Chapter Text
Petey was going into heat. And he was in some deep trouble because of it.
It all started that morning.
He and Li’l Petey had moved in with Dogman back in early January when their lab had been completely totaled.
Now, a month had passed, and Petey had settled into a routine.
He’d been working diligently on getting the lab fixed, leaving the house every day to buy materials, consult with contractors, make blueprints, or work on the building itself.
Petey was being very purposeful with his lab’s structure this time around, ensuring it wouldn’t be so easily destroyed again and installing extra safety measures for protection. It was set to be completed by the end of February.
Well, it would have been rebuilt even sooner if 80HD hadn’t completely set back his progress at one point. Sending the clumsy but well-meaning robot away on a pointless mission turned out to be the best decision for keeping himself on track.
That all brought him to this morning.
He had been sleeping on Dogman’s couch while his son and Dogman slept upstairs. Li’l Petey had initially insisted he sleep up there with them, but Petey refused for obvious reasons. Sometimes, however, Li’l Petey would bring his box-bed down and sleep in the living room with him. Not this morning, though.
He woke up to the feeling of the rising sun shining through the blinds and hitting his face, enveloping it in uncharacteristic warmth. He didn’t think much of it as they were leaving winter and entering spring. He stretched and felt extremely groggy. Despite feeling incredibly cozy underneath his warm blanket in the slight lingering chill of February, he forced his tired body up. His limbs felt heavy as he made his way to the bathroom. He relieved himself before going to wash his hands in the sink. He realized his face still felt warm despite being in a closed up bathroom and not in front of the open blinds. He put the back of his paw up to his cheeks and forehead to feel them.
He felt too warm.
He decided to look at himself closely in the mirror, squinting, seeing slight red hues splotched on his cheeks and forehead. Very quickly, Petey’s tired mind began to grind its gears and he picked up on what was happening. After all, he’s been going through this for a large part of his life now. His eyes widened immensely at the dawning realization.
He rushed back through the living room and into the kitchen to look at the calendar that Dogman had put up. Today was February 2nd. Petey was confused. Typically, his heat would come towards the end of February, which is why he wasn’t concerned about it at all.
So why is it happening now?
He began panicking slightly and was pacing back and forth.
What to do, what to do? Where was he going to stay? What excuse was he going to use this time?
The last time his heat happened was the first time it occurred with little Petey being in his life. He found hiding it to be a simple enough endeavor. He had told dogman that he needed to venture out of town for a ‘spiritual retreat’ in order to cement his journey towards becoming a do-gooder. All lies of course, but both he and little Petey bought it and he was able to get dogman to babysit for the week while he rode his dildo throughout his heat in the comfort of his own lab.
But now, he was very limited on options. He had nowhere to go. Not only was his lab unfinished, but it was very much not private. Lacking a roof, several walls, and having contractors walking in and out throughout the day.
Next option, he could commit a petty crime and go to cat jail. He shuddered, thinking back to previous heats spent in that jail. On one hand, his needs were met, but on the other… he shook his head, not wanting to bring back bad memories.
Absolutely not an option.
The fur on the arms had started to stick up from his goosebumps and he began rubbing them as he pushed those thoughts away.
His mind was racing. Where else could he go? He wouldn’t be safe out in the wilderness. What if someone smelled his heat and did something to him? He’d be in an extremely vulnerable position. He began to bite his claws out of stress. Just then, he froze and his ears perked up to the sound of steps.
He turned to look at the stairs where a very tired-looking dogman was descending. He had an oversized sweater on and plaid pajama pants. On his feet were white bunny slippers. His fur looked tousled and his eyes looked tired. He gave out a loud yawn and stretched his arms. Petey found the sight pretty endearing.
“Good Morning” he signed in ASL to Petey.
Petey forced an awkward smile. "Good morning," he replied, trying to mask the fact that he'd just been yanked out of a downward spiral and was scrambling to pull himself together.
“Why wake up early?” Dogman signed, getting Petey's attention. He looked at the cat in tired confusion and pointed up to the clock which read 6:45 am. It was a Saturday, and typically those days were reserved for ‘family fun time’ with Little Petey and Dogman.
