This has been running around in my head for a really long time. Stefan occasionally fights his space...but what will Damon do when he fakes it?

Damon steps out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around him. A slight frown crosses his lips when he sees his brother curled up in his bed, clutching his bunny close to his chest as he stares intently at the TV. His favorite Spiderman cartoon from the 90s plays on the flatscreen.

"Stef?"

Stefan looks up, a wide smile going across his face. For once, it doesn't bring an own to Damon's. His brother is beaming, wrapped under blankets and cuddling his bunny, but something feels…

"Mornin' DayDay."

Damon takes careful steps towards him. "Morning, Bunny Boy." He runs his fingers through Stefan's soft waves. His brother tenses under his grip. "What are you doing?"

"Watching Spiderman." Stefan sticks his thumb in his mouth, returning his twitching eyes to the screen.

"Uh huh…"

Damon stands there, not saying a word. This is normally the part where he'd either join his brother or pick him up to feed him a bottle. It's not unlike Stefan to wake up feeling little and it can come unexpectedly…but he just dropped the morning before.

Stefan spent too long pretending he wasn't little, there's no way he'd actually lie about being in space.

Right?

Damon is careful with his words. If his brother really is in space, he can't scare him. It took so long to get Stefan to be this comfortable and open, regardless of where his head is at.

"I take it you need a day at home, huh?"

Stefan eyes him. He's got that Bambi deer look on his face, but that's no different than any other day. "I wan' be with you," he mumbles behind his thumb. "My DayDay."

Damon fights to give into his own role. "I have a council meeting today. It's going to be pretty boring."

"I sit on your lap."

"You'll sit on my lap the whole time, really?" Stefan nods, his body stiff. "I have a lot of boring errands to run after. We probably won't be able to play or watch much TV."

A pause. Stefan returns his glance to the cartoon and shrugs. Damon narrows his eyes as his baby brother's heartrate increases. A small vein in the young boy's head becomes prominent and his cheeks, bright red.

This little shit.

Damon clears his throat. "Alrighty then, I'll get ready then we can get you dressed."

Stefan's heartrate decreases slightly and his muscles loosen. The vein remains, as does the rosy skin. "'Kay."

Damon rises from the bed and heads for his walk-in closet. He dresses in there, waiting for his brother's footsteps. If he was really in space, there's no way he'd leave his side. Damon perfected getting dressed with a little boy hanging off of him back in his human life.

Stefan remains in bed. He's shifting a bit. Damon shoves his arms through a gray button down. The council meeting wasn't a lie, nor was the addition of it being boring. There's not much going on around town. Carol will no doubt drone on about the HOAs and teens congregating at Whitmore Lake this summer. It'll take two thermoses of O- to stay awake.

Click

Click

Click

Damon's ears prick up. That's too loud to be the remote, too quiet to be Stefan fidgeting…

Whoosh

"His phone," Damon mumbles, shaking his head.

When his brother is in a younger space, he loves his tablet. There are bright, big pictures that show off what each app is. The only time a younger version of him can read are the rear times he ranges between late elementary schooler and pre-teen.

Damon finishes getting dressed and returns to the bedroom. Stefan's hands move quickly beneath the blankets. The older brother puts a big grin on his face.

"Okay, Bunny Boy. Let's get you ready. Come to DayDay."

He bends down and lifts him into his arms, cooing down at him. Stefan squirms slightly, stilling under the faux confusion in Damon's blue eyes. He manages a smile. Damon pinches his cheeks.

"There's my cute baby boy."

No giggling. Just a grimace that only a teenager could produce.

Damon carries Stefan down the hall, not bothering to put him down when he gets in the other bedroom. Instead, he shifts him onto his hip and begins to look through the dresser closest to the window. Stefan frowns.

"I…I wanna…" His voice cracks. Damon purses his lips to hold back a smirk. "I wear gray hoodie."

"Oh, I think that's a very big boy sweatshirt. It's too boring for a little boy like you, isn't it?"

Damon digs through the normal clothes, pulling out a pair of bright blue footie pajamas, littered with little yellow stars. "Baby Brother" is embroidered on the left side. The squirming begins again. His little brother's heartrate increases.

"It's not nighttime," Stefan whines.

