#hat kid gets homesick and snatcher tells her a bedtime story

[immortalcoelacanth]

A Hat in Time Oneshot: Bedtime Stories

Inspired by an awesome Borrower AU created by @monster-monsoon (seriously go check out their stories and art, it’s all amazing!) 

Essentially Borrower Hat Kid starts getting homesick and it’s up to Human Bean Snatcher to help make her feel better by telling her a bedtime story. This, naturally, results in some fluff and feels moments from both characters. 

Also this will be the first of my many Tumblr exclusive oneshots! So just check under the read more thingy to check out this story. (Also it’s more than 4 thousand words so enjoy that too! 

“Hey Snatcher, can you tell me a bedtime story?” Hat Kid asked, looking up at the massive Bean with her signature puppy dog eyes.

 While the past several days had progressed rather smoothly in the Bean filled apartment, despite the arguments that still went on between Conductor and DJ Grooves, and Snatcher’s random pranks, a sudden bout of feeling homesick had taken over her, making it difficult to focus on anything other than her lost and worried family.

 Cooking with Cookie left her feeling hollow, watching Conductor and DJ Grooves argue just made her feel sad, remembering how Bow and Timmy would bicker with each other, and even pulling pranks with Snatcher did nothing to lighten her mood.

 Naturally this had also made it rather difficult to fall asleep that, which lead to her previous question towards one of the humans she had grown closest to.

 Snatcher sighed, reaching up to scratch as the fluffy mess of black hair that sat atop his head as he stared at the child standing on the floor before him. He was worried, having noticed the Borrower’s strange behaviour earlier in the day, and wondered if her sudden question had something to do with how she was currently feeling.

 But he was not so heartless as to deny her something that would, hopefully, make her feel better.

 “Sure thing kiddo, just let me find one of my old books.” Snatcher said, turning around to dig through one of the several dusty boxes. “Go wait in your bed, I’ll be over soon.”

 The child frowned. She was definitely glad he was willing to tell her a bedtime story, and yet she felt... odd sleeping in that tiny room while the Bean read to her. So instead of walking over to the dollhouse that she usually slept in, she remained on the floor, watching Snatcher dig through the pile of boxes. Finally after several minutes he turned around, large book held in his hands, and caught sight of her still standing on the floor.

 A faint frown appeared on his own face and he bent his knees, lowering himself so he could get a better look at the Borrower while he placed the book off to the side. “You okay kid?”

 “Yeah, I just...” She trailed off, nervously looking to the floor while she played with the bottom of her shirt.

 Luckily enough the human had understood her unspoken question, immediately realizing why she looked so nervous.

 Snatcher smiled softly, lowering a hand to the floor. “Get over here, kiddo.”

 Hat Kid smiled and scampered forwards, jumping up into the offered hand. In moments she was lifted up and up, carefully held close to Snatcher’s chest. From there he slowly walked forward, not wanting to make the child in his grasp fall, until he reached his bed.

 He then lowered his hand, allowing the child to jump off, and watched with a smile as she immediately made her way to the pillow at the top of his bed. When she was settled he sat down, causing the child to laugh as the springy mattress bounced her up and down.

 “Alright,” He began, grabbing the heavy book off of the floor. “So I’ve got several law book, but since you’re a kid I figured I’d start with something basic.”

 Law books? Just what kind of Bean stories had Snatcher found for her?!

 He cleared his throat and read out the title of the book he held. The name completely escaped the Borrower, but from what she could tell it was long and sounded like it would only put her to sleep, not entertain her or make her feel better.

 “Your books are boring.” Hat Kid muttered, crossing her arms and leaning back on the strangely soft pillow. “Don’t you have anything fun to read?”

 “Kid, law books are a great read, you just haven’t got the knack for it!” Snatcher eagerly flipped through the pages, recalling some of his favourite chapters from when he was still in law school. “We can go through the basics of the legal system-”

 “Booooooooooooring!” She whined. “It sounds so boring!”

 He huffed and set the book aside, just a bit offended at her response towards one of his favourite textbooks. Perhaps he could try pulling out his copy of Faust, another excellent academic read, but he had a feeling her response would be the same.