It was something that the kid insisted they do ever since they temporarily moved in. They all tended to sleep in until close to noon on those days and then have breakfast together before deciding on an activity to do. Last week it was frisbee at the park (Dogman’s choice). Petey had to admit the ‘family’ part of the name made him uncomfortable, but he couldn’t deny that it was nice to see his son happy.
Petey rubbed the back of his neck, trying to come up with an excuse, but he only sputtered out “Oh, uh that. It’s just that well with the lab still needing work I was thinking of–” before he was interrupted.
“Wait” Dogman signed.
Petey stopped and looked at him, confused.
Dogman got closer, examining the cat's face carefully, and Petey inched back, eyes widening. The canine reached his hand up and placed the back of it gently on Petey’s cheek. Petey was surprised at the action and felt his face heat up some more. Dogman retreated his hand and his eyebrows furrowed. He seemed to sniff the air a little bit as well, picking up on something odd, but not registering it as anything in particular.
“You’re hot” he signed. Petey blinked.
“Oh, uh, right” Petey said, like an idiot.
“You’re sick?” Dogman asked.
Suddenly, a lightbulb went off in Petey’s head and he mentally slapped himself for not thinking about it earlier.
“Yes,” Petey said, “I think I’m getting sick with a bad fever”. He fake-coughed for extra emphasis.
Dogman’s eyes widened.
The hybrid grabbed Petey's hand and led him back to the couch. Once the cat sat down, Dogman went into the kitchen. Petey heard the kettle being heated. Petey merely sat there, dumbfounded. A few minutes later, Dogman came back with a warm cup of tea and handed it to the cat.
“Need rest” Dogman signed.
“Oh, um, thank you, I really appreciate it,” Petey stuttered out.
Under normal circumstances, Petey would’ve brushed off his concern and told him what he needs is to get working, not to get pampered, but he knew this wasn’t just any sickness he was dealing with. It was a biological urge to mate that his body was forced to go through due to the mere virtue of having the parts for it.
The facts are that Petey had been born a female. He had always been a boy in his mind and in every other way except physically. Fortunately for him, male and female cats look pretty much identical. The only striking difference is that female cats go into heat and male cats don’t.
His mother never made him feel bad for being the way he is. His father, on the other hand, was a completely different story. He didn’t want to think about him right now, though. His mother was the one who had to give him ‘the talk’ when he started getting older. He remembered how extremely embarrassing and uncomfortable that conversation was.
He was wishing once more that he had gotten 'fixed' when he was younger. The truth is that he never expected to have children. The only reason he didn't get himself neutered back then is because he didn't have the means to. Plus, he wasn't sure how comfortable he was with the idea of some doctor judging him for who he was.
“You need anything else?” Dogman asked, bringing Petey out of his thoughts and back to the present.
Petey shook his head, “No, I’m good, thank you. I’ll just drink the tea and rest for a little bit” he said, offering a strained smile.
Dogman nodded.
“I’ll make breakfast” he signed before walking over to the kitchen.
Once he was out of view, Petey let out a breath.
Alright, he needs to focus.
What was he going to do? Obviously he couldn’t just stay here. Soon enough he’d start mewling like a wild animal and wanting to grind on anything in order to relieve the discomfort.
He looked down at the pillow on the couch. The thought of grinding on dogman’s little custom pillow with his initials engraved into it brought a new wave of embarrassment to Petey. His heart continued to pound.
What to do, what to do??
He looked in the direction of the kitchen and listened as Dogman was moving things around.
‘Dogman’s an animal' he absently reminded himself. The body was human, sure, but the head, the mind, the instincts… still a dog.
Perhaps.. perhaps if he explained himself he’d understand.
His experience with others finding out about his heat had never ended well. Whenever the humans at cat jail became aware of his predicament, they reacted with immediate disgust and turned a blind eye. Males and females were kept in separate blocks, but because Petey presented as male, no one ever bothered to check—let alone offer help.
But he hoped Dogman would be different.
Still, the mere thought of telling him about his… 'situation' made Petey want to curl up into a ball and die. This would be the responsible thing to do, he knew that, but the thought was incredibly hard to wrap his mind around.
He groaned in annoyance and fell back further into the couch.
