Yours

No. 

Ari sat up and fluffed his pillow, flipping it over and fluffing it again. He lay back down, and sighed. 

No. 

He rolled over, gently pushing Emelia to the side as he tried to make himself comfortable. 

NO. 

Ari swore under his breath and sat up. No matter how hard he tried, nothing was good enough. A quick glance at his phone told him that it was 2:00 am, and he’d been trying to fall asleep for three hours. Mosaic was out at Drukyul’s place for the night, and despite the double digit amount of imps in the house, it felt so empty. 

Finally, Ari gave up. He stomped down the bun-sized stairs leading off of his doll-sized bed - and earned a slap from Trinket for the noise - grabbed his phone, and left his bedroom. 

~ 

It took Ari forever to get here because of his stupid bun form’s stupid tiny legs, but finally he arrived at the place that held the only potential solution he had come up with. 

He questioned his decision for a moment - it was nearly three in the morning, after all - but his body seemed to move on its own and knocked on the door. Even through the door, Ari could hear the inhabitant of the small apartment approaching; had he still been awake as well? 

Maybe he wasn’t alone? 

Before Ari could escape, the door was opened, revealing a familiar Pride doll in sweats, a simple t-shirt, and the more casual glasses he wore when he wasn’t at work. He looked around, annoyed, face only softening as he glanced down and spotted Ari. 

“What are you - ?” Kyril asked, brow furrowing. “It’s late, Ari… What’s wrong?” 

Ari opened his mouth to explain before realizing that he didn’t actually know what was wrong. Or, more accurately, what wasn’t wrong. “I couldn’t sleep, it’s too quiet, and cold, and nothing felt right, and Mosaic isn’t home and I didn’t know where else to go and it’s probably my stupid hormones but I just feel so lonely and -” He didn’t realize he was crying until he had to gasp for air; he wiped at his face half-heartedly as Kyril ushered him inside and closed the door. 

“I know you idiots agreed that this was just for fun or an experiment or whatever, but don’t you think Oreias should be taking care of you for the one month of your dam-leave?” 

Ari knew his best friend well enough to know that none of the anger in his voice was directed at him, but the tone itself was enough to send him into another bout of tears. 

“S’not his fault, I told him -” sniffle “That I didn’t need him to - “ sniffle “waste his time t-taking care of me -” 

“Okay, okay, come here.” Kyril knelt down and scooped Ari into his arms, carrying him to a more than familiar bedroom. He cradled Ari against his chest with one arm as he used the other to drag all his pillows and blankets off the bed, kicking them into the corner of the room. Kyril went to the closet next, grabbing a handful of sweaters (hangers and all) and carrying them over to the pile. 

“Nest building is a thing, right? Let’s see if that makes you feel better.” He put Ari down on the mound of bedding and began pulling the sweaters off the hangers, leaving them in a pile within easy reach. 

Ari had to admit, there was a part of him that immediately calmed down as soon as he was surrounded by this much softness, especially as it emanated the scent of one of his favourite people. He began arranging the blankets according to some unknown formula , setting the pillows just so and quickly moving on to the sweaters. 

Ari hadn’t even noticed the Pride doll had left his side, but at that moment Kyril came back with a small box. Ari peeked over to see several plushies. On a normal day, Ari would probably tease him about it; ask if he was lonely, offer to fill his bed instead, etcetera. But today he was being held hostage by the kit growing inside him. Or the hormones it caused. Or whatever. So instead he patiently waited for Kyril to pass him the plushies one by one, and put them in various spots around the nest. 

When all the plushies, pillow, blankets, and sweaters - save one - were in their places, Ari paused. He waited to see if that internal voice would demand he change it… Nothing. 

“Finally.” 

Kyril huffed a laugh at Ari’s satisfaction. “Is it just what you needed?” 

“Almost.” Ari waded through the nest to grab Kyril’s hand. “In.” 

“Okay Ari. Doll form or bun form?” 

