Warm Fur Under The Hostility (Catnap X reader)

Chapter 5: There's Still Hope

Catnap was standing right over you. You thought it was menacing. "Where have you been!? Did you forget about our promise!?" He scolded. You felt bad. Horrible. "I'm sorry, I just... I got attacked by that.. teacher.. thing, and I didn't have time to leave, I was practically trapped. I had no choice but to run forward hoping for an opportunity to escape, but I ended up killing her while doing so," you explained in hopes of him forgiving you. Catnap sighed. "Look, I forgive you, alright? I care about you. I know we haven't been together for long, but I really do. I understand. If you tried going back to leave, your fate would have been worse than what ended up happening. But please, from now on, don't go into dangerous places unless you have no choice. It's too risky. Almost every place here has some sort of danger. I don't want either of us to end up dead or badly hurt," Catnap pampered. "Thank you. And I promise, no more taking risks unless I have to," you replied. You guys decided to go back into Home Sweet Home.

You guys were just hanging at Home Sweet Home. Then, you had a thought. "So, about what you said earlier... you said that the playhouse is the most dangerous place here. Why is that?" You asked. "Well, to start, that place is an absolute maze. It's practically impossible to learn the layout of it, because everything looks the same and it's very confusing to travel through. The worst part is that it's infested with mini versions of the other Smiling Critters, even me. They're small and they look like plushies, but trust me, they can end you easily," Catnap briefly answered. "Is there anything interesting in there? Normally all of these places have something worth noticing," you questioned. "Yeah, it does, actually.. there's one Smiling Critter left. Other than me... DogDay. I remember a very, very long time ago, I did something horrible to him. I regret it. Long story short, DogDay tried to get away with not praising The Prototype. And I had no other choice but to pin him to the wall and cut off his lower half. I didn't want to, but I didn't want to betray my lord," he admitted.

You didn't know how to feel. You weren't mad, just overwhelmed. Your boyfriend just told you that he did something awful in the past and regrets it to this day. "I mean, I know torture is really bad, but was it that bad to the point where it traumatizes you that much?" You asked. "It would be a lie to say that it wasn't. If you saw it, you would understand. The worst part is that he's still alive. In that exact same spot, exact same state," he explained. "Oh my God... I... I don't even know what to say... I'm sorry you were forced to do that to a fellow Smiling Critter. Must've been painful to do. Like, emotionally." You gave Catnap a big hug. He hugged you back. "It's alright. I have you now. We have each other now. Everything is gonna be okay, because we have our backs," he whispered into your ear. "Don't worry, I'll help you get through everything that you've went through. I can't imagine what other things happened in this orphanage that you had to witness. Just tell me when your ready and take your time, love." Just as you said that, Catnap's heart rate skyrocketed. You called him love. He knew that you were perfect for him, and you knew that he was perfect for you.

"WAIT!" You exclaimed. "What if we can save him? It's risky, but what if I made my way over to DogDay, unpin him from the wall, and escape with him?" You said. "I doubt it. Each time someone reaches him, all of the mini Smiling Critters take control of him and influence him to chase and eventually kill the person who survived to find him." Catnap said, hopeless. "What if I just... do it fast? We might have to make a run for it, but I see a possibility." You said. You were very confident in this idea. "Alright. We'll do it. Listen closely. Use your finger gun hand on your GrabPack. Your flares will scare the mini critters away. Sometimes they'll come in packs too, so be aware of that. They'll also try to close you in, so you'll have to be fast and use your reflexes. I believe in you, love." Catnap said, faithfully. And so, you headed to the playhouse, and opened the door.