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Catnap sighed in contentment, enjoying the gentle breeze running through his fur as he strolled in his usual slow and steady pace through the neighbourhood on his shift. The night was quiet and peaceful and the feline felt truly in his element, taking a moment to admire the beautiful star filled sky above him as he went about on his patrolling.
He worked as the neighbourhood night watch, there was rarely crime in the area and his shift was usually uneventful, so every night Catnap would go to his friend's houses one by one, dropping in to see if the other critters were tucked away in their beds and sleeping. While Dogday made it a habit to help everyone in the daytime, (in-between working numerous jobs too, how did Dogday do it?) Catnap took on the role of helping everyone too, but only during the tranquil hours of darkness that suited the nocturnal smiling critter perfectly.
He only did little things though, like giving Bobby her favourite squishmallow to cuddle if it fell out of bed. He would clean up Crafty's art supplies, which were usually scattered across the floor, and would have been a tripping hazard if left there. He would check that Kickin and Hoppy hadn’t kicked their covers off. (He mastered the burrito blanket technique and it worked to keep in even the most animated of sleepers. He was kinda proud about it.) He would take Bubba's glasses off and place them on the bedside counter alongside his book, slipping the book marker in the place where it had been left opened, since the elephant had a habit of falling asleep while reading, and he would ensure that Picky didn't eat another pillow after the last unfortunate incident. (Yes, she did that. A whole pillow. Catnap was currently testing the burrito blanket technique on her. He swore he wasn't going to lose to her ravenous appetite.) Then he would make his way round to his best friend's house, which was actually his next stop.
Dogday lived the closest to him, so he always checked on the canine last and stayed there the longest. The smiling critters didn't mind Catnap's visits, they appreciated him looking out for them and said he was welcome to chill at theirs longer if he wished for a break, and while the purple cat was grateful for the kind offer from his friends, he just simply preferred being in Dogday’s home.
The bubbly dog seemed to struggle with sleeping the most, despite being a ball of energy the moment the sun rose up, which Catnap both admired and envied, being the only critter who sleeps so much yet still remains tired. But he seemed to sleep better after his visits. Whenever the purple feline came in, the orange canine was still awake, in his pjs and would usually be sat on the couch with two cups of tea ready, waiting for Catnap to join and have a drink with him, he would ask if his rounds went okay and spend some time with him until the purple cat finally shooed the dog to bed.
And the sweet regular routine they shared never stopped making Catnap swoon. The orange dog was so unfairly cute with his thoughtfulness, he even remembered Catnap's favourite lavender tea brand and how he took it with milk. He also somehow got the temperature right every time too. It was so sweet that Dogday would make tea for him, though he did find it somewhat strange that the orange dog managed the energy to do so. The canine’s eyes would be drooping by the time the feline came round, he was always clearly exhausted and he would instantly fall asleep when Catnap made him go to bed, lightly snoring as the kitty tucked him in. The purple cat almost suspected Dogday was simply putting off sleep just to see him...But that was just really silly wishful thinking on his part. He was just polite that way.
To thank him back, the feline would take the time to clean up around Dogday's house as the other slept, leaving to finish his shift only after he was done. The canine never seemed to have the time to clean up the clutter that accumulated around the rooms, being the sweet pushover that he was by helping everyone else instead...it was the least Catnap could do to look out for him and being a nocturnal critter had some perks, such as getting all the housework done with zero interruptions.
Catnap really was happy to help Dogday whenever he could, because he truly deserved it and more. He was the leader of the smiling critters for a reason. He was so uplifting, so enthusiastic, so considerate and always ready to initiate a new game, hobby, or adventure for everyone to try when they were all together, but he was also happy to slow down now and again. It was no wonder Catnap was so smitten with him, the moon wouldn't shine without the sun's light behind it after all. The same could be said for them.
They were opposites. Dogday was very social and extroverted, a force to be reckoned with during the day and he even worked numerous jobs in-between, while Catnap was more quiet and reserved, preferring to watch his friends partake in activities and was simply content to find a tree to sit or snooze in, his job being more laid back in comparison to Dogday’s more hectic schedule.
But their differences didn't stop the close bond they shared. Despite Catnap's feelings for Dogday venturing far away from the platonic realm, (understatement of the century actually, he was in so deep) he would never sacrifice what they had. He was lucky to have Dogday as his best friend. All of the other critters were so amazing, each of them so radiant and talented, but Dogday still spent the most time with him, for whatever reason. He didn't know what Dogday saw in him really, he thought he was quite boring in comparison to their friends.
The purple critter huffed and shook his head. Whether he was boring or not, Dogday still chose him as his best friend, no-one else, and he was going to be late if he let the self-deprecating thoughts win. He couldn't keep his sweet canine friend up any longer.
