Wake Me Up When It's All Over

Chapter 12

Roman didn't leave his house the rest of the day. He knew it was irrational, there was no danger anymore, the cat had left, but every time he had the urge to go out, his brain told him that he wouldn't've been attacked if not for the fact he went outside. If he had stayed in, the cat may not have noticed him and he wouldn't have gotten hurt

He didn't blame Patton, he understood the urge to grab every cat you see and run home with it in your arms, but Gods, did he wish that it was thought out more. He shuddered, thinking about those giant claws, and he put a hand to his arm. Remus was inside with him, and they had brought his food inside so he could eat without leaving.

Roman's hands were shaking when he tried to pick up his food, and he tried to force them to stop. It didn't work, and Roman teared up, both because of his pent up emotions, and frustration. Remus hugged him, and he leant into the touch, carefully avoiding aggravating his wound in the process

"Shh, it's okay, you're okay..." They paused for a moment, before talking again in what Roman decided was probably a distraction tactic "What were animals like back then?"

Roman smiled, thinking about the cute stray cats he would see when his friends would take him out of the palace, thinking of his friends pets. He thought about the royal zoo and all the animals he saw there. Giraffes, gorillas, dragons, all those sorts of stuff. He vaguely wondered how big those would be if they still existed and shuddered

"Smaller. Even, um-" He clicked his fingers, trying to recall if he had learnt the word for cat "-even that thing was smaller back then, also only had four legs, not six" Remus smiled at him with sharp teeth, seeming genuinely interested in what he was saying

"The cat? How small did they use to be?" They leaned forward, and morphed themselves into the Roman clone again, mirroring his cross-legged sitting position

Roman ignored that and made an estimate with his hands "..this small, I think. Cats were very small. I wish they were still that small" he sighed, rubbing his cut. He had to admit that it'd make a pretty badass scar, but at the moment it just hurt.

Remus nodded "What about other animals?" They leaned closer still, until their annoyingly pointy chin was digging into his shoulder

"There were dogs, and they were bigger than cats but they were still small, like this small!" He gestured, lifting his hands up about halfway up his leg. He had had to use the English word for dog, since he didn't know the other word, or whether there even was another word to use. He really didn't know how much had changed since he was cursed

He carried on explaining animals, occasionally slipping into excited English, forgetting that Remus really wasn't that fluent in it. They had to remind him of that fact more than once, sounding more than a little amused. Roman always felt embarrassed at that, but he wasn't being yelled at, so he didn't much care, instead just switching language again.

He was in the middle of explaining giraffes to the shapeshifter, when the sound of someone approaching filled his ears. He stood up to look outside, and saw Patton hopping nervously from foot to foot

"Oh, uh, hi Roman.. Look, I'm really really really sorry about that whole cat thing, I wasn't thinking and then you almost died and- I'd understand if you never wanna talk to me again or see me again, but please forgive me"

Roman leaned back in shock.

"Patton, of course I forgive you! I don't get mad for accidents, even scary ones, so as long as it doesn't happen again, we'll be fine" He smiled tensely, sure that his eyes were practically begging that it wouldn't happen again.

Patton nodded, smiling as well.

Roman got back to his explanation, before Remus stated that it was late and they would be going to sleep, and that Roman should do the same, to which he complied. A little extra sleep never hurt anyone, and he had had a rather tiring day, with almost dying and all. He let out a small yawn and waved at his friend, before laying down and starting to sleep.

-

It was a Wednesday. Roman woke up, the first this he noticed was the sharp sting of pain from his right arm as he tried to move, and the memories flooded back. He winced, sitting up. The sun was still rising, but the sky was dark. It was going to rain, he noted, before letting out a groan. Of course he wouldn't have a waterproof jacket when it was going to rain.

He walked outside to get a drink of water, looking uneasily to the grey sky. He sat down outside the door, watching the sky nervously. At even the slightest appearance of rain, he'd go inside. Remus dropped into the circle from the tree branch they had been nibbling

Roman smiled "Good morning!" Remus parroted back his greeting and they sat together a while. Roman would never admit it but he saw Remus somewhat like an older brother

An annoying older brother, but a brother nonetheless. He had never had siblings, but he decided that Remus came close. They sat next to each other a while, mostly in silence, sometimes Remus would ask about more animals, but that was mainly it.

Roman noticed the minute it started raining, and immediately went inside, only to remember that he didn't have any glass on his window, nor did he have an actual door. He tried to stay dry whilst Remus looked at him from outside, before looking down at themselves

"Woah.. the rain gets you quick when you're tiny" They remarked, before looking back at Roman

"Why don't you come out here?"

Roman shook his head "Rather not, thanks"

--

Patton was glad that Roman forgave him. He was scared that they would hate him forever for putting them in danger and being an idiot. When he woke up feeling slightly wet, he realised that his day had gotten better

He really loved the rain, especially if he was away from his pond. It was hard to notice the rain sometimes, with how small the droplets were and how long it took to actually get covered in water, he often didn't notice for about an hour, which appeared to be how long it took for him to wake up, if the small puddles on the floor were any indication

He hopped up, excitedly and jumped over to where Remus was running around in Roman's circle

"Hi Remus! Where's Roman?" He tilted his head and Remus pointed at the den

"They're hiding from the rain in there"