Nick stepped out into the living room, and a half-naked Clark beckoned to him from the couch.
“Alright, man, if we’re gonna be kids all weekend, then I’m spending most of my time on Xbox. You in?” Clark extended the extra controller toward the bigger boy.
Clark was certainly more of a gamer between the two of them, as Nick’s time devoted to his scientific pursuits never allowed him ample opportunity for the hobby, but he enjoyed it all the same.
“Sounds, good! But you know that you’ll probably beat me,” Nick replied.
“Well, if we do co-op, then you won’t have to worry about losing to me, but I’m fine with kickin’ your ass if that’s what you want!” Clark’s confidence egged on a certain part of Nick’s childlike competitiveness.
“You know what?” Nick puffed out his chest, asserting himself as the older and superior of the two boys. “I think I can actually beat you, now that I’ve got an extra year on you!”
“Oh, you’re on, dude!” Clark enthusiastically accepted the challenge. “But since you’re so confident, why don’t we raise the stakes?”
Nick raised an inquisitive eyebrow at the proposition. “What do you have in mind?”
“Simple. Loser has to pose for a picture. In just their underwear. And it goes on Facebook,” Clark said with a self-satisfied smirk, clearly pleased with himself.
Nick pondered the feasibility of actually beating Clark. He *did* have a year’s advantage, and it’s not like he never plays video games, but Clark definitely dedicated more time to gaming… The thought of Clark embarrassing himself on Facebook, though, made the temptation even more tantalizing.
“Deal, but loser also has to recreate the photo as an adult, so the audience can get a little before and after action.” Nick, too, was pleased with himself in proposing this.
Clark became visibly more excited. “Oooohhh, man, you are sooo on!” Clark made a small fist and pounded it into his other hand. “I dunno how you’re gonna survive being so embarrassed, dude. You were always shyer than me.”
“Oh, yeah? Well, what about you when all those girls you’ve been pining after see adult-you wearing the same undies as 10-year-old-you?” Nick asked condescendingly.
“Pfffff… Whatever, dude.” Clark scoffed, clearly unphased. “And it’s not just chicks dude.”
“Yeah, yeah, I know I know.” Nick reassured. “In any case, good luck getting a hookup when everyone sees your little tighty whities.”
“Man, we both know I’m hot enough to rock tighty whities even as an adult.” Clark boasted, flexing an arm, the two laughing in response.
“Alright then. Let’s get started!”
---
The gaming session was close, to be sure, right up until the end, but a clear victor emerged after an hour of relentless taunting, yelling, and a quick snack break.
“YESS!! Gotcha!!!” Nick stood triumphantly, pointing teasingly at Clark.
“No way you got that last shot…” Clark’s face sunk, both confused and frustrated at the surprising turn of events.
“That’s what happens when you underestimate your opponent, Clark!” Nick wagged a finger at the smaller boy. “I guess you won’t make that mistake again.” Nick laughed at his friend’s defeat. He stepped into his room for a brief moment before returning with phone in hand.
“So,” Nick began, “How do you want to pose?”
Clark’s expression lightened a bit, and he let out a nervous laugh. “I dunno man, whatever you think is embarrassing or whatever. You won, so you decide.”
Nick was only mildly shocked at Clark’s willingness to abide by the terms of the bet, but Clark never was a sore loser; it’s one of the things that made him such an easy-going friend and roommate.
“Okay then…” Nick thought for a moment before an image popped into his head. “Oh! Superman pose! It’ll at least be kinda flattering for adult you,” Nick said, laughing at the end.
“Sure, sure, works for me, man,” Clark relented, as he stood up and put his arms and legs into position.
Nick readied his phone for the picture. “Okay… Andddddd smiiile!”
Clark, always one to play along, beamed the goofiest little boy grin he could, belying his mild embarrassment.
“Got it!” Nick turned the screen toward Clark, “To quote you, ‘See, you’re adorable!’”
Clark ignored the jab and began making his way to the kitchen. “You gonna post that now, or can we like eat first or something? I want dinner after all that.”
Nick put the phone in one of his shorts pockets. “Good idea, I’m starving. I’m guessing you picked up more than just little boy clothes at Target?”
“Yeah, don’t worry!” Clark affirmed. “We’re stocked with food for the weekend. Lots of easy freezer meals, too—stuff that I figured you could make for yourself in case I didn’t wanna cook for you.”
