl slipping out between his teeth.

“Jealous?” Terry questioned, brows furrowed. “Nicky?”

“Not jealous,” Nicky said through his teeth, and he snatched the bite off his fork.

“You’d think after he got a kiss from Cassie earlier, and got her number, that he’d be satisfied, but apparently not,” Grant teased, snickering.

“Not jealous!” Nicky whined. He scooted away from Terry and hugged Sparrow close, glare fixed on Grant.

“Ah, got it,” Terry said with a sigh. He set Nicky’s plate down, though it shook where it sat on the ground from the force of Nicky’s thumping tail. “You know, if you want attention, all you have to do is ask, Nicky. We don’t want you to feel like we’re ignoring you, I promise.”

“Nicky, wanna cuddle…?” Sparrow asked so sweetly, but Nicky didn’t answer. His tail thumped, and his wings beat against his back.

“Maybe put away the demon stuff,” Lark suggested. “That always makes you act weird.”

“No,” Nicky growled.

Grant rolled his eyes, and he scooted over to Nicky’s side, petting right behind his ears. The effect was immediate, and Nicky curled up with him, tail flicking happily behind him. Once he settled down, the tail and wings disappeared, and Nicky sighed happily.

“Are you good, now?” Grant asked. Nicky huffed, scooting away to sit back with Terry.

“I want chocolate, Terry…” he mumbled, tugging on Terry’s sleeve.

“After you just settled down?” Terry asked, snickering. “Maybe later you can have, like, some chocolate milk or something.”

“I want chocolate milk!” Nicky whined.

“I want chocolate milk, too!” Sparrow whined.

“Then both of you have to finish eating,” Grant tried, hoping to get a small victory.

“Terry, I need help!” Nicky said, pushing his plate back into Terry’s hands. He dropped his mouth open, ready for the next bite, and Terry resigned to his fate.

Chapter Text

Through September, the boys attended their riding lessons, and Nicholas loved it. He loved it not just because of Cassie, but because it almost felt normal. He got to hang out with his friends, his dad acted more like his old self rather than a demon, and as it turned out, riding a horse was fairly magic free. So, these lessons felt good, and Nick enjoyed himself. Getting kisses from Cassie was just a bonus, though a very, very nice one, he thought as he waited outside the stables for any sign of Cassie.

Nick could hear his friends and dad snickering inside, but he chose to ignore them. After all, they weren’t the ones getting kisses from the most beautiful girl in existence, so they could laugh all they wanted.

“What’cha looking at?” came Cassie’s voice from behind, and Nicholas yelped surprise as he spun around to face her.

“Hi!” he squeaked out. “I-I was just, um, I—hi!”

“You said that already,” Cassie said, giggling.

“Did I?” Nick asked, face heating up. “Oops.”

Cassie laughed, and she reached out to take his hands. “So, I was watching you ride a few minutes ago, and you seem like you have the hang of it…”

“Y-yeah!” Nicholas said, nodding. “Yeah, I’ve been practicing a lot, and I think, um, I think I’m pretty good! My dad and Drew said I’m, like, y’know, a natural…so that’s cool.”

“Think you’re ready for that race, then?” Cassie asked. Nick felt his heart drop into his stomach.

“Um…s-sure!” he said, heart hammering in his chest. “Right now?”

“Why not?” Cassie asked. She twisted at the hips cutely, and Nicholas thought he would pass out.

“Uh, well, we just had our lessons, so I’m kinda tired, a-and you just got here, so you’re all rested and that- that would be an unfair advantage, right?” Nicholas tried. “W-we need to both be at our best so that it’s fair.”

Cassie sighed, but she nodded. “Okay, sure. What about tomorrow, then?”

“I can come back tomorrow,” Nick said with a nod. “Then we can race, a-and then we can have a date, right?”

“Right!” Cassie said, grinning. “Can’t wait to beat you!” she said, and she leaned over to kiss his cheek. “I’ll tell Mr. Drew that you need to come back tomorrow, and your dad can bring you over or something, okay?”

“Okay, Cassie…!” Nicholas’s voice broke as he spoke, and he wanted to sink right through the ground into Hell. At least Cassie didn’t say anything; she squeezed his hands and pulled them away to leave, but apparently Nick’s heart had a better idea. Before his brain could get in the way, he blurted out “Wait!” to stop Cassie in her tracks.

“What’s up?”

One, two, three, go! Nicholas took in a deep breath and leaned over to kiss her cheek. As he leaned away, Nicholas saw a cute blush on Cassie’s face, and he mentally cheered. “I thought, um, since you like to do that to me so much…I-I should return the favor.”

Cassie giggled, and she tried to hide her face behind her hair. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” she said as she ran away. As she ran, Nick’s knees finally gave out, and he slumped over against the wall.

“You kissed her!” shouted Sparrow and Terry, who ran out to him cheering.

“I kissed her!”

“Terry, I’m gonna throw up,” Nicholas said from his spot beside Terry in the van. Ron leaned away, and Jodie looked up at him with concern.

“Just remember no matter what, you’re going on a date with her,” Terry said in what he hoped was a comforting reminder. “She likes you, so this is gonna be fine, Nick.”

“Still nervous!” Nicholas squeaked out.

“Where do you want to go on your date?” Sparrow asked, leaning over the seats since he didn’t wear his seatbelt. “You could always take her to Chuck E. Cheese.”

“We’re not going to Chuck E. Cheese!” Nicholas fussed.

“Take her to Faerûn,” Lark said, also leaning over the seats since he didn’t wear his seatbelt. “I bet she’d love it if she met a dragon or something.”

“That sounds like a horrible idea, Lark!” Nick fussed, a scowl on his face. “If I do this correctly, she won’t ever know about the Forgotten Realms or Hell or any of that.”

“So you’re not going to take her for a ride on a nightmare eventually?” Lark asked. Nick didn’t answer him, instead grabbing Terry’s hand in a tight grip.

“If you went to the Forgotten Realms with her, then maybe you two and Grant and that skateboard kid could have a double-date,” Sparrow said, giggling as he sat back down.

“Yeet is just a friend, Sparrow,” Grant fussed. “Don’t drag me into this, anyway! This is Nick’s problem!”

“I’m just saying, you’re as much of a disaster about feelings as Nicholas is, so the two of you trying to woo people together is a hilarious idea,” Sparrow teased.

“I think I’m better about it than you think,” Grant said. “But, seriously, Nicholas, it’s gonna be fine,” he said, quickly changing the subject. “She already likes you, she wants to go out with you, and you kissed her yesterday. I don’t think you’re gonna have any problems with this.”

“What if I’m small on our date?” Nick asked, panicked. “Or—what if she wants to go on a picnic, and then we go, and I freak out and try to catch a squirrel or something? It happens!”

“You chase squirrels?” Lark asked, confused.

“You’re gonna be fine, Nick,” Terry tried again. He yanked his hand free from Nicholas’s deathgrip and squeezed him around the shoulders. “I seriously doubt you’ll just regress suddenly on your date unless things go seriously bad, but that won’t happen.”

“Are you sure?” Nick asked with such a sad little voice.

“I’m sure,” Terry said in hopes of reassuring him. “And as far as chasing squirrels or something… We can work on that before your date.”

“Okay…”

“Are you feeling okay, Nick?” Grant asked when he heard a concerningly small tone.

“I’m okay…” Nicholas insisted, though it felt a bit like he tried to convince himself, too.

“Here we are, boys,” Darryl said as he parked. Nicholas looked up to see that he parked right beside a Range Rover, and his stomach dropped. Cassie.

As they got out of the van, Nicholas looked all around for Cassie. She came out of the stables with a big grin on her face.

“There you are!” she said cheerily as she plopped her helmet on her head. “I was starting to think you weren’t going to show!”

“N-no, no, I’m here!” Nicholas said. He wanted to puke.

Cassie’s little smile fell as she watched him, and she glanced around at the others before her eyes fell back on Nick. “Are you okay…?” she asked, suddenly concerned. “You’re not…you’re usually kind of cute-nervous, but now you just look, um…sick.”

“I’m good!” Nicholas said. He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her toward the stables. “Let’s go race!”

Terry watched the two of them go off, and he sighed. “This isn’t going to go well,” he said.

“He’s teetering,” Grant said with a nod.

“We should probably be ready just in case he slips…” Sparrow said. “He’s gonna be so mad at himself.”

With silent agreement, all four boys took off toward the field they knew Nick and Cassie were going to race in. Their dads were on their heels, confused as could be, but that didn’t matter nearly as much as making sure Nicholas didn’t cry his eyes out.

The race was simple, Nick reminded himself as he fiddled with the reins in his hands. They were starting from the fence line closest to the stables, riding to the trees, then coming back to the fence. It was simple, so why did he have to be nervous? No, he knew why he was nervous. Nick didn’t know which option was scarier, winning or losing. If he lost, he needed to plan a date. He needed to be interesting, cool, and not let Cassie see how scary his life really was. If he won, Nick just had to wait. He had to see what Cassie came up with for their date, and then he had to hope he wouldn’t ruin it.

Why did he want to go on a date? This was terrible.

“Ready?” Cassie asked, smiling at him as she stopped on his left. That smile reminded Nicholas exactly why he wanted to go on a date with her. She was so pretty.

“Ready,” he said with an unsure nod. Before he could chicken out, Nicholas took a deep breath and breathed out, “One.”

“Two!” Cassie said, gripping her reins tighter.

“Three!” Nicholas shouted, and the two of them shot off with cheers behind them. Nick dug his heels into his horse’s sides and pushed forward as fast as he could, terrified as the trees quickly approached. Cassie rode right beside him, though she seemed to speed up just enough to pull ahead of Nicholas.  He yelped, and he tried to push his horse further.

They rounded a few trees and started back toward the fence, and Nicholas was almost sure he was about to lose. Tears stung his eyes from the wind, but that childish feeling usually reserved for his jealousy toward Sparrow bubbled up in him, and Nick tried once more to pass Cassie.

“You’ve got this, Nicholas!” Terry shouted, and Nicky gasped. He slipped, and suddenly he tumbled to the ground.

“Nicholas!” Jodie yelped, jumping over the fence as he took off running for his son. Cassie gasped and came to a stop as quickly as she could, dismounting to run over.

“Are you okay?!” she cried as she fell to the ground beside him.

“O-ow…” Nicky whimpered. Frustrated tears welled in his eyes, luckily distracting him from the quickly forming bruise on his arm.

“Did you hit your head, kiddo?” Jodie asked, checking him over for injuries.

“I don’t think so…” Nicky said, sniffling.

“Well that’s good…” Jodie said. “Let’s get you up, here, just lean on Dad…”

Nicky leaned against his dad and held onto his arm tightly.

“I’m sorry, Nicholas…” Cassie said. “It looked like you were close to beating me, so we can give you the victory…”

Nicky sniffled, tears falling from his eyes without his permission. He tried to wipe his face, but his shoulder hurt too much to lift that much. “I-I lost…” he whimpered.

“No, we can say you won…” Cassie said. “Doesn’t seem right to take the win from someone who got hurt…”

Before he could say anything else, the others all ran over panicked. “Nick!” Terry shouted, stopping right in front of him. Nicky’s lip trembled, and Terry cooed. “You okay?” he asked softly, and Nicky tossed himself into Terry’s arms. “Shhh…” Terry hugged him gently, trying to avoid any injuries in case he made them worse.

“Looks like he’s gonna be fine,” Jodie said. “No broken bones, no bleeding…we’ll take care of it in the van.”

“Do you need a hug?” Sparrow asked, his voice suggesting more than just comfort. Nicky shook his head.

Cassie stood there awkwardly, not sure how to help, as Terry hugged Nicky and petted his hair. Nicky’s tears dried up, thankfully, and it seemed he finally settled down enough to compose himself.

“S-sorry, Cassie…” he said meekly, tugging himself out of Terry’s arms. “I think, um, I-I think it just, um, scared me…”

“And you’re sure you’re okay?” Cassie asked. Nicky nodded, though he cradled his very purple elbow. Cassie sighed, and she nodded. “Alright…um, but I was serious about giving you the win, okay?”

“We could have a redo…?” Nick suggested. “I want it to be fair…”

“It’s not fair to make the hurt kid ride again,” Cassie said. “Besides, I’ve got some ideas for a date…” she said shyly, fiddling with the ends of her hair. “So long as you’re still okay with that.”

“I’m okay with that!” Nick said, nodding quickly. He stopped, though, when that made him a little dizzy. That couldn’t be a good sign. “Um…I’ll text you later, okay?”

“Okay, sounds good…” Cassie said. She kissed his cheek, and Nicholas kissed hers back.

“I’ll take the horses back if you kids want to go sit down for a minute,” Jodie said.

“Nick probably needs to sit down,” Grant said, arms crossed.

“Hurts…” Nicholas mumbled, though.

“We should get him over to our father,” Sparrow said.

“Can you walk that far?” Lark asked, and Nick squeaked. He hurt so much…

Grant sighed, and he crouched down. “C’mon, I’ll carry you,” he said.

“Okay…” Nicky didn’t realize he could teeter so terribly until Grant picked him up, but between his pain and his hurt pride, he just wanted to be small. But he couldn’t be small in front of Cassie.

Once they made it to the car, Cassie leaned against hers nervously, watching Nicholas as Terry got him a drink and the other adults fussed over him. Nick caught her eye, and he waved shyly. She waved back.

“I promise I’m not usually this much of a baby…” he said apologetically.

“You’re not a baby, Nicholas,” Cassie fussed. “Falling off your horse hurts. I broke my arm once, so it’s expected that you’re in pain.”

“Nicky is really insecure about his pain tolerance and anything he believes makes him appear babyish,” Lark said.

“Shut up, Lark,” Nick said through his teeth.

“Don’t worry about him, just drink your juice,” Terry fussed, pushing a drink into his hands. From the stables, they could all hear Jodie and Cassie’s mother, and Cassie stood up straighter.

“Mom’s probably going to make me go,” she said. “We’ve got an audition to get to…”

“Oh, okay…” Nicholas said sadly.

“I promise I’ll text you about our date, okay?” Cassie said. Nick nodded, so she kissed him one more time. “Maybe that’ll help you feel better,” she said with a giggle. Nicholas grinned, and he nodded.

“Maybe you’ve got magic kisses or something.”

“Wouldn’t that be handy?”

“Cassandra, we’ve got to go or we’ll be late!”

Nicky watched her hop in her car and drive away, and as soon as the car was out of view, his lip trembled and his tears spilled once more. “Terryyyyy!”

“I’ve got you…” Terry said with a sigh, hugging him close.

“Alright, let’s try to fix you up, kiddo,” Henry said, and he put a hand on Nicky’s shoulder as he cast his healing spell.

“You did good, kiddo,” Jodie said, holding Nicky’s hand. “You rode very well, and you got that date with Cassie! I know you’re a little embarrassed, but it’s gonna be alright.”

“Sucks…” Nicky whimpered.

“It could’ve been worse,” Lark said, but before he could say another word Grant slapped a hand over his mouth.

“We should get ice cream as a reward!” Sparrow suggested.

“Ice cream…” Nicky mumbled.

