Work Text:
Doc sat at the top of a very high tower, a seemingly mixmash of blocks being placed around him. This high up he still got a good breeze from the sea below him and the ever present smell of salt and red stone. He loved it.
What he didn’t love was his current predicament. He quickly grabbed another tissue as his nose began to run again.
Remember that nice smell mentioned? Yeah, Doc couldn’t really breathe at the moment let alone smell anything. It had started off as a tickle in his throat and was now at peak bad head cold.
The scientist’s mind and ears felt full of cotton and his nose was plugged seemingly for the foreseeable future. But, this project was important for the Octagon (and his pride) so it had to be finished.
It was a struggle for him mentally and physically though. If he had a nickel for every time sneezing sent him tumbling off his scaffolding he’d have two nickels. Which isn’t a lot, but it was frustrating that it happened twice.
Doc was beginning to wish he kept health potions on him, but also disliked the idea of getting sidetracked. So, he kept his pockets stocked with tissues and hard candy for his throat.
Now all of this would be mostly bearable if there wasn’t a secret element he wished to take to his grave. He was an age regressor. All his stuff was kept locked tight in his room attached to the sewers. That’s where they would stay for the season for emergencies only.
Only… it was feeling more and more like an emergency as the cotton in his head and the burning in his throat only seemed to worsen.
Putting down the schematics and cradling his head, Doc weighed his options. It was about an hour till sunset so he could feasibly excuse going to his room. Everyone who could possibly stop him would be busy with either pulling all nighters or doing their own bedtime rituals.
Yeah, Doc thought, just for tonight. I can do this.
His communicator beeped.
Now the comm beeped a lot, it was a big server, but this specific beep was reserved for one wolf-dog hybrid alone. Ren.
Crap.
The message read: You still down for the meeting? Got some news about profits you’re gonna wanna hear. No pressure though :)
He had totally spaced out their meeting. It had been about a week since the last one, but time slipped through Doc’s fingers so easily when he was honed in on a project.
The thing is, the thought of his room had already left Doc slipping. If asked his mental age at the moment, the creeper would probably respond; 10. That wouldn’t do. He forced back his headspace to type out a reply.
Doc: Sure thing man! Just let me pick up stuff here and I’ll meet you in the meeting room.
Ren: Sweet dude! See you soon.
True to what he said, Doc collected his scattered shulker boxes and straightened his elytra for the trip through the nether.
The moment he stepped through the portal to the fiery world, his body reacted. The heat temporarily opened his sinuses, but they seemed to close up just as fast. The hot air whipping past him as he flew didn’t seem to do his hot head any favors either. The scientist whined in discomfort hoping the meeting would go by quickly.
Once at the tower, (the trip feeling both immensely long and a blink of an eye) he took the bubble elevator to the room. Ren looked up from his communicator with a smile, “Heeeyyy dude, welcome back to: the Octogon.” He greeted, using his dramatic voice. The part of Doc that was slipping wanted to giggle, but he pushed it back to repeat “the Octogon”. Sadly his own dramatic voice was lessened by an accompanying sniffle.
Ren picked up on it fast, “You okay Doc?”
“Yeah just a-” he sneezed, retrieving a tissue from his pocket before sneezing two more times, “a cold.”
Ren winced in sympathy, “Man that sucks. Anything I can do to help? Maybe you’ve been hangin’ around the snow farm for too long.”
Doc shrugged, a voice sounding like his own but a little younger whispered in his head, be my caregiver.
No, he responded to himself sadly, he’d never. Ren was still looking at him worriedly and the creeper realized he didn’t really respond. “I’ll… be alright. Thanks though.”
“Of course of course! That’s what friends are for.” He waved a nonchalant hand but still held some hesitance in his stare. “Uuhhh…” he pulled out a leather journal from his inventory and flipped through it looking for something. “Ah, profits! Right.”
Ren continued to talk, gesturing to the boards to their front and back explaining the charts. Something about losses and gains. At some point Doc’s sleeve ended up in his mouth without him realizing it. Despite fighting hard against his health both mental and physical, he felt himself losing. Nodding along to his friend felt mostly convincing until a wave of pressure hit his sinuses and head. Against his will he let out a very un-Doc like whine.
