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Shayne and Courtney stare at Ian's bedroom door in surprise, attempting to process Ian's quick aging up followed by him going to his room and asking for space.
“What now?” Courtney asks him quietly as he pulls out his phone.
“First,” he murmurs, “I'm going to text him to tell him to call or text me if he needs anything.” Shayne quickly types out the message before returning his phone to his pocket.
“Then we're gonna turn off the TV and head out,” he says, grabbing the remote and shutting it off. Standing, he picks up his bag before turning back to the couch to see Courtney still sitting there, fidgeting with her jewelry.
Shayne hums quietly, placing his bag back down as he sits again.
He's been watching her when she regresses at work for a while now and has been seeing the signs of regression all night. But every time he's tried to get her to go home to her boyfriend so she can regress, she's said no.
“You're so close to the edge,” he whispers, sighing when she petulantly shakes her head, “How about we call your boyfriend to come get you?”
She whines almost silently as she continues to shake her head.
“No calling,” Shayne agrees, opening his arms to her and smiling gently when she climbs into his lap without hesitation, “What if Shay drops you off?” he tries, but she continues shaking her head.
“You can't drive home right now, so what do you want me to do?” he asks, carefully brushing her hair out of her face.
Courtney looks up at him anxiously, fidgeting with his key necklace, “Your house?” she asks hopefully, immediately dropping her eyes to her lap.
Shayne grimaces for a second, switching to a neutral expression before she can look up. He and her boyfriend don't really get along, the man seeming to think he and Courtney like each other.
As much as he wants to take her home with him, he doesn't want her boyfriend upset with either of them. Taking a deep breath, he carefully cups her chin and lifts her face to look at him.
“Are you sure that's what you want?” he clarifies softly, “To go to Shay’s house instead of home?”
“Please,” she whispers, burying her face in his chest.
He wraps his arms around her, “Sleepover at my place.” Shayne confirms and he can feel her body relax as she slowly regresses in his lap.
“I've got you,” he mumbles as he rubs her back, “Shay's got you.”
It takes her a few minutes to look up at him, a small smile on her face, “Shay!” she chirps excitedly, still managing to keep her voice down, “We go now?”
“Hi sweetheart,” he coos, shifting her onto his back so he can collect both their bags and head towards his car, "What's the vibe tonight?”
“Dunno,” she answers distractedly, looking around curiously until he walks up to a car, “That mine!” she says excitedly as they walk up to it, grabbing the key from her purse when he hands it to her.
Courtney unlocks the doors and points him towards the trunk where he finds an emergency little bag. “Good job, Court.” he praises, reaching up to give her a high-five, “Lets lock up and head out.”
He waits for the beep of the car locking before moving over to his own car.
“Babies in the back.” he teases, sliding her into the back seat as she giggles. Shayne places her bag next to her before buckling her seatbelt and climbing into the driver's seat.
“Need anything before we head out?” he asks, watching her dig through her bag from the reflection of the rear view mirror.
She shrugs, pulling a pacifier from her bag and placing it in her mouth, before continuing to dig through the bag. Grabbing a blanket and holding it in her lap, she looks up at his reflection, “Go now?”
Shayne smiles at her, shifting his focus to driving as he pulls out and towards his apartment, “Is the pacifier because you're littler than I usually see, or is it just a ‘things in your mouth’ day?” he questions, turning the radio on to play quietly in the background.
“Fingers yucky,” she answers, looking out the window as she fidgets with her blanket, “So paci instead.”
“Clever girl.” he praises as he turns onto the freeway. The two fall into an easy conversation about the newest Spider-Man movie, a topic he and little Courtney have discussed many times.
They continue on until Shayne gets close to his apartment, getting ready to turn onto his street off one of the larger ones. “We're about to pass like four fast food places, do you want a treat or something?”
Courtney squeaks excitedly, bouncing in her seat as she looks out the window to see what restaurants are coming up. “Taco Bell slushy?” she asks, grinning when he turns into the parking lot and heads into the drive-thru.
He orders them each a slushy, passing Courtney's blue raspberry to her before he makes the quick drive to his apartment.
Shayne parks the car and opens the back door, chuckling when she rushes out. She bounces on her toes as she waits for him to grab both their stuff, running ahead of him to the front door.
“Maybe sugar before bed wasn't my best idea,” he teases as he unlocks the door, guiding her to sit at the dinner table instead of the couch.
