Raindrops- [Klance/Leith] - Age Regression AU

☆ Introduction- Rewritten ☆

Keith loved it, the headspace, the clothes, the feeling, everything. He loved it. Being a little was the high of his life. It would bury all the stress that he had built up, and it would stay buried until he was out of that Headspace again. Some may see that as covering the problems rather than dealing with them but it was a stress reliever. A way of coping.

Right now he wasn't big. Not like most teens his age. He was in 'little space'. Little space was the mindset of your younger self. Sometimes reflecting what you never had in childhood, for Keith, a way to relieve what he wished he had. It made him feel safe, secure, but vulnerable. Being vulnerable was not normal to Keith. He could never express vulnerability in his past. He was strong, a force to be reckoned with, but now he was out in the open.

Regressing was a way that Keith could deal with, or push away the pains and trauma from his life. He was an orphan. His parent's individual deaths ate him up from inside his own head. His family was happy, dysfunctional but happy. His parents fought but they still loved each other. Once his mother died his father went on a steady decline downwards.

This lead to a lot of guilt and 'I wish I had's after her loss. Keith couldn't grieve. He was too busy looking after his father. His father coped in many ways Keith couldn't understand were wrong. Now, he knows his father was long gone, a shell of a man.

Eventually, social services got involved. That was the day Keith felt his entire world collapse.Keith slowly started regressing afterwards. Not intentionally, but whenever he was going through a big stress period or grievance. This obviously was a huge secret.Most littles were closeted, not wanting to show their true selves due to the crippling fear of rejection. For someone to turn around and think they're strange. Thus leading to headspaces being for themselves only.

Especially Keith. He was never willingly open to anyone else finding out about his age regression.

However it was a huge part of his life and personality now. He could be broody Keith during school, but when he got home he was shy Keith, pouty Keith, Excitable Keith, Happy Keith. He was happy. And that was the main point of all of this.But he can't lie. He wished everyday he had someone to share this with. He would catch himself colouring and thinking if someone would be proud enough of his colouring to hang it on a fridge, or a wall. He had to stop himself thinking so much. He didn't need a caregiver. It was a selfish thought.

A caregiver was someone who takes care of the littles in our lives. Someone who they put their trust in 100% and allow to dictate their lives in a caring and loving way. They give the littles the rules and discipline they crave, the routine and familiarity they need.

Back to present day, Keith was starting to come put of his headspace begrudgingly. He looked out the window. He was more scared to let anyone in to his little world. Too many people didn't stick around for Keith to be that close to. Or when he did they left anyways. So he stopped trying.

Keith felt the somber thoughts fully drag him out of headspace. He sighed and chucked the colouring book he was absorbed in under his bed. Standing up, he looked down at his clothes. He smiled lightly. He had a mid length purple jumper with white shorts and socks. He looked in the mirror. Trying to edge any sort of reaction from his mind but to no prevail."Always regressing when I don't want to and can never when I actually want to." He says to nobody in particular. He feels his stomach rumble and he walks through to the kitchen. He clicks his tongue as he opens the cupboards. He needed to go for a food shop.

If he's being honest, he doesn't eat meals. He snacks. So a food shop just consists of crisps, chocolate and random fruit pieces he eats to convince himself he's being healthy. Hot food wasn't really on the agenda. It was just so much cheaper to snack. Especially since Keith was barely getting by already with the rent.

He lived in a 2 bedroom apartment on a busy road. The rent was good for one person to live there. The landlord cut him some slack and only charged him for one persons rent, but the bills stayed the same.

He pats his pockets and looks around for his wallet. He got payed yesterday, he could just nip to a nearby store. He walked into the sitting room and spots his wallet on the table. He picks it up and opens it to look for his wages.He spots a small pink card behind his bank card.

Little's Alike- A place to be yourself

Keith smiled. Remembering his old friend. Her name was Katie. He grew up with her. They were really close because their parents knew each other. Once the accident with Keith's mother, Katie was there for Keith when his own father wasn't. Similarly, after his father lost custody, Katie's family brought him in to their family in an instant. He was very grateful for Katie. She knew him in the one way nobody else did.

She found about his headspace and like a one in a million chance, she shared she had a little headspace too. Little's Alike was a group that she was a part of, it played a huge part in her self acceptance but Keith refused. Keeping his headspace private.They absolutely loved each others company and adored each other like brother and sister. Keith loved the Holt's but felt like an absolute burden. Which eventually led to him moving out.Then she left.

She left town for school. That was 3 years ago now. Keith was meant to go with her, but he got too wrapped up in working.

