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After dinner time ended and everyone was settling down for the day Paintbrush suggested painting with Fan while he was regressed. They didn’t do stuff like this too often but they needed a fun distraction for a while. Fan agreed and was extremely excited, even if he had a bit of trouble showing it. He could be a bit shy when he was little, mostly out of getting used to being around people; it took him a long time to tell anyone about this part of him.
Paintbrush was setting up some painting supplies while Fan helped clean some paintbrushes. Once everything was set up (and music was put on in the background on the tv,) they started deciding what they should paint. Fan was struggling to think of something but quickly got to work when he did. Paintbrush was starting to sketch out what they wanted to paint and didn’t pay too much mind to what Fan was doing.
About 10 minutes pass and Paintbrush finally has their sketch finished, it was just something simple to get them started. They look over at Fan and wince seeing what he’d gotten up to.
“What are you doing!?” They ask, almost in horror.
“ ‘m painting a fish!!” He says looking up at them, becoming a bit weary once he sees their expression. He was painting with his fingers rather than the paintbrush he helped clean off. He thought it’d be better for the scales.
”You have to use a paintbrush! You’re getting paint everywhere.” They were rather stressed about Fan not doing it correctly, they were taught to not make messes and do things properly. How could he be so careless?
”buh dis way you can give the fishy scales..” Fan says cautiously, not understanding why he couldn’t paint his own way.
”But you-“ Paintbrush paused. They look at Fan’s worried expression and try to rationalize their feelings a bit. He didn’t know any better, he wanted to paint like they did. Art’s subjective, so is how you make it. Maybe it wasn’t so bad. “Just.. try not to get it too much on the carpet, ‘kay? OJ will kill me.” They say in a softer tone. Maybe it was okay to just let things happen sometimes..
”mhm!” Fan was still a little off put but went back to painting his fish. He painted the head green, the scales blue and yellow, and the tail purple. He wasn’t going for a specific species just whatever his brain could come up with.
Paintbrush looks over as Fan’s painting, feeling stressed from being unable to mix the right color they needed. Seeing him painting so freely made them feel a little envious. He didn’t seem to care about exact placement or color, he was just having fun. Maybe fun is okay; even if things get a little messed up.
They set their canvas aside and grab a sheet of Fan’s paper he was using to paint. They stare down at it and pick up a paintbrush, they look over at Fan’s fish and try to think of something to paint. They decided on a whale, something they’ve never painted before.
Why on paper? So both of the paintings could go next to each other on the fridge of course! OJ updated the rooms to have a decent mini fridge.
After about 30 minutes Paintbrush was starting to finish up, they were trying to let themselves just relax a bit and paint for the fun of it. Sure if wasn’t their best work, but that’s okay. They were pretty stressed about trying to make it look good while still not trying to hard.
”Woah!! Painty! Yours wooks so pretty!” Fan exclaims looking over at their painting, he was already working on another fish of his own. He was genuinely fascinated by their whale.
”Oh- It’s not the best but uh.. thanks.” They mumble, feeling a bit ashamed of it. Though Fans enthusiasm helped them feel a bit better about it.
”nuhuh.. don’t say dat..” He was pretty upset how dismissive they were about their painting. He genuinely thought it was an amazing painting, it made him sad to see them so unconfident.
They look over at him, seeing that sad look on his face. For a second it felt okay to be imperfect. Not everything had to be their best work yet, they should really try and just enjoy their hobby more.
”Yknow.. yeah. You’re right.” Paintbrush mutters out, looking back down at their work. It wasn’t so bad. It looked quite nice actually. “You almost done?”
”amost..” He says while going back to his fish, he was happy they changed their mind about the whale painting. He adds a face to his fish and a few hearts around it. Now it was perfect. After giving it one last look over the painting he held it up for paintbrush to see “all done!”
They were a bit surprised he was done so fast but smiled as he held up the finished artwork. “Looks awesome bud. You wanna add a signature on it? That way everyone knows the artist who made this masterpiece.” They suggested, wanting to teach Fan some painter educate.
”Oooh…” Fan liked that idea and grabbed one of his crayons to write his name on the bottom of the page. “like fhis??”
”Mhm! Great job. Why don’t you do that to the other one too, we can put them both on the fridge.” Paintbrush could get used to spending time with regressed Fan.
They both finished up and Paintbrush walks over to put the finished pieces on the mini fridge; Fan following close behind. Fan excitedly rocked back and forth on his heels seeing his paintings displayed by Paintbrush’s. A feeling a pride washed over him.
“Looks good, huh?” Paintbrush comments, proud of Fans work and proud of themself for trying something new.
”We did awesomes!!!” Fan says excitedly, still admiring their work. He really liked hanging out with Paintbrush.