She giggles, taking a big sip of her drink. “Good idea,” she counters when he sits across from her, taking a sip of his Baja Blast slushy, “Is yummy.”
He rolls his eyes, looking around his apartment thoughtfully. “There's not a ton of room here,” he admits bashfully, “But we’ll make it work.”
Courtney places her slushy down, stands up, and does a quick lap around the space for the first time. It doesn't take long for her to skid to a stop and sit back down, “Cool house,” she compliments, taking one of the last sips of her drink, “Yoshi.”
“You find him?” he asks with a laugh, reaching across the table to wipe the blue off her face, “I bet he'd hang out with you tonight if you want.”
She grins, nodding quickly before standing again. Courtney crouches beside her bag, pulling her blanket and pacifier out as well as a pair of pajamas, “I sleep couch?”
“Unless you want the bed,” he offers immediately, “I'll happily sleep on the couch.”
“I ask sleepover, you have bed,” she says firmly, placing the pacifier and blanket on the couch, “I change?”
“Do you need help?” he asks kindly, continuing when she shakes her head, “Go ahead then sweetheart, you found the bathroom on your run.”
Courtney giggles and runs off to the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
Meanwhile, Shayne pulls out his phone and stares at a text thread.
He tries to message Courtney’s boyfriend as little as possible, only doing so when he needs to have him pick her up from work or she specifically asks him to.
He's not a big fan of the man, but it's ultimately none of his business, he's just Courtney’s friend and coworker.
Before he can decide what to do she rushes out of his bathroom dressed in a pair of light blue floral pajamas, “What looking at?” she asks curiously, forgoing her own chair and attempting to climb into his lap.
“Was trying to decide if I should text your boyfriend,” he admits as he helps her climb up, frowning at the slightly fearful expression on her face.
“No thank you,” she answers, lightly pushing his phone down onto the table, “I talk him tomorrow.”
Shayne sighs but agrees, adjusting his arms to hold her better as he stands, “I think it's bedtime, princess.” he tells her, stumbling over his words as he tries to apologize for the new accidental nickname.
She giggles at his embarrassment, lifting her hand to cover his mouth and shut him up, “Like it,” she mumbles as she removes her hand, “Is ok.” she assures him.
He hums as he lays her on the couch, “Alright then your royal highness,” he jokes, bowing slightly, “Anything you need before Shay tucks you in?”
Courtney giggles again, holding the clip of the pacifier out to him. “Water please,” she says sweetly when he's done clipping it on, pointing over at her bag, “Have cup.”
“Right away,” Shayne says as he bows again. He smiles as he retrieves the cup and fills it, the little continuing to giggle behind him.
He takes a quick detour to his room before he hands the water to her, lowering himself to sit beside the couch.
“One water,” he says, dropping the royalty bit, “And one Yoshi” he says as he tucks it under her arm.
Shayne carefully covers her in her blanket, adjusting her pillow until he's certain she's as comfortable as he can get her.
“All ready for bed, sweetheart?” he asks quietly, brushing her hair back from her face.
She hums, pacifier moving slowly in her mouth as she reaches for him.
Confused, he leans forward, resting his arm over her back as he brings his face closer to hers, assuming she wants to whisper something to him.
Courtney grins up at him sleepily, pushing herself up slightly so she can place a kiss on his cheek through her pacifier.
He watches her, frozen, as she lies back down, not moving until he sees worry start to grow on her face.
“Thank you baby,” he murmurs quietly, reaching down to gently caress her cheek, “You're such a sweet little one.”
She beams at him, settling back into the couch and closing her eyes, humming happily when Shayne begins rubbing her back.
“Good night, princess.” he whispers, smiling when she grins sleepily at the nickname.
“Night,” she mumbles back, reaching out blindly to hold his hand, “Love you,”
He doesn't let himself freeze in shock this time, “I love you too,” he whispers as he grabs her hand, watching as her breathing slowly evens out.
Shayne lets himself watch her for a while before carefully removing his hand from hers and getting himself ready for bed.
He lies in bed and stares at the ceiling for a long time. He hadn't realized that he had started to see her as his little until tonight.
He'd just thought he enjoyed finally having someone he cares about to care for, even if it was only occasionally.
But bringing her back to his place and tucking her in felt special.
And when she kissed his cheek and said she loved him for the first time, his heart melted.
That was his little girl.
Even if it could never be official, if he's always just a babysitter, Shayne was just happy to get to love her.
Because above everything, that little girl deserves love.