He walked to his room and decided it was time to go out. He takes off his little attire and puts on a usual 'Keith outfit'. Consisting over black skinny jeans and a leather jacket. He chose a light pastel purple shirt to put under. It was alright, but Keith didn't like dressing like this.He felt broody, he felt unapproachable. But at the same time, he preferred it this way. He preferred not having people in school ask to sit with him and talk to him in class.He sighed and reached inside his pocket. He feels something soft and pulls it out. It was a small blue cloth.Keith uses it to ground himself sometimes. Being in public was very hard at the moment, it was summer. Summer meant lots of people.Keith wasn't a social butterfly but he wasn't scared of people. He just found it harder to stay calm when people are screaming and shouting. It sent him into a weird headspace in between big and little.

Just as Keith was about to walk out of the room he spots a picture on the dresser. He smiles and picks it up. It was a picture of him and Katie. Their cheeks were smushed together and they were both in little clothes. Keith was in pink and Katie in blue.Keith was wearing a small pink choker and a matching pacifier hanging out of his mouth. Katie was wearing the same. Both their teeth were bared, showing large happy smiles. Keith's eyes were squeezed shut.

Keith loved this photo. It was precious. Nobody has ever been allowed to see it.Looking at the picture made him feel a little bit lighter. Keith sighed and started counting."One, two, three, four, five, six-" Trying to keep his voice from wavering, Keith repeats his counting till it's evened out. He was going to go out now he had already committed and he really needed something to eat. After all, he was ten times more grouchy when he was hungry.He closed his door and locked it. He knew nobody would get in. But it was just habit now. He walked out of the front door and the light blinded him. He looked around and realized the streets were packed full of people. He ran back inside and walked to his room.

He grabbed his blue cloth, put it back in his pocket and put in his headphones. He picked the first song off his playlist and ventured back out to the streets. Locking the front door behind him, he heads down the street.His cloth was doing a surprisingly good job at grounding him and he felt the buzz of being in a light headspace in public. He found himself smiling to a few people as he walks past.Don't get Keith wrong, he is not a people person. But right now he wasn't feeling the crippling fear of judgement as he grounded himself.

With this newfound confidence, he decides to try a new store. His local store was a supermarket but he was looking for something new. There was only so many meal deals he could get before he went insane.

Humming the tune to his song he enters a small corner store. Then the panic began to set in.Without realizing, Keith had put himself in a light headspace. His music suddenly changes to one of Keith's trigger songs and he curses himself before reaching into his pocket and turning it off. Now was not the time.

He saw the cashier send a smile in his direction but he tried to avoid his glance and walked around to an isle. He mumbles his count to 6 but his voice is wavering more at the fear that he would now have to speak.

He considers walking out of the store then and there but feels like that would be more awkward then just being introverted. He glances at the 'freshly made' fridge and picks up a milkshake.'Oooh strawberry! That looks so good!' Keith thinks to himself.

He picks it up, trusting that whoever made it didn't lace it with poison. He wanders through the isles again and picks up a few more things before gathering the confidence to walk up to the cashier.The cashier looks him up and down and smiles."Hi! Is that everything?" Keith nods and smiles, he looked nice.

"O-kay, that'll be £4.70 for everything." Keith nods and hands over the money. The cashier raises an eyebrow as he puts the money in the till."I can't stand how noisy it is today, so many kids keep coming in and they don't think I notice them stealing the penny sweets from the front. Can't blame them though, I did the same thing when I was younger. A few pennies aren't gonna kill me." The cashier chuckles at Keith, trying to make light conversation as the till prints the receipts.

Keith sends an amused smile back to the cashier.He liked him. He was funny.

"Hey hunk!" A voice shouted as the doorbell rang. Keith instinctively turns around to look. A boy walks around the till and to Hunk before patting his shoulder."Hey Lance, finish early?" The boy called Lance smiles and nods before looking at Keith. Keith looks away, feeling intimidated by the sudden eye contact. Lance smiles before looking at the till.

He leans over and pulls the receipt before handing it to Keith."Here you go, sorry my buddy here gets a bit distracted when my gorgeous face makes it on the scene." Lance winks at Keith and Keith goes to giggle a little but has to stop himself and send out a chuckle.

"Lance-" Hunk scolds while hitting his shoulder. "Stop harassing my customers." Keith chuckles again and goes to say that it's okay but catches himself when he feels a giggle bubble from his throat. He feels his cheeks go red and he picks up his snacks."Cat got your tongue?" Lance jokes and Keith nods, smiling. He loved cats.

