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bundrops-n-fluffytops · 1 year

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Welcome Home Agere Fic - Broken Mayo

Characters: Howdy Pillar, Eddie Dear, Frank Frankly (later in story)

Setting: Howdy’s Bugdega (bathroom, front counter, aisle)

Premise: Eddie has been feeling overwhelmed all day, but has been hiding it well. After accidentally slipping at the local Bugdega, however, Howdy Pillar quickly takes the reins.

Author’s Note: This fic takes place a few months after Eddie is first introduced to age regression, and starts to experiment with it himself. He doesn’t know that the rest of town practices it as well, so he keeps to himself about it until now. Also sorry that it’s all red, Tumblr is glitching and I can’t see the words unless the color is changed 😅

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To put it simply, Eddie Dear has been having a hard day.

For starters, he missed a day after having a whole day with his husband Frank, so he had to take an extra load. Then, he accidentally upset Poppy because he knocked something over, and made a mess. Then, he delivered the opposite packages to Julie and Wally, and had to take an extra minute to switch the packages all over again.

Needless to say, Eddie was not in a pleasant mood. He refused to show it, however, because he felt that showing his frustration would only make things worse for everyone. So, for the whole day, he bottled it up and kept to himself.

This, however, did not work out well, as he could already feel his top about to blow any second. He could already feel his tell-tale signs of going small: his hands would start to tingle and shake a bit, he could feel a lump in his throat, everything felt just so loud and fuzzy, and any words he could muster were little to long gone. He braved through all that though, all with a smile on his face.

That was until he made his last stop to the Bugdega.

He and Howdy Pillar were close pals, no stranger to each other ever since the titular caterpillar first moved in. They would regularly exchange packages, chat at the front counter, and even have friendly lunches with each other. They also confided with each other when one or the other was down in the dumps, and would offer a helping hand when needed. So to be fair, Eddie would assume he was a good shoulder to cry on and fully embrace his inner child.

That is if he told him.

He wasn’t sure why he didn’t tell him about his regression, but it scared him to do so. The only ones familiar with it were Frank and Julie, his husband and their closest companion, but those were the only ones he trusted with this. He wasn’t sure what the others would think, so it was hard to think how Howdy would feel.

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Eddie soon found himself standing over what once was a jar of mayonnaise in one of the aisles of the store, shaking violently but also completely still. He could feel the tears burning his eyes and cheeks, and his breathing start to get heavy. It was all too much.

“Eddie?” a familiar voice rang out, “did something happen?” It was Howdy. He had overheard the glass break, and a yell coming from the mailman. Concern brewed in his chest immediately and he was hurting to whatever the sound could’ve came from.

Eddie did not listen, however. He couldn’t really listen to anything properly, as the only thing that he could hear was his heartbeat and heavy breathing. Hot tears began to stream down his cheeks, as he begin to slowly fall to his knees and cover his head with his hands. He dropped his basket of other groceries onto the linoleum floor, the foods nearly falling out. He was powerless to resist, and soon fully slipped into his headspace.

A pair of hands caught his attention, however. Or rather, two pairs.

“Hey, buddy… did something bad happen?”

Eddie looked up to meet eyes with Howdy, his concerned gaze burning into his own. This only made him burst into tears even further, lowering his head so he didn’t have to face his fear.

“C’mon buckaroo,” Howdy whispered, ruffling Eddie’s hair, “it’s not that bad of a mess. Here, let’s go somewhere that’s not too distracting, alright?”

With that, Howdy took Eddie’s hand and led the crying mailman to the nearest restroom, sitting him beside the wall near the toilet stalls. The caterpillar followed suit, sitting across him and wrapping his arms around him and hugging him against himself.

Eddie then buried his face into Howdy’s chest, snuggling himself against him to suppress any noise he was making. The shopkeeper shushed him as best he could and rubbed his back, resting his head on top of the mailman’s and gently rocking him.

About five to ten minutes pass and Eddie is soon reverted to breathing shakily, still in Howdy’s embrace and sniffling occasionally. He was exhausted from the panic attack, and could not do or talk much afterwards. He had brought his thumb near his mouth, tracing his bottom lip with it.

The snuggly caterpillar caught whiff of this and buried one of his hands into the pocket of his apron. Out he pulled a plastic green pacifier, showing it off to Eddie.

This took Eddie aback, as he was not sure if Howdy was even aware of his regression. He wasn’t sure if he should’ve said something, but even if he did, speaking was just a bit too hard for him right now.

“I think this is much better suited for you, isn’t it lil guy?” Howdy teased, wiggling the pacifier at him, the plastic rattling a tad. Eddie instinctively lowered his hand and opened his mouth, allowing the caterpillar to pop it in for him. The feeling of the silicon nub soothed him, and soon he was suckling away at the paci with no problem.

“Now, would you like to tell me what’s going on, buddy?” The caterpillar asked. Eddie shrunk a bit, and looked away timidly.

“Too… nn, too mush…” he answered, twiddling his fingers.

“Everything was too much?” He whimpered and nodded.

“Awww, today was a lot to handle, wasn’t it? Well, would you like for me to call someone so you can calm down in a more familiar place? That usually helps me!” Eddie thought for a moment to think about who you call, before an idea popped in his head. He leaned towards Howdy’s ear, murmuring his answer.

“Oh, Frank?“ Howdy confirmed, “that’s just fine! I’ll ring him up right now.” He then buried his hand once more into the pocket of his apron and pulled out a tiny flip phone. Thank goodness for the evolution of technology. A few beeps and bops later, and soon Frank picked up.

“Frank Frankly speaking,” He answered.

“Hello Frank dear, this is Howdy Pillar calling from the Bugdega.”