 “Don’t you know any stories kid?”

 The Borrower frowned. Sure, there were plenty of tales she had been told while she was growing up, but most of them were just lessons about how dangerous the world they lived in was, and the risks about getting too close to Beans.

 In other words, they were not proper bedtime stories.

 She shook her head, making the human sigh. He flopped backwards, making Hat Kid bounce up and down again. He looked up at the dusty ceiling as he thought about what to do next.

 Meanwhile off to the side, the Borrower watched as Snatcher tried to figure out what to do next. After a couple minutes of waiting an idea formed in her mind. She walked over to the human and poked the side of his face, smiling when he turned to look at her.

 “Why don’t you make up a story?” The child suggested.

 Make up his own story? But he had no idea what kind of story would interest her, or any kid for that matter! Uh, kids liked Disney movies, and cartoons, and uh...

 Hm...

 Fairy tales?

 Fairy tales has princes and princesses in them, right? Perhaps that would be a good place to start, and then he could change his story depending on how the child reacted to it.

 “Once upon a time there was a magical kingdom, and in this kingdom lived a Prince and a Princess.” Snatcher began, looking down at the single person who made up his audience.

 Hat Kid, now happy to see that the Bean had taken her suggestion to heart, eagerly sat up with her hands resting on her knees.

 “The Prince and Princess were madly in love. They spent practically every hour of every day together. The Prince was a bit of a goofball but loved learning, and the Princess...”

 He swallowed, mind only conjuring a familiar face framed by blonde hair.

 “She was something.”

 He continued his tale, spinning stories about the Prince and Princess spending their days together, the Prince protecting his Princess, and how deeply in love the duo were. Occasionally he would pause, recalling certain memories of his past that made his heart ache, but he continued to speak, hoping the Borrower child would feel better.

 Luckily enough it seemed as though his story was having its desired effect on the kiddo. She was no longer sitting upright and had actually moved herself so she was lying down on the pillow. Her hands were resting under her head and her eyes were closed.

 She had fallen asleep.

 “And the Prince and Princess lived happily ever after, the end.” He whispered, finishing his tale with a smile.

 Unconsciously he found himself removing the Borrower’s signature hat and started gently brushing her hair, smile growing larger as she mumbled something under her breath and snuggled the pillow a bit more.

 “She’s too cute.” He whispered, that massive smile still stretched across his face.

 Snatcher then set her hat off to the side, certain she would be upset if she woke up to find it wrinkled or crumpled up, and decided it would be best to also get some sleep so he was not exhausted the next day.

 Now if only his crappy mattress agreed with his decision.

 He cringed as the mattress underneath him groaned and squeaked. No matter how quietly he tried to move the old piece of furniture seemed determined to make as much noise as possible. He was, eventually, able to get himself lying down, looking over at the sleeping child one more time.

 “Night kiddo.” Snatcher muttered, rolling over onto his side and joining her in slumber.

 Several hours later the young Borrower stirred, having been woke up by  horrible nightmare where both her family and the Human Beans she had gotten close to suddenly disappeared, leaving her alone in the darkness.

 She sat up, wiping at her watery eyes, and looked around the barely lit attic. The full moon shone through the nearby window, faintly lighting up the bed she and Snatcher were on, but it left everything else in the shadows.

 Hat Kid looked over at the human she had grown closest to during her stay. He was facing away from her, fluffy black hair sprawled across the pillows as he snored, oblivious to her distraught state.

 Not that she would blame him. It was unfair she had forced herself upon the Humans Beans that lived here, made them help take care of her while her family searched desperately for her in the big, scary world…

 The Borrower child sniffled, wiping away the tears that were now falling down her cheeks. She was crushed by her homesickness, loneliness making her feel more and more isolated and scared!

 But Snatcher was here…

 A sudden snort escaped said human, and he rolled over a bit, face now looking towards her. He was lying on his back, one arm thrown over his stomach while the other rested at his side. He was still deeply asleep, his snores and closed eyes giving that away, so she took the time to look him over, inspecting the Bean that had tried to help her feel better.

