Little Royal

Little?

August had seen Wille and Simon holding hands. He would have liked to think that he was suprised, but the way he saw the two boys get closer and closer over time, he saw now that they hadn't only been friends all this time. And then there was also that time where he thought he saw them holding hands during the horror movie night, which he dismissed as his own imagination back then.
All in all, he wasn't surprised, but he still didn't really like Simon, considering how the guy had beat him up over not paying him back his money and all. August sighed, this would for sure complicate things for Wille a lot, being a queer crown prince couldn't be easy. August didn't know what to do, on one hand he wanted to protect Wille, like Erik wanted, and on the other, well he didn't know what to do at all.
He decides to keep an eye on Wille in the future, so that people wouldn't find out about the relationship, as it could hurt both Wille and the reputation of the Crown.
August goes on a run, to try and clear his head, and think about the possibilities. On his way outside, passing the dorm windows, his curiosity gets the better of him and he decides to take a quick peek into Wille's room, because maybe he just imagined them holding hands or something. Crouching down beneath the window, he decides that it would be less noticeable if he only held up his phone and looked at the screen, instead of having to put his head in the window. As he turns on his camera, without filming, he almost gasps in disbelief. He imagined to see many things, the boys making out being one of many scenarios he could have expected, but this went far beyond anything he could ever have imagined. He saw the two boys on the bed, Wille's head in Simon's lap, thumb in his mouth and a frog stuffed animal pressed to his chest.
August couldn't believe his eyes, if he had any malicious intent, he could have had the news story of the century, but he didn't. Slowly pulling away from the window, he leaned against the wall to think about what he just witnessed. This was even worse than he feared, not only were the two boys probably together, but Wille was also acting like a child. He could never let anyone find out, he had to protect Wille, for Erik.
However, this still didn't change how confused he was about what he witnessed. The image of Wille lying in Simon's lap, with his thumb in his mouth and the frog in his arms didn't leave his head. What was going on? Why did the boy act this way? August remembers how peaceful Wille looked, a look he'd never seen on the boy at any other point. Wille was constantly anxious, which was understandable, considering the weight of the responsibilities on his shoulders. August had to find out what this meant, once again being way too curious than he should be.
He decided to consult Google:
"16 year old boy acts like child"
"Teenager sucking thumb"
He found many results, some also being various kinks, but since nothing of what he'd seen had seemed to be of any sexual nature, he decided to ignore those results.
One term kept popping up: Age Regression
"Age regression occurs when someone reverts to a younger state of mind. This retreat may be only a few years younger than the person's physical age. It could also be much younger, into early childhood or even infancy. People who practice age regression may begin showing juvenile behaviors like thumb-sucking or whining."
This must be what Wille was doing, August thought to himself. All the definitions and articles he could find mentioned that people who had trauma, anxiety or even just regular stress, could experience age regression as a coping mechanism, either voluntarily or involuntarily. Wille definitely had a lot of anxiety and Erik's death must have traumatised him really bad, also adding the pressure of being the Crown Prince which alone seemed like way more than a  teenage boy could handle. August could see why the boy would use this as a coping mechanism.
But what could he do to protect Wille from people finding out about it?