New beginnings (Natasha/you age regression)

6

Natasha stays up until the early hours of the morning researching everything she could about what was going on with you. Google had the answers to many things, so she assumed that the first thing she'd typed into the search bar would give her the results she wanted.

Is there any reason why an adult would suck their thumb?

It had just given her a list of recommendations on how to break the habit, and that wasn't necessarily what she wanted. The second thing she searches, the same useless result and she'd begun to feel a little discouraged. Maybe there were no answers to her questions. Maybe how you acted was just because of your past and that was that.

But her gut told her that that wasn't the case. There was something else there and she was determined to figure out what it was.

It was only when she'd accidentally come across a blog on tumblr did things actually start to make sense. It was an age regression blog. It was laid out with aesthetic pictures that consisted of pacifiers, cute baby clothes that looked as though they were made for adults. There were quotes, instructions on how to care for someone who regresses and a long description on what age regression was.

The more she scrolls, the more things made sense.

But was this really what was going on with you? She supposed it could be. But...what if it wasn't? Pulling her eyes away from the laptop screen, Natasha flickers her eyes over to your sleeping figure. You were conked out on your stomach, your thumb in your mouth and your free hand clutching the blankets close to your chest. Soft breaths escape your lips with each exhale, and Natasha, despite her deep feelings of confusion, finds herself smiling softly at the sight.

Natasha didn't like to think of herself as anything but aware when it to came to people she meets. She would know people's true intentions before they'd even open their mouths to talk. It was in their cues, how they spoke, their body langue and the way they held themselves. It was something that had been engraved in her early on, before she had even reached the ripe young age of five. One of his malicious quirks.

She feels like she already knew you pretty well, and as much as it scares her to admit, she thinks her assumptions were correct. The worry she had now was; was she able to step in and fill that caregiver roll you needed? Did you even want her to?

Deciding that she needed to sleep on it, she closes her laptop and places it onto the night stand before laying herself down in bed. She knew she only had a few hours until you woke up, and she needed all the sleep she could get.

*

When she comes to the next morning, Natasha was met with the surprising sight of you curled against her chest. She was still on her side, the position she'd fallen asleep in, and you were pressed against her with your hand tightly clutching her shirt and your head resting just beneath her chin.

Apparently you'd sought her out in your sleep. That, or you'd woken up and had intentionally curled up against her. Surprising herself with the fact she didn't quite mind which one it had been, she brings her hand up and brushes away the messy hair that had fallen in your face. She then rests it on the back of your head, fingers combing through the slightly tangled tresses.

You stir against her, letting out a soft breath as your eyes flicker open. She feels your breath hitch and your body freeze when you realise what position you were in, and before you could bolt or work yourself up further, she quietly shushes you and brings your head back to her chest to silently let you know that it was okay.

Natasha feels the tension leaving your body like rain falling from the sky, and she couldn't help but smile when you wrap an around her torso and cling to the material of her shirt.