Stress Relief (Grizz x Nom Nom)

Chapter 4

Nom Nom shivered and hugged the patchy blanket around him. The sky above him was pitch black, the only light above him came from the street lamp a few feet from the alley's entrance. As he let out a shaky breath the vapor of his breath could be clearly seen. The brick wall he leaned against did little to help him conserve heat. His whole body was shuddering and he only felt the freezing bite sinking deeper and deeper into his bones.

Nom Nom began to think about how he got to this point. He remembered a time when he would sleep like a baby every night in a warm bed that was 50 times his size. A time when he was adored by everyone, when mile-long lines of people would gather when ever he would make an appearance. What happened to those days of signing autographs and waves of fans being barred away by security. And what happened to him...that bear whose hug he so desperately needed? Nom Nom wasn't exactly sure why or how, but he knew that Grizz was gone. He had no idea where the loud, annoying bear was, he just knew he wasn't here now and wouldn't be anymore.

He was all alone, hungry, freezing and forgotten....

The koala thrashed in the bed and sprung up gasping for breath. Nom Nom took a moment to calm himself and check his surroundings. It took him a few seconds to remember that he was in the bear's cave. The first thing was question himself on what just happened to him. Nom Nom tried to reassure himself that it was just a dream, but it felt so real.

A knock at the door gave him what felt like another heart attack. "Is everything alright in here? I heard some noise--."

Nom Nom sighed in relief at the realization that it was just Grizz. "No, it was just...a dream."

"Was it a bad dream?", Grizz asked in a caring tone that made Nom Nom want to just hide his face in the blankets. He couldn't understand how the grizzly could be so caring towards him.

"It doesn't matter, I'm fine now", Nom Nom said quickly.

"Oh, okay then", Grizz said slowly closing the door.

"Wait!", Nom Nom called after him. Grizzly froze in place and looked at the koala, who had crawled to the end of the bed.

"C-could you still stay here? Just for a little bit", Nom Nom mumbled, feeling his face growing hot.

"Sure", Grizz nodded.

Nom Nom returned to the bed with Grizz shuffling beside him. Usually Nom Nom would have never wanted Grizz so close, let alone in a bed. But everything felt completely different, he actually felt safe and comforted just having Grizz next to him.

"I um. I had a nightmare about losing my fame. I was alone and cold and hungry..", Nom Nom admitted, not knowing why he was just telling the bear everything. "And I couldn't find you." He realized what he said and felt a pit in his stomach.

"You were homeless and looking for me?", Grizz asked. He was still pretty tired, but still did his best to understand and help Nom Nom.

"Y-yeah", Nom Nom nodded. "But it's good now. It was just a dumb dream. Let's just go to sleep."

Nom Nom didn't get a response, rather he got the sound of Grizz's breathing. Nom Nom breathed a sigh of relief that the bear had fallen asleep so quickly. He was saying was too much.

He felt the comfort and warmth for Grizz and yawned. He turned to the side and pressed closer to Grizz and fell asleep.