The feline stopped at the sidewalk nearby Dogday’s home and preened, smoothing down his fur, adjusting his turtleneck, fixing his choker and pendant and finishing by dusting down his trousers. He knew Dogday didn’t care about how he looked, but he at least wanted to look somewhat presentable. Once he finished grooming himself, he walked down the pathway leading up to the house. Upon getting closer, he raised his brows in surprise.
There were no lights on inside.
Well, that was odd.
Perhaps Dogday was asleep? It wasn't that unusual he supposed, sometimes the sunny canine slept in, especially when he was sick.
Catnap's heart sank. Was Dogday sick?
He hurried to the front door and opened it carefully.
But almost jumped three feet in the air when he heard a shrill scream, followed by a loud thud, as if someone had fallen down.
Catnap's heart was in his throat, his pulse racing as panic filled him. That came from upstairs.
It came from Dogday's room.
That was Dogday who screamed!
The purple feline broke out into a run as he flew up the stairs, his claws extending and primed to fend off any intruders and protect his puppy. No-one hurts Dogday and gets away with it. He just hoped he wasn't too late and that his best friend was unharmed.
Once he got near, he noticed Dogday's bedroom door was closed and swiftly turned the doorknob and opened it, partially scared about what he was about to see.
Thankfully, he couldn't see any indications of unwanted company in the darkness, his night vision being another perk of being a nocturnal critter.
But what he did see was the orange critter sat up on the floor. The fall he had heard must have been Dogday falling out of his bed. The canine was in a terrible state though, he was panting heavily and shivering hard, his fur was ruffled and matted from sweating and he was staring in horror at his trembling legs, he didn’t even notice Catnap was there.
"Day?" Catnap whispered in worry, taking a cautious step forward, wanting urgently to help the petrified canine.
But he paused when the dog turned to Catnap with a horrified expression, and screamed again. The feline flinched and covered his sensitive ears as Dogday pressed his back up against the wall and covered his head to protect himself.
"NO! NO! NO! PLEASE STAY AWAY!" He sobbed loudly, whines and whimpers escaping the distressed dog as he curled up. Catnap watched with wide eyes and fretted, he had never seen Dogday look so panicked before. He didn't know what to do, the canine didn’t seem to recognise him. Couldn't he see it was just Catnap?
Oh wait. That was because he couldn't see him. Catnap was the only one blessed with night vision. He mentally face palmed at his own stupidity.
The feline critter quickly turned the light on, the sudden illumination of the room making the canine pause and lower his arms to look up, squinting as his eyes adjusted to the bright room and focused on the purple feline who still kept his distance, not wanting to upset him any further.
"K-Kitty? Is that you? The r-real you?" The canine stuttered apprehensively and watched the purple cat, who carefully approached the shivering dog.
"Yes, it’s me. I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to scare you." He whispered softly, sitting down in front of the shaking canine, deciding not to get too close when Dogday was still this tense. But to test the waters, Catnap extended his tail over to lay on top of Dogday's lap, to try and get him to relax a little. To his relief Dogday didn't shy away from it and started stroking his tail to ground himself. The feline spoke softly. "I heard you scream. What happened?"
Dogday sniffled and kept his eyes focused on Catnap's tail, not able to meet the feline’s concerned expression. "I-I was dreaming, and it was a-awful...I couldn't w-wake up and it hurt so much…"
The feline frowned as he watched the canine stutter. He wasn't as prepared with tissues on hand to comfort others like Bobby was, or able to make light of things and invoke laughter like Hoppy did. But out of all the smiling critters, Catnap at least knew about dreams, nightmares and night terrors the best out of anyone.
He hesitated for a moment, but steeled his courage. "Day? Can I come over and cuddle you?" The dog nodded vigorously in approval as Catnap crawled over to settle beside him, resting his back against the wall and gently pulling Dogday into his arms as the canine's crying renewed. The crying dog held onto him tightly, his grip almost hurting as he buried his face into Catnap's shoulder, which the feline didn't mind as he gently stroked the scared canine's fluffy ears and untangled his matted fur in places.
After several minutes, the canine's shaking subsided and he pulled his head away from the cat's shoulder, looking embarrassed at his own behaviour as he finally met Catnap's gentle gaze.
"I'm really sorry about that Nap. This nightmare was so gruesome and vivid. I…I didn't know you could feel pain in dreams." Catnap furrowed his brows as he listened, humming in response.
"There is nothing to apologise for. Nightmares can be scary and pain in dreams isn't that uncommon, but it’s still awful all the same. I'm sorry you experienced that…" The purple cat trailed off and pointed to the bed. "How about you move into your bed, I can sit and join you if you want? It would be more comfortable than sitting here and I would like to make sure you aren't too tired tomorrow..." The orange dog bit his lip, seeming unsure about returning to bed so soon, but he nodded and withdrew from the cuddle, standing up first before offering a paw to the purple feline.
