Work Text:
Fugo was lounging on the couch, nose deep in his latest novel when Narancia approached him. The book was some dark horror story that had Fugo absolutely entranced. It was a thick and hard bound book, something Giorno had gifted him a bit ago. The fact it was a gift and it’s hard bound nature made reading it more enjoyable.
Narancia’s presence was seen out of Fugo’s peripherals. He pretended not to notice. His book took first priority. Fugo read a couple more sentences, but with less attention than before. A few seconds passed. Narancia still hadn’t said anything.
‘Odd,’ Fugo thought, and then rolled his eyes. If it was important enough for Narancia to come to him, then he could speak up and tell Fugo what he wanted. He was too focused on his novel to look up.
But...Narancia wasn’t saying anything. He wasn’t moving. He stood in front of the couch, remaining silent. It was a little eerie. Narancia never stayed quiet for long, his pitchy voice always making some headache sprout behind Fugo’s temples.
After a couple more seconds, Fugo scowled and put his book down, about to question why Narancia was acting so strange, until he caught a glimpse of the boy.
His posture was smaller, more shy. His wide, violet eyes held a childish glint in them. No longer was it 17 year old Narancia, loud and obnoxious, but maybe 5 or 6 year old Narancia. Regressed Narancia always was a gamble on whether he’d be quiet or rambling about everything and nothing at the same time. It seemed now was the quieter, more tame Narancia.
Fugo’s face softened. Narancia was looking down at him intently, as he always did when he was regressed.
“Yes?” Fugo asked, dog-earing his book and closing it. He placed it on the couch next to him and straightened himself.
Narancia continued to stare. He didn’t seem to be willing to speak. Fugo was okay with that, of course, but he really couldn’t tell what Narancia was expecting.
“Yes, Nara?” He asked, the nickname that Narancia loved attached along.
Narancia hesitated a little, shifting on his feet awkwardly. He thrusted his palm forward. In his hand was a clementine. He presented it to Fugo as if it were precious. Maybe it was.
The blonde tilted his head like a puppy, unsure how to proceed. He lifted his palm and gently took the clementine. It was clearly the right move. Though Narancia hadn’t given any vocal appreciation, he was smiling wide and bright now. Fugo wasn’t sure why exactly.
“Do...do you want me to open it for you?” He asked.
“Yes!” Narancia vigorously nodded.
Fugo grinned. He stood up from the couch, the book on his lap now laying on the couch cushion next to him. As he got up, he gave Narancia a quick hair ruffle. The boy reacted instantly, going to smack away Fugo’s hand with a loud, childish giggle. His hair was even more rowdy before, no thanks to Fugo.
Predictably, Narancia followed him to the kitchen. He stood behind Fugo the whole time, watching as he got a small bowl out and a paper towel. Fugo peeled the clementine completely, making sure to get all the thick, white stringy parts off the orange slices. He was all too aware of how Narancia favored his oranges.
Fugo placed them into the bowl and threw away the trash. Narancia took the bowl quickly, giving a quick, “Yay!” in victory.
“What do you want to do now?” Fugo asked. He wasn’t expecting to become an impromptu ‘babysitter’ at short notice, but he didn’t mind one bit. Keeping Narancia happy and entertained was his first and only priority. Seeing a pure smile on his boy’s face was rewarding enough for Fugo.
“Read to me! The book,” Narancia pointed to the couch. “Read to me,” he repeated.
“Okay,” Fugo nodded. He plopped down onto the couch once more, patting the cushion next to him. Narancia crawled next to him. He held the bowl firmly in his lap, but wrapped an arm around Fugo’s own. The blond opened the book up and Narancia watched his every move, as if he was entranced.
Fugo started to read his book aloud, speaking in a clear tone. He spoke in animated voices during dialogue, knowing Narancia absolutely adored it. The boy munched on the orange slices while listening. He gnawed on them like they were gummy candies.
“—nted a night light until they moved into the Overlook, and then he specifically requested one. She turned off the overhead and looked back at them, the sm—“ Fugo read calmly before his wrist was being tugged.
Fugo looked down at Narancia. He was still watching him with large, wide eyes. “Yeah?”
Narancia reached his hand down into the bowl of the oranges and picked one up. Pinched in between his fingers, he tried to guide it to Fugo’s mouth. His coordination was far off, managing to bump the slice and his fingers into Fugo’s nose and then into his cheek.
Fugo smiled at this and Narancia broke into a fit of laughter. It was loud and impossibly expressive. Fugo opened his mouth and finally Narancia plopped it in. He didn’t enjoy oranges all that much, truthfully, but he ate it for the sake of Nara.
“More?” He asked, thrusting the bowl to Fugo.
“Thank you, but I’m good, Nara.”
Narancia nodded wisely, a smile still on his lips as he leaned against Fugo. Fugo continued to read.
————
Narancia peeled stickers off the large sheet. It was a random assortment of stickers, from hearts to stars to smiley faces. They were something Fugo had picked up for him a while back and it seemed like Narancia was determined to use them. His journal sat in his lap, halfway already through the pages. A couple stickers were glued to his fingers, as if he were collecting them.
