[Synopsis: The crew finds out that Player hugs his beanie while he sleeps. It's adorable! Player isn't as enthusiastic about their discovery, though...So good ol' Captain steps in and tries to make things better!]

[Location: The Skeld]

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For once, Veteran was actually glad that he'd woken up early; every day at 7:00 on the nose, Captain would traverse the halls of the Skeld with his megaphone and rouse the rest of the crew with an unforgivingly loud wakeup announcement that got on everyone's nerves...It was nice to wake up naturally for a change.

Sweet...Might as well spare Player while I'm up and at it.

Without any further ado, the yellow-clad crewmate kicked off the covers, placed his crown atop his head and started making his way towards his best friend's quarters with plans to wake him up in a not-so-obnoxious manner. Player at least deserved that much, considering his horrible losing streak.

Once Veteran made it to his door, he gently turned the knob and poked his head inside.

"Psst...Hey. Player. Are you..."

His voice trailed off when he spotted his buddy.

"Oh-ho, my GOD..."

He held back the urge to chuckle, but it was strong enough to still came out in the form of a muffled snort. Player was still sound asleep in bed, curled up under the covers and holding his signature red beanie in his hands like one would any stuffed animal...Veteran was amused by the sight of it, to say the least.

"That's hilarious."

"What's hilarious...?"

The familiar voice came from behind. Veteran turned around to come face-to-face with his fellow crewmate MrCheese, who was still wiping the sleep out of his eyes.

"Oh, mornin', MrCheese. It's Player. Take a look."

MrCheese leaned into the doorway, and upon seeing the red-clad crewmember, he had about the same reaction as Veteran.

"Ha ha, wow. He holds his hat in his sleep?"

"Apparently."

"Ghee whiz, and we all thought he was a big dork before this."

"Before what?"

A third crewmate joined the party, and Veteran turned to greet her.

"Hey, would you look at that, a wild Mother appeared. You're up before Captain's megaphone too, huh?"

"Well, when you have two kids, you find yourself being woken up before the alarm clock pretty often, you know?" she giggled, only half-joking. "So, what exactly are you guys up to? This is Player's room, isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah, it's Player's room," MrCheese confirmed. "Why don't you look inside?"

The door started to creak as she squeezed in between the other two crewmembers, which made Player stir a little in his sleep, and he nuzzled into his beanie just a bit more.

"Is that his hat he's got there...?"

Veteran turned his head to face her and nodded in confirmation.

"N'awww, that's adorable~! Just look at how cozy he looks...D'oh, I gotta get a picture of this!"

MrCheese held back the urge to laugh again as Mother pulled her phone out and captured the moment.

"Pfft...Do yourself a favor and don't ever let him know you did."

"Pray tell, what are the goings-on here?"

TheGentleman was the next to arrive on the scene, and he looked slightly suspicious of the rest of the crew. He'd heard the chatter from his room, and knew full well that it wasn't normal for them to all be awake before Captain's alarm, so he looked about as alert as one could when they'd just woken up. MrCheese quickly attempted to put his concerns at ease.

"Oh, not much, TheGentleman," his work associate assured him. "We're just staring at Player in his sleep."

That only piqued the black crewmate's curiosity even more.

"For whatever reason would you all be staring at Mr. Player in his slumber, let alone fifteen minutes before Captain's routine wakeup call?"

"Well, why don't you come see for yourself?"

"Very well, then, I will..."

Raising an eyebrow, TheGentleman pried himself between Mother and Veteran, which in turn made the door open up even more, letting a tad more light from the halls spill into Player's room and land on the crewmate in question.

"Is he holding his hat? Ha! How wholesomely quaint...!"

His voice was a tad too loud for Veteran's liking.

"Lower the volume, TheGentleman. If Player hears us, he'll wake up. And I honestly don't think he'd be pleased if he found out we knew about this; it'd embarrass him."

"Oh, yes, of course...My apologies," he murmured, now just barely audible. "...May the heavens help us if Captain joins our party. He wouldn't know what a whisper was if it ungloved its hand and slapped him across the face."

"What's all the hubbub, team?"

Captain's unmistakable voice rang out from behind the crowd, and they all quickly turned to glare at him with a perfectly synchronized shush.

"Stifle yourself, Captain!" TheGentleman rasped. "You'll rouse Mr. Player!"

"Oh. Sorry," he apologized, only slightly lowering his voice. "Why's everyone all crowded around his doorway like this?"

"Well, since you're here, we might as well show you," MrCheese shrugged. "Have a looksee."

Their white-clad leader gently pushed through the crowd to take a gander at the crewmate he considered his best friend to see what he was up to...And as soon as he saw him, his visor lit up.

