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There's a lot of problems when it comes to a transferral of power from one person to three. There's the general confusion, not knowing who to report to, infighting among the leaders, et cetera. Sure, there weren't all that many people left in the Beasts, so there weren't as many people to protest against the leadership change, so-
This was a tangent. This was barely relevant. Sure, there were other problems. Sure. Tom could accept these problems. They were going to be able to overcome these things, because overall? They weren't pressing. These were not the pressing issues. The pressing issue was the fact that the Beasts had recently downgraded their quarters, and the leader’s- Well, now the leaders’ quarters, were fairly small. And since he and Troth and Lenny were three people, it seemed even smaller. Very small. One desk, one wardrobe, one chest, one table, one window.
One bed.
One. Bed.
Tom was naturally a nervous man. He was already having to interact with Lenny on a regular basis, and there was bad blood there, and then Troth was somewhat intimidating. Troth was very intimidating and Lenny hated him. That was that. And he didn't feel the most comfortable meditating around, or rather next to, that kind of negative energy. He could talk himself out of it, he was sure, but maybe not right now. Or- Well, no. Maybe right now. Right now his chest felt like it was imploding, but this had also been just about the longest day of his life. The entire day had been running around and stealing and lying and manipulating, and while Tom was not the most moral of men, it was still tiring mentally and physically. So coming back to this little hole in the wall and seeing that bed that they've avoided pretty well for the past week… It was tempting. Lenny had been conking out and napping at odd hours of the day, purposefully doing so on chairs and the single couch in the home. Troth didn't ever seem to sleep- Tom couldn't really stick around her alone for often enough to actually enquire as to what she did, since he would always fumble and flush, so maybe she did sleep and he just never noticed. And he had just been curling up on a pile of pillows in the corner for his three hours early in the morning, after he closed down his bar for the late night crowd. He was a responsible man and business owner, he couldn't help it. And he was also terrified of what would happen if he just closed up shop. There was that too. He was sort of terrified of everything.
But there were a few things that could trump that anxiety. And right now, after the farce that was today, the long, long, long hours, he was dead tired. He was bone dead tired and he could tell everyone else was too. And dammit, he was going to be the diplomat here tonight.
“Okay guys, I think we have to stop skirting around it, because it's not doing anyone any favors.” And he looked pointedly at the bed, hands stuffed deep into his pockets. It seemed to shrink as the three of them scrutinized it. That wasn't possible, of course, but at this point Tom had been awake for so long that he may as well be hallucinating. “It's not healthy? I don't really think it's healthy, in my, um. Wizard opinion. Also I haven't seen you two sleep in three days and I'm worried about you.”
“Well jeez, Collins, why don't you just propose already?”
“I don't think- Lenny, that's not a declaration of love, that's me being concerned as, as a friend. If you don't sleep you will die.”
Lenny grumbled, elbowing past Tom and shedding his shirt and shoes as he fell onto the bed. He seemed to pass out as soon as he hit the mattress, legs still dangling off the mattress. Troth snorted, dropping her staff and gauntlet next to the door and stretching. Her back popped ferociously and Tom, only slightly embarrassed, jumped at that. Another snort, must be what passed as a laugh for her, and she patted her paw on top of his head. Her big, very big paw. She could essentially palm the top of his head and just throw him. Tom entertained that idea, unsure as to why.
“I can meditate anywhere. Would you prefer-”
“Lenny kicks like crazy in his sleep, and, uh. I'm already pretty beat, so I think I'll just let you two, uh. I'll let you two cuddle up, and I'll just…” Tom pointed to the pile of pillows in the corner next to the desk, making some vague gestural hand motions that he hoped conveyed what he meant. They most definitely did not, but Troth nodded anyways.
“I'll keep that in mind. Rest well, friend.”
“You, uh. You too! You too.”
Tom had a fitful hour and a half of meditation, rousing himself whenever he felt himself slipping too far into a dream, not wanting to wake anyone else up by lashing out because of a night terror. He wasn’t awake, but he was halfway aware. Because of this shitty, shitty half-waking state, he had a minor heart attack when Troth shook his shoulder, whispering in her gravelly tones.
“Is Lenny okay. He’s doing something odd.”
Tom blinked, waking up fully, letting his eyes adjust as he focused. Troth was about six inches away from his face, far too close, pupil-less silver eyes glowing spots in the dark room, and he jumped back and hit his head against the wall. He had to get himself under control. Tom straightened up, clearing his throat and pressing the backs of his hands to his cheeks to feel the flush.
“Oh jeez. What- What do you mean?”
Troth pointed over to the bed, where Lenny was currently- Not. Lenny was not in bed. He was instead pacing a trench in the carpet, fists balled and held tight against his legs. Tom looked between the two of them, watching Troth gesticulate over at him.
