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theconstellationprincess · 2 months

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House and Home

Chapter 2: Settling In

The house was charming, Pix had to admit it, as they all stood outside of it. It looked far more inviting than foreboding, though the bright, warm day might also be a contributor. The climate in this particular region of the world was quite tame, warm days and cool nights, a fact Pix was somewhat looking forward too. He does notice a few others who seem less excited about the weather than he, mainly Scott who has already shed his outermost layer.

Scott notices his gaze and they make eye contact. The Elven king narrows his eyes at him, and Pix averts his gaze. He wasn't scared of Scott, not really, but he did not wish to make an enemy of Rivendell, or its army. He noticed similar interactions amongst the others, and as the minutes ticked by, tension grew tenfold.

Pix let his eyes wander to the house again, taking in the wonderful architecture that went into it. Soft curves and slow gradients made up the building, and Pix allowed himself to ponder about possibly incorporating some of it's style into Pixandria until, finally, Katherine appeared.

"Hello everyone!" Grumbled greetings returned her upbeat one. Katherine frowned every so slightly, and Pix couldn't help but feel slightly bad for her.

"Good morning, Lady Katherine." Pix said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. He got some glares, but honestly, they were all behaving like children. "How are you on this fine morning?" Katherine beamed at him, beckoning them all to follow her as he began to walk up the steps to the front door.

"I am doing amazingly!" Katherine answered excitedly, as the front doors were opened by two servants. Pix was going to reply, but found himself breathless. The entry hallway was simply beautiful. Softly gasping, he marvelled at the decor. He heard some idle chatter, gritted compliments gifted to Katherine about the work of art that was the interior of the house.

Pix found himself without words as she began a tour, too busy observing every inch of the house. Others asked questions, and most began to relax slightly as they formed groups with their allies within the larger group. They toured the first 2 floors, which were dedicated to community spaces, as well as the kitchen and servant areas, and then Katherine led them to the third floor which housed the individual rooms they had been given.

The rooms were labelled, and Pix was mildly surprised to find himself between Scott and Fwhip. He was unsure as to how Katherine had decided to organize the rooms, he had no issues with either of the two. It wasn't until he started paying close attention to the organisation of the entire floor that it clicked for him, caregivers were sandwiched between regressors. That made sense, he had to admit. The week was likely to be full of emotions for many of them, having people on standby for those who were more... likely to have an emotional outburst was smart.

But Pix couldn't help but feel a little upset, something he would keep very much to himself, because it meant that, as he suspected, he was going to be playing caregiver for the next week. He had no problem with it, Scott and Fwhip were both his friends, and he was so happy to have been given the opportunity and ability to help them. But... well it was really his own fault. No one but him knew about his regression, and he had planned to keep it that way, so truly this was a blessing in disguise. Pix wouldn't be able to regress if his help was needed, he'd never let himself, so that's that issue sorted.

Katherine's room was at the very end of the hall. She informed them that they had an hour until lunch, so they could take that time to unpack and settle into their rooms. Pix sent both Scott and Fwhip a smile as they entered their individual rooms, getting 2 unsure and wavery grins back in return.

Good enough for now.

Scott's shoulders dropped the moment he was out of sight of the others. He inhaled sharply and exhaled with a long sigh. Fingers found the golden antlers stuck to his head and he gripped them tightly, wishing, not for the first time, that he could get rid of them.

He constantly felt like he was being watched, and he hadn't regressed in far too long. Sharing a wall with Pixlriffs was perhaps the best deal he could have gotten, he knew how to mind his business, unlike many of the other emperors. He took a few deep breaths, and picked up his bag, tossing it onto the bed and collapsing next to it. The bed was soft, at the very least, and the blankets were an export by his own kingdom. That brought a small smile to his face.

