Archive of Our Own

The next few weeks pass quietly. 

Or rather, as quietly as they could in their house. 

There was the robotic baby and the videos filmed and adventures gone on, of course, all of which entailed an inherent loudness. But there were moments between those things, too, like after a day of filming before they made steps to figure out what dinner was. 

Anthony had volunteered to compile the footage and send it over to the editors, having each of his friends send them anything they had filmed on their phones and taking the SD cards from the cameras. He was just finishing up his email to their editors when he felt a presence in his doorway. 

He pulled his headphones down so that they sat around his neck, glancing over to see Hanbon, having swapped her outfit from the day out for fuzzy pajama shorts and a t-shirt that was too big for her. 

“Is that my shirt?” Anthony questioned instead of asking what she was doing there, and her eyes widened as she looked down at her outfit as if this was truly shocking information. 

“It was in my laundry.” she shrugged, stepping into the room and inviting herself to sit on the edge of his mattress. Her hair retained some of the curls she had styled it into for filming, but they were falling out after a day of running around for their video, falling loosely around her shoulders. 

“Yeah, from the last time you stole it.” Anthony accused, giving her a faux-annoyed look as he spun in his office chair to face her. 

She smiled at him, “It’s comfortable, is all.” 

Anthony tilted his head slightly, visually scanning the girl sat on his bed for the cues he knew. She wasn’t wearing a hoodie, so she wasn’t busy tugging on the fabric of her sleeves, but she quickly filled that void by grabbing for a blanket on his bed. 

She bunched up the fabric and pulled on parts of it- not enough to damage the blanket but enough to channel her anxiety. 

“Bon?” Anthony questioned after a few beats of silence. She stopped playing with the blanket, smoothing it out over her lap, avoiding eye contact with him. He sighed and added, just softly, “Look at me, please.” 

She glanced up then, and she’s tugging at her lip with her teeth. It reminded Anthony a lot of when she first started regressing around him- when she was still riddled with anxiety about being judged because what if he was okay with age regression in theory but in practice, he thought she was annoying? 

They had mostly moved away from those anxious behaviors as she grew more comfortable with him and received more than enough reassurance that he liked taking care of her, actually. 

Their regression days had become more planned over time, too, which meant that she knew ahead of time that Anthony wanted to care for her right then. 

Today was different, though. It was the first time any of them regressed since they had that family meeting at breakfast a few weeks prior. 

“I’m sorry.” Hanbon apologized, and Anthony furrowed his eyebrows. 

“Why are you sorry, hun?” he asked, “You haven’t done anything wrong.” 

“I don’t know.” she whispered, “I feel silly and anxious.”

“It’s normal to be anxious. If the idea scares you too much, you can stay in here and we don’t have to talk to Coy and Will today.” Anthony told her, even though he would love for all of them to hang out together- to share this. “It’s okay if you’re not ready yet. There’s always next time.” 

“No, no. I want to pla- to hang out with them.” Hanbon said, correcting herself in the way she did when she was mostly regressed but not quite there yet, “I know they’re my friends and that they care about me, too. I’m just scared.” 

“I see.” Anthony hummed, “Well, I’m sure they’re scared of regressing around us, too. It’s a scary thing to share with others. We can go as slow as you all need, okay?” 

“Okay.” Hanbon nodded. “I want to tell them. Will you come with me, please?” 

“Let me send this email and get my computer shut off. Then, yes, absolutely.” He told her, turning back to his monitor to scan over what he had written before she had crept into his room. 

He declared it good enough and sent everything over before setting to work shutting down all the programs he had opened while gathering footage. By the time he’s done and turning off the computer itself, Hanbon had set the blanket to the side. 

Anthony held his hands out and pulled her to her feet dramatically, relishing in the sound of her laughter as he pulled her into a almost-too-tight hug and lifted her to spin them in circle or two while in the embrace. She stumbled slightly when he set her back down, keeping hold of his arms to steady herself. 

“I’m dizzy now.” she told him, and he faux-pouted at her. 

“Oh, are you? Poor thing.” he sarcastically told her, all gentle and sweet in the way he knew she needed, just then. The playfulness of his shenanigans made her feel better about being silly and childish, because he was being silly and a little childish, too. 

“Come.” she seemed to focus in, then, moving to take one of Anthony’s hand in hers and dragging him behind her as she pulled them out of the room and into the hallway. 

“Yes, miss princess bon.” he nodded along, squeezing her hand in his, just enough to confirm his presence there. Just enough to confirm his spot, right by her side. 

They ended up at Coy’s door, first, Hanbon attempting to knock politely but ending up a bit heavy-handed with her inherent regression-induced clumsiness. 

“Why the hell are you guys pounding-” Coy was reprimanding them before he even got the door open. He paused when he saw Anthony and Hanbon, hand-in-hand, his eyes shifting in recognition. 

“Sorry, Coy!” Hanbon told him before he could say anything else, “I just wanted to let you know that I’m feeling small in case you wanted to play. Or hang out. Please.” 

She’s very polite and slightly awkward about it, which Coy seems slightly amused by. He tilted his head in consideration, his voice careful, “I don’t know if I’ll be small, but I can come hang out with everyone? Are you guys going to be in the dining room?” 

He glanced to Anthony, who nodded, “I’ll figure out dinner and maybe we can watch something on the tv. I don’t know yet.” 

“I’ll come out to the dining room, then.” he told Hanbon, who beamed. He was leaning against the doorway, slightly, dressed in pajama pants and a green sweater that was slightly too big on him. 

“Yay!” she bounced on her feet slightly. She faltered slightly before asking her next question, “Can we hug, please?” 

Anthony was shocked she remembered to ask, because between them, they were always hugging. For comfort or while playing or just while passing time, because it suited them. 

