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He gently awoke, taking in the familiar scent of his partners by his side as his eyes fluttered open. Jongler’s arm was loosely draped over his waist, quiet snores emanating from them as they breathed calmly. On his other side, Pluey’s head leaned against his shoulder, and with a glance over, he quickly confirmed its twisted sleeping position. It had always embraced acting like a cat, and the way it lay there on its back – arms over its chest, curling over like a croissant… it was adorable, even if he kept wondering how it managed to never get back pain from this. It, too, released little snores – again, much like a cat would – as well as the occasional sound of licking their lips and biting the air, presumably dreaming of eating something.
Battat couldn’t help but smile, a content sigh escaping him. He was so lucky, surrounded by his wonderful spouses, being able to feel their love and care even while they slept. He felt warm, comfortable, like he never wanted this moment to pass.
The thought of getting up and making himself breakfast (which consisted solely on a cup of coffee and possibly a few snacks he could find) got increasingly less enticing to him, as much as he loved and needed his caffeine to function. Working on his theories – something he did less and less frequently ever since the three got married – didn’t appeal to him at the moment either. All he could think of was the way the contact to his partners made him feel, a light shiver running across his back.
With another quiet sigh, he slowly, carefully turned to the side and shuffled closer to the Zapper, placing his arm around their back, or at least as far as he could reach. They shifted ever so slightly, nuzzling their face a little closer, their warm breath hitting his skin. Even while they weren’t awake, he felt safe, protected, and incredibly loved. Feelings he couldn’t even begin to imagine feeling years and years ago.
The door closed behind him as he flipped the light switch on. He was the first one back from his shift, and his two new friends and coworkers would not appear here too soon. Good, it meant he had enough time to himself, no distractions while he worked on his conspiracy. Although, he wouldn’t call it a conspiracy per se, he much preferred the term research.
After stowing away the stuffy outfit he had to wear all day into the supply closet, he instantly got to work preparing to craft more theories. The three didn’t have a coffee machine, couldn’t afford one yet with the shoddy salary they’d all gotten combined, so he relied on his old electric kettle he had owned for several years now. Three scoops of cheap instant coffee were thrown into a mug while he waited for the water to boil. It wasn’t very tasty (frankly, it tasted like dirt), but it did the job just fine. Meanwhile, he quickly got rid of his poncho and suit jacket, discarding them onto the fairly new couch in the room, and pushing his shirt sleeves up to his elbows. His two other friends had brought the couch over from angel knows where, just to have some kind of spot to relax without having to either use that old, awfully uncomfortable mattress, or to resort to sitting on the floor. As much as he hated to admit it, the two were right, the floor did get uncomfortable after a while, and the room did feel quite empty otherwise.
With a click, the kettle stopped its work, steam rising out of it. Before pouring the water in, he took a glance at his mug, squinting as he stuck the tip of his tongue out slightly, then decided to add another scoop and a half of coffee. There could never be enough caffeine. Satisfied, he added the water and put the mug on the table standing next to his cork board – similarly brought in here by his coworkers. Where did they keep finding this stuff anyway? And wouldn’t anyone notice all these things suddenly being gone?
Something was still missing. Let’s see here, photos, notes, thumbtacks, his notepad… ah, of course! He disappeared back into the supply closet, digging around in a box full of random things, and returned with a few spools of red string. What would a cork board be without copious amounts of red string? Now his work could officially begin. Just a quick sip of coffee before getting started and-
He nearly spat out the drink, swallowing the liquid down as fast as he physically could. Right. For a moment he forgot that freshly boiled coffee was hot. He already knew he would feel the numbness on his tongue for at least a few days. Anyway, there was no time to think about this, he had a whole lot of work ahead of him.
It hadn’t been too long, and already Battat was on his third cup, red string wrapped around his arm as if he was trying to replace the spool with himself. Several new pieces of what he called evidence had been added to the board, but what exactly the connections all meant was hard to tell for an outsider. Well, not everything was clear to him either, but he would get behind all of that sooner or later anyway, he knew he would! He had to!
