Sparkle On | Shibani & Dan

     Who doesn’t love being all cozy and bundled up in a mountain of pillows and blankets? Shibani’s head rested against a pink heart pillow, wrapped up in a fluffy grey blanket.
     They’d been there for hours and started hearing a continuous thundering noise. It was too deep and rumbly to be Dan’s mochi making. Shibani’s twitching and stretching to roll over, it was a little difficult with being tied up, but he had become a pro at maneuvering his body even when restrained.

     The rumbling continued though, even with him burying his bunny ears against the pillows. Falling back asleep when he heard Dan walk over, lifting up 5 fluffy objects to reveal Shibani’s tied up rabbit form all curled up. “Shibani.” No response. “C’mon, wake up. I want to take you to the Mochi Moon fireworks.”

     “Is it already that time again? Can’t we just wait again til next year?” the white rabbit grumbled.
     “No, you know how important this is for me.” Dan nudged him, “Now shift back into your human form so you can walk around. Unless you want me to untie you?” He asked, knowing Shibani’s next response.
     Sitting up, the white rabbit’s ears flopped, making a face before opening his eyes, “Fine, don’t make me walk around too long though.”
     “Don’t worry, I know the best spot this year to watch.” Dan reassured while Shibani shifted, patting him on the head.

-

     Travelling out, deeper into the city, fireworks surrounded the ‘couple’ for miles, two succubuns running by with sparkles and a glutton succubun waddling with large rockets in her arms. Shibani followed sleepily, it was rare to see a sloth out to events like this unless being dragged by their friends. Luckily all the lights and noise kept him awake enough to pay attention, it’s not like he could sleep easily at home anyways with all the booming.

     Dan led them to a food cart, ordering alcohol and savory treats, Dan being feeling too prideful to buy another seller’s dango. Already downing the alcohol, Shibani held the cup in his hands for the rest of the walk, taking sips and taking long breaks in between to not get dizzy. Dan continued to drink like it was only tea.
     While scanning the carts, he found it difficult to find anything interesting with how bright and busy everything was. Taking as much time as he could to stare at a table’s display before being dragged off by Dan, who was mostly there to talk about the mochi sale he’s putting up tomorrow.
     However, there was one thing that caught the white rabbit’s eye. Staring in wonder at a body pillow of an anime he watched a year ago and was obsessed with. Almost forgetting where he was until Dan noticed Shibani’s intense gaze. Sighing, he scratched the back of his head and groaned, wondering how to reject Shibani and get out of buying it. “You don’t need that, you have a trillion pillows, blankets, stuffed imps, you name it at home.”
     Dan started walking away but Shibani continued to stare, before shyly looking over at the taller man. They had a staring contest before Dan threw his head to the side and pulled out his wallet, “Ugh, fine. Can’t believe I’m paying for a body pillow.”

     The shop owner handed it over to Dan, who then passed it to Shibani, trying to look uninterested. The white rabbit was almost as short as the pillow, which was amusing to Dan. The white rabbit held tightly onto it and almost disappeared, the taller rabbit continuing to just talk about his store to others until glancing at his clock. “Oh, we have to go, the show is about to start!”
     Dan took his hand and guided him, making Shibani almost trip and complain about it, but they hurried through the crowd, going into a nearby park. Standing at the base of a hill, Shibani looked up at it and shook his head. “No way am I making it up there.” He stated.
     “I bought you a body pillow, you owe me.”
     “That was a reward for going you going out with me!”
     “... going out?” Shibani stared.
     An awkward silence took over before Dan groaned and just scooped up Shibani, “I’m not going to let your lazy ass make us late.” He grumbled, taking heavy strides up the hill. The white rabbit accepted it happily, it meant he got to just exist in Dan’s arms and hug his pillow, completely trusting that he wouldn’t be dropped.

     As Dan reached the top, a picnic blanket was revealed with a sign reading,

     Back Off.
       -Dan of Dan’s Dango

     “Aww, for me?” Shibani purred before being dropped onto a big pillow with a gasp.
     “Don’t make me regret it.” Dan grumbled before sitting next to the white rabbit, pulling out a sandwich and splitting it for the two to share.

     Even alone on top of the hill, they could hear the crowd of succubuns counting. “5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Happy New Year’s!!”
     Dan leaned over and gave Shibani a kiss, it was short and sweet, Dan cupping his cheek and pulling away. Shibani continued to lay cozily and watch as the firework show exploded, filling the deep, dark cavern with light.
     The two sat silently, before Dan reached over and grabbed a few sparklers, “Want one?” He asked in a monotone voice, lighting two and offering one to the lazy rabbit.
     Shibani accepted, but just held it still, Dan waving it around, making the white rabbit follow suit. Writing in the sky as the main fireworks slowed down. Cheering at the last large boom from the crowds in the city.

     The two stayed for a while, drinking, eating, and enjoying each other's company. Fireworks continued as normal now, random people lighting them on their own time. They stayed like that for a few hours, before a chill started overtaking the two, although always warm in Burrowgatory, it was cold for what they were used to.
     Dan put all of the picnic items in a backpack, and by the time he was done Shibani was fast asleep, curled up on the grass with their new body pillow. Poking him Dan asked, “Can you at least turn into your rabbit form?”
     A sleepy Shibani shifted and was picked up, carried all the way back home. Luckily his mochi making arms were strong enough for everything, although his tail lashed with slight annoyance.

     Carrying the white rabbit all the way back to his shop, he actually smiled whenever passing succubuns couldn’t see his face. Not wanting them to think he enjoyed it.
     Making his way through the door, he set Shibani down on his mountain of comforts before setting everything else down. Feeling his muscles ache he stretched and looked at Shibani, feeling a tinge of jealousy before realizing… he could just lay down and join him.
     Standing there debating on whether to cuddle with Shibani on plushies, or actually enjoy a proper bed, he didn’t realize how much he was staring until the white rabbit blinked at him.
     Before Dan could come up with a reason why, Shibani reached out like asking for a hug, inviting Dan in. Sighing and accepting his fate, he turned into his bunny form and crawled inside stretching his muscles and getting cozy.
     He could never imagine living his life like this, but it was definitely a nice way to take a break on ‘holiday’. Dan knew it’d be a busy day tomorrow so getting to rest before and go out to see the firework show was really nice.

     “Thank you…” Shibani whispered in a sleepy voice, it being all muffled by the body pillow he clinged to, but Dan heard it and smiled. Not realizing how much he needed to hear that, the prideful bun hugged Shibani tighter. It felt nice knowing his efforts were appreciated.
     The two fell asleep to the muffled sound of fireworks and light snoring, surrounded by warmth and fluff.