Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

That man is rich, who’s pleasures are simplest.

Or was it cheapest?

It was a quote their school teacher once said a few weeks back. Really prevalent in the novel the class was reading together, about a boy’s coming of age during a transitional move from out of the countryside and into the city. Finding new friends, exploring new places, and growing up faster than he realizes.

Niko found it funny, despite their personal experience. Sure, it was a journey they’d prefer to never trek again, but it wouldn’t ever push away the small longing in them. They met a lot people, a lot of different people. Robots, bird-people, humans, and- gardening pot-headed people? They took catwalks up incredible heights, looming over a sprawling red city. Pretty sure they did some chemistry in the Barrons with the syringe and bottle.

Does that mean Player is a chemist? Actually, that doesn’t seem so surprising for a being who can communicate across worlds.

Between Niko’s world and the other, it’s a stark contrast of interesting qualities. Even past their little village and past the wheat fields. Though now it’s become something to appreciate. Their journey was vast, long-lasting, sometimes overwhelming or distressful, even treacherous. Being back home has never felt more pleasant; being in reach of their mama again. Soft winds over swaying golden fields, the familiar sight of cat-people milling about. It helped mitigate the bad memories.

The good ones though, they made sure to cement them into drawings they’ll protect fondly. They might start crying if they forget the faces of the friends that helped them complete their mission, as if it were a dream they couldn’t remember. Niko’s owes them all at least that much. They owed Player that much.

Since then, life has been peacefully happy, even if nothing really happens, other than those teenage troublemakers occasionally pulling lighthearted pranks on the cranky elderly. Niko hangs out with friends their age and uses one of the library’s computers to research programming until the librarian kicks them out for staying past their curfew. A curfew understandably put in place after they disappeared for nearly a week. Tightly knit cat villages are well-known for coming together to protect everyone’s children.

They also weren’t allowed to wander too far away from the village when out in the fields. Any bigger than their held-out fist is a no-go. They’re a well-mannered and behaved child that stays out of trouble (or at least try their best to). But they’re also rather smart for their age, which they’ve surmised from people’s comments. Smart children ask lots of questions, and may go further lengths to get answers to those unanswered questions. Such is the conundrum in question that they’re bending the rules for.

…

Last night, they woke up from a somewhat unsettling dream of their time in the Barrons, specifically the robot impression embarrassment. Only this time, the robot that corrected them had a yellow glowing eye, wings, and a lot lankier build. It jumped off where they sat to slid down the wall before bouncing around and landing abruptly in front of them. It gave the same lecture about robot nutrition and lack of mouths, before it jumped and slid down the wall again, then hopped back on the ground and rocketed through the ceiling at an unfathomable speed.

It was strange, but not bizarre for a dream.

What WAS bizarre was out of their bedroom window. A moving light in the sky that touched down some distance away from the village at midnight. Something that kept them awake for next half hour before their nerves settled enough to go back to sleep. Something they had to investigate for themselves.

Which is why after school on a sunny afternoon, they were nearly half a mile away from the village. They remembered what direction the light descended, so they started going that way in the fields hoping to find the source of the mysterious light. Hopefully it wasn’t small enough to be hidden by the wheat stalks.

They quickly checked their distance with the village. Yep! Still plenty close! They turned and continued. And there was something. Squinting, they could see a square structure of some sort?

A building? This far out?

As far as Niko and anyone at home knew, they were the only infrastructure and people around for miles. And if it was something built recently, Niko would’ve eventually caught wind of it, as their village tended to spread word of the occasional event just above normalcy.

So this was either very recently built, or it happened to be the source of light that fell out of the sky.

…Well they were still in range of the village, so might as well take a closer look.

...

Woah…

Okay, this isn’t remotely close to anything they expected to see. They thought it was going to be something like a manor with its own little ranch or an abandoned two-story house  a group of kids would use as their own little hideout.

The burnt clearing surrounding the brick building gave them a clearer view, now that they were closer. They could see a compartment protruding along the middle right of the front wall, rectangular compartment on the roof’s middle left, and a compartment in the bottom left extending into the ground rather roughly. Actually, it looked like it just shoved that leg and buried into the ground, judging from the scattered dirt and raised ground.

