Chapter Text
Something Stede found out very early about Izzy was that he was not a material person. He didn't like fun trinkets, (or clutter as he referred to it as) wore more or less the same outfit every day, and had a very minimalist style in all of his spaces. Stede however (and Ed for that matter) was a very materialistic person, he loved his little baubles and his extensive wardrobe.
Most of all, Stede loved spoiling the people he deeply cared for. Ed loved it. He had just as much of an eye for fine things as Stede did and loved to collect things. He was always ecstatic when Stede brought him something new and shiny home or when Stede ordered something as he did at least weekly.
Izzy's love language, however, had nothing to do with gifts. He rarely ever gave them and he always refused them. Stede didn't like it; however, he had stopped trying to give Izzy gifts.
That was until he found a loophole.
It came from a conversation that he had with Ed when they were talking about Izzy while he was down for a nap in his room.
He had asked Ed to tell him more about Izzy when he first started to become small around him back in the days when they lived together in their tiny one-bedroom apartment.
"Oh yeah, still a real softy. Used to like to play more than he does now. Real cute shit."
Stede raised an eyebrow. He knew that Izzy had just recently started regressing around him but he'd never seen him play before.
"What did he used to play with?"
"Well we were pretty strapped for cash so didn't have much but there were some things here and there like bubble wrap that he always got all giggly about." Ed sat and thought for a few seconds before continuing. "Also got a Lego kit somehow, don't really remember where it came from. He loved them so much, but after a while, I couldn't let him play with them anymore cause he'd always try to eat them."
Stede barked out a laugh. That definitely sounded like Izzy.
"Yeah, little guy threw one of the biggest fits I've ever seen. Didn't understand that he could choke on them no matter how much I tried to explain it to him."
After that little chat, Stede knew he'd found the perfect way to be able to get Izzy gifts.
He'd gone online later that week and added every single item to his cart that he thought Izzy would even remotely enjoy. He threw in a good mixture of toys and general stuff for him to use while regressed such as soothers and soft comfy clothes.
Over the next two weeks, everything arrived. He sent them all to his office to make sure that Izzy didn't see the hoards of boxes until Stede was ready to reveal them. After work, he'd drive them home and hide them in the closet, a place where Izzy would never go.
Then he just waited until Izzy was little again.
It happened at the perfect time. A peaceful Saturday after he'd just brought back the rest of the boxes home from his office the day prior. Ed was out with his crew for the day, leaving Izzy and Stede home alone.
Izzy had been quieter than usual, none of his usual complaints making their way to the surface. It wasn't until Stede felt a tug on his sleeve that he realized he could finally put his plan into motion.
"Hello, Israel," He said with a wide smile spreading across his face.
"Hi mama," Izzy replied, his hand still clutched around Stede's sleeve.
"Do you want to come up to our room, dove? I have a few things for you."
A concerned expression washed over Izzy's face.
"Oh dear- It's nothing bad, love, I apologize for not making that clearer. It's some presents, Izzy, just for you!" Stede said, making sure to keep his tone as lighthearted as possible.
"Okay…" Izzy mumbled, standing up with Stede and going upstairs to the big bedroom with the king-sized bed against the back wall. Izzy instantly climbed up on it, sitting in the middle and playing with the corners of one of the blankets.
Stede came out with two large piles of boxes, requiring separate trips to his walk-in closet. That wasn't even all of them but he thought it wouldn't be a good idea to present Izzy with all of them at once and risk overwhelming him too much, especially in this state of mind.
When sat down on the bed next to Izzy, the boy just looked up at Stede with the most confused expression.
"They're for you, Izzy!" He tried to explain.
Izzy just looked down and started to stroke the box like he was petting a cat. “Why boxes, mama?”
Stede raised an eyebrow, “What do you mean, dear- Oh!” Stede couldn’t help but giggle. “No dear, the presents are inside the boxes,
silly boy."
"Oh," Izzy mumbled and picked up the box, and opened it. (Stede was relieved he'd thought of cutting the tape all beforehand)
Inside was a pack of soft silicone teethers all in the shapes of different fruits. Izzy grabbed at the plastic package of them and tugged at it before shoving it into Stede's hands.
"Mama open,"
Stede chuckled, "Can you ask nicely, love?"
"Peas Mama open." Izzy huffed out. Stede could tell just by his speech that Izzy was definitely on the much younger side right now which he was more than happy to take care of.
"Of course, thank you for asking nicely darling." Stede opened the package before handing it back to Izzy who just stared at it.
"They're teethers, since you love to chew on stuff so much." He and Ed both had clothes with frayed edges due to Izzy constantly chewing on the sleeves when he would wear them.
Izzy grabbed on and began chewing on it, a happy little noise escaping his throat.
"Do you like that, Israel?" Stede couldn't help but coo.
