Chapter Text
“Can I get a baby brother?”
DogDay’s mother looked at him with wide eyes. “A brother?” She asked incredulously.
“Or a sister,” DogDay amended, clasping his hands behind his back and kicking at the floor shyly. “I want someone to play with.”
“Sunshine,” his mother chuckled, rubbing his head. “If you want someone to play with, why don’t you go ask the neighbors?”
“They’re not home,” DogDay stated. Most of the block was off on summer vacation, leaving him to play alone. It was too hot to be outside for too long, but he’d grown bored of being cooped up in the house. “Please?”
“We’re not going to have another child because you’re tired of playing alone, DogDay,” she sighed. “That’s selfish, you know. Asking for someone to be around just for entertainment.”
“Oh.” DogDay frowned. “I hadn’t thought about it like that.” Lately, all he had been thinking about was that after leaving the orphanage, he felt lonely and like he didn’t have a purpose. With his friends from the orphanage, he always picked the games and told them to go in for lunch and dinner. Now, he only had to care for himself, which felt wrong.
“Tell you what. We can call your cousins over for a playdate tomorrow,” his mom offered. “How does that sound?”
DogDay’s tail wagged excitedly. “Yeah! Yeah, I’d like that.”
Still, his new family never truly filled that hole that leaving the orphanage had left in his heart.
CatNap didn’t sleep well for a few days. To DogDay, it was understandable. To CatNap, it was an inconvenience. He had to call out sick, as he couldn’t keep his eyes open despite his inability to sleep. Eating made him nauseous, and anal tearing kept him from sitting comfortably. Mommy called, letting him know Jeff had dropped his bag off at The Game Station, and DogDay went to pick it up. Except when DogDay insisted he eat some soup or toast, CatNap lay in bed, tossing and turning and never staying asleep long enough to feel fully rested. Hours upon hours were spent on social media, scrolling to ensure his mind never wandered too far into his memories.
The worst was Sunday afternoon. DogDay was home for the afternoon and stood in the kitchen, washing big dishes in the sink. He’d used some pots to cook chicken soup that morning and had only waited to clean the dishes until after he’d gotten CatNap to eat half a bowl. Of course, CatNap had returned to bed after that, but DogDay had given up complaining about that. It was an ever-losing fight to try and convince CatNap to stay with him in the shared space. What DogDay could get him to settle on is that CatNap kept his door cracked open so that if there was an issue, DogDay could be there. Even that had been a fight, and DogDay was sure he’d only managed to convince CatNap to leave the door ajar because CatNap was too tired to push his side of the argument. Still, it had resulted in the more optimal situation, so DogDay couldn’t be too sour about it.
DogDay’s ear pricked when he heard a muffled noise coming from CatNap’s room, but as CatNap had been dealing with nightmares recently, he didn’t think anything of it until the gurgling noise came a second time, far louder and more concerning. Shutting off the hot water, DogDay erratically wiped his paws on his pants as he hurried down the hall, making a face when he opened the door.
CatNap’s room had started to smell stale anyway, but the pungent stench of puke made DogDay cover his nose with his paw. CatNap, half-awake and trembling, had tried to catch the soupy vomit in his paw but had still gotten most of it on his bedsheets and pillows. DogDay couldn’t help the slight curl of disgust spread across his lips. He’d dealt with gallons of puke at the daycare, but it didn’t make it any less gross.
The sound of CatNap whimpering softly jerked him out of his disgusted daze. Despite their conversation in the car days ago, it still took a lot for CatNap to break his walls down enough to be vulnerable with DogDay, so the brief moment of break in his resolve was enough to get DogDay to leap into action.
“CatNap,” he murmured, approaching the shaking figure on the bed. Again, CatNap sobbed, bowing his head against the cleaner pillow. “You can’t keep laying here like this.”
CatNap groaned in response, wiping his palm on the sheets below him.
“ Gross ,” DogDay sighed, earning him a scowl from the feline. “Come on.” He offered both of his paws, staying some distance away so that CatNap didn’t think he would touch him. He’d been… jumpy regarding physical contact the past few days. “I’m not gonna let you sit here and rot in your own puke. Even if that’s what you want to do.”
The insinuation that CatNap wanted to sleep in his sick seemed to disturb him enough to roll over towards the edge of the bed. DogDay kept his paws extended, allowing CatNap to use this support to sit up. Most of the vomit had gotten onto the bedsheets, which meant less cleanup of CatNap’s clothes and body but it was going to become an issue with the mattress.