An orange-red brick material framed with some yellow metal edges made up the building, and from what Niko determined to likely be the frontside, was an expansive window frame revealing a… very colorful interior. Television screens, round glowing doors, as well as a… giant burger? Oh, it was just an oversized plushie. A little bit jealous. It was just a few of the oddities they spotted inside, but their attention was quickly drawn away by the occupied space in front of the building.

Laid back in a lawn chair, curiously, a short girl younger than Niko relaxed. She was dressed in purple and yellow clothing as well as a yellow-rimmed purple hat that sat atop her brown hair. She was suntanning judging by the bright metal sheet she held in her hands in addition to the black sunglasses on her face.

Which is strange considering she’s fully clothed with only her hands and face to absorb any actual sunlight. They also took note of several hourglasses of all things scattered around the area.

Niko isn’t the type to judge; more often a curious observer to peculiarities. Though it is strange she hadn’t reacted to their presence yet. They weren’t exactly quiet when they pushed through the wheat stalks. Maybe she was asleep? Hard to tell with those big sunglasses.

They approached her casually, and she didn’t move. Scattered hourglasses were carefully navigated to avoid making noise in case she was sleeping.

Now they were right by her side. Closed eyes behind sunglasses and a little snore told them that she was indeed asleep— wait, was she wearing two sets of sunglasses? And hold on, that isn’t a suntanning metal sheet! It’s a newspaper made of aluminum…

Whaaat?

Wouldn’t it hurt your eyes to read that under the sun? The sunlight would reflect off it! Was that what the two sunglasses were for?

Strange habits aside, there was still an issue that the girl was busy napping under the sun, and Niko knows better than to disturb someone else’s peaceful rest. Snooping around her property without consent would also be frankly rude.

Hmm…

Well, they’re still a little tired from last night’s events. Maybe a quick nap wouldn’t hurt? Though it might take some time to get comfortable on the ground.

…

Ahh…

What a rejuvenating nap~. Let out a wide yawn and stretch her limbs till she hears a few pops. Yep, she was in a much better mood now after the failed experimentation with empty Time Pieces. Oh right I’m still stuck here, she internally sighed.

Hat Kid pushed off the NewsMetal™ to stand up and do a few more stretches. Two sunglasses were all she had and they did not make it any easier to read off the reflective surface under the sun. I should’ve known better than to trust that pointy-nosed salesman. Lessons don’t really stick to a time-traveling alien above most mortal consequences. That probably explains being constantly betrayed time and time again.

She frowned at the sudden reminiscence. Ugh, well there goes my ‘better mood’. Grumbling, she starts walking towards the glass hatch of her ship. Even just short of one time piece in fuel to get home, her ship could still run off the residue of the uncharged time sand to use anything in the ship except space warping. Like finishing Corgi Quest 7 – The Leashes that Bind. For the 18^th time this week. She’s long since found all the easter eggs, not that there were many in a non-visual game. She keeps walking to her ship’s hatch—

WHAM!

And trips and falls on her face.

“Agh!” She involuntarily yelps. Pecking peck! That didn’t ‘hurt’, but it sure wasn’t the nicest feeling in her current mood! Must’ve been one of the stupid Time Pieces left on the floor—

“H-huh— Whaa?”

She stops. That wasn’t a Time Piece. Back on her feet quickly, she took in the person who she tripped over.

The kid took a second to yawn from their own nap, before getting up hastily upon noticing her. “Oh! You woke up!” They realized. Yellow slitted eyes looked back at her. From their blue hair stuck out cat-like whiskers and a particularly interesting large brown cat-eared hat sat atop their head. What do you know, they had some taste.

“Wait, did you trip over me when I was sleeping? Oh no I’m so sorry! I should’ve picked a farther spot to nap.” They look to the side apologetically, their blue scarf swooshing aside as they turned. She wasn’t particularly angry but not quite happy with the situation either. So she let the silence play out.

The kid fidgeted with their sleeves as the air grew awkward. “Uh… I noticed your house from my village and I got a little curious. I wanted to say hi but you were still sleeping, so… can we try our first meeting again?” They tried smiling to ease the tension.

Normally she’d just listen to what people would have to say and be on her merry way, but the appearance of the kid did tickle her fashion sense. Not to mention, she had just flew into this planet out of boredom after drifting around the solar system without being able to space warp. Why not keep messing around. Some good old fashion friendly teasing will make up for the little incident. So, she asked the first question that came to mind.

