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The end of the season was coming up. While Impulse didn’t feel like he had anything looming he needed to complete, he still felt like he was under massive pressure to make sure everything was perfect for the world download.
While he was running around his base making sure everything was in top form, he was vaguely aware of the cloudiness of little space slowly creeping in the corner of his mind. He was stressed out, and his perfectionist tendencies weren’t helping.
It all came to a head when Gem came down to visit him from her base.
Impulse was frustrated and tired, he was about to give up and take a break. The fog of little space, unbeknownst to him, had almost completely descended on him. So when Gem popped down to visit him, she was able to tell that he was acting unusually.
“Hey Impulse! How’s your end-of-season prep going?” She asked, far too chipper for his liking. A frustrated look was on his face, something that he refused to believe counted as a pout.
“‘S not. Too much I gotta do, don’t want it being bad for the world download.” Impulse grumbled, fiddling with the buttons on his communicator.
“I’m sure it’s fine! Your base always looks awesome. But if you wanted, maybe I could help?” Gem offered, seeming to sense that this topic was touchy.
“No!” He said perhaps too firmly, ignoring how it slightly edged into whining territory. He was now slightly more aware of the fog threatening to encompass his brain, determined to act as normal as possible.
“No. Sorry, I’ve been doing this for a while. I need to take a break anyway.” Impulse sighed, attempting to drag himself out of the oh so tempting cloud of little space.
“Thanks, though. I gots– I have a lot t’do, but it can be done later.” He added. Gem narrowed her eyes at him, leaning a bit to the side in suspicion. His chest constricted, knowing how close his secret was to being revealed. She needed to go–!
Just as he was about to say something to have her leave, Gem spoke up, with words he hoped would never be directed towards him.
“Impulse, are you little?” Gem questioned.
His world froze. He stopped breathing, going entirely still. The stress he was trying to ignore crashed into him full force, staring at Gem with terror in his eyes. The stress swirled around in his mind, until the dam finally broke, the fog he was trying to push off descending on him like a vulture to carrion.
“N-no, I’se not, I mean, ‘m not, ‘m a caregiver and yea Zed regresses too, but, I don’t– I don’t, I don’t, I don’t–” He babbled incoherently, “‘M not little.” He ended.
To his little self, he felt that his defense was pretty solid. Now Gem can leave him alone and he can go into his bedroom to cry, maybe even color if he could find an abandoned coloring book in his base somewhere.
However, the fog of panic persisted as Gem stared at him, looking entirely unconvinced. He saw her pull out her communicator and type something. He distantly heard his comm ping in another room, but chose to ignore it.
“Yeah bud. I’m sorry, but I don’t quite believe you there.” Gem told him, a weird look on her face that little Impulse couldn’t identify.
“No!” Impulse shouted, louder than he intended. “Go ‘way! Y’r not s'posed t’be here!” He cried, distress making itself evident in watery eyes.
“But Impy, you’re upset. How could I leave one of my favorite people without some comfort?” Gem said, and Impulse suddenly found her directly in front of him, her hands hovering just over his. He only now realized that he had swung his hands down in fists, reminiscent of a kid throwing a tantrum.
Impulse saw his vision become cloudy as thick tears welled up.
“Can I touch you, bud?” Gem asked gently. The soft, genuine care in her voice is what lets the tears spill over.
Impulse began to sob, a broken wail making its way out of his throat. He allowed his legs to give, collapsing into a sitting position on the ground. He nodded, because right now anything would be better than crying alone. Someone was finally there to comfort him, to soothe his cries and to hold him. It was something he craved every time he regressed, and it was finally available to him.
An arm immediately wrapped around his shoulders, a hand coming up to rub against his arm. As he sobbed, he leaned into Gem’s comfort. Eventually, his head found the crook of her neck. He his his face there, nuzzling into its warmth.
He heard the distant sound of rockets approaching, only lifting his head when he heard footsteps approaching. Through his teary eyes, he could recognize the mop of dirty-blond hair and iconic brown cardigan.