Coy’s expression got a bit softer and he opened his arms, “Yeah, of course. Come here.” 

Hanbon is quick to abandon Anthony’s hand in favor of wrapping herself around Coy, tucking her head under the boy’s chin for a moment. When she pulls away, she looks up at them, very seriously, “You’re one of my best friends and I love you.” 

“Oh, I love you too.” Coy seemed a little thrown off by how open and vulnerable the affection was. They usually only acknowledged their best-friendship or love for each other directly during half-playful jokes or while somehow intoxicated. 

It was sweet to say it out loud, while not joking in the slightest.

Hanbon skipped away with a smile towards Will’s bedroom, after that, leaving Anthony behind without thinking about it. 

“Thank you.” Anthony told Coy, “I try to encourage her being affectionate. I’m sure it can be a lot, though.” 

“Not at all.” Coy shook his head, seeming a little out of it as they watch Hanbon knock, this time a bit softer, on Will’s door. “She’s sweet.” 

“As sugar.” Anthony agreed easily, before moving forward to join Hanbon at Will’s doorway. 

Coy ends up following along, too, since they were hoping to hang out in a group. 

“-was hoping you could come play with us in the dining room.” Hanbon was finishing a rushed and rambling sentence by the time the other two are at her side. Will was nodding along easily, 

“Okay, yeah. Why not?” Will shrugged, adjusting the band of his bonnet where it sat on his forehead. They had all changed into pajamas soon after returning home from filming, it seemed. “What are we playing?”

He seemed to already be dialing back in age, much easier and less gradual than Anthony had ever seen with Hanbon. In their conversations about regression over the last few weeks, he had admitted that it came easy and voluntarily for him- that it was gentle and unjarring in his personal experience. 

Hanbon gasped, “I don’t know. Anthony?” 

“I got some craft stuff for you all.” he told them, “I figured that would be something you’d all like, even if you’re not feeling small.” 

He gave a small look to Coy, who hummed. 

“You’re not being small with us?” Will sounded disappointed, “I like being small with you.” 

“We did it once.” Coy argued, crossing his arms, “For like, a few hours.” 

“It was fun, though.” Will insisted. 

“If Coy doesn’t feel like being small today, we shouldn’t pressure them.” Anthony cut in before this interaction could go on too long. Coy seemed uneasy and maybe a little overwhelmed, shifting his weight between one foot and the other. “I’ll go get the craft stuff and we’ll set up in the dining room, yeah?” 

The others agree with him easily, moving down the hall towards the kitchen-dining room area of their apartment while Anthony backtracked towards his bedroom to gather things he had bought over the last few weeks because maybe, he was more excited about them all doing this together than he wanted to admit. 

By the time he comes out to the kitchen with bags in tow, the other three are sat around the same table they had held the “family meeting” at a few weeks prior. Hanbon and Will are excitedly talking about something already, while Coy sat slightly further from the two of them, closed in on himself. 

Anthony frowned at the sight. Something was off, there. 

He turned his attention to unpacking the bags, explaining each thing as he did so. He showed off a stack of coloring books, boxes of crayons and markers, and sheets of stickers and fake tattoos. 

“Dibs on Hello Kitty!” Hanbon jumped to grab her favorite of the coloring book options, as if anyone else was going to take it from her. Will reached over to grab a coloring book of various cartoon animals, flipping through images of dogs at the park and kittens sleeping on window ledges. 

“There’s a turtle!” Will flipped open to a page of a turtle on a beach, showing it to the others. “I’m gonna color the turtle.” 

“I hope you have fun with that.” Anthony tells him, and it’s genuine. Hanbon leaned into Will, asking for his help choosing a page, and Anthony figures that they’re good for the moment. 

He pushed a few smaller coloring books aside until he found the one he had picked out specifically for Coy, grabbing the Winnie the Pooh book and carefully moving over to sit next to the boy on the other side of the table. He placed the book on the table in front of them, and Coy only glances at it briefly, and there’s a flash of something like interest before he pushes it away from himself in a slightly childish manner.

“I don’t want to color.” he said stubbornly. Anthony hummed, furrowing his eyebrows again as he tried to understand this behavior. 

He had a hunch, but he didn’t want to push Coy too hard.

“What would you like to do, then?” Anthony asked. “I want to make sure you’re included, even if you are staying big. Maybe you can do a different craft?” 

“I don’t want to play.” he said, and they winced when they realized how harsh their voice sounded. They lowered their voice, “Sorry.” 

“You don’t need to be sorry. I’m just trying to understand what’s going on, is all.” Anthony told him, “Are you feeling overwhelmed?” 

“A little.” Coy nodded. They reached for the Winnie the Pooh book, “This is really nice of you. I’m sorry. It’s…too much.” 

“What’s too much about it, Coy?” Anthony asked instead of insisting that he didn’t have to apologize again. If guilt was somewhere in the layers of whatever Coy was feeling, whatever was going through his head, then he just wanted to understand so that they could talk through it. 

“It makes me want to be small, which is too much.” Coy tried, their voice wavering, “I get really little and I can’t do anything on my own and it’s too much.”

Will had gotten Coy to admit just how small his headspace was a few days after the family meeting, but the reassurance he received then didn’t sink through the years of feeling like he was too much or inconvenient or any of the embarrassment he held surrounding his regression. Anthony’s hunch about this insecurity impacting him just then had been right, but it didn’t feel like something to celebrate.  

“Hey, hey.” Anthony switched into the most comforting tone he knew, “There’s no such thing as too little. I already told you that I’m here to help you with whatever you need, yeah? It’s okay if you need a lot of support. I can handle it.” 

