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After the walking into Dick being regressed incident around two weeks ago,Bruce and Jason weren’t sure if Dick would ever be comfortable enough to be little around either of them ever again.After being informed by Tim that he had slipped with Wally though,that changed.The both of them managed to acquire a bunch of little gear for him.Neither of them knew what he’d like or what age range he’d slip to,so they kind of just got a bit of everything.Benefits of being rich,you know.
Anyways,the last few days have been pretty rough and exhausting,judging mission whise,so Jason got the great idea of attempting to warm Dick up to the idea of being little around other people and having people take care of him instead of it being the other way around for once.
Today Damian was having a sleepover with Jon,accompanied by Bruce,who was honestly only there for Clark.Alfred had a day off and Tim was on a date with Bernard,concluding that Dick and Jason would be the only ones in the manor.That also meant that it opened a great opportunity to try engaging with Dick’s regression again,and that hopefully in a better way than last time.
Dick was laying on the couch,switching through all the channels on the tv,but not seeming to find anything that peaked his interests.He had huge eyebags decorating his face and he just looked so…empty.And exhausted.That was enough to make Jason stand up from the chair he was sitting on and walk up to the couch,sitting down right next to Dick.
“What are you watching?”Jason asked,already knowing the answer but trying to somehow start a conversation with his older brother.Dick shrugged and sighed “Dunno,there’s nothing interesting on the tv and I’m not watching any shows right now,so I got nothing to watch”.The room stayed quiet for a minute,while Jason was trying to figure out how to get Dick to regress,or at least to talk to him.Then suddenly,a invisible lightbulb appeared above his head.
“Hey Dick,what’s that one show we used to watch together called again?”.Dick looked over to him and slightly raised his eyebrow “We watched a lot of shows,Jay,you gotta be a bit more specific”.Jason sighed,thinking hard to remember what it was about “The one with the polar bear and these other animals in diving suits helping hurt sea animals.I think they lived in a robot octopus or something like that”.If Jason couldn’t make Dick regress,one of his old favorite tv shows surely could,right?Well,he figured it was at least worth a try.
Dick thought for a while,and then said “…are you talking about the octonauts?”.Jason immediately nodded “Yes!That’s what I was talking about.Let’s watch that”.
Dick just looked utterly confused now “But…that’s a kids show?”.Jason shrugged “And?It’s called nostalgia,Dickhead.It’s like watching spongebob in the middle of the night on sleepovers,you get me?Now stop complaining and put it on”.
Dick showed Jason one more confused look,before shrugging and clicking on the first streaming service he saw and typing in octonauts.When the episode started playing he leaned back on the couch and just watched,expecting to be met with the average boring kids show.However,his negative expectations were disproven.He actually really liked it and started to get quite curious about what was gonna happen next.
About two episodes in,Jason looked back over to Dick.He was still laying on the couch,but now he was chewing on his hoodie strings and his eyes were perplexed on the screen in front of him.Huh,maybe the show was actually doing what Jason had intended it to.To try that out,he decided to ask a simple question “Hey Dick?You want some water?”.The older one didn’t move his eyes off of the screen,but shook his head “No thank you,I’m not thirsty”.Hm.He was still talking like he was feeling big,maybe the chewing on his hoodie strings thing was just a bad habit after all.With a sigh,Jason turned back to the tv,even though he was so lost in his mind,he didn’t even know what was happening on the screen.
Minutes,if not an hour of thinking later,Jason looked back to Dick.His legs were pulled up to his body now,and his eyes were closed.Great,just what Jason wanted…
Well,maybe Dick hadn’t slipped to a younger age,but at least he was sleeping and getting a bit of rest.With a small sigh,Jason reached for the remote and shut off the tv.Surprisingly,he was met with a whine.He looked over to Dick,and surely,the other,who apparently only rested his eyes,was looking at him with a pout on his face.Huh,maybe it had worked after all.
“Want me to turn it on again?”Jason asked,to which he got a bunch of nods in reply.Then,he decided to test Dick a little bit,after all,he still didn’t know if the other was regressed or not “Ah,what’s the magic word?”Jason teased.Dick wriggled around a bit and whined,before mumbling “pwease…”.
Wow,Jason didn’t expect that.But then again,he didn’t mind either.He looked at the apparently regressed boy in front of him with a bit of surprise for a good while,before showing him a sweet smile and turning the tv back on.
After 30 more minutes pass,Jason decided it’s enough screen time for today.Plus,it was getting late and he heard that looking at screens right before going to sleep was bad.So he grabbed the remote,but before turning off the tv again he explained “Enough tv for today,buddy”.Dick looked at him with an offended expression and then started to pout “But I wanna watch!”.Jason sighed,the last thing he needed right now were waterworks,or even worse,a tantrum,so he calmed himself down and softly said “Well,you can keep watching tomorrow!How about we have our own adventure for now?”.
