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Rui really loved Tsukasa. Like really, the other boy had helped him so much, and he really was grateful to him for allowing Rui the chance to start over. So, he really owed a lot to Tsukasa, and held him in high regards.
That doesn’t mean he’s not bothersome sometimes, though.
“Y’know, it’s okay if you’re feeling small.” Tsukasa repeats for probably the seventh time, leaning into Rui’s workspace. It’s late, and the blonde is staying the night at Rui’s, who made the mistake of letting him know he was feeling a little small. Really, he knows Tsukasa’s coming from a good place, he’s never been anything but understanding and encouraging with Rui’s regression, but Rui has to finish this project before their next show, and he doesn’t have the time to regress, despite how fuzzy his head feels.
“Stop it, Tsukasa-kun.” Rui huffs, reaching to grab his wrench to tighten a bolt on his bot, only to find it missing from where he thought it was. Shooting a glance at the blond boy, he sees his lost wrench dangling from his hand, looking at Rui with a worried expression. Rui glares a little, reaching forward to swipe it out of the older boy's hand, grunting as Tsukasa easily evades it.
“I’m just saying! You still have weeks to finish this, Rui! I know you, and I have no doubt you won’t get it done in time,” Tsukasa’s voice is too sweet, and he ruffles Rui’s hair gently while he speaks, which definitely doesn’t make Rui’s chest ache with desire to be held. “It’s okay if you wanna be tiny, sweetheart.” Rui scoffs, shaking his head as he again reaches for the wrench in Tsukasa’s hand, opting to just ignore his words in favor of his work. He’s not regressing, end of story.
Tsukasa just doesn’t give up though, and after a moment of planning his next method of attack, he stands from his seat next to Rui, and leaves the room. Rui’s confused at first, as well as a little hurt that Tsukasa would just leave like that. A small part of his brain is very distraught, a sharp pang of loneliness shooting through his heart, and Rui would be lying if he said his eyes didn’t get a little misty.
Rui sniffles, shaking the fuzziness from his head and focusing back on his invention. He really needs to focus for this part, even small slip ups could make it spark and he could get shocked, which really wouldn’t be pleasant. Taking a steadying breath, he began adjusting the wiring, his hands trembling slightly from exhaustion as he worked.
“Here, I thought you might be thirsty, you’ve been working for a while.” Tsukasa was back, and Rui couldn’t help but jump when his hand made contact with his shoulder. On his opposite side, Tsukasa placed down a kiddy, plastic cup full of some sugary juice, a silly straw peeking out from over the rim. Rui feels like screaming, Tsukasa is not understanding that he does not have the time, and it’s really starting to frustrate him.
“‘M not.” Rui huffs, biting his lip at the higher pitch his voice took on. Tsukasa’s hand stayed firm on his shoulder for a few moments more, rubbing small circles with his thumb against the bony area. “Go away, I need to focus.” Rui feels a little bad, he’s being mean, but Tsukasa’s being really annoying! Said boy just frowns, leaning down to press a soft kiss to Rui’s temple before pulling away, resuming his position in the spare chair beside Rui. Rui ignores the urge to lean back into him.
Refocusing on his work, Rui leaned towards the little machine in front of him, going back to redoing the wiring. His thoughts drift a little as his hands keep working, and despite his best efforts, he thinks about how nice it’d be to regress with Tsukasa. The older boy is just so so nice to spend time with, and he’s so strong! Rui loves getting piggy back rides or just being carried in general…
Rui doesn’t even notice as his hands start to drift, too caught up in the little fantasy of being held by Tsukasa, only brought back by a sharp flash of light, and a stinging pain on his hands. It takes a second to process, but looking down he sees his hands are red and hurting, and oh, he just electrocuted himself.
“Rui?! Are you okay?!” Tsukasa’s hovering over him before he even really digests what’s happened, and it’s all just too much for Rui, he can’t help but burst into tears. Rui wails, dropping hard into headspace from the pain and overstimulation, leaning towards Tsukasa’s never ending warmth. “Shh, shh, okay, it’s okay, Rui.” Tsukasa catches on quickly, wrapping his arms around Rui and pulling his head against his chest.
