#babys first meljay fic

[thegothicchangeling]

Oh My Precious Child, How Lucky You Are

Mel regresses for the first time around Jayce. He has no idea what's going on and calls Kino in a panic

@bichletmepickaname @the-underrated-moon @marielaure @supremesharklord @dimidium-totus @soodle-noup

Jayce woke up to the sound of Mel whimpering beside him. He rolled over, and saw tears on her face. “Mel? Honey, what's wrong?”

She wailed in a way he had never heard from her before. That scared him. He'd seen her weep before, but not like this. She sounded so…small. And that was not a word Jayce associated with Mel, not at all.

“I don't like the dark!” she cried in a panic. “Make it light!”

Make it light? Why would she say it that way? Jayce tugged the chain dangling from the fan and lit up the room, illuminating his girlfriend's distraught face. Fat tears ran down her cheeks.

“Mel, what's the matter?” He cupped her cheek in his hand. He had never seen her cry so openly. “Come on, you can tell me.”

Her lower lip wobbled and she let out a heartbreaking wail. She both looked and sounded childlike as she cried: “I want Kinoooooo!”

“Okay, it's okay, I'll call him,” said Jayce quickly. He'd never seen Mel like this before. He was feeling extremely out of his depth and he was panicking.

Jayce had to call Kino twice before he picked up the phone. When he answered, he was clearly pissed, probably because it was five a.m. “What the fuck is so important that-”

“Somethings wrong with Mel!” Jayce interrupted. “She's freaking out and not acting like herself and she's asking for you and I, I don't know what to do!”

Suddenly, Kino sounded wide awake. “Put her on the phone.”

Jayce did as he was told, and Mel practically snatched his cell away from him when she heard her brother's voice.

“Nono, I need you,” she hiccuped, still crying. Her tears were beginning to slow down, though.

The call went on for a few minutes, during which Mel mostly nodded and offered one word answers to questions Jayce couldn't hear. She mostly said “yes” and “no” and “okay”. The last thing she said was: “Bye-bye, Kino. I wuv you,” and then she passed the phone to Jayce.

“She's regressed. I'll be there in ten minutes.” He didn't have time to ask what that meant, because Kino had already hung up.

Mel started sniffing again a few minutes after the call ended, and that escalated to sobbing within another few minutes. Jayce had no idea what to do. He understood that Mel was acting like a kid, but he didn't know why. The only experience he had babysitting was Caitlyn, and he'd told she wasn't your average child.

“Don't cry, baby,” he murmured as he tucked a loose loc back into her bonnet. She only whimpered in response, though it seemed she was trying her best not to let any more tears fall.

Jayce had no idea what to do, but he did his best. He was scared she didn't know who he was, so he refrained from hugging her. Instead, he wrapped her up in a blanket cocoon. That didn't stop the sniffling, didn't stop Mel from looking completely miserable.

To say it was a relief when Kino arrived in his snoopy and woodstock pajamas would be an understatement. The second Jayce heard the banging on their door, he ran downstairs to let him in.

“Where is she? Where's my sister?” He asked urgently.

“She's in our room, waiting for you,” Jayce said. “I'm so glad you're here.”

Kino almost sprinted up the stairs. “I'm here, foxkit!” He said as he ran to her. Mel tossed her blankets aside and jumped into his arms crying.

“Shh, shh, shhhhhh,” Kino soothed. “It's okay. I've got you.”

As Jayce watched, slowly following after his girlfriend's brother, she relaxed in his arms. It took a while, and a lot of soothing, but she stopped crying eventually. Kino and Mel were extremely close; he was an expert on her. He knew exactly what he was doing as he rocked her.

“Oh, she's very small right now,” he said as he cradled her like a baby.

“What do you mean?” Jayce was lost. “Kino, you have to understand how worried I am right now? I mean, she wakes up crying suddenly afraid of the dark, then you get here and still don't explain anything

“Sometimes when she feels extremely vulnerable, she regresses back to a child's state of mind. There's actually a whole community of people like that, but they don't all do it for the same reason. It's a trauma response for Mel. My guess is that she had a nightmare and woke up regressed.” Having explained the concept, Kino turned his attention back on his sister. “Is that right, little one?” He cooed. “Did you have a bad dream?”

