#cg!alex jatp

[ghostboybabies]

little ghost boy || [JATP Agere/CGLRE] “How Things Work” (Chapter 9)

A/N: Sorry there was a longer wait between chapters! I'm currently working on an original agere work, and midterms are coming up so I have quite a bit going on! I decided to take some time before bed to finish up this chapter and release it! It's kinda short, and is mostly there to advance the plot, but the next chapter should be longer.

I hope you like it!

--

"Alex, I have something to tell you..." Reggie trailed off, internally panicking but trying to keep it together.

"What is it, Reg?"

Alex realized that whatever this was was serious and important to him. He went over to sit on Julie's stool, next to the bed that Julie, Luke, and Reggie sat at. Reggie took a few deep

"I'm something called a little, I think like a little kid sometimes, when I get stressed or anxious or sad. Sometimes it happens when I get to happy, too, just depends." Reggie stopped there, looking at Alex's face and trying to gage his reaction to it as the blonde processed his words.

"Really?" Alex finally replied, "I knew it."

"You knew it?" Luke questioned.

"Willie told me that he didn't care if I said anything if you were also a little," Alex thought aloud, mumbling under his breath, "Willie's a little too, and I thought that you might be one but I didn't know for sure."

"Oh." Reggie stated simply. "You knew, I panicked over nothing, great." he mumbled, running his fingers through his hair. Alex softened his face,

"Even if I didn't already have suspicions, I would've supported you. How long have you been a regressor?" Alex questioned, trying to start a casual conversation to make him more comfortable.

Reggie went to open his mouth, but Luke interrupted. "So we're just gonna completely skip over the fact that Willie's a little? Is that why you're always with him? Are you his caregiver?"

"I'll let him tell you guys about his littlespace when he wants to, and yeah, that's why I'm with him a lot. I'm his caregiver," Alex confirmed. "Are you Reggie's?"

"Uh, no? Kinda?" Luke seemed hesitant, not quite sure.

"We haven't talked about it," Reggie clarified. Alex nodded slowly, his eyes suspiciously flicking between the two of them.

"Is Julie?" Alex asked, looking at the girl who had been remaining silent.

"I haven't talked to her either. And I've been regressing in private since we were alive, maybe since I was 14-ish, but I didn't know there was a name for it until a few months ago." Reggie shifted the topic of the conversation.

"How long has Luke and Julie known?"

"Luke found me regressed around a month ago, and Julie did the same thing about two weeks ago. You're the only person I've willingly told," he admitted, scratching the back of his head awkwardly.

"I'm glad you told me, Reggie. If there's ever anything I can do to help, let me know. Is there anything else you wanna tell me?"

"Is there anything else you wanna know?" Reggie challenged. He knew that talking about his headspace could very easily trigger it, but he could avoid that if he tried hard enough.

"Do you want me and Julie to stay, or would you rather us go?" Luke interrupted again. They didn't really play a role in this conversation, and Reggie seemed a lot more comfortable now that he knew Alex wasn't going to judge him.

"You can go, if you want. Wait in the studio for us?"

Luke nodded, standing up. Julie did too, the two of them moving to exit the room. "Why didn't you tell me before? I'm assuming you do it for anxiety, you know I deal with the same thing, I would've understood."

"And trauma." he corrected, before continuing. "And I know, I was just scared, I guess. But with Luke and Julie reassuring me, I felt a lot safer. So I told you."

Alex hummed, "And how old are you when you're small? Willie is 4 to 8 most of the time."

"I'm between a tiny baby and around five," Reggie admitted, blushing deeply. "I don't know how Luke and Julie deal with me." he added.

Alex chuckled, "I don't know if I could take care of a toddler, so I couldn't tell you. Are they good at taking care of you?"

Reggie nodded quickly, "Mhm! I was little earlier, we made a blanket fort and cuddled and watched-" Reggie cut himself off, realizing he was talking in his little voice again. He felt little so much more often now, when he knew he had people to take care of him. He spent a lot of time in his headspace.

Not an unhealthy amount, he still managed his band responsibilities and such, but those were his only responsibilities. Besides the band, practices and song writing, he just sat around. And filling his free time with being a kid was kinda fun.

Plus, he was being asked about two of his favorite people in the whole world! The bestest Mama and...Luke, in the world. How could he not slip when talking about them in that sense? They made him feel safe.

"What did you watch?" Alex asked curiously, smirking a bit when he realized what was happening.

"Winnie the Pooh." Reggie answered quietly. "D-do you have any more questions?" Reggie bit on his lip, fiddling with his hands in his lap. He didn't need to be little right now. But he did really, really want to.

Well, maybe he did need more little time. He had just done a really brave and scary thing, and now that everything was okay, some more relaxing time seemed nice. No, no, no. He was fine. He could be big, he was a teenager.

"I can't think of any now, but I'm sure they'll come up....oh, do you wanna hang out with Willie or something? It can be like a playdate thing, or just some time to talk about everything together now that you have something in common," Alex offered. "You don't have too, I know you're not close to him-"

"I'd love to. Meeting another little sounds nice," Reggie interrupted. "Just take me with you when you go to see him."

"I think that's it for now. We can talk more later," Alex said, Reggie nodding in agreement immediately. "For now, do you wanna go to the studio to be with Luke and Julie?"