DogDay chose not to worry about that for now. He could feel how hard Catnap was shaking and decided the bed was not his biggest concern right then. DogDay gently coaxed CatNap to his feet, letting the taller, lankier feline lean against his shoulder as DogDay led him into his bathroom. He sat CatNap down on the toilet lid and wet a washcloth, taking it to CatNap’s soiled palm and gently wiping off the remnants of the chicken noodle soup from lunch. DogDay couldn’t help but feel a little at fault. He was always trying to force food into CatNap, getting him to eat something , hoping it would help him feel better, only to make it more of a mess than it was worth.
His ear pricked up when he heard CatNap’s voice, and he glanced up to see CatNap watching him with an evident frown. DogDay’s heart clenched.
“What was that?”
“... ‘m sorry,” CatNap mumbled hoarsely, looking away when the eye contact became too much.
“It’s fine,” DogDay reassured, gently placing both hands around CatNap’s. He pulled away slightly when he felt CatNap flinch, but CatNap didn’t fully recoil. He simply seemed a bit surprised at DogDay’s more forward sign of reassurance- something more real and tangible than the verbal ones.
“It’s really not,” CatNap mumbled, staring at a fixed point in the wall.
DogDay sighed and folded the soiled washcloth, tossing it on a pile of already dirty laundry and standing to wash his hands. “I don’t mind helping,” he said, taking a different approach. “I told you that before. So… it’s fine to me.”
CatNap picked at the neckline of his shirt before pulling off the puke-stained cloth. “I’m a lot of work.”
“Keeps me busy,” DogDay said with a faint smile.
“Your optimism is tiring,” CatNap huffed.
At one point, the comment would’ve upset DogDay. However, the gentle snark in CatNap’s voice spoke to how rapidly he was recovering from his startled awakening. That was more important to DogDay than whether or not the insult was heartfelt.
That, or CatNap was trying to avoid dwelling on whatever had woken him up. That was fine, too. DogDay didn’t need to know anyway.
“I… ugh,” CatNap groaned, resting his elbows on his knees so he could place his head in his hands. “I ruined my mattress.”
“You don’t have a mattress pad?”
“They’re expensive!”
DogDay dried his paws off. “The idea that’s the first time you’ve gotten bodily fluids on that bed is mind-boggling to me.”
CatNap growled. “You’re a piece of work.”
“You can sleep on my bed for a while.”
“Wh-huh?” The offer caught him off guard enough to soften his abrasive edge. “DogDay, I— no.”
DogDay scratched his cheek thoughtfully, glancing at him. “I’m… not sure you have much of a choice.”
“I- I have the- the couch,” CatNap stammered.
“I’ll sleep on the couch.”
“I’m not sleeping in your bed!”
“ CatNap .” DogDay admonished, and the insistence in his voice cowed CatNaps’s defiance a bit. “We’re focusing on getting you to a better place right now, and a better place is not sleeping on the couch.” He glanced CatNap over. “You’re also too tall.”
“Too… tall ?” CatNap scoffed.
“To fit on the couch.”
“No, I know what you meant, genius.” CatNap rolled his eyes. “But I’m not too tall for that couch.”
“To sleep comfortably, I mean.” DogDay turned and grinned at him. “Anyway, it’s non-negotiable! You’ll sleep in my bed until we get you a new mattress.”
CatNap took a deep breath, looking away, and DogDay’s smile faltered. “What now?”
“Mattresses aren’t exactly cheap.”
“Yeah, that’s why I said ‘we’.”
“DogDay--”
“CatNap.”
“I…” CatNap covered his eyes with one hand. “I can’t…”
“I know.” DogDay tucked his hands into his pockets, feeling awkward as he spoke. “You’re not used to accepting help. I get that about you. But I want to help. CatNap…” He stepped forward and then hesitated. “Me, and the others, we all do. I just… wish you could see that.”
“No, no, I… I see it.” CatNap ran his paw down his face and gently wrapped his fingers around his throat, a physical reflection of the words choking him up at that moment. “It’s just… hard.”
“I know. And letting me pay for a new mattress isn’t exactly baby steps outside your comfort zone.” He held his hand out, palm up, and waited for CatNap to place his own hand in the offered gesture before DogDay helped him up off the toilet. “But we have to start somewhere, yeah?”
CatNap’s ears flattened against his head, more as a sign of embarrassment than aggression, but he offered DogDay a thin smile anyway. “Yeah.”
When CatNap’s grip finally loosened, indicating he was just about done with the contact, DogDay quickly pulled away and turned towards the door. “Let’s at least get your room cleaned up.”
