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“I’m– I’m not a little, Dandy.” He says, wishing for everything that he could sound more confident. Because– because, he isn’t a little. He isn't. It had said so, typed neatly on the papers handed to him after his classification: neutral. No major markers of being a little or a caregiver.
Dandy, on the other hand, is a flip. C2-L2. It makes sense, really. Once you look past the bright smiles and jokes, he genuinely can be just a kid who wants to be good. Sprout doesn’t mind that side of him. He knows that Astro normally takes care of him, then, which is good. Sprout wouldn’t want to be responsible for that – reminder, he’s neutral.
Dandy’s caregiver side, though…
“C’mon, Sprout. Won’t you just let me try?” He’s standing there, looking completely innocent, hands clasped near his waist.
“Dandy–” He sighs, looking down. He doesn’t understand why–
“Sunshine, wont’cha just give me a chance?”
He really won’t drop this, will he? Sprout rubs his hands over his eyes. Jesus christ.
“...Okay, Dandy.” He says, refusing to look back up at him. He can’t believe he’s going to let him do this. At least his parents aren’t home.
“Oh– thank you! Hah, I didn’t think you’d actually say yes. But I’m glad! Really.” Dandy sounds… happy, relieved, past his surprise.
“...but,” Sprout says, putting a finger to Dandy’s chest. “If it– when it doesn’t work. You have to promise me that you won’t bring this up ever again. You’ll stop with all of the– the caregiver bullshit.” He takes a deep, shaky breath. “Okay?”
Dandy smiles at him – not his fake smile he uses with his parents and teachers, but his real one. Smaller. Kinder.
“Okay, sweetheart. Whatever you need.”
Dandy calling him pet names is nothing new, but it's usually something to tease him. Sweetheart is… weird. It makes his stomach turn, almost like a seesaw. Flip-flop.
It’s not like this will work, he reminds himself. He’s neutral. But– Dandy will stop, after this. He’ll give it up, and they can go back to normal – back to six months ago, before Sprout’s stupid classification. He thinks… that Dandy was expecting him to come back as something else. Something other than neutral.
He didn’t, though.
Dandy sits down next to him. His hair is a bit faded, but still dyed rainbow, outside of his brown roots. He’s shorter than Sprout, so he has to lean to look up at him. Sprout could pick him up easily. He knows that littles can be any shape or size, but to him, being tall just makes him feel even less like he could be one.
“Sprout? You okay?” Dandy asks, and Sprout nods. He pushes his hands into the mattress. He’s fine.
“I'm fine.” He confirms out-loud, and Dandy’s eyebrows scrunch up, but he doesn't say anything.
“...Okay, Sprout. Can you lay down for me?” He gently pushes him towards the side of the bed against the wall. Sprout lets him.
Just once. Then Dandy will leave him alone.
“There you are,” Dandy says, voice sounding all– all sweet, all like he cares. Sprout is laying there awkwardly, unsure of what to do with his arms or legs. But Dandy lays right up next to him, his back to the rest of the room. Keeping it all away from Sprout. He doesn't have to worry about it if he can't see it, right?
But he can see Dandy. That's– all he can see, actually.
“I want you to try and just focus on me, ‘kay? You don’t need to think about anything else. I’ll take care of it.”
That's dumb, he wants to say, but he only nods.
He can try. So Dandy stops bothering him.
Dandy puts a hand on his cheek, stroking softly. It feels nice. Sprout brings his knees up to his chest, tucking them into himself as much as he can. Dandy runs a finger up and down his nose, slow, soft. It tickles.
“You’re so beautiful,” He says, voice softer than Sprout has ever heard it. He tries to see the finger on his nose, crossing his eyes, and Dandy laughs softly.
“Are you trying to see me? Hm?” He asks, pulling his finger back and then tapping Sprout’s nose, once, twice. “You’re so precious.”
Is he? He doesn’t think he is. Precious means small, and cute, and good. And maybe little. He’s all big and long and grown-up, and that's not precious. Right?
