Nightmares:
(This is one I had an idea with for a while. It's a little hurt and comfort, but it should be nice read. I figured a little callback could work. Enjoy!)
"Should've known. You were goin' soft the minute you took in THIS runt." Zeke's shut eyes clenched even more shut when he was sleeping, he was dreaming a memory. "Piranha?" Wolf looked at his friend, pleadingly. Piranha threw a childish frown and started walking off. "N-No…Tío Pepe, please…" Zeke muttered in his sleep. "Aunt Webs, please wait!" Zeke muttered, "Sorry Wolfie, sorry Zekey…" Webs then said, the rabbit's was shaking, afraid and sad. "Uncle Lou…" tears slowly began flowing from Zeke's tucked eyelids, with the rabbit moving around to the nightmare. "And we ARE monsters, YOU'RE just a stupid kid!" He heard his Uncle Hubert say. Zeke woke up to those words, remembering those words.
The rabbit sobbed and whimpered, rising out of his bed in tears. "J-J-Just a dream…" Zeke tried to calm himself down, and walked out to go get some water. He could remember that day with clarity, the day everyone—Uncle Hubert, especially—left him and his dad during the whole incident with Marmalade. He remembered the words Snake had said to him, even though he didn't want to remember. Those painful stings at the rabbit's heart, the openly shouted cries of a child. Zeke went to the couch to watch tv, maybe that'd calm himself down.
(Later)
Wolf got himself outta bed and switched to some casual clothes. "Even outside my normal fit, I'm still a handsome guy." Wolf said, admiring himself a bit in the mirror. The hideout was unusually quiet today, meaning the others must still be asleep. Wolf walked out of his room to get some juice to drink, he then noticed that the tv was on with Zeke's ears laying off the side. "Zekey? You awake, kiddo?" Wolf asked, he could the faint whimpers when he walked closer. Zeke was fast asleep, and he looked like he had been crying. Wolf sat down next to him and patted his arm gently, "Zekey? It's just a dream, son. Please wake up…" Wolf said, now worried. Zeke had barely opened his eyes, "Dad…? Did…did I wake you? I'm sorry." Zeke asked. "No, no. But what're ya doing in here sleeping, kiddo? You weren't watching scary movies, were ya?" Wolf asked.
"Nope." Zeke immediately answered, but Wolf didn't seem convinced at first, "I meant actual "nope", not the movie." Zeke said, sitting up a little bit.
"Ok, so didja have a nightmare last night, son?" Wolf asked, with his son slowly nodding.
"It was…" Zeke then looked to his side, "I-It's dumb, Dad. I shouldn't be worried about it anymore." Zeke said, getting up to go get cereal. "Worried about what, Zekey?" Wolf asked, but Zeke didn't answer. Wolf then heard a few doors opening, "Good morning, you guys!" Shark said, "Oh, Zekey, I was gonna make breakfast…"
Zeke didn't look up and walked out of the kitchen, "I'm fine, Uncle Lou." Zeke said.
(Later)
Snake, Piranha and Webs had all woken up later that day, they noticed whenever Zeke walked into the room for food or his art supplies, he wouldn't respond or tell them what he was drawing. "Everything okay with Zeke, Wolf?" Snake asked his friend. "He had a little nightmare earlier today, he said, but he won't talk to me about it." Wolf said, really worried when Zeke tried to bottle up his emotions. "I'm sure he's fine, don't even worry about it." Webs said, then seeing the boy walk out, Piranha looked unsure. "Aunque no me gusta cuando nuestro sobrino se pone triste." Piranha said, deciding to see what's the matter.
Zeke took a few deep breaths, "Chamaco? Everything okay?" Piranha asked, "Who do I gotta punch to make those nightmares go away?" Piranha asked, smiling. Zeke sighed, "I'm fine, Tío Pepe." Zeke said, despondently walking off. Piranha looked upset, "O-Okay…" he said.
