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Ranboo takes their headset off and puts it down on the table next to them, rubbing the heels of their palms into their eyes. They probably should’ve taken a break earlier, but they really needed to finish editing things for Genloss. Between only sleeping for two hours each night and a very few amount of extremely short food breaks, they’ve finally gotten it done, after a month and a half.
“Streamers should be given the option to have 48 hours in a day,” Ranboo mumbles deliriously, entirely unaware exactly how ridiculous that would sound to anyone else. They drain the last of their Monster and toss the empty can into the trash bin next to their desk, flinching when their phone vibrates. When they pick it up, they see that it’s the latest in a series of messages from Aimsey, who is one of their roommates.
Crud.
lesbian: ayup pick up your phone
kingboober: hi im here what is it
lesbian: finally
lesbian: anyways
lesbian: me n guqqie are having a movie night
kingboober: good for you
lesbian: thank you captain oblivious
lesbian: wanna come
kingboober: depends
kingboober: whatre you watching
lesbian: nostalgia cartoons
kingboober: pogchamp
lesbian: so your coming
kingboober: idk man
kingboober: got work to do
lesbian: brooo you been working for months
lesbian: take a break
kingboober: i have to get my plan to congress
lesbian: you b-
kingboober: i can’t rest until i get this plan to congress
lesbian: get in here
lesbian: right now
lesbian: or i will drag you out by your ears
kingboober: frickin worth it
Ranboo knows Aimsey’s threat to drag them out there by their ears is empty, since it’s nearly two full feet shorter than them, but they figure they should probably listen to it anyways. An angry Aimsey is not a good Aimsey to be around.
So they get up from their desk, slipping their phone into the back pocket of the jeans they’ve been wearing for the past month and a half. They go to the door, opening it for the first time since they made their last “grocery run” (trip to the kitchen to get more Monster and boxes of pizza) two weeks before, and make their way down the hall towards the living room.
When Ranboo gets to the living room, they see Aimsey and Guqqie, already in their seats on the couch for movie night - Aimsey on the left cushion, Guqqie on the right, leaving the middle one open for Ranboo. Except that’s where they sit when they’re baby, and they’re not baby tonight. Really won’t be, not if they have anything to say about it.
“Scoot,” they tell Aimsey, going over to the couch and wedging themself between Aimsey and the arm of the couch.
Aimsey laughs, moving to the middle cushion, which is its normal seat so it can be next to its wife (because they got married a few months before - which, by the way, makes Ranboo a full-time third wheel). “Alright, alright. But if you want to change seats, let me know, okay?”
“Okay,” Ranboo says, even though they know they aren’t going to be baby tonight.
But Guqqie, who has the first pick, seems to have a different idea. She starts a Disney princess movie - Snow White. Ranboo glances over at their two roommates, who seem to be conpletely focused in on the movie.
Ranboo whines softly, hitting the heels of their hands against their thighs.
“Hey, hey, don’t do that,” Aimsey says, tapping Ranboo’s wrist lightly. “Hands aren’t for hitting. There are stims that don’t hurt.”
Ranboo flushes at the tone of voice it’s using, the tone it always uses when they’re baby, but they know it’s right. Even if it doesn’t feel like it in the moment, hitting thighs is a harmful stim. So they reach into their hoodie pocket for a fidget cube. But their pocket is empty, no cube to be found.
Aimsey, without a word, or even looking over, hands Ranboo a fidget cube from its pocket.
“Thanks,” Ranboo whispers.
Aimsey smiles easily, even though it still hasn’t looked over. “You’re very welcome.”
Ranboo messes around with the different sides of the cube, focusing on that instead of the movie to try and keep themself from going baby. After a while, the movie ends, and it’s Aimsey’s turn. Guqqie looks at Ranboo, then leans over to whisper something in Aimsey’s ear.
Ranboo listens hard, and barely manages to hear, “It’s time to pull out the big guns.”
Aimsey nods, searching for something on Disney+. It types too fast for Ranboo to read what it’s typing, but they sure know what’s happening when it starts Cinderella.
Ranboo’s favorite baby movie.