Dogman heard him and peeked his head through the doorway. He walked back into the living room, spatula in hand. He put it under his armpit and signed, “You okay?”.
Petey sat upright and gulped down a huge knot that had formed in his throat. He had to do it, he had to. For the sake of his kid, he had to get through this stupid heat in one piece.
“Dogman, I need to talk to you about something” he said, ignoring the deep discomfort he was feeling.
“What is it?” Dogman signed, cocking his head to the side, like dogs tend to do.
“It’s hard for me to say…” Petey said, avoiding eye contact.
Dogman waited patiently, giving him the space to gather his thoughts.
Just as Petey opened his mouth to speak, a rustling was heard. They turned their heads towards the stairs and down came little Petey running.
“Good morning!” he yelled out, cheerily
Dogman’s ears perked up and his phantom tail began wagging. He had an extremely soft spot for the kitten.
Little Petey ran down and gave Dogman a big hug which the canine returned happily. He then ran towards his dad and jumped on the couch, right next to him.
“Why didn’t you guys wake me up? I wanted to be down here with you too!” he said, hugging his papa now. He was excited to start their family fun day.
Petey gave dogman a look, signaling to him that the conversation would continue afterwards. Dogman understood, nodding.
The three made their way into the dining room where they enjoyed the breakfast that dogman had prepared. He had made fish and eggs with bacon. The eggs were a bit burnt, but aside from that, the food was delicious. Well, maybe not the best, but definitely filled with love.
“What should we do today?” Little Petey asked through a mouthful of bacon.
“What did I say about eating with your mouth full?” Petey said, annoyed.
“To not do it?” Little Petey said, food still flying out of his mouth. Petey groaned.
“I think postpone” Dogman signed.
“What?!” little Petey said, “Why?”
Petey looked at Dogman, surprised as well.
“Your dad sick” Dogman signed.
Little Petey turned to his papa, ever the oblivious kitten, putting his little paw on his forehead.
“Papa, your face is warm!” Little Petey said.
Petey shrugged it off, “It’s just a small cold I developed, nothing I can’t handle,” he said, lying through his teeth.
“I want to take your dad to hospital” Dogman signed.
Petey’s heart sank at seeing his words. There’s no way he’s going to the hospital. He wouldn't expect them to figure it out right away, but they'd eventually pick up on what was happening and he didn’t want to go through that public embarrassment. He’d rather tell Dogman privately.
“Erm, are you sure about that?” Petey said, trying to show his disdain with the idea through his tone.
Dogman merely nodded his head. “I’m sure,” he signed.
Little Petey agreed, “Yes, Papa needs to be well taken care of,” he said. He looked to see his dad’s concerned expression and misinterpreted it as fear.
“Don’t worry papa, the doctors are very nice. They always give me a lollipop afterwards. I’m sure they’ll give you one too!” he said, patting his dad's arm to comfort him.
Petey gave a fake smile, “Yea, sure kid, alright”.
Dogman signed, “Why don’t you go upstairs, make your bed?” to little petey. The kitten nodded and put his dishes in the sink before rushing up the stairs.
Once he was gone, Petey leaned into the table, “You don’t seriously think of taking me to the doctor, do you?”
“Why not?” Dogman signed, “You're sick”.
Petey shook his head, “This is what I wanted to talk to you about earlier, before little Petey came down". Dogman nodded, indicating he was listening.
Petey got up out of his seat and sat on little Petey's seat so he could be right next to Dogman. The hybrid sniffed the air again, picking up on that same faint scent that he couldn't discern. Petey spoke in a hushed tone:
“I’m not actually sick,” he whispered.
Dogman cocked his head sideways, “Not sick? Why hot?” he asked.
Petey grabbed at his tail and held onto it nervously, dreading what he had to say next.
“Erm,” he said, taking a pause. He took a deep breath. Dogman just watched in oblivious confusion.
“Do you know what a heat is?” he asked.
Dogman simply raised an eyebrow, “Heat like hot?” he said.
Petey shook his head, “No, no, erm…” he said, trying to think of how to word this.
“Do you know about… e-estrus? Like when it’s mating season and an animal goes into heat in order to reproduce?” he said, words shaky, “Dogs go through it too”.