“You won’t say no to that, will you?” Terry asked, smiling at him. Nicky grinned, and he tried to hide his face in Terry’s arm. “Ice cream as a reward for getting a date, I think that is just spoiling you.”

“Noooo…” Nicky giggled. “Kisses is spoiling, not ice cream…!”

“Well, Cassie’s spoiling you rotten, then,” Terry said, snickering.

“Like getting spoiled…”  Nicky said, giggling. Terry rolled his eyes, and he ruffled Nicky’s hair. The rest of their friends climbed into the van, and everyone made themselves comfortable while Nicky tried to cuddle against Terry as well as their seatbelts allowed. He rested his head against Terry’s shoulder, dull pain still holding onto him even after the spell, and Nicky felt a kiss in his hair. When he looked up at Terry, confused, Terry just watched out the window. “Spoil…”

“Just because you feel bad,” Terry said quickly. He could hear the twins oo-ing from the backseat, and Terry had half a mind to practice his poison spray spell on them.

“And you said I spoil Sparrow,” Grant teased.

“You do,” Terry said.

“Clearly he does not,” Sparrow said, and Grant’s teasing grin fell. “Grant!”

“Absolutely not!” Grant yelped, squirming to escape Sparrow.

Chapter Text

“So, where are you and Cassie going on your date?” Morgan asked as she combed through the clothes hanging on the racks. Nicholas stood with the buggy, draped over it with a red face and a pout. “She’s picking, right? I bet she wants to go somewhere romantic!”

“We’re going mini golfing, and there’s an arcade,” Nicholas said. “Really, Mom, we don’t need to get me new clothes just for the date!”

“Oh, please, you want to look nice!” Morgan insisted.

“I can look nice in what I’ve got!” Nicholas insisted. “I’ve got polos, and I’ve got nice jeans, a-and that’ll be great! I’ll even clean my sneakers!”

“These are cute!” Morgan cooed as she pulled out a pair of tan cargo jeans and held them up against Nicholas’s leg.

“Mooooom!” Nicholas whined, moving away. The last time he shopped with his mom, he met Cassie. He didn’t need her to show up in the store and see him like this!

“Nicholas, honey, it’s okay! You want to look nice, right?” Morgan draped the pants over the side of the buggy to look for anything else she thought was cute.

“I don’t want to look like a dork, but that’s easy!” Nicholas said. Morgan held up another pair of jeans to him, and Nicholas jumped away with a groan. “Seriously, Mom, what if she sees us?!”

“What’s wrong with that?” Morgan asked. She moved on to shirts, gasping at a sweatshirt. “Oh, Nicholas, this would look precious on you!” she cooed, picking it up. The sweatshirt was mostly gray with navy stripes and gold around the collar, hem, and sleeves. She held it up under Nicholas’s chin, and he whined and stomped his feet. “We’re getting this, it’ll look darling, I promise.”

“Whatever…” Nicholas grumbled. He didn’t want to admit that he did like the sweatshirt, especially since his mom embarrassed him, but he thought agreeing might get them out of their quicker. “Are we done?” he asked, arms crossed over his chest.

Morgan sighed, and she stared down at the buggy in thought. “I guess,” she said with a sigh. “We do need to get you some new slide-on shoes, though. They’ll be more comfortable than your sneakers.”

Nicholas tossed his head back and groaned as his mom took the buggy and led them over to the shoes.

“This’ll be quick, I promise!” Morgan insisted, but Nicholas didn’t know if he believed her. She grabbed a few different pairs of shoes, a gray pair of slip-ons, a navy blue pair, and a white pair. “Which ones would look best with this outfit…” she asked, mostly to herself, as she held them up.

“I think my sneakers would look just fine,” Nicholas tried, his face red as he watched his mom compare shoes.

“Your sneakers are red, honey, they wouldn’t look right with this,” Morgan said.

“Maybe I should just wear what’s in my closet, then!” Nicholas tried.

“I think the navy ones will look the cutest,” Morgan said. She plopped the shoes in the buggy and put the others back while Nicholas considered the repercussions of running away to the books and music aisles. “If it makes you feel better, honey, you can get a pack of Pokemon cards before we leave.”

“I’m gonna go pick a pack out!” Nicholas squeaked out. He ran off before his mom could say anything else.

“Why does it smell like an Axe body spray commercial up here?” Glenn asked as he made his way up the stairs. He poked his head into Nicholas’s room, and the boy stood in front of the mirror in his closet with the can of spray in his hand. “Ah. I should have known.”

“Is it too much?” Nicholas asked sheepishly.

“Maybe just a tad, bud,” Glenn said, snickering. Nicholas groaned and slammed his closet door shut. He set the body spray down on his desk and threw himself down on his bed. “Nervous?” Glenn asked.

“Just a tad,” Nicholas said, mocking Glenn’s tone as he covered his face with his hands. “We’re gonna be outside because we’re going to mini golf, so the smell should go away, right?”

“Not that fast,” Glenn said. Nicholas whined, and Glenn raised a brow. “Look, Nick…do you need some pointers?”

“Please,” Nicholas said desperately. “I might throw up. I feel like I need to.”

“Well, okay, tip number one is don’t throw up on your date,” Glenn said. Nick glared at him. “Just saying, that’s a good way to make her not want to go out with you again.”

“Tip number two?” Nick said.

“Remember what we talked about, how she needs to know who Nicholas is?” Glenn asked. Nick nodded. “Be yourself. I know that sounds corny and stupid, but I mean it. Be the dorky cop kid with very strong opinions. She already likes you, and she likes your brand of dork, clearly.”

“She saw me cry…” Nicholas said, blushing brightly.

“Then it doesn’t get much worse, kiddo,” Glenn said, snickering. “If she wants to stick around after watching you eat shit from falling off your horse, and after you started crying, then she’s sticking around for a while.”

“Dad told you?!” Nick whined.

“Don’t worry about it,” Glenn tried, but he knew better. Nicholas despaired into his hands, kicking his feet against his bed. “C’mon, seriously, it’s gonna be fine, kid,” Glenn said, patting his back. “Are you going to fix your hair at all?” he tried, hoping to distract Nick.

“What’s wrong with my hair?” he asked, head jerking up quickly. Glenn snorted a laugh.

“Can I?” he asked, so Nick nodded. Glenn got to his feet and left the room, returning a moment later with a comb, a bottle of gel and a bottle of water. “Close your eyes,” Glenn said, so Nick did as he was told. Glenn spritzed his hair with the water, and he combed it through. He put some of the gel in his hands, then he ran it through Nick’s hair to gel it back out of his face. “Alright, there we go. Now you look cool.”

“You’re sure?” Nicholas asked, hopping to his feet to check his hair in the mirror. It didn’t look terrible, but it certainly looked like Nick.

“What’cha think?” Glenn asked.

…Nick seemed like a good choice to get Cassie to like him, Nicholas thought. Nick was cool. Nick was a bad boy. Nick never had a girlfriend, he liked boys more anyway, but Nicholas could use that cool factor of his. Nick would think he was cool.

Nicholas dug his battle jacket he made with Glenn out of his closet, and he put it on overtop of his new sweatshirt.

“Now you’re cool as hell,” Glenn said proudly. Nick grinned up at him.

Nicholas sat in the backseat strangling a small bouquet of tulips. His parents drove him to Cassie’s house, right across the street from the Oaks, and the drive didn’t feel long enough. Nick hoped that by the time he walked up to her door his belly might settle down, but instead he took a deep breath and opened his door while still feeling ready to puke.

“Go get her, tiger,” Glenn said with a wink and a finger gun from beside him, and Nicholas wished that could help more than it did. Instead, he just nodded silently and hopped out.

“Good luck, honey!” Morgan said through her window.

“We’ll be at the Oaks’ house when you get back, bud,” Jodie said. Nicholas nodded silently. He looked over his shoulder at the Oak house, and he saw the twins outside with Terry and Grant. He saw their dad, Ron, and Darryl. He saw Mercedes, Samantha, and Carol.

Nick was sure he was going to puke.

When nothing came up, he made his way up to Cassie’s house. With one shaky hand, he hit the doorbell and took a step back.

From inside, he heard Cassie’s voice shouting, and then suddenly she threw the door open. “Nicholas!” she said, beaming at him. Nick’s eyes grew wide as he took in her appearance, and he worried that he looked so stupid compared to her. Cassie stood there in a cute black skirt, a brown cardigan, and cute mary janes with frilly socks. She had ribbons in her hair, and she had glitter on her collar and her cheeks.

“H-hi, Cassie…!” Nicholas managed out. “Uh, these are for you,” he said, holding out the flowers.

“Oh, my favorites!” Cassie said with a gasp. She took the bouquet and smelled them, grinning. “I’ll go put them in water, come in!” she said, spinning around as she ran off toward where Nick assumed the kitchen was. He stepped inside, and a little white dog barked as it ran over to him to sniff him.

“Uh—h-hi, doggy, nice to, uh, nice to meet you…?” he tried, leaning over to pet the dog. Unfortunately, just before his hand touched it, the dog yapped in his face. “Okay, no petting it is!”

“Daisy, be nice!” Cassie fussed as she came back with a purse shaped like Sailor Moon’s brooch. “Are you ready to go, Nicholas?” she asked.

“Uh, y-yeah, is one of your parents driving…?” he asked.

“Yeah, my dad’s going to drive us,” she said. She reached over to grab Nicholas’s hand, and she kissed his cheek. “If he says anything, don’t worry about him. He’s grumpy that I like a boy.”

“O-oh, okay…” Nick was so dead.

“You kids ready?” a man, Cassie’s dad, Nicholas assumed, asked as he came in.

“We’re ready, Dad!” Cassie said, smile bright on her face. Her dad huffed, and he led the way out the door.

“Your name’s Nicholas, yeah?” he asked over his shoulder.

“Y-yessir,” Nicholas said. “Nicholas Foster…”

“I think I’ve met your dad before,” he said. “Jodie, is it?”

“That’s him,” Nick said with a nod. “He’s really cool…”

Cassie giggled, and she covered her mouth with her hand. Her dad stood beside the car, watching Nick, and Nicholas swore he sweated more as the man stared at him. Panic started to settle into his belly as Nick looked frantically at Cassie for any sort of instruction.

“Um, I-I—”

“I see he didn’t do much on your manners, did he?” Cassie’s dad asked.

“Oh, I thought he did okay, but, um—”

“A young lady needs to get into the car, son, what should you do?” he asked. Nick worried he would ruin Cassie’s mother’s roses.

“I-I don’t, um…” Nick could feel tears prick the corners of his eyes, and Cassie’s dad took pity on him.

“You open the door for her,” he said, and he opened the door for Cassie to get in. As she did, her dad crouched down to eye-level with Nicholas. “Hey, what’s with the tears, son? What’s the matter?”

“I don’t know what I’m doing,” Nicholas said. His vision blurred with his tears. “I-I’m sorry…!” He tried to wipe the tears away, sniffling. “I’m—this is my first time, and I don’t what to do, and my u-uncle tried to help, b-but—”

“Okay, okay, let’s settle down…” the man said, squeezing Nicholas’s shoulder. “Look, Cassie wanted a little bit of a TV dad moment, that’s all. I’m not a scary guy, I’m not trying to scare you, I promise. Just…” He sighed, and he swiped at his nose. He did not expect Cassie’s date to be so nervous. “Just go hop in the car, get buckled up, and we’ll head out, okay? You’re doing just fine, Nicholas.”

“I am?” Nick asked. Cassie’s dad nodded.

“You brought her flowers, you’re polite, and you care,” he said. “Just relax.”

“I don’t think that’s possible, sir…” Nick said. Cassie’s dad chuckled, and he patted Nicholas’s arm.

“Just do your best, and everything will turn out okay,” he said. Nick nodded, but he didn’t know if he believed him. Still, though, he went around the car and hopped in beside Cassie.

“Sorry about him, he’s a little old fashioned,” she said with an eyeroll, but the smile on her face betrayed her.

“Uh, it’s okay,” Nick said with a shrug. “We, um, we came to an agreement.”

Cassie giggled, and she leaned her head on Nicholas’s shoulder while her dad got into the driver’s seat.

“Don’t get too cuddly back there,” he said in a low voice that did not match the nice tone he had just a moment earlier.

“Dad, it’s okay!” Cassie insisted, giggling. She took Nick’s hand and laced their fingers together.

Nicholas stuck a finger from his unoccupied hand in his mouth to gnaw on nervously. He did not prepare for this.

“Alright, so who’s coming with us?” Jodie asked as he watched the car pull out with his son inside.

“What?” Henry questioned. “What do you mean?”

“We’re gonna tail ‘em,” Glenn said, snickering. “Jodie’s worried about Nick, so we’re gonna follow just to make sure everything goes smoothly.”

“Wha—you can’t do that!” Henry fussed. “Absolutely not, the boy should get to have his date in privacy!”

“Yeah, he can have his date privately when he doesn’t look like he’s going to throw up because he’s talking to her for more than five minutes by himself,” Jodie said.

“I’m coming,” Terry said with his hand in the air. Glenn shot him finger guns.

“I wanna come,” Grant said.

“Us too!” the twins said together.

“Boys, you seriously want to follow Nick?” Henry questioned, arms crossed. “That doesn’t seem like a very nice thing to do, you know…”

“Father, you’ve met Nicholas,” Sparrow said. “He needs help.”

“I can’t believe you’re going to do this…” Henry grumbled.

“Let’s get going, kids!” Jodie said, clapping his hands together to rush the boys into the car. “We’ve gotta catch up with them!”

“This is so wrong…”

“Call me if anything goes wrong,” Morgan said. Jodie nodded, and he kissed her quickly before he hopped into the driver’s seat.

“Morgan, you support this?” Henry asked in dismay.

“I’m worried about my baby!”

“Jeez…”

“Five bucks says Nicholas is going to get mad at the course and turn into a demon,” Lark said.

“You’re on, brother! I have faith in our dear friend that he can hold it in if he’s mad!” Sparrow said. “I do think, however, he will see a squirrel and turn into a demon.”

Terry tried not to show his worry, but he clutched his bag strap tightly as he stared forward. He worried about Nicholas, and he worried terribly that Nicholas might regress. That seemed like a more likely thing to happen than Nicholas letting his demon side take over, especially with as nervous as he’d been lately… Terry carried Nick’s extra paci just in case, and he had a little stuffed animal keychain to hopefully make him smile. He just hoped he didn’t need this stuff.

Chapter Text

When they made it to the mini golf place, Nick told himself he needed to get over this anxiety. He needed to be cool. He needed to impress Cassie. Nicholas needed to keep himself together so that they could have fun, and he told himself he could do this while the two of them picked out their golf balls.

“Oh, this one’s cute!” Cassie said as she picked out a light pink golf ball. “What’s your favorite color, Nicholas?” she asked, still digging in the basket as Nick pulled himself out of his head.

“Uh, blue,” he said, peering over into the basket. “Dark blue usually.”

“Here you go!” Cassie said, holding out a dark blue golf ball for him.

“Perfect,” Nicholas said with a grin. “Ready to lose?”

