Trying to Start a New Life with your Vice

    Yukio let out a quiet sigh as he placed another box down onto the old dusty table. “Finally… The last box.” Yukio had just recently moved into a new apartment after a bunch of bad things had happened at his old home. “Now… Just gotta unpack everything!” He looks around the living room to see a fuck ton of boxes of varying sizes strewn about the entirety of it. He’ll frown at the sight. “...I didn’t realize that I had that much stuff… And this is only the living room, who knows what the kitchen and my bedroom looks like!” He’ll let out an extremely heavy sigh. “...I could ask for help… Some of my new neighbors have already offered to do so earlier…” He’ll be silent for a few minutes, mulling over the thought but his tail will twitch and he’ll let out another sigh. “...Damn my pride…” He’ll unclip the straps from his wristbands for more mobility then remove his coat from his shoulders. For as long as Yukio could remember, his pride had often gotten in the way of doing a lot of things. Whether it be something as simple as asking for help with something or taking too long with his fur and hair, so he ends up being left behind by others. It’s caused him more problems than he’d care to admit and it bothers him a bit. He places his coat over the back of the couch then cracks his knuckles. “Alright… Let’s get to work then!”
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    After several hours of work unpacking boxes, Yukio managed to get through half of the boxes in the living room and all of the boxes in his bedroom, which he’s thankful for. He collapses into his bed, face first, and lets out an exhausted sigh, voice muffled by his pillow. “I'll get to sleep in my bed tonight at least… As much as that couch is comfy, I wouldn’t want to sleep on it.” He’ll roll over onto his back as he stares at the ceiling. “...My issue now stems from the kitchen still being swarmed with boxes and there being no room to make anything…” He’ll let out what feels like the umpteen sigh that day. “...I’m gonna have to leave this apartment to drop by some place for dinner tonight. Was reeeaalllyyyy hoping I wouldn’t.” Begrudgingly, he’ll get up out of bed and stretch his arms above his head, letting out a few unique sounds as he does so. “Let’s hope I don’t interact too much with anyone…” He’ll head out of his bedroom, grabbing his coat as he passes by the couch to get to the door of his apartment. Once he walks through the front door, closing and locking it behind him in the process, he walks down the hallway of the floor his apartment is on. He’ll shift about, placing his coat back on his shoulders then carefully reattaching the straps to his wristbands, having finished doing so once he reached the stairs that would take him down to the ground floor. 

    As he walks out of the building, he takes in a deep breath as the fresh air enters his lungs. “Well, this is certainly better than all the dust that was sitting in the apartment…” He’ll begin his quiet trek down the sidewalk, looking for a small place that he could get a quick meal from for the night. As he looks about, his eyes land on quite a few random buns wandering the streets whether on their own or with others. His eyes will narrow slightly and he’ll mumble under his breath a few rude comments about, but will quickly realize what he’d just done and quickly shake his head, turning his gaze to the sidewalk. “Dammit… I really should stop that…” 

    “Stop what?” Yukio will yelp and look back up, noticing he was about to walk into someone, but pause as he takes in what is standing in front of them. Very pale blue hair, ears and tail, kind blue eyes and, the most obvious thing, a yellow halo. There was a cherubun standing in front of him. He’ll blink, just kind of staring at the cherubun, very unsure of what to say or do in this scenario, though the cherubun lets out a small giggle at his stunned face. “I guess you’re new around these parts?” Yukio will quietly nod his head, afraid of talking in fear of his pride making him say something bad or rude. “Yeah, I figured that was the case. Well, my name is Dove! What’s yours?” He’ll gulp and cautiously answer. 

    “I’m Yukio…” Dove’s eyes will light up at finally getting a response out of him. 

    “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Yukio! May I ask what brought you to this part of Burrowgatory?” He clasps his hands together, twiddling his thumbs the slightest bit. 

    “I… was just trying to get away from… some past stuff…” The smaller bun frowns at that, but will light back up. 

    “Well, I’m sorry to hear that things where you previously lived weren’t all that great, but things will be better around here!” Dove will then tilt their head, looking up at Yukio. “What are you trying to get yourself to stop doing?” His eyes will widen at the question then look off to the side immediately, trying to figure out if he wanted to answer that or not. “It’s fine if you don’t want to say it, I was only cur--” 

    “I’m trying to get a better handle on my pride.” Dove will pause and stare at the wintery looking bun, letting him speak. “Part of why I moved was that my pride ruined a lot of things I had back there and… It got me in trouble and hurt quite often. I wanted a fresh start and try to learn to control my pride a bit better, so maybe I won’t fuck up as often…” He’ll blink for a moment after saying all that then let out a heavy sigh. “...I can’t handle confessionals with fucking disgusting Oleander, whose literal job is to listen to our woes and sins, yet I can say all that to a small, soft cherubun.” His eyes will widen upon realizing part of what he said then he quickly covers his mouth, his gaze darting off to the side. He’ll hear a small chuckle from in front of him, causing him to return his gaze to Dove, who had a gentle smile on their face. 

    “It’s okay, Yukio. Most succubuns tend to lean into their vice, but some do find themselves wanting to grow from it. Those whose vice is pride are no different and I think it’s admirable of you that you want to get better with it.” For the first time during that entire conversation, Yukio finally relaxes a bit and removes his hand from his mouth, revealing a small smile. “Is that why you wear a collar and straps?” His face then turns a bright red as some of the snowflakes around his head melt slightly from the heat radiating off his face. 

    “I-I, that, um…” The reaction gets a much brighter sounding chuckle from Dove, happy to see more emotions from the succubun in front of them. 

    “It’s okay, you don’t have to actually answer that one. Wanted to slightly tease you.” They’ll then grab his hand and begin to pull him along. “Come on, I can show you some places that I like to go to for food! Maybe I can introduce you to Jackal as well! Though, she’s a bit prickly, but I promise she’s nice.” Yukio will just be silent as he listens to Dove ramble on and drag him along, just happy to meet someone who was kind enough to look past his vice and be friendly with him, for once.