“But you have to take care of them, too.” Coy shook his head, glancing over to where the other two were passing green crayons and purple markers to each other. He’s dangerously close to bursting into full-blown tears, but he’s still big enough to hold them back. 

“That’s true, but Will is very independent and Hanbon can manage on her own for a while if you need my attention.” Anthony assured him, “You being small will not take away from them having their fun. In fact, I think it would add to it. They love you, bub.”

Coy didn’t say anything in response, wrapping his arms around himself in a motion that felt too-practiced. It made Anthony wonder how many times he had to hug himself while small because he didn’t have anyone else to comfort him. He pushed that thought away because it made him feel an overwhelming amount of love and worry for his friend. 

Instead, he leaned in slightly, letting his voice fall into something just slightly sterner, “If you’re refusing to regress just because you’re worried about being a burden, please don’t worry about that, okay? You wouldn’t tell Hanbon or Will that they shouldn’t regress because I have to take care of them, would you?”

“No!” Coy seemed upset by this, “You want to take care of them and they should be allowed to be small.” 

“I want to take care of you, and you deserve to be small.” Anthony turned his words back on him, poking him lightly in the chest. 

“Oh.” Coy seemed to realize the flaw in his thought process. He shifted slightly in his seat. “I want to, but I’m scared.” 

“That’s okay. You can do it scared.” Anthony told him, “And if you try it and it is too much for you, or you don’t like being small around all of us, that’s different. I just don’t want you not to try because you’re scared.” 

Coy wiped at his face slightly, sniffling quietly, “Okay. I’ll try.” 

“That’s all I ask.” Anthony beamed at him. Then, he falters, “Do you want a hug?” 

Coy seemed relieved that he asked, nodding almost desperately as he tucked himself into his friend’s arms. Anthony doesn’t pull away until he does, which is a few beats longer than he expected, the boy unraveling, just slightly, in his arms. When Coy does pull away, some of the stress from before has faded as if his thoughts were peeling back. 

The way Will described it, he didn’t have very many thoughts at all when he did finally regress, all soft things and barely verbal responses. Anthony had done a lot of research on baby regression and teen regression after formally talking to his other two friends about their headspaces, and he could only hope he was prepared. 

“Hi, bub.” he spoke softly, reaching out to fix Coy’s hair where it had been ruffled in the embrace, “How about you go get your wooden box for me, hm? So we have everything you need out here?” 

He figured a simple task he could complete would be a good start. Coy nodded, chewing on his thumbnail as he brought himself back up to his feet to walk to his bedroom. While he did that, Anthony turned his attention back to the other two, his eyes widening slightly at the sight of Hanbon bringing a marker to Will’s hand. 

“Hey, hey, let’s not.” Anthony cut in quickly, coming over to take the marker away from Hanbon, whose face immediately fell. 

“I was just gonna draw a smiley face.” she said, pouting in the way she did when Anthony’s tone was too serious or stern for her liking. “We were just playing.” 

“Yes, but you guys might not want marker that’s hard to wash off on your skin when you’re big.” he told them, silently cursing himself for not buying the washable markers. “They’re also a bit toxic, sweetheart. We use markers on paper, not on skin.” 

“I’m sorry. I figured it wouldn’t hurt anything.” Will apologized, then, and he’s frowning too. 

Anthony didn’t like getting in the way of their fun, or being the stern one. He felt bad for even turning attention away for long enough for them to try drawing on each other, but he felt Coy needed him in the moment. 

He would get the hang of bouncing between three regressors eventually, he told himself. Or, he hoped that this would go well enough that Coy and Will would want to keep regressing with them, and that he would get the chance to get good at it. 

“It’s okay. I’m not upset.” he told them both, glancing around the table for a way to pivot, “How about we do fake tattoos instead? They’re easy to get off with hot water if you guys don’t like your choices while big, and they’re skin safe!”

“Is there a smiley face tattoo?” Hanbon inquired, perking up slightly. Anthony grabbed for the stack of fake tattoos, flipping through them briefly before showcasing a sheet. She clapped her hands together, “Yay!” 

“We’ll play tattoo parlor.” Will decided quickly, pushing the coloring supplies to the side and reaching out for the tattoo sheets. Anthony handed them over, making a mental note to himself that they needed to clean up all the crayons, later.

“I’ll get washcloths and a bowl of water for you guys.” he told them. 

By the time that’s done and Will is carefully cutting out various icons that Hanbon pointed to, Coy is stumbling back into the room, struggling to carry both his box and his Winnie the Pooh stuffed bear without dropping the small blanket around his shoulders. That explained why he took so long to return from his fetch-quest. 

Anthony chuckled lightly at the sight as he same over to meet him in the entrance to the kitchen, “Oh, sweetheart- you could’ve called me for help.” 

“Is okay.” Coy let him take the wooden box but kept the blanket and bear tucked around his shoulders and in his arms respectively. He followed along as Anthony led them back to the table, sitting down in the spot he had been in previously. 

“Can I open the box, bub?” Anthony asked, waiting until he got a small, shy nod before doing so. “Do you see anything you want or need?” 

Coy eyed the box and the contents briefly, skimming over his bottle and his toys and grabbing for his sensory cube. With the end of one thumb kept firmly between his lips where he could chew on his nail without quite sucking his thumb, he rubbed one of the sides with textured fabric against his cheek, causing the bells attached to one of the corners to ring out. 

Anthony smiled at that, ruffling his hair softly, “Is that your favorite toy?” 

Coy didn’t answer, shaking it in his hands. Will cut in as he set to work placing a princess crown on Hanbon’s inner elbow, “It is! He told me so. He doesn’t talk very much, though.” 

“Yes, I noticed.” Anthony mused, looking back to the box. 