Ren’s ears twitched and he paused mid sentence looking up from his journal.
Curse hybrid hearing! Doc thought. He finally realized what he was doing and stopped chewing on his sleeve.
Ren was wearing his worried face again and he perched his sunglasses on top of his head to look at his friend properly. “Doc… man… I need you to be honest with me here. No judgment between us whatsoever! It’s not just the cold is it?”
“Noooooo….” Doc said with all the convincingness of a child caught with chocolate on their face. Crap, he thought. His mental age check was about 7 at the moment. He was doomed.
The wolf-dog calmly closed the book and pocketed it, moving to stand beside the scientist’s chair without crowding him. “Doc I-” he took a deep breath gazing at the sunset out the tinted windows, “Gosh this is a shot in the dark but…” He took another deep breath before looking his friend in the eye and asking, “How old are you? Up here,” he taped his temple with a finger, “right now.”
Doc shrunk in his seat at being figured out so easily, yet a part of him rejoiced. Ren apparently knew what age regression was! He didn’t seem mad either, just concerned. So, he gambled with answering truthfully, “…….seven.” He twirled his coat sleeves, using one to catch some snot from his nose.
Ren let out his third deep breath in a minute, “Oh thank admin I was right. Hey, let’s not use our sleeves bud that’s gross.”
“You know ‘bout age regress?” Little Doc had to ask.
“I do indeed little man! I won’t say who, but you’re not the only one on this server. Luckily, you just so happened to be looking at a bonafide babysitter!” He puffed out his chest with a huge grin. The creeper this time allowed himself to giggle at the silly dog. It was interrupted however with a painful sneeze that made him whine again.
Ren kelt down and patted his knee comfortingly, “Do you have any little stuff bud? Or a comfy place we can go?”
That’s right, not even Ren knew about his secret place right under his nose. He nodded, “In da sewer.”
“Okay Doc-” he started skeptically before being interrupted,
“What about da meeting?” Doc asked, distressed.
“No no bud, the economy is not something a little guy needs to be worrying himself with.” He smiled reassuringly. Doc nodded in a very serious manner that made Ren want to laugh and aww at. He didn’t want to offend his friend though so he figured they should head out. “Do you want me to carry you Docy?” The nickname came easily.
He shook his head but held out his cybernetic hand hesitantly, “Can you hold my hand doe?”
Ren already knew this new side of the mad scientist was gonna kill him with cuteness, “Of course my friend!”
Together they made their way out of the office and down to the rv. Ren kept a good eye on the other as they glided down with their elytra, but Doc seemed skilled even in his younger headspace. Once in the sewers Ren looked around in curiosity. “Okay, where is this secret hideout you’ve got bud?”
The creeper giggled behind his sleeves and approached a pile of rocks. He pressed a small inconspicuous one triggering the unmistakable sound of pistons and the reveal of a door in the wall. Doc turned to Ren with a proud smile before skipping over and dragging the other hybrid to the door.
“I’m coming I’m coming kiddo.” Ren chuckled. Looking at the locking mechanism for the door he whistled impressed. It was a fingerprint reader for presumably Doc’s flesh thumb. “You really didn’t want anyone in here did you?” He asked, voice laced with surprise and sympathy.
Doc shuffled his feet looking down in shame with a sniffle.
“Oh, oh buddy no I didn’t mean it as a bad thing.” Ren crouched a bit (comical considering he was already shorter) to look Doc in the eye, holding both hands in his own. “I just want you to know you can always tell me anything Doc.”
The young scientist cleared his throat to whisper, “Di’nt want you to t’ink I was weird.”
Ren was new to Doc as a regressor so he didn’t have much to judge from; however, based on his past experiences it sounded like Doc had slipped younger. He could roll with it. “Docm77 you are an amazing person. Different yeah, but not weird. Do you think Mumbo is weird for having chewlery?” Doc shook his head. “Or Gem for comfort baking?” He shook his head again. “Or me for howling at the moon?” He let out a small cough and shook his head. “Then you are not weird for what helps you Doc, and none of us would ever think that. We are lucky to have such an accepting server that we can take advantage of. We’re all friends here, yeah?”