“Kasa!!!” Rui sobs, his hands feeling hot and achey with the fresh burn marks. Tsukasa kisses his scalp, looping his arms beneath Rui’s legs and picking him up, carrying him to the bathroom. Rui hiccups and sobs the whole way, shoving his face against Tsukasa’s neck. The older boy just continues to shush him, bouncing him up and down as he eases the bathroom door open.
“I know, shh, I know, lovely.” Tsukasa cooed, setting Rui down on the closed toilet seat. “Let me see your hands, baby?” Rui obliges, awkwardly holding out his hands, snuffling softly. “Yikes, that must really hurt, huh sweetheart? That’s ok, ‘Kasa will take care of you!” Tsukasa smiles, a soft, genuine smile, gently taking Rui’s injured hands in his own. He begins to humm softly, reaching under the sink to pull out the first aid kit. With the utmost care, Tsukasa rubbed some ointment into Rui’s hands, before bandaging them with the soft, cotton bandages Rui’s mom buys.
“‘M sorry…” Rui whimpered, eyes still brimming with tears. “Didn’ mean to…” Tsukasa sighed, a soft sound so full of affection, finishing off one of Rui’s hands before wrapping him up in his arms again. Oh, Tsukasa was so warm, Rui felt so good and safe, being held in those strong arms.
“Shhh, it’s alright, Rui. I know it wasn’t intentional, ‘Kasa knows.” Pulling away from the embrace, Tsukasa cups Rui’s face in his hands, peppering a few light kisses across his face, making the little giggle happily. “Oh? Does my baby like getting kissies?” Tsukasa runs his fingers across Rui’s sensitive midriff, tickling him as he keeps giggling and laughing, face flushed a light pink.
“Mmhehehe! ‘Kasa, wanna go play!!” Rui swatted at his hands, wincing as his still unbandaged hand made contact with Tsukasa’s. Tsukasa tsks, repicking up the bandage roll and taking Rui’s hand. “‘Kasa!! Play!!” Rui huffs, trying to squirm away from Tsukasa’s caring hand. He doesn’t care about his hands, they don’t even hurt that bad anymore!!
…When they’re not touching anything, and he’s not thinking about them, and the air isn’t touching them… Ok, maybe they hurt a little, but he doesn’t care!!
“Nuh uh, baby! We can go play when I’m done taking care of your little hands, okay?” Tsukasa says, staying stern despite Rui’s whining and pleading. The little one huffs and shuffles awkwardly on the toilet lid, very impatiently waiting for Tsukasa to finish wrapping his hand in the soft cotton. “Alright, there we go!!” Tsukasa grins, tucking the bandage into itself before gently sliding Rui’s hand into his own. “A few healing kissies, just to be safe!”
Rui’s face went a little red, smiling shyly and kicking his feet. “‘Kasa, play now??” He asks, looking down at Tsukasa as he puts the first aid kit back beneath the sink. He really wants to show Tsukasa his new game that he got that Nene was helping him with, and maybe they could color together!
“Yes, of course, sweetheart! Anything for my little comet!!” Rui giggles, opening up his arms and making grabby hands at Tsukasa, smiling widely. Slipping his arms under Rui’s legs once more, Tsukasa pulls his sweetheart back onto his hip, carrying Rui back into the garage with ease. “Hmm, what should we do first, my love?” Tsukasa asks, surveying all the nick-nacks strewn about the messy area.
Catching sight of the unfinished invention, Rui feels a hot burst of shame. Right, he wasn’t supposed to regress tonight, he was supposed to finish that robot… Squirming and whining, Tsukasa sets him back down on his own two feet, leaving him to shimmy over towards his desk. “Was s’pposed to finish tat…” Rui mumbles, looking at the burnt wires and blackened metal, embarrassed.
“Oh, starshine, don’t worry about it.” Tsukasa shushed, putting one of his hands on Rui’s slim shoulder. “It’s not your fault that you need a break, my darling! Say, I can help you out with it another time! Right now, though, my little baby should just have some fun!” Tsukasa pressed an obnoxious kiss to Rui’s temple, watching the little chew nervously on the sleeve of his sweater. He’s grateful they are both already dressed in their sleep wear, and Rui seems big enough to not need pull ups when they go to bed.