“We’s brought grub!”, a deep voice behind him snapped him out of his thoughts, making him nearly jump out of his skin. When he turned around, his legs tangled in some of the loose string hanging from both the board and his arms, and he stumbled forwards, hitting his head on the edge of his desk. The moment he hit the floor, he had – unsurprisingly – landed on a 1, making everything feel worse than it would have otherwise done already. Hitting your head against a hard surface was already bad enough, why did it have to literally start spinning too? There was a reason the Pippins never let anyone get close enough to shake him.
The Zapper and Shadowguy rushed over, the TV Dinners they’d brought with them quickly tossed onto the couch cushions – thankfully the food was vacuum sealed. Jongler gently placed their hand on his shoulder, shaking him lightly to see if he was responsive, while Pluey got busy untying the string around him. All Battat could do was groan in pain and discomfort, lightly shaking at the contact. Every time one of them would brush against his skin, his muscles would twitch as he tried to pull away, yet his body far too weak to do so.
“Mng- guys…”, he finally managed to press out, hearing the tallest sigh in what sounded like relief. They squeezed his shoulder softly, to which his hands formed into tight fists, almost scratching marks into the floor. Why didn’t they let go of him yet? He couldn’t get any work done if they held him down like this!
“Boss, youse okay? Yer shakin’ real hard!” With all the strength he could muster, he lifted his head ever so slightly, spotting Pluey now sitting close to the other, both of them wearing concerned expressions. He caught the Shadowguy tapping the other’s shoulder, then pointing at his forehead, even more worried. Jongler hesitated, then reached over to gently run their fingers over the Pippins’ forehead. “Yea, dat’s gonna leave a mark…”
“M’ fine!!” As if he had gotten a fresh pair of batteries in him, Battat swatted their hand away from him with an audible (quite loud) slap, much to the other two’s shock.
“Woah, hey, no needs ta get violent now”, they reached for him again, but he had managed to sit up and now scooted backwards, his eyes widening as his shaky breath kept quickening. That reaction sure was unexpected, even to himself. “We’s ain’t gonna hurt’cha, buddy.”
Sitting up so rapidly had turned out to be a terrible idea, as he almost immediately got dizzy to the point of nearly passing out, feeling incredibly nauseous. He tumbled backwards, hitting his head against the wall, to which he winced and forcefully shut his eyes. Both his friends approached again, the Zapper successfully getting a hold of his arms before he could do any more damage to either them or himself.
“L-let go of me!!” The Pippins struggled against their grasp, breathing heavily through gritted teeth and turning his head away, his pulse racing.
It took him a good minute to realize the pressure on his arms had let up, hesitantly opening his eyes again. Both Jongler and Pluey sat in front of him as they exchanged concerned glances, leaving a bit more space than before, but still stayed close enough to reach in case he started to lose consciousness. Battat stared at them, his breathing slowly stabilizing. What the hell was that?
The bed shifted as Pluey changed their position, shuffling closer to Battat and wrapping their arm around him, successfully sandwiching him in between his two partners. Still fast asleep, they placed their head in the crook of his shoulder, a gentle breath caressing his skin as they purred quietly. The Pippins’ smile widened, and he carefully placed his hand on top of theirs, letting his fingers wander over to their wedding ring. It had only been a few weeks since they were all officially spouses, but at times he still couldn’t believe this was all real. How had he gotten this lucky? How did he possibly deserve all this?
He exhaled again, tracing Pluey’s hand with his, until entwining their fingers as gently as he could manage, he wouldn’t want to wake them after all. Battat let out a short, quiet chuckle. Pluey had always been a very physical guy, even before they had all started dating. It certainly took him a long while until he finally got used to this.
After a particularly stressful week at the studio, the trio could finally afford to relax for the night, spending some quality time just sitting with each other on the couch, talking about whatever came to mind. Or, at least Jongler and Battat did most of the talking, with Pluey only occasionally throwing in a few notes – its way of speaking, as the Pippins had discovered. It used to only point, mime, or gesture around as a means of communicating, and of course, that had been perfectly fine by him and the Zapper. But the first time he had heard its voice… it certainly made him feel things, things he wasn’t sure how to place yet, but for now he settled on describing it as special. The Shadowguy didn’t seem to talk to others at all besides its two friends, showing that it was clearly comfortable around them. It was a nice feeling, to know somebody could be themselves around him, not needing to hide, not having to be afraid to be judged or belittled. And it would feel even nicer if the doubts he had about himself wouldn’t constantly hold him back.