He skimmed over the adult pacifiers and the clearly homemade ribbon clip already attached to the green one, looking back to where Coy still had his thumbnail held loosely between his teeth. He grasped it and set to work clipping it to his sweater despite the boy’s whiny protests. 

“Don’t need it.” Coy tried to push his hands away but it mostly unsuccessful. 

“I know, bub. It’s just in case you want it later.” Anthony decided not to argue with the quickly-regressing boy about how he shouldn’t chew on his nails for the time being. Coy tried to fiddle with the clip, but he dropped it when Anthony tutted lightly. “Leave it, please.” 

Coy pouted like he wasn’t happy about this arrangement, but he let it be, quickly getting distracted when he saw Hanbon admiring her princess crown tattoo. He gasped, “Play?” 

“Yes, baby, they’re playing. They’re doing fake tattoos.” Anthony told him, watching as he scrambled to get up and go get closer to them. 

“Are you playing with us, now?” Will sounded excited, “I can- I can do tattoos on you, too.” 

“Look at mine.” Hanbon properly showed hers off now that the other two were closer, “I’m officially a princess.” 

“I think you were spoiled enough to be one anyways.” Anthony teased, rearranging the chairs so that Coy could sit with them. 

“If I’m spoiled, it’s your fault.” Hanbon stuck out her tongue. 

“Do you want any?” Will showed him some of the sheets, laying them out on the table in front of the smallest regressor, who blinked a few times as he took in all the images. Will watched carefully as Coy pointed to a bundle of flowers. “Okay, can you bunch your sweater sleeves up?” 

As Will guided Coy through the process of getting a tattoo and Hanbon talked to both of them about anything and everything, Anthony took Coy’s blanket to set up a play mat for him near the table in case he struggled to keep up with whatever Will and Hanbon got up to. He set out his alphabet blocks and some of the Winnie the Pooh books and it’s not all that different from setting up a play area for Hanbon. 

Anthony was good at these things, and it’s only made better by getting to watch the three of them play together, all giggles and playfulness. 

Coy squirmed more than Hanbon did when the warm washcloth was pressed to his skin, and Will tried to explain why this caused his tattoos to come out splotchy, but Coy didn’t seem to really understand a word he was saying, breaking out into laughter when Will playfully grabbed his face and told him to “Stay still!”

Hanbon returned to her Hello Kitty coloring sheet while Coy let himself be covered in little flowers, but she doesn’t stop talking to the other two the whole time. She asked questions about favorite colors and plants and games, even when Coy couldn’t really answer them. 

It was sweet. They were sweet. Any stress surrounding this not working out for them faded when he saw them all together. 

He turned on a cartoon on Disney plus, the version of “Muppets Babies” from the 1980s that his family had on VHS tape growing up. He figured that Will and Hanbon probably weren’t going to pay any mind to it, and that it was suitable enough for the extra-small Coy. 

Just when Anthony was going to get drinks for all of them- water or maybe a little bit of juice, Hanbon is calling over, “We gotta tattoo you, too.” 

“Do we?” Anthony challenged, “I think you guys covering Coy in flowers is plenty enough.” 

Coy smiled at his name, clearly perfectly fine with the predicament. 

“We should! There’s Pokemon in here somewhere.” Will got excited too, clearly having fun being the only one of them big enough to hold scissors and apply the tattoos. 

Anthony couldn’t really say no to that, could he?

Will had fun arranging a “sleeve” on Anthony’s left arm, meticulously placing one tattoo after another and picking shapes that clicked together even when it wasn’t perfect. Next to them, Coy occupied himself with his sensory cube while watching Hanbon finish up her coloring page. 

Occasionally, he pointed to a color and told her what it was- red or pink or whatever, and she beamed and confirmed that it was, in fact, pink or red or whatever before telling him something about Hello Kitty and her outfits or her friends. It was simple, really. 

“Let’s see. Do you like it?” he showed off the new additions to his arm to Hanbon, flexing his arm slightly, “Do I look big and strong and scary?” 

Hanbon giggled, shaking her head, “No, it’s Pikachu. You’re still soft.” 

“Oh, am I?” he reached over and attacked her sides with tickles, smiling at the way she squirmed in her chair and trashed around. She tried to escape his grasp but it didn’t work very well. 

“Wait, where’s Coy?” Will cut in after a few moments of trying to stay out of their play-battle while gathering up some of the plastic and paper scraps to throw away. Anthony and Hanbon stopped their antics immediately to look around, and before Anthony could even register that Coy had somehow ended up on the other side of the counter in the kitchen, there’s a small crash of something falling off the counter onto the ground. 

“You two keep playing, okay?” he tells Will and Hanbon quickly before moving around the table to see what happened. 

He had no idea how Coy slipped away so quickly, and he feels even worse about it when he takes in the sight: Coy’s opened Winnie the Pooh bottle on the ground, tipped on it’s side with a small bit of milk in it. The lid and the jug of milk were sat next to the fridge, along with a small puddle of liquid that was dripping off the side of the counter. 

Coy started crying before Anthony could saying anything, leaving the caregiver scrambling to make it okay, or at least make it better. 

“Oh, bub. You could’ve asked for help. I would’ve gotten you milk.” he told him, stepping in carefully and bending over to pick up the cup and take it to the sink. 

He thought this would be comforting, a reassurance that a baby shouldn’t have to get his own milk and therefore, shouldn’t feel bad for having spilled it, but this was apparently not the right thing to say, because Coy scrubs at his face with fisted hands and starts babbling out apologizes. 

“I didn’ mean-” he sniffled, struggling to form a full sentence like he had since he regressed, “Sorry.” 

“No, no, it’s okay.” Anthony tried to reassure him, keeping his voice gentle as he could while remaining urgent. He discarded the cup in the sink, stepping closer to Coy over the bit of milk on the floor carefully, “Can I lift you onto the counter so you don’t get milk on your socks?” 

