Chapter Text
Skeptic yawned wide, stretched his front legs out in front of him, padded in a circle, and settled down into a loaf. It had been a long, tiring day of investigating their home to make sure it was safe for the hibernating species. Broken was already passed out in his room, buried under a mountain of blankets, Cheated was nuzzled up beside Contrarian in their yearly torpors, and Cold had settled under his bed in his own hibernation.
The house was safe, and Hunted was on her patrol. All was well; Skeptic was safe to settle in for the night.
He heard a squeak from nearby and lifted his chin from the floor to see Opportunist, curiously sniffing at his tail. “...Oppy?”
Opportunist jumped, diving behind Skeptic’s tail as if to hide himself. “There’s no one here!”
“Oppy, what are you doing?” Skeptic asked.
Opportunist was quiet. He poked his head over Skeptic’s tail, sheepish. “...Just…um…grooming! Yes, just grooming. Your fur is all sorts of tangled, my friend. You should really tend to it better.”
Skeptic lifted his tail into the air to reveal Opportunist’s little rat body. Opportunist squeaked, scurrying away from Skeptic. “...I’m not going to eat you.”
“Ah!” Opportunist’s large ears settled lower to his head, and he cautiously crept forwards again, curling up on the floor just an inch away from Skeptic. “Right! Of course. I--I know you wouldn’t. You wouldn’t even when it’s winter and food is scarce! That would be quite rude of you!”
“I’m not going to eat you,” Skeptic repeated. “I can hunt something later. Hunted is out scavenging right now, too. Why not just let me know what’s on your mind?”
Opportunist hesitated. He stared at Skeptic for several minutes, beady eyes trying to interpret the quizzical tilt of Skeptic’s head.
Until, finally, he sighed, padding closer to Skeptic and shoving his face into Skeptic’s fur. “...I’m cold.”
“What was that?” Skeptic asked, rolling onto his side to expose his belly.
Opportunist grumbled something, then walked up to Skeptic’s chest, shimmied between his front legs, and snuggled contentedly into his chest. “I said I’m cold.”
“...Don’t you have blankets in your room?” Skeptic asked, curling up around Opportunist and laying his tail over the fancy rat. “Why’d you come here?”
“I could sleep in my room, but I don’t want to,” Opportunist declared simply. “...It’s lonely, and I hate being lonely. But Hero might roll onto me in his sleep, Paranoid hates me, and the others aren’t soft enough. Are you happy now?”
Skeptic smiled slightly to himself. Chittering, he licked the top of Opportunist’s head to smooth down his fur. Opportunist squeaked in distress, squirming out from between Skeptic’s paws and fleeing a good foot away again.
“You are going to eat me!” Opportunist cried. “You’re going to gobble me up the second I get comfortable! I’m too delicious!”
“I’m not going to eat you,” Skeptic assured again. “Was just grooming your fur a little, Oppy.”
Opportunist huffed. He waited until Skeptic rolled back into Prime Loafing Position, chin flat against the floor with an expectant gaze, before he finally trotted back to Skeptic’s side.
Considering for a moment, he nodded, then crawled onto Skeptic’s back, burrowed into his fur, and settled into his own loaf on top of his spine. “...Goodnight, Skeps.”
Skeptic chuckled, yawning as his eyes drifted closed. “Night, Oppy. Hope you’re warm enough now.”
“Mm…” Opportunist snuggled into Skeptic’s fur, content. “Quite warm, thank you. Your winter coat is really quite fetching.”
“We’re almost the same color now. I guess you can use me for camouflage if you intend to continue sleeping on me all winter.”
Opportunist was quiet for a moment. He chirped a few times, licking Skeptic’s fur before settling in to sleep.
Skeptic’s eyes drifted closed. He made a few clicketing sounds as he began to drift off, content with Opportunist’s warmth on his back.