Mothman and Me (Mothman x Reader)

The Morning

You groggily lifted your head from the couch and rubbed the crust of sleep away from your eyes. There was a split second of panic when you forgot that it was Saturday and thought you were late for work. That anxiety quickly subsided when you recalled what day it was. Relieved, you yawned, pushed aside your blanket, and swung your feet over the side of the couch. To your horror, they made contact with something warm and furry. You yelped, immediately recoiling from whatever it was that you had touched. That earlier fear that you had just dispelled was creeping up again, but for different reasons. Before you had time to convince yourself of doing otherwise, you peeked over the edge of the couch to see was the offending object. You gasped.

Below you lie your cryptid friend, deep within the holds of slumber. He clutched a now powdery blanket to his chest while lying curled up on the floor. As you sat in still silence, you could hear the subtle rattle of his breathing. For some reason, your eyes were glued to the creature. Though he had proved himself to be real and was now a part of your life, his presence baffled you. What baffled you even more was how his antennae twitched as he slept in the same manner that a dog moves its legs while dreaming. You couldn't help but find the scene cute.

However cute it may be, though, the slumbering Mothman was still an issue. You had no idea how to handle the situation you were in. On one hand, you wanted to wake him up and try to get some answers as to why he thought he could invite himself to a sleepover. On the other hand, you found it cruel to disrupt his peaceful rest. Eventually, you let your soft side take control and decided to leave him be. Being as cautious as possible, you managed to walk around his body and into the kitchen. The more that you thought about it, the less you remembered ever leaving the kitchen. When exactly had you climbed onto the couch? That thought plagued you as you sleepily went through the motions of making yourself a cup of coffee. Your eyes were drawn to the dark liquid, mindlessly watching as it swirled around in your cup. The sight and smell of it put you into a trance which was only broken when you heard a very distinct chirp.

You lifted your head, instinctively looking out of the window to see if there was a bird. The snow gathering on the windowsill reminded you that it was the dead of winter. There weren't many birds around. Shrugging, you turned around only to be met by a wall of fuzz. Oh, that's right. You had an uninvited houseguest. Too tired to be confused or annoyed, you smiled at the looming creature. "Hey, big guy. Did I wake you up?"

Mothman nodded, but he did not seem to be irritated that you did so. In fact, he seemed quite thrilled that you were awake. He chirped once more, antennae sticking straight up in the air. The ghost string lights clung around his body, emitting a ghastly glow. You couldn't help but to quietly laugh at his enthusiasm.

"Sorry, dude. I was trying to be quiet." You held up your cup of coffee up in his direction. "Want some coffee? Might help you stay awake." The creature curiously looked down at the cup in confusion. "Right, you've probably never had coffee before. I guess you can take a sip of mine, as long as you don't give me any weird moth diseases." The intensity of his red eyes increased, and the moth timidly leaned forward. A slender proboscis poked out from underneath a patch of his fuzz, and you had to do you best not to flinch. You just assumed that he had a mouth, forgetting that he was, in fact, part bug. Not wanting to offend him, though, you forced a smile on your face.

The tubular tendril flicked into the ceramic cup for a split second, only to immediately retract. Stepping backwards, Mothman made a screeching noise and put his hands where his mouth should be. His eyes dimmed, and both antennae went down. Putting down the cup of coffee, you took a few steps towards the cryptid.

"What happened? Are you okay?" Eyes wide with concern, you put a hand on his fur-covered chest. The creature emitted a soft whimper, pointing to the cup and then to where his proboscis rest. "I take it you don't like it." Sighing, you returned to the counter to pick the mug up, taking a sip for yourself. You spit it back into the cup directly after. "Shit, that's hot!" You fanned your mouth, abandoning the beverage once again. "No wonder you didn't like it. I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to hurt you." Mad at yourself for being so careless, you were determined to make it up to him.

"Here, I'll make it better." Heading to the fridge, you opened up the top door to the freezer. In the very back, you kept an incredibly old box of cheap popsicles. Typically they were saved for when you were sick and didn't feel like eating anything, but this was a far nobler cause. You pulled out a blue, obviously the best choice, then rummaged through the kitchen for a pair of scissors. Not being able to find them, you settled on attempting a tricky maneuver with a knife. Either way, you got the popsicle open and handed it to your unlikely friend. "Try this. It's cold, and will help your, um, tongue thingy. And it's fruit flavored. Moths eat fruit, right? Nectar or something?" You grimaced at your own uneducated words. "Just try it."

Eyes full of suspicion, he unfurled his proboscis once more, using it to prod around the frozen treat. He finally settled on a spot, quickly sucking all of the flavoring out of the ice. His eyes regained their vivid color, and he chirped with joy. The delighted creature continued to work on the popsicle, though nothing but remnants of melted ice was able to be procured. That didn't seem to bother him, though. He happily hummed, using the warmth of his hands to speed up the melting process.

Watching him eat the popsicle with childlike glee brought a dopey grin to your face. It was odd. For years, you have heard stories about how this monster has terrorized this town, scaring and even hurting people. But how could this gentle creature ever hurt anyone? He was no monster at all. How could his reputation get so misconstrued? Laughing to yourself at the absurdity of it all, you picked up your cup of coffee and took a sip. It was still hot but now drinkable. "Is that better? You seem to like it pretty well."

He tore his eyes away from the remnants of his snack to fix them on you, nodding. His antennae were sticking straight in the air, another testament to his joy. With a shy demeanor, he shuffled forward, emitting that soft hum you had begun to get used to. The cryptid tapped your shoulder, opening his arms soon after. You started to remember what happened last night. He had tried to hug you, but you had been startled. You requested that he give you a warning before doing that next time, returning to his arms only to fall asleep. He listened to you. He was asking.
With a sigh, you leaned forward, letting the chalky fur brush against your skin. "Thanks for for warning me this time. Sorry about the coffee. Hopefully I made up for that." He drew you in, wrapping his arms around you tighter as confirmation. You felt a smile creep up to your face as you tried to hug back. Maybe you wouldn't mind having him around afterall.