Coy blinked glancing down at his feet which clearly only made him face his mistake, which also didn’t help. 

“Okay!” Anthony made the executive decision to lift Coy up by the waist, just slightly, to place him on a dry patch of counter. Coy gasps, steading himself on Anthony’s arms in the motion. Once he’s settled, “Hey, hey- look at me.” 

Coy does, still sniffling, and Anthony realizes distantly that he’s literally crying over spilt milk but he doesn’t think making a joke about that would be the right decision, in the moment. 

“No one’s upset with you, yeah? It’s just a spill. It’s easy to clean.” he told him, “I will never get upset with you for something like that. I just meant that you can ask for help with things like this. I can make your bottle.” 

It’s hard to tell if Coy was comforted by his words because he understood them, or if he was just soothed by his gentle voice. 

“Look at how easy this is to clean up.” Anthony steps back to grab paper towels as Coy seemed to settle, wiping up the milk on the counter before bending over to wipe up the milk on the floor, too. It ultimately hadn’t been that much- Coy’s uneasy pour had caused the lightweight cup to tilt and crash onto the floor before very much liquid had left the jug at all. “All done!” 

“Done?” Coy repeated, watching as Anthony threw out the paper towels and came back to him. 

“Yes, all done. No damage.” Anthony confirmed with a small nod, letting himself sound a little relieved at the fact that Coy seemed to be done with the worst of his crying. 

He already hated Hanbon being sad. Coy was even smaller and seemingly, easier to upset. 

Anthony decided, then and there, that he wanted to be there for him whenever he was sad because the idea of him this little, on his own, was too much to bear. 

“Do you want a hug?” he tried, because that had worked earlier and it always worked on Hanbon. Coy leaned forward to fall into his arms easily. “Oh, there we are. We’re alright, aren’t we?” 

Anthony was aware of the fact that his musings didn’t make all that much sense, but he was okay with it if it made Coy feel better. When the boy did pull back, he had slipped his pacifier into his mouth and he looked even smaller than before, somehow. 

“You know, I have an idea.” he told him, “I won’t just give you a bottle of milk. I’ll make you some angel milk. It’s sweeter, yeah? Doesn’t that sound yummy?” 

Coy watched him as he goes over to the sink to rinse out his bottle but doesn’t say anything, content to sit there and watch his friend. 

“Bon?” Anthony called over the counter and looked at the other two regressors, who were working together to clean up the crafting space. He smiled when his girl looked up at him, “I’m making angel milk. Do you want some?” 

She beamed, “Yes, please!” 

He looked to Will, “Do you want anything, bud?” 

“I want to make hot chocolate.” Will decided. 

“I can make you hot chocolate.” Anthony offered, and the boy shook his head, 

“I make it yummier. I’ll do it!” he insisted, and then they’re all in the kitchen, dancing around each other as drinks are prepared. 

Hanbon ends up on the counter next to Coy. She’s lightly chastised for climbing, but Anthony backs off when he sees the way she hands Coy his sensory cube and asks him what each thing on it did, which the boy demonstrated visually. 

“Hey, Will?” Anthony decided to warm up milk on the stove next to Will, who was doing the same thing in a smaller pot. 

“Yeah?” Will perked up, stirring his milk before moving to gather up a mug and the hot chocolate mix from the cabinet above them. 

“Are you sure you don’t need anything from me?” Anthony questioned, “You can always ask, for anything.” 

“I’m okay. I’m bigger and don’t need help.” Will insisted. 

“You’re allowed to want to be taken care of, though.” Anthony told him, “I know you can do things yourself, but you don’t have to.” 

“They need you, though.” Will pointed out, motioning to the other two, “They’re so small.” 

“That’s true. And I promise that if we keep doing this, I will eventually get good at caring for all three of you without major mishaps. But I’m here for you, too. If you need or want anything.” Anthony set the wooden spoon he was mixing his milk with to the side, “I wanted to do this because I care about you, too.” 

“Oh.” Will hummed, “That’s really kind. I care about you, too.” 

“Aww.” Anthony mused in a lightly teasing tune, “Are you too big for a hug?” 

“Are hugs like, your signature move?” Will asked as he took the offered embrace, but only for a moment. 

“You know what? Yes, I think so.” Anthony chuckled, moving over to Hanbon and Coy as he realized the milk would take a bit to warm up. Hanbon was trying to teach Coy patty-cake now, and it wasn’t going particularly well, but they were both laughing anyways. “I don’t know if Coy is big enough to learn new games, love.” 

“He’s trying his best.” Hanbon told him in a tone that was about as serious as a toddler regressor could get while small. Anthony gave an amused nod as he leaned in to give her a forehead kiss, 

“Is that right?”

Hanbon tilted her head up into the kiss, smiling up at him. It was one of those sweet things they had shared a million times, at that point, like their too-long hugs. Anthony shifted his attention to Coy, who was watching them both closely. He seemed a bit upset, kicking his feet slightly. 

“I think he wants a kiss too.” Hanbon said. 

“You can’t read his mind, princess.” Anthony told her, a bit disappointed that Coy couldn’t speak well enough to confirm what kind of physical affection he was or wasn’t okay with in that moment. He did whine, though, reaching out for Anthony. 

“Coy does like to snuggle a lot.” Will confirmed for him, “We had a sleepover, once. He’s very cuddly.” 

Anthony gave in with that, pressing a kiss to the top of his head instead of his forehead, relishing in the way Coy grasped onto him and snuggled closer. 

“Group hug!” Hanbon declared, throwing her arms over both of them. 

“Wait, unfair!” Will scrambled to turn down the heat on the burner before coming over to join them. Anthony is briefly worried that Coy was crushed in the middle of it all, but when he breaks out into babyish giggles, they all know it’s okay. 

