Staying Quiet, Going Little- Agere!AU (part 39)
A/N: Little Remus.
that's all you need to know.
also though, I was thinking I could start doing more shippy/romantic stuff when the sides aren't regressed? like since the beginning of this, logicality and prinxiety have been a part of this story but I don't really talk about their relationships outside of regression?? so lmk how you feel about that.
--
The next morning, after the whole situation with Little Patton throwing a fit, the other four sides came over. Virgil and Roman invited the two dark sides to come over for the day just as they were getting ready to leave.
Roman ended up sleeping in Virgil's old room with him, while Janus and Remus eventually went back down to their own rooms before falling asleep. They entered the house the next morning, absolute silence filling the house. Logan was usually awake by now, either making breakfast for little Patton, or big Patton making breakfast for him.
But, neither of them were in the commons or the kitchen. "What if they dieddd?" Remus joked, in his usual intrusive manner.
"They didn't die, you disturbing rat. They're probably in one of their rooms," Roman rolled his eyes, shoving his brother to the side uselessly and going towards the entrance of the hallway.
"Roman, there was no reason to insult or push your brother." Virgil spoke, giving him a look. It almost felt the same as when he scolded him while little. Roman rolled his eyes.
"You have no authority over me when I'm not mentally seven. I can do whatever I want," he entered the hallway and left before Virgil could say anything else. Virgil rolled his eyes, following Janus as he lead the other two to the hallway as well. You could hear Roman's audible 'awe' as he stood at Logan's bedroom doorway.
Looking in, you could see Patton sitting upright, with his back against the headboard next to Logan. Logan had his arm loosely wrapped around his shoulders. Patton wore a pale blue onesie, and he held his rattle. He had a pacifier sitting in his mouth, and he looked very peaceful. Logan was giving Patton his usual endearing and caring look, and the whole sight was precious.
"What color is that, baby? Are you big enough to say it?" Logan urged, pointing to part of the page in the book Patton held in his lap. Patton looked at it, trying his hardest to pronounce the word.
"Ello!" he squeaked.
"Good job, baby! You're so smart," Logan kissed his forehead softly, before preparing to continue on. Patton excitedly shook his rattle, giggling. "Does that make you happy, little one?" Logan gave a soft chuckle. Patton had reacted well to the praise, excited and happy that his Papa was proud of him.
Patton gave a quick nod, and Logan smiled at him again. "Papa, Papa!" when Patton spoke outloud, his statements always sounded closer to babbles then whatever he was actually trying to say, but Logan understood this one because of Patton pointing towards the door.
"Oh, hey." Logan spoke softly, obviously just a bit embarrassed that all the others had seen that. It's not like they didn't know that he constantly gave Patton a lot of affection, but it was still weird because he had thought no one was watching him.
"Hey, Logan. We ended up staying the night at the tower, and we invited Jan and Remus over for the day, so we just wanted to let you guys know." Virgil gave a soft smile to Patton, who leaned into Logan's side more. He seemed a bit shyer, but not to much.
"Alright, I'll bring Patton out there in a bit. I'll probably make dinner tonight, because our designated cook happens to be a baby right now," Logan explained, patting Patton's head softly.
Before the other four left the bedroom door, Janus gave a little soft wave to Patton, who tried to wave back but ended up shaking his rattle instead. Janus chuckled, going into the kitchen with Virgil, while the twins occupied the commons.
Roman tapped away on his phone for a bit, while Remus kinda sat, sulking a bit. He almost looked disappointed, or maybe anxious? Roman couldn't quite tell, but whatever it was, his brother definitely wasn't happy. "Hey, what's up? Are you okay?"
Remus seemed to snap out of a trance, his eyes priorly focusing on a white sippy cup that was left on the table. He seemed to not even realize what he had been looking at, lost in thought. "Oh, what did you say?" he asked Roman to repeat himself. Roman went to do so, but Remus seemed to process what he had said and replied.
"Oh! Yeah, I'm fine. Why?" Remus asked, feigning a confused look. Pretending his far-off glance and distressed look gave Roman nothing to worry about.
"You just seemed...I don't know, like anxious about something? You're always talking and saying what's on your mind, but you just went quiet and seemed stressed out." Roman explained softly, looking at him in a still-concerned way. Remus seemed to have been tense, he tried his best to relax, and let himself lean back into the couch cushions.
"I'm okay, Ro. Promise," It was a painfully bad lie, and Remus cringed at his own words.
"Talk to me, Re." Roman was being serious, coming closer to him so that he didn't have to talk to loud. No one else would have to hear him.