Catnap smiled in appreciation and allowed the help, following Dogday to the bed, blushing lightly when the canine wouldn't let go of his hand. The canine got into the bed and pulled the cat to lie down beside him. (Which Catnap inwardly shrugged about, it wasn’t the first time they shared a bed together.) The feline then used his tail to move the covers over both of them as they got themselves comfortable.
And by comfortable, what he really meant was Dogday had his arms wrapped around his back and waist and had pulled him in so that Catnap's face was pressed to rest against Dogday's chest, one of his paws also resting on the fluffy light yellow fur while the other was under the pillow. He was pressed on his side, not wanting to put too much weight on Dogday's body. Catnap realised belated that Dogday was assigning him as the 'little spoon' as Bobby would call it, but this cuddling positioning was...new.
The nervous feline tried to swallow down the butterflies in his stomach. They were always affectionate with each other, they've had social naps together, they were no strangers to each other’s beds and they often snuggled under a shared blanket on Dogday’s couch, but that was the standard platonic best friend snuggling. This however, felt almost domestic and he was sure Bobby would have a fit if she saw this.
Catnap put it down to Dogday having such an awful dream that he wanted something to hold onto and simply assigned Catnap as his overgrown teddy bear. Well, Catnap wasn't going to make a fuss, even if he was panicking a little about how his heart skipped a beat and how his body was betraying him by emitting loud, rumbling purrs. He sometimes cursed about being a cat critter, his behaviours made hiding his affections so much more difficult.
"Ah that feels better." Dogday let out a long sigh and rested his head on top of Catnap's and nuzzled it, unaware of his best friend's internal gay crisis. "I love it when you purr, kitty." He murmured, his lower tone sending a shiver down Catnap’s spine.
"Mmhm..." The feline managed in response, relieved Dogday couldn't see his red, flustered face from here. He couldn't just say things like that. Or nuzzle him so cutely…Catnap was supposed to be there for Dogday as his support after such a fright, not mentally spiral from being unable to reel in his attraction to this ridiculously handsome canine with a really solid chest. The cat took was all too aware that from this position he could feel just how toned Dogday actually was behind his soft fur-
-And stop right there. He scolded himself for his lack of restraint. He was here to help. His best friend was in a vulnerable state. For shame. Focus Catnap.
He cleared his dry throat. "So Day? If you don't mind me asking, what happened in your nightmare? If you want to tell me that is, I'm here for you." Dogday remained silent so Catnap added "Or we can just relax like this...I don't mind." He really didn't mind, but Catnap was this close to putting himself into a sleep induced coma if his brain was going to continue being a nuisance.
Dogday absently drew patterns across the feline’s back, and Catnap had to resist the urge to dig his claws into the dog’s chest from the infuriatingly enjoyable contact, that really wasn’t helping his dilemma. "I don't mind talking about it, It's just kinda heavy." Catnap hummed to show he was listening. Dogday swallowed dryly. "Okay so bear with me here, I had a dream that I was some giant toy creature? It was really weird. But there were horrible things happening all around me and there was so much blood and gore and…It was everywhere." He trailed off, his tone uncharacteristically monotone.
Catnap's ears folded back. This nightmare sounded dreadful already. Poor Dogday...
The dog moved his head to the side to stare at the wall as Catnap adjusted himself so his chin lightly rested on the orange canine's fluffy chest to watch him. The feline's brows furrowed, he didn't like where this was going. It already sounded so scary.
Dogday continued after taking a deep breath to settle himself. "And you were there too but...but it wasn't like you at all. You were this really tall and monstrous cat toy and nothing like how you actually are." Dogday paused and bit the inside of his cheek, only continuing when Catnap lightly patted his chest to keep him focused. "I can't remember what we were saying, but it ended with you holding me down and…and tearing my legs off." The canine’s voice lowered to a whisper, shuddering at the phantom pain of his nightmare.
Catnap gasped. “W-Wait what?” He lifted his head from Dogday's chest, focusing on the canine’s tragic tear stained face, his heart aching at the mere thought of a version of himself harming the one he loved so dearly. Without thinking, he reached up and cupped Dogday's soft cheek, gently caressing it. "Oh Day, I'm so sorry. No wonder you looked at me like that when I came in. What rotten timing on my part, it sounds like it was so painful.”
The canine's eyes widened, his ears puffing up from the tender touch, but he relaxed and leaned into the purple paw, clearly appreciative of the comfort. "I'll be okay, but I'm sorry for screaming at you earlier Nap, you're not the monster and you just wanted to help me. It was just really dark and my night vision isn't as good as yours. All I could make out was your moon motif and I just assumed I was still dreaming..."