"Awww, look at 'im. He hasn't got a stuffed animal to cozy up with, so he uses his hat...Pretty resourceful, if I do say so myself! I don't expect anything less from my bestie, here!"

Veteran rolled his eyes.

"You're still bein' too loud, Cap'..."

"Sorry...Come to think of it, I could probably loan him one of mine," he thought aloud, still not much quieter than before. "No...You know what? I've got plenty. I'll just give one to him! He's sure to appreciate a gift from his best friend!"

"Wait," Veteran interrupted hoarsely, raising an eyebrow. "...You sleep with stuffed animals?"

"You don't? Wow. No wonder you get up on the wrong side of the bed all the time."

"Captain..." Mother addressed him. "Quieter, please. You're going to-"

"Huh...What...what's going on...?"

"...Wake him up. Oh, dear."

Everyone else watched in tense anticipation as Player rose his head, yawned, and turned to face the entourage of crewmates standing just inside his bedroom door, still absentmindedly clutching his beanie...Captain was the only soul brave enough(or oblivious enough of the awkwardness of the situation) to give him an answer.

"Rise and shine, Player! Sleep well, I'm hoping?"

"What are you guys all doing in my room? And...uh...Mother? Why do you have your phone pointed at me?"

"Oh, um, no reason. No reason at all..."

She hid it from view as soon as Player pointed it out, but they both knew that it was too late to hide anything at that point.

"Okay, guys, what's the deal here?"

Veteran scanned over the eyes of the other crewmembers and asked them the big question.

"Well...Should we tell him, or let him figure it out himself?"

"Tell me what?"

"That you sleep cuddled up to your hat like it's a stuffed animal."

Captain held absolutely nothing back. The rest of the crew turned their visors in his direction and stared at him in shock.

The mad man... TheGentleman thought to himself.

Player instinctively looked down at the hat in his hand, and his eyes bugged out once he processed the whole ordeal. In a vain attempt to put the cat back in the bag, he swiftly hid his beanie behind his back, a nervous smile plastered across his face.

"Oh, that? Oh, y-yeah, I...Wow, how did that get there? I thought I put it up before I..."

There was no convincing them otherwise at this point, though, and he finally deflated, somehow looking even redder than before, even with his red suit on.

"...You guys are never gonna let me hear the end of this, are you?"

MrCheese finally let a few of the giggles out of his system before answering him.

"Well, what do you think?"

Player's head drooped.

"As if I needed something else to bog me down..."

"Oh, don't worry, Player; we're not gonna tease you for it," Mother promised him, stepping out from the crowd to give him a reassuring pat on the head.

"We're not?" MrCheese questioned, earning himself a venomous glare from the cyan crewmate.

"No, we're not, and I'm going to make sure of it," she warned him before turning back towards Player. "To be completely honest with you, I think we can all agree that you looked pretty cute, huh fellas?"

"That would be a good way to describe it," The Gentleman nodded.

"Wholesome 100, dude," Veteran agreed.

"Mother, I couldn't have said it better myself," Captain smiled. "So, tell me, Player. Would you rather stick to hugging your hat, or would you prefer something like-just giving an example-a stuffed harp seal?"

"You're not helping, Captain..."

"He's making it better for me," MrCheese chortled.

"Oh-HO-kay, I think we've overstayed our visit, everyone, let's just head on over to the cafeteria and see what today's tasks are," Mother decided, clearing everyone out of Player's doorway.

"We'll be there in a minute, Mother!" Captain assured her. "The task lists are written out on the table and labeled with everyone's names!"

"Got it, don't be long...!"

The crowd in the doorway was gone before Player even realized. He was alone...with Captain.

InnerSloth help me...

"So as I was saying, Player, I couldn't help but notice the lack of stuffed animals in here. I was wondering if you'd like me to do something about that for you."

"Captain, I don't know whether you're trying to make me feel better or worse..."

"Well, better, or course! I just thought you might prefer something a bit more suitable for snuggling up to at night than a flimsy hat...Why on earth would I tease my best friend for something I do myself on a regular basis? That wouldn't just make me a horrible best friend, but it would also nominate me for the annual Hypocrite Awards. Which I do not wish to partake in."

"...You sleep with stuffed animals?"

Honestly, I'm not that surprised, the red crewmate said to himself.

"Heck yeah, I do! Hang on, Player, I'll be back en uno momento!"

The server host dashed out of Player's room, only to return less than half a minute later with something white and fuzzy in his hands.

"Here. It's about the same size as your trusty beanie, so it should work well enough!"