He was sitting in his bed, his tongue poking out and obviously appearing focused on his task. Art materials swarmed around him on the bed. Fugo watched from the other side of the room, a little amused at how serious Narancia looked. He placed the stickers down strategically on the page. After that, he picked up his glittery pen and started to write.
“What’cha doing?” Fugo asked. The book in his hands was forgotten in hopes of knowing what Narancia was writing.
“Stuff,” Narancia said cryptically, continuing to scribble away. He grabbed a different color and wrote some more. Violet eyes kept peering up skeptically, almost keeping an eye on the man in the seat; Fugo found it humorous.
“Okay,” Fugo hummed. “What ‘stuff’?”
Narancia shook his head. It seemed he didn’t want to show Fugo. At least, not yet.
This continued for a while. Narancia moved onto coloring, erratic motions and harsh scribbles. Finally, a large smile spread across his lips and he giggled quietly.
“Done!” He said victoriously.
“Can I see?”
“Yes!”
Narancia pounced off the bed and thrusted the journal into Fugo’s vision. It was a bright mish mash of colors and the small stickers were pasted everywhere on the page. It was a favorite foods page, with cute illustrations of foods. There was an orange, other fruits, candies, spaghetti, soup and…
“Narancia, have you ever had panna cotta?” Fugo smiled gently. God, that warmed his heart.
The brunette shook his head, but he was still grinning just as bright. “Nope! But I like you, Pannacotta!”
“I’ll buy you it sometime,” he said. The gesture was very sweet. He ruffled Narancia’s hair.
————
Narancia ran to his room, shutting the door and giggling loudly. He was so happy! His present had finally arrived. He held the box in his hands in awe, shaking a bit. There wasn’t much movement inside the box.
There was a knock on the door. “Can I come in?” came Fugo’s soft voice. Narancia contemplated for a minute, and then opened the door for him.
“What is it? What’d ya get me?” Narancia asked, pointing to the large box on his bed.
“Well, open it.”
Narancia grinned so hard his cheeks hurt. He threw himself on the bed and started to rip up the cardboard box. It was something Fugo had gifted him and he was so excited he felt as if he were going to burst from joy.
The packing tape was soon ripped to shreds and Narancia thrusted open the box handles, reaching inside and pulling out the gift.
It was the strawberry cow pillow pet.
Narancia gasped, his hands starting to shake and stim. A giddy joy started to overthrow his body.
“Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!!”
He showed the stuffed animal off to Fugo, as if he had yet to see. Fugo took a long look at the stuffed animal, and then Narancia’s happy expression.
Narancia gently placed the cow down, still in its plastic confines and took a sprinting start to tackle hug Fugo.
His arms wrapped around Fugo’s waist and the tall boy nearly fell with the force of the hug. He stumbled a bit, chuckled, and then wrapped his arms around Narancia.
“I take it you enjoy it?”
“Yes!” He exclaimed so loudly, the whole house must’ve heard him. Fugo smiled softly. “Yes, I love him so much! I’ve wanted him forever, oh my god!”
Narancia rushed back to his bed, picking up the cow pillow pet and ripping off the plastic. He threw the plastic off to the side and cradled the stuffed animal in his hands. His eyes were practically sparkling.
The fur texture was soft beneath his fingers and the cows little threaded details were so nicely placed. And—Narancia inhaled—was that...strawberry scent?
He pushed the cow closer, sniffing. It was. The cow had a faint smell of artificial strawberries, the same exact scent of Fugo.
“You!” Narancia shrieked with joy. “It smells like you!”
“Does it?” Fugo asked.
“Strawberries.”
He was glad Narancia liked the pillow pet so much. Narancia had mentioned the strawberry cow weeks ago, before it’s release, and how it reminded him of Fugo. Narancia, both in and out of regression, always loved the smell of strawberries. He mentioned that it reminded him of Fugo and if Fugo had to guess, provided him with some sense of comfort. Stuffed animals were something Narancia loved, paired with the smell of strawberries and soft, plush fur? It was a much needed purchase. And a much appreciated one, seeing as how Narancia was rubbing his cheek against the fabric like a cat against a human’s leg.
“So soft,” Narancia muttered. “Thank you, Panna.”
“You’re welcome, Nara.”
“He’s so cute! And nice and smells good.”
Narancia squeezed the cow in a tight, firm hug. He kicked his legs from the excitement. The cow stared back at him with round, black eyes and a smile and Narancia couldn’t be happier.
He held the cow up to face Fugo and then smashed the cow's face into his cheek.
“He kissed you!”
“Yes, he did.”
There was a dramatic gasp Narancia let out and a soft chuckle from Fugo. The boy grinned in a soft manner, reaching up to the scraggly black locks and gave them a firm ruffle.
He watched as Narancia started to thread his fingers through the white and pink spotted fur, treating it as gently as if it were real. The moment was so cute that Fugo didn’t want to let it go. Narancia was sometimes too sweet for his own good.