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Hiro hasn't been this excited in a couple of months. Tadashi planned to be in his lab at SFIT until late that night. That provided more than enough time to regress.
Stuffed animals dropped to the floor as Hiro set up his temporary play area. The most loved plushies sat at the end of the bed, and coloring supplies were scattered on the floor. He didn't have much, since his regression was still new, but it was enough to keep him happy.
"Alright, TJ," groaned Hiro, lifting himself off the floor. "I think that's it."
TJ was the stuffed dragon he snuck out from under his bed every night. Only cuddling him long after his brother fell asleep. Tadashi, to Hiro's surprise, hasn't noticed. He might not even know Hiro has the plush.
Reaching for his phone, he finds his pockets empty. Hiro spins on his socked feet, letting out a sigh that's far more dramatic than necessary. In his search, he almost misses Tadashi walking home.
He doesn't want to say he's disappointed, but it's been over a month since Hiro has regressed. Even though he tries not to rely on it too much, he acknowledges that this time he won't feel fully relaxed until he indulges. A sigh, more dramatic than the last, escapes him as he is forced to put away all his plans.
Tadashi marched up the creaking stairs, making himself known by mumbling irritably. Hiro was already on edge, so the last thing he needed was an angry brother bothering him. He glared at Tadashi, a glint of annoyance in his eye. Though it wasn't fully directed at him. Mostly directed at the chance that dissolved right before he could take it.
"There was a small explosion in the lab. We can't go back in for a week or so while they do repairs."
Met with silence, Tadashi rolled his eyes before placing his bag down and stepping towards Hiro.
"You ok?" he asked, but no answer came.
After putting his hand on Hiro's cheek, he gradually turned the boy's head from his focus on the desk. The moment his eyes met Tadashi's, he freed his face from the other's hand and went back to looking under piles of notes and sketches.
"Whoa... Dude, it's not my fault things exploded," he laughed in an attempt to lighten Hiro's mood.
"I know."
Hiro snatched his phone from under a set of sketches, not looking at him. Rolling his eyes once more, Tadashi wandered to his side of the room with his bag. A sigh escaped Hiro before he rolled his chair to his laptop. Minecraft opened on the screen, and Hiro got to playing.
Tadashi glanced up from his laptop, squinting at Hiro in suspicion. He'd been silent since he opened his own computer. That wasn't like him in the slightest. Hiro normally talked up a storm when Tadashi got home, even when upset. He always tried to wiggle out of working in the cafe when he could, so he didn't talk much (unless it was to himself, or to others online) until the other came home.
After a moment of pondering if his brother would throw something at him for sitting right next to him to watch, Tadashi put away his work. It was worth the risk. Getting a bruise to make sure Hiro was ok.
"What're you doin'?"
Hiro yelped, yanking his hands from his keyboard.
"Dude, don't scare me like that!"
Taking a seat in the beanbag next to Hiro's desk, Tadashi played with the Rubik's Cube he had gifted to Hiro.
"And what do you mean 'What are you doing'? I'm playing Minecraft," Hiro gestured to his screen.
His voice sounded softer than it had half an hour ago. Along with how he almost sounded genuinely confused by the question. This caught Tadashi's attention, and he put the puzzle back on the desk. He definitely was keeping a close eye on Hiro now.
"I can see that. I meant, what are you doing in Minecraft?"
"I'm making a barn for my sheep!"
As Hiro heard his words, he realized he was half regressed. His voice came out more excited and childlike than expected. That's when the panic set in. Not much, but enough for his mind to get the smallest bit fuzzier.
"That's fun."
Tadashi glanced at Hiro, having to look twice at the stark contrast in emotion. Hiro's smile quickly dropped.
"Hey, you ok?" His voice was gentle with concern.
"Oh, yeah. I'm fine," Hiro faltered, and it was somehow believable to Tadashi.
Tadashi assumed he was overreacting. He's tried hard not to be too pushy or controlling of Hiro. However, he started second-guessing himself as Hiro got up and reached under his bed, retrieving a stuffed purple dragon. Clinging to it with nervousness, Hiro shuffled back to his chair and unpaused his game.
