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Nicholas wasn't sure what he was expecting when he heard noises coming from the nursery. But it certainly wasn't very high on his list to have Nathaniel cooing at SQ while leaning against the bars of one of the cribs. "Someone's very sleepy, hm? Someone needs a nap?" Nathaniel teased. "It's okay, Shep. I'll be here whenever you wake up." SQ held up a pinky and Nathaniel paused, before he shakily reached down and said, "Pinky promise, sweetheart."
SQ's eyes drifted shut and Nathaniel let out a shaky breath, turning to scowl at Nicholas. "What," he said flatly.
"I knew SQ regressed," Nicholas said, gesturing to the crib. "But whenever I offered to grab you, he refused. I guess I assumed..."
"You assumed wrong," Nathaniel said, a light but serious venom in his voice. "Despite everyone's convictions, I am not a terrible father. I've made mistakes, I've said the wrong thing or manipulated him in order to dissuade certain behavior. But when I found out he regressed, I ensured he would always be safe coming to me for that need."
"I'm sorry," Nicholas said sincerely.
"You should be," Nathaniel replied.
Nicholas blinked. "I've never heard you act that way toward a sincere apology."
"You've never disparaged my name as a father to my face," Nathaniel sniffed, looking away. "Behind my back, I've heard whispers. I know what everyone thinks. But if you had grabbed me when he regressed, I guarantee the only thing that would have ensured was him growing embarrassed at my teasing. He doesn't need everyone to know everything he did the first time 'round as a child. The least I can do is spare him that moment."
Nicholas felt his face heat up. "Guess it just goes to show I shouldn't assume," he said.
"Indeed."
SQ whined in the crib and Nathaniel sighed. "Sorry, Shep. I guess we should've moved this talk outside, huh? Are you gonna be able to sleep?"
Slowly, SQ blinked and made grabby hands for Nathaniel.
Nathaniel huffed a laugh and lifted SQ out of the crib. "Clingy baby," he said. SQ nuzzled his head into Nathaniel's shoulder and Nathaniel kissed SQ's temple. "Fortunately for both of us, I love clingy babies."
Nicholas blinked.
Nathaniel rolled his eyes. "Your uncle is being very silly," he informed SQ. "He somehow got the notion into his head that I don't love you."
SQ looked scandalized and stuck his tongue out at Nicholas.
"Hey, none of that," Nathaniel said, tickling SQ's side. "It's just a challenge to prove to him that I'm not a terrible father. I thought you loved challenges."
SQ mumbled something that Nicholas couldn't catch. Nathaniel wheezed. "There is no need to toy-sword-fight to defend my honor, sweetheart," he assured SQ. "I'm used to everyone doubting me. But when I come through anyway, it's the best feeling in the world. And not just because I get to say 'I told you so.' Though that does play a rather large part of it."
Nicholas squawked. "You're denying me a sword fight with my nephew?! For shame!"
"I'm denying it being over my honor, not denying you a sword fight at all," Nathaniel said with disdain. "Come on, Nicky, you of all people should learn these loopholes."
SQ giggled into Nathaniel's shirt.
"Put my nephew down. I'll swordfight him right now, for my honor," Nicholas said, a smile tugging at his face.
Nathaniel chuckled. "You'll lose."
"Half the fun is trying," Nicholas countered.
"What do you say, Shep? Swordfight?" Nathaniel asked.
SQ blinked slowly, before squirming out of Nathaniel's grip, grabbing a foam sword, and charging Nicholas.
Nicholas yipped and narrowly dodged SQ's charge attack, grabbing a sword of his own and whacking SQ's with it. "En garde!" he yelped, laughing.
"That's for fencing, and it's not even what starts the sword fight!" Nathaniel corrected, but while his arms were crossed, he was grinning, his shoulders shaking in amusement.
The supposed grown man and the (nearly) grown teenager bounced around the room, trying to whack each other with foam swords for a solid seven minutes before Nicholas started to grow woozy. Nathaniel noticed and gently freed the foam sword from SQ's grip. "Hey, Shep, your uncle looks pretty worn down. Maybe we should save his untimely demise for another time, huh?"
