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Badgerclops had a hard time sleeping.
It wasn’t for any particular reason actually. It was just one of those nights.
One of those nights when your eyes won’t close and you just couldn’t seem to stop tossing and turning.
Those nights when you try and listen to the crickets playing their moonlight song, but for some reason, they just couldn’t lull you to slumber on this particular occasion.
It wasn’t like it was a big deal though.
So the Badger simply sighed and rolled onto his back. He stared up and watched a small bug crawl across the ceiling. Basically anything to do to past time.
It was then he heard a small whimper.
It was tiny. Barely audible.
But he was a badger after all. And badgers naturally had very acute hearing.
And so he listened in more carefully, his ears slicking back involuntarily.
What followed was a gasp. A little louder this time. And another whimper. The noise was coming from the bunk below him.
Badgerclops quickly realized what was going on. Adorabat was having another crazy dream again, and it was most likely a bad one considering the gasps and whimpers. Poor kid.
Badgerclops poked his head down and sure enough, he was correct. The blue bat wasn’t even sleeping upside down anymore, she must’ve fallen off and landed in the bed during all the movement. She was shivering slightly.
Badgerclops wasn’t planning to wake her up. The kid needed rest after all and it wasn’t like nightmares were a thing she couldn’t deal with. If she could handle fighting monsters, she could handle a rough night.
Badgerclops always wondered if anything could shake her nerves of steel.
Adorabat wasn’t really like the other Sweetiepies. They were...soft. They lived cushy lives protected by first the Ruby Pure Heart, and now by the Sheriffs. And they were content with having something to protect them.
But not her.
It didn’t seem right at first. Everyone else was soft and mushy, but here Adorabat is, sticking out like a sore thumb from the rest. With her fake leg which chilled both Mao Mao and Badgerclops to even think about how she got it and a thirst for danger and adventure, she was certainly much much different from everyone else.
She was quite like Mao Mao actually. She took after him a lot.
Still, the poor thing looked almost pitiful. The Badger was used to seeing her bouncing off the walls at HQ, not shaking and whimpering. It was almost a little hard to watch.
Finally, after a few more whimpers and gasps did he give in. He reached down and gave her a slight shove. And when that didn’t work, he pushed on her slightly harder.
When it finally did the trick, she shot right up, eyes darting everywhere. Her pupils were dilated almost to the smallest size, something that only happened when she was stressed out. Badgerclops couldn’t help but frown as he noticed her heavy breathing.
“Pst. Hey dude.” he whispered. Adorabat snapped her head up and stared at a familiar face. Her breathing slowed down a bit
It was just Badgerclops.
“You okay?” he asked quietly, concerned. “You sounded like you were having a bad dream.”
Adorabat looked down and nodded. Bacdgerclops frowned.
“Wanna talk about it?” The one eyed Badger offered, but got his answer quickly as Adorabat opened her mouth to say something, but quickly shut it. Her facial expression indicated that she had become more upset just thinking about it.
“Okay okay, you don’t have to. It’s late anyway.” He said, looking at the clock. The red numbers illuminated slightly. 2:47 am. The Badger softly sighed to himself.
“Just go back to sleep.” he grunted, turning over onto his side.
He heard nothing from her for a quick minute. Badgerclops assumed she followed him and went back to sleep, but this was Adorabat we are talking about. Did she ever really listen?
“Badgerclops?” she whispered from below. The bat was being cautious as to not wake Mao Mao up. That was the last thing she wanted.
“Yeah?” he whispered back, not moving from his spot.
A slight pause followed, until...
“Nevermind.”
Oh. Okay then.
Badgerclops grinned to himself slightly. He knew what she wanted, she did this all the time with Mao Mao, much to the black cat’s denial.
“No! She just flew down here while I was sleeping!” he’d yell while a slight blush crept onto his face. Badgerclops knew better. His partner was always a big softy anyways.
“You can come up here if you want y’know.” He patted the mattress with his paw to coax her on.
Adorabat didn’t say anything, but in the quick second in which he blinked, he felt a tiny body collapse on top of his.
“Oof!” he grunted at the force.