Reggie nodded a bit. Alex stood up, Reggie following his actions. They poofed into the studio, seeing Julie and Luke on the couch. "Can- can we play cars, please?" Reggie stumbled over his words, his voice falling into a childlike one as he ran over to where they were sitting.

Luke glanced at Julie, who looked to Alex. They all seemed to make a silent agreement. Tonight was a little night. A chance for Alex to meet Little Reggie, and for Reggie to try regressing around him willingly.

He wasn't completely little yet, but he could be. The smallest thing could push him into his headspace right now. That wasn't a bad thing, though. He was feeling small because he felt safe. And feeling safe means more baby time.

That's simply how it worked.

Luke and Julie take care of Reggie, because they're good with kids and don't mind babysitting.  That's just how it worked.

Reggie regressed a lot, because it helped him. That's how it works.

Alex is supportive of his friends, because he cares about them. Fortunately for Reggie, that's how things worked.

Right now, things were working pretty well overall. All three of his closest friends were supportive of him, setting him up for a life where he can regress fairly openly. Plus, he'd get to talk to another little. He was pretty happy with the situation.

Let's just hope things stay that way. Let's hope that things continue going well and everyone stays happy.

But is that how things work?

--

A/N: Haha spooky onimous endings are funny, especially when used in a fic genre that usually doesn't focus on plot/suspense. Have fun theorizing as I work on the next chapter.

[ghostboybabies]

little ghost boy || [JATP Agere/CGLRE]- “Panic Attacks and Secrets” (Chapter 8)

A/N: been planning *this* plot point for a while. Hope y'all enjoy.

Reggie panics and involuntarily regresses after a nightmare, Alex meets up with Willie at a skatepark when band practice is cancelled, and Reggie makes a big decision.

--

Reggie wanted Luke.

Now.

He couldn't breathe. Or at least, it felt that way. He didn't remember what was so scary about his dream at first, all he knew is that it upset him.

Tears ran down his face as he sobbed, sniffling. He sat up, taking in his surroundings. He was in Julie's bed. He didn't recall why, but he was glad he had the stuffed bear Julie gave him for comfort.

He knew that he was very little but he didn't care. This was to much for him. And he needed Luke.

"Reggie, it's time to get up for band practice-"

Reggie heard Julie's voice as she opened the door, speaking casually until she got a glance of him. "Oh my god, Reg! What happened?" She shut her door behind her, and quickly came to sit next to him on the bed.

She had let him nap in her room because he had stayed up late the night before doing something, planning to come wake him up before band practice.

Reggie shook his head, closing in on himself and squeezing the bear. "Mama!" Reggie cried, babbling over his words. He panicked, his breathing becoming more quickened and panicky.

"Baby, I need you to breathe for me. Like me, okay?" Julie continued to breathe in deeply, and then out. Reggie nodded, attempting to follow her lead. She didn't care that he was little at a bad time, she just wanted him to be okay.  Julie didn't ask for an explanation, nor did she question what was going on. In the moment, she just did everything she could to help him calm down.

She continued on, muttering praise and reassurance until his breathing was more level. "Bad dream, mama! Scary and I wan Luke..." he whined, still sniffling.

"It's okay, baby," Julie opened her arms, letting him hug her. He snuggled into her chest, hugging her tightly. "And I'll see if I can get Luke for you, yeah?"

"Band pwactice?" Reggie pulled away, tilting his head. "Gotta be big."

"No, you don't. You just had some sort of panic attack and that's what this is for, remember? To deal with your mental health and emotions."

Reggie nodded, and Julie continued. "We don't have a gig for a week, we'll come up with another time to practice. And...I'll come up with something to tell Alex. You just play with your stuffie, okay?"

Reggie picked the bear back up from the bed, hugging it and nodding. Julie's breathing exercise and affection helped comfort him a bit, but he still didn't feel well. He wanted Luke.

Luke's comfort seemed so important in the moment due to the contents of his dream. The nightmare made him afraid of losing Luke, and he needed to know that he wouldn't.

Julie leaned forward and kissed his forehead. Reggie hugged the stuffed animal, trying to focus on keeping his breathing level for the time being, watching his Mama leave the room.

--

"Julie!" Luke cheered once Julie entered the studio, dropping his smile when he saw how serious she looked. "Where's Reggie?"

"I need to talk to you," Julie said, in a serious tone that scared him a bit. . Luke lifted his guitar over his head, going over and setting it on his stand.

"I'll be back." He told Alex, following Julie out of the studio and leaving the blonde very confused. Once they were outside, and the garage doors were shut behind him, he spoke aloud, questioning what was going on.

"What's up, Jules?"

"Reggie had a panic attack," Julie sighed, seemingly worried. "He said something about a bad dream and he's very little and he's asking for you. Can we cancel band practice? Can you please go spend some time with him?" Julie pleaded. She was really worried.

"Of course...I'll tell Alex that Reggie had a nightmare but leave out the details. He used to get them pretty bad, about his parents and stuff, and he'd be sensitive after. I'm sure he won't think anything of it," Luke decided, nodding. "I'll talk to Reggie, and then we can all do something as a distraction for him, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan." Julie confirmed, still on-edge.

"Hey," Luke spoke softly to her, picking up on her stress. "He's gonna be okay. We'll figure this out."

Julie hummed, nodding. "Yeah...thanks for that." She thanked him for the comfort, and Luke smiled.