Dick tilted his head in interest and curiosity now,not even noticing Jason sneakily turning off the tv.”A’venture?” Dick asked,completely mispronouncing it.It was honestly sort of cute.But Jason quickly put on a brave smile,nodding,before whispering “You know,a little birdie told me that there’s a monster around here!Can you believe that?”.The little gasped and asked “monster?”Jason nodded “Yes!A big monster who’s a meanie!But it’s okay,we’re heroes,aren’t we?How about we go look for that meanie monster,hm?”Jason had no clue he had it in himself to take care of a child,but the words just rolled off of his tounge so easily that it was quite a lot of fun.Dick nervously hesitated for a bit,but then nodded,fiddling with his fingers.Jason helped the boy turn around so he was looking down to the floor on the other side of the couch.The both of them held lookout for any monsters,when suddenly Jason yelled out “Watch out!”
Jason grabbed Dick from behind,pretending to be a monster and tickling the little boy all over his body.”Oh no!It’s a tickle monster!”Jason said,acting like he wasn’t the tickling culprit.Dick giggled and occasionally let out some loud laughs that sounded scream-like,trying to wriggle his way out of the tickle monster’s strong grip,but with no success.Jason smiled,it was nice to finally hear his big…or in this case little brother giggle.He sounded so happy.
Eventually,Jason sat down still with Dick in his lap.The little was catching his breath,still occasionally letting out one or another giggle.Jason acted like he was out of breath too “Wow,that was a meanie tickle monster,hm?”.The little nodded “Mhm…where it go?”.Jason put on a thinking expression,but then smiled proudly “When it saw me it got scared and immediately gave me back my little brother.And you know why that is?Because I’ll always protect you”
Dick smiled at him,chewing on the hoodie string in his mouth,and then giggled mischievously “I bet the ‘ickle monster just smelled your icky socks n’ ran away!”.Now it was Jason’s turn to act offended “Excuse me?My socks do not smell,young man!”.The little giggled more and cheekily said “Yeah they do!”.Now Jason shook is head offendedly,placing a hand on his chest “I do not have smelly socks,silly!Here,see for yourself!”With that,he pulled his feet up on the couch and moved them in Dick’s direction.The little squealed and moved as far away as he could “Nooo!Icky!”
Jason started to laugh now,pulling his feet back to himself.
For the next few minutes the room just stayed quiet,with Dick lying on his back and staring up to the ceiling while Jason was watching him.Then,he remembered something “Hey Dickie?I brought some hotwheels with me!Do you wanna play for a few minutes before we go get ready for bedtime?”.The little immediately beamed up with excitement,nodding.Jason took that as a yes and quickly pulled 2 hotwheel cars from his pocket.He let Dick pick one and took the other one for himself.The regressed boy started rolling the car back and forth,seemingly fascinated by it’s ability to move around so easily.During that process,Jason zoned out a little bit.
When he came back to reality,he saw that the little had taken Jason’s toy car and decided to act offended again ”Hey,that’s my car”.Dick shook is head “Nuh-uh!My now”.Jason crossed his arms in front of his chest and playfully said “Oh,that’s making the tickle monster tell me it wants to come back”.Dick gasped at that “What?No!Why?” Jason tilted his head “Well,because you took my car,silly”.Suddenly Dick said “Nuh-uh!Wasn’t me.Dada took it!”.His brother got a little confused now and asked “Dada?Is that Bruce?”.The little shook his head “No,dada is Wally an’ papa is Bruce!”.Jason nodded now “Ah.Well,if your dada took it,then why is it right in front of you,hm?”.Dick was taken a little aback by that question and after taking a second to think he said “Uhm…magic!”.
That made Jason laugh a bit “Ah,I see”.
A few minutes of playing later,it was bedtime,and even though the little truhoutly protested,they eventually settled down in the bathroom.Jason picked up a pair of pj pants and a loose tshirt for the little to wear and handed it to him “Can you get dressed by yourself or do you need some help?”.Dick showed him a smile and proudly explained “I can do it alone!”.So after ruffling the little’s hair,Jason turned around while the other was getting changed.Well,that was until he heard a little whined “help”.He immediately turned around with a small part of fear that something may have happened,only to calm down and start to laugh a bit when he saw what had happened.Poor Dickie got into his shirt the wrong way around and got stuck in it.Jason continued to laugh,but as a big brother he obviously had to help the little too,so he quickly did that,readjusting the shirt.”Oh you poor silly guy,always getting in these situations,hm?” He tried to comfort the pouting little,but he couldn’t help but still laugh a little bit.
Now it was time to brush the tiny’s teeth.”Say aaaah” Jason instructed for his brother,who did just what he was asked for.He squeezed a bit of toothpaste on the toothbrush and placed it in the little’s mouth,scrubbing and brushing his teeth for him.Dick had a lot of drool and toothpaste dribbling out of his mouth,but luckily there was a towel to catch all of it.
“Your face is all dirty,buddy,let me clean that up for you” Jason said after he was done brushing the little’s teeth,grabbing another warm wet towel to clean up the little’s messy face,despite his whiny protests.