It still smelled pretty bad, and CatNap was amenable to opening the window to air it out. They stripped the soiled bedsheets and gathered them up with some of CatNap’s other clothes to wash them. DogDay couldn’t help but wrinkle his nose at the smell, and the expression on his face made CatNap snort. After changing into fresh clothes and thoroughly brushing the taste of vomit out of his mouth, CatNap flopped down on the couch.
“Not tired anymore?” DogDay asked conversationally as he returned to cleaning the dishes.
“I don’t think I could sleep even if I wanted to,” CatNap grumbled, turning on the TV only to scroll through his phone. They coexisted like this for a while, though the sound of the running water in the kitchen sink washed out the TV. When the dishes were dry and put away, DogDay settled in the reclining chair adjacent to the couch, observing CatNap over the top of his phone until CatNap turned to squint at him, and DogDay quickly averted his gaze.
DogDay’s ears pricked when his phone vibrated, but he was even more surprised to hear CatNap’s ding from across the room. “Oh?’ He murmured, more to himself than anything else, as he opened the notification for a new group chat.
HH: Kickin and i had our vacation extended so well be in town a few more weeks
HH: Would yall wanna go bowling or something?
HH: His idea
PP: ooooo that sounds fun!
CC: Im not much of a bowler but Id love to get the chance to spend more time with you guys before my gallery moves locations ^^
KC: no ones GOOD at bowling
BB: I’m good at bowling.
KC: no fuckin way
BB: I was once, at least.
KC: ur a liar
BB: I’d love to~!
BB: But um I don’t have a day off until Thursday,,,,
CN: those nurse hours are hell, huh
BB: fr!!! It’s crazy!!! But I wouldn’t trade it for anything else in the world <3
HH: Do yall think you could make thursday?
PP: most likely, !
BB: For sure!
BB: Sounds like fun.
CC: I will try!!!
HH: We can figure somethin else out if not dw
KC: catnap dogday wb you guys
“It might be good for you,” DogDay pointed out as CatNap stared at his phone. “Get out of the apartment a bit since you can’t work yet.”
CatNap shut his phone off and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. The only indication that time was passing was the excited jabbering of the commercials on the TV. Finally, CatNap turned his head to look at DogDay. “Would you go too?”
“Yeah. I mean--” DogDay waved his phone. “I was invited. Why wouldn’t I go?”
“... I dunno.” CatNap looked back up at the ceiling to avoid eye contact. “I just… wouldn’t wanna go by myself.”
“I wouldn’t make you go by yourself,” DogDay reassured. “You don’t even have to go with me if you don’t want to.”
“No, I--” CatNap blurted before lowering his voice. “I want to go. I think.”
“How… concrete ,” DogDay jabbed, earning a squint from CatNap. He simply smiled in return. “I’ll take the day off, and we can go together."
“... alright,” CatNap agreed and rolled over to watch the TV, trying to ignore the heavy pounding of his heart.
Although CatNap had agreed to show his face to the bowling plans, he wasn’t much of a bowler. The loud noises of the bowling alley were already a lot, and he didn’t want to add a sore arm to all the other miscellaneous ailments he was dealing with. Instead, while Bubba, DogDay, Kickin, and Picky rolled a game, CatNap sat with the nachos and soda at the tall bar table at the end of their lane and sipped his lone glass of water.
After a few rounds of their game, Kickin ordered a second platter of nachos, and Hoppy approached the table to tip the waitress with cash when she dropped them off. Then, she settled on the bar stool to CatNap’s right to nibble lightly at the platter. For a time, the two simply sat watching Bubba throw his fourth and fifth gutter ball of the game. Despite his bragging over text earlier that week, the poor lawyer was not built for physical exertion of any kind.
“CatNap?”
“Hm?” CatNap flicked his ear before he turned to face her fully. Hoppy was looking at him but suddenly averted her gaze when he pivoted all of his attention to her. He raised a brow at the behavior. Usually, he only got responses like that from first-time clientele unaccustomed to the etiquette of hiring a sex worker, but given Hoppy’s response to his and Kickin’s little business arrangement, that was not what she was thinking about.
“Are you mad at me? About everything? I mean, the dinner, and-and the whole…”
“… the whole…?” He prompted, having a good idea of what she was referring to but wanting to ensure he wasn’t grossly misunderstanding.
Hoppy’s nose twitched with anxiety, and if it weren’t for the fact CatNap could feel his stomach boiling with nervousness, he might have found it endearing.
“Throwing the lube at you.”
CatNap blinked and then, despite himself, laughed. Hoppy jumped a bit, skittish in a way that CatNap hadn’t seen in a while. The noise elicited a surprised look from DogDay, who had been waiting for CatNap to finally show some kind of recovery since his assault, only to miss it because it was Hoppy who had caused it.