"Of course."

--

"Nightmares? I feel so bad...I thought those went away," Alex frowned, worried for his friend. "Can I see him? I used to help him when he had them when we were alive."

"No!" Julie said, immediately. She awkwardly chuckled, "We got this. You go hang out with Willie or something, and we can all hang out later tonight." she compromised. Julie understood that Alex was worried and tried to come up with a solution that would allow him to see Reggie, without exposing him for being an age regressor.

"O-okay, yeah. You sure you got this?" Alex looked to Luke, who nodded. "When I come back, can we talk all about something?" Alex asked.

"Uh, yeah. Whatever you want, just not right now." Luke wasn't really worried about whatever he was planning to bring up, just trying to get him out so that he could go help his baby.

Alex nodded, setting his drumsticks down and stepping away from the drum set. Luke gave him a soft smile, before poofing out as Julie exited through the door. Alex didn't know what was up, but he was worried.

It seemed like Luke was always trying to keep him out of the house, and while he loved spending time with his boyfriend, he was missing his friends too. But he was kinda thankful about it, because they never questioned why he was gone all the time, they just seemed to be glad that he wasn't in the house to discover whatever they were keeping from him.

They were hiding something from him, but he was hiding something too. It wasn't his secret to tell anyways. It was Willie's.

He figured that he should go check on the boy in question anyways. With everything going on, Willie was always pretty stressed. Hiding a relationship from the person who owns your soul will do that to you. He poofed out, appearing on a bench at a empty skate park.

How long would it be before it hit them that their secrets were exactly the same? At least, Willie and Reggie's were.

--

"Luke!" Reggie made grabby hands towards his friend the moment he appeared in the room. Luke came forward, leaning down to hug him without making him get up from the bed. Reggie cuddled into his chest. "Scary dream, Luke! You didn't wanna be friends anymore- and Julie left too. And Alex-" he started rambling, working himself back to tears again.

"Baby, none of us would ever leave you, okay? I know nightmares can be scary but they're not real. "  Luke assured, kissing the top of Reggie's head softly. "None of us are going anywhere, I promise you."

He let go of Reggie, letting him settle back into the bed. "I heard you kinda panicked. Are you feeling okay?" Luke sat on the bed next to him, hearing the door open as Julie entered. She didn't interrupt, closing the door behind her and taking her spot on the other side of Reggie as he replied.

"Still sad." he mumbled, shaking his head. "Don't wanna lose you," he said.

"I know, baby. You won't," Luke repeated. Julie seemed concerned. "Do you wanna tell Mama what the dream was about?"

Reggie turned to Julie, bringing his thumb to his lip. "Lost Luke, and yous, and Alex. Didn't wanna be friends anymore," he pouted.

"Poor baby," Julie opened his arms, letting him hug her. "Luke's right, we're not going anywhere. I can promise you that, Little Prince."

Reggie hummed, cuddling into her too. "Hey, Rockstar?" Luke asked after a minute of just them hugging. Reggie pulled away from Julie, tilting his head as he looked over at him. "Will a movie make you feel a bit better?" Luke asked.

Reggie shrugged. "We could watch Winnie the Pooh!" Julie suggested, in a excited tone that made Reggie really wanna watch it. He pouted though, shaking his head. "Why not, Flower?"

"Makes me littler," he mumbled shyly, his face a little pink.

Luke gave an amused smile. "And exactly how big are you right now?" he questioned in a teasing tone.

"Dunno," Reggie pouted. "Not a baby," he decided.

"Hmm, well...does Winnie the Pooh make you happy?" Julie interrupted, joining back in on the conversation. Reggie nodded slowly. "Then what does it matter if it triggers a younger headspace? You're allowed to be little, even if 'little' is very young."

Reggie seemed hesitant to agree, but Julie leaned forward and kissed him on the forehead, distracting him from whatever he was going to say. "I'll set up the show. Julie, is there any way to get more blankets so that the baby is more comfy? We can build a little pillow fort!"

Reggie bounced it place. "Yeah, Mama, can we?"

Julie rolled her eyes, playfully glaring at Luke, chuckling a bit. "Yeah, I'll see what I can do. Reggie, you can be my little helper!"

"That's a very important job, mister." Luke said playfully. Reggie nodded, seeming determined to help Julie with whatever she needed. Julie stood up, reaching out her hand for Reggie to take.

What Reggie needed right now was a distraction. And Julie and Luke were providing just that. They always seemed to know what he needed and how to help him.

And Reggie would always be thankful for that.

--

Alex poofed onto a bench in an empty skate park, looking around for Willie.

"Alex!" Willie cheered, stopping his skateboard in front of the bench. He sat down next to him. Alex still had no idea how they were always able to correctly guess where the other was most of the time. It was weird.

"Hey, Willie," Alex chuckled at his excitement. "How are you?"

"Not little, if that's what you're getting at," Willie told him. "Actually though, I'm pretty okay at the moment! I've been skating and just hanging out. You?"

"Well, I was supposed to practice with the band today but then they cancelled it because of Reggie. He was pretty shaken up after a nightmare, they wouldn't let me see him for some reason." Alex explained.

"It sounds like they're hiding something related to Reggie from you. Do you have any ideas on what it could be?" Willie frowned, sitting back in the bench and getting settled.

