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It had been a little while since Mind’s first experience with regressing. It’d been…a strange experience to say the least, but a mostly enjoyable one nonetheless. He felt a lot safer, especially since Soul had taken such good care of him. That’s why he now found himself outside of his host’s room, clutching onto a blanket he had dragged with him, trying to work up the courage to go inside. Old memories had started flooding back to him once again, and he didn’t really want to be alone.
The Sun slowly opened The Stars’ door, carefully poking his head in and looking around for them. They were at their desk, writing in a journal. They seemed to perk up hearing the door open and immediately turned to face him. “{Yo! Apollo! You need something?}”. Seeing Atlas’ bright smile gave Apollo a bit of reassurance. He slowly walked over to his host and hugged him tightly, burying his face in their t-shirt. “{Hm? Are you alright…? What’s going on?}” Soul gently held Mind close, carefully lifting up his face and looking into his eyes. He had a soft, yet nervous expression spread across his face. He found himself unable to speak once more, so he just clinged onto his host a bit tighter.
“{...hey…you don’t need to be afraid. I’m here.}” Atlas carefully rubbed Apollo’s back, trying to soothe them. “{Are you feeling small again sunshine? Is that what’s going on?}”. The Sun nodded a bit, slowly looking back up at The Stars. “{Ah…well…why don’t we go do something fun then? I think I found a few shows you’d really like if you want to watch them.}”. Mind quickly nodded and stood up, now seeming more excited than anything. Soul let out a small laugh. “{Alrighty then. Suit yourself.} He smiled and went to the living room with his Sun, turning on some random cartoon for him to watch.
It was kind of adorable watching Apollo, sitting in front of the TV, bouncing with excitement. It was a peaceful moment all things considered, until it was interrupted. “(What the fuck is happening out here…? I thought I heard someone…giggling?)”. Mind immediately froze up, watching Juno lift his blindfold to look at the scene in front of them. “(Mind…?)”. The Moon didn’t know what to feel. He was the one always being insulted for being so childish, and yet here the hypocrite was, doing the very same things they’d insult him for doing.
“(...you goddamn piece of shit! You call me out for behaving like a child and yet here you are! You’re being more of a child than I’ve ever been and you have the fucking audacity to insult me for it?)” Juno growled and approached The Sun, hands curled into fists, almost like he was ready to try and strike The Sun once more. The Stars quickly got up and held The Moon back. “{Artemis. Don’t.}” “(What the hell do you know Soul?! You’ve seen the way he’s treated me! Why can’t you-)” Apollo tuned out the screaming that was going on. There was only one thing that mattered right now. It was no longer safe for him to be there. They quickly got up, abandoning their blanket, and rushed off to their bedroom.
It wasn’t safe anymore. That’s all he knew. That’s all that mattered. It wasn’t safe. He can’t be like this. Too dangerous. Mind started to shake as he looked around his bedroom, quickly taking note of anything that could be considered childish. They began to hide all of it, dolls, little figurines, anything a ‘proper’ adult wouldn’t have, it all went in a box that was promptly shoved into his closet. It wasn’t safe to have them out anymore. They felt tears start to run down their cheeks. He angrily wiped them away, starting to get more frustrated with himself. Why couldn’t he just be the mature adult people needed him to be?
Apollo looked over to their desk and saw a small little drawing they had been working on earlier, before going to be with Atlas. It was a simple little stick figure drawing of himself and his thirds. How…childish. He picked up the drawing and just stared at it. Too childish. Everything was too childish. He needed to grow up. He needed to be the mature one like he usually was. He growled and tore the paper in half, carelessly tossing it to the side. Soon though, the realization hit him. They stared at the torn sheet on the floor and just burst into sobs. The Sun couldn’t really explain it, but they were overwhelmed with the feeling of wanting to ‘go home’ despite being in their bedroom. They just wanted their safety back.
Soul soon burst through the door and immediately rushed over to comfort Mind, only to be pushed away by them. “{Oh Apollo…}”. Apollo was struggling to breathe with how much he was sobbing, nearly choking as he did. “{Hey…hey….shhh….just breathe. You’re okay Mucka. I’m here. Soul is here.}” Atlas gently reached his hand out and started wiping away their tears. “{You’re safe with me…I promise.}”. Mind lifted his head up slightly and rubbed his tear filled eyes. They looked at him for a moment before quickly hugging Soul, continuing to sob and whimper.
Juno peeked in through the door that had been left open, watching Soul try to soothe a very distressed Mind. His chest started to ache as guilt welled up inside of him. They lifted up their blindfold again and noticed the torn up drawing on the ground. He carefully picked it up and squinted to try and look at it. The guilt only grew as he realized who the drawing was of. They had to do something…they couldn’t just…not try to help fix the mess they’d created. The Moon left the room, discarded drawing in hand, and went to his own.
When Heart returned he went over to Mind and Soul, carefully kneeling next to them. “(...Hey. I…I’m sorry Apollo….here um…I know it isn’t much but, I think you need this more than I do right now.)”. Artemis carefully handed Apollo a little stuffed duck he had gotten for himself a while back. The Sun sniffled and looked at the small plush placed in his hands. He let out a small hiccup before speaking softly. “[...duckie..?]”. Juno couldn’t help but chuckle a small bit. “(Mhm. That’s exactly right.)”. Mind carefully moved out of Soul’s arms and gave Heart a hug instead. “[...t..thank you…]” The Moon smiled softly and held him close. “(You’re very welcome)”.
The Sun soon pulled away from The Moon and carefully started playing with the stuffed duck, seeming a lot calmer than before. “(Oh! I almost forgot!)” Artemis carefully set Apollo’s drawing in front of him, having now been stuck back together with some tape. “(It’s a little messy, but I did my best to fix it.)”. Mind blinked a bit and looked at the drawing, starting to smile a little bit. “[Thank you…Ar-ty]” He struggled a small bit, but managed to get the words out of his throat. “(You do realize you don’t need to force yourself to talk right…? I…I want you to focus on making yourself happy okay?)” He ruffled Apollo’s hair a bit, to which he hummed in response.
Atlas smiled seeing the two getting along again. He went and sat on the other side of Apollo, watching him lean against Artemis and play with his new duck. The Sun stayed close to his thirds, smiling and feeling content. Sure…things were a bit rough, but he was safe now. That’s all he needed to know. He was safe, and he’d always have Soul and Heart to help keep things that way. That is all he needed to know in order to finally relax, and eventually fall asleep, surrounded by the people that loved him, and that he loved back.