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The challenge was tiring for all the cast, some of them took naps and woke up to look for a better place to sleep, and others just engaged in conversations with another contestants.
Fern did that after the most recent contest, she talked with Sidewalky until he decided to wake Needy up, and he started talking with the annoyed girl while Fern looked around.
His eyes first looking at the girl next to him,
Jammy, talking with Sticker, he had recently lost his best friend Beach Ball, so he didn't blame them for being sad about it.
He leaned back to see Rose laying on the grass, holding something that she couldn't quite see, maybe the spray Beach Ball used in the ring, he didn't know, But he had to look a little further to see her.
Yes, Toothpaste, her best friend, or enemy, it depends on the day, but they are in good terms, and he feels a lot of affection for her, despite having known each other for not too long.
People might see Toothpaste as annoying sometimes.
But not him.
He sees that beauty beneath that facade of hostility she has with everyone else, sweetness, affection, kindness.
It's something not everyone gets to see.
Just earlier that day, she was holding Toothpaste's cap on his hands while Toothpaste talked about Sticker being her enemy, and then there some of her toothpaste to the boxing ring that made Sticker trip and fall, she heard her celebrate and he was about to give her one of his little lectures about fairness during the contests, but then she turned to him and said.
"Oh, my bad!"
And cleaned some toothpaste that accidentally stained his face, he never felt more flustered in his whole life, and he didn't even know why.
"Oh, errr, thank you, I didn't notice that..."
She snaps out of her daydreaming when Toothpaste wakes up from her dream, clearly angry about something he can't hear from where he is, but it was David and Ruler talking about something, Ruler walked away quickly, but then it suddenly started... Snowing?
He didn't expect to see snow, and apparently nobody did, they seemed surprised, but the cold wind could be an issue for light contestants like her as a leaf or Sticker, some of them went to search for shelter, others like Sidewalky just stood there, but Fern had to find somewhere to avoid being blown away.
After the snowstorm, he went outside of his little makeshift shelter, seeing the whole place full of snow, he didn't mind that, he likes snow, but it was late at night, Announcer just gave each one of them a pillow and a blanket and told them to go find somewhere to sleep.
He walked for a while, trying to find somewhere comfortable, but she is struggling, she walks around to see Sticker hugging his pillow, she had seen them clinging to Beach Ball before they got eliminated, so it's not a surprise she is not used to sleeping alone.
He saw other contestants sleeping and he tried to see if the broken trampoline is still there so he could sleep in it, but it was covered in snow, and he didn't feel like digging.
She was already tired, but he found a place under a tree, some bushes and rocks around, it seemed comfortable, but not because of the environment, but because Toothpaste was sleeping there.
She had held her before, sure she is obviously full of toothpaste, that's her name after all, but she is also very soft and squishy, and he felt like he didn't want to let go of her at all, but he was also a little scared of making things weird or in the worst of cases to be seen as too clingy or annoying by her.
He fiddled with his blanket and his pillow before throwing them on the ground to have his hands free and then poking her friend's arm with his finger, suddenly feeling nervous when she grumbles.
"Ugh... Fern?"
"Oh hey Toothpaste! What a nice night isn't it?"
"What do you want, it's late and i want to sleep..."
"Oh... Uhh... I'll go straight to the point, can I sleep here with you?"
He felt his face burn a little as Toothpaste expression suddenly turned confused for a moment.
"With me? Don't you have somewhere else to sleep? That trampoline or sum."
"But It is covered in snowww... And it's coldddd..."
Toothpaste looked at the leaf in front of her, she doesn't want to push her away in this moment, and she could use some company, so she nodded, smiling a little as she saw Fern's small loose leaf that was on the lower part of his back wag a little, she always wondered if that leaf worked like a tail, and her suspicions were confirmed in this moment.
"YAYY! Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!"
"Yes, no worries, just let me sleep."
Fern placed his pillow and lay down next to his friend, his hands clasped to avoid feeling too close to her, his face still feeling somewhat warm despite the extreme cold between them, her blanket covering her.
He is wondering if this is too weird, but they are just friends, and this isn't weird for friends, Beach Ball and Sticker used to do it... So why can't Toothpaste and her do it? Why does his friend feel too comfortable beside him?
She didn't stay awake for long, falling asleep very quickly, and while asleep he can't control his need for something comfortable to hug, hugging the nearest confortable thing he found.
Toothpaste felt something wrapping around her, since Fern is a leaf, her sides are wrapped around her almost completely, she felt her face getting warm because of them being close at this moment, and she pushed her away reflexively, hearing her friend whine and try to hug her again, this time she just frowned and let her.
He looks comfortable after all, his "tail" wagging as she spooned her, her leg resting on her too, it took her a while to get used to the contact, but she did, and she liked it, she didn't want Fern to let go.
Sure, some of his leaves felt a little ticklish at first, but he was also very fluffy and comfortable, her hands around her and her soft breathing hitting her back. She hasn't slept with anyone like this before, and she didn't know her "enemy" was going to be the first one to see this soft side of her, it made her mad and a little giddy.
She shifted her position and stared at the sky, a few clouds and some stars were visible, her hand caressing some of the leaves on the top of her friend's body and started to doze off.
---
"WAKE UP LOSERS!"
Along with the sound of someone kicking a tree was the last thing they both heard before feeling cold snow falling on them from the tree above them, making them both scream and quickly dig to get out of there.
They saw Sidewalky with that annoyed look he is always wearing, and the guy was met with two very different greetings.
"Sidewalky..."
"Ohh hey Sidewalky!"
He just walked away after waking them up and that only made Toothpaste more angry, but Fern woke up feeling better than ever, a big smile on his face and his tail wagging, clearly having slept well, it made Toothpaste smile involuntarily.
If he looked this happy, she instantly felt a little bit of that happiness too, and it is something that only him can cause on her.
And that's alright with her, it's really no fuss.
As long as he is next to her, just the two of them.