He should unpack, but he couldn't be bothered, so instead he listened to the others. He could hear Pixlriff's muttering to himself, socked feet soft on the floor, but steps still purposeful, as he paced around his room. Drawers opened and closed, and he strained his ears, hoping to catch a word or two. To his disappointment, Pixlriffs was speaking Pixandrian, and while he could read the language well enough, his spoken skills left something to be desired.

His mind drifted to other thoughts as he listened to Pix put about, refocusing when he heard a soft, "Aha!" from the other man. Scott strained his ears again, furrowing his brow as he tried to decipher what he was hearing. An object being dropped and a soft swear, then a strange clicking noise, and then someone falling onto a bed. Scott smirked, imagining the king in a similar state to himself.

Pixlriffs was going to be fun to get to know, Scott decided, afterall he did not know the man particularly well. Perhaps Katherine's plan wouldn't be as much of a disaster as he previously thought.

Lizzie rolled her eyes fondly as she watched Joel and Jimmy wrestle on the large bed in her assigned room. She was working on unpacking, but the other two had regressed after the tour had finished, so she was unpacking and babysitting. She wasn't surprised, it had been a stressful hour or so, and now they all needed to relax.

She finished putting the last of her clothes away, including her wonderful shark onesie that was in a regressed-Lizzie friendly spot, and joined her husband and brother on the bed, playfully tickling them as they shrieked and tried to escape. While she was concerned about what the next week would entail, at the very least it would provide some much needed time for stress relief.

Hope you enjoyed! Thank you for reading <3 (@little-froglight (is it okay if I continue to tag you?))

#star writes #age regression #agere #sfw agere #fandom agere #empires agere #mcyt agere #pixlriffs #scott smajor #smajor #katherine elizabeth #ldshadowlady #smallishbeans #jimmy solidarity #empires smp #empires season 1 #empires season one #house and home

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theconstellationprincess · 2 months

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House and Home

Chapter 6: Sting

TW: Non-graphic injury description, let me know if I need to add any!

Pix hummed as he drank his coffee. He had taken it onto the porch, watching as the sun made is ascent over the hills surrounding their hidden house. He contemplated the events of the past few days, truly so much had happened in such a short period of time. He jumped and dropped his coffee as someone grabbed his shoulders suddenly.

"Fwhip!" Pix gasped, clutching at his heart as he turned around to face his friend. "You gave me a heart attack." Fwhip chuckled, looking at the puddle of coffee slowly absorbing into the deck and the shards of ceramic.

"Sorry," Fwhip apologised, scratching the back of his head. "I didn't mean to scare you- Well I did, but not that bad." Pix gave a fond sigh and shook his head.

"It's fine, just don't tell the others okay?" They both laughed and Pix crouched down to start collecting the remains of the coffee mug. He'd have to let Katherine know it had broken, but he would force Fwhip to come along with him for that. He hissed as his focus slipped and one of the glass shards pierced his palm, dragging down as he dropped it suddenly.

"Are you okay?" Fwhip asked, gently grabbing Pix's hand and pulling it towards his face. He wiped at the cut with his sleeve, frowning curiously at it. "It's pretty long, but it doesn't look too deep." Pix nodded, feeling light headed. He was not the biggest fan of blood, his or not. Fwhip let go of his hand and Pix stood up, staring at the cut with a frown. It didn't hurt, really, but it stung and he'd had a rough couple of days, or that was what he told himself when he found his eyes welling up with tears.

He quickly wiped at his eyes, but Fwhip caught notice, and gave him a curious look. "You alright, buddy?"

Ah. Oh. Pix inhaled shakily, shoving down the pesky small feelings that threatened to overtake his brain. Pet names, he wasn't used to hearing them so casually and they made his head go fuzzy. "Fine," Pix replied squeakily. He cleared his throat, "I'm good, Fwhip, honestly. I just need to disinfect this and get it wrapped up." Even the thought of it, having to rinse the cut and seeing the blood was enough to send his hands shaking, or was that the anxiety about Fwhip knowing his secret?