Cassie huffed, and she rolled her eyes. “You’re gonna have to try very hard to beat me.” She grabbed a pencil and a score sheet.

“Oh, you’re one of those types, I see,” Nicholas said, snickering. “Usually my family just says whoever gets the most holes-in-one wins, but you keep score?”

His face felt absolutely far too warm, and Nick felt a little dizzy as he spoke, but he was proud of himself for teasing her. He was especially proud when he saw a bit of pink on Cassie’s face.

“We keep score because it’s important to know who the best is!” Cassie insisted. She huffed and spun around, whipping her hair in Nicholas’s face. He had to laugh at that, shaking his head as he followed her out to the courses. They picked the middle difficulty and played a quick game of rock-paper-scissors to determine who would go first.

Nick dropped his ball down first and tried to line up with the hole.

“What ever you do, don’t miss!” Cassie teased, and Nicholas stuck his tongue out at her. Cassie giggled, and such an angelic sound nearly made Nicholas miss his golf ball. He barely tapped it, and the ball only made it about halfway down the course.

“That’s cheating!” Nick fussed as Cassie plopped her ball down.

“How so?” she asked, giggling.

Nick blushed brightly, and all the fight in him died immediately. “T-too pretty, and- and your laugh’s too cute, and it made me miss!” he tried, but it sounded utterly pathetic.

“Maybe that’s what I was going for, then,” Cassie said smugly. She shot her ball down the course, passing Nick’s, but he was at least thankful it didn’t go into the hole. “Come on!” Cassie whined, stamping her foot. Nicholas snickered.

“Karmic payback for being mean to me, I think,” he said, grinning wide when Cassie glared at him.

“Did you see which course they went on?” Jodie asked while he grabbed his club.

“They went on the medium path,” Terry said. He leaned back inside from the doorway and grabbed his golf club and the first purple golf ball he saw.

“Are we doing the same one as them, or…?” Grant asked, plucking a green ball from the basket.

“We shouldn’t do the same one as them,” Glenn said, shaking his head. “They might see us, or hear us, or something. Also, plausible deniability if we’re not directly behind them.”

“I don’t think we’ll be able to deny what we’re doing if we get caught, Glenn,” Jodie said. He grabbed a red golf ball and tossed it to Glenn, then he fished out a black one for himself. “The goal right now is just don’t get caught or else he’s going to be very mad.”

“Perhaps we should take the easy path since we are not attempting to win the game, just spy on Nicholas,” Sparrow suggested. He grabbed a light blue golf ball while Lark took an orange one.

“We could split up, adults on the easy path and us on the hard path, since we are more skilled than Jodie and Glenn,” Lark suggested. Glenn snorted a laugh.

“I think we should all stay together, squirt,” Glenn said. “If you two slip away and disappear, your old man’s going to be pissed.” Lark sighed dramatically, but he knew that Glenn wouldn’t change his mind easily. “Besides, if you’re so good at this game, you’ll win, right?”

“Obviously.”

“I’m pretty good at mini golf, so we’ll see about that!” Glenn said, hoping to challenge him. Lark only seemed amused.

Terry didn’t care what course they did so long as they didn’t get caught. He led the way out the door to the righthand side path, leading to the easy course. He could hear Nick’s voice, which made him spin around and put a finger to his lips. “Mr. Foster, how good’s a demon’s hearing?” he asked quietly.

“Better than a human’s,” Jodie said.

“Okay, well I can hear him, so he can probably hear us,” Terry hissed.

“We’re screwed,” Grant said, groaning.

“He’s not looking for us, though!” Glenn tried. “You’re listening for him, he’s not assuming we’re here!”

“Let’s just be sneaky!” Lark said, tossing down his golf ball before they could argue further. Really, it wasn’t getting them anywhere, and Nick and Cassie would be too far ahead for them to keep watch if they stalled much longer.

“Hole in one!” Cassie cheered, her arms in the air as her ball sank into the ground.

“So now we both have one,” Nick said, snickering. “I got mine first, though…”

“I got mine on a harder hole, though,” Cassie said, pointing at him with a smirk on her face. “You also took five shots to get it on the last hole, so you’re still losing.”

“We’ll see,” Nicholas said, waving her off. He waited for her on a little bridge between the two holes, and he held out his hand for Cassie to take. She took it, and it felt like electricity rocketing through his veins. Nick cleared his throat. “U-um, yeah, so- so I’ll g’head…”

Nicholas plopped his ball down on the course, staring down a bunch of plastic rabbits in the middle of the downhill path. He lined up his shot, tapped his ball, and watched as his ball bounced down toward the hole. And it got stuck on a rabbit. “Oh, come on!” he groaned, stomping his feet as he got out of the way.

“Too bad…” Cassie said with mock sympathy. She took her shot, easily passing by Nicholas’s golf ball on her way to the bottom of the hill. Nick at least thanked the universe that she didn’t get a hole in one. Cassie giggled happily as she made her way down to the bottom of the hill. Nicholas stomped down to his ball, knocking it out of the gap it stuck in.

“This sucks…” he grumbled to himself, and he jammed his thumbnail in his mouth to chew. He made it to the bottom of the hill near Cassie as she tapped her ball into the hole, and she looked up at him with confusion on her face.

“Do you always chew your nails?” she asked, startling him out of his head.

“What? No,” Nick said, yanking his thumb from his mouth. He dried it off on his sweatshirt and took aim for the hole. Unfortunately…he missed. “Come oooon…” he whined, stamping his feet as he tried again.

“Take your time, Nicholas,” Cassie reminded him, but Nick shot again without thinking. He missed again. “Seriously, just take your time.”

“I’ve got it,” Nick said, smacking his golf ball one more time so it sunk into the hole. “There.”

“That’s five shots,” Cassie said, and she marked it on her sheet. “Seriously, I don’t want to beat you because you’re frustrated and not actually trying anymore.”

“I’m not frustrated,” Nicholas insisted, nudging her forward. “C’mon, next hole!”

Cassie sighed, but she let him lead the way to the next hole. Up the stairs, there was a set of vending machines where all the different courses met, and Cassie grabbed Nick’s hand to pull him to a stop. “Hey, how about we take a break?” she suggested. “I brought change, so we can get some snacks.”

“Sure,” Nick said with a shrug. He pulled out his own wallet to get his drink, but Cassie smacked his hand away. “Hey!” he whined, but Cassie already held out her change purse.

“We said that the bet was whoever lost has to treat the other one, right?” she questioned. Nick crossed his arms, but he nodded. “Then that means I’m getting snacks and drinks.”

“Whatever…” Nick grumbled.

“What do you want to drink?” she asked.

“Uh, I like Code Red Mountain Dew,” he said.

“That sounds about right,” Cassie teased as she bought the drink. Nick snickered, and he rolled his eyes. “Snacks?”

“Just a candy bar probably?” he said, unsure. “Not really sure if I wanna deal with, like, chips or something.”

“Do you like Crunch Bars?” she asked, looking over their options. Nick shrugged and gave her a nod, so Cassie bought two of them. She got a Sprite for herself, and the two of them took their seats on a bench nearby. “Are you having fun?” Cassie asked shyly, which surprised Nicholas.

“Yeah, I’m having fun,” he said, voice breaking. He sucked down some of his drink to hide that.

“You just seem like you’re a little, like, frustrated or something…” Cassie said.

“Just with myself,” Nick said. He still felt so shy around her, and he could feel that familiar fuzzy feeling in the back of his head. There was no way that he could be small, absolutely not, but trying to push it away only made him feel worse.

“Anything I could do to help?” Cassie asked. Her feet swung under the seat, and Nick thought that was cute.

“No, it’s okay,” Nicholas insisted. “I’m okay, I promise. I-I like being here with you…” He blushed terribly at that, but at least Cassie smiled. Nick took her hand, lacing their fingers together, and he swung his feet in time with hers under the bench.

“You’re losing pretty badly, just so you know,” Cassie said, face pink. Nick had to laugh.

“I think I’m winning in other ways, yeah…?” he tried, sure that a line like that would kill him.

“Maybe,” Cassie said, though, and Nicholas’s head spun like a top.

“They need to keep moving,” Jodie groaned from where he, Glenn, and the other kids all hid. “Seriously, this is cute and all, but we can’t just stay behind a tree while they hold hands.”

Sparrow giggled, and he grabbed Grant’s arm, burying his face in his sleeve. Lark watched him, brow quirked in concern as he glanced up at Terry, but that didn’t help him at all. Terry only stared forward at Nick, worry coating his entire face.

“Are you alright, brother?” Lark asked in a whisper. Sparrow squeaked, and he nodded, which finally got Grant and Terry’s attentions.

“Sparrow…?” Grant only needed a few seconds to realize what was going on. He sighed. “The talking gophers got you, huh?” he asked, and Sparrow nodded, giggling.

“Great…” Terry sighed.

“What’s going on?” Glenn asked, glancing behind himself at the kids.

“Sparrow’s small…” Terry said.

“Oh, great…” Glenn groaned. “Jodie, kid’s small.”

“What?” Jodie turned around to see Sparrow chewing on Grant’s sleeve happily. Grant didn’t look quite as happy, though, his face red, but he didn’t fight against Sparrow or make him stop. “Are you gonna be okay, kiddo?” Jodie asked.

“I’m okay…!” Sparrow said. He held onto Grant’s hand, and he still chewed the poor boy’s sleeve anxiously. Jodie chose to take his word, though, and he turned his attention back to his son, who had gotten up and headed to the next hole with Cassie.

“They’re on the move!” he said quietly, moving out from behind the tree he hid behind.

“Brother, do you need a snack or something?” Lark asked before they could move on too far. Sparrow nodded, but he didn’t let go of Grant.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea,” Terry said, spotting something in the vending machine. “Ring pops are vegan, right?” he asked, but Grant and Lark shrugged.

“Mhm!” Sparrow said with a little nod.

“Here, let’s get you one,” Terry said. He paid, and he peeled open the packaging, holding out the ring pop for Sparrow. Eagerly, Sparrow latched onto it like it was a paci, giggling happily behind his candy. “Is that better than Grant’s sleeve?” Terry asked, and Sparrow nodded, still holding onto Grant like a lifeline. Grant blushed brightly at that, but Terry chose not to point it out.

“You know he’s gonna get hyper now, right?” Grant questioned.

“Better he’s hyper than eating your arm or something, right?” Terry asked.

“I don’t know…”

Terry snickered, and he looked at Lark with a knowing glance. Lark smirked, patting Grant on the shoulder. “It’s alright if you enjoy having Sparrow eat your arm, but perhaps you should leave the flirting for when we’re not tailing Nick.”

“Lark!” Grant fussed as quietly as he could, his pink face erupting in a deep red. “Shut the fuck up!”

“Boys, let’s go!” Glenn called, and Grant tugged Sparrow along, hoping the other two would follow suit.

Terry wanted to take a little bit of his own worries away, though, and without Nick around…he could make a little trouble, couldn’t he? After all, Grant teased him all the time, so why not toss it back at him? Terry leaned closer to Lark, stage-whispering so that Grant and Sparrow still heard.

“I think Grant wants to spoil Sparrow.”

Lark snorted, and he covered his mouth to keep it in. Sparrow looked back at them, Terry and Lark trying their best to appear innocent, and he looked up at Grant, who appeared seconds away from combusting.

Sparrow plucked his ring pop from his mouth. “Spoil…?”

“You’re up first, Sparrow!” Grant said, gesturing for him to take his spot at the beginning of the course. Grant could hear Terry and Lark dying behind him, and he swore revenge.

Nicholas leaned against the fence while Cassie took her shot, his head thumping hard in his skull, and he let his eyes slide shut. As it turned out, seventeen mini golf holes and more anxiety than any one person should ever have were enough to completely tucker him out. He was having fun, though, even if he was losing very badly.

“There you go again,” Cassie said, and Nick opened his eyes. He noticed his index finger in his mouth, so he yanked it free and dried it on his jeans. Cassie giggled and shook her head fondly. “You look like you’re going to fall asleep,” she said, but there was a question in her tone.

“Nah, I’m okay,” Nick insisted. He grabbed her hand and pulled Cassie along to where their golf balls ended up.

“At least you look cute when you’re sleepy,” Cassie said, and Nick completely whiffed on his shot. Cassie giggled, but Nicky whined.

“I get to try again because you made me miss!” he whined. Nicholas realized quickly how bad that sounded, and he tried to stuff down his regression before it ruined everything.

“Fine, fine, that was a little mean of me,” Cassie said, amused. Nick nodded, and he took his shot to sink his ball into the hole. “Congrats, you actually took your time for once!” Cassie teased.

“You know the only one that matters is the last one, right?” Nick tried, but Cassie didn’t seem convinced. “Yeah, if you get a hole in one on the last hole then you win the whole thing no matter what, that’s what my dad’s always said.”

“Okay, if you can get a hole in one on the last one, then I’ll say you win,” Cassie said, snickering. “I’ll even give you a prize!”

Nicholas’s eyes grew wide. He knew exactly what his prize would be, and he wanted that kiss so badly. He scooted off to the last hole, which was a small hill with a thin bridge just big enough for a golf ball leading into the building they started from. It was almost impossible to make the shot, and Nick had never done it before.

…He really wished he knew any spells that could help. Terry needed to teach him something cool.

“You only get one shot!” Cassie reminded him. Of course, the rail over the course also reminded them with a little sign about an alarm sounding if they jumped over it.

Nick plopped his golf ball down, and he took aim. He lined up slowly, doing his very best to make sure he was perfectly in line, and he took his shot. His ball slowly glided over the little hill, and it sailed toward the bridge. It bounced once, twice, then it landed in the bridge and slowly rolled its way into the building. A plastic chicken raised its head and buh-cawed, and Nick threw his hands in the air. “I made it!” he cheered.

“Congratulations,” Cassie said, grinning as she stepped a little closer. She took Nicholas’s hands in her own and smiled brightly at him. “Here’s your prize!” she said, and she kissed him right on the lips.

Nicholas’s eyes grew as wide as saucers, and he froze completely. Cassie leaned away, blushing, and he wondered if his own face might catch fire. “O-oh…” he managed out, tears filling his eyes while a goofy little grin took hold of his mouth. “Th-that was nice…” he squeaked. Cassie giggled, knocking her own golf ball into the course just to get rid of it.

“Let’s go play some arcade games!” she said, grabbing his hand.

“Okay…!” Nick managed out. He let himself be dragged along, but his thumb found its way back into his mouth.

…

……

From a bush nearby, Glenn and Jodie crouched and watched the whole scene. Glenn grinned proudly, fist in the air.

“Way to go, tiger!” he cheered quietly.

“We should get the other kids,” Jodie said, but he couldn’t squash the proud smile on his face. He sent the photo he caught to Morgan, and he hopped up to get the other four kids.

Terry watched not too far away, smiling proudly. Though, he couldn’t help but worry when he saw Nick with his thumb in his mouth…

Chapter Text

Beeps, alarms, whistles, cheering, and lots and lots of shouting greeted Nicholas in a cacophony of awfulness the moment Cassie dragged him into the arcade. Strobing lights, running children, and video game gun shots made everything worse, and for a moment Nick considered the consequences of running away.

