Age Regression One-Shots

Misunderstandings (Little!Steve x Mama!Reader)

"What did I just say?" Y/n snapped, hitting Steve's hand away. "I'm busy Steve! Why don't you just go away!"

Steve's heart dropped and his lovey fell to the floor as he released it in shock. He felt tears burning in his eyes and walked out of the office and into the elevator before he could make his mama any angrier. The terrified toddler went to the closest empty room he could find and shut the door, curling up in the corner and making himself as small as possible while he cried. Now he was all alone, with no mama and no lovey and he just wasn't big enough to know what to do.

........

Clint and Tony were coming back from a meeting when Clint heard a sniffle from behind the door of the storage closet in the common area. He gestured for Tony to stop walking and opened the door, heart just about breaking at what he found. Steve was curled up in a little ball, head buried in his hands as he cried as quietly as he could.

"Steve? What happened?" Clint asked in a worried voice, realizing when Steve looked up that he was regressed. All of a sudden he was twice as concerned as before. The whole team knew that Steve regressed, but they rarely saw it and only ever when his mama was around. This was uncharted territory, something completely unheard of. "Oh honey, where's your mama?"

"Mama doesn't want me anymore," Steve sobbed, only crying harder as he said it out loud. "I was botherin' her an' she yelled at me an' now she's not my mama no more." He buried his head back in his hands as he devolved into broken sobs, entirely unable to calm down as it sunk in that he was all alone.

Tony quietly slipped away, trusting that Clint could handle coaxing Steve out of the closet while he prepared a snack and some juice for the devastated little boy.

"I'm sure that she still wants you, kiddo," Clint tried to reassure him. "Your mama is just under a lot of stress right now." He reached out and offered a hand to Steve, hoping that he'd take it. "Why don't you come on out? You shouldn't have to cry all alone, honey."

Steve let out another sob and shook his head, curling up impossibly tighter in his hiding place. "Not s'posed to be little!" He cried. "S'posed to be in charge!"

Tony overheard that and couldn't help but step in. "Steve, look at me, sweetheart." The little boy met Tony's face with the most fearful eyes he'd ever seen from him. "You're in charge on the battlefield. This is not a battlefield. You're in a safe place, with people that care about you. It's okay to be little."

"I promise, kiddo, no one will make fun of you here," Clint said softly. "You don't have to be strong."

"Promise?" Steve asked in a shaky little voice. "Not gonna hurt?"

"Of course not," Tony assured him. "Come on out, it's alright."

Steve crawled into Clint's waiting arms and let him pull him to his feet. He was guided over to the couch and was shocked as Tony helped him settle in Clint's lap, warm arms surrounding him as a blanket was draped over his shoulders. "We've got you," Clint soothed, rubbing big circles on Steve's back. "It's okay to be sad and scared."

"I want my mama," Steve whispered, fighting not to fall apart all over again. "But Mama doesn't want her Stevie." Tears began to drop down the devastated little boy's face. "Not her Stevie anymore. Just a bad boy."

"You are not a bad boy," Tony said firmly, refusing to let Steve talk about himself like that, especially while he was in such a fragile state of mind. "You try so hard, Stevie. Your mama knows that, she would never leave you."

Steve began sobbing into Clint's shoulder, unsure of what to believe. Part of him desperately wanted to listen to Tony. He needed Tony to be right. But another part of him was convinced that it was a lie. He was already a burden on his mama and now he had finally pushed her too far. He clung to Clint's shirt, hoping that the man would stay and hold him for a little longer.