Izzy nodded, "Feels good."
Stede was relieved, he knew that Izzy often had problems with certain textures, especially with foods so he had been worried that the teethers would be too much. However, Izzy kept on chewing on it, specifically the one shaped like a strawberry.
After a few minutes of chewing, Izzy looked at another box that was sitting in front of him before looking up at Stede.
"Go ahead, everything here is for you, darling."
Izzy opened the box hastily, inside finding a variety of different dishes and silverware all in different shapes and colors. Most of the plates had separate wells to place food in since Izzy would often use multiple dishes when small so his food wouldn't touch.
Izzy particularly seemed to like the one shaped like a cat which he kept closely inspecting until deciding to move on to the next package.
The next few boxes mainly contained some more items to make it more comfortable for Izzy to be small. Some soothers, a few sippy cups, and some comfy clothes (including some fuzzy zip-up onesies), among various other items.
Next came the part Stede couldn't wait for. The toys. He had gone a bit overboard with the amount he purchased if he was being honest with himself but he justified it by saying that he'd return anything Izzy didn't like.
Izzy opened the box to reveal a wooden panel with all sorts of switches, buttons, and different things to buckle and unbuckle on it. Izzy always got fidgety when small so Stede thought it could be smart to get him something to properly fidget with.
Izzy curiously started to play with it, pressing the different buttons.
After playing with that for a while, Stede urged him to move on to the next box. He was excited about this one.
Izzy opened it and inside was a big colorful box of Duplos. He looked at it and furrowed his brows. "Lego?"
"They're big Legos, Izzy!"
"I like Lego," Izzy mumbled around the teether, examining the box further.
"I know, da told me, sweet thing."
"Can play?" Izzy asked, looking back up at Stede.
"How about we wait until after you open the other boxes and then we can go downstairs to play, okay?"
"Mmk" Izzy hummed as he went to the next box.
He pulled out a cylindrical metal tin and looked at it before holding it out to Stede.
Stede chuckled, “Those are Lincoln Logs, sweetness, you can build with them."
Izzy nodded before putting them aside. He opened the rest of the boxes in almost complete silence beside the occasional 'mama' to ask what something was. There was a good mix of sensory toys, wooden toys (lots of blocks), some stuffies, and a few more puzzle-type games for when Izzy regressed to a bit older than he was now.
Stede had bought an electronic toy that read out letters when you clicked on them but Izzy had gotten spooked and looked as if he was about to cry when it started speaking. Stede made the executive decision to just return the rest of the electronic toys and have Izzy stick to his other toys and his beloved iPad.
The last box Izzy opened had a huge shark stuffed animal that Stede had gotten when he was ordering new furniture from IKEA and saw a shark on the website. He hadn't quite realized how big it was until now. It was at least half of Izzy's height but that didn't seem to turn him away from it, instead, he had laid out on his stomach with his new shark underneath him so that his chin could rest on its head.
"Is that comfy, dove?" Stede asked, trying not to giggle at how adorable his baby looked.
"Uhuh. Tank you, mama. For stuff." Izzy said, burying his face in his new plushie.
"Oh, you're so very welcome, my dear. Very good manners, Israel."
Stede smiled and reached out to run his fingers through Izzy's hair, gently pulling out any tangles and knots.
"Do you want to go downstairs and play or do you want to stay up here in bed for a while longer?"
Izzy looked up at Stede, his eyes glazed over and looking as peaceful as ever.
"Can have iPad in bed, mama?"
"Sure, little one, do you want to watch YouTube with your new friend, love?"
Izzy nodded.
"What's your friend's name, dearest?"
Izzy looked at Stede then at the shark before he looked back at Stede. "Uh…Shark,"
Stede laughed, "Alright, let me go grab your iPad, and then you and Shark can watch YouTube."
Stede got up and made his way downstairs to where Izzy's iPad was on the living room table. He grabbed Izzy's favorite blanket while he was down there before heading back up to the cutest scene he could imagine.
Izzy was on his side now with the shark next to him embraced in a big hug while Izzy played with its fin. He was lightly chewing on the teether that was still in his mouth and he was looking at the shark with the most relaxed and adoring expression on his face.
Stede walked over to him before leaning down and pressing a large kiss on the top of Izzy's head, making him squirm and giggle.
"Oh, you're such a sweet boy, Israel." Stede cooed. He set up the iPad in front of the boy and pressed play on one of the videos that Izzy liked when he was this small. Lots of colors and random things dancing across the screen along to music.
He laid there on his side cuddled up to his shark while Stede sat behind him, gently stroking his back while thinking just how lucky he was to be able to have Izzy be so vulnerable and open with him. He was so lucky that he could care for this precious little boy in front of him and give him everything he could ever want and need that he wasn't able to have in the past.