Doc nodded slowly. “‘m sorry.” He mumbled.
“Oh bud. Can I give you a hug?” He proceeded to pull the regressor into an embrace with permission. “You have nothing to apologize for, yeah? Asking for help can be hard sometimes, I know that.” Ren rubbed circles into Doc’s back to sooth him. “But, I’m here now and I am so proud of you for trusting me. Let’s get you taken care of okay?” Doc gave one last nod against Ren’s shoulder and turned to open the door.
Ren wasn’t sure what he was expecting, but the adorably decorated room before him seemed both surprising and fitting. The walls were painted to look like rolling hills with trees and flowers and clouds in the sky. One corner was a large circular bed set in the floor, a bonafide creeper nest with different bits of fabric and hybrid parts from fellow hermits. He could recognize Mumbo’s tie, Grian’s feathers, an Etho mask, and some of Zedaph’s wool to name a few. There was a tv with a pale blue switch hooked up to it. A couple shelves had action figures and books and stuffed animals of all sorts. Another corner had big wooden blocks that were still partially stacked in a tower. This looked like the perfect little room that Ren somehow had no idea had been built here. Color me impressed, he thought.
“Now what?” Doc asked for guidance.
“Weellll, I’m guessing you’ll wanna get into some comfy clothes yeah? Ya got some of those?”
He nodded and hummed in confirmation, heading over to a multicolored dresser. Once open he took a second to analyze his options. Today he wanted robots, so he brought out the matching pj set. It had a blue cartoon robot on the short sleeve shirt with different colored bots on the pants. “Look Ren!” He held up the clothes in triumph.
“Wow dude, those are neat! Do you need help changing?”
“Noooo, t’ank you doe.”
“Alright little man, tell me when you’re ready.” Ren turned around to give his friend privacy after getting an ‘okay’. This gave him a chance to look around, noticing two doors on the left side of the room. “What’s in there Docy?” He asked over his shoulder.
“Das da bafroom an’ kitchen.”
Ren whistled, “You always know how to impress dude. You’re really prepared huh.”
“Mmmmhmm.” He drew out an affirmative hum, probably concentrating.
“Okay if I take a peak?” Ren asked, approaching the colorful doors. When he got a ‘yep’ he went through the closest one. This was the kitchen. A simple set up about apartment sized, a nice striped birch with white appliances. Little details hinted who owned this kitchen though in the form of magnets on the fridge and kids dishes and silverware in the drying rack. “Hey bud, ya gettin’ hungry?” He called out to the regresser.
“Done.” Doc shuffled into the kitchen with a small smile on his face despite the ever present sniffle.
“Lookin’ good kiddo, how’s about some dinner?” Ren started looking through the pantry for something suitable. “Ahh ha, tomato soup! Perfect. What do you think?”
Doc blinked at him, not quite having the energy to pay attention. “Uuhhh… I don’ know. It hurts to eat anythin’.” He frowned and rested his head on his hands on the counter.
Ren’s heart broke, “Aww bud, I get that. This should be a little easier on ya, okay? It’ll take a minute to make though, do you wanna put something on the tv?”
He let out a thoughtful huff before nodding and giving a (kinda gross) siffle. Ren tutted and followed him out the door. While the little one dragged a red beanbag to the tv, he retrieved a tissue box and trash can from the bathroom (which was equally as cute as everything else) and set them by the other hybrid. “Thank you.” Doc whispered.
Ren retreated to the kitchen to get the soup going with the sounds of cartoons in the background. He decided to take the chance and reach out to someone who knew a little more than him about illnesses. So, he messaged Stress.
Ren: Hey there Stress, so sorry if I’m waking you. Just wanted to know the best way to go about treating a cold. Like, a really bad cold. ;^.^
He put the communicator down face up and poured the soup into a pot on the stove, adding the appropriate amount of water and milk with it. Quicker than he expected, his comm vibrated and the screen lit up.
Stress: No worries hun, it’s not a bother! Do you have a fever? That would change things.
