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There are thirteen of them in the base including Kalluto. There are only twelve futon mattresses.
Shalnark comes to this realization after being last to enter the Troupe’s shared sleeping quarters, having lost the coin toss for post-dinner cleaning duty. They weren’t expecting to have a thirteenth person, and only prepared twelve beds.
The other option is to sleep on the bare floor or to go to the main church hall and sleep on a pew. Both are things Shalnark would be willing to do if he hadn’t been expecting to sleep on a comfy mattress tonight.
Well, he’s hardly going to kick Kalluto off of the futon they’ve claimed. Shalnark looks around, assessing his options. Feitan is awake and glaring at him– message received– keep your bed to yourself. Phinks is the only one who ever shares with Feitan.
There’s lots of space left on Kortopi’s futon… but Shalnark isn’t really in the mood to bully the smaller, weaker Spider into giving up his space.
Uvo, on the other hand, could take some bullying. Shalnark knows he’s warm and tolerates physical contact well– even seeks it out. Despite the fact that he takes up almost the entire surface area of the futon on his own, sleeping beside him wouldn’t be that bad.
“Move the fuck over, Uvo, or I’ll kick you,” Shalnark says, standing over the futon that Uvogin almost completely covers.
“Mmf,” Uvogin grunts, blinking his eyes open. When he sees Shalnark, he scooches over obligingly.
Shalnark crawls under the blanket, facing his fellow Spider. It is warm. Uvogin’s a walking furnace. Ah, and the futon is soft.
The other man settles against him, letting out a sigh.
“Are you shirtless?” Shalnark hisses.
“I always sleep shirtless,” Uvogin replies. Shalnark can feel the bare skin of Uvo’s chest against his arm. He supposes this is to be expected. He remembers seeing Uvo sleep without a shirt before.
With a sigh, Shalnark turns over so that his back is facing the other man. As though it’s the most natural thing in the world, Uvo puts an arm over him.
Shalnark attempts to process this. Uvo seems relaxed and comfortable using Shalnark as his personal teddy bear. His chest presses against Shalnark’s back, his arm holding Shalnark close. It’s not a tight embrace, but it is a high degree of physical contact. The term he’s heard for this before might be spooning.
He wriggles experimentally, getting a feel for the arrangement. He’s partially restrained, but also warm and sheltered; ultimately, the feeling of security due to Uvogin’s proximity is a net increase. He shimmies closer to the warm body behind him, and allows himself to curl up against the heat.
When he settles, Uvo’s arm tightens around him comfortably. The other man’s chin rests near the top of his head, and Shalnark can feel the soft disturbance in his hair each time Uvo breathes out through his nose. His ass is brushing Uvo’s lower belly, and he feels Uvo shift a leg forward so that their thighs touch. It’s nice.
Shalnark smiles, and sleep comes easily. He finds himself thinking that he’d do this again.