"Daddy!" SQ whined, and Nicholas startled, because he never pictured SQ calling Nathaniel "Daddy," even if he were an actual child and not regressed. "I wanna win!"
"One, winning is not everything," Nathaniel said seriously. "Two, how much of a win would it be if your Uncle is passed out on the floor?"
SQ pouted. "You're right," he eventually huffed. "But I don't like it!"
Nathaniel chuckled and kissed SQ's temple. "I know, sweetheart, I know. It's awful to live with your daddy who knows everything all the time. You're still stuck with me."
"You do not know everything," Nicholas sighed.
"I was being facetious, Nicholas," Nathaniel replied simply.
"Oh. I knew that," Nicholas coughed.
"Fa-see--wha?" SQ asked.
"Taking something serious and making it small. Being flippant. You know the word flippant?" Nathaniel asked.
"I'm sixteen, Daddy," SQ said.
"And last time you regressed you could hardly read, forgive me for making sure my definition satisfies your curiosity," Nathaniel snarked.
Nicholas snorted. SQ scowled at him. Nicholas held up his hands. "I have no dog in this fight," Nicholas said. "I laugh at both sides of the argument."
SQ considered. "Daddy, he's not swaying anymore."
Nathaniel wordlessly held out the foam sword. SQ snatched it and proceeded to smack Nicholas silly with it. Nicholas laughed long and hard enough to gasp out a, "Well played!" before he collapsed.
When he was able to move again, Nicholas found he didn't quite want to. His head was in Nathaniel's lap, and SQ was sucking a pacifier, sitting criss-cross at Nathaniel's feet. It was a sight for sore eyes, and Nicholas smiled softly.
"Don't," Nathaniel said, whacking Nicholas lightly on the forehead with the sword.
"I didn't say anything," Nicholas said.
"You had that sentimental smile. You know the one," Nathaniel said. "And when you have it you tend to get mushy or little. Or both. And I have my hands full with SQ already."
"Really? It looks like they're more full of sword to me," Nicholas said innocently.
SQ burst into peals of laughter and Nathaniel just sighed, bonking Nicholas on the head, slightly harder and significantly less amused. "Dear brother, don't make me regret not ordering you out of the room the second I knew you were there."
Nicholas split into a grin. "Aw, you trust me? Enough to see you take care of your son?"
Nathaniel bristled. "Was I wrong to place that trust in you?"
"No!"
"Then why would I care what you think about that?" Nathaniel asked. His cheeks were pink and his eyes darted away.
"Because you care about me, too," Nicholas said with unholy glee.
"All right, out," Nathaniel said. "You're clearly only going to enable my son in his mischief."
Nicholas laughed and challenged, "Make me!" sticking his tongue out for emphasis.
"Oh. Oh dear," Nathaniel sighed. "Nicky. Don't tell me you're little because of some stupid dad jokes."
"Okay, I won't," Nicholas said with a giggle.
"Right," Nathaniel sighed with an eye-roll. "Have you ever been little at the same time as SQ before?"
Nicholas shook his head and yelped as Nathaniel slid out from under Nicholas' still-turning cranium.
"In that case, there is something I wish to show both of you."
Nicholas looked up at where Nathaniel was walking, frowning as he reached the closet. He opened the doors and grabbed a box from the top shelf. "I had not been sworn to secrecy on this box, but it still wasn't advertised to me as an option, so do try to be careful, okay?" he asked, before placing the box on the floor and opening it up, revealing wooden train tracks that you could build in different shapes, and small wooden trains that connected to each other with magnets to run on the rails. Nicholas squeaked in delight and SQ came over to inspect the box as well.
"Number Two made these!" Nicholas exclaimed. "I wondered where she put them!"
"It would appear they were relocated here," Nathaniel said drily. "Once again, be careful. I value my head too much to let you play recklessly around the house."
"I wouldn't dare!" Nicholas yelped, affronted.
"I would," SQ mumbled with a giggle, grabbing a train.
Nicholas blinked. "You?"
"When 'm bigger," SQ said. He pulled out his pacifier and said, "If I'm big enough to not be clingy I cause chaos. Daddy said so himself."