He handed the object to his fellow crewmate. It was a baby harp seal plush like the one he'd mentioned earlier, and it had large brown eyes and thread whiskers...It even had a small captain's hat sewn onto its head, likely courtesy of it's owner.

"I got that at a little place called Sea World almost twenty years ago, Player. He was one of my most prized possessions back in the good ol' days of childhood, and with that being so, I've kept him in as good condition as possible for the longest time. But I got to thinking when I saw you with your hat...I've got plenty of others, now. And considering that you're my best friend, as well as the apparent fact that you like having a buddy to sleep with at night, I've decided that I'd like to pass him on to you, Player. He used to mean the world to me, so I thought he'd be fitting in the hands of someone who fits into that category themselves, now...His name is Paul, but since he's yours now, you can change it if you want."

Player didn't say anything in return. He just stared down at it, then looked back up at Captain again, then back down at the plush.

"Is...all of that true?"

"As sure as TheGentleman wears two top hats on his dapper head. I hope he brings you as much comfort and happiness as he did me."

There was an odd look in Player's eye; one that Captain hadn't ever seen before. At least not directed at him.

"...Player?"

"Wow...well...Thanks, Captain, I..."

Usually, Player thought Captain's obsessive antics were annoying, and he usually did his best to ignore them. But considering everything that'd happened over just a few minutes, something about this small token of affection managed to strike a chord with him. All in all, Captain was just a friendly person looking for someone who would return him the favor. And he'd thought he'd found that certain someone in Player.

"...I appreciate that. Really, I do."

"I figured you would! Now, why don't you stick your hat on your head where it belongs and come out to the cafeteria with the rest of the gang to go over today's tasks?"

"Yeah...Let's not keep 'em waiting on us."

"Um...You okay there, buddy? You look like you're tearin' up a bit."

"No, no, I'm okay. Heh..."

He dried the tear pricking at the corner of his eye away with his thumb.

"...Guess I'm just kinda touched, is all."

"Aw, there there, Player..." Captain soothed, sitting beside him on the bed and resting a comforting hand on his back. "It was the least I could do for a friend. Now, are you ready to head on out there and take on the tasks?"

"As I'll ever be...Say. You think I have a chance at winning this round?"

"Never say never, compadre!" Captain told him as he eagerly hopped off the bed and motioned for Player to follow him out the door. "Come on! Time to seize the day!"

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...
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Big surprise. Player lost yet another round; Engineer and Gnome proved to be a formidable Impostor duo. The former was a master of sabotage and false alibis, while the latter did most of the dirty work, and the power couple perhaps even rivaled TheGentleman and MrCheese.

Player went back to his quarters that evening with his head hanging low and a dull, sad look in his eyes. So many games, so many defeats...Would his luck ever take a turn for the better, or would he be stuck in this rut forever?

As he halfheartedly pulled the blanket off his mattress and sat down on the bed, his gaze panned across the shelf on the opposite side of the wall from him and landed on the newest addition to the collection on it, sat in plain view among the books and picture frames.

..."Paul," as Captain had said his name was, seemed to be looking right back at him with his big, plastic eyes. It was almost as though he was begging to be taken off the shelf and snuggled.

"Come on, Paul. Don't give me that look."

He got no response.

And now I'm talking to a stuffed seal... he thought. What has this game done to me...?

Player hung his head lower, feeling a bit ashamed of himself...Maybe HE was the problem. Maybe he really WAS as bad at this as Bro and MrCheese claimed he was, no matter how much he tried to prove them wrong...The idea of it being true only made him feel worse, and he felt his eyes grow moist again.

Come on, you stupid baby, he scolded himself. You're not gonna cry about this, are you...?

He didn't realize he was looking back up at Paul again until he blinked away the tears standing in his eyes and cleared his vision.

Well...They already knew about me with my hat. Can't say this would be any worse, the red-clad crewmember decided. Besides, I...I could honestly use something to hug right about now.

Caving into his emotions, Player got back up off the bed, gingerly took Captain's gift off the shelf and put it down on his bed before taking his beanie off and placing it on his night table.

"Guess that's staying there tonight," he said to himself as he finally got into bed and settled down underneath the covers before snapping the lamp off. As the soft darkness of outer space shrouded his room, Player reached out for the stuffed seal he'd been given...He felt it dry away the still-moist tear tracks along his face as he held it close.

"...Thanks, Paul."

Finally, the hand of sleep overtook him, and Player shut his eyes and began to drift off.

...Thanks, Captain.

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Soooo, what'd you think? This one takes place a bit earlier on in the series; probably sometime in between episodes 7 and 10, so Captain hadn't done that whole zombie apocalypse thing to them yet, lmao.

Lemme know if you wanna see more, because I GOT more, lol.