This being little again thing is far more overrated than I thought, and definitely not all it’s cracked up to be.

Ash was laying in the little bed that he and CC’d picked out at a furniture store earlier that afternoon, his black comforter pulled up almost to his chin. He’d been trying to be as independent as possible all day, considering that he was still a grown man mentally, but there were some things that he just couldn’t do. When he’d requested stir-fry for dinner, the drummer’d had to get a stepstool and stand right beside him to help out so he wouldn’t burn himself, but eventually had to take over.

On top of that, he was back to the height he remembered being at age seven, which he was pretty sure he was again, meaning that he couldn’t reach things as easy. Not only that, but he couldn’t drink like a camel because, as well as being underage again, his body couldn’t handle the alcohol. He also wasn’t liking his little body needing so much rest and wanting to sleep more than he had as a grown man.

With a sigh, he rolled over to face the doorway of the drummer’s spare room, which had become his bedroom until they figured out what’d happened and what they were going to do. He missed cuddling with his lover, having gotten too used to the younger man being the “big spoon” and being wrapped around him all night. That thought brought tears to his eyes, and he used his little fingers to brush them away, trying to stop crying before he wound up so congested that he couldn’t breathe. It wasn’t either of their faults that he was a young child and Andy was an infant, but that didn’t make it hurt any less.

“CC?” He grimaced at the squeak that was his voice now, considering that it’d been over a decade since he’d heard himself sound like this.

“What is it, bud?” the drummer asked sleepily. He’d apparently woken him up.

“Can I sleep with you?” Ash asked, hating the pout and tears he heard in his voice.

“Yeah. C’mere, Ash,” he answered, sitting himself up. “Can you climb up here on your own?”

“A little help would be nice,” the pint-sized bassist answered. He hated having to ask for help, but he knew that as short as he currently was, he’d never get on his friend’s bed without help.

“All right. One, two, three!” With his hands under the little boy’s arms, CC hefted him up and got his little knees on the edge of his bed, which he’d tossed the covers off of. “So what’s wrong, bud?”

“I miss Andy!” he said, bursting into tears as he buried his face in his chest. “I miss being cuddled by him at night, and it’s only been one night!”

“Shhh, shhh, shhh.” His normally hyper friend wrapped his arms around him, one callused hand cupping the back of his head. “I can understand missing him; you’ve gotten so used to not sleeping alone the past year that this must be a hard change for you to make.”

“It’s not just having to sleep alone,” Ash wailed, unable to slow his tears. “I’m used to having him cuddle me, usually as the ‘big spoon’, and I can’t get to sleep without him.”

“There, there,” the drummer whispered, rubbing his back. “You’ve got me for the time being. I know I won’t replace Andy and I’m supposed to be your ‘father’, but hey, you’re welcome to sleep in here with me tonight.”

“Th-thanks, C-Ceece,” he whispered, still crying heavily.

CC continued rubbing soothing circles into his back and whispering words of comfort into his ear, trying to calm him down so they could get some sleep. It took a while, but the pint-sized bassist eventually cried himself to sleep in his arms, his little head still resting on his chest. With a sigh, he grabbed his phone and shot off a text to Jake, whom he knew was still awake, and told him that if Andy started crying in the middle of the night to go get him, hold him close, and just reassure him.

The guitarist responded to his text by asking why he said that, and since his bedside lamp was now on again, he took a quick picture of himself and Ash that he sent to him. He told him that the little boy had come to him crying his eyes out, missing his lover and wanting to be cuddled by him. There was no doubt in his mind that if their pint-sized friend was feeling this way, their infant frontman might feel the same if he woke up alone.

He decided that it was going to be better to call him and he said that the two of them looked so cute together at the moment. He also told him that he understood exactly what he meant, especially since the baby couldn’t really verbalize anything beyond their names and a handful of random words, most of which sounded like gibberish. For the moment, he was sleeping peacefully in the crib they’d bought and put at the foot of their bed, Jinxx completely worn out and passed out in their bed. Jake was only up this late because his insomnia was kicking in and he didn’t want to keep his sweetheart up late.

With a sigh, CC wished his friend a fairly early night and said that he was going to try getting some sleep himself, knowing that no matter how hyper he normally was, tomorrow was going to be a long day. The guitarist laughed and agreed, even though he had his sweetheart to help out with their infant frontman, things were going to be crazy for them, as well. The drummer couldn’t help but agree, knowing that caring for an infant was going to be even harder since they had to doing even more for him than he had to for Ash. With that, they ended their late-night phone call, then he returned his phone to his nightstand and turned off the lamp, being extra careful to keep his movements gentle so he wouldn’t disturb the sleeping little boy in his arms.
* * *
Over at Jake’s and Jinxx’s apartment, the multi-instrumentalist was woken up in the middle of the night by soft whimpers coming from the foot of their bed. His lover’d finally crawled in beside him a couple hours ago and they’d been cuddling in their sleep ever since, the guitarist’s dog laying in a ball behind his knees. Having heard Trixy’s cries and whimpers before, it took less than two seconds to register that the whimpers were coming from Andy, who’d apparently woken up for something.