But, if Dandy thinks so…
Sprout bites his lip, ‘cause he isn’t sure. He looks at Dandy’s chest, ‘cause looking him in the eyes seems too hard right now. Too much. His eyes are all gooey looking at Sprout, all emotional with stuff he doesn't understand.
“Oh–” Dandy breathes, “You don’t believe me.”
He sounds real sad now, like he wants Sprout to think he's precious, too. He really wants to tuck his face into Dandy’s shirt, but he doesn’t want to be weird. That’d be weird, right? Probably.
Dandy puts a hand in his hair, hesitantly. Sprout freezes.
He always tells everyone to not touch his hair. He doesn’t like it. Kind of? It makes him feel all– all weird, and fuzzy around the edges, and he doesn’t like it. But Dandy is being ever so gentle – just fingers brushing gently through the little short curly hairs near his neck. His hair is still in a ponytail, which means that Dandy can’t get to most of it.
Sprout reaches back to undo it, but Dandy grabs his wrist. “I’ve got it, sweetheart,” He says, sounding as gooey as he looks. Sprout isn’t sure. It makes him shiver, as Dandy strokes over the back of his neck before pulling his hair tie out. Gently. It doesn’t pull or hurt at all.
And then he sets one hand fully in his hair, and–
The fuzziness in his chest builds up, up, up–
He sucks in a breath, overwhelmed, feeling like he's spinning, on a carousel going faster and faster–
And Dandy is right there, he's the only thing keeping him from flying away, but why isn’t he closer, he has to grab on so he doesn't fall–
And then he’s crying, and he wraps his long, long arms all around Dandy ‘cause he isn’t closer, and he needs him closer, and his hand is in his hair, and why has he never let him do this before? And he’s still crying, sniffling, and Dandy is saying something, but he can’t understand it, he just knows he’s safe, in Dandy’s arms-hands-shirt, tucking himself as small and as close to him as he can manage.
Sprout is a little.
Dandy’s had his suspicions, sure, but–
Sprout is really, 100%, a little.
He’s crying in his arms, whining softly, and Dandy puts a hand on his cheek – encouraging him to look up. He thumbs away a tear on his cheek. “I’m here, Sprout. I’m here.” He says, and then, he looks at Sprout.
Really, really looks at him.
He’s slipped. His eyes are foggy and wet, cheeks red, and he’s– he’s small.
He’s overwhelmed, suddenly, because now he has– hm. Not a baby, but a toddler, maybe? In his arms, and all of a sudden he’s crying, too. “There you are,” He says, and Sprout blinks, confused. “There’s my boy.”
Sprouts eyebrows scrunch up all cute-like, and he reaches up to clumsily wipe at his eyes, seemingly done crying for now.
“Let me help you, sweetheart,” He says, taking his shirt and cleaning Sprout's eyes and nose. “Let's wipe alll of those tears away, cutie.” He says, with a small smile. He needs to be gentle – Sprout shouldn’t come up so quickly. Not after dropping for the first time.
That he knows of, at least. He has known him since middle school, but… Sprout doesn’t like talking about himself. Or about anything classifications-related.
He wonders what kind of little he is. L2, maybe. If he’s an L3, that would have been a lot harder to hide. He wonders why it didn’t show up in his classification assessment. It should have, especially considering how old he seems – three or four, maybe. A bit younger than Astro is at his littlest.
Right now, though, Sprout needs him. They can talk the specifics later.
“D–,” Sprout says, voice pitched up just a bit. “Dandy?”
“I’m here, sunshine. I’m right here.” He says, running his fingers through Sprouts hair. He should have known – all of his "don't touch my hair” complaining…
It was because it makes him feel small.
“I don't…” Sprout whimpers, pressing against Dandy even more.
“Hey, hey– it's okay, sweetheart. I know you're overwhelmed. But I'm right here, ‘kay? I’ll take care of you.”
“What… what just happened?” Sprout asks as if in a daze. Makes sense, considering he’s been little for the past – Dandy glances over to his phone, his lockscreen now a sleepy Sprout cuddling on his chest – three hours. Time flies when your friend finds their littlespace, huh?
Dandy laughs softly, cupping his cheek. “Well… first, I think ya should request a reclassification, sunshine.”