“No, I— hah— I’m not mad at you for throwing lube at me, Hoppy,” CatNap reassured with a relaxed smile. “I think you had every right at that moment to be upset enough to do so.” He looked at Kickin, who was oblivious to the exchange. “I think your reaction was quite reasonable.”
Hoppy let out a breath of relief, her ears going floppy. “Thank God.”
“… were you worried I was upset?”
“Well, I-I mean…” CatNap leaned his chin in his hand as she fumbled for words. “You just… snapped at me about not understanding your job, and then kind of spilled the beans on what happened at the orphanage and then totally had a meltdown. And I haven’t been able to talk to you since then.” She looked up at him, squeezing her paws between her knees nervously. “And I know that words aren’t really your strong suit- hell, they aren’t mine either- but I guess… I just wanted to hear you say it.”
“Say what?”
“That you weren’t mad at me.”
“I’m not mad at you.”
“I know that now.”
“I was.”
“What?”
CatNap averted his gaze again, staring at the flickering scoreboard above their lane. “I was. I… well. It’s complicated.”
“I’m all ears,” Hoppy offered with a weak chuckle.
“… for a long time, I felt betrayed,” CatNap said, taking a fortifying swallow from his water. “I couldn’t control that you all got to leave the orphanage, and I couldn’t, but… it still… hurt me. I don’t think I really ever- well, I don’t know.”
“You don’t think those feelings have gone away quite yet,” Hoppy filled in.
“Yeah.” CatNap looked at the table. “Sorry, I just… didn’t want to admit it out loud.”
“No, no,” Hoppy reassured. “I get it, I think. It’s like, um…” She tapped her chin thoughtfully. “It’s like how even though I misunderstood what was going on between you and Kickin, I had a right to be upset. And I… I don’t think I’ll ever get over that, either,” she admitted softly.
“It was a pretty scummy move,” CatNap agreed. “But… yeah. It’s…. It’s a kind of hurt that doesn’t go away.”
He flinched when she placed a paw on his shoulder but didn’t pull away, and she took that as an okay to rub his back softly.
“I’m sorry, CatNap. For leaving you behind. And—“ She couldn’t help the snort that left her nose. “Throwing lube at you.”
CatNap grinned, reaching up to place his paw softly over hers and pat it reassuringly. “It’s okay, Hoppy. Promise.”
They broke contact shortly after that, and DogDay tagged in for Hoppy so he could sit next to CatNap in her place.
“Everything okay?” DogDay asked as he scooped up a nacho.
CatNap glanced at him sideways. “You don’t have to baby me.”
“Yeah, but I’m allowed to worry about you,” DogDay said past his mouthful of nacho. CatNap grimaced at him, but DogDay just laughed. Rolling his eyes fondly, CatNap playfully nudged DogDay off of his chair.
Although he still felt a little out of his element, CatNap found spending the afternoon with his friends to be relaxing, in a way. It was reassuring- healing, almost- to be so entrenched in a group that cared not out of obligation or some kind of debt but because they wanted to come back to him.
Lost in his thoughts and the way the revelation made his shoulders relax, he didn’t realize someone had approached the group until the pungent smell of cigarette smoke made his stomach churn. Every single fiber of every single muscle in his body went tense, head spinning with vague, fuzzy, not-quite-there memories that made him want to vomit or maybe pass out. His heart beat as fast as a racecar in his chest, loud enough he could’ve sworn people around him could hear it. Only when he felt an arm slink around his thin waist did he turn his head to acknowledge the person standing beside him.
Jeff smiled. To most, it would’ve seemed warm, or at the very least cordial, but to CatNap, it felt sinister, the way a supervillain might grin upon finally pinning down and capturing the hero. He was acutely aware of how the tendrils of Jeff’s natural, nicotine-smoke smell encroached into his space and flooded his senses with a foul, acrid aura. It made the gentle arm around his waist, the thumb gently rubbing circles into his hip, all the more suffocating. “Hey, sweetheart,” Jeff cooed, voice gruff in a way that CatNap used to find arousing, but now just made his stomach churn. “How ya feelin’?”
CatNap felt like he was going to faint. His head spun wildly as blurred thoughts flew in his mind like jetplanes, making him feel like he’d been drugged all over again- shaky, sweaty, dizzy, and like he couldn’t swallow right. “I’m fine,” he managed despite all this, hoping the waver in his voice wasn’t as apparent to Jeff as it was to him. He looked away again, staring in front of himself.