Ranboo cooes uncertainly. They really really really don’t want to be baby tonight, but it doesn’t seem like they’ll have a choice in the matter. Their brain is already slipping backwards, down into childish thoughts and simple worries, into the place where they know their caregivers will take care of anything that needs to be taken care of, where all they want is pacis and bottles and onesies and rattles.
They give in and tug on Aimsey’s sleeve.
Aimsey glances over, smiling fondly. “Aw, Boo. You want to change places?”
Ranboo nods, embarrassed. Aimsey hops up, helping Ranboo scoot over to the center seat, and then sits in their now-empty seat. Aimsey and Guqqie squish closer together, knowing that Babyboo really likes physical contact.
Cause they’re not just small, they’re Babyboo. Super Babyboo. Like, only a year old. They’re probably going to be smaller, soon, as well.
“How old are you?” Guqqie asks, bumping her shoulder into theirs. Ranboo holds up a finger, then pulls it back into their chest.
“Oh, a Babyboo,” Aimsey cooes, ruffling their hair. Ranboo nods, smiling shyly.
A bit later, Guqqie hops up. Ranboo blinks sluggishly, shocked by the sudden lack of contact on his right.
“It’s alrjght, Boo, I’m just getting your baby things,” Guqqie assures them.
Ranboo cooes softly, watching Guqqie pull the box from the stand the TV sits on. Guqqie rustles around in it, coming out with some littlegear for Ranboo. She brings it over - a paci and matching clip, a bottle, a space-themed rattle, a onesie, and Ranboo’s favorite one of their YouTooz. All of the littlegear, other than the rattle, is Ranboo brand, a new line of merch they started once they announced their regression to the whole internet.
Guqqie clips the paci to Ranboo’s shirt and pops it into their mouth for them. Ranboo smiles sweetly up at her around the paci, taking the offered YouTooz, named Prince Boober (Ranboo just calls him Booboo - heh, baby puns).
“I’m going to make your bottle,” Guqqie tells them. Ranboo nods, watching Guqqie leave to go into the kitchen.
Then they tug Aimsey’s sleeve again. Aimsey looks over. “Yeah, Boo?”
“‘Au’,” Ranboo mumbles.
Aimsey, used to Ranboo’s little talk, pauses Cinderella. “Do you have a reason why?”
“So, ‘m,” Ranboo whispers, embarrassed. “S’Mama see.”
Aimsey cooes. “Oh, you’re such a sweet thing, Boo. Of course we can pause it, we don’t want Mama to miss anything.”
Ranboo smiles shyly, nestling into Aimsey’s side while they wait for Guqqie to get back in. A minute later, she does, carrying Ranboo’s bottle, filled with apple juice. Ranboo cooes, making grabby hands for the juice. They love love love apple juice bottles!
“Here you go, love,” Guqqie says, handing Ranboo the bottle and sitting back into her seat. Ranboo cooes their thanks. “Uh, why’s it paused?”
Aimsey nudges Ranboo, but, being mostly nonverbal, they nudge it back.
“Alright,” Aimsey says with a smile. “Boo wanted to pause it so their Mama wouldn’t miss anything.”
Guqqie smiles, ruffling Ranboo’s hair. “Sweet thing.” She stops. “You need a bath, Boo.”
Ranboo nods agreement, spitting their paci out and sticking the bottle into their mouth.
“After this movie?” Aimsey asks, probably knowing what Ranboo’s thinking, or maybe just wanting to finish the movie.
“Of course,” Guqqie agrees.
Ranboo giggles happily.
But by the time Cinderella finishes, Ranboo’s decided they don’t want a bath anymore. Bigboo didn’t want one, and, even though Babyboo doesn’t know why, they aren’t going to have one, either.
“Come on, Boo,” Guqqie pleads from her position kneeling on the floor in front of Ranboo, holding their hands on their thighs. “You need a bath.”
Ranboo shakes their head stubbornly.
“Please,” Aimsey says, pressing into Ranboo from where it’s still sitting next to them. “Please, Boo. You’re all icky.”
Ranboo shakes their head again.