“Is he okay.”
“Yeah, he's just sleepwalking. It's okay, just- I'm used to this, hang on.”
“...Be safe?”
“It’s fine, it’s fine. Um. Don’t worry.”
Tom stood himself up, brushing a hand through his hair and, upon finding Chaser resting there, patting the little bat gently with the tip of his finger. It was always comforting to know he was there. Just a friend sitting on his head and nibbling a strawberry while Tom rested. There weren't many things that calmed him down, but Chaser was definitely on the top of that list. He scooped the bat up and set him down on the desk before crossing the room, one hand coming to rest against Lenny’s back. Lenny froze, still stiff, eyes open and glassy. Sleepwalking. For sure.
“Hey, sleepy guy. Let's go back to bed.”
There was a moment where Lenny was quiet, still, dazed and confused, before he grumbled and turned slowly towards the bed. Tom breathed out a sigh of relief and led him with a hand between Lenny’s shoulders. He helped his friend under the sheets, nervously fidgeting with the edges of the blankets.
“Is this something he does a lot?” Troth piped up from the corner, voice soft and rasping. Tom shrugged, chewing the inside of his cheek as he debated crawling into the same bed to prevent this whole situation from happening again. He could probably avoid getting too intimate, just sort of lie there stiffly between Troth and Lenny. That sounded pretty… Uncomfortable. Okay. That sounded uncomfortable. He didn't want that. But was snuggling up with two people really any less uncomfortable? Was discomfort just his default state at this point?
Tom sighed through his nose and decided to take a big leap, figuratively, and just roll right into bed next to Lenny. Lenny, always a leech, grumbled and stretched out next to Tom, arms curling around Tom’s torso and resting his head on his shoulder. Okay. This was fine. He held his breath until he felt Lenny calm down and relax. There was a disturbance as the bed next to him shifted, Troth sitting down carefully.
“You didn’t answer.”
“Right, right, sorry. No, he just doesn’t sleep, a lot. So when he does, he sorta does this. He used to sort of- We were roommates, actually?”
Troth laughed, clapping her paw over her mouth as her eyes wrinkled at the edges. Tom didn’t appreciate being laughed at, and Lenny stirred slightly against his chest. He’d forgive it this time. If only because he’d never really seen Troth laugh before.
“... You were roommates.”
“It’s not funny, I- We were basically roommates. He lived above the bar for a while. He was kind of- Kind of homeless?” Tom squinted over at Troth, trying to reach over and swat her shoulder gently. “Don’t laugh. Stop laughing at me.”
“I’m not laughing at you. It’s-” She seemed to struggle for the words, waving a paw slightly and moving to lie down next to Tom. She was stretched out, rolled on her side with her tail thumping against the floor every so often. “I think it’s cute.”
“It’s not cute!” Tom furiously whispered, hushing up as Lenny mumbled and twisted a hand in Tom’s shirt. Troth raised an eyebrow, propping her head up on her arm. “It’s not that cute. Don’t- Don’t give me that look.” Deliberately, deliberately not complying with his request, Troth simply raised her eyebrow higher and flopped one arm onto Tom’s chest as she relaxed. This was just rude. She was being purposefully cruel. Her fingers drummed against his sternum, before she sighed and closed her eyes.
“Are you having a heart attack.”
“I think it's going so fast that it's sort of blurring into some kind of, singular tonal resonance?”
Troth’s eyes slid open halfway, lip curling up on one side in a smile. A very sharp smile.
“Are you afraid of me?”
“What the hhhell kind of question is that, uh. Your entire, your hand? On me right now? It's the size of my fffucking entire rib cage, Troth. You are the most terrifying woman I have ever met.”
Troth laughed at that, and Tom felt himself wheeze back at her. On his other side, almost without Tom noticing, Lenny heaved himself up and dropped back down closer to Tom, one leg thrown over Tom and his face pressed to the side of his cheek. His nose whistled as he breathed some words out, and Tom froze. Frozen stiff. Too much was going on for him to fully process, and he felt sort of like he was ascending through a different plane of existence. There was stubble scratching his cheek, Troth’s claws poking against his chest gently, two warm bodies pressed up against him and clearly very comfortable-
Tom wriggled down slightly, adjusting himself to tangle the fingers of one hand in Lenny’s hair and brush over the tip of Troth’s ear with the other. Contented sighs drifted up from the both of his bedmates as they relaxed, and he settled in as well.
He didn’t need to sleep. He was going to be fully aware of everything going on until they both woke up again. And he wasn't going to meditate, that was out of the question-
He was going to be trapped here for another six hours, huh.
Dammit.