Regression

Play Pretend

Author's note 1: age regression is a type of coping mechanism people with trauma use to go back to a younger state of mind. Age regression is not sexual. In my story Jon is an age regressor that goes back to around 8 years old.

Author's note 2: This was a vent fic I used to cope with some things and was written really late at night so it's probably not that good

TW 

implied child abuse 

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"Maaaark," Jon whined across the house, "come hereeeee!!"

Mark gets up and, with Eduardo following, walks into the room to find Jon with tears in his eyes.

"What's wrong," Mark crouched down and held Jon's face in his hands, wiping the tears off of his face.

"It broke…" Jon muttered, holding up a small plushie of a bird whose wing broke off.

Mark smiled softly, "It's okay." He gently takes the bird from Jon's hands, and Jon looks scared. He wanted the bird back and was anxious without it when he was in this state. Mark shushes him and beckons him over to where he'd usually sit in the living room.

Eduardo stood in the room, looking worried. This doesn't just happen for no reason. 

"See?" Mark says a room away, "All better."

Jon came running back into the room, pushing through Eduardo (much to his surprise, he had to stop himself from yelling at Jon). He started to play with the stuffed animal, throwing him up in the air and hugging him tightly while Mark and Eduardo kept a close eye on him.

"Mark?" Eduardo says quietly, "What happened?"

"I don't know and I don't think we should ask."

Jon gathers his stuffed animals and dolls together, hugging and kissing each one of them before putting them back into the places that they were. Mark and Eduardo assumed he was going to be okay alone by this point.

"We'll check on you soon, okay?" Mark called out softly.

"Okayyy," Jon responded enthusiastically.

Jon was alone. Admittedly he already felt anxious and missed his friends, but didn't want to leave the room. He stood around with his stuffed animals. The Bird, The Cat and The Mouse were the ones who weren't picked up. He played with them when the others weren't watching because they would always get worried, he wasn't sure why.

"It's time to play pretend," he says, kneeling onto the ground, gently grabbing The Cat and The Mouse.

"Please don't kill me!" The Mouse pleaded. Jon shook her to make her seem like she was trembling in fear.

"I won't kill you, you miserable, disgusting rodent," The Cat responded, slapping The Mouse with his paw, leaving The Mouse to fall onto the ground.

"Hey!!" The Bird screams, "Stop hurting her!"

"You'll never be able to save her," The Cat pounced onto The Bird, "you'll never ever be able to save anyone, not even yourself."

"P-please," The Bird mumbled, "please don't hurt me.,"

"You are weak, " The Cat says, "you're just like that Rodent. You're a pest."

Jon slams The Cat into The Bird.

"That hurts!" The Bird pleaded, "Stop please."

"Fight back, Bird," The Cat continued slamming his paws down onto The Bird, "FIGHT!!"

Jon lets out a scream, throwing the stuffed animal of the cat at the wall, and pressing himself near the other corner of the wall away from the stuffed animal. Playing pretend sometimes ended like this. He didn't know why but The Cat would remind him of his father. 

Mark opens the door to find Jon in the corner, crying. 

"Aww honey," Mark hugs him.

"What the fuck happened, " Eduardo says. Jon flinched by the tone of voice. Mark shot him a look that quickly silenced Eduardo.

"The Cat started acting like Dad again," Jon pointed at the stuffed animal, "he kept hitting The Bird and The Mouse and he started yelling like Dad and it was scary."

"Your dad won't hurt you," Eduardo says bluntly, "no one will."

"You hit me like dad too," Jon blurted but covered his mouth.

Eduardo looked ashamed of himself, "Listen, you have no right to forgive me but I'm trying to do better."

"I know I'm sorry," Jon muttered, "you're my bestest friendy." 

"It's alright, " Eduardo responded softly. Mark looked proud by his tone shift from hard to soft.

"Jon," Mark said more seriously, "do you want me to take The Cat away?"

He nods.

Mark takes The Cat, but notices that there was The Bird. The wing was broken off again. He picks up the bird too, the wing hung by a thread. Jon snatched the bird away from Mark.

"He can't be fixed," Jon cried, "he's too hurt, just let him be like this."

Mark nods sadly and takes The Cat away. Jon cradled The Bird in his arms, crying. Eduardo didn't know what to do, so he opened his arms and let Jon curl up beside him. He buried his face in his chest.

"What game were you playing?" Eduado asked.

"Pretend…" Jon was muffled, "pretend...but also family...but also memory game."

Eduardo deciphered his broken English to confirm he played pretend, the animals represented his family and then his memories came back.

"The Bird needs his wing fixed."

"He can't be fixed," Jon angrily responded. 

"Sure he can."

"Can he?"

Eduardo nodded. Jon started to cry again.

"Oh god," Eduardo thought to himself. 

"Are you okay?" Eduardo asked calmly. 

"Yeah…" Jon then perks up, "I wanna play with you!!"

Mark walked in watching the two interact with a smile on his face, "We should play...hmm."

"Pictionary," Eduardo blurted out with a smile on his face.

Jon gasped, "That sounds like fun!"

"I bet I'll win."

"No you won't!" Jon playfully shoved Eduardo.

Mark laughs, "We'll see about that, because I think I'll win." 

And so, the three friends start their game of pictionary.