Nick laughed, “Haha, well, good thinking on your part!”
“Yeah, especially now that we’re both kids,” Clark added.
The two settled on Pizza Rolls to satisfy their newly youthened palates. This, of course, included the obligatory biting into an overly-hot roll fresh from the microwave, as well as Clark managing to stain his formerly white underwear with pizza sauce after having refused a plate, as well as continuing to opt out of clothes for the weekend.
---
The two returned to playing more Xbox for a couple hours, cooperatively this time so as not to stir up any remnant feelings of resentment. Afterwards, each boy found himself a bit more tired than he typically would be at such an early night hour, owing to their young boy bodies requiring the rest to grow up big and strong, Nick hypothesized.
Each boy went to their separate bathrooms to clean up for bed. Nick struggled at first to adjust to his newly tall bathroom surroundings, especially his high shower head, but he found that the hot shower help reset his frame of mind, facilitating the process of feeling completely at ease in his new body.
Nick dried off and looked at his face in the mirror, appreciating that he could at least skip his weekly beard trim for the next few days. He exited his master bath and approached the package of briefs where Clark had left them on his bedroom floor. Still with some chagrin, Nick pulled out a clean pair and pulled them on. He didn’t bother with any other clothes, since he typically would sleep in just his boxer-briefs as an adult.
He returned to the bathroom and finished brushing his teeth when he heard a knock at his bedroom door.
“Yeah?” Nick yelled out from the bathroom.
Hearing this, Clark stepped into the bedroom, fully naked and clearly fresh out of the shower. “Hey man. Just grabbin’ some underwear. I’m gonna take some to my room so I don’t have to keep coming back.”
“Sounds good.” Nick tried to play it off cool, seeing Clark’s reduced form in its entirety, but something about seeing his formerly semi-buff best friend in such a state made him feel… well, something. He couldn’t precisely place his feelings on the matter, so he interrupted the thought with a joke. “You’re not even *half* the man you used to be, dude,” Nick laughed.
Clark, still naked but with briefs in hand, halfway out the door, returned a sharp rebuttal. “Yeah? Well, adult-you couldn’t even hold a candle to this 2-incher, so I dunno why you’re talkin’ shit.” The boys laughed, each appreciating the other’s sense of humor, especially in such a unique and unfamiliar situation, and Clark returned to his room.
Nick turned off the bedroom and bathroom lights and crawled into his now gargantuan bed, now fully able to stretch and spread out without his toes dipping just over the edge of the mattress. He plugged his phone in to charge for the night and attempted to fall asleep, still impressed that both of their regressions to boyhood had sapped away their abilities to stay up much later than 9:00.
About twenty minutes later, when Nick was just starting to drift off, he heard his door creak open ever so slightly. A dark form appeared, startling Nick for a moment, before he reasoned that it could only really be Clark.
“Clark?” He asked softly and tiredly.
Clark stepped over to the side of the bed. “Umm… Hey, Nick.” Clark’s voice had sounded noticeably more childlike in that moment, Nick noted.
“What’s up? I was about to go to sleep. Did you need something?” Nick offered.
“Well, yeah, actually.” Clark replied meekly. “I was trying to sleep, too, but then I heard a noise, and it kinda freaked me out…”
Nick stifled a laugh, realizing now the nature of Clark’s oncoming request. “Oh, man, don’t tell me you’re scared of the dark.” Nick teased.
“Sorry, it’s just… you know I was the first time around, being 10, and I didn’t really think that I would be again after the regressoin, but I guess that gun of yours also affects some more basal parts of the brain.” Clark replied, and Nick was both touched and impressed with his friend’s reasoning, an indication that he had been listening on at least more than one occasion when Nick talked his ear off about the science of the regression gun.
“I understand; don’t worry.” Nick reassured the smaller boy. “You wanna sleep with me, tonight?”
Clark was already lifting up the covers when he gratefully replied, “Yes, please!”
Nick scooted over, allowing Clark ample room on his respective side of the bed, but Clark insisted on scooting closer until Nick felt Clark’s briefs-clad butt press up against his own. Nick wasn’t sure how to feel, but he turned to hold his smaller friend.
“You don’t have to be scared, Clark.” Nick reassured the younger boy, wrapping an arm around him as he settled in to sleep.
“Thanks, man,” A sleepy Clark replied quite comfortably.
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