After a while, Anthony returned to preparing Coy and Hanbon’s milk, narrating the process as he tips sugar and cinnamon and vanilla into the hot liquid (if he adds extra sugar into Hanbon’s when she asks, that was no one’s business but theirs. She was doing a good job at sharing his attention with their friends so she deserved it, Anthony justified to himself) and mixing it together. 

Hanbon, of course, reached for her sippy cup as soon as the lid is twisted on and it’s shaken up. And this, of course, causes Coy to mimic her motion and do the same thing. 

Anthony tutted lightly, “Guys, they’re still too hot. I’ll give them to you in a few minutes, okay?” 

“Okayy.” Hanbon understood the logic but that didn’t mean she had to like it, so she pouted. 

“Anthony, do you want hot chocolate?” Will asked, “I made too much.” 

“Yeah, sure. Thank you, buddy.” Anthony hummed, watching out of the corner of his eye as Will transferred the liquid to mugs and cleaned up all the ingredients, just in case he needed help. 

He jumped in to clean up the angel milk ingredients, too, telling Will that he could leave any dishes in the sink for him to do later. It’s not much longer later that the kitchen is more or less reset and Will was busying himself cleaning up the dining room, too. 

“Thanks for helping tidy up.” Anthony told Will from the other side of the counter as he helped Coy, then Hanbon, down from the counter, handing each of them their respective beverages once they’re on their feet. 

“No problem!” Will sipped from his own mug before setting it down to keep gathering up half cut-up tattoo sheets. 

“Leave the crayons and stuff. Bon can do her part.” Anthony told Will, who shrugged, while Hanbon groaned. Anthony corrected her gently, “No fussing. We clean up after ourselves. Come on.” 

He walks Coy and Hanbon back into the dining room, holding hands with both of them and tugging them along. Will pulls his phone out of his back pocket for the first time since Hanbon knocked on his door to take a photo of them. 

“Just for us.” he assured, noting Coy’s pacifier and Hanbon in Anthony’s shirt. 

“Just for us.” Anthony agreed, “Send it in the group chat later.” 

Hanbon joins Will in cleaning up while Coy plops himself down to play with his alphabet blocks. Anthony grabs the tv remote and passes it to Will, “Pick something you can all watch while I make dinner, okay? Or, at least something you two will watch. I think Coy is distracted.” 

Will looked over to where Coy had finished building up a small tower before promptly knocking it over and breaking out into giggles. 

“Okay, yeah. I can find something.” 

And cooking dinner is a weirdly emotional experience for Anthony, as he boils water for noodles and prepares marinara sauce with seasoning and lined up plastic plates for the little ones and glass ones for him and Will. The whole time, he keeps glancing over the counter to make sure everyone was okay- that Hanbon and Will were having a good time with their Studio Ghibli film and that Coy was enjoying his stuffed bear and other soft, gentle things. 

Anthony thinks about wanting to do this again, about wanting to watch over all of them while they were small even if it sometimes meant marker on skin or tears over milk as long as it also meant getting to make dinner for them while they played and laughed over cartoon movies and Will finishing coloring in his turtle from earlier.

He didn’t know if it was normal to feel this parental towards his friends. If expressing his love for them by literally taking care of them was normal. But the feelings were there, either way, and he liked to think that he was good at this. 

Or that he could be good at it, one day. 

At some point while he’s straining the noodles, Will pauses the movie to run to the restroom and Hanbon sneaks into the kitchen. 

“Can I help?” she asked. 

“Hm,” Anthony considered it, “There’s not much to do, but I’ll let you pour the sauce on the noddles if you promise to be careful.” 

“I promise.” she assured, and he puts the strained noodles back in the larger pot and guides her in dumping the contents of the smaller pot on top of the noodles. Then, he gives her the serving spoon and allows her to stir it. 

“How are you doing, hun?” Anthony asked her. She hummed, 

“What do you mean?” 

“I think you know. Regressing with them. It’s different.” Anthony explained.

“It is.” she nodded, “Very different. But I like it not just being the two of us. I love Coy and Will.” 

“Yeah?” Anthony smiled, bumping against her side playfully, “I told you so.” 

“Shh. Don’t be mean.” she held up the sauce-covered spoon faux-threateningly. 

“I just mean that I knew this would work out and that there was nothing to be so worried about.” he said, “If all the change is overwhelming, though, please let me know.” 

“I don’t think it’s overwhelming. Just different.” she shrugged, “Can I still be small with just you, sometimes?” 

“Of course.” Anthony assured, “As much as you need. You’ll always be my first baby. And I know that sharing my attention probably isn’t an easy adjustment.” 

“No, but that’s okay.” Hanbon handed the spoon back to Anthony, “All done!” 

“All done!” Anthony gave her a high-five, “You’re such a good little helper.” 

“Is dinner done?” Will emerged from the hallway, “I can help set the table?” 

“No need. Go sit, now.” Anthony waved him off, “You’ve been helpful enough, bud.” 

Will fidgeted with his hands but nodded, going back around the counter towards the table. He smiled, pointing to the makeshift playmat Anthony had set up, whispering, “The baby fell asleep.” 

“What?” Anthony looked over the counter to confirm that Coy had in fact, curled up and fallen asleep, his head laid over his Winnie the Pooh stuffed bear and his sensory cube grasped lightly in his hands. “Oh.”

There was no way that it was comfortable, but he looked adorable. 

“I’ll wake him up!” Hanbon decided, and before her caregiver could stop her, she’s sitting down at Coy’s side and lightly shaking him by the shoulder. It’s a bit clumsy, but she was being gentler than Anthony expected her to be.