“Okay. Wow.” The slight pain from Adorabat’s swift landing lingered on his body. The Badger opened his eyes to see Adorabat curled right on top of his belly, eyes shut completely. Her wings were wrapped around his torso as far as they could reach (which wasn’t very far.) She didn’t want to let go, at least not for a while.
He moved his arm to rest on her back, making sure not to put too much weight on her body.
“Wow, that bad?” he asked, slightly frowning.
“Mhmm.” she confirmed softly. Adorabat couldn’t help but hug him tighter.
“Ok. Well,” He began. “If you’re gonna use me as a teddy bear...” his voice grew more strained.
“Don’t hug me that hard. I’m not going anywhere. And it kinda hurts.”
“Oh.” Adorabat blushed. “Sorry.”
Badgerclops rubbed her back. He barely needed to move it actually, his huge paw was nearly as large as her.
“It’s okay.”
They stayed like that for a while with Adorabat laid sideways against Badgerclops’ stomach. She listened to his breathing while she tried to fall back asleep.
“Badgerclops?” One more time.
“Huh?” Badgerclops moaned sleepily. Frankly, he didn’t really want to talk. It was much too late, and he was much too tired. But he couldn’t be mad at Adorabat, no matter how hard he tried. Mao Mao always noted that he was the “cool” parent. The parent that said yes to everything while his partner was the overprotective one.
“I’m staying with you two forever. Nobody’s gonna take me away. Absolutely no one.” Adorabat said in an almost challenging tone despite her practically mumbling out of pure sleepiness.
Okay. Um. Weird.
“Who’d try and take you away anyways?” Badgerclops asked, confused. But no answer followed.
No more speaking followed after that. Pretty soon, Badgerclops’ eyes grew heavier and heavier until he was fast asleep with Adorabat still cuddling him. Not that he really mind, she was perched on his shoulder nearly 24/7 everyday. The little blue bat barely weighed anything compared to him anyways.
And so they snoozed together, just like that until dawn came.
The morning sun hardly acted as an alarm clock. What did was the blaring noise of the monster alarm, or the equally ear piercing sound of Mao Mao hollering at them to get up. Either one was quite annoying.
Today it was Mao Mao’s hollering. Actually, that was little better, since that meant the team didn’t have to rush out at 5 in the morning to fight another huge monster.
“Wake up!” he yelled coldly. “Let’s go eat before the monste....”
He stopped himself once he saw that Adorabat wasn’t in her usual place, but rather in the top bunk. More specifically, she was on top of Badgerclops’ belly.
Mao Mao felt a spark in him that told him that something wasn’t right. His ears twitched involuntarily at the sight.
Perhaps it was jealousy. Usually he was the one who got the sleepover, not ol’ Badgerclops. Though he would never admit it, he actually enjoyed those sleepovers. It made him feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
But of course, he’d never say that out loud.
“I’m not gonna even ask.” he mumbled, crossing his arms. Badgerclops looked down at his partner and stuck out a tongue.
“What? You jealous?” The one eyes badger sneered.
Mao Mao scoffed.
“As if! Now come on, get your lazy butts up!” He ordered.
“Ughhhh, it’s so early...” Adorabat whined. She slid off of Badgerclop’s stomach and was no sitting upright in the bed, rubbing her eyes sleepily with her wing.
“No it’s not.” Mao Mao shot back. “You just stayed up.”
“How would you know that?!” Adorabat yelled defensively.
“Oh please.” The black cat swatted his hand. “So you just flew up and curled perfectly on top of Badgerclops all in your sleep?”
Adorabat gulped but Badgerclops crossed his arms dramatically.
“You’re just jealous!”
“No I’m not! A hero needs to be ready at all times, even in the mornings!” he shot back. “So we cannot afford to be tired just because we wanted a damn sleepover!” he pointed a finger at his two roommates. Badgerclops rolled his eyes.
Adorabat grinned mischievously, causing Mao Mao raised a brow curiously.
“What?”
“Well...get ready for THIS!” The blue bat yelled, suddenly throwing a pillow directly at Mao Mao’s head from below.
It hit him with a thump and he snapped around to stare Adorabat straight in the eyes. His ear twitched.
“Oh. It’s on.” he growled menacingly.
And so, pillows went flying. The game grew more intense as Badgerclops quickly joining, whining to his companions to not leave him out of their fun. It was a full on fight to the death.
