#regression stuff

Krolia smiled as she knocked on her son’s door. She and Keith were finally starting to bond again and she was excited to spend some time with her son. They had been trying to spend a few hours together every other night since they found each other to get to know each other. Keith had seemed more hesitant than her the past few times they did this for a reason she couldn’t discern, but she was hopeful he would settle down once he got more comfortable around her. She knew he wasn’t going to love her immediately- she was, essentially, a stranger to him now- but that was okay. She knew it would take time.

She knocked again after a moment when there was no answer, then frowned curiously. Did Keith forget that she was coming? This was still a fairly new routine, so she wouldn’t be surprised if he had (he had forgot once before already.)

“Keith?” She called, though she received no response.

Growing a little worried, the woman placed her hand on the door’s sensor. It opened right away, which was surprising (so far Keith’s door had always been locked) but she put the thought to the side as she peered inside. Her eyes immediately landed on her son, who was sitting on the floor in a pair of space-themed pajamas, holding a stuffed hippo in his arms and suckling in a red pacifier.

He startled at the sound of the door opening and looked up to her with frightened eyes. Before she could react, tears filled her son’s eyes and he began to cry, dropping the pacifier in the process.

Krolia was confused and shocked (so much had happened so quickly) but she quickly ran to the boy’s side and knelt down in front of him. Keith may not be the baby she remembered anymore, but she still felt the need to protect him when he was upset. And while the pacifier and toy confused her, they were familiar enough for her to jump into action and comfort her son.

“Hey, it’s okay sweetheart. It’s just me.” She soothed as she picked up the pacifier, wiped it off on her shirt, and offered it to him again. “I’m sorry if I scared you.” She apologized sweetly.

Keith stared at the pacifier tearfully, hesitant to take it. He leaned back slightly and turned his head away as he cried, still spooked from her sudden entrance.

His mother softly shushed him and put it down. “It’s okay honey. There’s nothing to be scared of.” She promised.

“Did you forget I was coming?” Krolia asked, trying to get his attention. She was acting on auto-pilot, remembering how she would calm down Keith when he was just a baby.

The boy hiccupped and nodded, still crying upsetly.

She hummed in understanding and nodded too. “You were just relaxing by yourself, huh?”

Keith sniffled and nodded again, then brought a hand to his face to wipe away his tears. “Uh huh.” He grizzled.

Krolia smiled warmly. “That’s okay, I’m happy you were relaxing.” She said. “Is it okay if I relax with you?”

The boy sniffled again as he started to quiet down. “Mad?” He asked, his eyes wide.

“No baby, I’m not mad.” His mom reassured. Now that he was calmer, she offered him the pacifier again. “Do you want this back?” She asked gently.

Keith hesitated for a second before he nodded and opened his mouth to let her give it to him. She carefully pressed the nipple to his lips and he latched on and started to nurse on it. He rubbed at his eyes again to rid them of tears, starting to calm down now that he had his comfort object.

Krolia smiled again when he quieted down. “Who’s that?” She asked curiously, pointing to the stuffed hippo in his arms.

“Hippo.” Keith said, hugging the toy tighter.

“Is he your friend? Can you introduce us?”

• His age range is 3-5, but he usually regresses around the top of his age range.

• Super sweet and energetic when he’s little. He loves to play games with anyone that is willing to join in.

• He’s a little shy around people he doesn’t know, but it quickly wears off. He loves loving new friends!

• Tends to regress to relax moreso than to directly deal with stressful situations.

• He doesn’t have much gear, but he still has a worn down cat plushie from his grandfather. Her name is Miss Whiskers.

• Eren was the first to know he regresses, followed quickly by Mikasa.

• Some of their friends have played with him while he was regresses before, but haven’t caught on to the regression thing yet.

• At least one Veteran knows™️. He doesn’t know who, but he’s suspiciously and suddenly allowed hours of free time whenever he’s feeling small.

• He looks up to Erwin as a kind of caregiver even though they haven’t really interacted while he was feeling little. After his death, the role switches to Levi pretty fast, despite how scary his superior can be.

“Alright Paladins! That’s it for training. We’ve got another meeting in 30 dobashes, so everyone get cleaned up!” Coran chirped over the castle’s speakers.

Keith looked over to Shiro, who was spaced out beside him, concerned. They’d been busy all day with meetings and other paladin duties and he could tell it was taking its toll on the man. If it wasn’t obvious because of the bags under his eyes and his lack of energy, then it was because of how snappy he’d been today. Shiro never snapped unless he was getting cranky, which meant he needed a nap.

And Keith was going to have to coax him down for one.

The teen patted his partner on the back to get his attention, then leaned closer so only he would hear him. “Do you want me to give you a bath?” He suggested, knowing that it was one of the easiest ways to settle Shiro down into his headspace.

Shiro sighed, then shook his head. “No, I’m gonna take a quick shower. We don’t have that long before the meeting.” He mumbled.

Keith hummed and began to rub his back. “Are you sure? A bath can be quick too.” He encouraged.

Shiro hesitated to answer, and his caregiver smiled. He was too easy to persuade.

Keith gently slid his hand into Shiro’s and squeezed. “Come on buddy, let me take care of you for a few minutes, okay?” He whispered, able to tell that he’d already won the little over with how his shoulders relax at the nickname.