"Actually, I think I might."

"Go on," Willie seemed interested.

"At first I thought it was just a weird Reggie thing- but on Halloween night, I caught Reggie sleeping and sucking his thumb. I-i think he might be like you," Alex seemed hesitant, like he wasn't completely sure.

"I mean, I think that's possible. You said that he deals with anxiety too, right? And that he didn't have the best childhood?"

Alex nodded in affirmation. "Those are both two things people can use age regression to deal with."

Alex nodded again, "There's so many other things too. I was thinking it in the back of my mind since you told me about you a month ago, but I didn't know for sure. He will disappear with either Julie or Luke, or both, for extended periods of time. Whenever I come home, one of them will distract me until the other two come back, and Reggie always is kinda shy."

"Like I am when I come out of littlespace," Willie connected.

"Yeah, I don't know, but I do think it's possible. Either way, I'm gonna ask them about it tonight, see if I can figure out what they're keeping from me." Alex ran his fingers through his hair. "But while I'm here, do you wanna do something?"

"I-i know I said I wasn't little-"

"You can be if you want." Alex cut him off, smiling at him. Willie smiled back, nodding.

"Okay. Cool. Can we go to the park?" Willie was thankful. He could only ever feel comfortable being little away from the club, and it was much easier to be a kid when you had someone to play with.

"Of course."

--

"Luke! Look at all the blankies we got!" Reggie giggled, coming over to Julie's bed and dumping a pile of soft blankets on the bed. He looked so proud of himself for helping, even though it was obvious that Julie carried more and did all the work.

"Whoa! Those are a lot! You must be so strong, baby."

Reggie blushed a little bit. He was still getting used to the praise thing. Instead of pointing out things he did wrong, or getting mad at him, they made a point to tell him what he did well. While softly correcting and helping him improve in spots he could do better. Instead of 'You're not good enough', it was 'You're amazing, and we're gonna help you be even better'.

"Now you get to help me set this up! I don't know how we're gonna do a fort though..." she trailed off, looking around her room. "We could pull the chair over here, and use the stool to create a roof? Just drape the blanket across it and set up on the floor?"

They eventually figured out the blanket fort thing, setting it up on the ground. They all cuddled up inside of it, Reggie sitting between his friends with the computer on his lap. Reggie was definitely right about the show making him littler.

He was sucking on his thumb and cuddling both his bear and Luke. Julie had been the one mainly taking care of Reggie the past few times he regressed, and he seemed to want Luke now. That dream spooked him, and out of the two people he trusted, he wanted the one he knew longer. Julie didn't take offence to that, just glad that he was feeling better.

Reggie kept giggling at the movie, but he eventually fell back asleep against Luke. Luke reached forward,pressing the spacebar on the laptop to pause the show once he was sure the baby was sleeping. "We should let him get some more sleep. He can stay in the pillow fort, though." Luke suggested.

Julie nodded, "The crying probably tired him back out. We can let him sleep for a while and hopefully he'll be big when he wakes up."

Luke nodded a bit in response, closing the laptop and setting it aside, working to carefully lay Reggie down without waking him up. He stirred a bit at the last minute, whining. "No go.." Reggie mumbled sleepily. He fell back asleep basically immediately, but Luke's heart melted.

"Julie, he's so adorable-"

"I know, but if you spend a million years cooing over him, we're never gonna come up with something to tell Alex."

Luke rolled his eyes, proceeding to climb out of their little fort, followed by Julie.

Little did they know, there was no need to lie to Alex. They'll figure it out eventually.

--

"I have to go home, kiddo. I'm sorry," Alex looked at the pouty kid in front of him, frowning a bit.

"But Awex!" Willie whined. "Wanna keep playin'."

Alex smiled a bit at his mispronunciation of his name, "I know, Little One. But we can always play later, right?"

Willie nodded, casting his eyes down. "Mkay. I miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Willie." Alex opened his arms, letting the little hug him. Little Willie had an older headspace age then Little Reggie, for sure, but they were alike in many ways. When they eventually met, and interacted in littlespace, it was undoubtedly going to be an absolutely adorable sight to see.

But of course, there were many things that needed to happen before they got there. Many secrets to be told. Many conversations to be had.

"Can you be a big kid for me, buddy? I know big Willie can take care of himself, I don't know about you, though."

Willie pouted, but he nodded nonetheless. "Be big after you leave, pwomise." he held out his pinky childishly.

Alex gave an amused smile, wrapping his pinky around his. "I know it's hard to pull yourself out of headspace. It's okay."

After a moment of silence, Alex leaned forward, kissing Willie's forehead before smiling at him. "I'll see you later."

Willie hummed, stepping back as he poofed out. Willie frowned, sad that he was gone. He stepped back onto the playground, going over to the swings and taking a seat.

He had to be big before heading back to the club. Sometimes, Caleb wasn't the nicest person about the more childish part of him. Only sometimes, when things at the club weren't doing well and there was a lot going on. And Willie knew he had been pretty stressed after failing to possess a teenage boy for more then a few day. And getting yelled at for not being able to understand orders wasn't something on his 'to-do' list for today.

He was glad he got to spend some time with Alex, though.

--

"There, all the pillow fort stuff is put away. I think Alex will be heading back soon, though." Luke said, looking over to a nervous Reggie as he set one of Julie's pillows back in place on her bed.