Ari paused, but quickly decided. “Doll. It’s what I’m most used to seeing you in. And… Warm.” 

Kyril chuckled this time, but complied, following Ari into the nest and making himself comfortable before pulling Ari into his lap. Ari sighed happily, leaning against Kyril as the other bun pulled out his phone. Kyril wordlessly handed it to Ari, open to a delivery app that would bring snacks from a nearby convenience store. Tail wagging, Ari picked out a few of his favourites - and a few of Kyril’s - before giving it back. Kyril chuckled again, ruffling the fur on Ari’s head as he placed the order. 

It felt like only moments before Kyril’s phone chimed with the notification from the delivery driver. Ari clung to Kyril’s lap for a moment before the Pride doll could convince his hormone-clouded judgment that he would be right back, dammit. And he was, but not fast enough to prevent Ari’s crying from starting up again. It wasn't as dramatic as earlier - just a few tears slipping down his cheeks - but that was almost more annoying. 

Kyril placed the bag of snacks to the side, forgoing them for a moment as he grabbed the sweater that Ari had left out of the nest. He pulled Ari into his lap again before wrapping the sweater - Ari’s favourite of Kyril’s, that he’d definitely stolen once or twice - around him like a blanket. “Is that better?” 

Ari sniffled again, but nodded in response. 

Kyril shushed him gently, the way one would try to calm a frightened imp, and pulled the bag of snacks closer. As Ari rooted into the bag and picked what he wanted to eat first, Kyril began to pet him. “It’ll be okay. I’m here.” 

Ari nodded again, silently reveling in the warmth of Kyril’s body and the feeling of the doll’s fingers running through his fur. Barely more than a whisper, Ari thanked him. 

He fell asleep shortly after that. 

~ 

Ari woke up slowly. His hormone burst from last night seemed to have faded, leaving his thoughts clearer, but he still had a bit of a headache from staying up so late as well as all the crying. 

He opened his eyes blearily and realized that he was laying beside Kyril, still wrapped up in his favourite sweater. Kyril was on his side, holding him against his chest, and one of the Pride doll’s wings was tucked over him. Ari looked over at the small source of light behind him; sometime in his sleep, Ari had entwined his tail with Kyril’s, and the other bun’s Hellfire-lit tail spade was warm against his back. Kyril was still asleep, and Ari hoped that he’d put his glasses somewhere safe and they weren’t lost within the folds of the nest. 

Looking over at the face of the bun who had dropped everything at three in the morning to take care of him, including building an impromptu nest and sleeping on the floor in said nest with him, Ari realized with a start that he felt completely safe and cared for. He smiled gently to himself, closing his eyes and getting cozy again.

And flinching as Kyril’s phone began to ring. 

The arm that had been folded under the doll's head reached out, blindly patting around in search, while the other one tightened protectively around Ari. Upon finding the phone, Kyril didn’t even bother opening his eyes as he brought it to his ear. “Uh huh?” Ari could hear what sounded like a masculine voice on the other side of the call, but couldn’t sparse out more than that over the steady thumping of Kyril’s heart. 

“...” 

“Yeah he’s with me.”

“...” 

“Will do.”

“...” 

“Okay.” 

Kyril hung up and tossed the phone to the side again. His eyes finally opened, and he looked down at Ari. He squinted automatically, probably not seeing much more than a pink blur. “Morning. How do you feel?” 

“Good.” And then - “A little embarrassed.” 

“For needing help?” 

Ari opened his mouth, closed it, and sighed. “When you say it like that it sounds stupid.” 

“It is. You’re allowed to ask for help, dumbass. Especially from me.” 

“Especially…?”

Kyril’s wing came up as he flexed his shoulders, stretching as much as he could without disturbing Ari too much, then wrapped around him again. “Are you hungry? I can make breakfast.” 

Ari hummed thoughtfully. “I think I’d rather lay here for a bit longer, if that’s alright?” 

“Whatever you need from me, Ari, it's yours.”