“M’tay…” Rui mumbled, letting Tsukasa turn him away from the scraps on his desk and towards a little area in the corner of the garage. With Tsukasa to help encourage and support his regression, he ended up making a special, tent-like nook in the far corner of the room. A thin purple sheet is pinned to the walls, spread in a way to make room beneath the flowy fabric. Thick carpet and blankets are piled on the floor, alongside some pillows and less-loved plushies. Wait, his plushie!!
“‘Kasa, wan’ m stuffie….” Rui tugs on the bottom of Tsukasa’s sweater, his words muffled by the sleeve still in his mouth. Tsukasa brightens, quickly running over to the couch and picking up the large, stuffed platypus. It was by far Rui’s favorite stuffie, big enough to wrap his whole body around and feel small. “Mm, ‘ank you ‘Kasa!” Rui takes his sleeve out of his mouth, eagerly hugging the plush to his chest.
“Of course, starlight! Now, would you like to play?” Tsukasa got onto his knees, gesturing for Rui to do the same as he pulled back the lavender sheet, letting Rui clamber into the soft fort area. Tsukasa sat with his back pressed against the wall, arms spread wide for Rui to fall into, which the little did with an airy giggle.
“Mhm, Nee-nee got me a new game!!” Rui clumsily reached for his small gaming console that was plugged in, platypus plushie lazily resting against his chest. “‘ts kinda hard, though… Need Nee-nee’s help a lot…” Rui mumbled, opening up the game as Tsukasa rested his chin on his shoulder.
“Mm, Nee-nee is very good at games, I know.” Tsukasa loves the little moments like these, where Rui’s happy and cozy, he just wants to coo and kiss at him until he melts. He watches Rui go through the levels in relative quiet, humming and babbling softly at the bright colors. “Is it fun, my starfire?” He hums as Rui beats another level, cheery music playing.
“Uh huh! Mm, really like this game…” Despite his words, Rui’s playing gets a little sloppy, and his ability to beat the levels seems to be getting worse. His thumbs drag across the joycons, the cutesy little character walking aimlessly in one direction as Rui turns his head into Tsukasa’s chest.
“Oh my love, are you sleepy?” Tsukasa asks, getting nothing but an unintelligible babble from his sweet boy. Rui drops the console entirely after a moment, bringing his sleeve back to his mouth and holding the platypus closer to his chest. “Alright, darling. I think it’s bedtime.” Tsukasa shifts Rui to face him, hooking his long legs around his waist and standing up, pulling Rui back into the air.
“Noooo…” Rui whines, but he makes no move to be put down, accepting being carried despite seemingly complaining about it. Tsukasa shook his head, patting Rui’s back before setting him onto the armrest of the sofa.
“Okay, baby, I’m gonna pull out the couch bed for us to sleep on, yeah?” Tsukasa drawls, thinking the boy would appreciate just sleeping down here instead of going all the way up to his actual bedroom. “Do you wanna wear a pull up tonight, honey?” Rui’s cheeks go hot, and he quickly shakes his head no, whining about it despite knowing the question was warranted. Accidents were frequent when Rui regressed, especially while sleeping. “Alright then, but that means you have to go potty now!” He chides, working on moving the cushions to get to the pull out mattress.
“Mkay…” Rui huffs, shuffling his feet as he heads to the bathroom. Once the bed is pulled out, Tsukasa grabs a few blankets from the bin beside the couch, courtesy of Rui’s mom once again, and tosses them over the mattress, throw pillows and couch cushions lining the top of it. Rui’s back quickly, eager to crawl onto the bed and throw his body around his platypus.
“Ready to sleep, my little love?” Tsukasa asks as he settles down beside him, pulling him into his chest. Rui whines, shaking his head and pouting up at Tsukasa. “No? What is it, my meteor?”
“Can we watch cartoons?” Rui mumbled, giving Tsukasa his biggest puppy dog eyes. Sighing lovingly, Tsukasa reaches for his phone, pulling up the last cartoon they had been watching a few weeks ago, delighting in the way Rui lit up at the sight of it. “‘Ank you, ‘Kasa!!” Rui snuggled close to Tsukasa’s chest, eyes slowly drifting shut after just a few moments. Rolling his eyes, he let his own eyes close too, content to rest with his little sweetheart for the night.