 Human Beans were so weird, with how tall they were and their strange ways of living. They were terrifying from a distance, and yet once she had gotten to know them they were so nice.

 Even if the Conductor had been a bit scary at first.

 Hat Kid’s eyes landed on the pocket of his fancy, dark purple top that he had not bothered to change before going to bed. Several times she had sat atop Snatcher’s shoulder, and even the Conductor’s when he was not arguing with the DJ or drinking, but she had never been in any of their pockets.

 It made sense since she would not be able to see anything considering how short she was, and the Human Beans always found it weird when she sat on their shoulders, scared they might accidentally hurt her, so it would probably be even weirder if she suggested sitting in their pockets.

 But now a plan had formed in her mind, a plan that involved that pocket.

 She was scared, worried she might make Snatcher mad by waking him up, and yet as time went on and she continued to feel worse, even more tears falling down her face, she knew there was only one choice she could make.

 Cautiously, the nervous Borrower used the human’s arm to boost herself up to his chest, doing her best to not accidentally wake him up in the process.

 She could feel his chest rising and falling beneath her, making it a bit hard to walk towards her goal, but eventually she did it. Once she reached the pocket she crouched down, crawled into it, and was immediately engulfed by the darkness.

 A faint giggle escaped her. Somehow the sounds of his heartbeat and breathing were amplified here. She lay down and rested her head against his chest, smile growing as the warmth from his body slowly sank into hers, making her drowsy.

 Hat Kid sighed softly and curled up against Snatcher, his heartbeat acting as a lullaby that slowly began to make her fall asleep.

 But just as she was about to drift off those images flashed before her eyes once again. Timmy and Bow reaching out for her, Thor and Tim shouting as they desperately tried to find out where she was, all the Human Beans she had gotten close to during her stay here vanishing into the darkness, leaving her all alone.

 It was too much for the distraught Borrower.

 A sharp sob broke free as tears began to fall out of her eyes once again. She desperately pressed a hand against her mouth trying to muffle the sounds that she kept making so she did not wake Snatcher up, but this proved to be a futile attempt as she soon felt the human begin to stir.

 “Kiddo?” The Bean muttered, sitting up slightly as the sound of someone sobbing reached his ears. He reached a hand up to wipe at his blurry eyes. “What’s going on?”

 He looked over to his left and felt his heart drop when he realized that the Borrower child was no longer there. Panic filled him in an instant. “Kid?!”

 Hat Kid let out a soft squeak as he suddenly sat up, clinging to his shirt so she did not fall down to the bottom of the pocket. Snatcher easily heard the faint noise and curiously peered down at his suit pocket.

 She looked up as his massive golden eyes looked down at her, filled with concern. She sniffled once again and wiped at her eyes, hoping to get rid of her tears before he noticed them.

 “There you are.” He breathed, and she could feel his heartbeat slow as he calmed down. “You scared the life out of me kid!”

 “Sorry,” She mumbled, voice so soft he could barely hear her. “I didn’t mean to wake you up, I just-”

 Snatcher shook his head, interrupting the guilty child. “You don’t need to apologize kid, it’s okay.”

 Now certain of Hat Kid’s location, he slowly laid back down on the bed. He was still concerned over how she was feeling, especially since she had actually moved to be closer to him even though the risk of him hurting her was significantly higher, and wondered what he could do to help.

 Clearly the story had not worked, but perhaps there was something else he could think of...

 “Snatcher, did the Princess and Prince actually live happily ever after?” Hat Kid asked in the silence of the attic.

 The question surprised him, not only because of how out of the blue it was, but also because he had thought she had been asleep during the ending of his story. He looked down at her and winced when he caught sight of the knowing look in her blue eyes.

 Just how could a child be so innocent and so mature at the same time? Was it Burrower nature, or something else?

 “No kid,” He sighed, letting his hand rest over the child that was curled up on his chest. “They didn’t.”

 “What happened?”

 A rueful smile appeared on his face as he considered the question. There was a part of him that wanted to change the subject, not wanting to relive that part of his life, but the rest of him argued that perhaps this was the story the child had been looking for.

 A tale about being lost and finding a home, finding a family that cared about you no matter how different you were.

