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One of the worst thing about being a borrower was being too small. The second thing was getting cold, and for Grian, that was number 1 in his book. He hated being cold all of the time. During cold winter’s he would borrow as much food as possible, like a squirrel collects nuts, and never emerge from his home in the walls until it was over. Those memories were one of the most boring he has ever had. He was always so bored during the winter time. There was nothing to do in the safety of his walls, Grian would tell Doc over and over just how much he despised this time of year.
“Of course you like it, Mr. Natural-Winter-Coat.” Grian huffed at his roommate. Doc had listened to Grian’s rant for a good 30 minutes. Listening to it like a podcast as he made his coffee. “I thought you would hate it just as much as I do because of your garden.” Doc took one sip then turned his full attention to the small borrower sitting cress cross on his dining table. “My garden will come back in the spring. This is like a vacation for me.” Grian then crossed his arms with a pout. “A vacation? What about your food supplies.” “All stocked up.” Doc simple answered without hesitation. It was true, Doc was more prepared than Grian. Of course, Grian borrowed from Doc.
“Still, it’s the worst time of the year.”
“Well, you like Christmas.”
“That’s a holiday. I’m talking about the cold.”
“Well, this year you won’t have to worry about that. I have enough blankets to go around and I finally finished that fireplace.” Doc replied with a smile. Grian couldn’t help but grin back. He might not like the cold, but everything Doc had described sounded wonderful. “Fine. Maybe it won’t be that bad this year… Maybe.” Doc rolled his eyes at Grian’s stubbornness.
By the end of the day, when the sun said it’s good night, Doc and Grian decided the best thing to do was to sit down and watch the fireplace. Grian loved the feeling of the fire. Its warm breathe like a blanket was warming Grian up by the minute. Doc came back with two blankets and warped Grian’s blanket into a nest of sorts, watching the borrower climb in. After about 2 hours of listening to the fire crackle Doc looked over to his silent neighbor and saw that he was struggling to stay awake. In all the 3 and a half weeks that they have been roommates, Grian had never slept in front of Doc. Doc respected his privacy and understood why he didn’t. Which is why he was curious why Grian was fighting sleep instead of going to the attic for privacy.
“Grian,” he said quietly. “You should go to bed. It is getting late.” Looking at the time on the hand clock nearby showed the hour of 11:30. Grian was usually in the attic around 10 so it was definitely past his bed time. Grian groaned as his eyes fluttered to stay awake “No..t tir..ed..” His words slurred together. There’s that stubbornness Doc thought. Doc decided to give him 15 minutes and then he would force Grian to the attic for some much needed rest.
The warmth from the fire and blankets felt so nice on Grian’s skin. He couldn’t remember the last winter when he was this warm. His brain was jelly and his eyes were heavy. He just couldn’t bring himself to want to go back to the cold attic. Not that the attic was colder than the walls. The walls won that contest by a landslide. He just felt so at peace, especially after the past week of doing nothing but prepare for winter. He almost forgot he didn’t have to prepare as much now that Doc knew about him. It just felt different being here.
After about 10 or so minutes, Grian did fall asleep. Curled up in the blanket nest and snoring softly. Doc regretted not telling Grian to go to bed sooner. He promised him he wouldn’t go up to the attic, so carrying Grian to bed was out of the question. He instead did the only thing he could do, gently wake him up.
“Grian..” He said in a near whisper. Taking his paw and gently rubbing the borrower’s side to wake him even more gently. Grian of course tried to shoo him away with a yawn. Doc tried again, “It’s time for bed, little bird.” Grian buried his face into the blankets and mumbled “Not.. little..”
Doc chuckled but continued. He didn’t want to leave Grian in the living room all by himself. He wanted to go to bed and be reassured that Grian was safe in his own bed in the attic. When Doc tried once more Grian did something that surprised him. He had grabbed his finger by the claw and wrapped his hand over him. Doc was surprised, of course he figured Grian was too tired to comprehend what he was doing. Doc sighed, “Grian..” He tried to think of a solution. “Can I at least pick you up?” If he could bring Grian up to the table or find somewhere safe to put him, he would be okay with Grian sleeping in the living room for one night. “mmm… mhm..” Was the only acknowledgement that he got from Grian. So, Doc slowly and carefully removed his hand from Grian’s grasp and picked him off from the blanket. Sleepy Grian was bundled up in Doc’s paw, but shivered against the metal one. Doc took note of this and used one hand to hold Grian against his chest, searching for a place for the small creature to sleep. Doc walked all the way to the workshop when he spotted what he needed.
Even though Grian had never been in the workshop it was actually not as scary as it seemed. The workshop did have lots of tools, but also had a nest (Doc’s nest) tucked into the corner, a lamp, and even a small plant next to a pencil jar on a shelf near it. The corner looked nothing like the rest of the workshop. Doc quickly put everything together one handed. Once finished he laid down in the nest to sleep until morning.
What had Doc done? He emptied out the pencil jar, put cotton balls and anything else small and fluffy and put his sleeping roommate into it. It seemed like the best idea at that moment. Grian seemed okay with it.. for now.