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Jacob is only really at peace when he's with his family. He's even more at peace when he's with Solo, somewhere in a hotel room, regressed. Ever since that day in the locker, they've gotten even closer somehow, and Jacob wouldn't have it any other way. Nine times out of ten, Solo can tell when his cousin is regressed before even the man himself can. Such as today, when Jacob couldn't figure out why he was struggling to tie his shoes, and his cousin swooped in, kneeling down next to him to help, cooing at him softly. He used to feel helpless when he got like this, it was horrible every time he'd get that fuzzy feeling in his head. With Solo, it's different. He's happy, content. He adores being his cousin's little wolf, it makes him feel important.
They're currently laying down on a hotel bed, Solo scratching softly at the top of Jacob's neck, just below his hair. Roman had left for a date with his boys the moment they got all of their belongings situated in the room, and Jacob practically collapsed onto the bed. He's tired, and being little only makes it worse. It's not something that would be fixed by a nap, it's bone deep, but dammit he's going to try.
“Jacob?”
Jacob hums in acknowledgement, not lifting his face from where he's buried into a pillow. Solo stops the movement of his nails, and Jacob whines until his cousin chuckles and continues.
“You feeling ok? You're a lot quieter than normal.”
It's true, he supposes. Usually he's bouncing off the walls, and even when he's not, when he's calm and relaxed, he's still loud, demanding attention even without meaning to. There's just something different about how he feels right now. There's the familiar feeling of being small, of wanting his cousin to protect him, but there's something else. Something deeper, making his words hard and his head fuzzier than normal. He must have taken too long to answer because Solo pokes him in the cheek, Jacob groaning at the loss of the scratching at his skin. He lifts his head up to look at his cousin, seeing Solo staring at him with his eyebrows furrowed in concern.
“Are you sick?” Solo reaches forward to place the back of his hand on Jacob's forehead, pressing his lips together when he feels his skin is a normal temperature. Jacob can't quite respond, instead he nuzzles his forehead against Solo's hand, closing his eyes while he does so. “Is talking hard right now, cub?”
The nickname makes his head fuzzier, but he doesn't mind, it's a nice kind of fuzzy. Solo usually calls him something along the lines of little wolf when he's regressed, but it's the first time he's used cub, and Jacob lets out a pleased hum at the name. He's still leaning against his cousin's outstretched hand, and he nods, wiggling forward to get closer to the other man.
“You want cuddles, cub?”
Jacob nods again, pressing his side against Solo's stomach, smiling. It reminds him of when he was, psychically anyway, a child, laying on the bed with his cousin during a sleepover, staying up too late and giggling at anything and everything, telling each other to be quiet in hushed whispers. He's brought out of his thoughts by Solo scratching at the edge of his hair again, and he melts into the mattress. He doesn't know how else to describe it, but he feels less like a little kid right now, and more like a little animal, a wolf cub, that needs someone to look after it. He knows Solo doesn't mind having that job, doesn't mind looking after his family, no matter the circumstances. He closes his eyes again, sighing in content, and tucks his head against Solo's chest to be able to hear his heartbeat. It soothes him enough that he finds himself nodding off to sleep, head fuzzy and peaceful as he does so, feeling as protected as he could possibly be.
Solo angles his head down to kiss the top of Jacob's head and smiles, closing his own eyes too. “Sleep well, little cub.”