“What if you can have one of your bath bombs?” Guqqie tries.
Ranboo hesitates. They do really like their bath bombs, but they don’t want one today. So they shake their head.
“What if,” Aimsey whispers dramatically, leaning into Ranboo, “you can have bubble bath?”
Ranboo gasps. Their bubble bath is for special days, not every day, since they have a tendancy to splash bubbles everywhere and leave Aimsey and Guqqie to clean it up. So if Aimsey’s offering to let them use it, it must be a super special day. Ranboo looks to Guqqie in confirmation, to make sure Aimsey’s not just messing with them.
“Really,” Guqqie says, and Ranboo squeals happily. “And I’ll make you a bottle of angel milk after.”
Ranboo nods aggressively. Their caregivers laugh, then both get up, pulling Ranboo up with them, Guqqie grabbing the bottle. Ranboo sways unsteadily, taking short, wobbly steps on their way down the hall to the bathroom. They’re too tall for either of their caregivers to carry them, so they need to walk everywhere when they’re baby (unaware that, at this very moment, an adult size stroller is on its way to their and their caregivers’ house so they can be as small as they want and not have to walk).
After a while, they make it to Aimsey and Guqqie’s room. Seeing as they’re married, they share the master bedroom (and, by extent, master bathroom), leaving Ranboo with the “kids’ room”, unknowingly a very accurate name for the streamer’s room. And, since the master bathroom has the hugest bathroom, that’s where Babyboo’s bath things are - the bubble bath, bath bombs, and bath toys.
Aimsey starts the bath running, helping Ranboo sit down on the closed lid of the toilet. Guqqie puts the empty bottle on the sink and starts pulling out bath toys. She lines them up on the edge of the tub, leaving a space for Ranboo to be able to get in, then turns to Ranboo.
“You want another bottle of juice?” Guqqie asks.
Ranboo nods, squeezing Booboo against their chest with one hand and hooking their fingers into their mouth. Aimsey, who is apparently the best ever at thinking, picks up Ranboo’s paci by the handle from where it’s dangling against their chest and pulls their fingers out of their mouth, replacing the fingers with the paci.
‘Thank you,’ Ranboo signs clumsily, too small for words but still wanting to thank their caregiver.
“You’re welcome,” Aimsey says, ruffling Ranboo’s hair.
Guqqie comes back into the room with the bottle, now full of apple juice, and hands it to Ranboo.
‘Thank you,’ Ranboo signs again, and Guqqie cooes.
“Aw, we just have a tiny baby today,” she murmurs, tapping Ranboo’s nose.
Ranboo giggles, spitting their paci back out to stick the bottle into their mouth, taking a big sip. Aimsey checks the tub, apparently decides it’s good enough temperature, and pours some bubble bath in. Ranboo watches impatiently, wiggling in their seat in anticipation of the bubble bath.
Aimsey laughs, ruffling their hair. “Patience, Boo. Patience.”
Ranboo nods importantly and stops wiggling, but they can’t help flapping their hands around. Aimsey doesn’t stop them, either, so they keep flapping. A few minutes later, Aimsey turns the water off, then turns to Guqqie and Ranboo.
“Help?” it asks Guqqie, who nods. The two of them work together to get Ranboo out of their icky clothes that they’ve been wearing for a month and a half and into the tub.
Ranboo sits their bottle on the edge of the tub, popping their (thankfully waterproof) paci back into their mouth and picking out some toys to play with. They splash around for a bit, but after a little while, they notice Aimsey’s not in the room anymore.
Ranboo looks up at Guqqie and whines.
Guqqie looks up from her phone. “Yeah, sweetheart?”
Ranboo thinks hard, then does their best to sign, ‘Dada’.
Guqqie cooes. “Oh, Dada’s getting your onesie from the living room. It’ll be back soon.”
Ranboo nods, satisfied, and goes back to their playing. True to form, bubbles are going everywhere, but they don’t care. They don’t have to worry about that today, not when they’re so small and they know their caregivers will take care of everything that needs taking care of.
A few minutes later, Ranboo looks up at Guqqie again with another whine.
