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"Uuuuuugh," Snivy moans the moment we close the door. They toss their bags to the floor and promptly collapse. "How long were we walking for?"
I breathe a sigh of relief and set my bags down next to Snivy's. "I don't know, probably something like five hours." I look around the room of the inn; it's a little shoddy and dusty, but it's better than sleeping in a tent, and at least it was cheap. It was even cheaper since it's a small room, for small pokemon. I turn to Snivy, who's still lying face down on the ground. "So, are you gonna sleep in a bed or on the floor?"
"Floor," they say with a muffled, tired voice. "The ground is my home now, and I shall stay here forever."
"Then why did we buy a room at an inn?"
"uuuuuuuuuuuuugh."
I reach down and help Snivy up. "Come on, let's check out the... beds..." The bed is rather small and in mediocre condition, just like the rest of the room, but that isn't the problem; it has a mattress, pillows, and a blanket, and would be much better for sleep then a sleeping bag. No, the problem is that it's THE bed. Singular. And there are two of us. "Well shoot."
"What? What's the... Oh."
"Looks like one of us actually will have to sleep on the floor. Or in a chair, or something." Time to figure out who gets the bed.
"Huh? That seems kinda hasty. It's not THAT small."
"Well we COULD both fit, but that'd be..."
"Yeah, I get what you mean, but... You're being a little too weird about this. Have you never slept with others before? Like, with your family or anything?"
"Not since I was little, and even then only with my parents when I was scared or something. Is that normal for pokemon?"
"Of course it's normal! Well, it's normal to sleep with people you're close with... Let me guess, it's different for humans, right?"
"Yeah. We usually only sleep together with, like, romantic partners and stuff."
"Wait, what?! That's weird. You're weird."
"What else is new?"
"Well... whatever. I'm taking the bed, and we can share if you want." Snivy hops up onto the bed and settles in under the covers.
Well shoot. One way or another, this is going to be an uncomfortable night. I walk over to fetch my sleeping bag, and I think about rules. Why do we even have all these rules? Well duh, to keep people safe and make thing better; hurting people is bad, so it's against the rules. And helping people makes things better, so the rules say that stuff like sharing is good. But... why do the rules say you should only sleep with romantic partners?
Yeah, sleeping with someone is pretty intimate, but I think I trust Snivy enough for that. Why should it be abnormal? How does that rule help? If it doesn't help, then it's a bad rule. Why should I follow a bad rule?
After a moment of hesitation, I put my sleeping bag back and approach the bed. I jump up, and the mattress shakes as I land.
"Wha! M-Mudkip?"
"What?"
"Um, nothing, sorry."
Cool, as if this wasn't awkward enough. The bed is definitely not big enough to comfortably fit us both, and we're left with little room between us. I get under the covers, and I can't help but notice that Snivy keeps shifting around. "Hey, are you okay? I though you said this was normal for pokemon."
"Um, well yeah, but I... I haven't shared a bed with anyone in years. Not since I was little. So uh, I'm not really used to this."
"Wait, what? Why not? You were the one saying how totally normal it is."
"Well, you know... family... Heh, I think I'm more comfortable sleeping with you then I would be with my family again."
"I... can't tell if that's a good thing or bad thing."
Snivy giggles. "Both."
A brief silence falls over the room. "Hey Snivy?"
"S'up?"
"Um, could you... hold my hand? It's something I used to do when I was little, and, um..."
"Uh, sure, okay." Snivy holds out their hand, and I reach out to them. It's a comforting bit of physical contact, and in a situation as awkward as this, I need all the comfort I can get.
"Thanks. Goodnight partner."
"No problem. G'night partner."