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He and Ed couldn’t have been asleep for more than two, maybe three, hours when Stede was rudely awoken by being incessantly poked in the shoulder.
He shifted in bed, grumbled unhappily and rubbed at his eyes before squinting them open and looking up at their visitor.
Izzy was staring back at him silently, pacifier in his mouth. He didn’t seem particularly keen on telling him what had him up in the middle of the night. Couldn’t be too terrible though, he wasn’t crying after all.
„What’s the matter, dear?“ Stede asked, voice rough from sleep and reached up to stroke Izzys cheek. „Did you have a nightmare?“
Izzy huffed and leant down, pressing his forehead against Stede’s collarbone, arms coming to rest against his chest in a loose hug. Stede could feel him shaking his head slightly and slung his own arm over Izzy’s back.
„No? No bad dreams? Did you just wake up and wanted some cuddles from Dada and Baba?“
The resounding high-pitched whine was answer enough.
Stede wasn’t actually sure how much of the higher, less gravelly voice Izzy spoke with when he was, ah, small was done on purpose and how much of it was a subconscious change. That was something he sometimes asked himself in general, just how much of his behavior Izzy actually was in control of when he was like this and how much he was being directed by his own younger mindset.
Though in all fairness, judging by how standoffish he became when he felt more like an adult again and was approached about what he had been like while small, Stede doubted that grown Izzy had much of a say on what to do or don’t while small. He got ashamed enough over the whole affair as it was, he didn’t think Izzy would consciously do anything that he knew would embarrass himself.
„C’mon then. Let’s wake Baba up so he can scoot over a bit.“ Stede murmured and patted Izzy’s back, hand sliding over his bottom in the process. He didn’t seem to be due for a change, but then again the nappies he wore at night were more of a precaution than a necessity. Still, after the third time of changing wet sheets and an equally wet and upset Izzy in the morning a few weeks ago he was rather safe than sorry.
He shuffled a bit, rolling from his back to his side and taking Izzy with him, letting him roll into the gap between him and Edward, bumping into him in the process. Ed slept like a brick though, not even reacting to the whole body suddenly pressing up up against him. Stede gently shaking his shoulder and Izzy trying to simultanously snuggle against him and wriggle under the covers soon had him lifting his head and blinking owlishly at them though.
„What happened?“ He muttered and lifted his arm so Izzy could curl closer to him. His long hair was hanging half over his face like a curtain.
„Nothing. Izzy just didn’t want to sleep alone in his bed tonight, isn’t that right darling? Can you scooch over a bit for him?“
Ed obediently shuffled backwards towards the window and didn’t even bother to supress his yawn. „Well sleeping alone fucking sucks, no wonder you’re here.“ He whispered to Izzy and Stede inwardly cringed at the swear word. Please, not in front of the baby. Izzy didn’t bother to give a verbal response though, to be fair he hardly could do that with the dummy still in his mouth, and instead he rolled over to face Ed, pressing close to his chest.
Stede didn’t mind. He was well aware that Ed was Izzy’s most favorite person and knew that him preferring to play or cuddle with Ed wasn’t something personal but a result of a friendship that spanned back decades. To be frank, he had been quite surprised that Izzy had gotten used to him knowing about his small side so quickly, that he had even accepted him as a caregiver at all.
Stede reached out and stroked Ed’s bare arm where it was resting over Izzy’s side and let his hand drift down so he was rubbing Izzy’s back. His breathing was already starting to even out, pressed close between two warm bodies like that.
Ed seemed to notice the same and hummed, low in his throat. „We’re going back to sleep, yeah? You’re all sleepy, aren’t you, Iz? You’re so sleepy.“
Izzy was apparently still awake enough to snuffle as and answer and reached out behind himself towards Stede, almost like an afterthought, to feel around for his hand.
Stede swallowed around the surge of affection that seemed to swell up into his throat all of the sudden and took Izzy’s hand in his own, squeezing it softly. He leant forward and brushed some of Izzy‘s hair behind his ear with his other hand.
„Sleep now, darling.“ He whispered. „Everythings well, everythings well.“