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DogDay awoke to the muffled sound of the wind whistling through the trees. There was rain, too, pattering against his roof with rising and fading intensity.
But then, it wasn't his roof at all, actually.
Memories slowly tipped into each other like dominoes as DogDay opened his heavy eyes and looked around. He was still at his friend CatNap's house. The sun was still shining outside, but now it merely peeked through the cracks in a layer of storm clouds. The controllers from their earlier video game tournament now sat quietly on the floor, forgotten, along with a snack bowl with just a few popcorn kernels left in it.
DogDay blushed, realizing just where the afternoon’s events had left him. CatNap's melodic breathing was white noise in his ear, and two arms and a long, curling tail held him tight against a bed of warm fur.
Sure enough, the lingering smell of catarium was still in the air, too.
“...CatNap?”
…
“Hey, CatNap, are you awake, bud?”
A tired chirp pinged in DogDay's ear. He smiled.
“Do you know what time it is?”
…
“I can't believe I let you talk me into trying that stuff with you. It feels like half the day is gone. But I guess I know why you're sleepy all the time, now.”
DogDay made a motion to get up, but two arms constricted around his belly in reply.
“Hey, lemme up,” DogDay chuckled. “You can't hold the Tournament Master hostage all afternoon.”
He struggled further, and so his chuckles turned into frantic giggling when CatNap’s nose burrowed into his neck.
“If you get up you'll find some reason to go and be productive. I can't have that,” CatNap said, gripping onto his friend like a koala just to keep him horizontal. “I’ve decided you’re my sleepytime pal, so that's that. We're gonna sleep the day away, sleepytime pal.”
DogDay jerked away his leg, so CatNap wrapped his own around it and reeled it back in. DogDay tried to pull his arms out of CatNap's grip, but each time he got close, a slender tail brushed against his foot and made him go rigid for easy recapturing.
By now, DogDay resembled a pomegranate. He couldn't even look his friend in the face like this, let alone escape. All he could do was wriggle.
“A-are you serious?”
CatNap began to purr. “Mhmm.”
“Wow, um, okay. Do I get a say in my comfy fate?”
“Mm-mm."
DogDay was still smiling.
“And what exactly did I do to deserve being dognapped?”
“You beat me three times in a row at Super Crash Crows, to start.”
“Oh! Is that what this is about?” DogDay grinned and did his best to turn his head and show it. “I thought this was you trying to turn me into a cat for the day or something.”
“Mmm, same outcome, really.”
Seconds turned into minutes. Every so often, DogDay tested CatNap's alertness by trying to escape again, but every time he was foiled. He watched CatNap's tail extend and swim through the air at one point, only retracting once it was curled around another familiar item: a purple pipe with yellow moons on it.
DogDay's eyes widened.
“W-wait, really? You'll really knock yourself out again doing that.”
CatNap held a sly little smile, effortlessly keeping his wiggling friend locked in cuddle prison while his tail looped in on itself to both hold the pipe and flick the lighter wheel.
“Cats don't joke about sleeping the day away,” CatNap said, turning his head and taking in a breath from the pipe before exhaling in a long, slow puff. The air around them filled, albeit only briefly, with red smoke. “...especially around critters we feel comfortable with.”
A rough, dry tongue licked up the curve of DogDay's ear. His breath caught in his throat. Of the many wits, retorts, and sentiments racing through his mind, a soft and shaky “oh?” was the only thing he was able to form into words. The arms locked around him withdrew, and so he partially rolled over to see his friend’s face.
CatNap was smiling, and there was a tint of redness to his cheeks as well. Surely it was the catarium, though.
“Napping is special to me, you know. I'm um, I'm really glad you felt comfortable enough to do it with me, DogDay. I enjoyed that as much as anything else."
DogDay beamed. His tail began to wag.
“Aww, of course, CatNap. Of course I feel comfortable with you. And I enjoyed it, too. I think I've been overdue for a nice nap.” He raised an eyebrow and bolstered a smirk. “Though I think I’m gonna pass on the sleep aid from now on, if it’s all the same to you. I prefer gummies.”
CatNap snickered, and DogDay wrapped his arms around him, enthusiastically pushing his head beneath CatNap's chin. He grinned when a deep purr rang loud in his ear.
“And you know, I am starting to get comfy again thanks to you, so...I don't mind napping a bit longer. Dogs like to cuddle too, you know, given you tire us out first. And hoo boy, did kicking your butt in video games today tire me out!”
DogDay laughed when he was ensnared in another hug and assailed with a series of non-negotiable grooming licks up his cheek.