protection
TW for abuse, blood, implied domestic violence
1.2K oneshot petey the cat angst
“Are you finished building that mecha endoskeleton?” Petey asked.
“Almost. I just have to attack the cables.” Li’l Petey answered.
Petey and his son, Li’l Petey, were making the Robo-Rat 2000 when they heard the doorbell ring.
“Doorbell!” Li’l Petey exclaimed, jumping into a confused Petey’s arms. They hurried towards the front door.
“I wonder who this is!” Petey said, a confused and irritated expression on his face as he turned the doorknob.
He gasped at the sight of his father with 80-HD’s arm on his shoulder.
“...Petey?” Grampa Petey asked, a confused look on his face as he leaned in closer to glance at Li’l Petey.
“I’m not Petey! I’m your grandson, Li’l Petey!” Li’l Petey declared, smiling back at him.
There was silence as Petey stared at his father.
I haven’t seen him… in so long. He’s gotten older… could he possibly have missed me?
“...Dad?” Petey said.
“Well don’t just stand there like a statue ! INVITE ME IN!!! ” Grampa Petey bellowed, shoving Petey to the side as he walked into the doorframe. “Hey, nice place ya got here, Junior!”
Petey sighed.
“Thanks for finding my Grampa for me.” Li’l Petey said to 80-HD, to the shocked face of Petey. “I owe you one!”
As 80-HD flew away, Petey turned to his son. “ DID YOU BRING HIM HERE?!! ?”
“Yeah.” Li’l Petey answered.
“Hey, where’s the food in this dump?” Petey and Li’l Petey turned to the yell from the kitchen, only for a loud crash to come right after.
Petey put his hands on his hips and looked down at Li’l Petey expectantly.
“Um- I mean… who, me?” Li’l Petey said, a sheepish smile on his face.
Another loud crash made Petey and Li’l Petey both jump and they rushed to where the culprit was.
“What’s going on here ???” Petey exclaimed, to the sight of the sullied kitchen. Food had been thrown on the floor, shattered glass and liquids pooling on the cool tiles, eggs cracked open with the yolk spilling out. Shards of broken dishes were discarded around them.
Grampa Petey was sitting on a chair chugging milk straight from a carton, a jug of lemon juice spilled from the table, letting the juice drip onto the floor, yet Grampa Petey couldn’t seem to care less. Petey noticed with disgust the crumbs of bread and drops of milk that were on Grampa Petey’s lips and his dirty shaven beard.
“You shouldn’t put your dishes up so high!” Grampa Petey whined, “It’s your fault they got broken!”
“I’ll clean it up in a minute.” Petey said, and started to take Li’l Petey by the paw to another room. Petey kneeled on the floor and looked at Li’l Petey, who had been staring at the floor with a guilty look on his face.
“Why did you bring him here?” Petey asked.
“I’m sorry, Papa.” Li’l Petey said solemnly. “I just… wanted you to have your Papa back.”
“My Papa?!!? That guy abandoned me!” Petey said angrily, pointing at Grampa. “Do you have any idea what that feels like?”
“You abandoned me once.” Li’l Petey said, and Petey covered his mouth with his paws.
“...You - you still remember that?” Petey toyed with his claws.
“Yeah. And I forgave you !”
There was another loud crash , and Li’l Petey covered his mouth with his paws too.
There was a silence where Petey looked at Li’l Petey, looked at his son, his small quivering body covering his mouth in worry, identical to when Petey was his age, and Petey had never felt the bigger need to protect him.
Petey kneeled down to hug him close and closed his eyes, as another loud crash rang through the hall.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
It was late. Petey usually went to sleep by this time, but he always stayed up to wait for his mother. He was about to drift off to sleep when he heard a knock and the opening of his door.
“Hello Petey”
Petey sat up and gasped at the blood that trickled down his mother’s head. “Momma!!! What happened to you!!!!” He said, running over to her and leading her to sit on his bed.
“Oh it’s nothing dear.” She said, a big smile on her face, but the smile wavered and Petey could feel that her paws were slightly shaky.
“Don’t worry momma, I’ll patch you up!” He went to rummage in his backpack as Grace looked over at him confusedly.
“Aha!” He exclaimed, pulling out a medic kit from his bag. “There it is!”
“Wha- where did you get that?” She asked, as he walked to her and sat down with it on his lap.
“I bought it with some saved up pocket money I made from selling lemonade a few months ago, in case it could ever be handy.” He said, as he started to close the kit again and stand up. “Come on, we need to go to the bathroom.”
“What-”
Petey dragged his mother into the bathroom, and put the medic kit to the side. He washed his paws and then gently removed the small glass shards still on her head and washed his mother’s upper head with water, soap and a towel.
“Dear, you really don’t need to-”
“It’s okay momma this is gonna be over really fast!” Petey said. He sat his mother on a stool to reach her head better, and took out petroleum jelly from his medic kit. He put a thin layer on the surface.
They were silent as Petey gently applied it on the wounds, until Petey noticed his mother’s eyes pricked with tears.
“I’m sorry if it’s painful momma.”
“Oh no, it’s not at all Petey.” She whispered, as though trying to stop her voice from cracking. "You should've... should've bought something like... like a lollipop or toy with that hard earned money, Petey."
She couldn’t remember the last time someone had treated her so gently.
"Yeah but, I thought this would be more useful." He said. He took out a bandage and gauze and held it in place with paper tape. When Petey was done, she noticed tears drop on her lap.
He's so young, yet he'd rather buy a medic kit then candy or a toy. My poor baby...
Even though Petey already knew, he still wanted to ask.
“Momma… who did this to you?”
Grace cried silently, and Petey hugged her tightly, rubbing her back soothingly, his bandaged tail swaying to the movement.
“Y-your father… he’s just…” She sniffed, trying to wipe away the ongoing tears. “He’s in a bad mood right now. It’s best not to disturb him.”
As though on cue, a loud crash could be heard from the living room and Petey and his mother both jumped a little at the sound. Petey hugged her tighter.
“I want…to protect you momma.”
She continued to weep silently, hugging him closer.
“I’m supposed to be the one protecting you, Petey.”
Petey clasped her tight. “I’ll never leave your side, never ever.”
Another crash interrupted the silence of the bathroom, and Petey’s mother muttered again.
“Petey… I won’t be around for very long. Please… please find someone you want to protect, and protect them with your life. Will you do that for me?”
“But… I want to protect you momma!!”
“Please Petey, promise to me.”
Still with their arms clinging onto each other, and with his mother’s tears staining his fur, he whispered.
“I promise.”
