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A cool, crisp winter day and Catnap took it all in, it was beautiful, so much snow, so much nature, and so much solitude, he really needed this.
He smiled some as he stepped out of his car and grabbed his bags before heading inside. A raccoon critter behind the front desk looked over and smiled, “Hello! Welcome to The Cozy Cabins! How may I help you today?”
Catnap stepped up to the desk and smiled some, “Hello, I booked a cabin a little while ago and I’m checking in.”
The raccoon smiled, “Excellent! Let me get your all set up!”
Getting everything set up was thankfully, very easy and once he was given his cabin key, he made his way to it. The cabins were fairly small but clearly had everything needed to accommodate who they needed. The cabins ranged from one bedroom to three and they were far away from any cities, the only thing that was close was a small town that had the essentials, it had a nice vibe to it.
Catnap found his cabin and went inside. When he stepped in, it was just as cozy as the pictures he saw, it was so cozy. There was a fireplace, a small kitchen, a bathroom and a nice looking bed, he only got one bedroom since it was just him so it all felt super warm and comforting.
The fireplace was also, thankfully, fully stocked up with wood. There weren’t many blankets, a few extra in the closet but that was fine, he brought one of his favorite fluffy ones anyway so that was all good. Decorations were all over for the holidays as well, including a lovely tree that sat in the corner of the living room.
He set his bags down and sat on the bed with a sigh, this was nice.. he’d have a few days to himself, while he loved his friends and loved spending the holidays with them, it was just.. hard right now.. the holidays, especially at home just reminded him of how things used to be with…
He shook his head and sighed, enough of that, this was suppose to be a relaxing time away from all that drama. So he stood up and went to make himself some tea.
He stopped and looked over as he heard the door opening. Who in the world would just be walking into his cabin like this??
When he walked into the living room he felt his brain just absolutely halt. “Dogday?? What are you doing here??”
Said canine looked over to him and quirked a brow, “Catnap?? You’re here? Wait, why are you here in my cabin?”
Catnap scoffed, “YOUR cabin? This is my cabin? I booked this place a while ago.”
Dogday set his bag down and tilted his head, “So did I, how did-“
Catnap groaned in frustration, “I’m gonna call the front desk..” he said and quickly went to get his phone.
The raccoon critter answered and Catnap spoke with him for a bit about the mix-up. Turns out he had accidentally double booked that cabin, but there was nothing that could be done since all the cabins were booked out unless one of them wanted to leave.
He was shaking, this couldn’t be happening, this just couldn’t be happening! Why him?? Why now?? Dogday was his EX and he literally booked this trip to get away from him for the holidays, he wanted to get away to try and focus on himself again. The breakup wasn’t mutual either, he broke it off with Dogday, he didn’t want to see him, he didn’t want to be anywhere NEAR him! But… he was also stubborn, so he wasn’t going to give this cabin up so easily.
He sighed heavily and looked over at the canine who was sitting at the small dining room table by a sliding door, looking outside. He looked over to him and tilted his head, “So what did the front desk say?”
Catnap furrowed his brows before sighing heavily, “They said they accidentally double booked this cabin. But, unless one of us agrees to leave, there’s nothing they can do since all the rest are occupied.. so I’ll help you with your things.”
Dogday stood, “Now hold on a second, I booked this place too, accident or not, I’m not leaving.” He said, crossing his arms.
Catnap glared to him and took a breathe, “Well I’m certainly not. I’ve already got my things here and mostly set up.” He said, placing his hands on his hips.
Dogday watched him then chuckled slightly, “Well then I guess we’re at a stalemate huh? Why don’t we both just stay here?”
Catnap huffed, “There’s only one bed and I am NOT sharing that with you.”
“Why not? You already have many times before.” He said with a bit of a smile, but one that wasn’t mocking, it had a tenderness to it..
Catnap blushed a bit and looked away, “Yeah well not anymore.. and it won’t happen again, you can have the couch.”
Dogday chuckled again, “So stubborn, but you know as well as me, that I am too. I’ll let you have the bed, but I am not leaving.”
Catnap groaned and turned away, this is SO not what he wanted. Being stuck in a cabin for days, ALONE, with his ex?! This was hell! He covered his face and groaned again, lowly before looking back to the canine.
He had that stupid look on his face again.. their breakup was definitely not mutual and he knew that, Dogday didn’t want to break up, he knew that.. he remembered how heartbroken he looked when he said they were over.. unfortunately it was a face burned into his brain now..
