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It was the middle of a warm summer night and Dick and his boyfriend Wally were on a crowded party,thanks to not having patrol today.Going on parties wasn't exactly a common thing for them,in fact,they've actually never been on one together,but they were bored and Dick desperately wanted to try something new,an adventure of some sort.Just like with everything that's new,there was a possibility of disappointment,and sadly it came true.While all the other people were dancing,drinking and probably taking all sorts of substances,the both of them just stood still in a corner,watching all the various happenings around them.
Wally sighed,leaning against the dirty wall behind him,this was so boring.They came here by his car.How did they not think about not being able to drink when they have to drive afterwards?They were superheroes,they were supposed to he smart!And he tried to tell Dick that he can drink because he won't be driving,he really did,but that boy was stubborn,insisting that he'll stay sober too.He runned a hand trough his red messy hair,looking around for some sort of entertainment.When he still hadn't spotted anything that peaked his interests after a few minutes,he gave up and sighed.This was boring him to death,but Dick had wanted to go here so bad,Wally couldn't just ruin that.
Soon after,Wally's wish of leaving luckily came true.Dick repetitively tugged on the redhead’s hoodie,making him turn to look at him."Wally I wanna go home" he said in a rushed voice.That made Wally raise an eyebrow "Why?Do you not like it here?".After all,he was the one that wanted to go here in the first place.Dick just looked around with a hint of fear and nervousness in his eyes.He couldn't quite gather up his words,so he just replied "Wally please" with a quavering tone in his voice.It was then that Wally realized the possible severity of the situation.He nodded,saying "okay okay,let's go then".He took Dick’s hand and led him trough the huge crowd and towards the exit.
Once they were outside and far enough away from the party to only hear faint music,Dick sat down on a stone wall and leaned his head down in his hands,taking deep breaths.Wally got quite worried now,taking a few steps closer to his boyfriend,but not touching him.He concidered kneeling down in front of him,but then again that may have been too much for the other,so he just asked "Dick?Are you okay?" in a soft tone of voice.Stupid thing to ask,of course he wasn't.Dick nodded though,shakily,head still leaned in his hands "Yeah,I'm okay.I just need a second".And Wally was happy to give him as much time as he needed,as long as it made him feel the tiniest bit better.
About ten minutes later,Dick took a deep breath and sat upwards again,taking his head out of his hands."Feeling a bit better now?" Wally asked sympathetically.Dick nodded again "Yeah.Sorry,I was just a little overwhelmed with everything in there".Wally showed him a smile now "Don't apologize,the party sucked anyways".Dick showed a small smile to the redhead and then slightly held his arms open.Wally wouldn't ever decline an offer to a hug,so he securely wrapped his arms around the previously overstimulated boy.It felt like Dick barely had control of his body anymore,just letting himself fall onto Wally.He got a bit worried at first,but then he felt him smiling onto his chest.That made him return the smile,as he released one arm from Dick's exhausted body and move it up to play with his hair.
Not long after,the both of them are already heading back to the car.Wally is helping the other a little bit with his steps because he's still a little shaky,but nothing that wouldn't be resolved in the matter of the next few minutes.They both sat down in the car and he even helped Dick buckle his seatbelt,knowing well that he could do it all by himself,but he just wanted to be as supportive as possible in a situation like this.
After ruffling Dick's hair one more time,Wally started to drive.Dick was quiet and breathing evenly on the passenger seat next to him,so he figured he fell asleep.That wasn't the case though,because when he looked over to his boyfriend again,he saw him looking out of the window while sucking on his thumb.Huh,a bit werid,but he did just have a hard time being overstimulated,and if sucking his thumb was helping him feel better,then let it be.It's not like it's a crime or anything.
They still had quite the journey in front of them before they got home and by every passing minute,Wally got more and more bored.Don't blame him,quiet car rides can absolutely suck.He turned around to look at Dick again,and almost had a small heart attack when he saw what was going on.He had tears all over his face,quietly crying while biting down on his thumb.After being a bit shocked by Dicks sudden change of moods,Wally drove over to the side of the road and stopped the car.Getting home could wait,for now what was important was being there for Dick.