"Are you sure you wanna tell him? We can come up with a lie." Julie offered, coming to sit next to him. Reggie shook his head a bit.

"I'm okay. I-i'm sure about this. Nervous out of my mind, but sure."

"Okay, Reg. Just let us know if you change your mind." Luke told him, sitting down as well.

"I will." Reggie assured, biting on his lip and bouncing his knee. He was very nervous. This was the first time he'd be willingly telling someone, and it was terrifying. He could still back out, but he didn't think he wanted to. He trusted Alex, and he knew somewhere, deep down, that he'd probably be okay with it.

The most he'd do is tease him playfully like Luke did. But it was still scary.

Alex walked through the door, talking about how he had gone to the studio to find them first. Reggie waited until he was done with his rambling, speaking up nervously.

"Alex, I have something to tell you..."

Was he really doing this?

--

A/N: Reblogs and asks with your thoughts/reactions to this chapter are very much appreciated! Thank you for reading!

[ghostboybabies]

little ghost boy || [JATP Agere/CGLRE] “Someone Who Cares”- Chapter 10

A/N: This is sad, warning for Reggie kinda talking badly about himself. This is an important plot point that needed to happen at some point, might as well get it over with. I hope you guys like it!

--

"Why're you pouting, Little Rockstar?"

Luke, Julie, and Alex sat side by side on the couch in the studio, Reggie previously busying himself with coloring at the coffee table. Julie let him use her old art supplies, crayons and markers and stickers, and do whatever he wanted. Now, he sat, tapping a red crayon rhythmically against his paper, holding it between two fingers.

With every tap, a red dot appeared on the paper. He seemed bored, and pouty, as Luke pointed out. He looked up to see all three of his friends staring at him.

"Not pouting." he mumbled, adjusting his crayon in his hand, interrupting the rhythm,  and drawing a little heart with it on the edge of the paper.

"Yeah you are. What's up, Flower?" Julie asked.

Alex looked at Julie curiously. "Flower?" he questioned.

"Pwetty as a flower," Reggie explained in his childish voice, not replying to Julie's question. He bit at his lip, switching out his crayon to another color.

Alex nodded, "That's cute."

Julie ignored Alex, still waiting for a response from the toddler-minded boy. Reggie looked up, "I'm fine," he whined, only pouting even more. Luke sighed, leaning forward a bit towards him.

"Come here, Reg," he ordered, patting his lap a bit. Reggie hesitantly jumped up, making his way over nervously, and sitting on his lap. He settled, feeling better as Luke wrapped his arms around his waist, holding him close. "You stopped pouting," Luke noticed. "Did you just want cuddles?"

Reggie blushed a bit, nodding as he casted his eyes down to Luke's hands around his waist. "You could've just asked, baby." Luke sighed, kissing the side of his head. Alex watched the whole scene, smiling a bit. Luke and Julie were really good with Reggie.

Julie and Reggie had a different bond then Luke and Reggie did, you could tell. Both were affectionate, and close. But still different. Reggie seemed to prefer playing with Luke, but usually requested affection from Julie. Julie was usually the one to correct his behavior if he needed it, while Luke was better at praise and compliments.

To Alex, someone who took care of Willie alone, it was interesting to see them work together.

Reggie and Willie hadn't talked yet, but there was a playdate scheduled for the next day. It had been around a week since Reggie told Alex, and not much had happened. There was no need for a long educational conversation on age regression, because Willie had already done that for him.

Reggie had been big besides a few quick moments the whole week due to an gig that took place the day prior, focusing on band rehearsals and such. This is where Reggie's internal struggle began.

When he found out and processed that Luke had cancelled band practice for him, he immediately felt bad about how much time Luke and Julie gave up for him. Luke and Julie had other, better things to do besides take care of him. Reggie used to go long periods of time without regressing, he didn't need it.

If Luke and Julie really knew what was going on, there'd be a lecture about repressing regression waiting for him. It wasn't like he was planning on telling him.

Today, Reggie didn't even count on slipping. He woke up small the morning after the gig, the regression probably being a result of a combination of things. He had just worked hard for a week or so to make sure everything turned out perfect. He also switched from almost daily regression to none at all, so eventually, it happened without his control.

Reggie didn't seem to realize it, but Julie and Luke were kinda relieved when he regressed. They had been kind of worried about the sudden decline of time in littlespace, and they missed taking care of him if they were honest.

But this internal struggle, of feeling guilty for needing help and extra care, was what caused Reggie's weird behavior. He wanted cuddles and attention but he didn't wanna waste anyone's time. But he was already small and being big felt so hard, and he knew that Luke and Julie weren't gonna leave him alone and not take care of him while he was little.

Well, there was one exception to the "not leaving him alone" rule. Nap time.

It wasn't a requirement that Reggie took naps every day. But sometimes, if he got sleepy, one of his friends would lay him down and come back half an hour later to wake him up. Sometimes, they'd stay with him and they'd cuddle. Others, he'd be left alone with a stuffie and lots of blankets while Luke helped Julie make herself a snack.

And if Reggie woke up before they came back to check on him, he'd play with a stuffie quietly until someone did. Today, when he woke up in Julie's bedroom, he did something different.

His decision was impulsive and not thought through. One moment, he was sitting in Julie's bed, feeling bad about everything. And the next, he was in CD Sundays, surrounded by a few toys.