He sighed heavily and hugged himself a bit, his tail wrapping around his leg, “Fine then.. I guess we’ll both just.. stay here..”
Dogday couldn’t hide his emotions well, never was able to, so the wagging of his tail behind him showed just how happy he was that Catnap was willing to stay in the same building with him again at least.
This was gonna be a long trip..
Later that evening, it was starting to get cold. Dogday must have felt it too since he was starting a fire in the fireplace.
He was sat on the bed and held his legs some, leaning his head on his knees as he watched him through the open door of the bedroom. This all felt so terribly familiar. Days during cold winter nights when Dogday would get a fire going and they would sit together in front of it.. just talking about their future together… how naïve..
He sighed and looked away before stepping out of the room, rubbing his arms a bit as he looked outside.
“Looks like it’s gonna be plenty cold tonight..” Dogday said behind him, smiling a bit. Dogday was always one of winter, his coat was thicker than Catnap’s so he was always excited to go outside in the snow.
He sighed some, “Yep, looks like it.. and If you go out there at all, I’m not letting you back in with wet paws, I always hated that..”
Dogday smiled a bit sadly, “I know.. I brought some thick winter boots in case I had to go out at all and they got muddy.”
Catnap blinked then looked to him, “Oh.. you thought ahead.. well.. good.” He said with a nod then took a breathe, “Well.. I’m gonna go to bed.. goodnight.”
Dogday smiled some, “goodnight Catnap..”
He hated that too.. the soft way he would say his name.. like there was no one else in the world that he wanted to see or speak to more..
He sighed and went to the bedroom, closing the door. It would only be a few days, just had to make it then..
----------------------------------------
In the morning, well maybe afternoon, he wasn’t too sure, he got up and he groaned some as he woke slowly, he smelt coffee.. He sat up and sighed, rubbing his eyes a bit, he almost forgot about what happened yesterday. He groaned, leaning on his knees again and hid his face.
It felt really awkward and he didn’t really want to go out since he knew who he’d have to face.
He stepped out of the room after a little bit and looked out, Dogday was outside, he looked to be gathering something, that was fine, at least it gave him a minute before he actually had to face him.
He went over to make himself a cup of coffee and paused, noticing there was a steaming cup ready for him, Dogday’s was sitting on the table by the couch still. He blushed a bit before shaking it off and picked it up, sniffing it then smiled softly.
He took a sip and sighed, he still knew how he liked it.. he moved to start on something to eat.
Dogday came back and just as he said, he had boots on, slipping them off before he came inside. When he looked up at him, he smiled, “Hey, good morning!”
Catnap looked to him before looking back to the food, “Morning.. what were you doing..?”
Dogday closed the door and smiled some, “Oh, I found some sticks! I got started doing some kind of craft project that Crafty got me into so, she said that I should keep doing it when I came out here.” He said and brought over the small pile of sticks he had, setting them on the table.
Catnap quirked a brow, “What is she even having you make..?”
He smiled a bit more and dug into his bag before pulling something out, “This.” It was two sticks connected to each other with nothing but yarn, it had varying patterns and different yarn used in different spots.
He blinked, “Oh that’s.. interesting.. and.. why is she suggesting you do this..?” He asked, going back to cooking.
Dogday bit his lip slightly and set it down, “Uh heh.. she.. thought it might be good for me to.. have something to focus on.. after.. ya know..”
He paused and sighed some, leaning on the counter a bit, right.. after their breakup, he actually hadn’t seen Dogday in a little over two weeks after.. which made sense.. he said he didn’t want to see him at all after that. He kept trying to text or call him, but he never answered.
Dogday looked over and rubbed the back of his neck some before going over a bit, “Catnap.. do you think.. maybe we could.. maybe.. talk.. about tha-“
“Food is ready… I’ll eat in my room..” He said and grabbed some food before quickly going to the bedroom and closed the door.
Dogday watched him go but didn’t say anything, just stood there, rubbing his arm as his tail drooped.
Catnap just couldn’t do this. THIS is why he left for this break, it was to get away from all this, and think about something else! But now here he was, doing the same thing he was back home! This isn’t good.. maybe he should have just left.. maybe he could now, this was an even smaller space than the valley or even either of their houses.
But as he looked outside, it looked like that option might been a bit late..