Remus sighed, looking up at him. His eyes had been casted downwards priorly. "I just don't wanna have to be quiet all day. Patton is little, and I'm not supposed to say anything weird around the littles but I don't think you guys understand how hard that is-" his talking speed up, and his voice seemed panicky. Not quite comparable to Virgil when he had panic attacks, but comparable to Roman's rushed and teary-eyed apologies when he felt guilty while little. He took a deep breath, and Roman spoke before he got the chance to continue his rambling.
"Hey, calm down. You're okay, I promise," Roman instructed. Remus paused, nodding and taking a few slow, calming breaths. "Now, I know that it's hard to filter your thoughts out so that whatever you say is acceptable around littles, but no one is gonna get mad at you if you do mess up, okay?" Roman tried to be reassuring. The only times he really had to comfort someone was when Virgil was either having a panic attack (which resulted in regression most of the time), or when Virgil was little and upset. So he tried his best not to speak like he would to a toddler, but that's all he knows.
"Last time I just gave up and stayed quiet until we left. That's what I do every time, I ask you to go somewhere else with me, or I stay silent the whole time. I don't like being quiet." He whined at the end of his statement, seemingly working himself up over something that hadn't even happened yet.
One thing Roman knew, something him and Remus shared, they didn't like being quiet. Unless they were doing something where they were voluntarily quiet, not speaking their mind was something that was hard for them. They were both creativity, they constantly had thoughts and ideas running through their heads, and their purpose is to share them.
"How about we go somewhere else? We can always go make a new building or something somewhere in the imagination. You can be as loud as you want, and you don't have to worry about anything." Roman offered, Remus shaking his head.
"Is okay." he mumbled, startled when Logan and Patton entered the commons. He whimpered a bit, sinking into the couch behind him. Roman definitely seemed suspicious of this, not in a judgmental way, but in a curious way.
"Hello, Roman and Remus." Logan greeted, sitting down next to Patton's play mat. Patton clumsily sat on it, setting his rattle down. He still had his pacifier in his mouth, and he still looked very, very small. The only difference between Patton's voluntary regressions (When Logan babied him, or when Patton triggers the headspace himself), and his involuntary ones (When he gets to stressed, or suddenly falls into the headspace), is that he can pull himself out of the voluntary ones at any point. He woke up little the day prior, and voluntarily regressed again because Logan was still in caregiver mode.
Roman greeted him back, while Remus gave a soft wave rather then a verbal reply. "Remus, are you okay?" Roman asked again. Remus shrugged a bit, starting to twirl his white piece of hair between his fingers. "That's not a real answer, Re."
"I'm fine, Ro." Remus replied in a slightly high-pitched voice. He was acting like the other sides did when they were close to regressing. That in-between state of slight shyness, not knowing whether they should let themselves regress or not, all while just wanting someone to hand them little gear and give them cuddles.
Remus, personally, felt really, really off. His head felt fuzzy, like he couldn't think straight. Every thought he had was childlike and weird. Where was the gross thoughts about murder and death?
"Remus, are you alright?" Logan hadn't been paying attention to their conversation, playing with Patton. He had glanced up, and he saw the boy closing in on himself, almost hugging himself.
Remus didn't reply, looking at Patton. He didn't wanna be quiet, but he did care about Patton. And he knew saying weird things would upset him, even if Patton didn't fully understand what he was talking about. "Hey, Remus. Are you verbal currently?" Logan asked, Patton now looking concerned. He seemed to be thinking, mentally backing himself out of his baby mindset.
Remus looked confused, looking down at his lap with a childish innocence. At some point within the last few moments, Virgil and Janus exited the kitchen and stood in the doorway, watching the situation from where Remus couldn't see them.
Remus replied after a moment, "I can talk." His voice was pretty level, but it seemed like he was forcing it a bit. Like he was forcing himself to talk in a "big voice".
"Okay, are you regressing?" Logan asked blatantly, waiting for a response. Remus curled in on himself again, bringing his thumb to his lip without responding at first.
"Think so..." he mumbled eventually, to were only Roman could hear him clearly.
"I'm gonna go get changed," Patton said suddenly, standing up and going to leave.
"Wait, you're big now?" Logan asked. Patton nodded before replying.
"Take care of Remus, I'll be back."
It was shocking how quick Patton could back himself out of his headspace in favor of helping Remus. Of course, he had been voluntarily regressed, but even then, he usually never forces himself out of headspace for anything. But right now, Logan didn't comment on it in favor of making sure Remus was all right.
