Ice Age Moments💕

Little Protector in the Night(Tackle/Diego) (request)

Request from Tannerh012. Tackle is my oc

Tap tap tap...tap tap tap...

Diego's ear twitched at a sound that was repeating. It sounded pretty close. The saber couldn't make it out exactly. Althought the night often made strange sounds.

Tap tap tap tap....

'Why is it repeating?' He thought in his head as his sleep began to fade and his eyes opened to see what it was making that noise.

In front of his vision was Tackle. The cub was up, pacing back and forth and staring at the entrance of the den. He had no idea his dad was awake and even thought he kept pacing, his face didn't leave the direction to outside their home. The brown saber frowned at seeing his son up. The way he kept pacing looked like he was nervous.

"Tackle?"

"Hm?" Tackle's ears twitched at his dad's voice and turned his to look at him. "Hi dad" he whispered quietly with a small nervous smile, his ears down. Shira was nearby asleep so they had to keep their voices down...otherwise they be dealing with an agitated momma sabertooth cat.

"What are you doing up bud?" He asked him tiredly as his chin rested on his paws. "I'm standing guard tonight" he told him which puzzled him. Was this a game Tackle was playing?

"You are? Ok then. What are you standing guard for? The possums?" He asked him amusingly, playing along with what he thought was a game. The cub shook his head no.

"I'm standing guard to protect you"

He answered him and this time serious, his smile gone. Diego stared at him confused, suddenly getting the feeling that his son was being serious about something and that this was not a pretend game like he thought.

"Protect me? Tackle I appreciate that. But it's late. You should get to bed" he told him gently as the cub turned around with his back to him, sitting down on his hind legs.

"No way. Someone has to protect you from whatever can come up. I can't having you doing all the protecting all the time. Besides, I'm not yawwwwn tired" he refused firmly, letting out a yawn the moment he said he wasn't tired.

Diego wasn't convinced, and had the feeling that something was up with his kid. He wrapped a paw around his son, pulling him close and turning him around to look at his face.

"Ok what's going on?" He asked him suspicious. "Since when do you want to stay up and guard the den this late at night hm?" He asked him and Tackle kept his eyes away from him, a bit hesitant to tell him. "Tackle" Diego said his name persistently and with suspicion, raising one eyebrow as his cub glanced at him.

Tackle sighed in defeat. He should've known better than to underestimate his dad or even try to lie to him. "I had a bad dream" he told him, his ears lowered upset as he thought about it. "That's it? But then why are you up and guarding the den?" His father asked him confused. Whatever the dream was, it must have been bad enough to make his cub go protector mode.

"It was about you"

He said, his voice soft and scared and his dad saw fear in those eyes. It surprised him that the dream involved him in it. "We were playing" Tackle's voice came up as the brown saber glanced down at his cub. "We were in the woods and we were playing chase. Then I saw these big huge bears and they didn't have fur on them. It was all black and look like they were made of mist or something and they had red eyes too. It was scary" he explained and described the dream.

"I got scared so I turned around and ran back to you. And you got in front of me and tried to protect me. But the next thing I know...the next thing I know is they just jumped on and you disappeared" he finished explaining as his voice grew scared.

Diego stared at his son with his ears down. The way he described it, it sounded like a horrible nightmare. No wonder the little cat was up. "I couldn't protect you" He spoke again and now his dad understood why he was up and front of his dad, protecting him.

The brown saber smiled gently at his cub and gave a lick on his forehead as his paws pulled his cub closer to his chest, hugging him. "Aw bud is that what got you up and trying to play protector for me? Tackle listen. I'm touch that you want to look for me just as I do. But keep in mind you're still little. You're not big enough or strong enough yet to protect me from something bigger" he gently reminded him as the cub listened.

"Listen, as your dad, it's my job to protect you. I get just as scared as losing you as you are afraid losing me" he told him as the cub looked up at his dad surprised. It was so rare for his father to admit his fears so easily. Although Diego wanted to appear as the tough cat to his son, he also wanted him to be aware that even he has his own fears.

"All we have to do is try to be careful with whatever we face. I protect you. And one day when you're older, you can protect me. In fact, I have already seen you protect me from dangers ten times your size. Despite being small, you're alot braver than you look. So you're already doing a good job in being my little protecter" he explained to him as Tackle's face brighten up and he smiled. "Really?" He asked excitedly as his dad nodded, giving his son a nuzzle in his face as the cub paws his face.

"Hey why don't you sleep with me foe the night? Maybe I can protect you from those bad dreams of yours" he offered him as the cub moved around in his dad's paws, getting himself comfortable. "Ok. Maybe we can chase of those things together in the dreams" he suggested as his dad chuckled at him. But he was happy to see his cub no longer afraid or upset. "Maybe. Get some sleep ya tiny protector of mine" he told him, lying his head as his cub stayed snuggled in his paws, falling asleep with no nightmares bugging him.