“C’mon, let’s go get tokens!” Cassie said, tugging him along before Nick could run away. She pulled him over to the prize counter, stopping right beside it where a token machine sat. Nicky watched her feed a few dollars into the machine and get out their tokens, and he tried to focus on the sound of coins rather than the sounds of space guns not too far away. “What game do you wanna play first?” Cassie asked, pulling Nicholas out of his head.

“Um…I’m good at skee ball?” he said, blushing brightly. He wasn’t so sure how good at it he would be at this moment, but he couldn’t let her know how bad this felt.

“Let’s go!” Cassie cheered, taking his hand that wasn’t in his mouth and pulling him along.

Thankfully, the skee ball machine was in the corner of the arcade with the basketball games and the bathrooms. It was a bit quieter in the corner, and Nicky felt like he could breathe. He looked down when Cassie handed him a couple of tokens, and he clumsily stuffed them into the machine. It lit up with a happy jingle greeting them, and the balls fell into the pocket on his right.

“C’mon, we need enough tickets to win the hugging teddy bears!” Cassie said, giggling.

“Hugging teddy bears?” Nick questioned, confused.

“Did you not see them? They’re so cute!” Cassie said. “And we’re going to win them!”

“O-okay…” Nicholas nodded, choosing not to ask any questions. He definitely didn’t want to know how many tickets the bears costed. Instead, Nick picked up his first ball and tossed it up the ramp toward the cups, landing it in the 50-point cup.

“Go Nicholas!” Cassie cheered, and she leaned over to kiss his cheek. Nicholas squeaked, nearly dropping his second ball as he fumbled to keep it in his hands. Cassie giggled and let him roll it up the ramp into the 40-point cup. He kept going through all nine balls, and by the end he won them about 20 tickets. “Hey, it’s a good start!” Cassie said.

“I-I think you’ve gotta, like, play a perfect game t-to get a lot of tickets out of skee ball…” he said sheepishly.

“It still counts,” Cassie said, and she squeezed his hand. “C’mon, let’s play air hockey!”

Nicky’s head spun as they went up the air hockey tables in the middle of the arcade. The tables all lit up with dancing lights above them spelling out ‘air hockey’ in bright orange. A couple of people stood at the other table playing already, and the sound of the puck smacking against the table startled Nicky. The cheers from loud teenagers watching the game startled him even more.

“You okay?” Cassie asked before they went up to the table. He nodded, but Nicholas did not feel okay. Seeing those much bigger kids kind of scared him a bit more than he wanted to admit…

“Let’s play, c’mon,” Nick said, clearing his throat.

Terry looked around the room as all of them entered the arcade, scanning around for any signs of Nick. He watched him get pulled away from skee ball to air hockey, and Terry’s heart dropped into his belly when he saw Nicky chewing his fingers with that look on his face.

At this point, Terry liked to think he knew his little boy pretty damn well. He knew the little tells, the differences in Nick’s face or speech or especially his eyes when Nicholas regressed. So when he saw that look, he knew exactly what happened. Nick was small, and he was very, very overwhelmed.

“Alright, just stay low and try not to let Nick see you,” Glenn said as he handed out money to each of them. He handed a five-dollar bill to Lark, to Grant, then…he furrowed his brow at Sparrow, who held out his hands expectantly. “Grant, watch him…”

“Yeah, Grant, watch him,” Lark teased, and Grant groaned, blushing.

Glenn held a bill out for Terry, but Terry practically ignored him in favor of watching Nicholas. “Kid, he’s fine, really,” Glenn tried, but Terry shook his head.

“He’s small,” Terry said. He gripped the strap of his bag tightly.

“Well, right now it still looks like he’s having fun, so let’s just let him sort this out,” Glenn said. “Maybe he’ll surprise you!”

Terry took the offered money begrudgingly, following after the other kids to the token machine. He only looked up when Grant nudged him in the ribs.

“Hey, he’s alright,” Grant tried. “Yeah, he looks like he’s small or at the very least teetering, but I don’t think he’s doing badly.”

“I’m just worried…” Terry said. “I don’t like not helping him when he’s small.”

“Are you sure you’re not, like…jealous…?” Grant asked cautiously. “Like, I know you’ve never said if you…y’know…but if you did, it wouldn’t be a bad thing…?”

“I don’t like him that way,” Terry said, shaking his head. “It’s complicated…”

“Wanna explain?” Grant asked. “I won’t say anything.”

Terry sighed, glancing over where Nicky and Cassie played. One of the older teens at the other air hockey table hollered, and Nicky nearly jumped a foot in the air. It took every ounce of restraint in Terry for him not to run over there and save him. “He’s my best friend, and I wouldn’t want that to change for the world,” Terry said, tearing his eyes away. “Nick trusted me with his regression, and I’ve tried ever since to take care of him and make him feel safe. I want to take care of him; he’s my little guy, and that’s important to me. It’s hard not to go over there and help him right now because I feel like I need to…because he’s my little guy.”

“I get it,” Grant said with a nod. “I guess I don’t have that same feeling, but I understand what you mean.”

“Can we just grab our tokens and go do something?” Terry asked. “I’m gonna run over there if I stay here much longer.”

“Well, Lark and Sparrow ran off toward the DDR machine, so we should probably go,” Grant said. Terry cursed under his breath, quickly getting his tokens with Grant before running off toward the twins.

“Are you secretly an air hockey champion or something?” Cassie asked while Nick collected his tickets from the machine.

“Uh, I mean…growing up, we had an air hockey table in our basement that I played on a lot,” Nicholas explained with a shrug. His hands shook as he tried to combine their tickets together. “It’s been a while since I p-played, so I guess it was just lucky…”

“Let’s see if you’re lucky at Whack-a-Mole, then!” Cassie said, looping her arm into Nicholas’s elbow to tug him over to the machine against the wall.

Nick picked up the mallet, his grip tight around it. All around him were noisy games and boisterous laughter. He could hear shitty music that he didn’t like, and he could hear little kids screaming.

Cassie put the tokens into the machine, and slowly the plastic moles started to rise out of their holes. Nicholas smacked them as they came up, but as he did they started getting faster and faster. He kept up his pace as well as he could, but soon he started missing a few moles, their irritating laughter seeping into his head. A low growl escaped his throat, and Nicholas bashed them harder and harder, nails lengthening into the beginnings of claws as each mole laughed at him.

The tickets spit out from the bottom of the machine, and Nick panted, anger in his eyes and he glared at the machine.

“Are you okay?” Cassie asked, concerned. “You just growled at the game.”

“W—no I didn’t,” Nicholas insisted, a blush bright on his face. “I-I don’t growl, that- that’s silly.” He hid his hands behind himself to keep them from Cassie’s view. Tears welled in his eyes, and Nicholas could feel his teeth far too sharp in his mouth. “I’ll be right back! I-I, um, b-bathroom…!”

“Oh—okay, I’m gonna play the Spongebob game!” Cassie said, but Nicky barely registered what she said as he sped away toward the bathroom, tears in his eyes. He hit the door and shoved his way inside, running into a stall where he sunk to the floor to cry.

Terry watched Nicky run away to the bathroom, and it broke his heart. He didn’t care anymore, he couldn’t stand to watch Nicky struggle, so he headed toward the bathroom. Jodie tried to stop him, grabbing his shoulder to keep him from going in.

“I’m gonna go check on Nicky,” Terry insisted, shoving Jodie’s hand off his shoulder.

“Let’s just see if he settles down,” Jodie said. “I know you want to go rescue him, but we’re just here to make sure nothing bad happens.”

“And something bad is happening,” Terry said, moving past Jodie toward the bathroom. He didn’t care if Nick still hadn’t accidentally spat fire or hurt someone, those weren’t the only emergencies that needed intervention. Watching his little boy cry because he’s overwhelmed was enough for Terry to push his way into the bathroom. “Nicky?” he called, and the soft crying in the small stall stopped.

“Terry…?” came a meek, wobbly voice.

“Hey, little guy,” Terry said softly. He crouched down to reach his hand under the door, smiling when Nicky squeezed his hand. “Can you come out of there?” he asked.

“Y-yeah…” Nicky sniffled, and he let go of Terry’s hand so he could open the door. Terry stood up when the door swung open, and his heart ached at the sight in front of him. Nicky’s face was tear-stained, a few tears still trailing down his red cheeks. “Hi…”

“Hey,” Terry said. He opened his arms for a hug, and Nicky fell into them, burying his face in Terry’s chest as he cried. “You’re okay, Nicky, you’re okay…” Terry whispered. He leaned against the wall and just let Nicky cry into him, one hand in Nicky’s hair to soothingly smooth out the locks. “I take it your date’s not going perfectly?” he asked.

“We…we’re having fun,” Nicky said, sniffling. “It’s loud, a-and I’m tired…” Nicky’s fingers found their way into his mouth, and Terry cooed as he tugged them away.

“Let’s just stay here a minute, then, so you can settle down,” Terry said.

“Wha’ you doin’ here?” Nicky asked. Terry huffed a laugh.

“Uh, well…your dad and Glenn were worried about how this would go, so they brought me, Grant, and the twins to kinda…uh, keep an eye on you,” Terry said. Nicky glared up at him, but Terry just snorted a laugh. “We just wanted to make sure you didn’t, y’know…end up crying in the bathroom by yourself.”

“Thanks…” Nicky grumbled, and Terry snickered. “Cassie wants hugging teddy bears, so we’re tryin’a get tickets for them, but I dunno how we can do that. I wanna just go home or kiss her or something…”

“How much longer are you guys even supposed to be here?” Terry asked. He checked his phone for the time. “It’s almost seven, so shouldn’t her dad be picking you up soon?”

“Mhm…” Nicky nodded against Terry’s chest. “So we gotta go fast…”

“Well, Lark and Sparrow are getting tickets from DDR, so maybe they can donate to the hugging teddy bear cause,” Terry said. “So long as Sparrow still gets whatever he’s after, I guess,” he added with a laugh.

“Sparrow’s small?” Nicky asked.

“Yeah, but he’s got Lark and Grant to take care of him right now,” Terry said. “Don’t worry about him, just worry about your own date and getting spoiled by Cassie.”

Nicky giggled and buried his face in Terry’s chest. “Cassie spoiled me a lot earlier…” he said so delightedly.

“Yeah, we saw,” Terry said with a laugh. Nicky gasped, glaring up at him. “You’ve got some tears and snot, c’mere,” Terry said, ignoring the glare in favor of leading Nicky to the sink. He grabbed some paper towels and ran them under some cold water, ringing them out so he could clean off Nicky’s face. “Stay still,” Terry fussed when Nicky squirmed.

“Icky!”

“So’s snot on your face,” Terry fussed. He finished cleaning his face, and Terry tossed away the paper towels. “There, that’s a little better. You don’t look as much like you were crying in the bathroom.”

“Cassie’s gonna know…” Nicky mumbled.

“If she does, just tell her you were overwhelmed,” Terry said with a shrug. “Say it was a sensory thing, ‘cause it kinda was.”

Nicky nodded, and he grabbed Terry’s hand to squeeze. “Spoil?” he asked just for the added bravery. Terry sighed.

“It might have been a mistake to start you on this, huh?” Terry asked, and Nicky just laughed. Terry kissed his forehead, and as he leaned away his heart ached for the soft, sweet smile on Nicky’s face. “Alright, go back out there, dork,” he said, clearing his throat. “I’ll go behind you, and you can head back to Cassie, okay?”

“Okay…”

“Don’t look for everybody, just pretend we’re not here,” Terry said. “We’ll see you at the Oaks’ house, okay?”

“Okay…”

Nick took a deep breath and wiped his eyes one last time. He pushed his way back out into the arcade, overwhelmed by the noise once more, but it…it didn’t feel as bad. He found Cassie at the prize table, and she grinned at him.

“There you are!” she said as he joined her. “I was starting to worry I’d have to find somebody to send in after you.”

“Y-yeah, no, I’m okay,” Nick said with a handwave. “Just needed a minute, that’s all.”

“Well, turns out that the Spongebob game is, like, the best one for tickets,” Cassie said.

“Here you are, ma’am,” the boy behind the counter said as he handed her the two hugging teddy bears. Cassie squealed happily and took them. She undid the velcro holding the bears together and handed one to Nick.

“This one’s yours,” she said, and Nicholas blushed.

“O-oh, okay,” he squeaked out. “C-cute!”

“Just like you,” Cassie said, and she kissed his cheek. “I think there’s ice cream outside, so do you want to go get some and wait for my dad?” she asked.

“Yeah, sure, we can do that,” Nicholas said. Cassie took his hand, and she led the way outside to a little ice cream cart.

Terry watched the two of them from his spot beside Grant, and he smiled proudly. Grant looked over, a small smile on his face before he turned back to Terry.

“Are you happy that he’s doing okay with Cassie, or are you happy that you fixed that?” Grant asked.

“Shut up, Grant,” Terry fussed. He heard Sparrow yell at the Whack-a-Mole game, and Terry rolled his eyes. “You might need to go keep Sparrow from destroying a game. That’s all you.”

“Great…” Grant groaned, pushing away from the wall to go rescue an arcade game from an upset little boy.

Chapter Text

When Cassie’s dad picked them up, Nick remembered to open the door for Cassie. He let her into the car, and he made his way around to the other side to hop in. Cassie’s dad gave him a little smile, and Nick sheepishly sank down in his seat as the man asked them how the date went. Nicholas did notice how Cassie neglected to mention that they had kissed, but he supposed that was probably a good thing.

They made it back to Cassie’s house, and across the road Nicholas saw his mom’s car still parked in the Oaks’ driveway. That didn’t quite make sense…but Nick chose not to ask too many questions. Instead, he ran across the street and through the door.

“There’s our big guy!” Jodie cheered when Nicholas opened the door.

“Dad…” Nick whined, a blush on his face. He made his way over to his dad, who sat at the kitchen table as if he hadn’t left the house all evening, and Nicholas smacked his forehead into Jodie’s shoulder.

“How’d the date go?” Jodie asked, ruffling Nick’s hair.

“You already know,” Nicholas whined. “You guys spied on me…”

“For the record, Nicholas, I did tell him not to do that,” Henry said very quickly. A stomp under the table made him squeak, and Nick quirked a brow.

“How’d you guys beat us back here?” Nicholas asked, ignoring Henry.

“We left pretty much as soon as you two went to get ice cream,” Jodie said. “The twins started trying to destroy the Whack-a-Mole machine, so we were asked to leave.”

Nick snorted a laugh, and he slapped a hand over his mouth. “Almost wish I saw that…” he said, snickering.

“It was pretty funny, actually,” Glenn said. “Sparrow bit a security guard, and Grant had to promise to carry him to the car and back into the house to get him to leave.”

Nicholas laughed into his dad’s shoulder. “Where are they…?” he asked.

“Up in the twins’ room,” Jodie said, nodding upward. “There’s been some concerning sounds up there, so who knows what they’ve destroyed.”

“Oh, no, that’s just the sound of their pirate chest,” Mercedes said with a handwave. “When the boys decided to put away their toys because they were too old for them, we put them in a big pirate chest in the attic, and they’ve dragged it back down the attic stairs.”