Feeling he should approach this situation with care, Tadashi leaned over to him and inspected the dragon. He looked for an aspect of the plush he could complement, as he would with a child's stuffed toy.
"Who's this? I haven't seen him before."
Hiro lit up, excited that he wasn't being teased about his comfort item.
"He's TJ! He's my favorite," he chirped, holding up the toy.
"Sweet! I like his back scales. How they're all different colors of purple."
"I know!" Hiro playfully put TJ up to his ear, getting so lost in happiness that he didn't correct himself. "He says thanks."
Tadashi chuckled, attempting to hide his almost fear for the situation.
Hiro set TJ back in his lap and kept playing.
He'd never consider himself good at Minecraft, so he practiced often so he could play with others online without trouble. In a fresh, new world, Hiro chopped trees until nightfall. As the pixel moon set, he grabbed some dirt blocks to make a temporary hide-out. That was something he hadn't done in years. Not since Tadashi had first taught him how to play.
Between the less coherent speech, the toy Hiro still gripped with one loose arm, and how he was becoming more upset at trivial things in-game, this made Tadashi worried. He looked down at his phone, considering texting Aunt Cas about his problem, but when he reached for it...
boom!
Hiro squeaked, pushing his office chair away from the desk.
A creeper had blown up behind him, sending him to the death screen. He had his headphones on with the volume high. It had startled him so bad that he didn't care if Tadadshi knew he was small anymore. He just needed to be cared for. Hiro needed comfort.
He stood from his chair, cradling the plush, and stumbled to his bed. Sinking into his bed and shoving his face into TJ, he let the tears flow.
Tadashi was frozen with shock. All he could bring himself to do was fiddle with the zipper of the beanbag he perched on. Hiro hadn't acted like this since he was eight years old! Needless to say, Tadashi was a little rusty when it came to this. About two minutes go by before Hiro peeks over his plush, hiding once again after making eye contact. Tadashi prepared his "sweet voice" and sat himself on the edge of Hiro's bed.
"What happened there, bud?" Tadashi questioned, gently guiding Hiro's hands away from his face.
"Creepers 're mean!" he sniffled.
Hiro studied him, examining for any judgment or revulsion. Once he was met with a soft smile, he hid once again.
"Hey, hey. No need to be embarrassed." Tadashi reassured and rested a hand on the boy's knee.
"But I wasn't supposed to be small. It was a secret!"
Tadashi was never really interested in deeper mental health topics, so he wasn't aware of the comfort tool Hiro started using.
"Can you tell me what that means? If you're comfortable, of course."
Hiro agreed.
"Alright, that makes a lot of sense, actually."
Hiro had shifted and was next to Tadashi with his head on his shoulder. Tadashi's arms wrapped around in a warm hug.
"You said you want to be treated like you're actually a kid, right?" Tadashi gave Hiro one last squeeze before having them face each other.
Looking only at his lap, he nods.
"Maybe even younger than I say I am. I like feeling really small." Hiro mumbled. He hadn't looked at Tadashi since he first started explaining.
"Hey, look at me, kid."
Tadashi's hand guided Hiro's gaze to him.
"You don't need to be nervous or embarrassed. I'm here to help you. You said you wanted help when you're regressed, yeah?"
A nod.
"Well, I'm more than happy to take care of my baby brother again," Tadashi said, giving another comforting smile to him.
Hiro was beyond happy, launching into his arms and burying his face in Tadashi's shoulder. He ran his hand across Hiro's back and held him tighter.
Tadashi ran through a few more questions before he stood with a sigh. Running a hand through his hair, he paused.
"Wait. You're still small, right? How old are you feeling?"
Hiro looked down at his hands, moving fingers up and down until the number felt right. He proudly held four fingers to Tadashi.
"Oh, jeez. I don't know what to do with a four-year-old," Tadashi muttered, bringing a giggle out of Hiro.
Tadashi glanced around until a Jenga box caught his attention.
"Hiro, you're not doing it right. You can't keep building it just to knock it over," he laughed.
Hiro grinned and stacked the blocks once more.
"Well, at least you're happy."