Battat took a sip of his coffee, emptying the cup and placing it on the table nearby. Realistically, they all knew he should cut back on his caffeine intake, but with the brand new coffee machine he had bought from his cut of the Mike salary he had saved up for several months, this had gotten way more difficult than they all thought. Not only had the beverage tasted better and been way higher quality ever since, but it was also stronger than ever. Of course he had to savor and indulge in it as much as he could for a while!
Pluey and Jongler sat close, their arms around one another, while the Pippins sat a good few inches away from them, his hands folded over his lap. The two always seemed way more… open about showing physical affection compared to him, especially Pluey. Well, Jongler too, but they seemed more casual about it than anything. He often saw the two with their arms linked, patting each other’s heads, backs, or shoulders, hugging each other for no particular reason… it made him feel a little weird. Not that he necessarily cared about how they chose to behave with one another, it wasn’t his place to judge after all, but that strange feeling he would get in his chest whenever he caught them… He didn’t know what to do with it. The thought of him being on the receiving end of any of those displays of affection for once made it feel like a knot formed in his chest, made his skin crawl, made a lump form in his throat that would start to hurt the longer the thought lingered. He couldn’t say if those were positive or negative reactions, and he didn’t intend on finding out any time soon either. Ignoring all of this whenever it came up seemed like the best course of action.
Unfortunately, his friends could make it rather difficult to focus on anything else. They had always looked so content, so comfortable being this close, even leaning further into each other at times. Would… would it be weird if he joined them? Would they want him to join in? Would he even want to join in?
He turned away, and his throat felt like it was swelling up, leaving a slight ache. Of course it would be weird, of course they didn’t want him to join, and of course he didn’t actually want it either. His body started shivering underneath his shirt, as he grabbed his own arms and squeezed them uncomfortably tight. It didn’t do anything to make these thoughts, these feelings go away, as much as he hoped it would. His fingers started shaking as they dug into his flesh, nearly scratching open his shirt with his claws, when-
A gentle hand landed on his shoulder, the sudden contact feeling like an electric shock, making him jump and turn back. What he looked back to were his two friends’ slightly worried faces (as far as he could tell at least, with the both of them lacking eyes he couldn’t always be too certain), the Shadowguy tilting his head at him as he retreated his hand.
“Y’alright, boss?”, it came from the Zapper, who had leaned a bit forward to get a better look at him. Battat let out a nervous chuckle, “What- y-yeah, of course I’m fine!”, scratching the side of his face while avoiding eye contact yet again, he waved his other hand dismissively towards the two. They shared an uncertain glance, then Pluey stretched his arm towards the other invitingly, which the Pippins could only stare back at, his gaze shifting between the smile on his face, his hand so enticingly close to grab, his chest… He shook his head, a light dusting of mint green on his face as he once again avoided looking at the both of them.
He heard a bit of shuffling, and not a second later a hand sneaked its way behind his back and tugged at his side, pulling him close.
Battat’s body pressed against the Shadowguy’s, its arm around his back and resting on his shoulder. When he glanced up, eyes wide open, Pluey grinned back at him, its cheeks tinted in a light pink. It slowly caressed his shoulder, making him shiver as he felt his pulse quicken, hammering against his chest. And there it was again, that lump in his throat growing ever bigger, pushing harder until it hurt. He started to shake once again, fingers digging into his legs as his shoulders tensed. His breath got shaky, and he felt his eyes moisten and sting the longer he remained there, and-
Battat pushed himself away and off the couch, heading straight to the bathroom in a hurry, muttering a rushed apology as he locked the door behind him. Immediately hunched over the tiny sink, he stared at his reflection from the equally tiny mirror in front of him. His eyes were slightly bloodshot, a single tear had managed to escape and rolled down his now fully flushed cheeks. He was still breathing rapidly, almost hyperventilating.