“Coy, it’s dinnertime.” Hanbon told him like this was the most urgent news before he could even open his eyes, “It’s spaghetti.” 

“Hm?” Coy sat up, his mouth falling open and when his pacifier falls with the motion, Anthony was glad he opted for the homemade pacifier clip. 

“Dinner.” Hanbon repeated, pointing to the table, “You can sit with me. Come.” 

She stood up and reached out for Coy’s hands, which he eventually takes after a few more moments of orienting himself and leaving his soft toys on the blanket. He stumbled over his feet, all sweet and clumsy, but the pair do make it to the table. 

“You can go back to bed after dinner, hun.” Anthony told Coy as he placed plates in front of him and Hanbon. When he turned to get the other two plates, Will had them, setting them on the table. “I told you I had it, bud.” 

“I like helping.” Will frowned, “Sorry?” 

“Nothing to apologize for.” Anthony assured, “Please sit down and eat, though. And no more cleaning for tonight.” 

After a few more moments of making sure that everyone had something to drink, and then tucking a washcloth into the front of Coy’s sweater because there was no way him feeding himself something with marinara sauce was going to go well and Anthony hadn’t thought to buy bibs, they’re all sat around the table eating. 

Will and Anthony are very efficient, Hanbon and Coy less so. Anthony didn’t mind cleaning a bit of a mess if they were all happy, though. 

“Okay.” Anthony decided to make this a formal family dinner, “How was everyone’s days?” 

“Good.” Will answered first, smiling, “Thanks for dinner.” 

“Thank you!” Hanbon followed up, “And I also had a good day.” 

“You’re both very welcome.” he told them, and then he glances over to Coy, who clearly wasn’t paying any attention. “You too, Coy.” 

Coy’s eyes widened at his name, his fork stuck halfway in his mouth as he asked, “Wha’?” 

“Don’t worry about it, bub.” Anthony told him, “What was everyone’s favorite part of the day?” 

“I liked getting to play with my friends.” Hanbon smiled, “I love my friends.” 

“Aw, we love you too.” Will told her, “I liked being a tattoo artist.” 

“I was hoping you’d all have fun with the craft stuff.” Anthony nodded, mostly to himself, “I liked just getting to take care of all of you, but my favorite part was getting my sick sleeve.” 

He flexed his arm with the Pokemon tattoos again, and Will beamed. “What do you think Coy’s favorite part was?” 

Anthony looked over to Coy, who smiled with sauce-covered teeth when he recognized his own name again. Anthony hummed, “I think he likes being around all of us. But we can ask him when he’s big enough to talk again.” 

The rest of dinner passes with light chatter between Hanbon and Will. Anthony scoops up all the dishes before Will has the chance to try and help again, insisting they turn their movie back on, and he wipes Coy’s face down with the washcloth despite the boy’s best attempts at dodging it. 

“If you don’t let me wipe it off, the sauce is going to dry and feel icky.” he tried to reason with him, but Coy only tilted his head. 

“He has no idea what you’re talking about.” Will cut in, laughing softly, “He’s all baby-brained.” 

“Stay still.” Anthony tried more directly, now, holding Coy’s face in place with one hand on his chin and making quick work of wiping the sauce from his cheeks before he could jerk away. He tapped the tip of his nose, “There, all done!” 

“Can we have ice cream?” Hanbon asked, leaning forward against the table, “We have some, in the freezer. For dessert.”

Anthony thought over it for a moment, “Yeah, okay, but I’ll make up your bowls so there’s no mess. What flavors do you guys want?”

Anthony operates a sundae station after that, adding whipped cream and chocolate and caramel syrup to different bowls at request. 

He ends up giving Coy chocolate ice cream with some whipped cream because he couldn’t talk but pointed to the container of chocolate ice cream when Anthony set it on the counter, which was about as direct of an answer as they were going to get out of him.

While they enjoy their dessert, Anthony makes quick work of taking care of all the dishes from dinner, filtering them back into the cabinets into their proper spaces. Typically, dishes would sit in the sink for too long after being used in their house, but Anthony was more responsible when he got like this in the same way his friends got softer when theyy settled into their headspaces.

“Done.” Coy announced, pushing his bowl away from him. There was still a bit of ice cream in there, and his face was covered in chocolate.

“What am I going to do with you?” Anthony chuckled, and when he glanced over at Hanbon, she also had ice cream on her face. She smiled at him, all teeth and giggles. He amended, “Either of you.”

Will yawned, then, and Anthony tilted his head. “Is it bed time for the big kids, too?”

“No!” Hanbon insisted, throwing her arms around Will, “Don’t go to bed. I like playing with my friends.”

Will hugged her back easily, “We can finish the movie, but then I do wanna go to bed. I’m tired. But we can play more tomorrow.”

“Promise?” she asked him.

“Yeah.” he told her, and Anthony nodded to himself, having been prepared to intervene. 

The end of the night comes too quickly, almost. Anthony helps Coy and Hanbon clean off their faces and sends Hanbon off to go brush her teeth and get ready for bed before turning back to Will and Coy and moving to clean up the smallest one’s toys. 

“Coy likes bedtime stories.” Will said as he watched Anthony gather up the small stack of Winnie the Pooh books, “I read to him, when we got small together last. I want to do it again, I think.” 

“That’s very sweet of you.” Anthony smiled at him, “Go brush your teeth, too, and then you can go to Coy’s room to read.” 

Will nodded along easily, running off to go get ready for bed, much less resistant to the idea than Hanbon tended to be. Anthony gathered up the dishes from dessert before bringing his attention back to Coy. As he took his hand to help him up from his chair, “Do you even have the motor skills to hold a toothbrush, right now?” 