Shoot, he hadn’t thought of that. Turning the heat to low, Ren slipped out of the kitchen and into the bathroom. The mirror medicine cabinet had only a toothbrush and toothpaste, but below the sink he found what he was looking for. “Thank admin. Gotcha!” He held up a thermometer and closed the cabinet back up to take it to Doc.
In the main room he saw an animated show with robots and monsters playing. His own little monster was leaning forwards in the beanbag enraptured, a big goat plushie in his arms.
Ren was enjoying the adorable view when he was hit with the realization. What was the regular temperature of a creeper? Would a fever temperature be different for a hybrid like Doc? It was for him as he ran higher than humans on the reg. Shoot. Ren could ask Stress or even Xisuma who had the medical information of all the hermits; however, that could end up outing Doc or at least encouraging questions. He pocketed the thermometer. The ole simple trick would have to do.
“Hey Docy.” Ren whispered, kneeling in front of him. “Can I feel your forehead bud? I’ve gotta check ya for a fever.” The fellow cyborg nodded and Ren moved the back of his hand across his forehead and flesh cheek.
Doc leaned into the coolness of Ren’s paw and whined, “I’ hurts.” His small voice came out a bit raspy.
Ren let out a sympathetic sigh, “I know my little mad man. We’re gonna do what we can to make you all better, okay?” The kid didn’t feel too hot so he patted his head and returned to the kitchen. “This’ll be ready real soon buba don’t you worry your green hide.” He retrieved his communicator and shot Stress a response.
Ren: Naw, not fever status right now.
Stress: That's good. Please monitor that though if you feel it may be getting worse. Is the main problem sinuses?
He stopped stirring the soup to look out at the main room. A sniffle and a cough came from the little scientist and Ren nodded to himself.
Ren: Mostly yeah. Sore throat too and some body aches.
Stress: Aww sorry your feeling under the weather Ren :( Try and do the following if you can. We can’t cure a cold but we can manage your symptoms, okay?
Stress:
- Shower/bathe (not hot water, just warm!)
- Turn on a humidifier
- Soup and tea. Bdubs is the soup expert, Grian is the tea expert
- If not tea, at least some type of liquid. Stay hydrated!
- A dash of a regen potion can take the edge off
- A bit of fire res if it becomes a fever
- Most importantly: sleep! <3
Ren glanced through the list sending his thanks for the advice. Part of him felt bad about lying to Stress, but he swore to himself to keep Doc’s secret.
A bath would be helpful, but with the suddenness of the situation, Ren didn’t know Doc’s boundaries. He wasn’t sure if there was a humidifier down here either. The simple soup would do for now but Ren pocketed the info to ask Bdubs for recipes later. Tea may be unfitting for the little guy, but he could probably sneak the potions in some angel milk.
He glanced at the clock and the pot. Ren usually winged it, so he guessed it was alright and gave a careful slurp off the stirring spoon. “Perfecto!” He rinsed off the spoon and dished up two bowls full. After some thought, the bowls were put on plates with a handful of goldfish each. “Now it’s perfect.” Ren chuckled to himself.
Back in the main room, Doc had face planted into his stuffed goat. Poor guy looks as pathetic as he probably feels, Ren thought. “Hey Bill Nye, think you can eat some soup for me? I hear there may be some angel milk for whoever eats at least half of theirs.” This piqued his interest and he turned to face Ren who had sat beside him on the floor.
There was a red tint to Doc’s nose from using tissues all day and a tiredness to his eyes that wasn’t from just lack of sleep. Ren balanced the plate in his lap and made sure it was secure, “You got it bub?”
“Yeah, t’ank you.” Doc slowly tucked into his dinner the best he could with his limited breathing ability.
Ren decided to keep quiet while they ate. His own experience with head colds was that talking and sometimes even thinking hurt, and he didn’t want to make things harder on his friend. The cartoon played on and was still going when Doc tipped his bowl back to get the last bits of soup. “Ah done.” He said softly.
“Very good Doc! Thank you for finishing that up. That should help ya feel a bit better yeah?” Ren took the creeper’s dishes and stacked them with his own. “I’m just gonna be in the kitchen a minute, okay?” He said, standing from the floor. Doc decided to take the time to go to the bathroom while Ren went to put the simple dishes in the dishwasher and take care of the leftover soup.