Sure, Badgerclops had height advantage over everyone and Adorabat could fly, and this did make them worthy fighters but holy moly was Mao Mao fast.
It was almost impossible to land a hit on him.Like trying to get a hole in one at golf type of impossible. One would need extreme precision and focus to do so.
And so, Adorabat and Badgerclops teamed up knowing that they both had a common enemy.
The battle was on and roaring. Pillows crashed into the wall, knocking over objects on Mao Mao’s desk which only made him more angry and therefore more ruthless towards his friends-
Oh, not friends. Opponents in this war currently. Maybe friends later though.
Enemies currently, as Mao Mao was currently pummeling Badgerclops with pillows. Adorabat dodged better though, she could fly after all. But when Badgerclops landed the occasional hit on Mao Mao, oh, the poor black cat would be sent flying across the room at full force. Twice this had happened, and Mao Mao had flew into the wall, knocking over the ornaments that hung. Now this was going to fun when they eventually will have the clean up later.
Luckily, for him, Badgerclops hitting him like that didn’t happen very often, much of the badger’s dismay.
“Oh, Mao Mao’s too damn agile!” Badgerclops whined as another pillow missed.
“We can’t give uHHP!” Adorabat squeaked as she suddenly felt something grab her. Mao Mao had jumped up the bunk while Badgerclops and Adorabat weren’t paying attention and had used his opportunity to eliminate the opposition.
“HAHAHA! I gotcha!” Mao Mao laughed triumphantly with Adorabat squirming around in his arms. “You lose kiddo!”
“Oh, phooey!” Adorabat complained. “You’re too fast!”
“At dat dat! I won, fair and square!” Mao Mao yelled confidently, throwing Adorabat over his shoulder.
“What about you Badgerclops?” He challenged. “You gonna fight or surrender like a weenie?”
Badgerclops paused but then swatted his paw once he felt his stomach growl. He patted his belly before dropping the pillow in his other hand.
“Surrender. I’m hungry.” he said dryly. Mao Mao grinned.
“VICTORY IS MINE!” he declared dramatically, bouncing Adorabat who was still hanging over his shoulder. “And off to the kitchen we march!”
As Badgerclops watched his friends leave the room before following them out, he couldn’t help but smile.
Mao Mao just looked oh so happy.
~
Later that day, or more specifically that evening was seemingly uneventful which allowed our heroes of “kick back and chill” as Badgerclops loved to call it. So this allowed Mao Mao and Adorabat to be alone together in the living room while Badgerclops was in their bedroom playing on his phone.
Adorabat was drawing a picture and Mao Mao was watching TV. They weren’t necessarily interacting, but they enjoyed each others company.
But pretty soon enough, Mao Mao grew bored of the program on the television, finding it harder and harder to follow as the minutes ticked by. So instead he decided to look down and check on the child sitting on the floor, doodling away in front of him.
Adorabat was a decent artist in Mao Mao’s eyes, considering her age and nobody ever taught her how to draw. So he observed her little doodle, and made out on the paper what appeared to be a big white badger, a mean looking black cat right and in between a much smaller blue bat.
Oh. She was drawing a picture of them.
“Nice drawing.” Mao Mao commented dryly, grinning down at Adorabat. She looked at and smiled widely.
“Really?!” she asked excitedly “You really think so?”
Mao Mao nodded. “Yeah. I mean, you made me look all mean and cool, which automatically makes it a good drawing.” he explained.
Adorabat just smiled back at him before seemingly returning to her doodling.
Except she didn’t. The bat didn’t even try to pick up the pencil again. She just..sat there in silence. And Mao Mao could just feel the atmosphere change.
It didn’t feel right.
“Hey. You okay?” he asked gruffly. “I thought you weren’t done with the drawing..”
“Mao Mao?” Adorabat asked.
“Yes?”
“Last night I slept on top of Badgerclops.” Mao Mao chuckled slightly.
“Well, yeah. What’s this about? You think I’m not cool enough for sleepovers anymore or what?”
Adorabat blushed.
“No, no, no! Not like that!” she waved her wings. Mao Mao laughed and patted her head.
“Don’t sweat it, I’m just messing with you.” To which he immediately felt Adorabat breath a small sigh of relief.
