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To navigate through the Pale City when you’re just about a quarter of the size of even basic things like doors and shelves is… exhausting, to say the least. Mono and Six were lucky enough to be pretty athletic kids, able to run and jump and climb across the terrain, but even they had their limits. Sometimes hours felt like days with how long it took to get across the shortest distance. However long the time was, it was physically draining, and that’s when you don’t consider the horrifically twisted enemies they came across, nor the fact that it was always pouring cold rain.
So, long story short, they were tired. Six especially.
While Mono was motivated with his own goal, Six just followed him because they were friends. For her, there was no benefit to come along. Mono was happy that she did, he was grateful for her help and he (secretly) had a crush on her, so it was easy to find happiness in her company. That being considered, he didn’t argue when she would ask to take a break.
“Hey,” she called distantly. Mono turned around, his puppy ears bouncing under his paper bag, and saw that Six was trailing behind. Her tail was soaked and drooped with the water weight until it was almost dragging across the concrete. She was slouching and her paws stumbled over themselves. Once she realized she’d gotten his attention, she signed, “ can we stop please? ”
His tail wagged as a sympathetic gesture, and he nodded. “Okay. Let’s find somewhere safe to stay.” He went back to grab her hand, walking slow enough for her to not trip. She squeezed the hand in hers and held onto his arm with her other hand, and Mono just smiled to himself. Though his tail gave it away as it wagged more.
Mono instinctively shook the rain off, despite not getting any on his ears, and Six only shielded herself from the droplets as they found themselves in what looked to be a former furniture shop. There were tables and dressers all on platforms, though some were missing from their spots or were badly broken. However, near the back of the store were the beds. Though some were damp or drenched with the rain dripping through the ceiling, many of them looked just fine, even inviting, which was not common in the Pale City.
Mono found one big enough for the two of them and hauled her up beside him. She was shivering bad, and the new silence made it easy to hear her chattering teeth. He frowned.
“Let’s take our jackets off and let them dry,” he suggested. She nodded and tugged her raincoat off over her head while Mono shrugged his own coat off his shoulders. They hung them off the foot of the bed before wiggling their way under the covers. He also took his bag off and let it sit on the floor by his side of the bed.
Usually when they stopped for breaks, Six kept her distance. Mono guessed that it may be because of her cat-like instinctual wariness of dogs, or because she was naturally not a very physically close person. Whatever her reason was, he respected it and gave her the space she asked for, despite the lack of verbalizing.
So, he went to one side of the bed to give her room, as he usually does.
“It’s nice to finally sleep in a bed, huh?” He snuggled into the soft blankets and buried his face into the warm pillow. He tried to keep his tail from moving too much, keeping it to a slow, small sway. It was all too big for them, but that just meant more for them to have. He sighed and felt himself being lulled to sleep within seconds.
But he felt a tap on his shoulder before he could drift off. He sat up and rubbed his eyes. “Six?”
He turned to see if she needed something, but as he did, she immediately wrapped her arms around him and nuzzled her face into the crook of his neck. Her tail curled around herself and brushed against Mono a bit, and her fluffy ears tickled his chin. His heart was definitely pounding against his chest, but that didn’t stop him from acting like it definitely wasn’t, even though there was absolutely no way she didn’t notice.
“Six? Are you okay?” He resisted putting his arms around her like a hug.
“ You’re warm ,” she signed onto his hand. “ And I like you. ”
“O-Oh, uh…” He struggled to find words and dammit why did he have to have a tail that wagged? “A-Are you just saying that? Or like as a friend, or… like like?”
“ I like you, ” she repeated. “ I like it when you hold my hand. ”
Okay. So like like.
“I like you too,” he confessed. She purred.
“ Goodnight, ” was the last thing she signed before she intertwined their fingers and fell asleep, still purring.
Mono was in a bit of shock, but a good kind. He put his free arm around her and settled in again, careful of his sleeping friend. She didn’t stir at all, just kept her hand in his as he adjusted their position ever so slightly, cautious to not crush her tail.
She remained snug against his chest as he pulled the blankets up to cover both of them. It was warm and soft, and Mono felt himself drifting away again. Six’s breathing was perfect to match with and soon enough his eyes fluttered closed and sleep overtook him.
In the Pale City, a puppy and a kitten slept snuggled together in a furniture store bed.