Hermitcraft Oneshots and Other Things I guess

Instinct (Bdoc)

AND WE'RE BACK! With a short bdoc... thing.

enby_ofdoom, thank you for the prompt and help! :D

This can be taken as platonic. 

Warnings are mild panic.

Setting is... s o m e w h e r e.

WC: ~630

Enjoy!

Doc smiled. It was a beautiful day, the scenery around them glittering under the bright morning sun. A great day to spend with two of his best friends; Ren and Bdubs. They had settled in the grassy fields of a meadow, planning to simply hang out and catch up. They had been there for a while when...

"Look! A kitty!" Bdubs pointed to the small creature, which seemed to be wild and unowned. Doc took one look at it and froze. Although the logical part of him had to admit it was pretty cute, with its black pelt and white speckles, the rest of him was overtaken by uncontrollable fear.

Being a part-creeper had its drawbacks.

Most thought that Doc didn't fear anyone or anything.

But cats?

They were terrifying.

Although Doc didn't consciously fear them, the urge to run for his life when it came to cats was always there.

The robotic creeper did nothing as Ren scooped the stray cat into his arms. 

"Its fur looks like stars on a dark night," Bdubs remarked, smiling fondly. The cat, despite Doc's expectations, didn't scratch Ren and run away, but rather purred in his grasp.

"It must have been originally tamed," Ren guessed. "I wonder who their owner is."

"Give them to me," Bdubs suggested. "And you go get Scar." Doc froze, feeling his muscles tense up as Ren came closer with the cat. 

"Doc, why don't you hold them?" Ren offered before handing the cat to Bdubs.

"N-no thanks," he stuttered, feeling all of his fear press against his dam of self-restraint. Ren giggled.

"Yeah, hold the cat, Doc!" Bdubs chimed in, not helping Doc's case. The creeper-hybrid gulped as Ren approached Doc.

"I- please, Ren," Doc's voice was no more than a whisper. "Cats- I'm- I can't-" Ren raised an eyebrow in a skeptical sort of smirk, but Bdubs's eyes widened with realization. 

"Ren, I'll take the cat," Bdubs instructed. "Get Scar, please." Ren gave an offhand shrug and handed the cat to Bdubs before flying off. 

At this point, Doc's self-restraint was failing. He was shocked to find tears pricking at his eyes as he watched the fuzzy little... thing.

Stupid... you know it can't hurt you.

Bdubs smiled and placed the cat on the grass, keeping a watchful eye on it as it strayed away from the pair of them to chase a butterfly. Doc exhaled, relief washing over him as the cat got further and further away. 

And then he realized Bdubs was still watching him.

Scud.

"Y'know, you could've just told us you were afraid of cats," Bdubs told him, breaking the silence. Doc pressed his lips together.

"I- aren't you going to tease me about it?" he finally asked. "'Oh, they're so cute'? 'They can't hurt you'? Or are you just dragging it out? Waiting for Ren and Scar to come back?" Bdubs blinked, shocked.

"I wouldn't do that," he pointed out, earning a snort from Doc. "Doc, I'm serious. Everyone's afraid of something."

"Yes," Doc grumbled. "But that something usually isn't harmless things like cats." 

"It's instinct, isn't it?" Bdubs blurted, covering his mouth as Doc winced. 

The Hermits usually tried to stray away from these kinds of things. 

"Yeah, it is," Doc replied, giving an awkward half-smile to show Bdubs he didn't mind. "Being part-creeper isn't all fun and games." Bdubs hesitated before scooting closer and interlacing his fingers with Doc's and squeezing them. 

"I can imagine," he murmured. "I don't have to bring this up with the other Hermits, if you'd like." 

"That'd be great," Doc mumbled. "Thank you."

"Of course," 

And when Ren and Scar came back, the reassuring squeezes from Bdubs were enough to help him keep his cool.

Escaping instinct wasn't so hard when you had a friend by your side.

Is it weird that I wrote a lot of this with my cat? Like, on my lap? Whilst writing about someone who's afraid of cats?

IRONY.

-Storm