The Pippins wiped at his face, embarrassed. They couldn’t see him like this. What kind of reaction was that even? He couldn’t think straight, only the feeling of his friend’s touch lingering on his skin. The way it sent shivers down his spine, the way his chest seemed to constrict, as if curling in on itself, that almost warm, yet electric pulse washing over him at the contact. It felt.
It felt…
He didn’t know what it felt like, couldn’t place the exact feeling. It was so much. Too much at once.
He looked down at his still shaking hands, his breath slowly calming as a few tears crawled down his face. How could the mere touch of a person make him react in this manner? Why didn’t the other two ever react that way at all? They made it look so easy, so nice! This was supposed to be good, comfortable, wasn’t it? Why was it the opposite of that to him? Had he done something wrong? Was he wrong?
He tensed again, clenched his teeth and smashed his fist against the sink. He wanted to think of something else, anything else. Why couldn’t he ignore his feelings, why didn’t the thoughts leave his stupid fucking head, why couldn’t-
A knock on the door, and his eyes shot open.
“Boss?” Jongler’s voice. They sounded worried. “Youse been in dere fer like 20 minutes. Ya doin’ okay?”
Silence. Battat didn’t answer, wiped his face on his sleeves, and took another look at his reflection. Heavy eyebags, still a light flush on his cheeks, a slight dent on his forehead from an old injury. Nothing too out of the ordinary for him, he decided, before slowly unlocking the bathroom door. The tall figure of the Zapper greeted him, and he stared up at their face for a good few seconds, then pushed past them to take his place at the couch once more, making sure to sit at the very edge this time. Jongler followed not too far behind, making sure to leave enough space between them. They didn’t join the two others yet, instead lingered behind the back rest of the couch.
“Ya needs anyfing? Blankets, some tea?”
Battat hesitated, then slightly cringed as he shook his head, “Don’t like tea”, he gave back after a short, quiet grumble, although… no, he wasn’t cold or anything, and he couldn’t think of anything else he would want or need. Maybe he just needed to stay here, wait for things to go back to how they were before. Yes, that would be enough.
“I’m good”, he waved a (still shaking) hand dismissively at them, signaling he was satisfied with what he had. Despite that, the Zapper gave him a side eye – however that worked without eyes – and slowly disappeared into the bedroom. Pluey had in the meantime gotten up from the couch and headed to the kitchen, presumably to get snacks.
He sighed, folding his hands over his lap again, gripping them tightly and releasing the pressure a few times. It was strange. The whole evening had been. Why couldn’t he pinpoint his thoughts and feelings, like he could with his theories? Well, not all his theories, but at least a good chunk of them. Or maybe just a third of them. A fourth? Well, no matter how much, it should be easier to know what his own feelings meant, shouldn’t it? And yet it wasn’t. It didn’t make any sense to him.
The Shadowguy returned shortly after, sheepishly presenting a mug towards the other, smiling nervously. There had been a second of hesitation from the Pippins, as he had not expected to be handed something after he had said he was fine. Upon closer inspection, the cup seemed to be filled with hot chocolate, a few tiny marshmallows floating on top, further decorated with chocolate sprinkles and cocoa powder. The guy sure loves their sweets, huh? Since when did they even have all this stuff anyway?
Without another word, he took the drink out of their hand and took a sip. …Oh hey, that wasn’t even half bad! Very sweet, yet not overwhelmingly so, despite what its looks had eluded to. While he still preferred his coffee, he could sure drink this more often if he got the chance.
Pluey smiled at his reaction, tilting their head with a light blush. While Battat kept sipping on his beverage, Jongler returned from their bedroom and carefully placed the blanket they had taken over the other’s shoulders, to which he only slightly flinched this time. He was about to protest, but stopped himself. This… actually felt nice. A bit embarrassing, perhaps, but comfortable nonetheless.
The bedroom door opened with a quiet creak, and the smallest of the trio stepped out, pillow under his arm, and promptly placed himself on the couch. Why the other two had insisted on always carrying him to bed whenever he passed out on his desk, he didn’t know. The fact that they seemed to end up laying pretty close together in their sleep more often than not didn’t make the situation any better in his eyes. Yes, they only had enough space in that room for one big bed – how the other two actually fit it through the door was a mystery in and of itself – but a bit of personal space never hurt anyone, did it?