The purple cat shook his head, using his paw to brush away at the tear tracks on the canine’s face. "I’m not upset by your reaction, after such a dream I’d be the same. But it was just a dream and you are safe now Dogday. I'm always here if you need me. You know I only take various naps in the daytime."
Dogday tilted his head with a bemused frown. "Actually, you can sleep for 23 hours. In various places. And I usually have to find you and wake you up."
Catnap withdrew his paw and rested it back across Dogday's chest, raising a brow at the dog. "That's nothing. I could sleep for a week."
The canine pouted, doing his adorable puppy dog eyes. "Please don't, I'd miss you."
He lightly booped the orange dog's nose and smiled playfully. "And that is why I don't. You're such a needy puppy~" He teased and giggled, the idea of Dogday missing him made his heart flutter. How dare he be so cute?
Catnap could have sworn he saw a red tint colour the dog's cheeks, but the canine critter was quick to recover and tease him back with a bright grin, gently squeezing the purple cat’s slim waist. "Aww, am I the exception? You really do love me, don't you kitty cat?" He beamed, seeming more like his usual sunny self again.
The purple feline's smile softened, rolling his eyes half heartedly. He didn't respond other than to purr louder, which seemed more than enough of a satisfying answer for the sweet dog critter, judging by the second gentle squeeze he gave him.
Catnap bit his cheek. He really did love Dogday, more than the silly dog could ever truly know and comprehend, but such feelings would only complicate things, Dogday already led such a busy lifestyle, even if he did feel something for Catnap, (the feline could only dream of that outcome) he was probably too busy for relationships. But he was fine with what they had…He’ll just have days where he could wish for more.
Like right now, for instance…He would get over it.
A yawn from the canine interrupted the feline’s thoughts from spiralling further. Dogday seemed close to dozing, and Catnap was aware it was around the time they would usually finish their tea, which was also Dogday's assigned bedtime.
"Hey Naps?" The canine mumbled sleepily.
"Mmh?"
"Can you um, do the poppy smoke thing? I uh, don't think I'm gonna sleep easy otherwise."
"Oh, of course, sweet dreams Day, I'll be sure to check on you later."
Catnap took a deep breath and exhaled the red fumes, blowing them directly into the canine's face, watching as his best friend slowly fought against it at first before his eyelids lowered shut and his expression seemed more relaxed.
After a few minutes of watching Dogday's chest rise and fall evenly, he concluded the orange critter was finally resting. He hoped he wouldn’t experience any more dreadful nightmares. He was still horrified by the idea of a form of himself harming Dogday, it was just unfathomable! He also hoped Dogday wouldn't experience any other dreams involving pain. Catnap could actually sympathise, he had dreams of being electrocuted and burned alive...
But thankfully, they were only dreams. It was strange and fascinating about what the subconscious mind could conjure.
Catnap decided he should probably leave Dogday to rest, as much as he loved being this close to Dogday, he felt like it was selfish to indulge in the affection when his best friend had only just recovered from such an awful dream. Perhaps there were still some stray dishes that Dogday didn’t have the time to do that he could tackle for the time being?
The feline lightly pried himself from the dog's arms and after a few minutes of careful untangling, he managed to free himself and carefully got up from the bed.
Only to yelp when a paw suddenly ensnared his wrist roughly and pulled him close to the bed. The startled feline bit back a wince, glancing at the dog who caught him. Dogday was still led on the bed with his eyes closed. He was still asleep, but his expression looked almost desperate? Catnap could hear him murmuring.
"Stay. Don't leave me again."
The cat whined quietly and felt a chill run all the way down to his tail. Dogday was sleep talking but why did he sound so ominous and serious? It wasn’t like him at all. And why did Catnap feel like his assertive tone was directed at him?
Odd sleep talking or not, clearly his best friend still needed him and he could survive one night with his insufferable gay thoughts, just to ensure Dogday is comfortable.
He sighed fondly, lightly removing the canine’s paw from his wrist and held it, bringing the dog’s hand to his lips, lightly kissing his knuckles. “Okay you clingy puppy, I’m not going anywhere. But you really will be the death of me.”
He settled back into the bed, repositioning himself so he was once again led on the canine's chest, relieved and feeling a tad timid when the sleeping dog quickly embraced him again, and tightly. He found himself entangled once more but this time, he had zero chance to escape from the canine’s arms. Was Dogday always this much of a cuddle bug? Catnap wasn't sure. He was usually the one who fell asleep first and the last to wake up.
Resigning himself to his fate as a snuggle companion, he nuzzled the canine's chest, purring contently from the relaxing smell of vanilla, at least Dogday was extremely comfortable. He’ll try not to get used to this.
Catnap stretched his tail out to turn the lights off, then used it to reposition the covers perfectly over them, once he was happy, he closed his eyes and decided to join the snoozing canine.
Hopefully Dogday wouldn't be too surprised to find him still here in the morning.