“Why are their toys in a pirate chest?” Darryl asked, snickering.

“They just liked it,” Henry said with a shrug.

Nicholas drowned them all out, not bothering to care at all about adult matters. He shuffled over to his mom to give her a hug, and Morgan kissed his cheek.

“Did you have a good time, sweetie?” she asked. Nicholas nodded.

“I had a lot of fun. Cassie’s really nice and really cool…” he said.

“Oh, good, I’m glad!” Morgan cooed. She patted his hand. “Go ahead and head upstairs. Did you eat?”

“Ice cream and a candy bar,” Nick said, snickering. Morgan sighed.

“We’ll call you boys down when we’ve got some food for you, okay?” she said. Nick nodded, and he headed for the stairs.

When Nicholas opened the door to the twins’ room, he saw Lark and Sparrow on the floor wrestling while Grant and Terry sat on Sparrow’s bed making sure neither twin caused bloodshed. Of course, as the door opened, Terry’s head jerked up to see him, and he gave Nick a soft little smile.

“Have a good time?” Terry asked so sweetly, and Nicky folded immediately. He grinned big, nodding, and he ran straight for Terry’s side. “Oof! Nice to see you again, too.”

“I had a date, Terry!” Nicky squealed.

“You did!” Terry cooed. “You’re very happy about that, hm?”

“I got a big kiss!” Nicky said.

“You did!” Terry snickered, hugging Nicky close.

“Are you two gonna go out again?” Sparrow asked, panting on the floor where he escaped from Lark.

“We didn’t say we were, but I wanna,” Nicky said shyly. “You guys can’t come again, though!”

“Seemed like it helped a lot this time…” Grant said, snickering when Nicky kicked at him. “Just saying! You were small, and Terry said you were crying, so…”

“You guys can’t go on my dates with me!” Nicky whined, kicking his feet against the bed.

“What about a double date?” Lark asked, smirking up at Grant.

“Oh, too bad, I’m not dating anyone!” Grant said, annoyed tone laced in his voice. “Darn, that means no double dates!”

“We could fix that, you know,” Sparrow said, snickering. He rolled over and jumped on top of Lark, ignoring the way Grant blushed so brightly.

Nicky wrinkled his nose up, and he shook his head. “I wanna go out by myself with Cassie because I’m a big kid, and I can go on dates!”

“I agree, no double dates,” Grant said, blushing so bright. Terry rolled his eyes, exasperated. Grant cleared his throat, swallowing his embarrassment. “S-so, you- you have a new friend there, Nick…?” he tried, hoping to distract from his feelings.

“Yeah, me ‘nd Cassie won hugging teddies, and she gived me one, and she keeped the other!” Nicky said, holding up his teddy bear for Grant to see. “Cassie named hers after me, so I’m calling mine Cece…”

“What’s hers called?” Terry asked, amused.

“Nickle…” Nicky said, giggling. “She’s silly…”

“That’s cute,” Terry cooed. Nicky giggled, and he slipped off the bed to plop down beside Sparrow and Lark.

“Lemme see,” Sparrow said, holding his hands out for Nicky to hand him the teddy. “Cute!” Sparrow cooed.

“Why do you guys need matching stuffed animals?” Lark asked, taking the bear to look it over. “It’s cute and all, but it’s got velcro on its hands, and that’s a little hard to hold like a normal toy.”

“It’s just to be cute,” Nicky insisted, taking his bear back from Lark. He cuddled Cece to his chest, his cheek pressed to the top of her head. “It’s like havin’ Cassie always…”

“Ohhhh,” Lark said, nodding. “That makes sense.”

Sparrow crawled over to his bed and reached up to his pillow, snatching Sage away to hold against his chest. “Does Cece wanna meet Sage?” he asked.

“Mhm!” Nicky giggled as he held out Cece toward Sage. He bumped her paws against Sage’s face, and Sparrow moved Sage’s paws to hug Cece. “She likes Sage!”

“Sage likes Cece!” Sparrow said, giggling. Nicky grinned at him, one of his fingers making its way into his mouth. “Can we play…?”

“Okay…” Nicky said around his index finger.

“Hey, Nicky, c’mere a second,” Terry said when he noticed Nicky’s nervous energy. Nicky scooted over to Terry, who grabbed his bag and held out Nicky’s extra pacifier. “Want your paci instead of your fingers?”

Nicky giggled, and he bit down on his paci, rearranging it in his mouth until it sat comfortably. “Terry…?” he started, plopping down on his bottom.

“What’s up?” Terry asked, leaning a little closer.

“Spoil?” Nicky asked.

Grant snorted a laugh when Terry slowly turned redder and redder. “Go ahead, Terry,” he said, snickering. “Lil guy wants to be spoiled.”

Terry glared at Grant, and he turned back to Nicky with a sigh. “C’mere, Nicky…” he groaned, and Nicky happily sat up on his knees. Terry pressed a kiss to his forehead, and Nicky plopped back down on his bottom, giggling happily. “Is that good enough?” Terry asked.

“Mhm!” Nicky nodded, and he crawled away quickly. He pounced on top of Sparrow, who squawked in surprise. “Sparrow!”

“Wowww…” Grant said, snickering to himself. Terry groaned as he leaned back on his hands. The two of them watched as Sparrow and Nicky play-fought, the two rolling around the room squealing in delight. Lark yelped when they nearly rolled over him, and he hopped up beside Grant to escape the tussling tots.

“Terry, I think you started something,” Lark fussed.

“I wasn’t trying to do this,” Terry groaned. Nicky’s tail flicked around, and Sparrow yelped when it stabbed into his side. “I don’t know why he wants to be ‘spoiled’ now…”

“Who knows what’s going through his head,” Grant said.

“He wants to be a menace, obviously,” Lark said.

“You know your brother is the exact same way, right?” Terry asked, leaning around Grant to see him.

“He’s not nearly as bad as Nicky,” Lark insisted, shaking his head.

Just as Lark spoke, though, Sparrow yelped in pain. All three of them looked down at the two regressors on the floor, and Sparrow jumped to his feet. “Grant!” he cried, holding out his arm toward Grant with a scratch turned up toward him. “Grant, he scratched me! I need spoils!”

Terry returned the laugh Grant gave him. “Yeah, Grant. He needs spoils.”

Grant blushed terribly bright. “U-uh, Sparrow, um, I- I don’t, um… A-are you su—we could go clean it up and get a band-aid?” he tried, but Sparrow whined and stamped his feet.

“Nicky got spoils!” Sparrow whined. “He got spoils, and he didn’t get hurt!”

“B-but, uh, there’s, um…” Grant squeaked when he saw tears well up in Sparrow’s eyes. What was he even supposed to do? Say no? Grant sighed, and he held his arms up for a hug. “C’mere…”

Sparrow shuffled over into his arms. “Spoil?” he asked again, sadder this time in hopes it’d help him get what he wanted.

“Fine, fine…” Grant grumbled, and Sparrow leaned away, still holding his arm. Grant still blushed terribly, and he took a deep breath before he leaned over and pecked Sparrow’s cheek. “There, happy?”

“Mhm!” Sparrow giggled. “But I got hurt on my arm…” he said, gesturing down to his arm where his scrape was.

“Oh.” Grant mentally slapped himself, and Lark and Terry snorted laughs. Sparrow held his arm out, and Grant sucked in another deep breath before he quickly kissed Sparrow’s arm. “There…”

Sparrow giggled, and he darted back over to Nicky, tackling him back to the floor while Grant threw himself back against the bed and covered his face with his arms, ears burning red.

“Well, that was interesting,” Terry said, snickering.

“I don’t want to talk about it!” Grant whined.

“He even showed you the scratch before you kissed him,” Lark said, far too amused.

“You don’t have to say it like that!” Grant fussed. “Just say spoil, not—”

“Not kiss?” Lark asked with a shit-eating grin.

“Lark,” Grant said through his teeth. “It’s not a big deal!” Grant said unconvincingly. He pulled his hands away from his face, waving them in the air as he continued lying to himself. “It’s not a big deal! No big deal! So what if he wanted me to spoil him? It’s fine! He was just hurt!”

“He was just hurt,” Terry said with a shrug. “It’s fine if it was a big deal, though. You li—”

“Sh!” Grant smacked his hand over Terry’s mouth to keep him quiet. “Don’t say it out loud!”

“He knows, Grant,” Lark said, rolling his eyes. Grant blushed far too bright.

Sparrow and Nicky screeched on the floor, rolling around as they fought, but it did nothing to alleviate Grant’s embarrassment. At least, though, he knew neither of them were paying a bit of attention to Grant’s plight.

“Nicky likes being spoiled, too, so it’s just…little kids fixated on something,” Terry said with a shrug. “For all we know, Nicky’s gonna ask you to spoil him next, or Sparrow’s gonna ask me?” He hoped it’d help Grant feel a little better, but Grant didn’t even make eye contact with him.

“He’s not going ask you because he likes Grant,” Lark said with a shrug. Grant looked up at him with wide eyes. “What?”

“He what?”

“Did you not know that?” Lark asked, surprised.

“No!” Grant whined. “Since when?!”

“I don’t know how long he’s liked you! He just does, and he likes being with you, and apparently he likes it when you ‘spoil’ him,” Lark said with air quotes around ‘spoil.’

“Holy shit…” Grant hid his face in his arms once more.

“Boys!” Morgan shouted up the stairs. “Come get some food!”

“Mama!” Nicky yelped, and he ran out the door, leaving Sparrow abandoned on the floor as he shouted over his shoulder. “Terry, food!”

“I’m coming, I’m coming…” Terry groaned, getting up to follow Nicky.

“Sparrow, c’mon,” Lark said, reaching a hand down to his brother. Sparrow whined, and he rolled away. “Grant,” Lark tried, smirking at him.

Grant still sat on the bed shocked, but hearing Lark call his name snapped him out of it. He blushed still, but at least this was something he knew how to handle. “C’mon, Sparrow, we need to go downstairs…” he said as he got up.

Sparrow reached his hands out to be picked up, and Grant didn’t fight him, he just picked him up to carry him.

“Rotten thing…” Grant grumbled, desperate to save a little face.

“Only ‘cause you spoil,” Sparrow teased, giggling happily. He kissed Grant’s cheek, and that nearly sent the two of them tumbling down the stairs.

Chapter Text

“We got a lotta Legos, Nicky,” Sparrow said as he shut the door to his and Lark’s room. He locked it and plopped down on the floor beside Nicky, who kept his paci in his mouth while he dragged a tub of Legos closer. “We’ve got lots of minifigures, too,” Sparrow said, and he grabbed a plastic bag out of the chest all their toys were in.

A knock came on the door, and Nicky squeaked.

“Guys?” came Grant’s voice. Nicky looked at Sparrow, but Sparrow didn’t acknowledge Grant in the slightest. “Sparrow, Nicky, guys. Why is the door locked?”

“Grant…” Nicky said quietly, but Sparrow shrugged.

“He can get in if he wants’a get in,” Sparrow said. He opened up the bag of minifigures and poured them out on the floor. “We should make a house!” Sparrow said, and Nicky’s eyes grew wider.

“Sparrow, Nicky, open the door!” Terry tried. The doorknob jiggled a few times, followed by Terry’s groan of frustration. “Seriously, guys!”

“Terry!” Nicky started to get up, but Sparrow grabbed his wrist to keep him down. Nicky’s pacifier fell from his mouth, and he glared at Sparrow. “We gotta let Terry in,” he said.

“No, he’ll bring Grant,” Sparrow said.

“Why are you mad at Grant?” Nicky asked. He sat back down, watching as Sparrow started building their Lego house. “Did something happen…?”

“No,” Sparrow said. “I’m not mad…”

“Then why not let them in…?”

From the other side of the door, the two of them could hear Terry, Grant, and Lark trying to come up with a plan. Nicky watched the door, hoping they’d magically open it and fix this situation. When they didn’t, he glanced back to Sparrow.

“Can’t let them in because I said so,” Sparrow said, pouring a box of Legos on the floor.

“Why not?” Nicky asked.

“Because I said!”

Nicky huffed, and he leaned back on his hands. “I want Terry inside, though,” he said.

“Too bad,” Sparrow said, starting on his second wall of the house. “No caregivers.”

“Why not?” Nicky practically demanded. He wanted to play with Terry! “What’d Grant do?”

Sparrow huffed, finally looking up at Nicky. He looked shy, an emotion that Nicky was not used to seeing on Sparrow’s face, and his cheeks were bright pink. Sparrow looked back down at his project so he wouldn’t have to look at Nicky. “He said no more spoiling,” he explained, and Nicky made a very confused noise.

“Why not?” he asked. Maybe if Grant were a big meanie, he could be on Sparrow’s side with locking their caregivers out. Nicky hoped that Grant wouldn’t convince Terry to withhold spoiling next!

“Tried to kiss him back, and Grant said no,” Sparrow said. “Then he said no more spoiling because he’s an asshole.”

“Uh oh…”

“Let me get my book…” Terry mumbled from the other side of the door, and Nicky’s ears pricked up. What was Terry trying to do? Why did he need his spellbook?

“Why did Grant say no more?” Nicky asked. “Thought Grant liked you…”

“Thought so, too…” Sparrow mumbled. “He didn’t say why, just said no more, and I don’t like him anymore.”

Nicky raised a brow at that, surprised. “You like Grant?” he asked, and Sparrow blushed. He grabbed Sage to hide his face in, but he nodded. “Then Grant should be okay with spoiling ‘cause it’s okay!”

“Yeah, he should…” Sparrow said sadly. He sniffled, and Nicky squeaked. He didn’t know what to do if Sparrow cried! He barely knew what to do when he himself cried!

“We’ll make it better, Sparrow, it’s okay…” Nicky said, scooting a little closer to Sparrow so he could hug him. “We gotta make Grant know that spoiling’s a good thing.”

“How…?” Sparrow asked, sniffling. He hugged Nicky tightly.

“Gotta spoil Grant back,” Nicky said as though it were the most simple solution ever. Sparrow blushed, and he hid his face in Nicky’s shoulder. “Not just kisses spoiling, but whatever spoiling!”

“Don’t want to…” Sparrow mumbled.

Well, that made things more difficult, Nicky thought to himself. Then, he had another idea. “Could make Grant jealous?” he suggested, and Sparrow lifted his head up to meet Nicky’s eyes. “Him and Lark take care of you more, but Terry can, too…” he said.

“But you?” Sparrow questioned. He knew how jealous Nicky got, and he didn’t think it was fair to take Nicky’s comfort just to get his own back the way he liked it.

“It won’t take long,” Nicky said, though, shaking his head. “Terry can help, and then Grant’ll wanna spoil you ‘cause he’ll miss you.”

Well, Nicky certainly made a good point. Sparrow nodded, ready to give it a shot. He had nothing to lose since Grant took his kisses away when Sparrow just got them.

The two of them heard Terry’s voice on the other side of the door as he read out a spell. A few melodic knocks on the door followed, but as Terry turned the doorknob he found it still locked. “Oh, come the fuck on…” Terry groaned. He banged his head against the door a couple times in frustration.

