Rocky's Best Friend

Their first night together, is, well… a little rocky, to say the least.

In hindsight, though, he’s not sure why he expected anything less.

———————

Rocky is all barely contained excitement as he brings Pika back to his small little burrow on the outskirts of the inner city. There’s a skip to his step, lips upturned in a smile and he quite literally can’t help himself. His legs are coltish, unsure, no matter how long he’s had to adjust to his doll form he still can’t seem to get the balance quite right.

Which isn’t even important right now. He can moan about falling on his face every other step later, he has more important things — or rather, creatures — to attend to now.

Rocky doesn’t have the words to describe how content he is; for the first time since graduating out of Murmur’s care and into the vast expanse of Burrowgatory, he actually feels like he has the chance to build something. Since coming first coming here, it’s always just been…him. While the other Succubuns have been nothing but lovely and accommodating — and he certainly hasn’t stopped himself from indulgence and depravity with others — to say he is seeking more stable companionship is putting it rather lightly.

And then some, really.

Finally being able to have an imp of his own had been such a momentous accomplishment for him that the adrenaline is still enough carry him through his burrow to the small den in that has been set up for weeks in the back. He already has a small play pen set up for her, some toys and other knickknacks for the imp to amuse herself with when he’s otherwise occupied. There’s even a jar of dango treats he spent way more than he should have on at Dan’s shop.

Rocky needs things tog be perfect for her, obviously.

He’s so damn prepared he couldn’t possibly be anymore fucking prepared, which of course, is why he’ll swear later everything goes utterly, horribly, completely wrong.

——————

When Rocky sets down the carrier and finally opens it up, Pika takes a few moments before she peeks out. Her horns are the very first thing he sees. Though her eyes remain white and unblinking, that hardly means her face is expressionless, and he can see the hesitancy written all over her.

“It’s alright,” he coos at her, holding out one of his hands in silent support. She, of course, ignores it. “Just come on outta there, okay? My burrow may be on the smaller side but there’s still plenty to explore. With me!”

He tries not to sound as hopeful as he feels on the last sentence, but he can’’t help himself anymore. Pika is finally here and he has a friend, and he could truly not be any happier if he tried.

Pika, as if on an eternal quest to make things as difficult for them both as possible, retreats slightly back into her carrier.

Rocky sighs, but thankfully has the self-awareness unbecoming of some of his peers, and dutifully steps back to give her some space.

As excited as he is for this, even he can recognize he’s probably not approaching this in the best way. Hutch did say it was best not to lay it on too thick on imps when they first got home, didn’t they? And Rocky’s somehow managing to already screw that up.

Overwhelming the poor creature before she has the chance to establish her bearings is definitely not setting the vibe correctly.

“Sorry,” he apologizes to her, uselessly, and then purposefully snaps his mouth shut.

Rocky can do this.

He can be patient for her.

For this one, small creature entrusted to his care, he can make a point not to be annoying.

The things I do for you, Rocky thinks to himself fondly, mouth tracing the words even as he refuses to let them escape.

He has to approach this delicately; he realizes this now.

Rocky loses track of the amount of time he stays there, waiting for the poor thing to deem the world safe enough to leave her carrier. Eventually, thankfully she does deem the world safe enough to peek out again. This time, he catches a glimpse of the fluffy tuft of her tail and the picture it makes is enough to melt even the most frozen of hearts, he’s sure.

He stays where he is, refusing to move or even breathe an inch if it means she’ll be brave enough to explore. She retreats again a few moments later, but this time

Pika seems to have grown tired of playing hard to get, as this time it’s only a few seconds before she ventures back out, though she leaves the thing entirely for the first time since he brought her home.

Rocky feels a bit pathetic when tears sprout to his eyes from the relief that courses through him — he’d not wanted to admit it, but he’d been catastrophizing, imagining Hutch’s cutely disappointed face as he brought Pika back to them and let them know he was an absolute failure at taking care of other living things, actually and that trusting him had been a mistake.

Pika’s unblinking white eyes rove curiously around Rocky’s burrow. He’s taken great care, especially in the last few weeks, to make his home as inviting and comfortable as possible. It’s warm and cozy, with tapestries hanging on the walls, lights strung around to give the place a natural glow. Pillow and blankets are scattered around the entire space, more so because Rocky refuses to spend a moment uncomfortable rather than for his new bundled arrival, but if it helped her acclimate he can pretend for a little while.

She keeps her distance, and he doesn’t try to approach her. Instead, he watches with fond eyes as she explores the space, how cute she is when she approaches something she isn’t sure about, fluffy fur standing at odds on all ends as she hesitantly floats towards what’s grabbed her attention, however momentarily.

Surprisingly, she skips past the piece of dango he’s left out in the open for her — did he manage to find the one imp in all of Burrowgatory who doesn’t like the stuff? — instead opting for a particularly soft looking pillow thrown haphazardly into a corner. She wastes no time circling above the pillow a few times before plopping down on the surface. Her eyes take stock of her surrounds on more time before she deems them fine enough to curl her tail above the top of her head, sinking further into the pillow’s fluffy embrace. It’s hardly a handful of moments later when her eyes slide close.

For a brief moment, Rocky allows himself to watch her now that she’s peacefully unaware of anything going on around her. Though tonight has hardly turned out the way he had been initially hoping for, the excitement still has yet to fade. Short of her using her horns to gouge his eyes out, he doesn’t think anything, no matter what obstacles lie ahead of them, could manage to make him give up on this. And even then, he’d just find a way to be able to take care of her without needing to see, of course.

Rocky creeps closer to her, once it’s clear she’s not going to be waking up any time soon. She’s blissfully unaware of anything else going on, which is why he finally feels comfortable enough to open his mouth again.

“One day,” he whispers to her, voice reverent and soft even if there isn’t a chance in hell she could understand him if she were awake. “You’re going to like me and we’re going to do everything together. Burrowgatory won’t know what hit it.”

As if in response, she chortles in her sleep, tail falling between her horns to cover her face.

Rocky smiles at her, more than a little helpless, sighing softly.  He retreats over to one of the other many makeshift nests in the room, curling up on a pile of particularly warm blankets. Now that the excitement of the night is fading fast, the adrenaline has all but evaporated. Pika is safe, and they're both adjusting. Now, sleep is a mistress he can no longer avoid. His next words are stained with sleep, clumsy in his mouth, but they ring no less true, and the spark of determination, if anything, is stronger than ever,

“Mark my words, Pika. Sooner or later, you’re going to adore me.”