With a few soft words to his lover, he disentangled himself from the other man’s embrace so he could get their infant frontman out of the room before he really started wailing. Jake sleepily told him that he might be missing Ash, and if that was the case, to just cuddle and reassure him until he fell back to sleep. He quietly made sure he’d heard him before giving him a gentle kiss, then turning his attention to the whimpering baby.

Jinxx lowered the rail of the crib they’d bought earlier that afternoon and put at the foot of their bed, bending over slightly so he could lift his little form from it. The baby was quick to wrap his little arms around his neck and bury his face in it, apparently knowing that crying at the top of his lungs wasn’t a good idea right now. Then again, it could just be his desire to avoid crying altogether, considering that he’d never been one to cry as an adult and technically still was one, if only mentally. He cooed softly in his ear as he grabbed the little blanket he’d spread over him when he put him to bed, then took him out to the living room.

“What’s the matter, Andy?” he asked softly, sitting down in the rocker they’d bought. “Do you miss Ash?”

He felt him nod slightly and the tears begin to flow faster.

“You miss being able to snuggle up to and cuddle him all night, don’t you? You miss the few times that he gets to be the ‘big spoon’, right?”

Again, there was a bit of a nod where he buried his face into his neck.

“Shhh, shhh, shhh. It’ll be okay,” Jinxx said softly, using his foot to gently set the chair into motion. “We’ll figure out what happened to you guys, and how to get you back to normal.”

I wish I could talk to him like normal, the baby thought, squeezing his eyes shut. It’d make things so much easier.

“Yeah, it would, wouldn’t it?” the multi-instrumentalist chuckled, using an ancient power he’d discovered a couple hours ago to read his thoughts.

Y-you r-read my th-thoughts? Andy asked, rearing back so he could look at his friend.

“Yeah. It’s part of a power I discovered a couple hours ago,” he chuckled, gently thumbing his tears away. “You guys don’t call me the Mystic for nothing.”

I guess that’s true enough, the infant frontman agreed. I just want my Ashes!

“Shhh, Ands. It’ll be okay.” He hugged him tight once again. “We’re gonna go over to CC’s tomorrow, and you’ll get to see him then. And if it’s any consolation, he’s not handling this any better than you.”

How is he? It was obvious that he was worried about his sweetheart, even though he couldn’t even fend for himself at the moment.

“He went to CC, crying his eyes out, because he wanted to be cuddled by you so bad.” Jinxx gently kissed his temple. “He sent Jake a picture that he showed me of him curled up in his arms, his little head resting on his chest.”

So CC’s cuddling my sweetheart? Andy sounded a bit pissed and jealous.

“You know he’d be in your arms if things were ‘normal’,” the multi-instrumentalist said, sounding a bit reprimanding. “Like you, he’s taking the best he can get for the time being.”

You’re right, Jinxx. I’m sorry. He sighed heavily as he rested his head on his shoulder, gently playing with his hair since he had nothing better to do. Can you make me another bottle? I’m kinda hungry now.

“Let’s head to the kitchen then, kiddo,” he agreed. “We’ll mix up some baby cereal for ya in the morning.”

The formula and baby food are gross, the infant frontman thought, grimacing. Can I ate least have some honey in my bottle to make it taste a little better?

“Sure thing. I didn’t realize it tasted that bad,” Jinxx told him. “Course, I wasn’t able to…well, talk to you earlier.”

Well, I’m hungry and tired, he told him, yawning in his ear.

Nodding, the multi-instrumentalist kept him against his chest, one arm still wrapped around him while he used the other to throw together a bottle real quick. Just as he’d promised, he put a decent measure of honey in it once he’d heated and shook it, making sure the formula was mixed up as well as he could get it before adding anything else that would have to melt.

He gently slid the nipple into his infant friend’s mouth, chuckling softly as he began to suckle it as if he hadn’t eaten in a week. Jinxx quietly asked him how it was, and while he admitted that he wasn’t very fond of honey, it was better than the formula was if he hadn’t put anything in it. He was glad to hear that and gently kissed his forehead as he continued to drain his bottle, slowly dancing around the kitchen since the motion seemed to be helping put him back to sleep. It wasn’t long before the little guy’s eyes were fluttering like they always did when he was sleepy, and he was obviously fighting sleep so he could finish his bottle.

Once he’d finished it, he put the bottle in the sink so he could rinse it out before going back to bed and shifted the little body he held so that it rested on his shoulder. It took a moment, but Andy let out a soft burp from the pressure on his little belly building just enough to force the air out, then laid his head down and sighed. He was out like a light almost as soon as he laid his head down again, his breathing as slow and deep as he could manage, considering how small his lungs and chest cavity were right now. Jinxx chuckled softly as he danced his way back into his and Jake’s room, making sure he kept quiet as he put his young friend back into the crib and tucked him in so he’d stay warm.

Sighing softly, the multi-instrumentalist pulled the rail of the crib back up after tucking a little teddy bear into his tiny arms and making sure he was comfortable. He quietly went back to the kitchen, where he rinsed his bottle out before turning off the lamp he’d turned on. Back in his bedroom again, he crawled back into bed beside Jake, who woke up enough to kiss and cuddle him again, and was soon sleeping peacefully in his lover’s strong arms once again.

Notes