Chapter Text
The world held still, dust neatly settled in the corners of the room, and the moon beamed softly into the room. It caught on the hanging vines that twirled themselves around the area, creating the same twisting patterns to the floor below. It illuminated enclosures that held the most curious of creatures, some who enjoyed this nocturnal playground adventured through neatly built terrariums, the soft crunch of leaves echoed through the rooms as they traversed the hardscape, followed with the gentle rushing of artificial waterfalls complemented the room in a melodic symphony.
Moonlight slowly found its way beaming towards a warm-colored bed, and slowly to the eyes of Xie Bi’an, awakening the man from slumber. The air held a slight chill to it, Bi’an adjusted accordingly, sinking down further into the countless blankets that coated the bed, after a moment of groans and long, tired blinks. He ran his hand down the back of one Professor Luchino Diruse, his fingers glided along the small scutes that decorated the man’s back neatly, one main row of large scutes that were followed by two smaller rows, scales flowed accordingly down Luchino’s back, soft when petting downwards, however, hands easily got caught when trying to pet upwards. Blinking, the picture around Bi’an only grew larger, the professor and himself interlocked, Luchino’s breaths were soft, some came out as small chuffs. It was pressed tightly against Xie Bi’an’s shoulder, tail curled around one of his legs, like the panther chameleon that resided in this lab. Bi’an tried to squint his eyes to look for the colorful creature, usually, it resided in a collection of free-standing vines, a small glimpse of the vibrant red reptile was seen, but that was before a small shuffle diverted Bi’an’s attention, slowly turning his head to greet the smaller, more…Burlap version of the man who he held in his arms, the small, bastardly menace that was Mini Luchino. The beast had curled itself around Bi’an’s other shoulder, it had mimicked its much larger counterpart in curling its tail around Bi’an, but with a short tail, it could only wrap itself only a quarter way around Bi’an’s arm. It was a fair attempt, Bi’an sighed softly before resting his head on top of Luchino’s. Gently petting the man, how long has it been since Bi’an and Wujiu opened their arms to Diruse? The manor was timeless, however, days still seemed to pass so quickly. Bi’an left himself in wonder, then another shuffle arose, he looked towards the back of Luchino’s head. Mini Wujiu, Bi’an sighed and reached his hand over to hold onto the small mitten hand of his companion’s counterpart, it wriggled a bit before settling down once more.
“Cold…” A sharp hiss rang through the room. Bi’an, who was almost ready to fall back asleep, shot his eyes open and looked down at the seemingly glowing eyes of Diruse. The reptilian groaned, adjusting itself and pulling its body closer to Bi’an. His tail loosely constricted Bi’an’s leg.
“It could be due to the fact you continue to sleep shirtless, we are reaching colder months you know.” He muttered back, being met with another groan. Bi’an leaned his head back to look down at Luchino, the man looked up to meet his gaze, it was a moment of silence between the two as the small pets that clung onto them continued to sleep peacefully. Luchino slowly flicked his tongue out, then in, a subconscious habit caused with its new reptilian design. Bi’an’s ears flicked slightly to match movement. It took another minute of silence before it was broken.
“Are the windows closed?”
“Yes, they are. I made sure before I fell asleep.”
“The glass could just be chilling…The air rising then being circulated by the fan…” Luchino’s rambling was interrupted by a yawn, its tongue flicking out again as it bared mammalian teeth, only a few remaining features that continued to connect him with his old form. It muttered a few extra words after that before looking back at Bi’an, tilting its head.
“What time is it even? Should we start the day?”
“Nightingale said that matches will halt today, we have a free day.”
“Brumation it is.”
“What is that again?”
Without another word, Diruse yawned once again and pulled Xie Bi’an towards himself. Bi’an grunted as Luchino pulled him in, but it was quite amusing how one small sentence could turn a light back off inside the professor. Bi’an chuckled at the thought. Pulling the collection of blankets back towards the necks of himself and Diruse, returning to petting him softly, starting from his back, then up to his curled, fiery orange hair, it ran like silk between Bi’an’s fingers, it was a feature he always enjoyed, another head to braid, it was a pleasure to assist in braiding Diruse’s hair for the day once he wakes up, at least it wasn’t as messy nor imperfect than the first few times Bi’an had seen the reptilian’s solo attempts at braiding. Especially after the mutation, Bi’an got carried away in petting Luchino’s hair, twirling it around his fingers. To no surprise, Diruse wasn’t fully knocked out yet, half asleep, it gave a small purr. Bi’an smiled, littering kisses upon his forehead. It pushed itself closer towards Bi’an, returning the favor with a weak lick upon the cheek, he gave a small groan before continuing its purring. It slowly faded as Luchino finally fell back asleep, leaving Xie Bi’an back in a room of quiet ambiance. With a small sigh, he placed one last kiss on Luchino’s head, wrapping his arms around the man in preparation for himself to fall back asleep as well.
“Goodnight my love…Remember to give Wujiu my love as well…”
With one last flutter of blinks, Xie Bi’an was back asleep. The waterfalls became quiet, and the crunching of leaves ceased, the nocturnal creatures- the even the most curious found places of rest, the cold air dropped and became warm, a night of peace; and a day of relaxation commenced.