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Roberu finds it very endearing to see how Shien’s tail broadcasts what the jackal beastman is feeling.
When Shien walks into Bar Robel after a busy day as a mafia boss, his tail swishes in excitement as soon as he sees Roberu working at the bar counter. When Shien feels sick and has to cancel a stream, his tail loses its energy and droops in despair for the rest of the day. When Shien is scared or nervous about something, his tail makes an attempt to tuck between his legs and hide.
Roberu likes to tease him about that one whenever Shien finishes a horror game stream.
Sometimes, when they stand close to each other, Shien’s tail unintentionally brushes past Roberu’s legs. Shien doesn’t seem to notice, but it catches Roberu off guard every time it happens. He doesn’t say anything about it, because it’s not like Shien can control his beastman instincts. He personally doesn’t mind it, anyway. In fact, Roberu could probably argue that he enjoys the rare bit of contact.
As strange as it sounds, Roberu quietly likes to look after Shien’s long, fluffy tail. In crowded places, he’ll walk behind Shien and act as a cushion between him and the crowd. (One would be surprised at how many times a random passerby would try to get away with pulling on Shien’s tail.) Roberu also moves to hold doors open and let Shien go through them first to prevent the tail from getting stuck in the door frames.
He even has a seat at the bar counter reserved just for Shien at Bar Robel, some distance away from the places with the most foot traffic. The Regulars figured it out a long time ago, and have since left that seat open on purpose - especially during the evening hours when Shien is most likely to visit.
It’s not like Roberu is trying to hide how mindful he is about the tail. Shien just doesn’t question his behavior at all, to Roberu’s confusion.
There’s one memory in particular regarding Shien’s tail that has stuck with him for a long time.
Roberu was over at Shien’s place one afternoon for an off-collab stream. Shien had gotten out of the shower just a few minutes before he arrived, and was busy making himself look presentable for the stream.
Roberu was setting up Mario Kart on the Switch console, but had no idea where Shien’s controller had disappeared to. He went to find Shien in his room to ask about it.
“Hey, Shien, did you move your controller or something? I can’t seem to find… it…”
Shien was sitting in his room, brushing his tail with a large hairbrush. He seemed very focused on removing the tangles that had resulted from drying the fur after the shower.
“Is this what beastman self-care looks like?”
“I don’t want to walk around with a tangled disaster attached to my back, Robe-san.”
Roberu laughs. “You’re right. Come on, we’re starting soon.”
He didn’t say it out loud, but Roberu wanted to try doing that, too.
After one particularly exhausting day at the S.S.B hideout, Shien came over to Roberu’s place one night to cook for the two of them and stay the night. While Shien prepared his signature mafia curry, Roberu remembered something that Shien had said before.
‘I’m used to people being curious about my beastman traits.’ That, and ‘I trust you to touch them, Robe-san.’
He’d be damned if he didn’t take that advice to heart. Which means…
“Shien, can I try brushing your tail sometime?” A little straight forward, but it works.
Shien looks up from the carrots he was slicing and tilts his head in interest. “Sure, but why the sudden request?”
“I just remembered how you were brushing your tail that one time, before the off-collab stream.”
Shien smiles at the memory. “Lucky for you, I was thinking of taking a shower before sleeping tonight anyway. You can brush my tail for me then.”
Shien’s curry was delicious, as always.
True to his word, Shien sits down on his futon in the guest bedroom, having just dried himself up. He hands his brush over to Roberu, who takes the space next to him at the farther end of the bed.
“The fur on my tail is a little thicker than the hair on my head,” Shien informs him, “so you have to make smooth, firm strokes to remove the tangles properly. Make sure to brush with the direction of the fur, not against it.”
“Gotcha.”
Having felt Shien’s ears before, Roberu was a lot more confident about placing his hand on the soft fur of Shien’s tail this time around. He catches Shien’s ears perking up in alertness at the feeling of foreign hands on his tail, so Roberu pets it a few times in reassurance to help get him acquainted with the contact. Once Shien becomes more comfortable, Roberu introduces the hairbrush and begins to brush the fur, careful to follow Shien’s instructions.
Roberu’s job becomes a little difficult when a few strokes in, Shien’s tail starts wagging in silent joy.
“Oi, stay still.”
“But it’s Robe-san brushing my tail! I’m so happy!”
Roberu tries not to blush at the comment. “Don’t make me pull on it.”
“Fine…” Shien wills his tail to stop moving. He barely succeeds.
They sit in a peaceful silence for a few minutes. Roberu basks in the calm atmosphere that the two are in. Every few strokes, he exchanges the hairbrush with his curious hand and quietly relishes in the feeling of the soft fur between his fingers.
Shien visibly relaxes as Roberu works through the tangles. He loved being cared for like this, and he absolutely enjoys the fact that it’s Roberu who is spoiling him. Roberu, his dear friend, was showering with all of his attention at this very moment, and his gentle brushing felt so soothing, that it was almost like he could fall asleep to it…
Roberu watches as Shien slowly tilts over and falls asleep on the futon pillow. He chuckles and finishes brushing Shien’s now tangle-free, fluffy tail.
Shien looks so at peace like this, and the sight is enough to make Roberu feel sleepy as well. He pats Shien’s head before getting up to turn off the lights.
On the way out of Shien’s room, he pauses.
“You know, Shien, I’m really fortunate to have a friend like you.” Roberu confesses. “It means a lot to me that you can trust me like this.”
He gets embarrassed and turns off the lights. “What am I even saying…”
Roberu makes his way to his own room to prepare for bed.
In the guest bedroom, a flustered Shien pulls the blanket over his head.