Somewhere deep, he knew his adult self would be ashamed at Zedaph seeing him like this, but his little self could not be happier that his friend was right there. He stiffly moved his arms, tangling one in the collar of Gem’s shirt and reaching out the other towards Zedaph.
The other immediately joined them on the floor, scooching close to hold onto Impulse. His cries have mostly died down by now, only the occasional hiccup escaping him. He silently enjoyed the company of the two before one of them spoke up.
“Heard we got a little Impy on our hands. From what it looks like, you could use a real good cuddle.” Zedaph said lightly, a smile on his face. Impulse nodded vigorously, letting go of Gem to lean fully into Zedaph.
“You mad?” Impulse whimpered. Nobody was supposed to know, but now they did.
“Why in the entirety of the overworld would I be mad at you?” Zedaph cooed, wrapping his arms comfortingly around his back.
“Cause. ‘M little. Not s’posed t’be.” He muttered quietly, as if stating the obvious.
“Why aren’t you supposed to be little?” Zedaph coaxed, one of his hands gently moving.
“Gotta take care of ev’ryone. Don’t wanna be needy.” He hesitated.
“Oh, baby, being little would never make you needy. You don’t have to take care of anyone, alright? It’s not your job, and you’re not obligated to. Please don’t feel like you have to neglect your own needs over others.” Zedaph rubbed his back, squeezing him comfortingly.
Impulse felt his tears start up again. “But–” He started.
“Nope, no buts. You do so much for other people, now let us do something for you. Alright?” Zed uncircled his arms from him, only to cup his hands around his face, lifting it so he would look him in the eyes.
“We care about you. Let us take care of you. Please. ” Zed consoled. Impulse looked into his purple eyes, nodding in his hold. He pulled his head back, Zed letting go easily. He leaned back to grab one of Gem’s arms, adjusting his legs to surround one of Zed’s.
“Can we do anything for you, bud?” Gem’s soothing voice sounded, one of her thin hands beginning to card through his hair.
“...Sleep, please?” He asked shyly. He wanted to curl up right there with the two of them, right on the floor of the Keep.
“Okay.” Zed agreed easily. “Let’s get up, then–” His movement was halted by a whine from Impulse, his legs squeezing around his in an effort to get him to stay still.
“You want to stay right here? That won’t be too comfy, baby.” Zed told him. Impulse whined again in response, reaching out a hand to cling onto Zed’s sleeve.
“Alright, alright. I’m guessing you don’t want Gem getting up either?” He questioned. Impulse shook his head firmly.
“We can deal with that. Are you alright if someone else comes here to drop off some pillows and blankets?” Zed asks him seriously.
Impulse nodded immediately. He didn’t care if someone else saw him while little, right now he just wanted to sleep, so if a blanket delivery got him that, he wouldn’t complain.
“Do you have a preference with who comes?” Gem pipes up. He turned to look at her and shook his head. He tugged both of them closer to him, forming a cuddle pile. He heard Gem laugh, causing himself to giggle.
“Alright then. I’ll send out a message to the server.” Gem smiled, pulling out her comm.
After an indeterminate amount of time, rockets could be heard outside the Keep. Shortly thereafter, Cub showed up with a shulker box, no doubt full of blankets, pillows, and various other comfortable objects.
“Thanks, Cub!” Gem said, briefly sitting up to take the box from him.
“No problem. All of these blankets are Scar tested and approved for cuddling purposes.” Impulse saw Cub rake his eyes over the trio. Cub smiled at him before adding, “The blue flannel one is the softest.”
The shulker box was unloaded, so Impulse didn’t pay attention to what else was being said. His eyes immediately honed in on a ring with various fidgets on it, something adult Impulse would identify as a fidget especially popular with littles near baby space age. However, all Impulse saw when looking at it was a fun fidget to play with, the various plastic shapes on the ring making fun clacking sounds.
By the time a plush toy was waved in front of him to take, Cub must have left and blankets were situated into a comfortable nest. Humming satisfactorily, Impulse dragged Gem and Zed into his warmth, curling into a loose ball to be cuddled. The two wordlessly obliged, throwing their arms over him and settling in.
And, if just for a moment, everything was perfect.