“Are you a cat?”

The perplexment on their face was amusing. Maybe things will get interesting after all.

Chapter Text

Naturally, it was inevitable the girl would be in for a surprise waking up to Niko’s presence regardless of their napping spot. It didn’t help that their body was accidentally positioned to trip her to a face full of ground, judging from the annoyed look and dirt specks on her face.

So, one honest apology later and some rather awkward silence, her expression started relaxing, hopefully in forgiving the past incident. Then she asked,

“Are you a cat?”

What? Who starts a conversation like that? They just woke up! The fact that question is always genuinely curious, and even now; her head tilted and demeanor inquiring. It might be mean not to give an answer to a genuine question. Too bad they still don’t know how to put together a clear response for it.

“…No?” They replied. She kept looking at Niko, saying nothing, but still with that same curiosity. They’ll have to string together a more satisfying answer to keep her happy. “Cats walk on four legs, and I don’t.” Good ol’ reliable.

She rubbed her chin pensively, eyes narrowing in doubt. Maybe not, not that that’s ever really convinced others. She began pointing at her own hat. Then her eyes, before she gestured, drawing lines emerging out both sides of her face. Oh, she’s talking about Niko’s cat-like qualities. Well, they can’t really blame her, or anyone, for that matter.

“Everyone at home, my village, wears a cat-eared hat too! My hair whiskers and eyes? That’s just how we’re all born.” She nodded, but Niko could tell she wasn’t fully convinced yet. Now would be a better time to introduce themself. “Again, sorry for the trip I give you, so I’ll try again! I’m Niko, it’s nice to meet you!” They greeted cheerfully.

The girl reacted with a smile and opened her mouth to give her own. But she shut it to think momentarily, eyes glancing away for a second before replying,

“Hat Kid.”

 Ah, she didn’t trust them enough to give her real name. Understandable. Still kind of hurts. Well, just have to build that trust!

“You’re new around here, right? There’s not really infrastructure around my village for miles.” They mention for a start. She nods slowly, still keeping rather quiet. Not really a talker? Maybe she’s shy. But nothing to stop them being helpful!

“I noticed your… hourglasses around us.” They glanced at the scattered sand-filled glass objects in question. There was a rather large amount laying around. It would definitely take her a long while to put away. “Do you need some help cleaning up?” They offered.

She raised an eyebrow in suspicion(?) as hands rested on her hips. Uh oh, was that the wrong thing to say? Maybe these things were really important to her. Some kind of keepsake she didn’t want anyone else touching. Though whatever internal fretting Niko had was soon cleared when Hat Kid shrugged saying, “yeah”, throwing off her wariness. Phew!

She grabbed the nearest two hourglasses and proceeded to precariously stack them on one another right side up, on one arm. That… can’t be safe. “Uh… are you sure that’s a good idea?”

Her eyebrow rose up. “Done it before.” She shrugged before an hourglass was flipped off the ground with her unoccupied hand, which rolled in the air and miraculously landed right side up on the rising tower of hourglasses. This made them dumbfounded for a while, before Hat Kid coughed, waiting for them, and they scrambled to actually help collect hourglasses.

3 Minutes later Niko had a measly total of four hourglasses held within their firm arms, compared to the precarious tower of eight hourglasses Hat Kid held, again, on one arm. Not to say that Niko felt dejected, but it was extremely impressive.

So, all twelve hourglasses gathered, they followed her to the glass hatch of her home. That’s when Niko realized the obvious problem. They’d face palm if not for their occupied arms.

“I don’t think I can reach that hatch, or if your stack of hourglasses could fit through.” They told her as they walked up.

She stopped in realization, which almost caused Niko to walk into her before they caught themselves. “Oh yeah you’re right.”

She brought up her other hand and gave a 6-second rhythmic tap on the surface of an hourglass. Then she thrusted her hand at Niko shoulder and—

A blinding flash, gone as quickly as it came.

They found themselves inside her very house. Woah! That was… surprising. Not the strangest thing to happen to me but…

It was fast.