“Wel um. I don’t know how to say this but...it was a really, really bad dream.”
Mao Mao paused the video on the television and looked down at his trainee, his full attention being focused on her.
“Well..what happened? Must’ve been bad if it could scare someone like you.” Adorabat nodded.
“Um...it’s kinda weird.” The bat hesitated.
“Try me.”
“Well, it’s not like I’ve actually met my parents before, so I guess my head made an image of what they would theoretically look like.”
Ok. Two things.
Adorabat was using a word that Mao Mao had taught her! And she used to right..
Theoretically. According to theory rather than experience. Sharp kid! Just like her da...
Mao Mao paused his thought.
Mentor.
Just like..her mentor..
Second thing.
Adorabat never brought up her parents. Her biological ones. Like, ever. Mao Mao and Badgerclops didn’t know how to initiate such a conversation correctly. That type of stuff is a touchy subject after all. They would rather wait for Adorabat to tell them on her own than pressure her for the truth.
So.
Now will the truth be told?
“But um, anyways. They took me away. Far away. And I know they didn’t care about me, because why would they even leave me in the first place if they cared?” Her voice started to falter and crack. It broke Mao Mao’s heart but he let her continue. “But they pretended. And acted like I was some dumb kid who wouldn’t notice. But I’m not stupid, I did notice! And I lived there and I kept waiting and waiting and you and Badgerclops never showed up ever again and it was so lonely and..and I-“
Okay. That was enough out of her for Mao Mao. The black cat didn’t care how vague or choppy the story was. He picked Adorabat up from the floor and held her against his chest anyways and patted her head for comfort. He knew he wasn’t good at this stuff, but would it really hurt to try?
He felt her breathing falter. She curled up even tighter against Mao Mao, and just like with Badgerclops the night before, it was almost as if she didn’t want to let go. Ever.
“Adorabat.” The blue bat had her face pressed up against Mao Mao’s chest, and the vibrations from his speaking soothed her. “You have..parents, yes a mother and father..but...”
Oh, how could he put this into word accurately? The sheriff was never good at having heart-to-hearts like this.
“Mother and father doesn’t always mean mom and dad. Or, whatever.” Adorabat looked up at Mao Mao confused. The cat internally slapped himself for how dumb he just sounded.
“What I mean is that,” Mao Mao immediately explained. “Blood isn’t always thicker than water. That saying is just a bunch of bullshit.”
“Language.” Adorabat said casually.
“Its true!” Mao Mao defended himself. “Sometimes, not even family care about you. But it’s okay. It’s okay for guys like me and you.”
“How come?”
“I got you. You got me. We have Badgerclops..we have each other.” Yeah. Yeah, that’s all Mao Mao could ever need. Them. His friends.
His family.
Not the family that neglected him. Not the family that belittled and mocked him.
The family that he truly loved and the one that truly loved him.
A family of his own. The that one he found.
Adorabat smiled, cuddling into Mao Mao further.
“Yeah.” she said. “I like you and Badgerclops better anyways. My theoretical parents seemed mean.”
“I know this is a scary thought for you.” Mao Mao rubbed her back. “But I promise you, I’d never let anything happen to you. Ever.”
Adorabat hesitated.
“In my dream you didn’t do that.”
Mao Mao chuckled.
“Yeah well, dream me didn’t seem accurate. I would’ve kicked their sorry butts all the way to the next galaxy if I had actually acted in character.”
Adorabat giggled. “That would’ve been really funny. And really cool.”
“Aren’t I cool anyways?”
“The coolest ever. Well, besides me of course.” Adorabat declared.
Oh boy, Mao Mao thought. She really is picking up on his habits whether bad or good.
“Well, how about this,” Mao Mao spoke. “Let’s just be the coolest together. You and me.”
“We’ll fight monsters..we’ll have late night talks...we’ll have the best pillow wars...we’ll do everything we could ever want. I promise.”
“I’d like that.” Adorabat hummed sleepily. It was getting late. The blue bat felt her eyes droop.
“Yeah, me too kiddo, me too.” Mao Mao shifted himself in a more comfortable position on the couch and soon enough, was fast asleep with Adorabat still in his lap.
They didn’t break the hug till they woke up next morning.