A few minutes of clean up passed with Ren humming to himself when he heard the now familiar sniffle behind him. He turned to find, to his surprise, stray tears on Doc’s cheeks. “Oh hun, what’s wrong?”
Doc clutched his goat closer to himself and sniffled again. “E- everytin’ hurts Ren.” He let out a sob and flung himself into the dog hybrid’s arms. Ren hugged him back tightly, running his fingers through his hair in a comforting manner. They stood like that for a couple minutes, Ren letting Doc cry it out on his shoulder.
“That sounds awful little man. I’m gonna see what I can do to help you out, okay?” With a bit of shifting and a prayer to the gods, he was able to pick up the regressed cyborg on his hip. Slowly he walked them to the corner of the room and placed Doc in the cozy nest. As Ren went to let go, he was stopped by a hand on his sleeve and a whine. “I just need to get some things together Docy, I promise I’m not going anywhere.” Doc gave a sad babble in response. “I see we’ve tanked a bit huh. We can adapt.” Ren chuckled. Giving the room a once over he realized that one of the toy chests had a bottle painted on it. After shutting off the tv finally, he checked the box. Sure enough, there were his baby things.
Rummaging around a bit, he decided to pull out a green bottle and a cute tomato themed pacifier. “You want this buddy?” He showed Doc the soother. He nodded and made a grabby hand at it. “Here you are Frankenstein. Now, how ’bout that milk I promised you?” Doc said something around the paci that sounded like ‘please’. “Okay, now while I’m gone, I thiiink I saaawwww…” Ren looked around the room before spotting a jukebox and a box of records beside it. Like everything else that impressed him, Doc’s record collection did too. He started up ‘Aria Math’ then went back to the kitchen.
In one of the cabinets was everything you’d need to brew up potions. He got to work quickly. The regen potion was easy and he stirred together the milk and ingredients on low heat on the stove. When everything was mixed properly he poured it in the bottle and shut off the heat.
He gave a quick peek out at Doc to see him rocking to the music, still clutching his stuffed goat. His eye was drooping shut as if fighting sleep and his redstone eye was blinking out with it. Good, Ren thought, he needs the rest whether little or big. He gave the concoction another minute to rest before checking the temperature. Perfect . He thought when a drop on his wrist felt just warm enough.
“Look what I’ve got.” Ren said softly, sitting beside Doc. “Do you take this yourself or with help?”
Doc made grabby hands at the bottle and took out his pacifier with a smile as thanks. While he drank up, Ren shut off the lights and closed the door to the kitchen. In the bathroom he plugged in a redstone block shaped night light and kept the door cracked open. Finally, he put on a new song when the first one was over and sat back down with his friend.
Ren was content with how the night had turned out. It certainly wasn’t what he had planned, but that’s life on the hermitcraft server. The two would have to talk later when Doc was big about what had happened, but he wasn’t particularly worried. With his experience watching over the other littles of the server it was a breeze. Part of him selfishly hoped Doc would want him to be his caregiver. As much as regressing helps them, being a caregiver was actually quite rewarding to Ren, and refreshing too. Something about being fully trusted to be in charge and make someone happy gave him the confidence he didn’t know he needed.
The creeper hybrid was now fully nodding off, not much left in the bottle. He gave a sniffle as his head dropped forward and his eye closed. Ren chuckled, “You about ready for bed huh.” It wasn’t even a question. Doc nodded and put his thumb in his mouth.
“No no bud, that’s what this is for.” Ren replaced the digit with the soother and gently laid him back down on the pillows. With some shifting he also got the little one tucked under a big soft blanket. “That good?” Doc nodded. “Alright, I’ll see ya tomorrow.” Ren ruffled his hair and got up to go, he didn’t want to overstay his welcome.
Doc made a worried whine which made Ren think twice. He didn’t work with baby aged regressors that often, but when he did, they were quite clingy. They were quite vulnerable in that young a headspace of course.
Ren mentaly facepalmed for the mistake, “I’m sorry bub, I’ll stay here with you.” He shut off the final light and joined Doc in the nest who purred happily. “Sleep well my little one. I’ll be here if you need me.”
Together, they managed to get some shut eye.