"Come on, I'll help you. It's my fault after all." Pix shot his eyes towards his friend, searching for he doesn't know what in his gaze, but there was nothing but kindness. Pix swallowed, but nodded. He tossed on a smirk, playfully complaining that of course Fwhip had to help, he had caused so much damage that honestly, he should do whatever Pix says until the end of time.

They made their way inside, almost no one else was awake yet so it was a short, unobstructed walk to the bathroom. Fwhip patted the counter a few times, giving a Pix a look he couldn't decipher before ducking into the cabinets under the sink to search for the first aid kit.

After a moment of hesitation, Pix jumped up onto the counter, inhaling and exhaling sharply when he accidentally looked at his hand again. It was still bleeding, but not as much. Fwhip popped back up, holding the kit. He gave Pix a small smile as he opened it up and pulled a few things out.

"I'm going to rinse it with water from the sink first, and then disinfect it, before bandaging it. Does that sound okay?" Fwhip asked gently, reaching towards his hand. Pix thrust the offending appendage towards him, breathing shakily as he nodded.

Fwhip narrated what he was doing in a soft voice, telling Pix what to expect. He murmured soft words as he disinfected it, apologising soothingly and stroking the top of Pix's hand with his thumb. Katherine had apparently expected some injuries, because there were several types of bandages with different designs. Fwhip let him pick, and praised his choice of a steampunk design, making Pix blush. He swung his legs as Fwhip taped the bandage onto his hand, and couldn't help but laugh when he pressed a gentle kiss to the bandage.

"All better," Fwhip told him with a soft smile, Pix beamed back.

"All better," He parroted, legs still swinging off the bathroom counter. Somewhere, in the back of his head, alarm bells were going off and his brain was shouting at him to stop and think and act his age, but Fwhip was offering him a hand off the counter and Pix was taking it and not letting go, even once his feet were back on the floor.

Noise sounded from the hallway outside, and the fragile sense of peace was instantly shattered. Pix released Fwhip's hand like it had burned him, and gripped his wrist with his other hand so he didn't reach back out. "Thank you, really," Pix said, trying to keep his sudden panic out of his voice, "I need to, um, write a letter. To my advisers. You know how it is," Pix laughed, a touch hysterically, and darted out of the bathroom and back to his room, leaning against the door once it had been pulled shut behind him.

His heart was pounding in his ears as he realised what had just happened. What he had done. He needed to calm down, he knew that, but it was hard when he was staring at the bandage on his hand with a cog pattern, the bandage that had been softly placed on a cut by gentle hands with soft words because he had regressed in front of Fwhip again-

There was a knock on his door, jolting him out of his thoughts. "Pix, can we talk about this?" Fwhip asked through the door, he was being quiet, which was good, but he wanted to chat, which was... less good.

Pix inhaled and exhaled slowly a few times, and wiped his face clean of tears. He opened the door, plastering on a fake smile as he allowed Fwhip to enter. He closed the door softly, and had to stop himself from immediately bursting into tears when he turned to face Fwhip and his face was so soft and welcoming and-

"Can I hug you?" Fwhip asked, and Pix was nodding before he could stop himself, and then he was being hugged and crying into Fwhip's shoulder because Fwhip knew and no one was supposed to know- and Pix really shouldn't be regressed right now because it was almost time for the morning activity Katherine had planned- "Shh, " Fwhip shushed quietly, "I can hear you thinking."

"Sorry," Pix said, wincing as his voice came out high pitched and wobbly. "Sorry," He said again, but his voice did not change. "I'm sorry I'm sorry 'm sorry-" he repeated, muffling his voice into Fwhip's shoulder. Fwhip rubbed his back, shushing his muffled apologies.

"Oh Pix, you have nothing to be sorry for," Fwhip soothed, "It's okay to be small." Pix whimpered, but stopped apologising, standing wrapped in Fwhip's arms as he slowly calmed down. Eventually, he pulled away and Fwhip let go easily, looking at him with worry.

