Work Text:
Empty head filled with evil thoughts. Thoughts swimming. Breathe. Breathe. Breathe! Goddammit!
Punz let out a breath that he didn’t even know he was holding. He had a habit of holding a breath for so long, almost to the point of passing out. It’s not like he meant to, Punz just got lost in his mind a little too long. It only happened on his bad days, he had a lot of them.
--
“So, Punzo”, Sam started. The two boys were messing around on the Dream SMP, nothing lore-related or anything. “When are you getting that plane ticket that you’ve been promising for months?” Punz shrugged.
“I’ll get to it when I get to it, man”, he replied. “I’ve been too busy to travel lately.” Sam sighed.
“I’ll buy the damn ticket, man, I just wanna see you”, the brown-haired boy said. Punz sighed.
“I’ll try to find time”, he replied.
A week later, Punz boarded the plane to Texas. Punz was a little scared of traveling to a new place, especially when he would be staying with someone he’s never stayed with before.
You see, Punz is an age regressor, and he’s never told any, except the person who unknowingly turned him onto it. When Boomer visited Punz, the younger boy told him that he used this coping mechanism called ‘age regression’, which helped him with stress among other things.
After Boomer had left, Punz researched the topic and realized it may help him with his mental health, among other things. Even then he didn’t tell anyone, not even Boomer, it was his little secret.
Punz waited anxiously at the airport for Sam to get there. He didn’t like the business and loudness of the airports, it just wasn’t for him. He didn’t wanna be waiting in there longer than he had to be. Soon enough, Sam pulled up outside the airport. Punz put his bag in the backseat of Sam’s car and then got in the passenger seat, taking off his mandatory mask.
“Hi”, Punz said, sighing in relief.
“That’s all? Just a ‘hi’?”, Sam asked, chuckling a little. “How was your flight, man?” Punz shrugged, buckling up.
“It was alright, a little overwhelming to be honest”, Punz replied. “I’m not a big fan of planes, that’s why I don’t travel much.” Sam nodded.
“Ready?”, he asked, starting the car up again. “I thought we could order a pizza when we get back or something, sound good?” Punz nodded.
--
The two decided that pizza was the way to go, so Sam ordered one as Punz unpacked and settled himself in the guest room. It was then that Punz regretted his decision to not pack any of his age regression things. He still felt overwhelmed from the airport and he wished he had something to help ground him.
“Hey”, Sam said, starting the blonde who looked over at the door. “Sorry, did I scare you?” Punz sighed and shook his head.
“Just thinking, I guess”, he replied.
“I ordered the pizza, it should be here in about 20 minutes”, Sam said. “Did you want to do anything until then?”
“I think I’m just going to stay in here”, Punz replied. “I-If that’s okay with you.” Sam smiled softly.
“Why wouldn’t it be okay?”, Sam asked. “I’ll be in my office if you need me, okay?” Punz nodded, then Sam left him alone.
After about 15 minutes, Sam knocked on Punz’s door softly. The blonde was lost in his own head again, trying frantically to ground himself from the airport still.
“Food’s here”, Sam said. Punz nodded and rolled off of the bed. He followed Sam out into his kitchen and grabbed a plate and a slice of pizza. Punz sat down and started picking the cheese and pepperoni off of the slice. “Dude.” Punz looked up at him.
“What?”, Punz asked. Sam looked down at Punz’s slice.
“That’s so weird, dude”, he said, chuckling a bit. Punz shrugged and put the pepperoni back on. “What do you have against cheese?”
“It’s just a texture thing”, Punz mumbled. “Don’t like cheese on my pizza, everything else is fine.”
“If you told me that, I would’ve gotten no cheese on one half”, Sam replied. Punz shook his head rapidly.
“No, that’s even worse”, he reasoned. “I hate dried out sauce.” Sam just hummed out a response and continued eating his slice.
“So, did you wanna maybe stream tomorrow?”, Sam asked after a while. Punz shrugged.
“Fine with me”, he replied. The two boys finished their dinner quietly, then Punz went back to his room after telling Sam that he was just tired and wanted to get to sleep early.
--
It was the middle of the night when Punz woke up, he took one look around the strange room and instantly regressed, the mentally younger burst into tears at the thought of being in a strange place.
Sam, being a light sleeper, woke up from the noise. He took a couple minutes to collect himself before getting out of bed and walking down the hall to Punz’s room. Sam waited a moment before opening the door.
Sam sat down on the bed, and Punz looked over at him, which was kind of hard to do in the dark. That made Punz cry harder and he clawed at Sam.
“Ow, Punzo”, Sam said calmly. “That hurts, buddy.” Punz continued to sob and claw at the mentally older boy. All of a sudden, Sam engulfed the boy tightly in a hug. Punz quieted down after a while to only a sniffle. “There you go, Punzie.”
“…Pun’ie”, Punz repeated quietly, testing out the name. Sam smiled softly and nodded.
“Do you like that name?, he asked. Punz nodded.
“Wike dat name”, he confirmed. The blonde pulled away from Sam and studied the brunette’s face.
“You know me, buddy”, Sam said. “I’m Sam.” Punz nodded slightly.
“‘am”, the blonde whispered, hugging Sam and then pulling back again.
“Can you tell me how old you’re feeling?”, Sam asked. Punz looked at his hand before holding up 3 shaky fingers. “What a big boy you are.” Punz smiled and blushed.
“‘am’s big boy”, he said, wiping away his tears.