“Oh Howdy! Is there something important you need me to know?”

“Yes, actually. Your friend Eddie here is currently in a tough position right now, and I was wondering if you could get him so he could calm down somewhere safer.”

“Oh dear, what happened? Is he hurt? Did he get sick, what do I need to clean?”

“Oh no no no, he’s fine! He’s just had a rather rough day and needs someone to come pick him up, is all. Can you do that?”

“O-Of course! I’m on my way right now, I’ll see you there!”

“Alright, I’ll see you here Frankly! Buh bye!”

And with that, the call ended. He closed the flip phone shut and stuffed it into his pocket once more, before turning back to Eddie.

“Don’t you worry, Frank is on the way, dear.” Eddie felt his heart warm up and smiled, hugging the tall caterpillar once more.

“T’ank you…” He sniffled and wiped his eyes. Howdy pat the top of his head, ruffling his hair.

“No problem, buckaroo. Just doing what a good shopkeeper does.” Eddie’s smile grew at that.

They say there and hugged for a tad more, before Eddie pulled away, confusing Howdy.

“What’s up, buddy?” Eddie pointed towards the exit, before mumbling… something. It took Howdy a minute to realize he was talking about the mess in the aisle.

“Oh, do you want to clean it up?” Eddie nodded, the ring of the pacifier jiggling with his movement.

“Hmmm… well as much as I would love for you to help with cleaning up, all that broken glass would hurt you, lil buddy! How about I clean it up for you so you don’t risk getting hurt, okay?” Eddie frowned at this, lowering his head in shame at the mess he committed. He felt that he needed to be the one to clean it, and that if Howdy took the full responsibility to do so he would simply be putting another problem on him.

“Awww, don’t feel bad, Eddie. I don’t mind cleaning up a mess every now and then, I do it all the time!” Howdy laughed at his little joke, before he got a look at how upset Eddie really was. He sighed, resting one of his hands on the mailman’s shoulder, another tilting his head up to face him.

“Listen to me, Eddie. I know you feel bad that I want to clean the mess up, and I understand. It feels like you’re putting the responsibility on me, and you don’t want that. But I can assure you buddy that I am more than willing to take care of you and help you out when you need it, and right now you need it the mostest. So don’t feel bad, okay? I got two right hands to carry you and two left hands to work!” Eddie giggled softly at that, his smile back on his face.

“There’s that smiling face again. Now, let’s go clean up, shall we?”

—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—•—

About fifteen minutes pass since Howdy made that phone call to Frank, and soon the familiar grumpy fellow came rushing into the Bugdega. He immediately scanned the aisles and spotted Eddie sitting at one of the eatting tables. The bookworm quickly rushed towards Eddie, a first-aid kit in hand.

“Goodness, Eddie are you ok?! You had me worried sick!” Frank blabbered, grabbing and turning Eddie’s face and arms to check for any bruises or bumps.

“Oh, Frank!” Howdy shouted from the aisle, “good to see you, friend! Are you here to pick up Eddie?” He had his sleeves rolled up, wearing gloves and carefully sweeping up any broken glass he might’ve missed.

“Yes yes, of course!” Frank answered, nodding his head.

“I must report that Eddie here was quite well-behaved before you got here! I just handed him some crayons and printer paper and be just doodled away!”

Frank turned to Eddie, who was still scribbling away at that same paper. He smiled, resting his arms onto the table that the small mailman sat.

“Oh, did you draw something dear? Would you mind showing it to me?” Frank asked him, referring to the paper. Eddie nodded, picking up the drawing and holding it for his caregiver to see.

The drawing consisted of Howdy and Eddie holding hands and standing in the Bugdega, only with butterflies and the sun shining outside. It was… not well drawn, but it was incredibly touching to the grey fellow.

“Oh this is lovely! You drew this yourself too, you’re such a talented artist!” Frank cooed at him, making the small mailman giggle and clap his hands together.

Meanwhile, Howdy had just finished clearing up the aisle, wiping his now sweaty forehead and turning to the other two.

“Welp, managed to get the aisle clean! Everything ok-“ He was about to finish before he saw the drawing Eddie had made, pausing and staring at the doodle he made. It was… adorable, honestly, he didn’t know how much he meant to Eddie until now.

He smiled wide, taking off his hat and holding it to his heart and chuckling.

“Is this for me, buddy?” He asked. Eddie nodded, holding the paper towards the caterpillar.

“Why thank you, Eddie! This is very kind of you, I’ll cherish this very much.” Eddie giggled at this, his smile growing side. Howdy folded the paper carefully into squares and put it in the back of his pocket, making sure to save it.

“Alrighty, dear,” Frank declared, “I think it might be our time to head out. It’s starting to get late, and I wouldn’t want you to grow too exhausted.” Eddie slowly nodded, holding his arms out for Frank to carry. The grey fellow did just that, lifting the larger man by his armpits and balancing him on his arms against himself.

“Thank you so very much for taking care of him,“ Frank thanked Howdy, “I’m so glad he’s okay.”

“D’awww, don’t mention it! I’m just doing my job as the town shopkeeper, is all! Call me if anything is amiss, and I’ll be over there in a snap! Or four, if you want to be realistic.” Howdy chuckled at his own joke, snapping his fingers for emphasis. Frank followed suit, and shook the caterpillar’s hand before turning to head out.

As he was heading out, however, Eddie looked over the typical grumpy fellow’s shoulder towards Howdy. He raised his hand and waved it goodbye, smiling as he did, before he disappeared behind the now closed door of the Bugdega.

Howdy waved back, of course, as it was common courtesy for any good customer. Especially if it was a good friend like Eddie.

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