Shark looks on, making his own attempt to talk to his nephew. "Hi, kiddo! So, I was wondering, would you wanna work on one of the costumes in a minute?" Shark asked. Zeke looked curious, "U-Uh…I guess I can't pass up that. What's the costume?" Zeke asked his uncle, "I'm working on that leather jacket you wanted to design. Might be a fun lil project." Webs was piqued with interest, "Lemme get in on this! I'll get the Cricut for this!" She then said. "Gives me something to do…" Snake said. Wolf thought Shark's tactic could work, "Everyone else might overwhelm him, though…" Wolf considered the possibility. "We gotta handle this calmly." Wolf said to himself, but he was already thinking irony had other plans. The Bad Guys weren't a lot of things, and "calm" wasn't one of them.
(Later)
Shark and Zeke watched as they were seeing the sleeves of the jacket. "I hope the colors we picker's look nice." Zeke said, "They'll be, kiddo. First we gotta finish the sewing." Shark then said, "So, is that the fur leather jacket you planned to make me?" Snake asked. Shark and Zeke shook their heads, "Huh, I was expecting a long winded response from Zeke." Zeke then looked to his side, "It'd be stupid…" Zeke simply said. Snake felt a sense of familiarity when he heard Zeke say "stupid." Wolf decided to try and take a calm approach to his son's situation. "All right, which colors were you planning on using?" Wolf asked, "Uh, let's see…green, blue and pink will be the background, yellow and that chartreuse will be the outline." Zeke explained,
"I think…maybe aquamarine and indigo for the letters and the letters' perspective." Wolf smiled, "Going full neon, then?" He asked his son, "Yeah, pretty much. Maybe we could make stuff for you guys, too." Zeke then said, "And…then you won't…" Zeke realized he was saying what was in his mind. "We won't what?" Snake asked, confused. "We won't feud over push pops?"
Wolf was more intrigued, he noted the look on his son's face. "Why don't we talk about this, later, okay?" Wolf asked, deciding that Zeke needs to feel less pressure so he could talk about that nightmare. Wolf believes that they maybe did something, "O-Okay…" Zeke said.
(Later)
"Dad, you're sure? This is dumb…" Zeke asked, Wolf scratched his arm, "Why's it dumb, Zekey?" He asked. "Cuz…It…It…It happened a long time ago." Zeke said, huddling himself in a fetal position on the couch, embarrassed and ashamed. Wolf put all the hints together, "So, was your nightmare about last year?" Wolf asked, Zeke reluctantly nodded. "When Uncle Hubert said those things, and Uncle Lou, Tío and Aunt Webs left…" Zeke could remember that heartbreaking moment coming back. Wolf patted his son's shoulder. "See why it's stupid? I know you guys wouldn't wanna leave…so…so why do I feel like they will…?" Zeke asked, now sobbing into his dad's chest. "Shh-shh-shh. Son, it's okay to feel that way…let your feelings out, it doesn't do you any good keeping that bottled up." Wolf explained. Zeke just rubbed his eyes, "But they came back…I'm being stupid for thinking they'll leave again…Just like Uncle Hubert said. I'm a stupid kid." Wolf watched as the others walked in. "And now I'm bothering you, Dad…I'm holding you back." Hearing those words from a ten year old was IMMENSELY worrisome. Wolf made sure to keep Zeke secure and rested his head on his son's, gently. "Son, you NEVER waste my time. These are just doubts, kiddo. You'd never hold me back, ever!" Wolf then said.
The other Bad Guys had been eavesdropping to figure out what was wrong with their boy. "Zekey… …shoot, I messed up…" Snake muttered under his breath, feeling bad for what happened. "It's okay, Zekey, it's okay. And you're NOT a stupid kid. I don't ever want you to think that about yourself." Wolf said, trying to calm him down with a comforting embrace. "Zekey, I'm so sorry! Don't be upset, please?" Shark said, feeling a few tears coming in. Piranha felt ashamed of himself, he never once thought of Zeke during that whole situation, and only care about Wolf's "betrayal". "Lo siento, mi sobrino." He said. Webs didn't cry, but she felt horrible, all the same. "We never meant to hurt you, buddy. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…" Snake slithered toward his best friend and his son. If anyone had felt great shame in this ordeal, it was him.