After a moment Paintbrush has a bit of an idea. Hoping Fan would find it fun. “Wanna get a treat and watch something?” They suggested, knowing Fan didn’t have dessert or anything after dinner.
Fan nods enthusiastically and rushed over to the drawer where they kept snacks in their room. Paintbrush went over and opened the drawer, letting Fan pick what he wanted. Fan chose some chocolate he really liked and paintbrush grabbed blue raspberry sour candy.
The two decided to make a comfy area on the floor in front of their beds to watch TV. There were a good stack of extra blankets and pillows in each room that Soap always made sure to keep cleaned and organized. They spent a few hours watching a old Jerma stream. Both Fan and Paintbrush liked Jerma and it usually wasn’t too inappropriate. Fan tended to still enjoy shows or YouTubers while little even if they weren’t entirely kid friendly.
Bedtime soon rolled around and Fan was starting to fall asleep. Paintbrush could tell since he wasn’t really saying much. They decide to get him to wind down for bed so he wouldn’t be exhausted tomorrow from staying up too late. It was rare he went to bed early so maybe being small would help him get proper sleep. They stand up and grab their snack; closing the bag.
“You done with your snack kiddo?” They ask, kneeling down and pointing to the chocolate. Fan didn’t quite eat the whole thing so there was some left over. Paintbrush thought if they took away the snacks, got Fan ready for bed and then let him finish what they were watching in bed he’d fall asleep.
”Mhm..” Fan nods, currently cuddling up with his favorite stuffed animal. He felt like he could fall asleep any second.
Paintbrush picks up the chocolate and wrapped it back up in the foil. They walk over to the drawer carefully as to not trip on the pillows and blankets. After putting the snacks away they walk back over and crouch down beside Fan again.
“How about we go get ready for bed and finish the video all comfy in bed?” They ask, hoping Fan would agree. He could be stubborn sometimes when it came to sleeping.
”mmmm…” Fan whined, not wanting to get up. Getting ready felt like too much work.
”Cmon, don’t you wanna get in your fun pajamas?” Paintbrush thought reminding him of his favorite pajamas when he’s little would help convince him.
”…Okyyyy.” He mumbles before getting up, rubbing his eyes tiredly. His plushy was still in his arms, he liked bringing it with him as company.
They lead him to the bathroom and hands him his toothbrush. “Make sure to get the back of your teeth too.” They remind him before going to brush their own teeth.
Fan nodded sleepily and started brushing his teeth. At a second glance Paintbrush realized he didn’t put any toothpaste on the toothbrush. They tap him on the shoulder before grabbing Fan’s toothpaste and handing it to him.
He takes it and puts some on his toothbrush. No wonder brushing bad felt kinda weird before.
Once all teeth were brushed and Paintbrush’s hair was taken care of; they could change into night time clothes. Paintbrush guided Fan over to his dresser and pulled out two pairs of pajamas.
“Cats or stars?” Paintbrush asked, having a hunch on which one he’d pick.
“Ummmmm…” Fan took a minute to look at the choices. He wasn’t sure which one he wanted to pick, they were both his favorites. “..stars.”
“Thought so,” They smirked slight and put the cat ones back and hand the other to Fan. “Alright go change.”
Fan walked off to the bathroom and got dressed into his pajamas. He came out and had messed up doing the buttons, they were all in the hole above the right one. Doing buttons while sleepy was a challenge.
Paintbrush got changed quickly while Fan was in the bathroom, just wearing a comfy t-shirt and pajama shorts. They notice his shirt was buttoned up wrong and call him over.
”Cmere.” They help fix the buttons once Fan was standing in front of them. It took a minute but it looked much more comfortable afterwards.
“tank you…” He mutters, he really appreciated their help. Sometimes he struggled with things regressed.
”no problem bud, go get comfy in bed.” Paintbrush ruffled his hair a bit and follow him over. They decided to tuck him in since they assumed kids liked that. All they did was make sure Fan had his plush and teether to chew on then tuck the blanket around him. It felt kind of sweet honestly, they feel more at ease with little Fan. This whole regressing thing was easier to care for than they thought. “Good?”
”mhm..” Fan nodded against his stuffed animal, still sleepily looking up at them. “gnight baba…” He mumbles, using a nickname he’s only called Paintbrush a few times. He gave his favorite caretakers parental names like mama or papa, he called them baba.
Paintbrush smiled softly, thinking the nickname was adorable. “Good night little guy.” They give him a small shoulder rub before going back to their own bed.
Now that they were both comfy Paintbrush turned the TV back on at a quiet volume. Once the video ended they looked over to check on Fan and see he’s fast asleep. Knowing they got him to bed made them feel pretty accomplished. They turn the TV off and pull the covers up.
The hotel room went silent as they both slept. Only the noises of soft breathing or light outside noise from other contestants filled the room.