By the time they got their bearings and spotted Hat Kid, she was already- climbing up the ladder still with a leaning tower of hourglasses, that impossibly don’t fall over. This time, they actually had to shake their head forcefully to snap out of the stupor, before taking the nearby stairs up to the same level. How fortunate for the existence of stairs.

Ahead inside a massive vault, Hat Kid set down the hourglasses onto a pile of more hourglasses. Niko followed inside, careful not to trip over the vault door frame. Gently, the hourglasses in their arms were placed onto the same pile. And with that, the two walked out the room together, task complete.

With herculean strength, Hat Kid slammed the metal vault door thrice her size. After a loud bang and the sound of shifting gears, it locked up like the world’s most secure bank. A process that was enthralling and caused them to nearly jump in place at the sudden sound. And of course, the growing wonder of the girl beside them.

It hasn’t even been 10 minutes! Just who is this girl, they pondered as she rubbed her hands in satisfaction. Maybe they were out of their depth, by someone even younger no less! Though they are already well inside her colorful home, and unless they want to clumsily attempt to climb their way to the glass hatch and somehow land outside harmlessly, there’s no turning back now.

She turned her head back to them and asked with a little smile, “Wanna play?”

Well, they have a few hours before curfew.

“Sure!”

…

Hat Kid is a proud owner of several co-op video games. A vital component of a fun sleepover experience whenever Bow Kid comes over. A just-as-important ingredient for an ‘emergency playdate’ with the kid aboard her ship.

At first, she was a little on her toes of whether Niko had good intentions or not as soon as the first thing they asked was related to the uncharged Timepieces, even if it was an offer of assistance. Doubt was soon cleared as they displayed amusing naiveness in the process of entering her ship and storing the Timepieces; from the beam-up teleportation to the time vault.

It was a little bit funny to see their astounded face.

Besides, even if they did betray her, she’d just do the same thing she does in solving all her problems. Umbrella to the face. Well, most problems. An enraged Nyakuza boss wasn’t just someone you could clobber out of the picture. She hasn’t had the best experience with cats, but they do make pretty great food in the Metro. Above all, her compliments to the amazing chef, Cooking Cat.

Though, that did beg the question. Is Niko a cat? She pondered this as she sat next to Niko, both on cushions in front of her yellow box TV. The game she chose was a simple co-op space shooter where they both had to fire at an onslaught of alien ships that emerged from the right side of the screen.

Not the nicest portrayal of her species but the game was fun so whatever.

The two managed to reach the third and final stage; about midway into the stage before the final boss. Even if the game length was shorter than she liked, it was pretty easy for a newcomer like Niko to get into. Speaking of them, they were unfortunately on their last life due to some tricky projectiles in the last two stages.

To her surprise, they were faring pretty well against the most difficult attacks in the game. Dodging bullets much more fluidly and taking out enemies almost faster than her! Almost. Hehe.

“Fast learner.” She commented passively.

“Oh thanks! I can tell you’re a lot better at this than me though.” They said, eyes focused on the screen though. They’re right. Niko’s best is only a fraction of her best here. She’s just holding back the two of them can actually have fun together. But that is perceptive of them.

“Do you play video games too?”

On-screen, their ship narrowly dodged a massive enemy bullet, luck on their side. “I don’t have video games at home. There’s not really a store here that sells consoles or games.”

What a miserable existence. Poor Niko! “Pastimes?”

“I like drawing and solving puzzles! Sometimes I hang out with other kids my age. One of them does have some video games.”

She navigated her own ship through a curtain of energy spheres, experience on her side. “What do you draw?”

They paused a bit before they replied. “My dreams, a lot of dreams.”

She sees a little somberness in that expression of theirs. Huh, what could that mean, She wondered. “Can I see them?”

That made them perk up again. “Sure! I can- uh oh!” Their head whipped back at the screen as a laser narrowly missed their ship before they strafed away. She chuckled at their momentary plight, before she blasted the enemy drone at fault.

They continued where they left off, “I can come back here tomorrow with some of my drawings. But, I don’t think I can reach that glass door… and it might bother you to have to walk outside to teleport me in?”

It wouldn’t really bother her, but that’s not what’s odd. “You can’t get up there?”

“Well, considering this is your home, I’d guess you’d have an easy time getting through that entrance somehow.” They muttered that last word. “But I’m no good at getting up high places like that.”