 “As time went on the Prince began to notice something strange going on with his Princess. She started making changes to his life that he never asked for, and freaked out over the tiniest of mistakes he made.”

 Snatcher winced at the memories, recalling the furious, reddish brown eyes that would constantly glare at him. He remembered the shouting, the fighting.

 Going to his parents for help but hearing how dare you upset her she’s so good to you you have to be better for her instead. Hearing them blatantly say that clearly he could not be in an abusive relationship unless he had been hitting her-

 He exhaled sharply, shaking the memories off as he tried to return his focus to telling the story, his story. “Eventually one day he had enough and decided to leave.”

 He then chuckled, remembering the next part of his tale in vivid detail. “The Prince knew it would be too dangerous to leave out the main gate, so he climb down from his window and fell into a bunch of bushes.”

 He had actually fallen into a dumpster when fleeing his crazy ex and garbage family, but he was not about to tell the child that embarrassing detail.

 “And then he ran as far as he could, escaping from the miserable life that had been forced upon him. The Prince was now free to choose what he wanted to do, and no longer had to listen to anyone but himself.”

 Yes he was free, but at what price? He could no longer stay in contact with his parents, not after their remarks towards his situation with Vanessa, and whenever he went outside he risked having his crazy ex find out where he lived.

 It was the main reason why he rarely left the dusty attic or the apartment, even to deal with his clients. The risks were just far too great.

 He was lucky his uncle had been so understanding of his situation and offered him a place to stay...

 “So what happened after?” The Borrower child suddenly asked, breaking him out of the memory filled trance he had fallen into.

 “Huh?”

 “The Prince, what happened to him after he left?” She repeated, curiosity demanding an answer.

 She already knew that Snatcher was basing the story off of himself based on how he had reacted before she had fallen asleep, but she wanted to know what else he had gone through after escaping his “Princess”.

 How he had gotten here.

 “Geeze kiddo, you sure seem worried about the Prince.” Snatcher commented.

 “Well the Princess has a bunch of people to look after her, and she’s a jerk anyways.” Hat Kid huffed, making the human chuckle warmly.

 “Yeah, I guess she is.” He wheezed.

 After his laughing fit had faded he cleared his throat and continued talking, though this time he actually sounded happy after telling his tale.

 “Eventually the Prince managed to run into his uncle who told him about a cottage he had set up in a nearby forest. No one wanted to live there because strange, magical creatures inhabited that forest, but the Prince was desperate and needed a safe place to stay.”

 His uncle, he should call him again at some point. Check up on how he was doing and maybe invite him over for a coffee or something.

 Definitely when no one else was around, of course.

 “And in the magical forest that was now his home, the Prince moved in to his uncle’s cottage. His new home was very small and dirty, and even though the Prince did little to clean it up it felt far more like home than his castle.”

 His parent’s luxurious home, their several cars. The swimming pool and even the maids that would drop by to clean up before his parent’s parties. None of it ever felt warm or comfortable to him, it had always been so cold and unfeeling there.

 “Of course he had neighbors.” Snatcher continued, a smirk appearing on his face as he figured out how to continue the next part of his tale. “A witch who crafted potions to heal the sick, two muses, artistic spirits who constantly argued over whose latest creation was the best.”

 Cookie, DJ Grooves, the Conductor, all interesting characters who had somehow become the center of his world. It would be hard to imagine what the apartments would be like if any of them left.

 Including the Borrower who had wormed her way into his life.

 “But the strangest creature he had encountered was a thief who broke into his home and stole whatever sweets he had in the cupboards.” A laugh escaped the Borrower child, easily realizing who this character was supposed to represent in the story.

 “He was more curious than mad, wondering just who was sneaking in when he back was turned, so one day he came up with a plan to discover the identity of his thief. The next day the Prince found his thief, having gotten stuck in the honey he had laid out the night before, and found that she was not at all what his was expecting.”

 Snatcher paused, taking a moment to enjoy the intense look on his listener’s face. Man, she was really into this story!

 “His thief was an adorable, tiny fairy.”

 “A fairy?” Hat Kid gasped, crawling out of his pocket so she could look up at him with those big eyes. “Really?”

