head in the clouds

furry friend

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Dream's curiosity gets the better of him and things go south.

* there is a small injury in this chapter (a little scratch) but nothing graphic at all, just wanted to mention it :)

—

Dream is curious about a lot of things when he's little like most toddlers are. His mind is always full of 'whats' and 'whys' about things he normally wouldn't think twice about. What window in the house can he see farthest from? How many steps are there in the staircase? Why are some lights switched on from the wall and others from a remote? How does a remote even work?

While George and Sapnap are very good at giving answers to the majority of his questions, some are just a bit too complicated to put into words for Dream. Those are the ones he needs to figure out on his own.

The thing he's been curious about lately is a little someone he knows very well: Patches. He knows what she is (duh); anyone can see that she's a cat. And that also explains why she acts differently from himself, who is clearly a human. Dream doesn't have any concrete questions like that about his furry friend, he is simply curious about her nature.

Countless minutes of his time this past week have been spent just observing Patches in whatever she happens to be doing. He'll lay on the floor beside her, or the couch or wherever else, and watch with a tilted head her flicking tail and tiny little paws.

Her fur looks so soft and nice, and he knows it is, but he doesn't dare to touch her when he's small. He feels safer at a little distance. Big him is great at handling Patches and can even carry her around in his arms no problem, but the whole thing seems daunting to little Dream.

But naturally, after days of the whole 'look but don't touch' notion, his curiosity ends up getting the best of him.

Sapnap and him have been watching TV together for a little while, but he hasn't been able to pay much attention to the show, or movie– whatever. Patches is curled up at the end of the couch, and Dream has been sneaking glances at her from his position on the floor next to Sapnap's legs. She has been sleeping for almost the whole day, something Dream can't wrap his head around at all– that sounds so boring!

Nevertheless, he decides to use that fact as a justification for possibly waking her up now that he has built up the courage to actually give her a soft pet. He crawls over to her and reaches a somewhat uncoordinated hand out to touch her cute ears, a giddy smile on his lips and heart beating fast in his chest with excitement.

But– "Ow!"

He draws his hand back at lightning speed as a stinging pain shoots through his outstretched hand– Patches scratched him! Tears instantly begin to well in his eyes, and when he sees the angry red line her sharp claws left behind across his knuckles, he begins crying louder. His reaction is more out of shock than pain, but it definitely hurts really bad, too.

To make it all worse, Patches just bounds off and away from the couch without seeming to care at all! He didn't even do anything wrong to her! Sure his hand was clumsy and maybe his movements were a little rough, but he's only little. Why doesn't she want to be his friend?

Noticing the commotion, Sapnap hurries over from his side of the couch, crouching down beside Dream on the floor. "What happened?" He asks cautiously, rubbing a soothing hand on the boy's back.

Dream sniffles and pushes one of his hands into Sapnap's chest so he can see where it hurts. "I-I t'y to pet kitty but she sc'atch me instead," he gets out between sobs. "Feels bad, Napnap."

"Oh, poor baby, let me have a look." Sapnap takes the little's hand and immediately spots the cut, it's a small one, but the skin around it is all red and irritated. It would sting for anyone, but for a little toddler that pain must probably feel ten times worse.

Despite their awkward positioning, Sapnap manages to wrap his arms around Dream, letting him bury his face in his neck and cry it all out. He calms down after a couple of minutes, leaning back and peering down at his own injured hand pitifully.

"Should we go ask George for a little bandaid to make it all better?" He makes his tone extra soft as to not overwhelm the already very overwhelmed boy even more.

Dream sniffles and looks up, "Mhm."

"There we go, darling." George places a green and blue bandaid gently on top of the graze. He also had to clean the cut with some antiseptic solution beforehand, which Dream found to be a horrible experience. Luckily, Sapnap was right beside him to pet his cheek and keep him from having another total meltdown.

"Good boy," they praise him, and things feel a little better already. But Dream is still utterly confused about why Patches would do something like this to him, it really felt like the ultimate betrayal.

"I din' mean to make her mad at me," he mumbles, fiddling with the sheets on George's bed where he was set down earlier. He looks up into brown eyes.

George gives him an apologetic smile, "I know you didn't, lovely, but remember that Patches is a lot smaller than we are, right? She can get scared very easily even if there's nothing to be scared of, like you just trying to pet her. Make sense?"

Dream huffs. "I jus' wanned to pet her little ears, an' now we not friends anymore."

"Patches is your friend, darling," George tells him. "She loves you very much, okay? I think she just got a bit overwhelmed."

That would definitely explain her reaction, Dream thinks to himself. He can often get overwhelmed by seemingly random things, too, and react in a bad way. "Owhelmed," he repeats quietly in understanding.

Sapnap stands up and gives Dream's hand a gentle pull. "Let's go find her together and see if we can make amends. You want to try that, buddy?"

Dream looks between his caregivers' reassuring expression a few times, contemplating whether he can bear to face Patches already. At last, he gives in with a little sigh. "Otay," he mumbles and lets himself be led out of the room by Sapnap.

They find her on Dream's bed, which makes his heart feel much lighter. Maybe she doesn't actually hate him as much as he feared.

"Be gentle, baby," Sapnap reminds him as he reaches a careful finger out for the kitty to sniff. She seems uncertain for a moment before she begins to rub her head against his hand, wanting cuddles. Dream gasps in delight, breaking out into a big smile.

He holds his breath, trying to keep as steady as he can as he gives her a little scratch behind her ears and under her soft chin. "Gentle," he says to himself, watching her close her eyes and lean in toward him.

"Happy!" He keeps his voice hushed. "Look— she happy now!"

Sapnap is keeping a close eye on the two's interaction, unable to keep most of his focus on the blond's adorable facial expressions. He looks absolutely overjoyed, so excited to have his friend back.

"I can be gentle, you see?" Dream glances over at Sapnap expectantly, wanting him to acknowledge how mindful he's being. "You see, Pandas?"

Sapnap pulls his gaze off his friend and onto where Dream wants him to look. "I do see that," he confirms softly. "You're being so good with her, honey."

—

1269 words

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