“Here, Mami found the keys,” Lark said, and a set of jingly keys sounded through the door. Sparrow squeaked, and he dove for his bed, Legos abandoned. He threw the covers over his head and huddled in the corner of the bed against the wall as Lark stuck the key in the door.

“Well, that was easier than the spell,” Terry said as the door swung open.

“Why did you two lock the door?” Grant asked as he made his way into the room. He stopped, confused, when he saw the dangerous path of Lego bricks strewn on the floor. He glanced around, and Grant noticed very quickly that Sparrow was not with Nicky. “Where’s Sparrow?” he asked Nicky, who shrugged.

“Sparrow?” Lark called as he made his way into the room. He spotted the lump of blankets on the bed, and he rolled his eyes. “Grant, he’s in his bed,” he said, and before Grant or Terry could try anything gentle, Lark jumped onto the bed right on top of Sparrow.

“Lark!” Sparrow whined, popping up with a bright red face and a scowl.

“Why were you hiding under the covers?” Lark asked. Sparrow didn’t answer him, though, opting to drag his blankets back over his head and tuck back into the corner of his bed. “Sparrowwww…” Lark tried, nudging his brother.

“No!”

“Nicky, do you know what’s going on with Sparrow?” Terry asked. He slowly maneuvered around the pile of Legos to sit with Nicky, who popped his pacifier back into his mouth to avoid answering him. Terry sighed, and he reached over to hook his finger into the paci and tug it out of Nicky’s mouth. “So, you do know what’s going on?” Terry asked.

Nicky didn’t know exactly how much he could tell Terry. For all he knew, Terry and Grant were in cahoots, and if Nicky brought up spoiling then Terry would tell him that he was no longer going to spoil Nicky, too. That was the last thing Nicky wanted. So, instead, he opted for the simplest explanation. “Sparrow’s sad…”

“Why is Sparrow sad?” Terry asked, his gaze turning up toward a very red-faced Grant leaned against the wall.

“Just is,” Nicky lied with a shrug.

“Sparrow…” Grant started with a sigh. He took a seat on the bed beside Lark and reached over to nudge Sparrow’s shoulder. “Can you look at me?” he asked.

“No,” Sparrow whined. “Don’t want to.” He tightened the covers around his head, and it broke Grant’s heart to see.

“This is because I said no more ‘spoiling’ until you’re big again, right?” Grant asked, but that didn’t make sense to Nicky. That wasn’t what Sparrow said. When Grant didn’t get an answer, he continued anyway, bright blush going from the tips of his ears all the way down his neck. “I-I just said that because I…I like you, a-and I don’t want it to be something that, like, ends up hurting you or something because you want ki—you want spoiling for a different reason…”

Nicky looked up at Terry, confusion on his face. Terry just dropped a hand into his hair, mussing the locks gently.

“How come you two like getting ‘spoiled’ so much?” Terry asked, figuring he could at least help Grant out a little bit. “It makes sense why you want Cassie to kiss you, Nicky, but now you also want me to do it, and that makes a lot less sense.”

Nicky shrugged, leaning against Terry’s shoulder. “Just like kisses, and you said it’s okay. Just cute! And it feels tiny…” he explained.

“It’s no different to you than anything else I do for you, right?” Terry asked. “Just another part of caregiving, like cleaning your face off or cuddling or playing with you, right?”

“Mhm!” Nicky said with a nod.

“What about you, Sparrow?” Terry asked. The lump of blankets squeaked and shifted around. “Is it the same for you? Spoiling is just another part of caregiving, and that’s why you like it?”

Sparrow’s head poked out the top of the blankets, face red and tears in his eyes. “Mhm…” He nodded. “It’s cute, and it makes me feel small, a-and I like that it’s Grant…”

Well, Grant had to grab the bed just to make sure he didn’t hit the floor. That was just too cute.

“I-I-I know it makes you feel small, and I kn-know you like it, but, uh, but it’s a little different b-because, y’know…um…when you’re big, I still want to, y’know—” Grant cleared his throat, “—kiss you.”

“Okay,” Sparrow said. He glanced up at Grant, a nervous little smile on his face. “That’s okay… I want spoils and want kisses…”

“We really should talk about this when you’re not a toddler,” Grant said, squeezing his eyes shut.

Sparrow pushed his blankets off himself, sitting up shyly with his gaze in his lap. “Spoil?” he tried, reaching his hands out toward Grant, who sighed in defeat.

“Last one until we can talk when you’re big, got it?” Grant tried. Sparrow nodded, but Grant didn’t know if he believed that Sparrow would listen. Still, though, he couldn’t deny Sparrow when the little guy seemed so upset… Grant kissed his cheek quickly, leaning away to cover his mouth.

The effect was immediate, all of them noticed. Sparrow’s sad eyes turned brighter, and he jumped off his bed onto Nicky, who squawked in surprise.

“You’re gonna kiss him goodnight later, aren’t you?” Lark asked, teasing tone in his voice.

“Probably…” Grant said, groaning as he covered his face with his hands.

Terry scooted the Legos out of the way before either regressor got hurt, and he hopped up on the bed beside Grant. “Can’t believe he locked us out of the room all because you said you weren’t going to kiss him,” he said, snickering. “I think of the two of them, Sparrow’s way more rotten than Nicky.”

“Oh, please, Nicky would do the same thing,” Grant fussed. His put-on anger did nothing to dissuade Terry’s teasing grin, though. Grant huffed, and he turned his attention to the regressors on the floor. Sparrow went back to building his Legos, and Nicky…stuck a couple of minifigures in his mouth.

“Spit those out!” Terry yelped when he caught him. Nicky whined, but Terry jumped up and got the figures out of Nicky’s mouth. “You can’t eat those, Nicky!”

“Yes I can!” he whined, reaching back for them. “I wanna play!”

“You can play, but you can’t eat plastic,” Terry fussed. Nicky huffed, pouting, and Terry rolled his eyes. He grabbed Nicky’s paci, cleaning it off on his shirt before he held it out for Nicky to take. Thankfully, Nicky latched onto his paci without a fuss. “There, hopefully that’ll keep you from eating plastic…” Terry said with a sigh of relief. He plopped back down beside Grant while Lark laughed.

“I think my brother is not the only one attention-seeking, now,” Lark said. Nicky glared at him, which told Lark everything he needed to know. “I’m right.”

Terry rolled his eyes, watching for a moment while Nicky tried to help Sparrow build their little house. Nicky wiped dry the minifigures, and he put them back in the pile while he searched for…something. Sparrow looked over, and he grabbed a couple of figures to stick in the house. Nicky grabbed a few more, and he stuck them in the house. Sparrow snatched one of Nicky’s figures, babbling to him too quietly for Terry to understand. Nicky nodded, agreeing with whatever Sparrow said, and Sparrow smashed the two figures’ faces together, giggling delightedly at the action.

“This is not going well,” Grant said with a nervous laugh.

“I think those figures are you two,” Lark said, and Grant’s slowly cooling face rapidly heated back up.

“Thank you, Lark…” he said through his teeth.

“Hey, guys, how about we clean up and watch a movie…?” Terry tried. It seemed like a good idea to get Sparrow’s mind on anything else at this point. Terry plopped down on the floor, motioning for Grant and Lark to join him. “Can we put away the Legos and maybe watch, like, Zootopia or something?” he tried.

“Okay…!” Nicky said, his paci falling from his mouth. He stared down at it for only a second before stuffing it back in his mouth and piling up the Legos together.

“Do we get chocolate milk?” Sparrow asked with big, hopeful eyes.

“You can have chocolate milk if you clean up,” Grant said. “We’ll help, okay?”

“Okay!” Sparrow squeaked. He grabbed the tub and started tossing fistfuls of Legos back inside. Grant tried to help him while Lark helped Nicky get the minifigures back into their bag, and Terry fished out stray Legos from where they escaped to. Once everything was cleaned up, Terry got to his feet to help up Nicky, and Grant got up to offer a hand out to Sparrow.

Sparrow looked up at the hand, and he reached both his out to be picked up.

“You’re milking this…” Grant grumbled, but he still picked Sparrow up.

“Chocolate milk!” Sparrow reminded him.

“Yeah, yeah, we’re gonna go get some and watch the movie, okay?” Grant said.

“Okay,” Sparrow said, giggling. “Cuddle?”

“We can cuddle…” Grant said with a nod. “Lark, can you grab Sage?”

“I’ve got him,” Lark said, swiping the wolf plush off the floor. He found Sparrow’s pacifier in his nightstand, and for a moment Grant wondered if that might save him from kisses.

Nicky whined when he realized he didn’t have his sippy cup or any of his gear, and he looked up at Terry with a pout on his face.

“Could you maybe, like, cut a portal into your closet and grab your bag?” Terry suggested. Nicky squeaked, and he did just that. Terry laughed, especially as Nicky forced his baby battle jacket into his hands and stuck his arms out. “Let’s get your jacket on…” Terry said, snickering. “Do you need to go potty or change?” Terry asked.

“Um…” Nicky blushed, but he nodded, hugging his bag to his chest as he shuffled toward the door.

“Hand me your sippy cup, and I’ll get you some chocolate milk while you change,” Terry said. Nicky squeaked, and he dug his cup out of the bag. As he handed it off to Terry, Nicky leaned up to press the button of his pacifier against Terry’s cheek, and he shuffled out the door giggling.

“What was that…?” Lark asked, very confused.

“Uh, I think that was a kiss?” Terry said, though it sounded like a question. “A paci kiss?”

Sparrow gasped, and Grant’s blood turned to ice in his veins. Oh no. Oh, he was fucked.

“Lark, I want my paci!” Sparrow squealed, reaching on hand out to grab.

Chapter Text

Nicholas awoke in the morning with his head stuck in the crook of Terry’s arm, his arm stuck underneath Lark, and one sock missing. He groaned as he struggled to sit up without waking his friends, and he rubbed his eyes sleepily. As he yawned, his pacifier fell from his mouth, but he made no effort to put it back in his mouth. Instead, Nicholas tossed it onto the coffee table in front of them and maneuvered his way off the sofa.

Only as he stood up and stretched did Nick notice that Sparrow was missing. The little space between Grant and Lark where Sparrow fit just hours earlier was empty, though Grant’s body still contorted to the shape of him.

A small clattering in the kitchen sounded, so Nicholas headed toward it. In the kitchen, he found Sparrow on the counter with a box of pancake mix in his hands. His eyes grew wide, and he seemed so surprised to see Nicholas.

“Hi.”

“What’re you doing…?” Nick asked.

“I was going to make pancakes and surprise everybody…” Sparrow said sheepishly.

Nick snickered at that, and he nodded. “Want some help?” he asked. Sparrow shrugged, and he jumped off the counter, nearly falling into Nicholas.

“I need to get the pan,” Sparrow said, reaching into the cabinet where his parents kept their pots and pans. He pulled out a flat pan, and he set it on the oven, grabbing a bottle of oil to coat it. “You just add water to the mix, right?”

“Yeah, it says 2/3 cup of water for every cup of mix,” Nick said. “Where’s your measuring cups?” he asked, pulling open drawers to find what he needed.

“We don’t need them,” Sparrow said, though. He pulled out a large mixing bowl and whisk, and he took the box from Nick. He opened a cabinet and pulled out a regular glass. “Just fill this up, and we’ll eyeball it.”

“Or, we could follow the directions,” Nicholas said. “That way we don’t mess everything up and end up with really gross pancakes.”

Sparrow sighed, and he readied himself to climb up on the counter again.

“What are you doing!” Nick fussed, grabbing him by the waist to stop Sparrow.

“You want the measuring cup!” Sparrow said. “It’s up there, and I’m not that tall!”

 “Do you not have a stepstool?” Nick asked. Sparrow sighed dramatically, tossing his head back as he stomped over to the storage closet. He grabbed the stepstool, and he opened it, settling it on the floor before he climbed up.

“This is a lot less convenient, Nicholas,” Sparrow fussed as he handed down the measuring cup.

“At least you didn’t break your fucking neck,” Nick fussed. He stayed close to Sparrow as he got off the stepstool, and Sparrow rolled his eyes.

“I’ve done this way more than you could ever know,” he said, folding up the stool to put it away again. “I’m also not supposed to use the stove without one of my parents around, do you want to go wake them up and delay our progress further?”

“I’m not going that far…” Nick grumbled. “Let’s just make the stupid pancakes.”

“Fine.”

Nick measured out the pancake mix first. “How many cups do we use?” he asked while he poured in the first cup. Sparrow shrugged.

“Do another. That doesn’t look like a lot of pancake mix,” he said, watching as Nick measured out another cup and poured it in. “Maybe another?” Sparrow said with a shrug.

“Three cups seems like a lot,” Nick said, though. “Maybe a half cup?”

“Then how much water?” Sparrow asked. He tried to do the mental math, but that was never his best subject.

“Um…” Nicholas tried as well, waving a finger in the air as he did the math. “Uh, 2/3 and 2/3 is 4/3, so that’s…1 1/3? A cup and a third, and then the half…”

“Half of 2/3 is just half a cup, isn’t it?” Sparrow asked.

“Is it?” Nick tried to do the math, but he hated fractions. “Is it 1/3?

“A cup and 2/3rds doesn’t sound right,” Sparrow said. “That’s what three cups of mix would be.”

“I don’t think that’s right,” Nick said. “Let’s just do a cup and a half, and if it needs more water, then we can put in more water.”

“So what you’re saying is that we shouldn’t have even bothered with the measuring cup,” Sparrow said. Nick glared at him, but Sparrow didn’t waver. “I’m just saying, measuring with our hearts would have gotten us here, too, just faster.”

“If either of us was good at math, we wouldn’t be here,” Nicholas fussed. He filled up the measuring cup with water and poured it in while Sparrow mixed. “It needs more water…”

“Maybe the 2/3 cup was right…” Sparrow said. “How much more do you need from a half to make 2/3?” he asked.

“I don’t know…” Nicholas whined. He just splashed in a little more water and hoped for the best. “Let’s just go with that…”

“Works for me,” Sparrow said with a shrug. He opened up the fridge and grabbed a bag of chocolate chips, dumping what remained of the bag into the batter. As he mixed it up, he turned on the stove eye, and he portioned out his first few pancakes. “We need a plate to put them on,” Sparrow said, pointing to a corner cabinet, so Nicholas fetched a plate and lined it with a paper towel.

The two of them stood watch over their first pancakes for a moment, watching for the bubbles and golden edges. Sparrow flipped the pancakes over, and the two of them gasped in amazement when the pancakes actually looked good. “Who needs math?” Sparrow said, cackling in delight.

“Everyone’s gonna be so impressed that we made pancakes and didn’t fuck it up,” Nick said, laughing. Sparrow seemed so delighted, especially as he moved the finished pancakes to their plate. Nicholas watched for a moment while Sparrow portioned out the next few pancakes on their pan, curious about why Sparrow decided to do this. “Grant’s gonna be impressed for sure.”

Sparrow flinched, and he dropped the spoon onto the pan, cursing as he tried to clean up quickly. “That’s not fair, and you know it,” he fussed, grabbing the rag from the sink to clean up the pancake batter he splattered on the stovetop.