 “Yup!” Snatcher chuckled, carefully lowering one of his fingers so he could playfully mess up the child’s hair. “Apparently the fairy had one heck of a sweet tooth, so she had been breaking in and stealing some of his sugar when he wasn’t looking. Apparently when he put the honey out she couldn’t help herself and tried to get some, which is how she got caught.”

 “What did he do with the fairy?”

 The Bean smiled and continued to ruffle the child’s hair. “Well, he set her free and told her if she ever needed any sugar she could always come back and get some more, like a certain Borrower I happen to know.”

 Hat Kid giggled and tried to push his finger away. “Snatcher, you’re messing up my hair!”

 He relented, laughing when she tried to fix her tousled locks. “You’ve got some bedhead there, kiddo!”

 She huffed. “No thanks to you, and what happened after he let the fairy go?!”

 The human’s smile grew warm as he continued his story. “Well, she kept visiting him and they became friends, and a spectacular pranking team.”

 “And then did they live happily ever after?” The Borrower asked, looking up at him with a hopeful smile on her face.

 “Yeah kid,” Snatcher replied. “They did.”

 That smile remained on the child’s face, even as her eyes began to drop thanks to her exhaustion catching up to her. “That was a great story, thanks Snatcher.”

 “You’re welcome kiddo.” He whispered, nudging her back into his pocket. “Sweet dreams.”  

 Hat Kid sighed and curled up against her guardian, nuzzling her face into his shirt as she listened to his calming heartbeat once again. In seconds she was asleep, completely relaxed and no longer bothered by the worries and fears that had tormented her earlier.

 Snatcher smiled down at the sleeping Borrower curled up in his pocket. His hand was still resting over her, providing even more warmth to help sooth her. He felt totally relaxed but did not intend to fall asleep, worried he might accidentally turn over and squash the child.

 Eh, oh well, he had pulled many sleepless nights while he was still in school.

 So the duo remained like this until dawn broke over the world, Snatcher keeping all of the child’s nightmares at bay with his presence while Hat Kid slumbered on, dreaming of the moment when her two families would finally get the chance to meet one another.

 Omake:

 Snatcher groaned as the light from the windows shined on his face, making him wince and lift a hand up to try and block the annoying rays. He yawned, sat up, and stretched, sighing as his spine popped pleasantly. A couple more stretches had the human feeling much more awake, but he felt as though there was something he was forgetting about.

 Had he left his phone somewhere? He patted his pockets, finding all of them to be empty.

 His pocket...

 The kid!

 “Hat Kid?” He uttered, looking left and right as he tried to find out where the Borrower had gone to. “Where are you, kiddo?”

 A quick glance to his right had him noticing a sheet of paper that had been left on his desk. He picked it up and held it before his eyes, frowning when he noticed how sloppy the handwriting was. It was as if whoever had written it had some struggle in holding the pencil since some of the letters were crooked and a bit squiggly.

 In fact the writing itself was very small...

 He squinted and did his best to read the note, a faint smile appearing on his face as he deciphered the words.

 Hey Snatcher, you looked so comfy I didn’t want to wake you up! I’m downstairs eating breakfast so don’t worry about me :3

 PS I hope you like your new hairdo :D

 “New hair? What’s she-” Snatcher froze and quickly lifted a hand up to run it through his hair. He immediately encountered what felt like knots or some sort of tangles, but he had a feeling Hat Kid was not malicious enough to do something like that.

 So what had she done to him?

 He dug through some boxes and pulled out a dusty mirror. A quick wipe with his sleeve left the reflective surface as clean as he could get it and he held it up to his face, immediately catching sight of the Borrower’s handiwork.

 She had braided his hair while he had been sleeping.

 The peaceful breakfast downstairs was disturbed when loud, hearty laughter erupted from the attic. The Conductor nearly dropped his mug of coffee, and almost immediately started cursing, while Grooves just looked up to the ceiling in amusement.

 Cookie glanced down at the Borrower by her side on the counter, easily noticing the mischievous smile on her face.

 “What did you do to Snatcher?”

 Hat Kid grinned. “Oh, I just gave him a little makeover, that’s all.”