He turns around and walks out if the store. Giving a little wave as he did. Hunk waves back and Lance leans on the till."That was weird." Lance says, Hunk hums lightly."Yeah I suppose, didn't even say a word. I feel like I recognize him though? Maybe one of Pidge's old friends?" Lance nods and glances down at the till. He spotted a milkshake."We should ask. Oh shit he forgot his milkshake." Hunk facepalms."That's my fault, I was gonna pack his things in a bag but I got distracted." Lance picks it up and waves him off."He couldn't have gone far this road is long I'll see if I can catch him.""Okay but I want my break Lance! Don't take too long!" Lance shakes his hand and opens the front door to chase after the younger boy.

Keith rushes back to his house after practically bolting it down the street. Once he gets inside, he smiles brightly and drops the food on his bed. He pulls his jacket and jeans off and puts his fluffy socks back on.

He grabs himself his hippo, they were his favourite animals. He hugs it lightly under his chin and jumps on his bed. His stuffie gave him a sense of pure love. It sounds dramatic but after a hard day a cuddle on his bed with a movie could solve all of his problems. Sure, a person would probably be better but beggars can't be choosers. Hippo was his best friend after all.

Keith's regression age, he assumed was somewhere between 4-5. This obviously greatly contrasted his age of 18 but he assumes he could slip much lower with someone else around. Slipping that low would probably be a bad idea with nobody around to make sure he was okay. Plus, caregivers can often have their littles slip lower unknowingly, depending on their dynamic and how much they do for them. It was all very relative.

Keith kisses Hippos head and looks around for his milkshake. He frowns. It wasn't here.He checks the floor and under his bed and in the living room where he first came in. He huffs lightly and trudges his feet to the kitchen. He grabs his sippy cup and fills it with cordial juice. This was better than nothing he supposed.

He walked back to his room and closed the door behind him. He spots his Hippo on top of the sweets and snacks Keith bought and he starts to giggle. "Silly Hippo".Keith sits down and starts to snack as he puts one of his favourite little shows on.

He heard the doorbell ring a few times but he ignored it. There was no way he was going to answer in this state. Ripping himself out of headspace to answer a door would have more of a negative effect.He heard the doorbell go again. He giggle lightly and jumps off the bed. He peers around the corner to try and see who's there.

"Keith." His stomach dropped. That was Shiro.

Keith bolts it to his bedroom. He scrapes his pants off the floor and nearly fell over in the process. Keith's mind hasn't caught up yet and he was still very much not big right now."Keith? I know you're home." Keith struggles to get his skinny jeans on as he isn't fully functional right now.

"One, two, three" Keith tries to count it out but he's too long gone. The stress making it worse.He could either play this two ways, ill or truthful. He could pretend he couldn't speak or that he wasn't feeling like talking. Or he could open up to his brother and tell him all about his tendencies.Ha. No way.

Keith, in a frenzy, bolted out his room without locking the door and to the front. He unlocks the door and opens it, the bright light flash banging him again and his brother slowly coming into view. He glances next to him and his eyes widen.The Lance guy from the store was here?Keith tilts his head with a confused glance and shiro laughs.

"Oh this guy was chasing you down the street. Apparently you forgot something." Shiro chuckles and Keith glances at Lance's hand. He spots his milkshake!Keith instantly cheers up and with a big smile he reaches forward and takes his milkshake from Lance. He looks down at it, enthused that he finally had it back. Lance chuckles and Shiro clears his throat.

Keith looks up and Shiro is looking at him expectantly. He tilts his head to Lance and Keith realizes he wants Keith to thank him. He locks eyes with Lance and Keith smiles and nods at him. Lance returns it and Shiro stares at Keith confused."Keith? Why aren't you speaking?" Keith looks at Shiro.

"I-wan" Keith's voice slurred slightly and he felt his face heat up very quickly. He grabs his throat and Lance sends a quizzing eyebrow."You lost your voice?" Lance asks. Keith snaps his head up and points at Lance while nodding at Shiro."Oh alright bud, have a drink. Do you mind if I come in? I wanted to have a chat. Allura will be here soon." Keith knew that look in Shiro's eyes.

Keith whined slightly and Shiro laughed and ruffled his hair."It's just an open conversation Keith."Lance clears his throat."Well it was nice to meet you both! Also, Keith-"

Keith turns his attention to the older and smiles."Stop by sometime when you're feeling better. You seem cool." Lance says while looking Keith up and down.Keith nods smiling, feeling penetrated under his gaze.