“Do you need to go potty, little man?”, Sam asked, pushing Punz’s hair out of his face. Punz shook his head. “Then how about we get back in bed and try to go back to sleep?”
“‘am stay ‘ere?”, Punz asked. Sam nodded.
“I’ll stay here until you fall asleep again, okay?”, he bargained. Punz nodded. “Alright, bug, get comfy.” Punz did, getting under the covers again, beckoning for Sam to do the same. “I’m too big, honey, I won’t fit.” Punz pouted but nodded as he visibly relaxed into the bed. It didn’t take long for Punz to go back to sleep, and once he did, Sam quietly went back to his room.
When Punz woke up the next morning, he felt a little fuzzy and disoriented, and his eyes hurt. He sighed as he walked out to Sam’s kitchen.
“I did it, didn’t I?”, Punz asked, startling Sam. The brunette turned around to look at Punz.
“Did what, Punzo?”, Sam asked. Punz frowned. Was he really going to make Punz say it? Sam waited, Punz sighed.
“I.. r-regressed, didn’t I?”, the blonde asked. Sam hesitated before nodding softly. “Oh god..”
“But we can talk about after you have some breakfast, okay?”, Sam replied, gesturing to the eggs and bacon that he made. Punz was hesitant to move. “Come on, Punzie, you have to be at least a little hungry.”
“D-don’t call me that”, Punz mumbled, sitting down at the counter. Sam handed him a plate full of eggs and bacon. Punz ate the breakfast quietly while Sam watched him carefully. After Punz had finished eating, he pushed his plate away and went to his room. Sam followed him, although he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to. Punz got up on the bed and sat cross-legged. “Talk now?” Sam sat down on the edge of the bed.
“We can talk now, if you feel comfortable”, he replied. Punz nodded. “You regressed because you were scared, do you have any experience with regressing?” Punz nodded sheepishly. “That’s good, this isn’t new for you.”
“H-how do know about that?”, Punz asked quietly. Sam smiled softly.
“I take care of Boomer when he comes and visits”, he admitted. Punz bit his lip.
“You’re his Caregiver?”, he asked. Sam shook his head.
“No, no”, Sam replied. “His irl friend is his Caregiver, I’m just temporary when he stays.” Punz sighed. “Do you have any Little gear with you?” Punz shook his head.
“Didn’t wanna slip while I was here”, he admitted. “I’m sorry.”
“Punz, you have nothing to be sorry for”, Sam replied. “I think Boomer left some spare toys and stuff like that, would you like to use some of his stuff?” Punz shrugged. “They won’t mind, I promise.”
“Okay”, Punz mumbled. Sam left Punz to go get the gear, then he came back a couple minutes later. Punz was fidgeting with his fingers. “…I didn’t have a good childhood.” Sam sat back down on the edge of the bed.
“No?”, he asked. Sam was sort of confused, the blonde never talked about his personal life, it was rare. Punz shook his head.
“My parents were young when they had me”, Punz explained. “Barely 17, but they miraculously stayed together. I think it was because of spite, they didn’t love each other, they barely loved me. When I got older I actually begged them to get a divorce because they were fighting constantly, especially in front of my younger siblings.” That broke Sam’s heart. He never understood how awful people had the audacity to reproduce more than once.
“My parents would punish me for stuff that wasn’t even my fault”, Punz continued. “When I was 17 I moved out and lived with my friend, when I was 18 my parents were arrested and my siblings were sent to foster care.” The more Punz talked about his family, the more anxious he felt.
“Punz?”, Sam asked softly. “Breathe with me?” The brunette took Punz’s hand gently. “Deep breaths in and out.” Sam realized that Punz wasn’t taking any breaths at all, which panicked him. “Punzie, you need to breathe, baby.” Punz looked over at Sam and let out a sort of strangled cry. Sam engulfed him in a tight hug. “We won’t talk about that any more, okay? You don’t need any justification.”
Sam held Punz until the blonde’s breathing returned to normal. Punz had never felt so comfortable in his life. He didn’t feel small, but he didn’t feel big either. It was his first in-between. After a while, Punz pulled away from Sam and wiped his eyes and nose.
“I’ve never felt so safe”, he mumbled. Sam looked down and smiled at him.
“Thank you for telling me everything”, Sam replied. “It gives me a little sense of how to handle you.” Punz nodded softly. “Punz, do you have a Caregiver down in Florida?” Punz shook his head. “Would you like me to be your Caregiver?” Punz looked up at him.
“Really?”, he asked. Sam nodded. “…I would like that.”
“Now, listen, I’m going to suggest something, and you don’t have to agree or disagree with it right now, you can think about it”, Sam said. “How would you feel about moving up here?” Punz furrowed his eyebrows, deep in thought.
“I-I don’t know”, he replied softly. “Can I think about it?” Sam nodded.
“Absolutely, it was just a suggestion-”, he started to say.
“Wait!”, Punz exclaimed. “I thought about it, and I wanna do it.”
“Are you sure?”, Sam asked. “You can think about for a little longer.” Punz shook his head, tears welling up in his eyes.
“P’ease! Wan’ ‘tay!”, the blonde replied. Sam wondered how Punz regressed so quickly.
“Okay, okay”, Sam gave in. “You’re moving in, Punzie.” Punz smiled as Sam ruffled his hair softly.
“Fankies!”, he exclaimed, giggling.
“Age check, honey?”, Sam asked. Punz held up 3 fingers. “Thank you, honey. Are you hungry?” Punz nodded. “Okay, let’s go get a snack.”