Dogman’s eyes furrowed. He knew the jist of what a mating season was, but not why he was bringing it up.
“Yes, I understand. But why talking about it?” he signed.
Petey glanced at him, realizing Dogman still hadn’t figured it out. He had to explain quickly, before Lil Petey came back. He took a deep breath, closing his eyes, then let the words spill out quickly.
“I’m in heat,” he said, peeking through one eye to gauge Dogman’s reaction.
He and dogman stared at each other for an anxious beat.
Dogman still didn’t seem to understand.
“I’m going into estrus” Petey tried again, “My body wants to have a baby” he said, trying to break it down to be as simple to understand as possible.
Dognan’s eyes widened, his expression shifting as dots connected in his mind. Petey cringed at his reaction, convinced he was disgusted with him.
“Why?” Dogman signed, “Why heat? You’re male” he said.
Petey kept getting redder by the second. “Yes, I’m a man, but I wasn’t born male. I'm trans,” he said, watching Dogman's expression carefully.
Dogman had never heard of such a thing before.
But this was Petey, and Petey was the dad of little petey. And Petey was his friend, and he liked being around the two a lot, so he’d accept him no matter what, even if this information didn’t make sense in his head.
“I don’t understand, but I accept you,” he signed. He seemed pensive for a moment before continuing, “I will still see you same” he said.
Petey was taken aback by his response. All his life, he had been met with hate for simply being who he was. But here was Greg, his former enemy, the guy he and his kid have been freeloading off for a month now, accepting him without hesitation, without question. Even if he didn’t fully understand him, he didn’t need to.
“Thank you…” Petey said, looking at the dog curiously.
Before they could say another word, Lil Petey interrupted their moment by rushing downstairs. They turned their attention to him.
“Bed all done!” the kitten said, smiling wide.
“Good job!” Dogman signed, giving him a high five. Petey rubbed the top of his kid’s head.
“So, are you guys ready to go?” Lil Petey asked, bouncing with excitement.
“Actually, Li’l Petey,” Petey began carefully, “Dogman and I were talking, and we think it’d be better to move family fun day to a different day this week.” He shot Dogman a look and gave him a subtle elbow. Dogman blinked, then nodded in agreement.
Lil Petey’s face fell. His eyes darted between them, and his heart dropped. “Move Family Fun Day? How could you!” he cried, betrayed.
“Li’l Petey, don’t start,” Petey said firmly. The kitten crossed his arms and pouted.
Petey sighed, putting a paw to his temple like it physically hurt to explain. “Okay, fine, truth is, yeah, I’m starting to feel a little sick, so I need to go to the doctor. The adult doctor,” he added, his tone shifting to dramatic seriousness. “Totally different from the kids’ doctor. Way scarier.”
Lil Petey squinted at him. “What do you mean, Papa?”
“The adult doctor is terrifying,” Petey said. “They give you tons of shots. No lollipops, no murals on the walls, no funny ties. Sometimes they even do surgery on you without anesthesia.”
Lil Petey’s eyes widened. “That sounds horrible!”
“Yes,” Petey said solemnly. “Alas, I must accept my fate. But I don’t want you to see me like that, and I’m not sure how long we’ll be gone. So we’ll arrange for you to stay with a babysitter while we’re away".
Li’l Petey was about to protest and insist he could be brave for his papa, but the mention of a babysitter sparked an idea.
"Can it be Flippy this time?!" he said, full of hope.
"If he's willing to," Petey said.
“Wait, really?!” he asked, practically bouncing.
“Mhm” Dogman whined. Little Petey looked between his two parental figures, beaming.
“And I can even play with Molly?” he asked.
Petey groaned, he never liked Molly. She was okay, he supposes, but he didn’t like what a bad influence she was on his kid.
“Sureeee,” he said through gritted teeth.
“Woohoooo, papa is letting me go over to Molly's!” he yelled out, jumping around, "We're gonna have the best time ever!"
“Okay, okay, just calm down and let me make the arrangements,” Petey said.
The three clearned up the table and Dogman and Lil Petey went into the living room while Petey used the landline in the kitchen to call Flippy. He explained that he was sick, without giving too many details of course. The cyborg fish was very understanding and more than happy to take care of Li'l Petey, especially after everything they’d been through together.