He could see the others staring, watching, distracted from their game by the stranger with his arm around CatNap’s waist like they were a couple. He could feel DogDay’s presence on his other side, a warm, sunny comfort that CatNap craved but was shoved away by Jeff’s suffocating, shadowy being latched to CatNap’s side like a parasite. That was the best way to describe the former client- a parasite that worked until there was nothing left of the host, only to move on to find another victim. Maybe this was for the best, remaining chained to Jeff via the foul chains of cigarette stench. That way, he couldn’t hurt CatNap’s coworkers at The Game Station. No one deserved what he’d gone through, so if he could just hold out…
“You seem… tense,” Jeff murmured, slowly lifting CatNap’s half-empty water glass and holding it centimeters from CatNap’s nose. It twitched, and CatNap tried to lean away towards DogDay, but was held still by the arm around his waist. “Why don’t you dr—“
The pitcher of Sprite across the table splashed onto CatNap and Jeff as Kickin suddenly lunged from the couch to the bar table. After the splash of cold liquid startled Jeff, Kickin grabbed the glass of water from the bear’s paw and threw it back like he was doing a shot of tequila. Slamming the glass down, Kickin pulled his arm back and punched Jeff square in the snout. The teddy bear shouted in pain, letting go of CatNap’s waist so he could cover his nose with both his paws. Stumbling over a discarded pair of shoes, he fell back onto the floor of the bowling alley, just narrowly missing hitting his head on the carpet.
CatNap gasped a deep breath, freed from the suffocating stench of Jeff.. He tumbled backward, crashing into DogDay in his frantic scrambling. DogDay was already there, hooking his arms under CatNap’s and pulling him further away from the raging teddy bear. CatNap’s legs buckled, and he sat back against DogDay, shivering. He couldn’t tell if it was because of the cold drink on his shirt or the panic pounding in his veins. DogDay wrapped one arm around him, placing his paw on CatNap’s rapidly thudding heart. It was reassuring and a little overwhelming, but the gravity of what was happening around him drowned out the way DogDay’s touch burned his skin.
“What was that for?!” Bobby cried, lurching to her feet from the couch she’d been watching from.
“He spiked CatNap’s drink,” Kickin said, standing over Jeff with both hands still balled into fists. “I saw it. A little white tablet from his pocket.”
“And you drank it?!” Hoppy shrieked, horrified.
Deep, fear-rooted panic began to set in, and CatNap’s chest rose and fell rapidly as he struggled to breathe. It wasn’t just alarm at the situation or needing to breathe past the horrid smell- no, this was real fear. He was scared . Scared for Kickin, scared a little for himself, but most of all, scared of Jeff. The last time he’d seen Jeff, CatNap had been drugged, raped, and left to die in a junkyard across town. Why had he come back? To finish the job? He didn’t want the slut getting away with proof that Jeff deserved to go to prison?
“CatNap, it--you gotta--” DogDay tried, but it was hard to get a complete sentence out between CatNap’s heavy breathing, the way he was trying to scramble back to his feet even though he couldn’t even put weight on his arms, and the fact that Bobby, Bubba, Kickin, and Hoppy were all bickering about the severity and legality of the situation at hand.
Finally, CatNap managed to speak in a trembling voice. “Kickin, you need to go to the hospital.” They all turned to him with varying degrees of horror on his face.
Despite the evident alarm at CatNap’s statement, Kickin tried to steel himself, squaring his shoulders. “It’s just a roofie, CatNap. I’ll be loopy, but-but I’ll be fine.” His uneasiness was evident in the brief stammer.
“No, no, no, you d-don’t understand.” Still, CatNap was fighting DogDay’s grip, but he was losing severely. DogDay was still holding him firmly to his chest. His claws scraped on the floor but got him nowhere. Still, he continued to insist. “He’s drugged me before and-and left me alone without my shit across town. He wants me dead. I know he wants me dead.” Tears threatened his eyes, making his voice shake even harder. “There was probably fucking… poison or-or fentanyl in it or something fatal.”
“God, you’re smart for a whore.” Jeff’s voice was nasally and muffled behind his paws. “Not smart enough to avoid getting raped, though,” he jeered in CatNap’s direction.
Kickin scowled darkly, a rare expression, and kicked Jeff squarely between the legs, causing the bear to properly wail in pain. Hoppy grabbed Kickin’s arm, yanking him away from trying to beat Jeff to death, only because Bubba insisted it would be best if the matter were seen as self-defense on Kickin’s behalf and not assault- even though it was evident all of them wanted to wail on Jeff’s ass. Bobby flanked Kickin’s other side, trying frantically to check his pupils for early signs of overdose, and Picky had run across the bowling alley to get a manager and, hopefully, the police.