Minutes later,they were standing in front of the sink.Dick was playing with the water and little soap bubbles in it,while Jason was combing his hair,careful not to hurt the little.He wouldn’t risk getting any waterworks.When Jason was done with combing the regressed boy’s hair,he let him play with the water just a tiny bit longer.He couldn’t help himself,his brother just looked too adorable splashing the water around while he was giggling.Eventually it became time for bed though,so Jason helped the little,who was a bit wobbly on his feet,to get to his bed without falling,which luckily works out with a few little stumbles.
When Dick was all tucked in and the nightlight was turned on,Jason sat down on the bed next to him.”Story?” The little requested a bedtime story with a cute little lisp in his voice.Jason showed him a small sad and apologetic smile and explained “I’m sorry,buddy,but I don’t have a bedtime story.We’ll get you some books soon,okay?”.But the little shook his head “No.Story!” this time he was pointing to one of his shelves.Jason was quick to realize that the shelf in question was one on which Dick kept some of his childhood belongings.He stood up from the bed and walked towards it.Lucky to say,there was a kids book displayed on it.He grabbed it,and after dusting it off a little bit,he sat down next to Dickie again.The little came closer and cuddled his body onto his brother’s,feeling safe and warm with him.Jason smiled at Dick snuggling him,and after ruffling his hair one more time,he looked over to the book.It was a picture book,but it also had a bunch of text in it.He leaned his head on his brother’s and started to read.
“The very quiet cricket.
There are four thousand different kinds of crickets.Some live underground,others above.Some live in shrubs or trees,and some even live in water.Both male snd female crickets can hear,but only the male can make a sound.By tubbing his wings together he chirps.Some people say that it sounds like a song.
One warm day,from a tiny egg a little cricket was born.
“Welcome” chirped a big cricket,rubbing his wings together.The little cricket wanted to answer,so he rubbed his eings together.But nothing happened.Not a sound.
“Good morning!” whizzed a locust, spinning through the air. The little cricket wanted to answer, so he rubbed his wings together. But nothing happened. Not a sound.
“Hello!” whispered a praying mantis, scraping its huge front legs together. The little cricket wanted to answer, so he rubbed his wings together. But nothing happened. Not a sound.
“Good day!” crunched a worm, munching its way out of an apple. The little cricket wanted to answer, so he rubbed his wings together. But nothing happened. Not a sound.
“Hi!” bubbled a spittlebug, slurping in a sea of froth. The little cricket wanted to answer, so he rubbed his wings together. But nothing happened. Not a sound.
“Good afternoon!” screeched a cicada, clinging to a branch of a tree. The little cricket wanted to answer, so he rubbed his wings together. But nothing happened. Not a sound.
“How are you?” hummed a bumblebee, flying from flower to flower. The little cricket wanted to answer, so he rubbed his wings together. But nothing happened. Not a sound.
“Good evening!” whirred a dragonfly, gliding above the water. The little cricket wanted to answer, so he rubbed his wings together. But nothing happened. Not a sound.
“Good night!” buzzed the mosquitoes, dancing among the stars. The little cricket wanted to answer, so he rubbed his wings together. But nothing happened. Not a sound.
A luna moth sailed quietly through the night.
And the cricket enjoyed the stillness.
As the luna moth disappeared silently into the distance, the cricket saw another cricket. She, too, was a very quiet cricket. Then he rubbed his wings together one more time. And this time...
..he chirped the most beautiful sound that she had ever heard”
Now,tiny Dickie could barely keep his eyes open.Jason carefully loosened the little’s grip on him and tucked him in again so he’d stay nice and warm in the night.He leaned down and placed a big kiss to his forehead,whispering “Goodnight,little one”.
Just as he got up and was about to close the door behind him,he heard Dick say “wait…”.So Jason stood put,turning back around “What is is,Dickie?”.The regressed boy looked a bit nervous and fiddled around with his fingers,before mumbling “Can you please check if the ‘ickle monster is under my bed?”.That made Jason smile softly “Of course,buddy”.He walked back to the bed and kneeled down in front of it,bending his head to see underneath.Then,he gasped “Oh my god…”.Dickie got scared now,tears threatening to build up in his eyes “What?Is da…’ickle monster there?”
Jason looked back up,revealing that his fear was only an act by smirking cheekily and then replied “Even worse,there are so many dirty socks under there!Now who’s the one with stinky socks,hm?”.That made the little giggle.Jason laughed along with him for a bit,before leaning down to give him another goodnight kiss,this time on his cheek.”Goodnight,little one” “Ni-ni”.
With that,Jason actually left the room,closing the door behind him.Today was definitely eventful and never in a thousand years would he have expected for things to go so smoothly,but he couldn’t be more glad they did.His big brother,who’s always been there for everyone at every time in any type of situation,finally let’s himself be taken care of.And on top of that,by Jason.By him.Dick trusted him with something so deep and Jason couldn’t be happier that he did.He could already feel their connection growing stronger,even if that wasn’t exactly his thing.
Dick was the best and dearest brother to him,no matter if big or little.
He loved Dick so very much.