How had he gotten here?

--

Reggie tried to play by himself. He really did. He used to do it all the time.

A few toy cars would entertain him for hours. But now, it seemed that occupying himself without a caregiver was impossible. But he kept trying.

He didn't need them. He was only wasting their time.

He got frustrated eventually, throwing the red toy car to the ground with a huff. A million questions seemed to take over his mind at once, overriding the childish, innocent, and playful thoughts that usually occupied his mind while he was small.  

Why wasn't this fun? When did he start crying? Why did he want a hug from Mama and Daddy so much right now?

These were to many questions for a baby. To many emotions. He needed them, he realized. Everything felt like to much without them. Taking care of himself was harder then he remembered.

--

"Where's Reggie?" Julie's panicked voice sounded as she ran out of her room and down the stairs.

"In your room?" Alex questioned from his spot on the living room couch, sitting up. Julie shook her head,

"He's gone. Is he hiding?"

Luke jumped up, running his fingers through his hair. "Maybe he woke up early and went to the studio?" He looked to Alex, who nodded.

"I'll check. You two, search the house."

They all agreed on roles, splitting up in an effort to find the little.

But when they came up empty handed, Julie became panicky, while Luke grew frustrated. Alex paced around the room, while Julie searched it, and Luke sat on the bed. "Who the hell decided to give a little teleportation powers?"

"An idiot." Julie replied. She had one thought lingering in the back of her mind that made her scared. What if Caleb got him?

Yeah, it was unlikely that the evil ghost appeared in her house, took only Reggie, and left. But it was technically a possibility. A scary one, at that.

"He could be anywhere," Alex sighed. Luke ran his fingers through his hair, pausing.

"Technically, yes," He began, sitting up all the way. "But I know one place he used to go to while little." he realized, jumping up.

"I'm gonna go check somewhere. You guys just stay here in case he comes back, okay?"

Julie and Alex nodded, watching Luke poof out.

--

"Baby!"

Reggie glanced up from his curled up position when he heard Luke's voice, revealing his teary face. He made grabby hands immediately, "Dada!" he whined.

Just like Luke had done around a month ago, he ran over and dropped down to sit next to him. He hugged him close, holding him in his arms tightly. "You scared the hell out of us, you know that?" he pulled away, taking a deep breath and he looked over Reggie's face.

"Sowwy, didn' mean to scawe anyone." Reggie mumbled with a sniffle, rubbing at his face. Add that to the list of thinks he felt guilty for.

"What are you doing here?" Luke questioned, looking around. He noticed the toy cars and his stuffed animal scattered over the floor, looking back to him. "You disappeared during your nap and came here? Why?"

"Felt bad. Didn' wanna waste your time." Reggie explained.

"What? You're not wasting my time-" he cut himself off, pausing. "I love taking care of you, and so does Julie. How long have you felt like this?"

"Y-you cancelled band practice," his voice became a little clearer as he managed to force himself into a slightly bigger headspace so that he could talk. "You and Juwie give up lots of time for me. You shouldn't have to."

"I know we don't have to, we do this because we want to. And because we care about you." Luke sighed, cupping the side of his face and wiping his tears with his thumb. "And you came here to be little by yourself?"

Reggie nodded. "I used to play by my m'self, a-and take care of m'self," he explained, bringing his thumb up to his lips. "B-but it's to hard, Daddy." he cried, his eyes glossing over as he began to sniffle and sob again. Any 'big' part of his mind slipped away as he cried, reaching out for Luke.  Luke opened his arms once more, allowing him to bury his head in his chest and snuggle into him.

"Shh, baby. I know," he swayed in place a bit, rubbing his back as he tried to help calm him down. "Little boys shouldn't have to take care of themselves. That's what Mommy's and Daddy's are for, Rockstar."

"I wish you would've talked to us before things got this bad," he spoke as Reggie pulled away, wiping at his eyes again.

"m' sowwy." Reggie muttered, bringing his thumb to his lip again. He felt a lot better now. He wasn't a waste of time, or annoying. He wasn't getting in the way of anything. Luke and Julie simply cared about him, so they liked caring for him.

That's just how it worked.

"Don't be. If this is anyone's fault, it's mine, for not talking to you when I thought something was wrong." Luke sighed, seemingly upset with himself. Reggie tilted his head curiously. "After regressing with Alex for the first time, you stopped regressing completely and avoided talking about it at all costs. Something felt off and I should've asked about it." Luke explained.

"It's okays!" he assured, settling his thumb into his mouth and speaking around it.

"Still. Talk to me next time you're feeling bad, okay? Or talk to Julie, just don't keep it inside. It'll build up to something like this eventually."

Reggie nodded.

"We're gonna clean up these toys and then go home, okay? We'll have a movie night and cuddle and talk more about this later, alright?"

Another nod.

They did exactly what Luke said they would. They picked up the toys and went home. Julie and Alex fussed over Reggie, hugging him and asking him if he was okay a million times over before helping Luke set up the laptop to play a movie for him. Luke explained to Julie what happened, and they agreed to actually talk to him about it later.

For now, they just needed some family time. Then when he was big, they'd talk it over. And the next day, they'd go have fun in the park.