"Zeke…You're not being stupid for feeling this way. I never shoulda called you that, I was…I was the one bein' stupid." Snake explained, "I'm sorry, kid. I never meant to hurt you the way I did." Zeke looked up at his uncle, showing his red eyes. "We ain't gonna leave ya like that, okay?" Wolf said, "Zekey, we love you. We're not gonna try to put you through that ever again, okay?" Wolf smiled at his baby bunny, and Zeke's hug became tighter. "I'm sorry…I wanna let this go…I love you guys, too…" Zeke apologized still. "Then take your time. We won't go anywhere when you need to talk, okay?" Shark then said. Zeke quietly nodded his head. "Okay…" Zeke tiredly said. "Group hug!" Shark was too emotional in that moment and scooped up everyone in a huge group hug! "Sh-Shark! Not too tight!" Wolf said,
"Easy there, ya big tuna!" Snake said. "Thanks, Fin-Bro!" Piranha said. Zeke wrapped his hands around anyone close to him. "Shark, please let go…?" Tarantula asked. "S-Sorry."
(Later)
After Zeke calmed down, Shark did a little prayer with his nephew. "Amen." Shark then patted his nephew's head, making the boy giggle. "Excited to finish up the design tomorrow, then?" Shark asked. "Mmhm! You'll let me know after school, right, Uncle Lou?" Zeke asked. "First person to know, buddy! Maybe we can make a few other things, too." Zeke nodded, "For now. Get some sleep,
okay?" Shark said. "Got it, g. Night, Uncle Lou." Zeke smiled, Wolf perked up and grab Pabu from the nearby shelf. "Need your pal?" Wolf asked. "No thanks, Dad. I'll be okay." Zeke then said. Wolf then kissed his son good night, "Love you, Zekey." Zeke yawned and then shut his eyes, "Love you too, Dad."
Zeke later headed to sleep, while the others discussed this situation. Snake slithered up and spat out a brass knuckle he had, and slid it to Wolf. The canine looked confused, "If you need to give me a punch or two, feel free." Snake said, dejectedly. "I'm not gonna do that, there's been enough pain." Wolf said, "I did this…I never should have said all those things to him…" Snake said. "But what's important is that you're apologizing and looking for ways to fix it, Snake." Wolf said, the other three looking down. "Wolfie, you should be mad at us!" Tarantula said, "We ran out on you. Left you and Zeke…we…" Webs couldn't even finish her words. Her tears started forming. "I shoulda stayed…We all shoulda walked back when we saw him crying that day…" Shark said, "Okay, okay! Enough with the pity party." Wolf said. "Hermano—" Piranha tried to interject, but Wolf kept going.
"Look, we're no good if we live in the past. What's important is that we try to move on from that day, okay?" Wolf said, and the rest of them looked unsure. "Right. We gotta focus on making sure Zeke never forgets he's loved, and that he doesn't need to hold it in if he's hurt." The Bad Guys were all in agreement. Their parenting may have been lacking before, but they're going to make sure Zeke remembered they always would love him. They decided they would be better parents for Zeke
(Later)
Wolf sat up in his bed, mind still on Zeke's feelings about if he was holding him back. "You would never hold me back, kiddo. I'm happy knowing you're happy, good and safe." Wolf whispered, as if he were talking to Zeke right now. Wolf then decided to pray before he went to bed. "God…forgive me. I feel like I've failed as a parent. Forgive all five of us, because all we did was hurt our boy. Please have him lean on You. Have me and the others lean on You, better, for his sake. In Jesus Name. Amen."
(Okay, here we are! I hope you guys liked it. I honestly tried to think about this more realistically, and I know everyone normally relapses to unpleasant memories from time to time. I'm sorry if this hurts to read or if it reminds you of painful memories , but I want you to know God never abandons you and loves you unconditionally. Stay strong and awesome!)
John 3:17 KJV:
For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.