Unfortunately for him, his coworkers seemed to get even more physically affectionate with time, to the point where it could drive him mad. Mostly because they tried to include him in that affection as well, and it never went the way any of them wanted it to go. They knew how he tended to react, and they still kept trying. Why did they still keep trying? It would never go any differently, he was 100% sure of it!
Battat huffed in annoyance as he laid down on the couch cushions, staring at the ceiling. He felt his cheeks warming up, though unsure of the reason. His mind wandered aimlessly, yet kept firmly on the topic of his two friends. Did they actually enjoy his company as much as they said they did, as much as they kept showing him? Or was it just a way to get more benefits out of it? While the whole Mike thing itself wasn’t really the most enjoyable job, and could get incredibly stressful, at least the pay was better than the average workers’. And, well, the added bonus of the big boss being in a way better mood in general, not firing any unfortunate soul his metaphorical eyes fell upon when something went just ever so slightly sideways, couldn’t be ignored either. That had to be the reason for why they stuck around him, right? Or at least one very big reason.
Of course it had to be. Were there even any other good reasons for people to spend any amount of time with him otherwise? His fellow Pippinses hated his guts and kept making fun of him for being different, Zappers didn’t really trust him on the account of being a Pippins, and the Shadowguys never really tried to talk to him in the first place, besides Pluey of course. Not even his boss could stand him when he wasn’t pretending to be someone else. So why would these two bozos?
He sighed. Why did these thoughts always come to him in the middle of the night? Why couldn’t it be anything more productive, like any leads on the real identity of Mike, or at least a hint towards his whereabouts so he could be tracked down? Something productive, not the constant reminders on his worthlessness for once. This sucked.
Lifting his hand above him, barely visible in that darkened room, he formed it into a fist a few times, letting his claws dig into his palm. Not strong enough to leave any marks or bruises, but enough to really feel it. When he brought it back down again, his second hand joined, his thumb stroking over the area his fingers dug into. It felt like. Nothing. Dull. Insignificant. Like him.
Another sigh. Perhaps he could try…
The thought of it was ridiculous, but nonetheless he proceeded. Closing his eyes, taking a deep breath, and again caressing his own hand, he felt… still nothing. His eyelid twitched, and he furrowed his brow, trying to imagine his touch as that of another. It took a few moments, his mind unable to settle on specifics, but ultimately landing on his Zapper friend. Jongler, their hands always seemed so gentle, so caring, despite them being so large that his own hands would practically disappear in theirs, at least it’s what he assumed. With that thought, his thumb slowly caressed the back of his other hand, and he felt… He felt shivers. Very light shivers, intensifying with each stroke, until he felt himself shaking. A painful lump formed in his throat, his chest felt heavy, taking shaky breath after shaky breath. He only stopped when he felt warm tears streaming down his face, his eyes snapping open, his breath hitching.
This was stupid. Horrible idea. Why did he think this would do any good? He frantically wiped at his face and turned over to the side, pulling the pillow he rested his head on down to his chest. Wrapping his small arms around it and pressing his face into it, he suppressed any and all sobs and other sounds that would otherwise leave his lips. Nobody needed to hear this. Nobody, including himself.
The last week had certainly been an… interesting one. Not only had the little Pippins finally come to terms with the feelings he harbored for his friends and colleagues, to his surprise, the two confessed those same feelings towards him as well. And they had been so patient with him, while he had to figure out what those feelings he felt even were in the first place. He had felt bad, making them wait so long for him, yet they assured him that they didn’t mind, as long as he was comfortable. It was almost unbelievable how considerate the two were towards him.
However, there were still some things he didn’t quite understand yet.