“You never even told us you like boys,” Nicholas said with a shrug.

“I told Lark,” Sparrow said. He didn’t look in Nick’s direction, eyes fixed the pan in front of them.

“That barely counts,” Nick said. “I could’ve helped you out if I knew. Like, telling you that Grant likes you or something so this wouldn’t happen.”

“I already knew Grant likes me,” Sparrow said, rolling his eyes. He flipped over the pancakes. “I’ve known for months.”

“And you like him…” Nick said carefully. Sparrow nodded. “So…why haven’t you, like, asked him out?”

“I’ve never done that before,” Sparrow said. “It’s easy to fight, to yell, to run around and cause problems. It’s not easy to tell one of your best friends that you kind of want to kiss his face really badly.” He moved the pancakes over and started portioning out the next few. “I guess that’s kind of why I really liked the idea of all the spoiling…even though apparently Grant hates it.”

“I don’t think he hates it,” Nicholas said. “I think he freaked out because the boy he likes is very desperate to kiss him, but he’s also acting like a toddler about it.”

Sparrow huffed, and he shoved Nicholas’s shoulder. “Guess I should probably talk to him…” he mumbled.

“That’d probably be the easiest option,” Nick said with a nod. “Wanna try to make some of the pancakes look like hearts or something?”

“That’s too cheesy, no,” Sparrow fussed. Nicholas snickered, far too amused. “I don’t like being nervous, Nick…”

“Well, too bad,” Nick said. “I went on a date yesterday, and I was so nervous the whole entire time, but I stuck it out.”

“You cried in the bathroom,” Sparrow said.

“Just for a few minutes, then I went back and finished the date,” Nicholas said. “Plus, it’s Grant we’re talking about. If you think you’re nervous, he’s probably ten times worse.”

“Probably didn’t make it any better for him by doing the paci kisses thing last night,” Sparrow said, a little blush forming on his cheeks. “Even if it was fun…”

“You might have killed him, but it’s okay,” Nick said, snickering.

Sparrow sighed, and he set aside the pancakes to portion out their next few. “I think we made too much batter,” he said, and Nick snorted a laugh.

“We might need to pay more attention in math class…” he said, amused.

“You can do that, nerd, but I’ve got better things to do,” Sparrow said.

“Yeah, like drawing Grant as an animal in your sketchbook?” Nick teased. Sparrow gasped and shoved his shoulder. “What do you draw him as?” Nicholas asked, giggling. “Obviously you’re a wolf, but…?”

“Usually he’s a bear…” Sparrow grumbled. “I like giving him a really fluffy tail and ears…”

“You’re so gone for him,” Nick teased.

“I don’t like you anymore,” Sparrow said with a huff. “Go back to bed with the others, and you don’t get any pancakes.”

“That’s not how this works,” Nicholas said, snickering. “Besides, all I have to do is use my puppy eyes, and Terry would give me pancakes.”

“That only works when you’re small,” Sparrow insisted. Nicholas shook his head. “Then Terry is a simp.”

“Ahem…”

The two of them turned around to see Terry, Grant, and Lark stood in the doorway, sleepy and grumpy looks on their faces. Nick blushed, and he backed into the corner of the cabinets, but Sparrow stood his ground.

“I’m right, and you know it, Terry,” Sparrow said, flipping over his pancakes.

“Why are you guys making pancakes by yourselves…?” Terry asked, arms crossed.

“Sparrow wanted to make pancakes for everyone, and I’m supervising,” Nicholas explained. “Without me, he’d have already broken his neck and made ultra-watery pancakes.”

“Yet with you, all we’ve done is argue about math,” Sparrow said, glaring at him.

“Why’d you want to make pancakes, Sparrow…?” Grant asked. He shuffled closer, standing near the oven, and Sparrow, but he still kept his distance, a blush coating his cheeks.

“I just thought it’d be a nice treat for everyone…” Sparrow said. He blushed himself, jerking his eyes back to the pan. “Y-you like chocolate chip pancakes the best, right?” he asked.

“Uh, yeah…” Grant said. He scooted just a little closer, leaning closer to Sparrow to peek into the pan. “They look good…” he said nervously.

“Good! Good, I’m glad!” Sparrow said. He flipped the pancakes.

Nicholas shuffled over to Terry and Lark, rolling his eyes. “I tried my best to help him,” Nick said with a shrug.

“Why were you guys arguing about math?” Lark asked, nose wrinkled up in disgust. Nicholas sighed.

“Cooking involves way more math than it should,” he said.

“Did you guys talk about yesterday…?” Terry asked. Nick nodded. “So, are you gonna explain the whole kissing thing?”

“Not much to explain,” Nick said with a shrug. “Sparrow likes Grant, he wanted to kiss him, and he was upset that Grant wanted to stop kissing him.”

“And now this morning he’s making chocolate chip pancakes…” Terry watched the two of them, internally cringing when Grant couldn’t even manage to put a hand on Sparrow’s shoulder. “They need help…”

“I did my part already,” Nick said. “He’s just nervous because he’s never dated someone before.”

“Do they need to race on the horses and figure out who has to arrange a date or something?” Lark asked.

“That was mine and Cassie’s thing,” Nick said, shaking his head.

“Who said it can only be your thing?” Lark questioned. “What if that’s exactly what those two need in order to go out?”

“I don’t think they need that,” Terry said. “Maybe, y’know, they should go on a mini golf date themselves…”

“As long as I get to follow them with you this time,” Nicholas fussed, a scowl on his face.

“Don’t worry, you can come with us,” Lark said. “We’ll play the Little Mermaid song until they kiss or something, and then we can finally go back to normal.”

“Uh, I don’t—” Terry stopped, and he shook his head. It wasn’t worth it to explain how crushes worked to Lark.

“Lark, can you get the syrup?” Sparrow asked suddenly, and Lark jumped to grab what he needed.

“Where are your plates?” Terry asked. He followed where Sparrow pointed, grabbing some plates for the five of them. He handed them off to Nicholas, and he gathered up the forks and napkins before heading to the breakfast table.

“Here we go!” Sparrow said, plopping down a huge stack of 20 pancakes. “There might be too many pancakes,” he said, and Grant snorted a laugh.

“Nonsense, brother, it’s perfect,” Lark said, giggling as he swiped three pancakes off the stack.

“He’s going to make himself sick,” Grant said to Terry, who sighed and nodded.

Grant took his seat, and Sparrow plopped down right beside him, even scooting his chair closer so their knees touched under the table. When he looked over, Grant was surprised to see Sparrow’s face pink. His heart soared at the pretty color on his cheeks, and Grant took a chance. He took hold of Sparrow’s hand under the table, squeezing gently.

Sparrow squeezed back, smiling at Grant shyly.

Nick watched the two of them for a moment, and he grinned. He grabbed his own pancakes off the stack, but as he went to grab the syrup, Terry swatted his hand away and took it instead.

“Oh, come on, I’m not even small,” Nicholas fussed. “I can pour my own syrup, Terry!”

“Even when you’re big, you still drown your pancakes,” Terry said as he poured small stripes across Nick’s plate. “There, that should be plenty,” he said, setting the bottle down. Nicholas growled lowly, and he swiped the bottle, squeezing hard to cover his pancakes entirely. Terry sighed. Since when did Grant get the easier job?

Chapter Text

“What are you boys doing?!” came Henry’s voice from the entryway of the kitchen, and all five boys turned to see him. “Did you seriously make pancakes by yourselves?”

“Perhaps…” Sparrow said, hiding his giggles behind his fork. Henry sputtered and reddened, his frustration growing on his face. “If it helps, Father, I was not regressed when I used the stove this time. I was entirely my age, and so was Nicholas, and only made a tiny mess!”

“That does not help, Sparrow, you and Lark were told not to use the stove no matter how old you are!” Henry fussed.

“Boys, why didn’t you come get one of us?” Mercedes asked, sighing exasperatedly when she saw the state of the kitchen. Mixing bowls, pans, spoons, and battered covered the countertop and stove, and one of the cabinet doors still stood open.

“We’re big boys, Mami, we can make breakfast on our own!” Sparrow insisted.

“We’ll clean up, Mr. and Mrs. Oak-Garcia,” Terry said, which Lark protested.

“I never agreed to that!” he fussed. “I didn’t make a mess!”

“You’re enough of one on your own,” Grant said, rolling his eyes.

Mercedes snickered, and she tugged on Henry’s sleeve. “As long as they clean up, I think it’s alright, my love.”

Henry sighed, and he pinched the bridge of his nose. It was far too early in the morning to deal with this. “That’s…fine. I guess.” Mercedes kissed his cheek as she headed to the fridge to grab the bowls of overnight oats they prepared the night before for their breakfast.

“We’ll be in the living room if you boys need anything,” she said with a small smile.

“Thank you, Mami!” Sparrow said, and Henry groaned, defeated. Once the parents left, he pushed back his chair to take his plate to the sink. “I think they will soon realize we are responsible enough to use the stove and oven without their assistance,” he said.

“Maybe if you actually clean up after yourself,” Grant said, snickering.

“Why would we do that?” Lark asked. “When I move out and I’m in charge, I will just get paper plates so that I never have to do dishes.”

“You have to wash pots and pans?” Nicholas questioned.

“Not necessarily,” Lark said, shaking his head. “It’s called seasoning, Nicholas.”

“You don’t—that’s not what seasoning is. That’s just being gross,” Nicholas fussed.

“No, it’s seasoning! Mami told me about it!” Lark insisted. He shoved back his seat and hopped to his feet to put his plate in the sink.

“I think your mom lied,” Nick said. Lark shot him a glare, not that Nick really paid it any mind.

“Can we just clean up without a fight, please…” Terry said with a sigh. “You guys are ridiculous.”

“I’ll put stuff away…” Lark said, pouting. He gathered up the ingredients still laid out on the counter, and he picked up what remained on the table while Sparrow filled the sink with soapy water. Terry and Nick swept the floor of pancake mix, and they got out a mop to clean up the spilled batter remnants. Which just meant Grant…

“You can help me with the dishes, Grant…” Sparrow said. “I’ll wash, you dry…Lark can put them away.”

“Th-that works…” Grant said with a nod. Lark handed him a towel to dry the dishes with, so Grant stood right beside Sparrow. Really, Grant couldn’t think of anything more awkward. He cleared his throat as Sparrow set down the first plate to dry. “Uh, the pancakes were really good, by the way,” he said, his blush immediately growing on his face.

“Glad you liked them,” Sparrow said, a nervous little giggle slipping out. “Um, I kind of made them because I remembered that chocolate chip pancakes are your favorite, and I wanted to, y’know, say sorry for yesterday…”

“Sorry?” Grant questioned. He didn’t expect Sparrow’s need for affection at all times when he was small to lead to an apology. “You don’t have to be sorry that you were small, Sparrow.”

“I’m not sorry because I was small, I’m sorry because I kept, y’know…insisting on spoiling,” Sparrow grumbled, annoyed as though it should have been obvious.

“Oh,” Grant said, blushing. “I mean, that was…I-I didn’t know what to do, really, because, uh, like I said…I kind of, y’know, like you…”

“I like you, too,” Sparrow said quickly, dropping the pile of silverware in his hands into the sink to give Grant his attention. “I like you a lot, that’s why I like getting…spoiled…by you.”

Grant cringed, squeezing his eyes shut tightly. “We’ve gotta stop saying spoil for that…” he said, and Nick quickly protested.

“It’s cute, Grant!” he insisted despite Terry’s shushing.

“Why are you listening to us?!” Sparrow fussed.

“You’re not exactly having this talk in private, Sparrow,” Nick said.

“Grant started it!” Sparrow fussed, pointing with a wooden spoon.

“Guys, seriously, it’s fine…” Terry said with a sigh. “How ‘bout we go fold the blankets and stuff in the living room so they can talk?”

Nicholas sighed, but he followed after Terry. Lark came along as well, but not without a quick glance over his shoulder at his brother. He gave Sparrow a little nod, a bit of good luck, before he darted after Terry and Nick for an attack. Grant flinched when he heard the two of them scream.

“Don’t worry about putting the dishes away,” Sparrow grumbled, a blush on his face at being abandoned with Grant. “My dad will probably put them away later.”

“That’s fine…” Grant said. He tried to watch Sparrow’s face, tried to see anything that told him what to do, but Sparrow kept his eyes on the soapy water in front of him. “I do mean it that you don’t need to be sorry for yesterday…” he said.

Sparrow sighed, and he tossed down the measuring cup for Grant to dry. “I got so upset when you said you didn’t want to kiss me anymore…”

“I know, you grabbed Nick and ran away,” Grant said, amused. “I don’t think he knew what was happening at all.”

“He didn’t,” Sparrow said, shaking his head. “Then he got mad that I wouldn’t let Terry in the room…” At least that made him laugh, too, and Grant smiled at that pretty laugh. Sparrow sucked in a deep breath. “Our plan before you guys got in the room was to make you jealous until you decided to spoil me more,” Sparrow admitted, and Grant had to laugh.

“Seriously?”

“It was Nick’s idea,” Sparrow said quickly.

“But you were gonna go along with it,” Grant said, far too amused. Sparrow flicked water at him. “Hey!”

“I didn’t know what to do, I just wanted you to kiss me, and I was small…” Sparrow said. “It felt like a disaster, and I was upset.”

“Sorry…” Grant said. “I didn’t want to keep doing it because, y’know, I didn’t know you like me, too…and I didn’t want hurt you because we thought about the kisses in very different ways.”

“It makes sense, I get it,” Sparrow said. “When I was small, though, that didn’t matter.”

“Pretty much the only thing that matters to you when you’re small is whatever you’re fixated on right at that moment,” Grant said, snickering. “Which, unfortunately for me last night, was kissing.”

“I still want to kiss you,” Sparrow said. He looked away from the water finally to meet Grant’s eyes. Grant felt like his face might catch fire, and Sparrow didn’t feel much better. “It’s different from when I was small, but not…not really. I wanted you to kiss me last night because it made me feel small, and it was soft, and I knew you really cared. Now, I want to kiss you because I care, and because it’s fun.”

“What about when you decided the best thing you could do last night was kiss me with your paci?” Grant questioned. Sparrow filled his hands with water, narrowly missing Grant with the water when he moved.

“I wanted you to know how much you mean to me, and Nick did it to Terry, and it sounded like a good idea,” Sparrow said, blushing brightly. “And I’ll do it again.”

“That’s fine,” Grant said, laughing. “It’s cute, you dork.”

“Of course it’s cute; I’m adorable,” Sparrow said with a huff.

“You are…” Grant said so fondly.

…Well, that was uncalled for, and Sparrow had half a mind to lift the wash tub out of the sink and dump it over Grant’s head. Instead, he fixed his eyes back on that water, fingers tapping nervously against the sides of the sink. “What do we do, now?” he asked.

“I don’t know. I’ve never gotten this far,” Grant said. Sparrow whined in frustration. “Did you want to, y’know…go on a date with me?”