Finally, the boy nodded in agreement. “Okay.” He said quietly.

His caregiver grinned and began to lead him down the hall to his room. Getting Shiro to agree to a bath was a big step, but he knew it was only half the battle. He needed to keep him distracted too if he wanted the boy to stay relaxed.

“What do you want to do later, sweetie?” He asked as he looked to the boy, purposefully using his favorite nickname. “Do you want to play with your toys? Or do you want to cuddle since it’s been a long day?”

Shiro looked away and blushed slightly, having not fully settled down yet. He brought his flesh hand up to hold onto the collar of his shirt, something he always did when he resisting the urge to suck his thumb. “Um...cuddle?” He asked, his tone starting to sound babyish.

Keith grinned. “Of course! We can cuddle with your favorite fuzzy blanket and your husky. Does that sound good sweetie?” He cooed as he opened the bedroom door and gently pulled Shiro inside. “And we can watch cartoons and have nummy snacks until you fall asleep.”

The boy hummed softly and nodded. He subconsciously brought his flesh thumb to his mouth and began to suck on it as he was led around the room, already too little to pay attention. Keith cheered internally at the sight, happy that Shiro was settling down so easily.

The caregiver quickly grabbed a pair of comfy clothes for them both, then led Shiro into the bathroom. He sat the boy on the toilet lid and stroked his hair. “Just sit here while I get the bath ready, okay sweetie?” He prompted, earning a nod from the little.

Keith turned on the tap and let the tub fill, then added a bit of bubblebath to the water. While it finished filling up, he turned back to his little to help him get undressed.

Shiro looked up to him when he came over and frowned. “Meeting?” He asked worriedly, squirming in his seat.

“You don’t have to worry about that right now, okay? Let’s take a bath first.” Keith said sweetly.

He helped the boy out of his clothes, then hefted him onto his hip and brought him over to the tub. “Okay! Here we go.” He cooed as he lowered the little into the water.

Shiro relaxed into the warm water and cooed softly. Almost immediately, the bubbles caught his attention and he began scooping them up and playing with them, allowing Keith to wash him undisturbed.

A few minutes into the bath, Keith noticed Shiro staring at him. “What is it, baby?” He asked curiously.

The little stared for a moment before he looked down and scooped up more bubbles, then carefully pressed them to his caregiver’s cheeks. The bubbles stuck to his face and held their shape, causing the baby to laugh.

Keith smiled fondly. “Are you making me look silly?” He asked, Shiro’s response coming in the form of more bubbles being stuck to his chin. The caregiver couldn’t help but laugh at the happy squeals that followed and decided to let the little entertain himself.

While Keith washed Shiro’s hair, the boy played with his growing beard of bubbles, slowly shaping it into a lion’s mane. Eventually, the boy was happy with his masterpiece and clapped, a wide grin on his face.

“Thank you, I look amazing!” His caregiver said proudly as he rinsed the little’s hair out.

Shiro giggled and babbled to him.

Once Keith was finished, he pulled the plug out of the drain and started to dry Shiro off. He then picked the boy up, brought him over to the changing mat on the floor, and laid him down. He quickly wiped away the bubbles with the wet towel, then quickly changed the baby into a thick, nighttime diaper and dressed him in his pajamas.

Already, Shiro looked more than ready for his nap. Keith picked him up again and brought him to his bed. The baby complained quietly as he was laid down and tucked in, but his caregiver gently shushed him and gave him his favorite stuffed husky. “Don’t worry sweetie, I’m not going anywhere. Remember, once you wake up from your nap we’re gonna have some cuddle time, okay?” He cooed, pressing a kiss to the boy’s forehead.

Shiro looked like he wanted to fuss, but he was too sleepy from his bath and being snuggled up in bed with his husky. Before he knew it, his eyes slipped shut and he drifted off to sleep.

“Alright Keith, time for bed!” Hunk cooed as he lifted the baby out of his playpen. He caught the little rubbing his eyes and fussing to himself while he played with his toys, which meant he was too sleepy to stay awake until his usual bedtime. Thankfully, the boy was still young enough to not notice the time as his caregiver picked him up.

Keith fussed against the man’s shoulder and squirmed, prompting him to dip a hand down to check his diaper. It was soaked, so Hunk headed over to the changing table and gently laid the little down. He quickly grabbed a fresh diaper, wipes, and baby powder, then popped the buttons on Keith’s onesie open and rolled the fabric out of the way.

Instantly, the baby began to cry. “Oh, I know honey. I’ll make this quick.” The caregiver soothed as he untapped the wet diaper, wiped the boy clean, and fastened a new, dry one around his hips. He clean his hands and redressed the sleepy little before picking him up again.

Hunk gently bounced the boy on his hip as he made his way to the kitchen. He made Keith’s bottle with one hand while he cooed softly, swaying to keep the baby from getting too cranky in the meantime. A minute later he grabbed the finished bottle and turned towards the stairs, heading for the nursery.

The brunette sat down in the rocking chair by the crib and helped his little get comfortable in his lap. The boy cried tiredly for his bottle during the process, only calming down once the nipple was between his lips and he could nurse from it.

Once Keith was latched on, Hunk began to gently rock the chair. Soon, the baby’s eyes drifted closed and his breathing grew deep and even. He continued to drink from the bottle in his sleep and his caregiver sat patiently until he finished.