Later on in the evening, the TV was on and Dogday was watching the weather channel.
“Breaking news, a huge snow storm will be rolling in tonight and will cover most of the area. If anyone is planning on driving tonight, tomorrow or the next coming days, we urge you to please, stay inside, stay warm, and stay safe.”
Catnap stepped out, standing behind him and watching the weather as well. He looked over to the window again, watching as the wind blew harshly outside.
Dogday sighed some, “Guess it’s a good thing I got those sticks earlier..” He said as he stood behind him.
Catnap looked to him and sighed some, stepping away, “I suppose so..”
The rest of the day went pretty peacefully, if a bit awkward. They didn’t really say much to each other, mostly just milled around each other, doing their own thing. Dogday was working on his yarn project while Catnap just read a book.
They paused as they noticed the lights flickering, the wind was starting to knock that out, that was a bit of a problem.
Evening came and Catnap just decided to go to bed early, Dogday stayed awake for a while. He usually didn’t sleep well anyway but he really hadn’t since they’d broken up. He missed Catnap so much, this was their chance to finally talk about things but he was till avoiding him.
They weren’t talking and that was kind of their biggest problem with their relationship, they didn’t really talk. It just kind of went with both of them making assumptions about many of the things they both did.. like assuming that Dogday didn’t actually care about Catnap since he was hardly ever with him.. or him assuming that Catnap would always stay by his side.
Catnap broke up with him and told him he couldn’t be with someone who wasn’t willing to understand him better or even be around him for more than a few minutes. That hurt him so much at the time since they did break up, all Dogday did was think about him and how to understand him more.
They were so different and one would say they’d have never made a good couple to begin with, but they actually did, they were great together, the problem was clashing ideas and dumb assumptions.. Catnap got tired of it.. and he couldn’t blame him..
He so desperately wanted to talk to him but he also wanted to respect Catnap’s space that he wanted..
He stayed awake for hours more till he eventually fell asleep.
Another day comes and goes as the storm only got worse, they lost power, it was freezing and the only heat source was the stupid fireplace. Catnap was sat by the fireplace, with a long sleeve on, rubbing his arms as he shivered. He blinked as he felt his blanket get set on his shoulders. He looked up as Dogday stepped away again after placing it then tended to the fire.
He watched him a moment before looking at the fire again, sighing some.
Dogday sat after the fire was taken care of and they just sat together, staring at it.
Catnap glanced to him then to the fire, he was quiet, he wasn’t usually the quiet one so it felt odd to Catnap with the canine being so silent. He looked back again, “…thank you.. by the way..”
Dogday looked to him some, “For what..?”
He looked away a bit, “For…this.. all of this.. taking care of the fire.. for.. letting me stay by it as well..”
Dogday chuckled some, “You don’t need to thank me for that, you’re stuck in here with me too so you deserve to be warm..”
He gripped the blanket some, “…Why..?”
He looked to him again, “What do you mean..?”
Catnap huffed out a sigh, “Why are you being so nice to me?? A-after everything we’ve been through! After everything I said to you before! After-!” he sighed heavily and looked down some, “You were always too nice in my opinion.. and you still are.. I’m your ex Dogday.. you shouldn’t be treating me this well..”
Dogday chuckled breathlessly, “Heh.. why..? Because.. I still love you..”
Catnap looked at him again, “But why..? I…I know some of the things I had said to you weren’t… they weren’t kind Dogday.. I wasn’t…I’m not..”
Dogday smiled a bit sadly to him, “Catnap.. I still love you because.. while I felt like I knew you before.. I know now.. I didn’t.. we’d known each other for so long I just…assumed I knew you perfectly.. but as the years went on.. I know now that.. that was really dumb of me to assume. We’ve gotten older, things have changed, we’ve both changed so much so.. I’m sorry.. for everything I’d done.. especially things I knew you didn’t like..”
Catnap watched him and listened, he really had been thinking about that this whole time.. he looked down a bit, “For.. the longest time I thought you never actually listened to me I thought.. you didn’t care to.. I was always so quiet and I thought you were the only one that ever heard me but after so long it felt like.. you just stopped..”
Dogday fidgeted some, “I’m sorry.. I never wanted to make you feel like that.. that was never my intention..”
Catnap sighed some, gripping the blanket a bit, “…I’m…sorry too..”