“Yeah, Boo?” Guqqie says, just like before.
‘Bubbles,’ Ranboo signs with clumsy hands.
Guqqie smiles. “You ready to get your hair washed?”
Ranboo nods. Guqqie rummages under the sink for a minute, coming out with the strawberry 2-in-1 baby shampoo and conditioner that Ranboo always uses when they’re baby. They need the baby shampoo because it’s tear-free, and they’re prone to getting bubbles in their eyes.
Ranboo cooes happily, reaching for the bottle in Guqqie’s hands and just about knocking it onto the floor.
“Patience,” Guqqie says with a laugh. “I’ll get there.”
Ranboo giggles, pulling their hands into their chest. They wait very very very patiently, and finally, Guqqie gets over to the tub with the shampoo. She sets it on the lid of the toilet, kneeling down next to the tub.
“Close your eyes, baby,” Guqqie murmurs.
Ranboo obeys, squeezing their eyes shut tight. As soon as they have, Guqqie tilts their head backwards. She runs her fingers gently through their hair, getting it thoroughly wet. After a bit of that, she pushes their head back up lightly, wiping the water from their eyes with the sleeve on her oversized baby pink hoodie.
Overcome by a sudden bout of baby adoration, Ranboo signs quickly, ‘I love you.’
Guqqie smiles down at them, popping the top on the shampoo open as she speaks. “I love you, too, Boo.”
Ranboo giggles, closing their eyes again as Guqqie squeezes some shampoo onto her hand and starts lathering it into their hair. They can feel their brain going even fuzzier, slipping further back, to being less than a year old, they love love love getting bubbles!
Vaguely, Ranboo heard the door open and close again.
“Bubbles time?” Aimsey asks.
“Yup,” Guqqie responds, still working the bubbles into Ranboo’s hair. “The bath’s starting to get a bit cold, so Boo asked if we could do bubbles.”
“Makes sense,” Aimsey agrees.
“Alright, Boo,” Guqqie says after a few seconds of silence. “Make sure your eyes are closed tight, time to rinse your hair.”
Ranboo blinks up at her. They have absolutely no idea what she’s saying.
Guqqie smiles dotingly. “Such a tiny Boo. It’s alright, I can keep the bubbles out of your eyes.”
Ranboo bobs their head in agreement to whatever Guqqie’s saying. She holds one of her hands to their forehead in an imitation of a visor, tipping their head backwards again with the other hand and rinsing their hair. After as much of the bubbles have been rinsed as is possible in a bubble bath, Guqqie sits them back up, wiping the water from their eyes again.
“I think it’s time to get out, yeah?” Guqqie asks, tapping the button on Ranboo’s paci. They go cross-eyed trying to follow her finger, giggling softly.
With an extensive amount of help from their caregivers, Ranboo manages to get out of the bath. Guqqie and Aimey work together to steady Ranboo and dry them off at the same time, which is a more difficult task than it sounds like. But, finally, they’re completely dry, and then put into their briefs and onesie.
All they want at this point is to sit down, but their caregivers hold them steady and help them out of the bathroom. They don’t want to watch another movie now, they just want sleep. They’re so so so tired, and they don’t know what Bigboo was thinking. Being tired is terrible.
“Alright, love, we can nap,” Aimsey says with a laugh, helping Guqqie guide them to the bed. With a lot of pushing and pulling, Ranboo gets settled on the bed with Aimsey next to them.
“I’ll go make a bottle of angel milk,” Guqqie announces, stepping out of the room with Ranboo’s half-full bottle of apple juice.
As she does that, Aimsey helps Ranboo get all settled under the covers. They’re so so so so so tiny at this point, barely able to move on their own, and Aimsey can tell.
“Oh, such a tiny thing,” it cooes. “I love you so much, Boo.”
Ranboo cooes sleepily. Even though they don’t recognize the words, they can still tell that the tone is loving.
They’re already asleep by the time Guqqie comes back with their bottle, barely aware of Booboo being tucked back into their arms and Guqqie curling up behind them in the bed.
They’re just… happy.