Child's Play - A Hermitcraft 8 AU

Renpup - Doc

Summary: Ren struggles with separation anxiety every since 3rd Life. Add on his trust issues and sadness at broken alliances... Last Life has been rough and it's only rougher to go home as a child.

(Author's Note: For those wondering it's titled with Doc's name instead of Ren's, it's because the POV/main character is Doc and not Ren. Hope that clears up any confusion there!)

Suggested by CrazyCatMeow on A03 to fulfill my Wolf Ren headcanon!

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Work on the Octagon was busy as always, and this busy and hard work only got worse as Ren wasn't there to help restock shops and keep up with their earnings while on Last Life. That being said, Doc didn't have anyone distracting him or trying to convince him he should rest every other day (so yes, there were perks!).

Doc was surprisingly in a good mood while setting up redstone mechanics that would once again "break" their world as they knew it. It was a nice day out, very sunny with hardly a cloud in the sky, yet not too hot or too cold to work. With nobody else around, Doc was able to unashamedly turn up the volume of the music coming from his speakers. Everything seemed to be going fine, and his project while difficult, seemed to be successful (at least to some degree).

So yes, everything was going well until a certain amount of names popped up in the chat.

The one that stuck out to him the most was:
<Rendog> has joined the game

While many others joined, Ren's was the only significant one to him. When Ren came back from Last Life, all work was put aside as Ren was probably the most irresponsible hermit, at least as far as the child hermits went.

Doc made a mental note to call Ren in a few minutes. Logging in could be jarring, as every respawn and relog sent all of them back to a child's age, and that jarringness could be too much for some. Too much, meaning that Ren might not be ready for any visitors or calls for a couple of minutes. (But really, all this was an excuse to continue testing his projects. The one he was busy with would refill the items in his inventory each time he used one up, at least until the chest he was linked to had been emptied. This wasn't "normal" by any means, and that's why testing it was important. And even if he wasn't constantly working on it, he could still brainstorm while playing with Ren.)

There were a few problems, most of what Doc would attribute to lag. Double checking to make sure it kept working, he put everything away properly as it was very fragile, and he flew off to find Ren.

Incoming call: <Rendog>

Doc answered the call in an instant, realizing how long he left his friend hanging. "Hey Ren, you alright buddy?"

"Yeah," the small voice answered from the other end. "When are you coming home?"

"You're at the RV, right?"

"Yes..." Doc could hear a small thump of Ren's tail wagging a bit from Ren's apparent anxiety.

"I'm on my way, right now. Just had to finish up a little project, but I'm not leaving you." Ever since 3rd Life, Ren had dealt with severe separation anxiety (which of course only got worse the younger he was). By what Doc knew, Ren had been leader of an army and in that army people had betrayed him and died on him, which was how this mess started. Now Doc had heard of how Ren's time in Last Life was him fearing the loss and beak-up of his group. But really, that fear wasn't irrational, as the place was known for backstabbing and break-ups.

"Ok." Ren gave a slight whimper, almost dog-like, and a small sniffle. Doc wished he'd called sooner. Though, Doc knew there was nothing he could do about that any more.

Over the course of the flight, they kept talking, Ren seeming to calm down as he realized Doc was coming and he wasn't planning on leaving him alone. As Doc landed in front of the RV, he ended the call. From the inside, he could hear Ren struggle to open the door.

Not surprising in the slightest, was Ren sitting down on his knees with his hands on the floor. He sat fairly still, like a dog waiting for its owner (to be fair, that was exactly what he was doing). Doc moved over to where he was sitting, and picked him up, only to plop him down right on the couch. Ren gave a small laugh as Doc basically fell onto the couch right next to him.

Ren sat up straight, waiting for Doc to start rubbing his back as he held onto a small sheep plush. The sheep was a bit torn, as Ren sometimes did bite on it when more stressed out, leaning into his dog-like tendencies.

Being careful not to scratch against him too roughly, Doc took his metal arm and messaged the younger's back. Ren relaxed at the touch. After a minute, Ren moved just enough to show Doc he was ready to just lie back, and Doc helped Ren get situated against his chest.

"How was the game today?" Doc asked, absentmindedly scratching around Ren's wolf ears.

"The Shadow Queen left..." Ren said slowly, letting out a sigh while stifling a yawn. "Martyn's still there, and so is Bigb..."

"Hurts not having Cleo and Lizzy there, doesn't it?" Doc asked carefully. It was hard as he never really knew how to navigate Ren's feelings (that were amplified in this state). Ren nodded, now finished with speaking for the day.

Doc let the comfortable silence stretch on for a moment, and the only movement he made was as a result of breathing. He'd learned that it was best not to push Ren to talk for a few days after he came back. Ren was already a very emotions driven feeling type of person, and that was only amplified and added to as he was younger. Being quiet was best for Ren so he could process and best for Doc as all those feelings quickly drained him.

At this point, Doc knew there was no getting back to the Octagon. He'd figured as much which was why he tried keeping his expectations for today and the following days fairly low. No reason to disappoint himself by keeping up with the incomplete work.

After letting his mind wander a bit, Doc came back to reality, noticing Ren's breathing was getting heavier. Careful not to awaken him too much, Doc held Ren as he lied down across the couch. He moved Ren enough so that he should be comfortably lying above him. Ren fidgeted a little at this change before curling up a bit, leaving his legs to dangle off the couch.

"You can sleep now. You're safe here," Doc said almost softly enough to be considered a whisper. He felt Ren's arms wrap around him in a light, yet firm hug as he started to whimper slightly. "I'm here, buddy." Doc pulled his arm around to rub against Ren's back even lighter this time.

"Love you," he heard Ren say in a very small voice. (He wouldn't tell Ren later how the words alone made him smile.)

"Love you too, buddy."

In only a couple minutes Ren was asleep, and only a few more and Doc was pulled into rest too. The plans for the Octagon could be worried about later, because in the grand scheme of things, they didn't matter as much as this did.

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(Yes I'm still melting after rereading this—)