Chapter Text
There’s an elbow, sharp and pointed, poking into his side, and a body flopped carelessly on top of him.
Fox huffs, rolls in the space the bunk gives them and shifts until he’s comfortable. There’s a quiet huff, indignant at being moved from a comfy position and Fox pinches at the arm that’s now curled around his waist.
Neyo hisses and knocks their heads together, just a little too rough for a Keldabe.
Fox grins, nudges back at him. Neyo grumbles, shifts until he’s comfortable as well, with their legs tangled together and tiny hands holding each other. They aren’t, technically, supposed to be sharing a bunk. But they’re both little enough and the bunk big enough, that it isn’t too difficult.
Besides, it’s warmer curled up with each other then it would be if they were alone.
The soft breaths of Gree and Colt are calming and it’s easy to close his eyes and let sleep come, the rhythmic rise and fall of Neyo’s chest comforting and steady, everpresent.
When he’s woken it feels like he only just closed his eyes, sleep clinging to him and he yawns, listens to the amused “Why is there a cadet missing from a perfectly good bunk?” and blinks up at Alpha-6, debates turning over and going back to sleep.
6’s raised eyebrow makes him decide against it and he smiles as he sits up, wide eyed and innocent and a little sleepy, and purposefully avoids the question. “We were sleeping.”
6 snorts, “I can see that, now why were you not sleeping in your own bunks? Neyo?”
Neyo shifts, sits up from where he’d most likely pulled the blanket over his head when he’d heard 6 come in—Fox tries to decide whether to get him back for trying to leave him to deal with it alone, or to let it go since Neyo let him get more sleep, decides to make his mind up later after they deal with 6—and rubs at his eyes to try and get rid of the sleepiness, “Better sleep means we can beat the Shebs at the next sims. It was very important we share a bunk.”
Fox nods very seriously, looks up at Alpha 6 with wide eyes and a pleading expression that he’s found can sometimes work if he does it well enough and doesn’t push it too overboard.
“It was a very well thought out plan.” he says, and when it doesn’t look like 6 will be swayed by that line of reasoning decides to try a different tactic. Some of the Littles have a hard time getting all their words right and it endears them to a lot of the older Cadets, let’s them get things easier then if someone else had asked.
“And besides, it would be cruel to separate us.” he lets his s’s slip into ‘th’s’ and it doesn’t sound quite right but it’s too late now.
Neyo leans into Fox’s shoulder, doesn’t try the lisp but runs with the general idea, copies the face Fox is making. “Yeah! We’re tubies, imagine how mean it would be to make us sleep in separate bunks. You’d have to be awful to do that.”
There’s a muffled laugh from Colt’s bunk and Fox makes a note to absolutely trip him later.
6’s expression is half amused and half exhausted frustration and Fox allows himself a second to think, ‘Might’ve overdone it with the lisp, osik.’
6 snorts, “Those faces aren’t going to work you two, I know for a fact that you aren’t tubies.”
Fox narrows his eyes, “Do you have proof that we aren’t tubies?”
6 blinks, “Yes?” but it sounds more like a question. Fox gives him a look, raised eyebrow and all, and looks at Neyo who nods at him in mock seriousness.
Neyo turns to look at 6 and says, matter of factly “No, you have a theory, you can’t prove whether we’re tubies or not. And since you took forever to finally tell us apart, that means we’re definitely tubies and it would be awful of you to make us sleep in separate bunks.”
Fox smiles, nods with the most serious air he can muster, and watches 6 turn to stare down a giggling Gree.
“You are of no help whatsoever.”
Gree giggles again, scrambles out of his bunk, “I told them they’d get in trouble.”
Neyo sticks his tongue out at Gree and Fox glares. Gree just giggles again and starts getting ready. When 6 turns back to look at them they both look up at him with innocent faces.
6 sighs, looks at the two of them.
Neyo blinks, pouts.
6 raises an eyebrow. Fox makes a note that Neyo’s pleading expression looks remarkably like he’s plotting something.
6 gives him a stern look and Fox rubs at his eyes, yawns for effect, blinks.
6 pinches at the bridge of his nose, “You’re both awful. And need to be a lot better at manipulating people if you want this to work.”
Fox frowns and tries to think of anything else he can try. Colt snorts from somewhere on the other side of the room and Neyo flops across his lap. Fox pokes at him to try to get him to move, but Neyo just waves a hand at his attempts and settles in comfortably. Fox huffs, tickles him and Neyo laughs, twists to grab for his hands and holds them tight.
6 watches them with smiling eyes even as his expression remains unchanged.
“Are you sure?” Neyo tries once he’s caught his breath.
6 gives them a stern look, “Yes, now get going and no more sharing bunk.”
Neyo huffs and pouts.
6 rolls his eyes at them, gives them a final look, but Fox watches the amused curl of 6’s mouth before he turns away from them.
Neyo pokes at him and Fox looks down, Neyo stares up at him and his smile is delighted and gleeful, “Your lisp was awful.” he whispers and laughs, keeps laughing even after Fox pushes him off his lap and onto the ground.