“That sounds like fun,” Sparrow said with a little nod. “Though, I do hope you realize that since we spied on Nicholas, he’s probably going to get revenge.”

Grant rolled his eyes. “I don’t really care,” he said. “I kind of figure everyone’s gonna spy on us since it’s us…”

Sparrow giggled, looking up at Grant. “In the meantime, though…we could practice kissing…”

“That works for me,” Grant said. Though, as the reality of it hit him, Grant could feel his nerves build up. He froze in front of Sparrow, fidgeting with his hands as his blush overtook his features. “Uh…” He gave an awkward laugh. “This is easier when you’re small.”

“Let me try, then” Sparrow said. He leaned up on his toes to press a kiss to Grant’s lips, settling back on his feet flat to grin up at him. “That’s not so hard, is it?”

Grant squealed, a noise far too similar to a kettle for Sparrow to think it was a good thing, and he yanked the hood of his hoodie over his head. “That was great!” he managed out, pulling the strings to close himself in the hood.

“Hey, don’t hide!” Sparrow fussed, tugging the fabric apart. He snickered, leaning up to kiss Grant’s nose. “You didn’t freak out when I was small and kissing you.”

“Who’s freaking out? I’m not freaking out!” Grant insisted. “Everything is super okay! This is great!”

“Maybe I should just go get my paci…” Sparrow teased, snickering when Grant glared at him.

Nicky watched for a moment as Sparrow whined and kicked his feet against the floor, begging for Grant to spoil him. Really, if anyone thought that talking about their feelings might get Sparrow to settle down, they were sorely mistaken. Instead, Sparrow put his arms out and squeezed the air as he begged for Grant to pick him up, and he whined for kisses.

Even Nicky didn’t like spoiling this much, he thought, but he certainly didn’t ask Terry his opinion on that.

“Sparrow, don’t you want to play or something?” Terry asked when he saw the exasperated look on Grant’s face. “You and Nicky could play with your Legos, or you could play video games…”

“No…” Sparrow whined, clinging to Grant.

“Brother, we could always play in the backyard?” Lark suggested. “You’ve even got a wolf onesie, so we could convince animals outside that you’re a wolf.”

“No…” Sparrow hid his face in Grant’s arm.

Nicky rolled his eyes, sitting up from his spot on the floor so he could shuffle over to Terry and Lark. He set his chin on Terry’s knee, and Terry looked down at him with a quirked brow. “What’s up, lil guy?” he asked, running a hand through Nicky’s hair.

“My turn…” Nicky mumbled, reaching his arms out toward Terry.

“Your turn?” Terry asked, confused. Lark snickered.

“The baby wants attention,” he said, grabbing Nicky’s hands to pull him on his bed between the two of them. Nicky giggled, his tail swishing back and forth. “You’re easier to entertain than Sparrow,” Lark said, poking Nicky in the nose. Nicky’s eyes grew wide, and he swatted at Lark with his claws. “At least right now you are.”

Nicky huffed, and he rolled toward Terry, smacking him in the leg with his tail.

“If you can convince Sparrow to let go of Grant, we’ll go outside, and you can chase birds,” Terry suggested, combing his fingers through Nicky’s hair. His blood froze when he saw Nicky’s eyes dilate, and he perhaps regretted the offer when Nicky bolted off the bed and grabbed Sparrow around the waist, yanking him off Grant.

“Nicky!”

“Outside!” Nicky cried, dragging Sparrow toward the door. Sparrow tried to grab the door frame, crying out for Grant to save him, but Nicky overpowered him.

“Maybe mentioning birds was a bad idea…” Terry said, wincing.

Grant sighed. “I didn’t realize having a boyfriend was going to mean saving him from his demon friend with the zoomies…” he said as he got to his feet to follow after the regressors.

“You’d have to do that even if Sparrow wasn’t your boyfriend,” Lark said, confused as he followed after Grant. “Terry’s not dating Nicky, and he has to go stop him from eating birds because he has the zoomies.”

“I think he just likes saying that Sparrow’s his boyfriend, Lark,” Terry said.

“Oh.”

Chapter Text

“Nicholas, I need your help,” Sparrow said, throwing open the door to Nicholas’s bedroom without so much as a knock.

“Hi, Sparrow, come on in!” Nick fussed, sitting up on his bed.

“Don’t mind him, he’s nervous,” Lark said as he followed Sparrow into the room.

Sparrow deposited a pile of clothes on Nick’s bed along with a shoulder bag, and he plopped down in front of Nicholas. “I need help picking what to wear for my date. Lark is no help, but you’ve been on a date recently, so you know what you’re doing!”

“My mom picked my clothes,” Nicholas deadpanned, but Sparrow ignored him as he picked through his clothes.

“I like this, I think, but I don’t know what to wear with it,” Sparrow said, pulling out a denim overall dress from the middle of the pile. The dress was simple yellow denim with daisies instead of metal buttons on the bib.

“You wear dresses?” Nick asked, looking at Lark with confusion on his face.

“It’s a hand-me-down from one of our cousins,” Lark said. “Sparrow liked it, so he grabbed it, but it’s been in the bottom of our closet for almost a year…”

“I didn’t know when I could wear it, shush,” Sparrow fussed. He grabbed a few shirts out of the pile, holding them up for Nicholas to see. “I was thinking this one maybe?” he said as he held out a brown long sleeve shirt with daisies down the sleeves.

“Again, from the cousin box,” Lark said since Nicholas still seemed confused.

“But I thought maybe that was too much on the daisy side of things, so I thought maybe this?” Sparrow held up a gray plaid shirt with padding on the elbows. “Then I thought this might look stupid, so I grabbed this.” He held up an aloha shirt with flowers in purple, blue, green, and yellow smattered all over. “Is this stupid?”

“It looks like something you’d wear,” Nicholas said.

“That’s not what I asked.”

Nick sighed, and he leaned back against his headboard. “It won’t look stupid on you, Sparrow. Besides, we’re talking about Grant. He already thinks you’re cute, and he already likes you, so you don’t need to go super overboard.”

“That’s what I tried to tell him,” Lark said. Sparrow groaned in frustration.

“I’m wearing the daisy shirt, then,” he said, hopping up as he tugged his shirt off.

“In here?” Nick whined. Sparrow threw his shirt at Nick’s head. “You’re impossible, I hope you know that.” Sparrow stuck his tongue out as he pulled his daisy shirt over his head. He undid his jeans and tugged them down just as a knock sounded on the door.

“Guys, what’s going on—oh!” Terry squeaked as he pushed open the door just to see Sparrow’s boxers staring back at him. “Why is Sparrow stripping?”

“I’m not stripping!” Sparrow fussed, his face red as could be. “I’m getting ready for my date!”

“In Nicholas’s room…?” Terry questioned.

“Thank you, Terry!” Nick whined.

“He wanted Nick’s opinion, for some reason,” Lark said, rolling his eyes. Terry didn’t ask any further questions, instead crawling up the bed to lay down beside Nick.

Sparrow huffed, and he stepped into his dress, yanking it up. He reached over his shoulder for straps, and he fastened them on the metal daisies with a little giggle. “What do you think?” he asked, even giving a little twirl.

“Very cute, Sparrow,” Terry said, snickering. “When did you start wearing dresses?” he asked, just as confused as Nicholas.

“Just now,” Sparrow said, and he grabbed his bag to sort through it. He slid a few pony bead bracelets on his wrists, then he slipped a pony bead necklace with a Lightning McQueen car dangling from it over his head to settle on his neck, and he fished out a shark tooth necklace, holding it out to Lark. “Can you hook it on?” he asked, stooping down.

“There,” Lark said as he finished fastening the necklace around his brother’s neck. “You may be doing too much, brother.”

Sparrow huffed, and he pulled out a little sheet of stick-on earrings from his bag. “How would you know? You’ve never been on a date, brother,” he said, holding out the sheet to Nicholas. “Pick.”

“Um…” Nick looked over the options, and he pointed to a pair of gold stars. “Those. Also, I agree with Lark.”

Sparrow ignored him, walking over to Nick’s closet to use his mirror. He stuck the earrings on, making sure they were even, and he checked to make sure he looked good.

“How come you’re wearing stickers, Sparrow?” Terry asked.

“Because when I asked Mami if I could have my ears pierced, she said I need to make sure I want them, so I have these until I’m sure,” Sparrow explained. “It seems a bit silly to worry so much about piercings when I have a tattoo already, though, so if she does not allow me soon, Lark and I will do it ourselves.”

“Oh god…” Terry whispered in horror, head in his hands.

“We can pierce yours, too, if you want,” Lark said. “We’ve watched a lot of videos on Youtube.”

“I don’t want you to pierce my ears, Lark,” Terry said.

“Where are you guys even going on your date?” Nick asked.

“I think Grant said we’re going to the zoo,” Sparrow said. “Which means we can go see the penguins, and we can see the wolves, and we can see the giant boa they have.”

“So, you’re getting super dressed up to go somewhere where there’s poop everywhere,” Nick questioned. “That makes sense.”

“I want to look nice so I can woo him!” Sparrow whined, stamping his feet.

“And that’s cool, Sparrow, just…” Terry took a deep breath, glancing between Nicholas and Lark with concern on his face. “Are you just…nervous? And this is how you’re dealing with it?”

“I could be dealing with my feelings by beating you up,” Sparrow threatening.

“Just, y’know…you really don’t have to be nervous with Grant,” Terry said. “He’s probably in the same boat as you, but it’s not a lot different than hanging out normally.”

“Just with more kissing,” Lark said with a nod. “That’s basically the only difference.”

“Well…” Terry winced, but he decided not to explain the differences between dating and friendship to Lark. “Grant’s gonna think you’re cute no matter what, and he’s not going to think anything bad if you’re not dressed up and wearing earring stickers.”

“I know…” Sparrow mumbled, picking his nails nervously. He fidgeted where he stood, and he blushed brightly. “I just want this to go well…”

“It’s gonna go great, Sparrow,” Nicholas said. “As long as one of the animals doesn’t poop on one of you.”

“Maybe don’t mention that, Nick…” Terry said, cringing.

“Guys…?” Grant’s voice came from the stairs, and Sparrow squeaked, grabbing his bag. He tossed it on his shoulder as Grant came in, and he smiled so nervously. “Oh,” Grant said dumbly, blushing as he looked over Sparrow. “Y-you look, um, real-really cute, Sparrow!”

“Thanks…” Sparrow said, giggling. He practically skipped over to Grant, lacing their fingers together. “You look nice, too…”

Grant certainly wasn’t dressed up nearly as much as Sparrow, instead wearing a pair of nice dark jeans and a flannel shirt over a plain gray hoodie. Sparrow beamed up at him, and he leaned up on his toes and pressed a kiss to Grant’s cheek.

“Oh, okay…” Grant squeaked out, his face reddening. He cleared his throat and tried to rub his cheeks. “Um, sorry in advance about my dad…”

“What do you mean…?” Sparrow asked, then—

“Hey, kids, come on downstairs!” Darryl shouted up the stairs. Grant squeezed Sparrow’s hand a little tighter and tugged him out the door. He sucked in a deep breath, anxious, as the other three followed after them. Maybe if Grant tried hard enough, he could pretend they weren’t there and certainly weren’t following him and Sparrow.

“What’s going on?” Sparrow asked once they made it to the bottom of the stairs. He gripped his bag tightly in his hand, nervous as he watched Darryl fiddle with a large camera.

“Oh, good, there you two are—” Darryl paused, brows furrowed as he took in Sparrow’s dress. “Okay,” he said with a chuckle, shaking his head fondly as he just accepted it. After all, he should have figured Henry’s kids might be a little…different.

“Darryl just wants to take a nice picture of you two,” Henry said. He didn’t seem entirely convinced this was a good idea, giving a sympathetic look to Grant.

“Oh!” Sparrow looked at Grant, who pulled his hood over his head.

“How about—Morgan’s got a nice, big tree outside that’s changing leaf colors, so that’s going to look really nice!” Darryl said.

“Let’s just do what he wants so it can be over with…” Grant grumbled, tugging Sparrow’s hand to lead him outside. Sparrow followed after him, and he saw the other three following, giggling. They stopped under the tree, standing beside each other nervously.

“Oh, come on, now!” Darryl said as he came outside. “Act like you like each other a little! You can stand closer than that!”

“Daaaaaaad…” Grant groaned. He shuffled a little closer to Sparrow, blushing hard enough to make himself dizzy.

“How about someone else holds your bag, there, Sparrow?” Darryl suggested.

“Okay, yeah…” Sparrow took it off, and Lark darted over to grab his bag. As Lark darted away from the two, Sparrow tucked himself a little closer to Grant, face pink as he hugged Grant.

“There we go!” Darryl said. He raised his camera up to take a photo, and as soon as the flash faded, Grant jumped.

“We’re good, now, right?” he asked, ready to drag Sparrow away.

“Wait, wait, wait!” Darryl said to stop him. Grant wished simply for death. “What about a ki—”

“No!” Grant squeaked out. “We’re done, Dad! You took a picture!”

“Alright, fine, I was just hoping to take a few photos to remember your first date…” Darryl said with a sigh. “Get ready to go, and I’ll drive you two.”

“Thanks, Mr. Wilson!” Sparrow said as Grant dragged him back to their friends. “Lark, my bag.”

“Wouldn’t want you to go without your earring stickers,” Lark said, snickering as he handed over the bag. Sparrow stuck his tongue out at him, so Lark copied.

“Earring stickers?” Grant questioned. He glanced at Sparrow’s ears, finally noticing the little stickers. “Oh…cute!”

“You didn’t notice the earrings?” Terry asked, teasing grin on his face.

“There were…other things…to notice…” Grant said, his voice rising higher and higher. “I-I didn’t expect you to wear a dress…b-but it’s really cute!”

“Thanks…” Sparrow said, giggling as he twisted at the hips. “I wanted to bring my wolf tail and ears, but Father said it might make the animals panic if they think I’m actually a wolf outside of an enclosure, so I didn’t bring them…”

“M-maybe next time,” Grant said.

Sparrow beamed, already excited for next time. “Oh!” He jumped, and he reached into his bag to pull out Sage. “Here, Nick,” he said, handing over the stuffed wolf.

“Why are you giving me Sage…?” Nicholas asked. He held the toy close, though.

“Well, I didn’t want to leave him home alone, so I thought maybe…you know…he might like to spend some time with his other dad?” Sparrow said, bouncing on his toes. “If you don’t want to watch him, that’s fine, Lark can…but, yeah. I thought maybe it’d be nice…”

“I’ll take care of Sage, Sparrow,” Nick said. “He’s in good hands!”

“Thanks, Nicholas…” Sparrow said, a little smile on his face. He reached over to pet the wolf. “You be good for your daddy, because I’m going on a date, so I can’t help him take care of you!” he said to Sage.

Grant raised a brow, pushing his anxiety to the side when he saw the way Sparrow spoke to his toy. Was he going to have a little boy on their date? He looked at Terry, who had that same concern on his face.

“Are you, uh, ready to go, Sparrow…?” Grant asked.

“I’m ready!” Sparrow said, giggling. He leaned up on his toes once more to kiss Grant’s cheek. “Let’s go!”