Nicholas looked to Nathaniel for confirmation. Nathaniel sighed. "Which is why one of the first things I would do every time on the island when he regressed was fetch him his pacifier. Kept him younger and less likely to prank Jeffers. That man sobbed when SQ got a little too rowdy once."
Bursting into a giggle fit, Nicholas swayed a little at the thought. "He was a silly man," he said. He grabbed a train and placed it on the wooden tracks.
"Indeed, but he was big enough to scare most of the children into line," Nathaniel replied, sitting in a rocking chair and watching Nicholas and SQ take the trains and the tracks and build an elaborate system out of the pieces of wood.
SQ started to move the trains a little rougher than Nicholas did, trying to get the polarized magnets to connect. "Careful, Shep, we don't need anything breaking," Nathaniel reminded.
Nicholas got his hand rammed by one of the trains and he yipped, eyes filling with tears.
"That includes your uncle's fingers," Nathaniel sighed, walking over and sitting on the floor. "Are you okay, Nicky?"
"Hurts," Nicholas whimpered.
SQ was looking between Nicholas and Nathaniel worriedly. "Sorry!" he hurried to say. He curled into a ball and hugged his knees.
Nathaniel sighed again and kissed Nicholas' bruised fingers, picking up SQ's pacifier. "Do you want your paci, Shep?" Nathaniel asked. "Not to make sure you're younger, just to help soothe?"
SQ vehemently shook his head.
Nicholas felt guilt mount in his stomach. He knew that SQ had the bad habit of denying himself things that helped if he felt he didn't "deserve" them, and if Nicholas hadn't overreacted when he got hit by the toy train--
Nathaniel groaned audibly. "Oh, god. Okay. Shep, you're not allowed to say no just because you think you don't deserve something, remember? And Nicky, it's not your fault that Shep got upset. You're allowed to say you got hurt by something he did. Otherwise, you two might keep hurting each other." He offered the pacifier to SQ, who hesitantly took it before shoving it in his mouth, and Nathaniel scooped Nicholas into a hug. "Why are you two so traumatized?"
Nicholas mumbled, "'Cause adults suck," and SQ snickered.
"Fair enough," Nathaniel sighed, kissing the top of Nicholas' head. SQ came over and snuggled into Nathaniel's side. "Are you two intent on trapping me here until I have to pee?" he asked drily.
"Not until now," Nicholas said, a mischievous glint in his eyes. SQ locked eyes with him and promptly wrapped his arms around Nathaniel in a hug, throwing one of his legs over Nathaniel's lap for good measure.
"Oh, you two are going to be the death of me," Nathaniel sighed.
There was a knock on the nursery door and Nicholas looked over, delighted to see Number Two. "Mama!" he chirped. "Bubba found your trains!"
"I can see that," she said from the doorway, and it looked like she was definitely holding back laughter. "I can see you and SQ are also trapping him on the floor."
"Bubba suggested it!" Nicholas defended.
"I asked if you were going to do it, at which point you decided you would. That's not suggesting you do it," Nathaniel groaned.
Number Two burst into laughter. "You should know that your brother will cause trouble given half the chance, Nathaniel."
"Believe me, I'm starting to remember that vividly," Nathaniel groused. "It's all coming back to me now."
"I suppose I couldn't convince you into staying still for a photo?" Number Two asked.
Nathaniel struggled out from under SQ and Nicholas. "Absolutely not!" he yelped.
Nicholas whined and SQ clutched at Nathaniel's legs.
"You got the two clingiest littles in the entire house to regress at the same time, something tells me you'll be stuck here a while," Number Two said.
"Can you at least assist me in getting to the bathroom?" Nathaniel asked. "Because if this goes on as long as I suspect it might, I will need to pee."
Number Two sighed. "I'll keep them occupied for five minutes. Make it count."
Nathaniel nodded his thanks and rushed out of the room. Before SQ or Nicholas could complain, though, Number Two showed off a card trick and the two were immediately preoccupied with trying to figure out how she did it. And the second Nathaniel came back, Nicholas took Nathaniel's lap in the rocking chair while SQ chose a book for Nathaniel to read, until both of them were fast asleep.