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It was night, and almost everyone in the dark pit of despair was already asleep. Bubble Wrap was one of the people left awake, and she was in the corner she always sat in. She felt little, sucking on her pacifier and hugging her stuffed toy. Bubble Wrap had always wanted to tell someone about her age regression, but she was always scared that people would be weirded out by her. And she was even more scared of anyone on her team thinking about her like that, especially Ukulele..
Bubble Wrap had a blanket near her, but she was too tired to grab it. She curled up, trying to go to sleep. Bubble Wrap felt herself becoming more tired, her eyelids closing. She dozed off, silently hoping that nobody would see her like this tomorrow.
".. Bubble Wrap?"
Bubble Wrap shot up, her eyes opening, alarmed by being called by her name. Her eyes darted around until she spotted Malachite, standing right in front of her. He looked slightly concerned.
Crap.
Bubble Wrap still had the pacifier in her mouth and her stuffie was still in her arms, how the heck could she explain that?! She felt her anxiety levels rise up immediately, her body tensing up. What if Malachite tells everyone? What if he gets weirded out? Wha..
"I.. um." Malachite kept up the awkward silence for a few more seconds before speaking up again. "Hey, little one." He smiled and approached Bubble Wrap, sitting down next to her.
Much to Bubble Wraps surprise, he didn't seem weirded out at all, though she still didn’t make any eye contact with him out of nervousness. Malachite scooted closer to her, his voice soft. "How are you feeling?"
Bubble Wrap became slightly more comfortable as soon as Malachite sat down next to her. She hesitantly got her pacifier out from her mouth, putting it next to her. "I.. I-I’m okay..." Bubble Wraps voice was quieter and softer than usual.
“How long have you been just.. sitting here by yourself?” Malachite asked, frowning just slightly.
Bubble Wrap stuttered a bit before replying. “I dunno.” She said, still looking at the floor and avoiding eye contact with Malachite. She clutched onto her stuffie, holding it close to her.
“Ah, I.. see.” Malachite cleared his throat again. ‘God, I’m making this really awkward..’, he thought to himself. He has never taken care of someone who was age regressed before. He sighed and turned to Bubble Wrap. “Well.. it’s getting late, little one. How about we go to sleep, hm? You must be very tired.”
Bubble Wrap finally looked up at Malachite. She took a while before replying. “m-mhm.. Yeah.” She smiled a little bit before grabbing her blanket and handing over it to Malachite. ”C-could you.. um..”
Malachite took the soft blanket from Bubble Wraps hands gently, feeling it in his hands. “You want me to wrap you up?” Bubble Wrap nodded and scooted up closer to him. Malachite unfolded it, tucking Bubble Wrap in. “There we go. Nice and snug.” He patted her head gently.
Bubble Wrap made herself more comfortable in the safety of her blanket and yawned. She was getting more and more sleepy as the seconds passed. Malachite noticed that and laughed quietly, finding her precious in this state. “Awh, is someone getting sleepy?” He teased her just a bit. “Don’t worry, it’s okay. You can sleep.”
Bubble Wrap nodded slowly, grabbing her stuffie and holding it close to her on the blanket she was wrapped up in. But she just felt like she didn’t want to go to sleep yet, even if she was exhausted. She stared up at Malachite.
“Hm?” Malachite saw Bubble Wrap staring up at him. He felt that awkward feeling come back from earlier. He didn’t say anything, but he saw Bubble Wrap holding her stuffie tighter and her face turning slightly red, probably from embarrassment. He tried to guess what she wanted, since it didn’t look like she would speak up any time soon.
“Alright, I’ll just guess what you want. uuh..” Malachite stayed quiet, thinking about what Bubble Wrap would currently want. An idea popped up in his head, maybe Bubble Wrap would like it. “Do you want to cuddle? We- don’t have to if you don’t wa-” Malachite was cut off by Bubble Wrap clinging onto him. He struggled a bit to breathe due to how hard she gripped onto him. “AH-.. I’m gonna.. take that as a yes, but, please don’t squeeze me this hard..!”
Bubble Wrap let go of Malachite, allowing him to breathe. “A-ah.. sowwy..”
Malachite just chuckled and smiled at her. “It’s fine, no need to apologize. If you wanted me to hold you, you could’ve just said so. You don’t have to be embarrassed.” Malachite opened his arms, allowing Bubble Wrap to snuggle up against him.
Bubble Wrap immediately went into his arms. She felt more relaxed as Malachite wrapped his arms around her, snuggling up a bit closer to him. Malachite put the blanket over her and rubbed her back, soothing her. “Shh.. shh.. You’re okay. You’re safe, Bubble Wrap. I’ll stay here and look after you while you sleep.”
Bubble Wrap nuzzled Malachite, slowly closing her eyes. She mumbled quietly, slowly beginning to fall asleep. “mmnh.. Night night, Mala..”
Malachite smiled again, holding Bubble Wrap a bit more tight than before. He sighed and gave Bubble Wrap a soft kiss on her forehead. “Goodnight, little sis.”
Little sister.. Yeah, Bubble Wrap liked being called that. She nuzzled Malachite once again before falling asleep, comfortable in his arms.
Malachite could get used to this.