"Dick?What's wrong?" Wally asked in a soft voice,so quietly it was almost a whisper.Dick almost jumped a bit at Wally seeing him crying and turned his head slowly to look at the redhead.The second they made eye contact,Dick whined,more tears escaping his eyes faster."Shh.It's okay.It-uhm..it'll all be good,yeah?I promise.Would you like a hug?" Wally tried to comfort him.After thinking for a while,Dick basically threw his body onto Wally's.Wally held him close while he was sobbing,thumb in his mouth once again.
"Dick,what's going on?" His voice was a little bit raised now,not in the upset,but rather the worried way.Dick however,didn't exactly understand that and whined once again.Wally sighed "I'm not mad at you,Dick.I just wanna know what's upsetting you".The crying boy stayed quiet for a good while,pressing his face deeper into Wally's chest,until be eventually mumbled "I wanna go home" under his thumb.Wally sighed,ruffling Dick's hair once again "we'll be home soon,I promise".Dick stayed quiet for a while again and then said "An' I wan' orange juice".Wally couldn't help but let out a chuckle at that "we can stop at the store on the way home,yeah?".Dick nodded,wiping the snot from under his nose,but still not even concidering to remove his thumb from his mouth.At least his cries had calmed down by now.However,Wally couldn't help but think about how off Dick was acting.But then again it was just because of his previous overstimulation,right?
Wrong.Approximately three minutes later,Dick was in the middle of yet another fit of wailing.It got so bad that Wally had to get over to the other side of the car so he'd be closer to his boyfriend.This wasn't anything common for Dick at all.Sure,he'd bottle up his emotions and be upset occasionally,but sobbing like that?A very rare occurrence.Wally picked up Dick and sat down in the passenger seat,placing the crying boy down in his lap,slowly rocking him.He'd do whatever he needed to do just for Dick to feel better.
Eventually his cries died down and were reduced to nothing but some sniffling."Was that all just a bit too much for you,hm?" Wally asked in a whisper.Dick nodded into his shoulder,saying "was scary!".For a short second,Wally raised an eyebrow because of how high pitched his boyfriends voice sounded,but he didn't pay too much mind to it as he just hugged him tighter."Oh I bet it was.There were so many people,right?".Dick,who's long regressed without Wally's knowledge now,nods once again "Mhm!Scary...".Wally placed a soft kiss on the other's head and just kept holding him in sympathy.
Eventually,Wally got back to driving as Dick watched in curiosity.That was weird.Not a negative kind of weird,just...different than usually.Whatever,Wally decided to try his best to no longer pay any mind to it.
Not long after that,they stopped the car at the store.Dick wanted orange juice,so he'll get it.Wally stepped out of the car,grabbing his wallet and walking over to the passenger side once again.Dick looked at him with big eyes,dried tear tracks still very much persistent under them,it was sad,but his big eyes did made him look adorable."Alright,we can go get some orange juice now.But get your thumb out of your mouth while we're in the store,yeah?".Wally said while unbuckling Dick’s seatbelt.It was all a little strange right now,but he tried his best to be kind and gentle with his boyfriend right now.Dick frowned for a bit,but eventually nodded and pulled his thumb out of his mouth with a small popping sound.Wally smiled softly and placed a kiss on Dick's cheek,before grabbing his hand that isn't completely covered in spit.
Hand in hand,they walk trough the different aisles.Their original intention was simply getting orange juice and leaving,but by now half their cart was filled with all kinds of stuff.Don't blame them,it's hard to go to a store without starting to crave literally everything!Wally,however,couldn't help but notice that Dick hasn't talked in a while "You okay,Dick?You're pretty quiet".Dick shuffled around on his feet a bit and nodded,avoiding eye contact.
Wally knew that something was up,but what he also knew was that sometimes he shouldn't question everything and anything his boyfriend did.For now,he just decided to forget about the other aisles and get to the register quickly.That plan didn't last long though,because he soon felt that he couldn't keep walking because Dick,who was holding onto his hand,stood still.Wally was about to ask what's wrong,when he saw Dick looking somewhere.His eyes exposed a whole lot of want,if Wally was reading the twinkling in them correctly.The redhead took another look at his boyfriend's eyes and followed their destination.He was staring at...the toy aisle?That was strange.