“Take all the time you need,” Flippy said over the phone, “Heck, he can stay over as many days as you need,” Flippy said.
“Gosh, you don’t know how much of a help this’ll be for me” Petey said, eternally grateful.
“No need to thank me, it’ll be my pleasure. Plus, us parents need to stick together,” Flippy said, “I can come by soon to pick him up".
After exchanging their goodbyes, Petey hung up the landline, feeling a bit more at ease. He was about to walk into the living room when he had to stop and place his hand on the wall to center himself as the room started spinning slightly.
He had started to feel a little bit woozy.
This meant his heat was progressing along. He still had about a day before things got really bad, though.
Petey paused and took a deep breath before proceeding to walk into the living room where Dogman and lil Petey were messing around on the piano.
“Okay, it’s all set. Flippy is coming to pick you up soon,” he said. Little Petey squealed in joy.
“And,” Petey added, “he said you could stay over a few days too”.
Lil Petey gave a huge inhale, “really???” he squealed. It’s like his dream was coming true. His papa would never let him stay over at Molly's place before.
The older tabby nodded.
“Molly and I are gonna have the best sleepover ever!” the kitten screamed. Petey swallowed down his disapproval.
“Alright kiddo, go pack your bag with your toothbrush and things you’ll need overnight” Petey told him, clapping his hands. Lil Petey obliged and ran upstairs.
Petey gave Dogman a look and tiredly sighed.
“I’m glad that’s taken care of,” Dogman signed.
Petey nodded. That’s one less thing to worry about. But he still had the behemoth problem to face that was the next few days of incredible horniness that he’d be powerless to stop.
He tried not to think about it. For now, he just needed to ensure Little Petey got to Flippy's safely.
A few minutes later, a knock was heard.
Both animals’ ears perked up at the sound. Dogman went to open the door and there was Flippy in the mechanical flesh.
“Howdy there” he said, waving his little metal arm.
“You’re fast,” Dogman signed.
Flippy chuckled, “Perks of being a flying psychokinetic fish” he said, in his british accent.
“Thank you for not bringing Molly to pick lil petey up” Petey said, “She’s great but they’re chaotic when they’re together. You sure you’ll be able to handle them and your other kids alright for a few days?” he asked, sympathetically.
Flippy shook his paw. “Don’t worry about it. You all have done a lot for me, so it’s the least I can do. Besides, I’ve got my own tricks for managing kids. I’ve got twenty-two of them, after all. What’s one more?”. Petey raised an eyebrow, but he didn’t have many other options right now than to believe him.
Little Petey came down with his backpack full of things, excited to see Flippy. They greeted each other with a hug.
“I packed all my paper and crayons so we could make comics together just like we used to,” Lil petey remarked, "I can introduce the other kids to my comic club too!". The rattle of the crayons could be heard in his bag as he moved around.
“That sounds like a wonderful idea,” Flippy said, giving him a pat on the head.
Petey kneeled down in front of his son and put his hand on his shoulder, "Just remember that Flippy's doing us a favor by letting you stay at his house, so please promise me you'll try to behave, alright?"
Little Petey nodded, "Yes, Papa, I promise".
The kitten gave both his parents a huge hug and the duo waved goodbye from the front of the house as Flippy led him away.
Once they were gone, Dogman and Petey closed the door behind them and leaned against it, sharing a long, mutual breath of relief.
The house was notably much more quiet now.
They stood there in awkward silence for a little.
“I-” Petey said.
“I” Dogman signed at the same time.
“Sorry, you go first,” Petey said. Dogman also signed sorry, but decided to continue.
“What do you need now?” Dogman asked, “I don’t know much about.. heats” he signed, ashamed of his lack of knowledge.
“That’s alright,” Petey said, sensing his shame, “It’s a pretty niche topic to a lot of people. But, I suppose I have to start by building my nest” he said.
“Nest?” Dogman signed, confused, picturing a bird's nest.
Petey flushed and scratched the side of his face, looking away. “Yes, it’s just a comfortable area for me to lay in throughout my heat. I’ll need to borrow a lot of extra pillows and blankets to make it. It would probably be best to make it somewhere dark and closed off, like in a closet for example".