"How old do you feel, bubba?" Roman questioned, Janus and Virgil now standing behind the couch. They gave each other a glance. Janus had mentioned the possibility of Remus, along with the other unknown dark sides, being regressors. And now, it was happening.
"Five?" he seemed questioning of his own statement, and just overwhelmed in general.
"That's okay, how about we get you dressed in something more kidlike? You can take anything from my closet," Roman offered, moving to stand up and reaching his hand out to help his, now little, brother up. Remus nodded in agreement, taking his hand and standing up.
"Hey, buddy. Are you hungry?" Logan asked before they left. Remus thought for a moment before nodding a bit. He was surprisingly quiet. Whenever anyone considered the possibility of Remus regressing, they pictured a hyper and fairly-bratty kiddospace little who doesn't like rules. Not an obedient, quiet, and somewhat shy five year old.
"Let Roman help you get dressed, and I'll have a snack ready for you when you get back, alright bubba?" Logan spoke softly, to the boy, who nodded a bit while chewing on his thumb. Roman softly guided him into the hallway, and the rest of the sides could hear Roman's door shut behind him. Within a few seconds, Patton came out of the hallway, dressed in his normal attire.
"So Remus is a regressor. Only slightly surprising," Logan commented.
"That makes all of us...kinda," Virgil replied, pausing and rethinking his statement halfway through.
"I mean, we don't know about the neutral sides. And the unknowns too, who knows for sure." Janus pointed out.
"We should start talking to the neutral sides, why don't we?" Patton looked to Logan, as if he'd know.
"The same reason we didn't talk to Janus or Remus, we don't know them and there's a risk that we wont get along." Logan reasoned, the other three nodding.
"Well," Logan spoke again after a few moments of silence, "I'm gonna go make the little duke a snack."
Patton nodded, giving Logan a small smile. Logan returned it before turning and disappearing into the kitchen.
"He's...quiet. You think that he's gonna stay like that, or is he just shy because this is his first time regressing?" Janus asked, looking at Patton, who shrugged.
"I don't know. I hope he's not as bratty as Roman." Virgil joked.
They kept talking for a bit until Roman stood in the entrance of the hallway, Remus hiding behind the wall where they couldn't see him. "And I present, the lovely, adorable, and kiddish..... Baby Remus!" he dramatically said, Remus giggling and coming out from behind the wall.
Patton started clapping playfully, which Virgil and Janus joined in on, causing Remus to smile and blush a bit. He was wearing a white shirt, with dark green overalls. His hair was messy, and the white streak fell over his eyes a bit with the rest of his bangs. Roman had helped his take of his makeup, and somehow, his mustache looked cute and fit perfectly with the kidish aesthetic his outfit pulled together.
"Awe, look at you! You're cute, aren't you?" Janus said. Remus nodded.
"Just cute, no scary." he confirmed.
"No scary?" Virgil repeated teasingly. Remus nodded.
"No scary." he repeated again in confirmation. Virgil seemed to hold an identical smile to Janus's endearing one, but neither got to respond because Remus was distracted by Logan bringing in a plate with snacks for him.
"Okay, you have to eat all the grapes before you can have the cookie, alright bud?" Logan asked, sitting the kiddy plate on the coffee table, Remus immediately sitting in front of the couch on the floor so that he could easily reach it.
"Okay, thank yous." he mumbled, before immediately shoving multiple grapes into his mouth.
"Make sure to chew your food, okay bubba?" Roman sat behind him, hoping he'd take his words into account. Remus nodded a bit.
Virgil took the remote and opened Disney+, looking for something Remus was sure to love. He pointed at the screen randomly while Virgil was scrolling through the movies. Virgil paused, and Remus shook his head. Virgil went back one, landing on "Lilo and Stitch". Remus looked behind him with a pleading pout.
"Okay, okay, no need to pout. I'll play it!" he laughed, and Remus looked back towards the screen as Virgil played it.
They'd talk about this later, work out what Remus's headspace range was, who'd care for him when he regressed. But all of that was for later. For now, they were going to watch a simple childrens movie and hopefully get to know Little Remus.
Now that the six of them were all confirmed regressors, you'd think that that'd be the end of the story. But there was definitely more to come.
Thing would change for them real soon, a lot more then they could ever predict.
-- A/N: Spooky foreshadowing ending in an agere story? Yeah. this is my first time ever writing little!remus and idk how I did? lmk please?? I hope y’all liked it, sorry this took forever million years to do. But now that I finally got here, I hope I can start writing quicker and moving the story along at a faster pace, y’know? Please send me asks about this chapter, if you want! I appreciate feedback sm!