Sometimes, things didn't always work the way Reggie wanted them to. He never wanted anyone to know about his regression. For a long time, he didn't want to be a little. Sometimes, the things he viewed as bad turned out good.

Luke finding out about him led to him feeling safer regressing, and adjusting to a cute family dynamic they were slowly building. Being little made him happy. Hiding in the CD Shop taught him that his friends cared about him, no matter how insecure or anxious he got.

And that lesson was one of the most important things he could learn. Remembering that he wasn't annoying, and that he had people there for him, was important. Not just important for him, but for anyone.

You have someone there for you, just like Reggie. Someone who cares about you, flaws and all.  And if you think you don't, then you'll find them soon.

Reggie was just lucky enough to find those people early on.

--

A/N: Please leave feedback in the reblogs/replies/my askbox! Do you like how I wrote this situation? This whole book is about Reggie adjusting to and accepting his headspace, and this was an important step. He knew that he had his friends, but he realized how much they really cared in this chapter.

also I'm pretty sure this chapter makes the word count of this fic like 20,000 so that's cool!

[ghostboybabies]

little ghost boy || [JATP Agere/CGLRE]- “Bedtime and Pink Bears” (Chapter 6)

A/N: this chapter is just- hjsiakjsaisngas. we stan a chapter full of mama!julie and baby!reggie content. We will return to our regularly scheduled cg!luke/little!reggie content in the next chapter.

-Apple

--

"No!"

"But baby-"

"No, don't wanna!"

Reggie's whining was cut off by Julie opening the studio door. Reggie sat on the piano, swinging his legs back and forth. He had his arms crossed, and a defiant look on his face. Luke stood next to him, looking to Julie for some help.

"What's going on here, hmm?" she walked forward, until she stood in front of the regressor on the piano. Reggie let his arms fall from there crossed position, avoiding her eyes by looking down.

"This Little Rockstar here doesn't like the bedtime rule very much," Luke explained.

"Just because you don't like a rule doesn't mean that you shouldn't follow them," Julie tsked, giving Reggie a look of disapproval. When Reggie glanced up and met her eyes, he looked so guilty and apologetic.

"But..but- Wanna keep playing!" he pouted.

"If you go to bed now, we can wake up super early and play tomorrow!" Luke suggested, jumping back in.

"But Alex will be home...can't play around him," Reggie argued. He was conflicted. He didn't want to go to sleep, but he also didn't want to upset his friends.

Luke went silent, not really knowing what to say. Reggie only willingly regressed when Alex wasn't there. Reggie didn't want to go to bed because he didn't know for sure the next time he'd be able to go into littlespace. It was an understandable reason.

But it was still getting late, and he wanted his baby to get a good amount of sleep.

Julie sighed, grabbing Reggie's attention back. "We will find time for you to be little tomorrow, I promise. But right now, it's bedtime, okay?"

Reggie seemed to falter, considering the option of listening to her before ultimately deciding not to. "No!" he huffed, kicking his foot out and hitting Julie's lower stomach.

"Reggie!" Luke shouted, reacting without thinking. Reggie already seemed like he felt bad, his eyes glossed over. He flinched upon hearing Luke's shouting.

Luke was shouting at him. He did something wrong.

Reggie hurt Julie.

He didn't mean to! He just got upset and needed to do something....

He didn't realize how close Julie was to him. He didn't mean to hit her when he threw his little tantrum.

"Mama! 'm sorry!" Reggie's words were hard to understand due to his baby voice and sobbing, and neither of his friends got the chance to process what he had said because they were busy worrying about him.

Reggie jumped off the piano, attacking Julie in a hug. Julie let her arms fall around him, hugging him back. "Didn't mean to hurt you!" he whimpered, squeezing her around the waist. "M' sorry..."

He continued to babble out apologetic nonsense. Julie swayed in place, holding him close. "I'm okay, darling. You don't kick hard," she chuckled, planting a kiss on his forehead. "You didn't hurt me, I promise."

"You sure?" Reggie had dissolved into a babbling, sobbing mess from a bratty toddler in just a few seconds, looking up at her with guilty eyes.

She nodded softly. Luke seemed to appear magically behind Reggie, wrapping his arms around the two of them and forcing them into a group hug. "You're okay baby. No need to cry," Luke spoke quietly, knowing that he was close enough to Reggie for him to hear his low voice.

"M' sorry for not listening! And for getting mad!" he apologized again, wiggling his way from between them once he stopped crying. He still looked upset, and like he felt terrible, but at least tears weren't running down his face. Luke and Julie separated as well, before speaking to Reggie.

"We're not upset. Some kids don't like bedtime, and some kids misbehave. It's not shocking or anything," Julie shrugged a bit, ruffling his hair. "We're just gonna have to talk about that 'misbehaving' part, so we don't have any more incidents like this."

"Not in trouble?" Reggie tilted his head. Luke shook his head quickly.

"No! You're obviously just having a little bit of an emotional moment, you got upset about having to do to bed, and I know you didn't mean to hurt anyone!" Luke exclaimed. "But..." he trailed off, sighing. Luke didn't like the idea of possibly having to punish Reggie in the future, but he had to know that he couldn't just get away with things like this all the time.

"That doesn't mean you'll get away with misbehaving all the time, okay?" he gave Reggie a stern look. Reggie nodded quickly.

"Mkay! Won't mis-...won't misbe-" he stumbled over his words, pouting and looking to Julie for help.

