Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

He never saw himself being a father one day.

Catnap wasn't a kid person. He lived by himself a bit away from the large town, with the occasional visits from his closest companion, Delight, visiting every now and then. The only time anyone really saw him out and about was if he was going out to restock on groceries. Not a single one of the residents of the town understood why Catnap insisted on living alone, especially in such a big house.

Until THEY came into his life.

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It started with two. Two children, abandoned. Catnap had found them while out on a grocery run.

Something inside of the purple cat changed that day. That fateful day he had first found young Bubba and Hoppy, only 8 and 9 respectively.

Then came CraftyCorn...

Then Picky...

He thought that he wouldn't find anymore after Kickin' and Bobby came into his life.

But then... one night, one fateful night that he had gone out with Delight after he ensured the kids were fast asleep.

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The two walked along the sidewalks of the now quiet town, Catnap stretching a bit as his tail flicked behind him.

"Jeez... who knew taking care of 6 kids would be so stressful...?" He groaned. It wasn't like he didn't love them. He did, with all of his heart. They were his kin, his everything now... It gave him purpose in a way.
"Now now, Catnap... They all have their own interests and personalities! You cannot blame them for being so rambunctious." Delight responded with a light laugh, covering her mouth with her hand.
"Yeah, you're right D..." Catnap smiled a bit as they continued walking, before his ear twitched.

A noise was coming from an alleyway, one that sounded like... an infant's sobs.

"Did you... hear that?"
"I did... I believe it's coming from that alleyway there."

Looking to where Delight had pointed, Catnap slowly let his curiosity get the better of him, he slipped into the alleyway, caution still present in his mind.

He scanned around the darkness, the cries growing louder the closer he got.

Then he spotted it. A tattered box, with a just as tattered blanket resting inside.

Catnap bent down, pulling the blanket slightly. His eyes widened with worry.

Inside was a tiny orange pup, beaten and bruised all over... It looked as if he hadn't eaten in weeks, like he was on the verge of death...

Catnap scooped the tiny thing carefully into his arms, attempting to soothe it to the best of his ability.

"hey hey hey... it's alright little one... shhh... shhh..." His paws gently rubbed his tiny back, making his way back out with the pup after successfully calming him down.

"Oh the poor thing..." Delight sighed looking at the tiny infant. "...let me guess, it looks like you've got a new little one on your hands?"

"...it looks like i've got a new little one on my hands..." Catnap couldn't help but smile. He would make sure he gave this little one a chance at life, and a good one at that.

His little DogDay...

Chapter Text

As the wind howled and rain banged against the roof, all of the children found themselves curled up in the living room with blankets and pillows, a lantern sitting on the coffee table. The power had gone out, meaning that little lantern was the only thing between them and pitch black nothingness. Catnap had taken one of the extra lanterns and had gone elsewhere in the house to try and see if he could find any other light-sources for them.

Bubba sat on the large couch, with most of the food stashed on his lap so that Picky wouldn't try and eat it all.

"But Bubba...." Picky whined, looking up at her older brother with big, pleading eyes "You can't have all the snacks for yourself! Pleaaaseee it's been forever since i've eatennn!!"

"You ate right before Dad left... 5 minutes ago." Bubba responded, glaring at his the younger critter. "And besides, knowing you, all of these would be gone in an instant! So I'm playing mediator, making sure that we all get some."

"Hmph. No fair."

Hoppy, Kickin', and Bobby were sitting around one end of the coffee table, doing their best to play UNO in the darkness.

"Hah! Get skipped, Kickin'!" Hoppy laughed as she set the skip card down on the stack, a grin on her face.

"Wh-! Nuh-uh, that's not fair!!" The second youngest hissed, his wings clutching the already large amount of cards he had from both of his sisters playing plus cards on him in bulk.

"It is too fair. It's how the game is played!"

"Guys, let's just continue, okay...?" Bobby sighed as she watched the two bicker. They always did. It was something she was used to, yet she didn't mind. She loved her siblings, with all their flaws included. She proceeded to play two +4s on Hoppy, a smile appearing on her face as well. "Uno!"

Crafty was on the other end of the table, her crayons neatly stored in their box, aside from the one in her hoof. The doodle on the page was happy, a sunny field with a tree and lots of flowers. It was a lot more happy when compared to outside.

Everything was going fine, until a loud crash of lightning lit the sky up, causing all of them to jump, all at once. But that wasn't all it caused.

Dogday, who had been peacefully napping just moments before in his pen, had woken up. The loud noise had startled the youngest of the bunch, and he was now sitting up, blanket draped over his shoulders.

It didn't take long for all hell to break loose, as tears began pouring down Dogday's cheeks just as hard as the rain outside, a siren-like cry echoing from his mouth.

Everyone was frantic, Bubba setting the snacks aside to go check on the pup. The oldest scooped him up, trying his best to console him.

"H-Hey, it's okay Dogday... shh... p-please stop crying...!!" Even the light bouncing and gentle hushes, that usually soothed the infant, were failing. "Ohh... if only Dad were here, he'd know what to do...!"

Crafty got an idea. Even in the dark, she hurried over to the kitchen that was just right next to the living room. Hopping up onto one of the stepping stools that sat against the counter, she reached up, grabbing one of the bottles from the warmer. Thankfully, it had retained the heat.

She hurried back over, tugging Bubba's shirt, holding the bottle up. "T-this might help... I've seen papa feed him if he doesn't c-calm down easily...!"

Bubba looked down at Crafty and smiled after letting out a small sigh, taking the bottle from her hoof. "Thank you, Crafty..."

Thankfully, the wailing ceased as soon as the bottle entered Dogday's tiny lips, his tiny paws holding onto the sides of it as he gulped the warm liquid down. Being observant really paid off when it came to taking care of the baby.

A few minutes later, Catnap returned with a handful of flashlights, looking at his kids with worry on his face.

"Is everyone okay-? I heard Dogday begin crying and I came back as soon as I could..."

"We're alright Dad. The lightning just spooked him." Bubba nodded, letting Catnap take Dogday from his arms, who by that point, had thankfully returned back to his sleep. "We have Crafty to thank for him calming down!"

"Yeah! She went and got his bottle!!!" Bobby smiled widely as she looked up at Catnap, before looking back to the game, putting her final card down with a small laugh.

"Well then... Thank you, Crafty." Catnap knelt down, ruffling the unicorn's curly hair. "You did a very good job with helping your brother."

Crafty smiled widely, before going back over to her drawing.

Meanwhile, thanks to Bubba putting the snacks aside, Picky was sitting up on the couch, munching on fist fulls of chips. Catnap chuckled and took the bowl from her lap, much to the little pig's dismay.

"I think that's enough for now, kiddo."

"Aweee..."

Catnap checked one of the clocks on the wall, and set the bowl down on the table before laying Dogday back down. "Alright you lot. Go ahead and get settled, it's getting pretty late now."

Whines and groans of dismay came from them all, but reluctantly, they all began getting comfortable, either on the floor, the couch, or on one the big chairs.

Once everyone was settled in, Catnap blew out the candle in the lantern, before resting on the couch, the eventual sound of peaceful snores filling his ears.

Hopefully, this night wouldn't end up repeating itself again. But for now, things were perfect, even if their night had gone a bit wrong.