"I want you nice and cozy, in case you wanna take a nap at the boring old meeting." Damon cuddles him close. "You know, I hear Tyler is done with his exams. He should be there."

"No!"

Stefan cringes the minute the word exits his mouth. Damon keeps up his façade, cocking a brow.

"What's wrong? I thought you'd be excited to play with TyTy? You can show him all your toys. Maybe he can even give you your baba."

Stefan's eyes narrow as he attempts to get out of his brother's arms. Damon keeps a tight hold. "You'd never let Tyler do that."

The babyish whine is gone, along with any sign of lisp. Damon lets out a soft ha, dropping the infantile pajamas.

"You really thought you could get away with this?" Stefan opens his mouth to speak. Damon barrels on. "I know you, Stef. Every bit about your big space and little. I know Baby Stefy just as well as I do Big Boy Stefan."

Stefan frowns. "You didn't seem to notice the opposite for 100 years," the younger brother mumbles.

Damon shakes his head. "Nope, we're not doing this. Don't you dare shift the blame back to me."

He deposits Stefan onto the bed and stands before him, folding his arms over his chest.

"Now, normally, if you need some attention, you're good about showing it without faking a drop."

"I was just…"

Damon is quick to interrupt. "I'd like to remind you of one of our rules. You don't lie to me. That includes ones of omission, such as pretending to drop when you haven't. You're already in big trouble." Stefan's frown increases. "If I thought you had a good reason for it, I wouldn't be this stern, but something tells me this isn't just that you missed your big brother." He remains strong as Stefan's frown morphs into a pout. "So, think very carefully before you lie to me."

Stefan fidgets with his thumb. Damon glances at the clock. Stefan's first final doesn't start for a couple of hours. He has all the time in the world.

"You're going to be upset with me," his brother mumbles after a few moments.

"I'm not thrilled with you right now, so you might as well say it."

Stefan sighs. "I…I forgot what it was like to need to study for finals, you know?" Damon's face scrunches up in confusion. "I know all the modern math techniques they teach. Read about every text they assign in English. Chemistry hasn't changed much since my last go round. I…I probably haven't studied for exams like this since the 90s."

"So, what's the problem?"

Stefan's voice is quiet, inaudible to human ears and nearly the same to the supernatural. "You, um, you wouldn't let me take Italian."

It takes a moment to click. Damon notes the bright red textbook with a picture of the Eiffel Tower on the front laying on Stefan's desk.

"Stef…did you study for your French final?"

Stefan squirms. "Yes…well, yeah, I did, but…"

"Let me rephrase this: did you study enough?"

"I kind of…forgot."

Damon groans. "How the hell did you "forget"? This is finals season, is it not?"

"Yes, but, like I said, I'm just so used to not studying!"

"And your teacher didn't remind you? Or pass out study guides?" Stefan gnaws on his lip. "That's what I thought. You've had weeks to do this!"

"I thought I'd be fine. I mean, I get decent grades and all that. But when I looked at the guide last night, I realized I didn't remember half of what we were taught throughout the year."

Damon begins pacing the room. It is rare, very rare, that he feels disappointment in his brother. Stefan makes mistakes, but they're usually unintentional. He has a good reason. Even when he keeps secrets, he thinks he's trying to protect Damon or someone else around him. It's very, very rare he does something this selfish.

"How much of it did you understand?" Stefan stammers a little. "I asked you a question."

"Well…um, probably enough to get um, a…" His voice grows inaudible.

Damon doesn't stop pacing. "Stefan Antonio."

"A C- at best…probably a D."

Damon shakes his head. He makes strides across the room, his mind bouncing back and forth. Stefan shifts on the bed. The sound of grinding fangs grate Damon's ears and it takes several breaths to not snap.

He finally walks in front of his brother, straightening his spine. Stefan looks up at him with wide, green eyes, a soft pout on his face. Damon shakes his head. He isn't babying his way out of this one.

"Your final is in a couple of hours. You have that long to get some more studying in."

Stefan's face falls. A bit of betrayal crosses his face. "But…you could just call and say I dropped. They'll let me make it up tomorrow."

"You're right, they would. But what about the caretakers that didn't study and can't use that excuse?" Stefan looks at the floor. "Exactly. You don't get to hide from consequences simply because of your classification. You get reasonable accommodations. That means if you actually drop. Not just because you got cocky and didn't want to study."

