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Nagito, are you sure you’re okay...?”
Nagito nods, twisting and turning himself around trying to peel and shed his coat off. Hajime just stares with a bit of worry watching the snake boy get roused up in frustration and embarrassment, ears perked in alarm.
Naegi’s own little ears twitch, as he watches Nagito tries to grind his scales against the wall in order to help with his shedding. It took up too a week to completely shed, and despite the fact that neither of them know much in depth about shedding, they do know that Nagito’s current aggravation is not normal and not good. He never got so fidgety when molting.
Confusion and worry must have been both evident in their faces, or it must’ve palpable in the silent air, because Nagito stops mid twist to look at them, strained smile on his face while trying to hide his unhappy panting. He raises a hand in a small wave, something he does often as a reassurance.
“It’s okay, baby wolf, I’m just...” he trails off, tail raising up and twisting itself in ways that Naegi found himself temporarily enamored in. With vivid green spots forming against black in ways that look like bright algae floating black waters, not only is it incredibly useful to hide, but it means Nagito’s tail has always been the prettiest thing both his boyfriends have ever seen.
“Molting.” Nagito finishes with.
Hajime chimes in this time, standing up and moving closer to where Nagito was curled. He was mindful of not roughhousing with Nagito like he usually did, knowing the skin underneath was quite too delicate for that. He instead lays a warm palm on the small of Nagito’s back, another hand snaking towards Nagito’s waist to hoist him up. Nagito gives a small hiss of appreciation.
“You look really uncomfortable, and you’re skin isn’t coming off...normally?” Hajime explained the reason of their concerns.
Meanwhile, Makoto slid across the floor and skirted right on the edge of the little nest Nagito had created for himself. Nagito pulls him in with a flick of his tail.
“I know that this...” he gestures haphazardly to the tail, trying to convey his thoughts into words despite his lack of insight. Both the wolf and the snake still smile and urge him to continue with what he’s saying.
“Um...occasion is very uhh— solitary, but is there any way that we could help? Or at least make you less uncomfortable?”
Nagito nearly gives a sad smile, sinking down and slowly but surely grinding away at the floor, discomfort slowly coming back if the red flush and the pained panting is anything to go by.
“I don’t— I don’t know. Usually it’s unbearable when it’s dry, and as for helping...” Nagito trailed off, squirming a bit on the floor.
Clearly, he realizes that the flush was from his question, the process of being assisted with a very personal problem that’s been dealt with alone, mostly. It’s not like how he or Hajime take care of each other when how their seasonal shedding season arrives. Snakes were much more solitary, dealing with their personal issues alone with no one to see how vulnerable they could be, and Makoto was ready to apologize for such an insensitive question when he hears Nagito speak again.
“S’mores time?” He says, and neither Hajime or Makoto waste any time shifting closer to hold Nagito close on either side, sliding down and wrapping arms around his waist and hips. Nagito sighs in content as he wraps his long ass tail around both of his boyfriends. The squirming is barely there now that he has the comfort of two warm bodies and not the hard wooden floor comforting him.
Hajime stays on the left, the big spoon of the three with his stature alone, and he wraps arms around both Nagito and Naegi and pulls them closer to his chest than needed. Not that either of them mind when they get to cuddle with the wolf who usually wasn’t the most affectionate.
(They also somehow wake up with him in the middle, his hands wrapped around both of them, holding them close. If they play their cards right, they get to play with Hajime’s ears and tail. They’re soft)
Nagito seems much more warmer in the middle, snuggling into Hajime’s chest and pulling Naegi closer to his own chest. Naegi nuzzles in, closer to the intimacy before his head perks up with an idea in his eyes. Nagito did say that irregular, painful shedding happened in dry places, the same way wolves would overheat without soaking in water.
Nagito asks, “Naegi-kun, are you alright?
Hajime also looks up from his position of his face in Nagito’s fluffy hair, ears twitching and Naegi thinks that Hajime is very handsome, but also very, very cute.
“You took a bath earlier, and it did help right?”
Nagito nods his head, fluffy hair bobbing along.
“Well, you did say that it was difficult when you shed in dry places, so what if we moisten it?”
Nagito lights up at the idea, immediately on track to help ease all of his discomfort. Hajime, by, also sits up, laying his weight on his arm as he also lights up with Naegi’s thought. He chimes in.
“Maybe paper towels? We can moisten them and mist more water over it when it gets dry.”
Nagito squeals silently, slapping the end of his tail against the ground and hugging Hajime with all his frail strength, while also grabbing Naegi with his tail and dragging him into the cuddle pile. Naegi is happy with this situation and Hajime looks flustered, but also content.
“I have such wonderful boyfriends, ooh! I’m so lucky, aren’t I?”
Hajime and Naegi hold him closer, pressing a kiss against his face before getting up and running, embarking in their journey for wet towels for pretty snakes.
(The towels work, easing the dryness and hydrating the newer layer of skin. Hajime and Naegi get awarded with a happy Nagito and snake kisses, never mind how tighter the tail is wrapping around them. It’s love.)