Dogman thought for a moment. He didn't have a big enough closet. The only dark place he had was up in the attic where he slept. The roof was much shorter up there and more enclosed.
“Only place is upstairs,” Dogman signed.
“B-but you sleep there,” Petey stuttered out, “I wouldn’t want to disturb you” he said, trying to get the implications across.
Dogman shook his head, “No worries. I sleep downstairs” he said, pointing at the couch. Again, Petey would normally refuse, but he wasn’t in a position to have that option right now. He simply nodded and thanked Dogman for his kindness.
The two worked together to make the nest in a corner of the attic. They gathered up all the extra pillows and blankets that they could (leaving a single pillow and blanket for Dogman to use). Petey would gaze over at Dogman as they worked and he’d feel a deep sense of something twisting in his stomach.
Guilt, probably, he told himself.
The hybrid looked so focused on ensuring the nest was done to Petey’s standards. His brows were furrowed, his tongue was sticking out and a bead of sweat was forming on his forehead. It was that same kindness that Petey wasn’t used to receiving and he was having a hard time processing it. Especially with the discomfort steadily building in his stomach.
“All done” Dogman finally signed, proud of their work.
Petey smiled, proud as well, but he began to feel off. A wave of nausea hit him, his knees going wobbly and he sat down before he could fall.
Dogman, concerned, rushed to his side.
“You okay?” he signed frantically.
“Yeah, don't worry, I’m okay. I just got a hot flash right now and I feel dizzy” he said, putting a paw to his head, trying to steady his spinning vision.
Dogman looked around, unsure what to do. He settled on gently picking Petey up and moving him towards the nest they’d just made. The cat leaned into the touch. It soothed something deep in his body, easing the ache just a little.
Petey groaned as he was set down, already missing the contact. His face was noticeably flushed.
Dogman was concerned as he looked down at him; he hated seeing his friend in pain.
“I’m sorry,” Petey muttered out, fixing his disoriented gaze on the hybrid.
Dogman blinked at him in confusion. “Why?” he signed.
Petey looked away, shame coloring his voice. “I’m sorry you have to see this. I never meant for it to happen. I was hoping the lab would be fixed before my heat started, but for some reason, it came early.”
Dogman shook his head. He'd experienced ruts before as a puppy and knew what it must feel like. “It’s okay, you can’t control it,” he signed, trying to reassure his friend as much as possible.
Petey closed his eyes, trying to steady his labored breathing.
Dogman hated that he couldn’t speak without being seen. He wanted to ask Petey if there was anything more he could do, but all he could do was sit beside him and watch. Petey's breaths came heavy and uneven at first, his brow still faintly furrowed. But slowly, the tension began to leave his face. His breathing steadied. And then, finally, he seemed to fall asleep.
He must’ve been very tired, Dogman thought. He stood, deciding he should leave the cat alone for now and check on him intermittently.
He couldn't help but stay a beat longer to watch him sleep. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping and it brought happiness to the canine's heart. He kneeled back down besides the cat and began stroking his forehead. Petey began to purr, catching Dogman by surprise.
He’d heard Little Petey purr countless times before, but hearing it now was unexpected; it was something he didn’t think Petey was be capable of, especially since he’d never heard him do it in the past.
He continued to stroke the cat absentmindedly, happy to bring some comfort.
As he watched the steady rise and fall of his chest, he became aware of the same faint smell he had been smelling throughout the morning. He gave a slight growl, annoyed that he couldn't figure out what it was. He stood up to sniffed the air out, trying to wrap his head around it. He moved around the room, trying to find its source. He got closer to petey, the smell getting stronger.
Determined to figure out the smell, he began sniffing at his head, then down to his chest, and then halted sharpy as he reached his crotch area.
Like an old rickety clock reaching midnight, the pieces finally came together in his mind to reveal what it is he was smelling:
Arousal.
'Oh.'
He recoiled back in embarassment and a deep blush overtook his face. He shook his head of the thought, trying to respect his friend's privacy and quickly made his way downstairs to sit on the couch that would be his bed for the forseeable future.
He pulled out his phone and began to type. He decided he would use this time to educate himself on Petey’s condition so he could help his friend in any way he could.