"Dick?Do you uhm...want something from there?" Wally asked.He was a bit nervous because Dick was acting so different.He had absolutely no clue what was going on.After he asked his question,Dick turned to look at him with wide eyes and red glowing cheeks,saying "huh?".How cute,he was all embarrassed!Wally showed him a small reassuring smile to say that it's okay if he does want something,even if it was a little strange for sure.Dick fidgeted around with his fingers a bit,and then shily nodded."Okay,go ahead then!"the redhead encouraged his boyfriend,who slowly made his way down the aisle and towards the lego shelf,eyeing the other toys too.This was so strange and weird.He wasn't mad or weirded out by Dick the slightest bit,but he was so confused about why he'd act that way,that…childish way.He thought it was simply because of his earlier overstimulation at first,but then again he never acted like that before,at least not in front of him...
Less than 20 minutes later,they were already stood at the self checkout.Wally scanned every item they had decided to buy,including the small lego set Dick had chosen.And that was okay!There were a lot of adults who collected legos,so why couldn't he do too?Speaking of Dick,he was clinging onto Wally's arm now.It was cute,just not exactly something the average adult would be seen doing.Wally just decided to brush it off again as they left the store with their shopping bags and groceries.They both got into the car again and long behold,Dick's thumb has made its way back into his mouth,but Wally didn't care.
About thirty minutes of driving later,they finally arrived at their shared apartment again.Wally parked the car in front of the door and looked over to his boyfriend,only to see him sleeping peacefully.He honestly looked adorable,even if his sudden childish behavior is really starting to worry Wally.
The redhead grabbed the groceries and carried them back to their apartment.He was going to go get Dick right after he finished putting them away.Just as he was about to put away the last bottle of water,the big kitchen light turned on and someone walked in.Wally jumped a bit,getting startled.He immediately turned around,just to find that the 'someone' was actually a really exhausted looking Tim.Oh,he had forgotten about that!Tim was staying at their apartment while he was temporarily patrolling in Bludhaven.Wally started to awkwardly grin "Oh hey,Tim.What brought you here at this hour?".Tim rolled his eyes and muttered something about him never being able to sleep because it was too loud under his breath,before sighing.Then,Tim looked around the room in confusion,completely ignoring the question and instead asking "where's Dick?".Wally closed the fridge door behind him and explained "he fell asleep in the car,I'm gonna go get him now".Tim huffed playfully "wow,did he really get that drunk?".Oh yeah,Wally sort of forgot about that part."Uhm,we didn't exactly drink at the party...In fact,we didn't even stay any longer than half an hour" Now Tim raised an eyebrow "Why not?".Wally played with the thought of telling him what had actually happened,but then decided to just say "oh yeah,something came in between.Nothing serious though,no worries".Tim placed a hand on his hip,his face still in confusion as he repeated the words "'something came in between'?".Wally just nervously smiled and nodded "yep,exactly!" and then went off to get Dick's sleeping body out of the car before the situation got any more awkward.
When Dick was finally in bed with fresh clothes,Wally made his way into the living room and collapsed onto the leather couch with a sigh.Just when he had thought he could finally get his alone time,Tim walked into the room again.Oh,great,he thought ironically.He loved Tim,really.They were good friends and all,but right now he just craved nothing but some rest.After Wally internally groaned,Tim spoke up "Hey,you sure everything's okay?You look exhausted".Wally laughed a bit,the boy really didn't ever mean any harm.He turned to face Tim and then said "Yeah,cause I am exhausted.But everything's fine,just a long werid day" the werid part kind of just slipped out,but he figured that it kind of just overflew Tim.The younger boy nodded and said "Okay.You go get some rest then,yeah?But seriously,if there's ever something up then you can talk to me.You're my friend and I just wanna help"
Tim turned around to leave,but Wally genuinely took those words to heart and now felt like he should talk about what's been confusing him,or more specifically why his day was a bit strange. "Tim,wait..."