Now that the three were officially together, they had slowly gotten closer to each other as well, not only in terms of their relationship, but also physically. Those little displays of affection had increased by quite a bit, one time they would pat his head, another time their hands would brush against each other, every so often their touch would linger. After they had lunch together, Jongler had – in the most gentle and loving way possible – wiped something off of his face, and he thought he’d outright explode. With every single touch, he would shudder and tense up, he would silently wish for them to do it again, for them to hold on just a little longer, just for one more moment. But, he could never bring himself to say anything, the fear of being ridiculed, to not be taken seriously, way overshadowing his yearning. Well, that, and he didn’t want to ask them for things like this. That was a weird thing to ask for, right?! Yes, they were his partners – oh wow, that felt nice to think about – but they would probably think he was needy! Which he definitely wasn’t!
As was so often the case – at least when none of the three were summoned into Tenna’s office at incredibly unreasonable hours – they spent their evening on the couch in the Mike room, the two taller ones snuggled close to each other while the smallest sat a bit further away, just enough to not come into contact with them. Battat stared, fidgeting with his fingers as he watched the two others seemingly in their element. Pluey nuzzled his face closer into the Zapper’s shoulder, while they scratched the back of his head lovingly, making him purr so intensely, that the Pippins was almost certain he could feel the vibration through the cushions.
A fond smile danced over his lips for a second. They really loved being a cat, didn’t they? From the purring, to them nudging their head against the other, to just casually wearing their Mike outfit outside of working hours… They even batted at the red string on his cork board at times, or threatened to push things off his table when he wasn’t looking, which, granted, could annoy the hell out of him, but at the end of the day… He just couldn’t stay mad at them.
A quiet sigh escaped him, the slight smile returning to his face as he looked back down towards his folded hands. The two had always been so patient with him, and not just regarding their relationship. He would get mad, scream at them, push them away… and yet. They stuck around. They always came back. If we’s didn’t care ‘bout’cha, we’s woulda already left ages ago, Jongler had once told him, a musical note of confirmation sounding right after from Pluey. He couldn’t believe how lucky he truly was. TV World’s most unlucky die, and yet, he felt like the most lucky one in – well, frankly all the dark worlds that ever existed! A (properly) loaded 20-sided Pippins would have nothing on him, for sure!
A large hand found its way onto Battat’s waist, effortlessly pulling him closer to the Zapper’s side. With gentle, slow movements, they started caressing up and down his side, and he felt the all too familiar shivers running along his back once more. He looked up at them, arms held over his chest like a praying mantis, cheeks flushing an emerald green at an impressive speed. As their gaze met his, a light red blush settled on their face and they let out a small chuckle. He felt his chest tighten already, tried to ignore it as much as he could, and showed them a nervous, shaky smile in return. With his body beginning to tremble even harder, he laid his hand on top of the other’s for just a second, but retreated it immediately after, the contact feeling electric to the point that it almost hurt. This shouldn’t happen, should it?
He felt his pulse quicken, tried to keep his breathing steady, all the while a lump started to form in his throat like it had so many other times before. Oh, he hated that feeling. Jongler’s hand snaked its way up to meet his once more, before delicately entwining their fingers. Their thumb tenderly stroked over his palm, and his breath almost hitched. It had felt even more intense than he had ever dared to imagine it, his shoulders tensing and his hands forming into fists in response. They couldn’t see him like this. He had to get out, he had to-
Battat turned away, breath quickened even further. His eyes stung as he felt the tears welling up in them, chest so tight that it made his breathing shallow. The lump in his throat grew to an unbearably painful size, pushing more tears out of the corners of his eyes, no matter how hard he tried to hold them back.
“Boss, hey…” Jongler had slightly leaned over him, their hand hovering close to the Pippins’ face. Pluey looked over from behind them, a finger pointed to its chin. He wanted to swat them away, to escape the situation, lock himself in the bathroom like he tended to do when he got this overwhelmed, but… His body wouldn’t move. It couldn’t move, it’s as if he got turned to stone, while still trembling so hard he felt like the entire room shook because of him. The Zapper placed their hand on the side of Battat’s face, making him turn to look at them, a look of genuine concern in their face. He hated this, hated that his partners had to see him like this, hated that he couldn’t keep these damn feelings under control, hated himself for reacting like this, hated-
“What’s wrong, Batts?” A soft caress on his cheek as Jongler wiped away the tears still streaming down his heated face. Their voice sounded so gentle, so caring, like they were genuinely worried for him. And for what? He was just overreacting, they shouldn’t be worrying about him! He didn’t want this, didn’t want to be the one causing them distress. And yet here he was, making the both of them worry about nothing. He felt awful.
