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Tsukishima had walked in front of Yamaguchi for only a second and soon the sound of shoes scrapping pavement could be heard. There was a thud, the sound of papers falling out of a book. Whimpers and then a loud sob.
He sighed and turned around seeing Yamaguchi on the ground, sitting on his butt, looking at his freshly scraped knees.
“You’re too clumsy for your own good, Yamaguchi.” He crossed his arms and looked down at the boy. Usually by now Yamaguchi would be trying to brush himself off and collect his things, but he only just sat and continued to cry.
The blonde haired boy knew that something was up by this point. Something had shifted.
“T-Tuskki! It h-hurts!” He sobbed rubbing his watering eyes.
The blood on Yamaguchi's knees was starting to dry to his skin.
Tsukishima sighed again before kneeling down in front of him.
“Yams,”
His voice changed tone, it was much softer and less harsh than it normally is.
“Do you need help?”
Yamaguchi nodded instantly, stammering and trying to catch his breath from all the crying.
“Shh, It’s okay.” He hushed.
Tsukishima knew at this point. He knew that Yamaguchi was regressed now. Honestly he knew that it was going to happen sooner or later, this fall just happened to trigger it.
Yamaguchi had a tendency to regress to regulate his emotions and negative thoughts. Lately he had been pushing back his one and only healthy coping skill. He was waiting for it to build up and break. And here it was.
The blonde removed his bag from his shoulder, opening it and shuffling through. Pulling out a first aid kit that he always carried around, just moments like this. Opening the kit and placing it on the ground next to him, he grabbed a disinfectant wipe packet. He tore open the wipe and rubbed it gently over Yamaguchi's knees.
This only caused the green haired boy to cry harder due to the stinging.
“I know it hurts, it’ll be better soon.”
“P-promise?..” Yamaguchi pouted, tears and snot running down his face.
It was gross for sure, but Tsukishima knew that he couldn’t help it right now.
“I promise.”
Tsukishima then reached back into the first aid kit and grabbed two decently sized bandages for the others' knees.
Slowly peeling off the paper and sticking them down softly on Yamaguchi's scraped skin.
Yamaguchi watched him, hiccuping a sob every so often and running his wet cheeks with his palms.
“See, all better.”
He placed the trash into the first aid kit, making a mental note to remember to throw those out later. Putting it back into his bag and zipping it up he noticed that Yamaguchi stayed sitting on the sidewalk.
“Doesn’t that feel better, Yams?”
He only nodded, seeming to have now put his thumb into his mouth to soothe himself.
It took Tsukishima a lot of willpower to not pull his thumb out of the boy's mouth. He hated when he would suck his thumb with dirty hands. For now he let it slide concerning the fall he just took.
He was wondering how long this regression was going to last. The two of them were on their way to school and Tsukishima was unsure if it was a good idea for Yamaguchi to go when feeling like this. He really didn’t want to miss school but also did not want to leave his friend here like this.
He figured that it was possible for this to last a few hours since Yamaguchi was repressing this for so long.
“Do you want to go back home?”
The boy nodded and reached out his other hand for Tsukishima to grab.
Tsukishima let out a soft huff through his nose before grabbing ahold of Yamaguchi's hand and pulling them both up to their feet. He had to let go of his hand just for a second to pick up the book and papers that were still laying on the sidewalk.
He held them close to his chest as he opened Yamaguchi's bag and stuffed them in there.
Looking back at Yamaguchi's face he seemed to be crying again.
“Why are you crying? Don’t your knees feel better.”
He only nodded and said nothing.
Tsukishima thought that he was probably dealing with all his teenage emotions that were leaking into his tiny brain.
“It’s okay.”
He reached out and took his hand as the two of them turned around and started to walk back to Yamaguchi's house.
—
Yamaguchi cried silently all the way home. Tsukishima talked to him softly, making sure that he knew it was okay and that he was safe. He was pretty used to this song and dance by this point. He has been taking care of a regressed yamaguchi for almost a year now.
The two walked up to the front door of Yamaguchi's home and stepped inside. His parents were at work so the two of them could have some quiet time.
Yamaguchi let go of Tsukishima's hand and removed his own thumb from his mouth. He slipped his bag off his shoulder. His school blazer followed before he kicked off his shoes and ran to his room.
Tsukishima sighed and straightened up his shoes and hung his and Yamaguchi's bag up before picking up the blazer. He followed the boy's footsteps to his room.
Yamaguchi had already changed into some of his favorite pyjamas and was sitting on his bed. The shirt was backwards but Tsukishima did his best to ignore that. He replaced his thumb for the pacifier that the blonde had bought him a few months ago. He couldn’t help but smile slightly. He was glad he liked it.
“You look better.”
Tsukishima walked over and sat down beside Yamaguchi. He had folded up the blazer and placed it neatly on the edge of the bed.
Yamaguchi nodded before picking up a stuffed animal and playing with its limbs.
He was glad that he was feeling better. It was a relief that his mind and body were being given a break at this moment.
Tsukishima hummed in thought before getting up and kneeling in front of the TV. His eyes skimmed the rows of movies and series before picking one out that was Yamaguchi's favorite.
Strawberry shortcake.
He opened the case and slipped the CD into the DVD player and pressed play before taking a seat back on the bed.
“Look, Yams, it’s strawberry.”
“SRAWBEWY!” Yamaguchi squealed happily through the pacifier in his mouth. His hands flapping excitedly.
Tsukishima chuckled softly.