"Dont be afraid"

"Lets make a deal"

Nico:"Oi! Mouse!, can you like...Breathe for me please?" Nico realised maybe teasing his little intruder till he was practically scared for his life wasn't the best idea, he had intended to scare him sure... but seeing the way his small and fragile frame was shaking with terror sent a feeling of guilt that struck him right in the gut .

How the hell am I supposed to calm him down Nico thought to himself,
Charlie still didn't dare move ,the immense feeling of fear weighed on his limbs as though he was being pinned in place by a massive brick atop of him.

He couldn't stop the tears flowing from his eyes...he was certain he looked pathetic in the eyes of his captor... He flinched as he suddenly felt something incredibly huge rubbing up and down his back in circular motions, he snapped his head round to see the cats hand on his back, he willed himself to move away but he couldn't get his body to listen to him, slowly he brought his eyes up to meet those of the feline above...

Charlie:" I-im s-sorry, " *shakily uses his sleeve to wipe the tears from his eyes* " I-I wont s-steal again I swear! P-please! Please let me go..."

Nicos heart actually began to ache looking into those little green eyes , hearing him plead and the desperate , scared tone of his voice, he started noticing the clear details of his little intruder a bit better now he wasn't practically curled in on himself...his cheeks were tinted red and wet from crying...and where those freckles?, he then turned his attention to his ears...they looked soft... why was this mouse...kind of...cute.

Nico hadn't realised that he'd been staring without a word for almost 3 minutes now , he'd even bent down a little closer upon his mental inspection of the little guy , Only when Charlie let out a small squeak to stress his discomfort of this new found closeness of his captor did Nico finally snap from his thoughts.

Nico:" ! Oh... um... (mind:what did I just think? This is a mouse for crying out loud! It's a pest it's not cute!) Mm *looks a Charlie a little annoyed * Listen mouse! You won't make me feel guilty! You're a pest ! Understand ! Drop this whole sad act you have going on right now"

Without warning Charlie felt the hand behind him close in as huge digits wrapped his small frame trapping him in a fist, he let out a frightened scream as he tried to struggle his way out but it was in vain , he was far to weak for his struggles to even be felt as anything more than a slight tickle , and then the grip around him tightened painfully.

Charlie:"ACK! N-NO S-STOP! IM SORRY I-IM SORRY IM- "He closed his eyes tightly as a fresh round of tears flooded from them, hed forgotten about his hunger the minute he'd been caught but the effects of it and the stress of this new situation were beginning to take their toll on him...his vision filled this black spots before his body become limp...he had passed out.

Nico stared for a moment at the limp body in his hand... had...did he just die... I didn't grab him that hard surely, he thought.

Nico:*opens his hand so Charlie is laying in his palm*...hey...wake up..."

No response.

Nico:" playing dead wont work mouse how stupid can you be!"

Nothing.

Looking over him again, Nico feels a sort of sinking sensation in his stomach, he uses his thumb to gently prod at the little mouse in his hand , this still gains no reaction ...

Nico's face twisted with worry, but why? Why did he care?...its a mouse afterall...he shouldn't feel worried at all...if one of his friends were over and seeing him right now , hed be teased to no end.
He looked over Charlie once more ...when he noticed the small and faint rise and fall of his chest.

Nico's ears twitch slightly in realisation, "Hes still breathing! " , Nico walked to his living room and set him down on a sofa cushion sitting beside him, hes so small , smaller than an average mouse anyway .

Nico noticed the little wrap of cloth the mouse was wearing supposedly as a shirt of some sort had practically come off , probably from Nico handling him, what was that dark tinting almost on the ribs...was he bruising there? Had he really handled him so roughly its causing him to bruise so quickly... his ribs... this mouse is practically skin and bone.

Nico:" I hurt him..., he was practically begging for his life , terrified half to death already...why'd I have to go and grab him like that...UGh! Why do I feel bad about hurting a mouse! What kind of cat am I! "

Charlie began to shiver where he lay still unconscious, Nico heard his small distressed squeaks and looked over to him, he saw he was sweating and shivering all at once, he'd probably managed to work up a stress fever, Either way he was cold and he was weak, and Nico had only mad him feel like 100 times worse than he was probably feeling before he'd trapped him .

Nico:"seriously ...hm...*sighs *" Nico gently lifts Charlie, then lays placing his small intruder carefully on his chest, "cant believe I'm doing this for a mouse of all people " softly he placed his hand over him like a blanket, then he tensed as he felt Charlie move in his sleep, instinctively smuggling into the warmth around him practicality nestling himself against Nico's warm palm before settling and seeming alot more content than he had been previously. Nico's heart skipped a beat. That was more than slightly adorable.

Nico:" I'm a Cat...that's a mouse ...its not cute ... its not-"

Charlie:*hugs his arms around Nico's thumb and nuzzles his face against it* squeak....Zz"

Nico practically felt his heart squeeze ..." oh my..., i- how do i-"* shakes his head* " Dont think - just...once this little guy wakes up, you can sort this and get on back to normal...right...*looks at Charlie * hes gonna freak when he wakes up like this...."

...

( what do we think? More?...👀)