A sniffle. Battat tried to speak, but was only able to choke out a sob, pressing his eyes shut as the tears now flowed freely. He couldn’t stop them anymore, it had gotten too far. His still heavily trembling hand slowly reached out, landing on the other’s shoulder and gripping it tight. He leaned towards them, and Jongler almost instantly pulled him closer, and onto their lap. With slow, tender movements, they stroked his back soothingly while he buried his face in their chest. Pluey shuffled closer, leaning its head on the Zapper’s shoulder as it patted the top of the little Pippins’ head.
Another hard sniffle. His grasp tightened, his chest curled in on itself, his shaking didn’t stop. Holy fuck, he felt horrible. Everything hurt, his muscles, his head, his throat. Awful. It felt awful.
“I-I’m sorry” Battat managed to press out in between sobs, voice muffled by the other’s chest. Jongler’s movements momentarily stopped as they attempted to take a look into his face by lifting it with their finger, but he refused, tilting his head away and further back into their body. Noted, not the time yet.
“What’re youse apologizin’ for? Ya dids nothin’ wrong.” As if to emphasize its partner’s words, the Shadowguy played a short, quiet note, nodding into their shoulder. The smallest huffed, another sniffle escaped him as he continued trembling, although it seemed to have lessened by a bit. He mumbled in return, yet none of the two seemed to have understood, letting him know with a short hum in a questioning tone.
His head tilted sideways, just enough to be able to see Pluey looking at him, concern written clearly in its face. “Sorry I-”, he hiccuped, trying to swallow another sob, “Sorry I am like… this”
Pluey carefully reached towards him, caressing his cheek and wiping away some stray tears while playing a few notes. He closed his eyes again, just letting it happen. He was far too tired to do anything about it.
“Plue’s right, we’s all gots moments like dat”, they tilted their head, both their arms holding onto him a little tighter, “An’ youse don’t gots ta go through dose all alone, ya know?”
Battat’s skin shivered again as his breath hitched once more, the shaking slowly subsiding. He felt like he had cried several years worth of tears, his eyes sore and itchy. He was exhausted.
A shaky, broken sigh. “Jongler, I-”, he took a short breath, “sorry I cried all over your-”
“Hey now, what’d we’s say? None a’dat apologizin’.”
“B-but your-”
Jongler placed their hand on his head, “’S fine. Not like I’s can’t change outta dems.”
He kept quiet, safe for a few grumbles directed at nobody in particular. Besides, he didn’t have the energy to argue. How did this feel more exhausting and draining than working a full day for Tenna without a single break?
Yet another sigh, his trembling almost fully gone, “Hey guys?”
The two tilted their heads in his direction, from Pluey came an audible “mrrp”-like sound.
“…Thanks. For that.”
Once more, the bed shuffled as the Shadowguy stretched its limbs out, its knee joints giving off an audible pop. It snuggled closer into Battat’s shoulder, letting out a short trill and squeezing his hand that still held onto its. He hummed contendedly, squeezing back and earning a quick kiss on his cheek in return. If it had eyes, he was sure it would blink slowly at him.
The body on his other side moved with a drawn out groan, arm stretching out just to land on the back of the Pippins’ head. Their head tilted slightly, a short, questioning hum followed. If they had eyes, they would have blinked a few times.
“Mornin’. You’se not up yet?”
Battat just returned a fond smile, shaking his head. The other’s hand slowly, almost sluggishly – understandable, they did just wake up – wandered over to his forehead, the back of their fingers gently resting on it.
“You’se okay?”, even with them being all groggy, and not quite fully awake yet, the genuine concern in their voice was clearly discernable. He just giggled, responding with a nod and a sigh. They were so cute sometimes. Pluey nuzzled ever closer, purring loudly into his side, before deciding to quickly lick his face.
“Hey! Do you want me to leave?”, he laughed, and the other two let out a chuckle. For now, everything was perfect.