closer / mairi

little space, 6.

"matty m tired." kairi whispered to mattia.

"kai you just told me you wanted to go out." mattia frowned at the smaller boy. "can we take a nap, pwease." kairi pouted. mattia couldn't be mad at little kairi, it was impossible. "fine, come here."

kairi laid his head on mattias chest and pulled a blanket over the two. mattia watched kairi slowly fall asleep while he curled the small boys hair around his finger. this is what he'd always wanted. kairi was abordable and he smelt good. he was a sweet kid and he only wanted the best for people. he was perfect, and mattia needed him. otherwise he worried that his whole life would fall apart if kairi wasn't there. but he had him and he was going to keep it that way.

-

kairi woke up, rubbing his eyes. he slept on top on mattia for about an hour while the taller boy did anything to pass time on his phone. "he's alive." mattia smiled down at kairi. "can we go shopping now."

"oh now you wanna go out hmm?"

"yep," kairi smiled and rolled off the bed. he grabbed his shoes and started pulling them on, "can we go to the mall? 'wanna stuffy."

mattia knew a few places that sold stuffed animals so he nodded. "jacket?" mattia stopped kairi from leaving the room. "nooo." kairi whined.

"kai it's cold, you need it to stay nice and warm."

"you keep me warm."

"kairi, jacket." mattia scolded. kairi frowned, but put on his jacket. he picked at the zipper and ran to mattias car. no one was home except the two so mattia didn't need to worry about kairi running into his parents. mattia grabbed his wallet and went upstairs. he walked out on kairi talking to someone on the sidewalk. he quickly walked over to notice the older women giving kairi a weird look. probably by how he was acting, like a little kid.

"pain medication," mattia lied, "making him a little loopy." he grabbed kairi's hand and gave the women an apologetic smile. "mattia i wanted to pet the doggie."

"sorry kai, not today. let's go to the mall ya?"

"yes!" kairi jumped up and down, excitement in his eyes. he got into the car and stumbled to buckle himself. "matty?"

"ya kai?"

"music."

mattia turned on the radio, turning it up. kairi smiled and turned to the window. his favorite thing was being in a car and looking out the window. there was so much to see in so little time.

the two arrived at the mall and kairi began running towards the door, causing mattia to run after him. "kai, you gotta stay by me." mattia grabbed the boys hand, something they had always done in little space. but now that the two were together it was even better. they walked inside and kairi's eyes lit up. "where do you wanna go first bud?" mattia squeezed the smaller boys hand. "stuffie!" he yelled. mattia laughed and pulled kairi along with him.

they reached the store and it was filled with color from bottom to top. kairi's smile grew even wider.

he lead mattia to a shelf, pointing above his head. "help me." he pouted.

"magic word?"

"pwease." the small boy grinned. mattia pulled down a baby blue elephant. he glanced at the price tag before handing it to kairi. "mine," kairi hugged the small stuffed doll. mattia shook his head and brought kairi to the cash register.

"find everything alright guys?" a girl with baby pink hair asked the two. "ya, thank you." mattia answered.

"alright that'll be fifteen twenty nine." she smiled, bagging the stuffed animal. mattia pulled out his wallet and payed. he grabbed the bag and kairi's hand. "have a great day guys." the girl said. mattia kicked kairi's foot lightly, indicating to say thank you. "thank you!" kairi jumped up in the air when he spoke and smiled big at the girl.

"she was pretty." kairi said as they walked out of the store. they didn't get far before someone tapped on mattia's shoulder. he turned around and to his surprise the girl from the store was standing in front of him. "uh.." the girl pointed behind mattia before he could speak. mattia turned around and found kairi still walking in the direction they had been. mattia caught up to him, "kai." he laughed and pulled the boy back to the girl. "sorry," mattia apologized, "did i forget like a dollar when i payed or something?"

"no, i actually came to ask a question."

"oh, ok shoot."

the girl glanced down at kairi and mattia assumed she wanted to talk away from him. "kai im gonna go over there for a second, stay here." the small boy smiled and nodded. "your question?" mattia asked as they walked a few feet away. "ya um, i don't mean for this to come off in a bad way, but, is he age regressing?" mattia didn't know what to say. normally people would be confused with how kairi was acting, but this girl actually knew? "ya.. he is."

"i just wanted you to know that if you ever need help with him, i work at the store almost every weekend so you can always drop him off. i guess it's kinda weird because you don't know me."

"no you're alright, kairi would probably really like that. can i get your number? im mattia by the way."

"ya totally," the girl typed her number into her phone, "im kylie."

"i'll text you later kylie."

she waved before heading back to work and mattia went back to kairi. he wouldn't leave him with her instantly. she needed to be trusted first, mattia couldn't let kairi get hurt. but she did seem nice. "ready to go kai?"

"stuffie?"

"in the car babe." mattia ruffled up kairi's hair and the two left the mall.

- A/N

heyo, sorry for the delayed update. life got really busy, real fast. but hopefully i get back into things 💕