[Prompt] Cuddle Time

Despite being somewhat of a regular of Dan’s shop, he has yet to meet the nefarious live-in sleepy cuddle magnet, but he can’t deny that he isn’t curious. The other’s easy going nature was the talk of the town on any given day, really, and there didn’t seem to be a Succubun in all of Burrowgatory who had a bad thing to say about Shibani.

In fact, no one wastes any time at all singing the guy’s praises, to the point where Rocky’s curiosity has exploded into a full blown thing that he can’t stop thinking about.

The thing is — it isn’t even like that, really.

People talk about it, sure, how attractive he is, how obviously he’s wrapped Dan (and everyone else at this point) around his finger but what else they really talk about that grabs his attention is the other man’s tendency to allow others to fall asleep with him. Sometimes even wrapped around each other — and if the stories are true, it might seem like that it’s preferred.

Rocky wants that.

Progress with Pika has been mind-numbingly slow and he still finds himself lacking the connection he craves with others. And if he has to resort to cuddling the one guy everyone else can’t shut up about?

Well, Rocky has no shame, and he’ll gladly do exactly that.

If the rumors are true, of course.

(They often are, in Burrowgatory, but one could never be too careful.)

—————

Dan’s storefront, for the first time since Rocky’s started coming here for all of his mochi needs, is miraculously not empty.

Rocky blinks at the image the slender man makes behind the counter, not sure for several long moments if he’s imagining him or not. He had plenty of expectations built up in his head surrounding the other, but truthfully nothing could have prepared him for the slender, dainty man in front of him. He looks about as kind and easy going as the rumors say, which of course he does.

“Welcome to Dan’s Dango,” Shibani greets cheerfully, a smile already taking over his face.

Rocky is helpless but to return the enthusiasm. He’s always been told he has the tendency to feed off of others’ emotions.

“Thanks,” Rocky says, smiling back at him.

Shibani cocks his head at him, looking curious and appraising. “I haven’t seen you around here before. You must be a pretty new arrival, huh?”

Rocky laughs. “I’ve been here for a few months now,” he says. “I think we just kept missing each other, every time I came in… was starting to think people made you up. Or that you just didn’t like me.”

Shibani’s expression melts into something a little more playful, eyes squinting at Rocky as if he’s trying to size him up.

“I would never ignore someone who looks as comfortable as you,” Shibani replies, looking very intently at the fluff of his ears, as if imagining what it would feel like to use it as a pillow. Rocky cannot say he hates the idea. “I’m Shibani, but — you already know that, right?”

Rocky nods. “I don’t think there’s anyone in all of Burrowgatory who doesn’t know who you are. Your reputation precedes you.”

“And your name?” Shibani asks, eyebrow raised.

“Rocky.”

“Rocky,” Shibani repeats. He leans over the counter, tail coming to curl over one of his shoulders. “Tell me, Rocky. Are you feeling sleepy?”

Rocky’s heart skips a beat, anticipation curling in his belly already. He had hoped he wouldn’t have to be the one to bring it up, but he knew better to expect it. Shibani hardly seemed like the type to do something he didn’t want to do, after all, that much was very clear.

“Sleepy?”

Shibani’s reply is broken up by a yawn. “Do you wanna take a nap?”

He blinks at the other, ears twitching in anticipation and maybe a bit of excitement too.

“What? Like…right now?”

The white-haired Succubun nods, another yawn interrupting him from replying. If the guy didn’t look so positively worn out, he’d almost think he was putting on a show. And all things considered, his vice is sloth.

He’s naturally that sleepy, probably.

As if to prove his point, Shibani pouts at him, and this time the gesture is exaggerated and playful. “Dan’s being a big beefy downer and doesn’t want to cuddle with me right now,” he says, put out and in that moment Rocky gets all of it entirely.

The way Shibani has this entire place seemingly like putty in his hand, the way no bun can say a bad word about him at all, the fist fights he’s sure would happen if anyone had even so much as tried… Rocky gets it. Once you’ve found yourself in the other’s orbit, it’s impossible to escape, nor would you want to, really.

“So you want to cuddle with me instead.”

“Yeah,” says Shibani, the ‘duh’ of implied due to the sheer droll of his tone.

Rocky turns a little sheepish, glancing to the back where he can hear the consistent pounding of Dan striking his mallet against mochi.