Coy didn’t answer, which was an answer in itself. Thankfully,, he was already dressed in clothes comfortable enough for sleeping, so getting him ready for bed mostly entailed helping him brush him teeth, filling his bottle with water, getting all his toys gathered up, and tucking him into bed. 

“And here’s your bear.” Anthony sighed once everything was finally settled, “Will wants to read to you, so this is where I leave you. But if you wake up still small, you can come get me, yeah?” 

“He still doesn’t know what you’re saying.” Will appeared in the doorway, his hair now tucked into his bonnet. 

“It’s the principle.” Anthony shrugged, “I love you both, okay? I’ll make something for breakfast in the morning.” 

“Love you too.” Will answered, while Coy waved with that clumsy scrunched-up hand motion all small children did. 

Anthony waved back at him, watching for just a moment as Will climbed into bed next to him and picked a book from the small pile that had been left on his bedside table.

 He had seen enough to know they’d be okay when Will wrapped his arm around Coy and the smaller one cuddled close before Will started reading.

Anthony went down the hall to Hanbon’s room, knocking lightly on her door, “It’s ant, baby.”

“Come in!” she answered, and when he opens the door, she was sitting on the edge of her mattress, having filled her own sippy cup with ice water that she was sipping on.

“You’re already set for bedtime.” he realized, “Well, I still get to tuck you in, don’t I?”

She smiled and nodded, reaching over to leave her cup on her bedside table as Anthony shut the door behind him, coming over to the bed and pushing the blankets out of the way as he motioned for her to lay down.

As she did so, “Do you think they’ll want to play with me again?”

Anthony considered this as he layered one blanket and then another over her, “I can’t read their minds, but I really hope so, bon.”

Hanbon lifted her arms so that the blankets didn’t cover them, laying them over the blankets once Anthony was all done. “I had a lot of fun. And I think it’s sad that they’re used to being small on their own.”

“It can be sad, but some people prefer it that way.” Anthony told her, dipping down to kiss her forehead, “We will have to talk to them in the morning and see what they’re comfortable with, yeah? For now, we can be happy that today happened and hope for the best.”

“I loved today.” she nodded in agreement, watching as Anthony pulled back, “I love you, ant.”

“I love you too, princess.” 

On his way out, he shut off the light and left the door cracked so that the faint glow of the hallway light leaked in, because Hanbon would never admit to being scared of the dark, but she definitely was.

Anthony spent another thirty or so minutes resetting the kitchen and dining room, washing dishes and putting away craft supplies and hanging Will’s colored in turtle and Hanbon’s Hello Kitty on the fridge with magnets, only partially because he knew they’d be lightly embarrassed by it while big.

They looked nice hung up next to the family calendar, Anthony thought.

—

Anthony is actually the last person to wake up the following morning, but he still ends up taking over making breakfast anyways. 

“Are you going to make hanging up our coloring pages like, a thing now?” Coy asked, nodding to the fridge, “Because if so, you’re never going to catch me coloring while small.”

Will laughed at that, “Can you color while small? You seem a bit clumsy for that to me.”

“Shut up.” Coy told him instead of coming up with a better defense for himself.

“If it actually bothers anyone, I won’t do it.” Anthony clarified, “But if you are okay with it, I think it’s cute. And it’s not like anyone but us will see it. We can take them down for videos.”

“It is kind of cute.” Hanbon agreed, and she looks to the other two sitting around the table carefully, “Thanks for yesterday, guys. I had a lot of fun.”

“So did I!” Will beamed, “I’d like to do it again, sometimes. If everyone else wants to, too.”

“I liked caring for all three of you.” Anthony confirmed as he used a spatula to scrape the scrambled eggs he had been working on onto a large plate, “I’m sorry if I crossed any boundaries or upset any of you. It’s going to take a while for me to get the hang of caring for all of you.”

Without any of them saying a word, they all looked to Coy, who sunk in his chair with embarrassment. 

“I had a good time, too.” they confirmed, “I’m sorry for how-“

“Whatever you’re about to apologize for, I promise you don’t need to.” Anthony cut him off, and Will jumped in to agree,

“He did this when we got small together, too.” Will said before looking to Coy, “No one cares that you’re extra little. You’re cute and we all love you.”

“Yes, we love you.” Hanbon reached over to squeeze his hand.

Coy seemed a little uneasy, but he squeezed her hand too, taking in a breath. “Okay. I’m still embarrassed, because J literally cried over spilt milk, but okay. I love you all too.”

The moment settles over them, sweet and soft, as Anthony turned off the burners and started moving the plates of food to the table. After a few beats, Hanbon spoke up,

“I need you guys to settle a debate between me and Anthony, now.” she announced, shifting to look between Will and Coy, “Anthony totally has a caregiver voice, right?”

“Is this a debate?” Will asked, “He talks different to us when we’re small. All soft.”

“I don’t even clearly remember everything and I know his voice is different.” Coy agreed, and Anthony rolled his eyes. 

He didn’t get a chance to defend himself before Hanbon is clapping her hands together and cheering,

“Yes! I told you so!”

“Shh. Eat your breakfast.” he set a plate in front of her with fondness before moving on to the other two, and after that, breakfast comes as easily as everything else did with them.

There were more conversations to be had and things to work out.

Coy was still very insecure about his regression and pushed it down more than he should. Will felt an overwhelming need to be helpful just because he was the biggest and struggled with letting himself be taken care of.

Hanbon had to get used to splitting Anthony’s attention with the other two after years of him being her caregiver and hers only.

Anthony had to learn how to care for all three of them so that he could hopefully become Coy and Will’s caregiver in a more formal sense.

For now, though, they were laughing over plates of pancakes and bacon and eggs and there were coloring sheets stuck on the fridge with magnets, right next to their family calendar.

For now, though, everything was just as it needed to be.