little ghost boy|| Reggie [JATP Agere/CGLRE Story] (DISCONTINUED)

Apologies and Pet Names [Chapter Two]

Reggie rubbed at his eyes, snuggling into the pillow he was laying on. He was up in the loft. 

He heard a chuckle, "You're awake. That's good, I have to poof us here because you fell asleep back at the CD shop." Reggie's recognized Luke's voice, sitting up.He flushed darkly when he realized that he hadn't been laying on a pillow, but rather, Luke's chest. 

"I-i'm sorry, I didn't mean to-"

Luke smiled at him, causing him to pause his statement. "I'm not mad at you, I don't care. Are you feeling okay?" he asked. 

"If that's code for 'are you big again', then yeah." he smiled weakly, leaning back into a pillow that wasn't Luke.  

"Okay..." he trailed off, biting on his lip in thought as he attempted to figure out how to start this conversation. 

"Thank you." Reggie blurted out after a few moments of silence. Luke seemed confused. 

"For what?"

"For being nice about the whole 'mentally a kid sometimes' thing. It's something I was scared about telling anyone, and you found out and reacted well when I thought you weren't going to... I don't know, it helped a lot." he hummed, staring up at the ceiling as if it was the most entertaining thing in the world. 

"Of course! You're not hurting anyone, and it seems to make you happy. I don't mind it..." he paused before speaking again. "I kinda get the idea, but could you teach me about it? What you know, anyways?" 

Reggie sat up, looking at him. "Oh- you really wanna know more?" he asked. 

"I already said that I did!" he reminded. 

"Oh! Yeah...right. Okay, where should I start?" he wondered out loud, looking in front of him. He had just woken up, and now he was being asked to teach his friend about something he was still figuring out himself. 

"Maybe you can tell me how it works...why it happens." Luke offered. 

"It's called age regression. It's a headspace I go into where I'm mentally younger. Like, a toddler..." he trailed off hesitantly, biting on his lip.

"How old exactly?" Luke seemed skeptical.

"I can be anywhere from a baby to like, five or six." he blushed, avoiding his eyes again. 

"Awe, little reggie's just a baby?" he teased. 

Reggie felt like whining and pouting until Luke apologized for teasing him, but he just rolled his eyes and kept talking. He just came out of littlespace. He didn't need to fall back in because Luke was being a meanie. 

"Yeah, okay, whatever. And it happens when I get stressed, or anxious, or overwhelmed. It helps, a lot actually. According to the internet, it's like a coping mechanism for that stuff. And a way to deal with not getting a peaceful childhood or whatever," he locked eyes with Luke, who nodded slowly in an understanding way. 

"I get it then. You're a kid sometimes now because you weren't able to be one peacefully back then due to your family. And if it helps you, then I'm okay with it, like I said." 

Reggie smiled, relief washing over him. Luke got it. He understood what was happening, and he was okay with it. Luke continued to ask questions, letting Reggie ramble about whatever because he kept getting off track. 

"Do you use like, baby things? Like pacifiers and stuffed animals?" Luke eventually asked. 

"I would, but y'know, I figured you guys would be pretty weirded out if you found baby stuff throughout the studio." he joked, but Luke gave him a serious look and he answered honestly. "Yeah...I would like more toys, and stuffed animals would be nice, but I don't really know how to get any in a way that Julie wouldn't find out about. I don't know about pacifiers though." he admitted.