“Uh—“

Shibani coos at him, hands reaching out to grasp at his cheeks like he just can’t help himself. Rocky is too struck dumb by the gesture to even think to stop him.

“He won’t care, if that’s whats got you so worried,” He says, voice soft. “I wasn’t kidding about you looking soft to lay on. Very fluffy. Just keep those pointy bits to yourself, please.”

Rocky does not even want to think about how red he is right now. This is hardly how he pictured it going, but he’s not so much of a masochist that he’s going to look this gift horse in the mouth. Falling asleep on a pile of pillows cuddled up with someone does sound rather nice, and it causes him to let out a particularly painful sounding yawn himself.

“If you’re…sure?”

Shibani beams at him. “Cute. Let’s go, my pillows are waiting for us.”

Rocky swears there’s almost a skip to the other’s step as he leads him to one of the back rooms.

Dan’s pounding gets louder the closer they get to the back of the shop, but other than a curious glance and a raised eyebrow, Dan makes no move to stop them. Rocky’s shoulders, for the time being, finally relax, and he finds himself breathing a sigh of relief.

Eventually, the hallway leads to a single room at the very end of it. Shibani opens the door and while Rocky would consider himself to be an enjoyer of all things comfort — and is pretty damn proud of the state of his own burrow, thank you very much — he can’t deny how warm and inviting the place is. There are pillows covering every horizontal surface, ranging from small enough for bun forms to large and expansive enough to comfortable sit a handful of dolls.

Rocky’s makes no effort to stop the other man as he leads them both over to a pile of blue and green pillows in the north corner of the room, nor does he make an effort to stop the awe-stained smile that takes over his face.

It really was just that simple, huh?

As if to prove his point, Shibani throws himself down on the pile without preamble, stretching out his tired limbs and throwing his arms behind his head. His eyes are already closed, and if it weren’t for the fact that his breathing hadn’t yet evened out, Rocky would think he’d already managed to fall asleep.

A few beats pass, Shibani umoving, Rocky frozen staring at him and for the life of him he cannot force his limbs to cooperate.

One of Shibani’s eyes crack open, squinting at Rocky judgmentally. “C’mon, now,” he coos, like he’s talking to a cornered, helpless imp and not a woefully under prepared Succubun in over his head. Which…at that point, they’re practically the same thing, really. “Don’t be so shy. It’s pretty comfy here~”

Rocky hesitates for a single moment longer, before his feet finally decide to work again and he’s finding himself taking the few necessary steps forward. The pillows are somehow even softer than they appear and it is like sinking into clouds rather than the decorated floor beneath them.

“Wow,” he whispers, stretching his legs out. It’s comfortable enough he wishes, not for the first time, he’d stop being so stubborn and just summon actual feet instead of his hooves but…he’s one stubborn bastard. “This is really nice.”

Shibani lets out a sound closer to a giggle than anything else. “Thank you. I think so, too.” There’s a beat of silence, one that has Rocky closing his eyes against the comfortable darkness of the room. He wasn’t so sure if he’d be able to actually fall asleep, but that was before meeting the other, and before feeling the softness of his pillows. Just what is the thread count on these anyway? “You can come closer.”

Rocky, for once, does not need to be told twice, finally giving into the temptation to accept the platonic physical comfort that he’d been seeking the entire time. That’s definitely something to revisit later, present company excluded. But for now, Rocky scoots closer to the other Succubun, close enough that Shibani’s arm easily slides around his waist.

“Much better,” Shibani breathes. “You act all shy now but I can tell, you’ll be one of the regulars here.”

Rocky doesn’t comment on that right awayh, for fear of giving away of just how true that already is. In fact, he may or may not have already been mentally mapping out when he’d be able to fit it into his schedule.

“Whatever you say,” he says eventually.

Shibani shushes him, the time for conversation apparently officially over. He buries his face in Rocky’s fluffy hair, breathing out a sigh of contentment so deep he practically melts like jelly into the pillow pile. Rocky hides an enamored smile into his own arm even though Shibani has no chance of seeing it.

“Shhh, less talking, more sleeping,” He says, words muffled.

Rocky snorts a laugh, but otherwise obliges, eyes heavy with the promise of sleep and warm company. The last thought he has before he drifts off completely is that he could get used to this kind of comfort, and that hopefully, some day soon, maybe he could count the other as a genuine friend.