Pix blinked at him, fiddling with the edges of his jacket. He looked towards the closet, he had brought his larger sized one along with him. He wanted it. Fwhip was looking at his expectantly, and Pix blinked. He missed what was said, but before he could panic, Fwhip asked the question again.

"Can you tell me how old you are?" Pix shrugged, holding up 1 then 2 fingers. He was small enough that he was okay with being small, a rare occurrence. "Ah, we have a baby Pix do we?" Fwhip teased gently, "Where's your blanket bud?" Fwhip asked, and Pix froze, looking at his bed which was quite evidently missing the large duvet.

"Dunno," Pix said, which was true. He didn't know where it had ended up after dropping it down the laundry chute. Fwhip gave him a look, but Pix ignored it in favour of grabbing the little box from its hiding space and pulling out his pacifier to shove in his mouth. It was instantaneous, the relief it gave him. Ignoring the lack of a blanket, Pix flopped onto his bed with a soft sigh, staring at Fwhip with slightly wet eyes until he came over and sat next to him. Fwhip rubbed his back and told him a story, something nonsensical that Pix couldn't follow but just the sound of his voice was nice.

He could see why some people liked having a caregiver.

They sat like that for a while, Pix falling deeper into his regression as the minutes ticked by. He felt so safe here, laying next to Fwhip, so it didn't bother him much when there was a soft knock on his door, though he did turn his face to hide in Fwhip's side when the door opened.

He listened, not really processing, as Fwhip chatted with the person. The hand on his back stilled, but quickly started when he whined quietly. Fwhip and the other person laughed. Pix knew that laugh! He pulled his face from its hiding space and looked towards Joel with sleepy eyes.

"Hi Pix," Joel greeted, a bit awkwardly. Pix squirmed out of Fwhips side and shuffled over to the end of the bed, making grabby hands at Joel, who obliged and came over. Pix grabbed his hand and pulled him, making Joel stumble. Fwhip laughed as Pix continued to tug on Joel until he was laying between him and Fwhip.

"I was sent up here to get you, not join in." Joel told Fwhip, fondly exasperated as Pix fiddled with the buttons of his shirt. "I didn't know he regressed," Joel continued, much quieter. Fwhip sighed.

"I've known for a little while, but I've never taken care of him. He's scared, I think." Joel furrowed his brow a bit, confused.

"What's he scared of?" He asked, looking at Pix, who had moved on from the buttons to the fabric itself, poking at it curiously. "Most of us regress, no one's gonna judge 'im for it." Fwhip sighed again, it was a sad sound.

"Pixandria isn't as... accepting of age regression as the other empires." Fwhip explains quietly, watching Pix with a sad look. "It's something Pix is trying to undo, but it's been difficult. His advisers are... not the best."

Joel made a sympathetic sound, looking at Pix with a new understanding. He couldn't count how many times Pix had looked after him, or helped him look after Jimmy or Lizzie or both of them, so he was glad for a chance to repay at least some of that.

Footsteps sounded from outside the still open door, and the three of them looked up to see Scott standing there. He looked at Fwhip, then Joel, before his eyes settled on Pix and an understanding look washed over his face. He gave them a gentle smile.

"Katherine wants to start the activity now." Scott told them, "We're discussing secrets, I think. How old is he?'

"Baby," Fwhip and Joel said at the same time, both laughing slightly as they looked at each other. Scott nodded, a contemplative look on his face.

"Katherine isn't going to let all of you sit out, so we can bring him downstairs to keep an eye on him while everyone else does the activity?" Joel suggested, and Fwhip and Scott agreed.

Pix didn't seem to mind Joel or Scott being here, in fact he'd seemed rather ecstatic about Joel's presence, so surely he wouldn't mind paying everyone else a visit?

Hope you enjoyed! @little-froglight

Sorry for the time between updates, I've been really sick :(( but doing better now!

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