Mel nodded. Kino leaned down and kissed her forehead. “My poor baby,” he cooed genuinely, not a hint of condescension in his voice.

Jayce was hurt. They'd been dating for nine months, living together for three, and not once had Mel regressed in front of him, or even told him about it. Did she not trust him? How had she managed to hide it?

“How old is she right now?” Jayce asked.

“Hmm, I think maybe two or three.” Kino cradled her in his arms like a baby. He seemed to know exactly what to do as he rocked her, and Jayce was honestly jealous.

“Thirsty,” Mel whined

“Alright.” Kino shifted. “Is it okay if Jayce holds you while I get your sippy cup?”

She nodded adorably. “And Mama, too? And my footie pajamas?”

“Yes, of course, foxkit,” her brother said warmly.

Mama? That confused Jayce. Who was Mama?

It turned out Mama was a stuffed fox that looked like it had survived a nuclear war. Mel bounced excitedly when she saw it and hugged it tight to her chest when Kino placed the raggedy thing in her arms.

He had pulled the stuffy out of a box that Jayce didn't even know was in the closet. How had Mel hidden it from him? How had she hidden this whole regression thing for so long into their relationship?

Holding her like this was a new experience. She'd sat in his lap before, but not like this. Jayce was trying to copy the way Kino held her, and Mel seemed to be okay with it.

“Hey, baby,” Jayce said softly. “Do you know who I am right now?”

She nodded. “Jay,” she murmured. He beamed.

Kino pressed the sippy cup into Jayce's hand. “Go get her some juice,” he instructed, and Mel reached her arms out and actually made grabby hands until her brother pulled her out of her boyfriend's lap and into his own.

This made Jayce ridiculously jealous, but he still got the drink. He ended up filling the cup only halfway with cranberry juice, and the rest with water, because he remembered his mother doing that, and saying that small children shouldn't have a lot of sugar. Did it matter if they were in the body of an adult? Probably not, but the water was already poured. Oh, well.

When Jayce returned, Mel was wearing Hello Kitty footie pajamas that he hadn't even known she owned. He was briefly upset at the thought that Kino must have changed her, but reminded himself she was a child at the moment.

“I brought you some cranberry juice, kiddo,” Jayce said in his best child friendly voice. Mel took it and immediately started drinking. She seemed to be a quiet child.

Kino patted the bed next to him, and so he sat

They put on a Tinkerbell movie as dawn broke. Jayce honestly had no idea which one it was, but Mel seemed to like it. When he was sure her attention was completely taken by the TV screen, he turned to Kino. “Why didn't she tell me?” He whispered.

“Because she's afraid of being abandoned,” he whispered back. “Elora’s the only person other than us who knows, and Mel's been her best friend since high school.”

Jayce nodded in understanding, now feeling guilty for his jealousy. Of course Mel would be afraid of abandonment; her own mother kicked her out and disowned her when she was seventeen! He felt like kicking himself.

“How long will this last?”

“Not long,” Kino replied. “Maybe half an hour.”

The realization hit Jayce that he'd barely gotten to hold her at all. He'd only had her in his lap for a brief moment while Kino got her things from the closet. He had no idea when he'd have another chance, so he didn't let this one get away from him. “I want to hold her,” he said. “Mel, can I hold you?”

She nodded, and Jayce’s face broke into a wide grin. Kino loosened his arms and let her crawl out of his lap and into Jayce's. He beamed as she cuddled up to him and leaned on his chest, one cheek shushed against him as she let out a contented sigh.

“You wanna hear a secret, Melly Belly?” He asked, leaning in and grinning dramatically to pique the toddler’s interest.

Mel's face lit up and she nodded vigorously.

“Okay,” said Jayce. “I'll tell you.” And then he leaned in close to her ear and whispered: “I love you, and I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like you had to hide this part of yourself from me. And I'm still learning how this regression thing works, so I don't know if you'll remember me saying that later. But I'll say it as much as I have to, because I love all of you, Mel.”