"Misbehave?" Julie suggested.

"Yeah! Won't to dat again, pwomise!"

The other two smiled at him fondly. Neither of them knew the likelihood of him keeping that promise and never breaking a rule, but they figured that him wanting to behave was a good thing.

After a few moments, Julie spoke again. "Will you go to bed if I let you come cuddle with me for tonight?"

"Sleep wif you?" Reggie mumbled, rubbing at his eyes. The crying must've worn him out.

"Mhm. You can cuddle one of my old stuffies," she sounded convincing enough for the little, who quickly nodded, making grabby hands towards Julie. "Give Luke a hug before we go, sweetheart."

Reggie's eyes widened, and he turned to Luke. "Almost forgot about me, huh?" Luke teased.

"No!" Reggie's voice sounded as offended and shocked as a toddler's voice possibly could, and he pouted. "Never forget chu', ever." his voice was muffled as Luke pulled him into a hug. Reggie giggled.

"Nini, Luke!" he said once pulling away.

"Goodnight, baby. Be a good boy for Julie, okay?"

Reggie gave a quick nod, assuring he'd do as such. He took Julie's outstretched hand, and let her lead the way back to the house.

--

"Mama," Reggie sleepily whined, pulling away from her hand as they entered Julie's bedroom.

Julie smiled lightly at the name, not questioning it for the time being. "What is it, Reg?" Julie shut the door behind her, watching Reggie as he shuffled through the things on her dresser. Julir didn't know what he was looking for, but he definitely seemed determined to find it.

"Make you all better!" he cheered, holding up a box of band-aids. Julie didn't know why it was there, assuming that Luke pulled them out sometime when Reggie fell or something.

Julie chuckled, "I told you, I'm not hurt!" She sat down on her bed, watching Reggie as he went on to insist that he did this.

"No, no, no. Make it better," Reggie wasn't making much sense at all, but Julie definitely thought his sleepy mumbling was amusing.

"I don't need band-aids, sweetie-" Julie cut herself off when she saw his pouty face. She stopped there. If giving her a band-aid was going to assure his toddler-like mind that she was okay, and make him feel better about the situation, then she wasn't going to stop him. One or two wasted band-aids didn't hurt anyone.

"Gotta make it better." Reggie came over to the bed, opening the box with little trouble and tipping it over on the bed.

"Wait, no-...to late." Julie watched as the entirety of the box was poured on her bed. She didn't scold him, though. It'd be a quick mess to clean up. Reggie looked confused.

"Did I do something wrong?" he asked, in his little innocent voice.

"No, Reggie. You're okay." she assured.

Reggie didn't reply to that, picking up two band-aids. They were the children's ones, with cute little designs on them. He picked out a Hello Kitty one, and a disney princess one.

"Pwetty!" He giggled, pointing to Rapunzel on the princess band-aid. Julie nodded.

"Mhm, she is pretty. But hurry up, darling. It is still bedtime." She reminded.

Reggie was quick to fumble with the band-aids, lifting up Julie's shirt a little bit so that the area he had kicked was exposed. Julie held the shirt out of the way, allowing him to stick the band-aid down.

He took the other one, sticking it right on top and creating a little 'X' on her stomach. Julie was about to pull her shirt back down when Reggie leaned down and lightly kissed the 'X'.

"All better." He said.

Julie pulled him into a hug. "You're so sweet. I love you, baby." She moved to kiss his forehead softly.

"Love you too, mama. Nini time?" He questioned, lifting his head when they pulled away from each other. Julie nodded.

"Lay down, I'm gonna look for something."

Reggie followed her instructions, climbing into bed and settling himself into pillows and pulling a blanket over him. He let his eyes drift shut, bringing his thumb to his lip.

He was awaken by movement next to him, Julie climbing into the bed and laying down. Reggie noticed that the band-aids were gone, so he was able to assume that Julie cleaned them up at some point.

"Reg," Julie whispered.

"Hmm?" Reggie questioned, humming around his thumb. His eyes were barely open, and he was definitely ready to fall back asleep.

"I have a surprise for you."

"B-but.." Reggie seemed confused. "I was bad."

In Reggie's mind, surprises and gifts were for good babies, and he had broken a rule and hit Julie. Therefore, he hadn't been good.

"No," Julie shook her head. "You made a mistake and apologized for it. You're okay." She assured.

She pulled something from behind her back, pushing it into Reggie's chest. He immediately hugged it, cuddling the item close.

"It's one of my old bears, I never named it. You can name it, if you want to." She offered.

"Dis mine?" Reggie seemed a lot more awake now, holding the stuffed animal close. It was a red-furred bear, closer to a pinkish color.

"If you want it." Julie confirmed, smiling at his excitement. "But, we can name it-"

"Her!" Reggie corrected in protest.

"You can name her tomorrow. Its bedtime."

Reggie hummed, hugging the bear and settling his head into the pillow. Julie reached over to turn off the lamp, making it go dark in the room. She laid on her back, holding open her arm and letting him cuddle closer.

Reggie shuffled over to cuddle into her side, laying his head on her chest. She wrapped her arm around him.

Reggie drifted off to sleep, feeling protected by Julie's affection and her gift to him.

There were bad parts to every day, and good ones too.

Cuddling with his friends when bedtime came around was definitely one of the good parts.