Right, not every kid is as parkour-savvy as her, Bow Kid, and Mustache Girl. She hasn’t seen her since dropping the timepiece that would’ve gotten her home, on the red-hooded troublemaker. She better be making good use of it, she grumbled internally. An alarm from her TV pulls her from her thoughts. Oh right, Niko’s problem. She has one idea, but it’ll have to wait because the final boss is coming up!

…

“Great job!” They cheered as the screen started displaying player scores. It’s too bad Niko’s ship exploded part way into the boss fight, eliciting a rather upsetting, aww. So, she proceeded to avenge them valiantly. By absolutely demolishing the boss she’s beaten for the 7^th time… this week. Yeah, that’s boredom.

“Thanks!” She said while she rubbed the back of her neck. That was pretty fun! Even if she did most of the legwork. Video games are more fun with friends after all!

“Got anything else we can do? My hands kind of hurt from holding the controller.” They rubbed said hands a little through their long brown sleeves.

She stood up as she gave it a thought. “Want a tour? Meet Rumbi?” Her one and only Rumbi was in another part of her ship cleaning a room.

“Yeah! I’d love to see it. And I’m guessing Rumbi must be your mom?”

Whahat!!!~. She laughed and shook her head to that, much to Niko’s visible confusion, which made it more hilarious. She got enough control of her own body before she clarified, “It’s my pet roomba!”

“Pet?” They suddenly look lost in thought. What? There’s nothing weird about having a machine for a pet.

But it seemed that wasn’t the case when their eyes suddenly widened in remembrance. “Oh shoot! I promised my neighbor I’d look after her cats this afternoon! I can’t believe I forgot!” They face palmed strongly in exasperation.

Aw boo, just when the two of them were starting to have fun.

Oh, that reminded her of the supposed solution, albeit a risky one for her. Just as they got up in a hurry, she called out, “wait.” As they stopped she took her hat off and reached inside, pulling out an object for Niko.

A Time Piece, still uncharged, but they worked just fine as a homing beacon to ship as it activated the beam-up teleport. “Just tap it like this.” She repeated the homing beacon tap code to them on the glass surface. It doesn’t work inside the ship for conservation purposes. “Don’t lose it.” She warned before she slowly handed it to Niko.

It’s uncharged, so it’s practically useless to her and anyone else, even if she does need a few for her ship’s power. As they took it gently, their face became surprisingly serious as they nodded in understanding, seemingly gotten the message of its purpose. “I’ll protect it with my life.” Woah, it’s not that serious.

Still, she smiles in satisfaction of their answer. “See you tomorrow.” She bided them farewell, waving as Niko waved back in kind.

“See you!” They sped-walked to the glass hatch, one time-altering artifact heavier. It’s a good thing it’s all out of juice, so she doesn’t have to worry about Niko gaining any superpowers and turning another world into a fiery cataclysm.

Well, that was a fun little time she had. Tomorrow she’ll take them to see her painting gallery. Hehe. That’s something to look forward to. She hummed in interest at the thought.

“Uhh…” Oh they’re still here? “I might need some help getting down.” Niko called as they looked down past the ship’s window.

Oh right, not parkour-savvy. Hat Kid shakes her head with mirth as she went to help out her new friend.

Chapter Text

You didn't read the title? Check it out!

Cats and Hats (4511 words) by StiringTrouble
Chapters: 1/?
Fandom: OneShot (Video Game), A Hat in Time (Video Game)
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Relationships: Niko (Oneshot) & Hat Kid (A Hat in Time), Niko & Niko's Mother (OneShot - Video Game)
Characters: Niko (OneShot - Video Game), Niko's Mother (OneShot - Video Game), Hat Kid (A Hat In Time), Original Characters, Minor Characters
Additional Tags: Fluff, Children, Magic, Post-Canon, OCs are mostly minor characters, no beta we die with death wish, Rewrite
Summary:

“As an explorer and child myself, I’ve had my fair share of run-ins with strange events. So, I’d like to impart some of the mysteries of my encounters… with you!” She rolled around the sphere-like item in her hands.
“So, like a story?” Niko guessed, a little lost at where she was going with this.
“No silly! I’m gonna teach you my magic.”

Or, a hat-wearing alien girl meets our one and only not-a-cat child!
The rewrite of my first fic.