Barely a few minutes later,they were sitting on the couch together,Wally explaining what had happened tonight with every single little detail.Tim listened understandingly.
"Okay,me and Dick went to the party and it was really boring,but eventually all the people and music got too much for him and he got overstimulated.We went outside and he sat down to calm down a bit,nothing serious,all good.Well eventually we went back to the car and then on the way home he started sucking on his thumb.It was a little werid,but whatever makes him happy I suppose.Then,completely out of the blue,he had two huge crying fits about wanting to go home,even though we already were on the way here.When he calmed down again,we went to a store to get some orange juice because he asked for it...in a very high pitched tone.And then he basically got pulled in by the invisible forces of the toy aisle.I got him some legos he wanted of course because he asked nicely,but still...Oh,and during that entire thing he was like clinging onto my arm.I mean,things like hand holding are normal for us,but that?...So that's what I'm confused about.I don't want to judge or make fun of Dick at all,he's my boyfriend and I love him very much,but I just don't understand why he's acting like...I dunno...like a child".
Tim took a deep breath.That was quite a lot to be told all at once.After he had finished processing everything,he started to explain the answer that Wally had been searching for so desperately "Okay,listen.This is a big secret of Dick's,that only very few people know about,but I think you are definitely owed an explanation for it after all that.I want you to please be respectful about it though,can you do that?".Wally immediately nodded "Yeah,of course.Just...please tell me".
Tim sighed,before saying "Listen,Dick is an age regressor.Do you know what that means?".Wally's eyebrows scrunched up a bit as he thought about what it meant,but eventually he shook his head no.
Tim nodded understandingly and then explained "Age regression is a coping mechanism.During age regression,or also called littlespace there is a person,in this case Dick,who just goes to a younger mindset,which makes them feel a lot better and sometimes also safer.Usually there are little age ranges,like 2-5 or something.I don't know Dick's age range yet,he only got little around me one time and that...didn't go too well.Often,there is also someone called a caregiver,who takes care of the little and basically acts like a parental figure or sibling.Anyways,there's also something called voluntary regression,where you choose to be little by yourself,and something called involuntary regression,where it happenes without you really realizing or without you intending to.I'm pretty sure what happened to Dick today was an involuntary regression,due to the little overstimulation he experienced.And uhm…yeah,I think that's about it!"
Wally listened carefully to every word Tim said.Huh,that would definitely explain everything that had happened.That was a lot to take in,but at least it eased his worries by huge amounts.After taking a while to process everything,he asked "So...Dick is like a big baby sometimes?And it's nothing to worry about?He's okay?"
Tim showed him a reassuring smile "Yeah,Wally,he is.And no,there's nothing to worry about.Instead of him being unwell,this actually makes him feel much better.Also,I think you did a really good job at handling the situation even though you didn't understand what was going on.You're a great person,Wally"
That made Wally smile widely,he was glad to not have messed up something.After a while of comfortable silence,Tim spoke up again "Oh,also please don't immediately talk to him about it when he wakes up,yeah?I mean,you both should definitely talk about it,but wait till he's ready!".
Wally nodded,fully agreeing "Yes,definitely".
The room fell into a comfortable silence once again.After many minutes,a question struck Wally "Hey Tim,how do you even know all this?".Tim's eyes turned wide and he looked like he had seen a ghost for a second.Then,he shook his head and started to fidget with his hands nervously "Uhm...I..uh I googled it!You know,after I found out about Dick!".Well that didn't sound like the whole truth at all.Wally raised an eyebrow and was about to say something,when Tim suddenly interrupted "Oh god,I forgot that I was supposed to take the bus to go back to Gotham tonight,I have a date with Bernard tomorrow!Sorry,I gotta go!If you have any more questions you can ask me some other time...or use google!Bye!".With that,he quickly moved out of the living room and towards the guest bedroom he was staying in to gather up his stuff.
Well that was werid.Come to think about it,the entire day was werid.This was going to be a new part of his life now,wasn't it?A big one too.He wasn't sure if he was ready for this,but he'd try his best.
For Dick.