Lance smiles and waves as he leaves the two on the doorstep, waiting for Keith to let Shiro in.Shiro looks back at Keith and sends him the look. The 'come on let me in' look. Keith huffed and stood to the side, allowing Shiro to walk inside.Shiro walks and sits down on the couch. Keith was still in headspace and he really hoped he would snap put of it. Because by the look on Shiro's face, he wasn't going to like this."Okay bud." Keith sits down on the floor in front of him.

"I'm going to be open and honest. Me and Allura are really worried about you." Keith feels his face crumple into a face of disgust and Shiro raises a hand, signaling him to let him finish.

"You've been living alone for a couple years now and we hardly see you anymore. We have to drag you out of here to see you. Living alone isn't doing you any good. So we have a proposal."Keith didn't like this. He hated this. He felt himself slipping and slipping and slipping. He knew where this was going and he didn't want it.

"Would you consider a roommate?"There it was. It cane crashing down on Keith and he felt himself jumping up onto his knees and shaking his head really fast.

"Keith we know you could do with some extra money around here and you really need some company. I'm worried about you bud. This isn't healthy. You're struggling but you won't let anyone help." Keith shakes his head again and feels tears prick at his eyes. A roommate meant no privacy. And if there's ANYTHING that Keith needed in his life it was privacy. No more regression, no more coping.

"I don't want to sound like a naggy father, but I think it could be the best thing you ever did."Keith put his hands over his ears and shook his head.The doorbell rings and Shiro stands up.

"That'll be Allura." Shiro says and unlocks the door. The young girl stood on the other side. Allura walks into view."Hey Keith, how are you?" Keith sends a glare towards Allura. She smiles softly.How dare they come into his home and tell him he wasn't coping? He was! He was coping just fine. He wouldn't cope if there was someone else here.

"Keith we can't force you to do anything you aren't comfortable with.-" Allura smiles. "I have this friend. She's moving back into town. She needs a place to stay. I'm helping her look for a flat as we speak. Her name is Pidge. She really values time alone and is completely your cup of tea. I understand it's selfish of me to ask but-"

"No!" Keith shouts, tears streaming down his face. He rubs his eyes lightly and Shiro slowly walks over."Keith are you.. crying?" Keith shakes his head with a sob and Shiro comes over instantly enveloping Keith in his arms. Keith instantly bunches his fists into Shiro's shirt and cries into his shoulder.

"Why are you crying bud?" Shiro asks and Keith feels his eyes sting. He shrugs.Allura sighs and sits down on the floor next to Keith and Shiro, rubbing Keith's back."It's okay Keith," she smiles. "Just tell me no and I'll never ask again. I'm just really worried about you being cooped up here all alone." She trails off and looks in the direction of Keith's room.

She is quite surprised when she sees that the door is wide open and she can see inside. She had known Keith for a while. This was not a common occurrence. In fact, she had NEVER seen inside his room ever. She slowly stands up and walks over.

She grabbed the handle and pulled the door handle lightly. She glances up lightly and spots a colouring book and a plush on the bed. She feels her face flush, she didn't want to invade his privacy. She pulls the door closed and pretends she didn't see the pacifier laying on his dresser.Keith hears the familiar click and snaps his head up. He spots Allura at his bedroom door and horror floods him as he jumps up staring wide eyed at Allura. She looks at Shiro."Shiro you've got work now haven't you?" She looks at the clock noticing its 2. Shiro curses and jumps up.

"Bud are you going to be okay?" Allura waves him off."It's fine I'm gonna stay for a little bit." Shiro nods and walks past Keith. He wraps an arm around his shoulder and kisses the side of his head.

"I'm here if you need me Keith." Keith doesn't say anything. He just stares at Allura, mortified.A sense of reality washes over him as he bolts to his room, past Allura and slamming the door shut behind him. He starts to panic. Hard.

He looks around his room and realizes you could see everything from the sitting room. He holds his head in his hands as he paces back and forth across his room. He hears a light knock on the door and a soft voice.

"Keith?" Keith sobs into his hands and he hears Allura shushing him from the other side."Keith it's okay, I didn't see." Keith hits the door."You did!" Keith sobs and Allura sits quietly on the other side.It had begun. He was going to be outed to everyone and be ridiculed like the freak he felt he was.

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Hey :)

So that's chapter one rewritten. It has just dawned on me how LONG this is going to take. But I will try my best! I have an ending in mind so I am slowly going to try and curve out the ending of the story eventually so I can leave this story completed so people can read the full thing :)

(Cause I know how annoying it is to like a story then get to the last chapter to find out its ongoing.)

Hope you guys liked the first chapter rewritten, I am going to leave all the original chapters up until I have finished rewriting it all. Just incase it takes me a while.
Hope you've enjoyed!

Word count: 4036 words.

-Minx xox