Dogday looked to him quickly and Catnap continued, “I know.. I assumed a lot.. I was just got so frustrated all the time just feeling like I wasn’t being heard but.. I know there were times I didn’t listen to you.. either.” He sighed, “you always had so much on your mind, I saw it.. but I didn’t.. really do anything to help and you deserved that.. you.. deserved.. someone who would listen.. someone better..”
Dogday turned to him more, “Catnap..”
Catnap was looking away from him and bit his lip.
Dogday scooted a bit closer, “Catnap.. you were the better.. you always were.. whether you believe it or not.. I just wish I could have been better for you..”
Catnap looked back to the fire, “….you were far better for me than I ever thought I'd get in life.. or felt I deserved”
Dogday blushed softly, then smiled softly, looking back to the fire, “You deserve more than you think..” The silence between them now.. it didn’t feel awkward or harsh anymore.. it felt.. calming actually..
What he said was true.. and honestly he didn’t really want to break up with Dogday, he just.. wanted to feel heard and understood.. and so did Dogday, he deserved that too just as much as anyone. He used to see how he would struggle some days and for a long time he would help him through those days but after a while, he kind of stopped.. that wasn’t right and he knew it, so maybe he could change that now.
Night turned to morning and it was Christmas eve, the tree that was already set up in the cabin, didn’t have any lights on with the power being out but it was still lovely. Catnap was sat by it, gently batting at one of the ornaments.
Dogday could be heard chuckling behind him. He looked over to him and blushed a bit, “What..?”
Dogday smiled some and kept working on his little project again, “Nothing I just.. I always thought that was kind of cute whenever you did that..”
He blushed a bit more and looked away again, ever since their talk, Dogday wasn’t really hiding what he was thinking anymore, it was a bit embarrassing. But…he would really be lying to himself if he said he didn’t miss it a little..
As the day went on, the storm was still going so they were still very stuck. It wasn’t so bad now though.. they were talking more and even laughing a few times.
They went to bed and the next day was Christmas, Catnap woke up and glanced outside, the storm had calmed, now it was just lightly snowing, that was nice but that still meant no one would be able to come get them out of there yet. That wasn’t as much of a problem now to him.. after they talked the other night.. he didn’t really mind being around him again, still a bit awkward but it wasn’t bad now..
He got up and dressed before he walked out. He stopped as he saw the tree had a present under it, looking to be wrapped in a paper bag and some nice ribbon. He looked around and spotted Dogday in the kitchen finishing a cup of coffee. He turned then paused and smiled when he saw him, “Morning! Merry Christmas!”
Catnap blinked then smiled some, “Heh.. Merry Christmas..”
Dogday smiled as his tail wagged before he went over and handed him the cup of coffee. He smiled and took the cup, “thank you..” He took a sip and looked over, gesturing to the tree, “So uh... what’s that about..?”
Dogday looked over and blushed a bit, rubbing the back of his neck, “Ah heh.. we.. we didn’t have any wrapping paper in here and.. I did have something for you so.. I made do..”
Catnap blushed and looked at the present before looking back to him, “You…had a gift for me..?”
He smiled some and went over to the tree, “Well.. not till I finished it last night.. just go ahead and open it..”
He said, grabbing the bag and handed it to him. Catnap looked then set his coffee down before opening the gift. He blinked when he saw what it was, it was one of those little craft things he’d been working on. Two sticks crossed over each other with purple yarn that had bits of orange all over it.
He looked it over and Dogday bit his lip a bit, “What do you.. think..?”
Catnap kept looking at it then smiled softly, holding it, “Heh.. I love it.. I just.. I wish I had something for you..” he said and looked to him.
Dogday chuckled and waved it off, “Oh, don’t worry about it.. really.. all I wanted for Christmas.. was to be able to spend it with you again..” He said with a shrug and blushing a bit.
Catnap blinked then smiled and blushed some, chuckling a bit and sat on the couch, close to the fireplace, “Heh.. I suppose that’s good enough.. for now..”
Dogday smiled a bit more, tail wagging slightly before he sat on the couch with him.
Catnap smiled some and fidgeted with the gift some before leaning his head onto his shoulder, “Thank you Dogday..”
Dogday froze when he leaned on him, blushing then smiled a bit more, rubbing the back of his neck, “Heh..n..no problem.. Catnap.. Merry Christmas..”
“Merry Christmas..” Catnap said as a low purr rumbled in his chest.