"I didn't…"

"You did," Damon's voice is sharper than intended. Stefan shrinks back a little. "I am surprised with you, Stefan. This isn't you. I expect way more." His baby brother is silent, crushed face and all. "You are better than this. Not just because of how I raised you, but because of the person you are. You have better character than to use your classification as a crutch."

Damon draws a deep breath. While he hasn't seen this from Stefan until now, it's not a new concept to him. The classification system was put into place to help keep crime and mental health rates down. It doesn't just boil down to having that Little space nurtured, though. It's up to the caretakers to set boundaries and have natural consequences. Far too many decide their child has been through enough and they don't need discipline. It leads to little brats like some in the mommy and me group. Ones who can't take accountability because "they're just a baby".

Damon Salvatore is not raising a little brat who thinks he can run the world with his classification.

"You're taking that test, as prepared as you are. Whatever grade you get, is the one you get."

Stefan whines a little. "But that'll bring my GPA down!"

"That's a choice you made. It won't be so low that you'll have to repeat your sophomore year nor even fail the class. At most, it'll bump your grade down to what, a C?" Stefan nods. "And you can make up for it in summer school."

The younger brother's eyes about bug out of his head. "What? But if I'm not failing, it's not required!"

"One, you better watch that tone. Two, I know you are capable than more than a C. It'd be one thing if you didn't understand the material, but you do. And you can prove that to me by bumping that grade up."

"I had plans with my friends!"

"Tone," Damon warns once again. "And you'll still get to do them, summer school is only until 2."

"Yeah, it's school hours! The point is to be done with it!" He shouts.

"Stefan Antonio Salvatore, you will lower that voice right now!" Stefan stills, though the annoyance in his eyes doesn't waver. "You are in enough trouble as it is. Now, if you had been honest last night, I could've helped you study. That's what makes this worse. Instead of studying, you stayed up watching a movie with me. One I wouldn't have let you watch if I knew the truth. And again, you had an opportunity to come clean this morning, but instead you tried to emotionally manipulate me."

Stefan's mouth drops open. "What? No…"

"You did," Damon says, his voice calm yet firm. "You know how I am with you in general, but especially when you're in that kind of space. You thought you could baby talk and call me DayDay and I'd do whatever you wanted. You were lying to me. Again."

Stefan's frown reappears. Damon runs his fingers through his hair.

"I told you before this only works if I can trust you."

Stefan whimpers. "So…you don't?"

"Right now? No, I honestly don't." Hurt flashes across Stefan's eyes. Damon remains strong. "Lucky for you, I can tell when you genuinely drop. And I'll never deny you your space. You need it, it is a part of you. But it does mean that you are going to have to do some work to prove to me you won't pull this stunt again."

"How?"

"Your actions. Starting with summer school and taking it seriously. From now on, I am having your teachers right down all your assignments and I will check them every night, like I should've been doing. It starts now and will run into next school year." Stefan's cheeks turn pink. "You're spending the first week of summer going to school then coming home. No TV, no tablet, no fun. You'll study, do homework and I'll come up with chores."

Stefan sighs. "Isn't this a bit much?"

"This is to ensure the next time you think about pulling crap like this again, you'll remember what happens. You're lucky I've decided on just a week grounded."

Stefan slowly nods. "I guess," he mumbles.

Damon points to his desk. "Get to studying."

He watches as his baby brother rises to his feet and heads for his desk. Damon makes sure he actually takes out the study guide as well as a good writing utensil.

"Do you need some help?" Damon asks.

Stefan looks up, a bit surprised. "No, but…you would?"

"Yes." He purses his lips. "I may be disappointed right now, Stef, but I'm not doing all of this to be mean. I care about you, I love you. I want you to be the best version of you that you can be."

Stefan slowly nods. "I…I haven't been acting like the boy you raised."

"No, you haven't. But, I know you are him deep down."

"For what it's worth, I am sorry."

"I know you are. Now study."

Damon doesn't leave the room. Instead, he drops into a nearby armchair and supervises. Stefan squirms uncomfortably but Damon doesn't move a muscle.

Stefan needs this as much as he needs babying.