TAWOG Fanfic Advent 2022

Day 21

20 or so years ago, in late December

Richard puts his books away in his locker. It was the end of a long school day, and he could finally go home, relax, and eat a couple of packets of sweets...and maybe an apple or something just to keep his mother happy.

As he closed his locked heard a door slam. He turned to see his girlfriend Nicole storm out of the detention, slamming open the door,  before slamming open the back door, and storming out.

His ears fell. Oh no, Nicole was upset? He hated seeing her upset...

He thought for a moment as his stomach rumbled. Those sweets were calling to him...

He shook his head. No, what was he thinking?! He couldn't think about eating at a time like this! His girlfriend was upset, she needed him!

He walked outside and found Nicole sitting by the wall, a hole punched into it.

"Nicole?" He asked softly.

She looked over at him. "What."  She snapped.

He sat down next to her and placed his paw on hers. "Rough day?"

"You could say that..." She said bluntly.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

She began to clench her fist. "Everything! Classmates being jerks, Ms Simian calling me a loser for the thousandth time, parents being absolute cun-"

"Woah, hey, it's okay!" He squeezed her paw, trying to calm her down.

She snapped and began to shout. "No, it's not! Everyone hates me! My classmates, my teachers, even my own parents! All they do is nag and nag and nag! They're never happy! Never!"

She sighed frustratedly. "They just ask for more and more and I can't keep up! Not to mention the ludicrous amount of things they make me do because it'll 'help me in the future'! I'm so fed up with it! It's not fair!"

"It's okay. It doesn't matter what they think, you're already doing more than enough! You're a wonderful little kitten and anyone who can't see that must be blind!"

She was so angry that she turned to Richard and snapped again, glaring at him. "and I've had enough of your 'it's alright' and 'It's okay!' It isn't! No amount of saying things will get better will make it true! No amount of hugs and kisses will fix things! You just keep giving me empty promises and lies, and if you're too busy stuffing your fat face with every morsel of food around you to do anything actually worthwhile then you can take your stupid, overweight butt and shove it!" She swiped at him with her claws, cutting his cheek.

He looked at her, raising his paw to his cheek, slightly hurt at her words and what she had done, and her face slowly began to fall, her eyes widening in horror as she realized what she'd done.

She covered her mouth horrified and slowly began to cry, tears streaming down her face. "O-O-Oh my god...Richard...I-I-I'm so sorry! I...I didn't...I didn't mean what I...I didn't mean to...."

He suddenly hugged her tightly as she began to shake. "I know...I know you didn't... It's okay....it's okay..." He pulled her in, letting her rest her head on his chest as he began to stroke her.

"I'm sorry...I'm s-so sorry...I didn't mean to hurt you!"  She continued to cry.

"It's okay, I forgive you. I understand. You didn't mean to hurt me. You'd never mean it."

She looked up slowly. "You mean it? Y-Y-You aren't mad?"

"Of course I'm not..." He continued to stroke her as she slowly looked up.

"I'm just so fed up Richard...I'm so tired..."  She cried.

"I know, and I promise it will get better. It will. You just need to stay strong and pull through, and I promise, I will be here with you every single step of the way. No matter what. I'm here for you."

She began to smile weakly. "You promise?"

He nodded. "I promise."

She wiped her tears as she smiled at him. "T-Thank you...you have no idea how much I needed to hear that..."

She rested her head back down on his chest, beginning to purr lightly as he continued to stroke her.

He thought for a moment before remembering something. He dug his paw into his coat pocket and pulled out something, holding it out for her.

"Want an acorn?" He offered.

She smiled and took it, eating it.

As it began to snow the two sat together, Nicole snuggling up to Richard and continuing to purr happily.

"I love you..." She looked at him with a smile.

"I love you too Nikki..."