Chapter Text
Checking into the hotel had been easy. Smooth even. Really, everything so far had gone flawlessly on their journey. Their leave was approved without problem, their departure from Tracen had been punctual, no delays of any kind. Dober had done an excellent job planning their whole trip to the con.
She had insisted on doing so, citing that she couldn’t let Digital do all of the work, since she had taken care of securing a good table for them as well getting their doujins to print, among other things. Digital obviously didn’t mind doing more work, but Dober seemed determined. So while Digital still preferred if Dober could just sit back and relax without worrying about anything, she did also understand wanting to do her share of the work. She had full trust in Dober to get everything done, after all.
Their ride had been spent chatting away quietly, talking about anything from their recent interests to their families. Talking with Dober had become surprisingly easy over the time they’d known each other, the type of ease Digital usually only experienced with her trainer.
Of course, when they had first become friends, Digital rarely talked about herself, not wanting to impose her personal information on one of her oshis. Though as they had grown closer and more comfortable in each other’s presence, Digital had slowly started to tell her friend more about herself, even if there was little to say.
Well, and also because Dober had scolded her for never talking about herself, since she also wanted to get to know her friend.
Now, they had spent the journey so far in amicable chatter, during their ride, on the way to the hotel they were staying at, and even now as they made their way up to their room so they could put their luggage away.
Lost in her own chattering about her current dirt oshis, Digital didn’t register that Dober had grown quiet beside her, completely silent by the time they had entered the room. At first, she also didn’t see anything off about the room, relieved to finally put down her suitcase and stretch her arms.
At last, she turned around to the beds.
The One bed.
The One Double bed.
The One Double bed for Two people.
“Ah.” Digital said, quietly. “Ahahaha! I think they gave us the wrong room! We should, probably tell them about it! Maybe they still got one with two beds!”
Digital had barely managed to process sharing a room with another uma when they had started to plan their trip. Even Digital would concede that it was easier to share a room than book two just because she was scared of tainting the same air another uma was breathing.
Dober finally spoke up, though she didn’t meet Digital’s eyes, looking oddly embarrassed.
“I… fear that this is my mistake. I booked it wrong when I made the reservation. And I doubt with all the con attendees, that making a change will be easy… I’m sorry, Digital… ” She trailed off quietly, giving Digital an apologetic look before she quickly averted her eyes again.
The trains of thought in Digital’s mind had started multi-track drifting and were mere inches away from crashing into each other. With a quick shake of her head, she righted them again.
“That’s fine!”
Dober perked up, looking at her in surprise. “Really?”
“Yeah! We can probably ask for extra blankets at least, and I can sleep on the floor just fine!”
“Digital! I’m not gonna let you sleep on the floor!” Dober protested, looking horrified. “If anything, it should be me, since it was my mistake…”
“I’d never make you sleep on the floor!”
“Exactly! So you understand that I wouldn’t let you do that either! Look, we can just share the bed. There’s plenty of space, and we’re friends, there’s no need to make a big deal out of it.”
“B-but— It’s really fine! Really, I don’t mind at all—“
“Digital!” Dober’s voice rang out sharply, making the other girl flinch. Guilt immediately flooded through Dober at the sight. “S-sorry, I didn’t mean to get mad, I just…” A sigh escaped her, and she crossed the room to stand next to Digital, laying a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
Digital looked up at her with watery blue eyes, and Dober maybe looked back for a moment too long before she blinked, like she had startled herself awake.
“I know you’re worried about being a bother, but you aren’t. You’ll never be one to me, okay? I know you like keeping your distance, but we’re friends, right?”
Digital’s only response was a shaky nod.
“Right. So it’s fine! As long as you don’t mind sharing, I don’t either.” She paused, suddenly nervous. “You… do you mind? I don’t want you to be uncomfortable…”
A quick shake of her head this time. “No, no, that’s fine with me! It’s not a problem, I promise!”
“Good.” Dober sighed with relief, hesitantly letting go of Digital. “Now, how about we go out for something to eat for dinner and get some rest after? We’ll need to be prepared for the weekend.”
“Yes!” Digital finally perked up, following Dober out of the door.
“Alright. My treat then.”
Already seeing Digital open her mouth to protest, Dober raised her hand. “Consider it my apology for this blunder. I’ll let you pay next time, okay?”
“…Okay.” Digital conceded quickly, though Dober could tell she wasn’t happy with it. Her ears were pinned back ever so slightly, and her tail lashed a little in irritation.
Even when sulking she was cute. Or maybe it was just cute that she sulked because she had to let Dober pay for her.
Dober giggled, bumped her shoulder against Digital’s playfully, and grabbed her hand to drag her along out of the hotel.
Hours later they had each settled on their own side of the bed. Though, settled was perhaps an exaggeration in Digital’s case. Even in the dim light that came through the window, Dober could see how the smaller girl was curled up as far away from her as she could, right on the edge and practically half in the air.
“Digital.” She sighed, though she made sure to speak gently. Pink ears twitched in response. “Lay down properly. You’ll fall out at this rate. Even aside from that, you’ll be uncomfortable and not sleep properly. We’ll need all the energy we can get for this weekend.”
“I’ll be alright! I don’t need that much sleep, and I’ve survived worse!” Digital insisted.
Dober was a little glad that Digital was still not looking at her to see her ears pinned back in frustration. A gentle approach clearly wasn’t working, so she would have to get mean. She shuffled a bit closer reaching out her hand to tug at the back of Digital’s pajamas. The girl immediately went rigid, even her breathing seeming to stop.
“Digital.” She repeated, but this time her voice was more insistent. Sadder. “This is still all my fault. It just makes me feel terrible to think that you won’t get proper rest, all because of my mistake… I know you just want to give me space, but I’d really rather you get comfortable.” She paused for a moment, letting her own ears droop sadly before she delivered the killing blow. “Please?”
Digital finally shifted, and Dober let go of her shirt to let her turn around. As embarrassing as it was, she made sure to keep looking at her as sadly as possible. The guilt she felt was real, so really, she was just exaggerating a little bit.
There was still a moment of hesitation, before Digital finally relented, shifting closer until she could properly lie down, even if there remained some gap between them.
Small victories, Dober told herself.
“I really don’t mind, though… and I don’t blame you, so don’t blame yourself!” Digital smiled at her.
“I know.” Dober said softly, one hand reaching out and gently brushing Digital’s cheek, before she quickly retracted it. “I really don’t deserve you.”
“Of course you do! You’re my best friend, one silly little mistake wouldn’t change that!” Digital’s voice was a little too high, and her own fingers ghosted over the spot that Dober had just touched, but she said nothing about the little slip.
Swallowing thickly, Dober needed a moment too long before she could finally respond. “Mhm. You’re mine, too.” She smiled, grasping her own wrist tightly to resist the urge to reach out again. “Good night, Digital. Sleep well.”
“You too.”
Dober turned to lie on her back, closed her eyes, and let silence settle over them.
Oh Goddesses why did she have to touch her like that. Her fingers still tingled a bit from where they grazed Digital’s skin. She wasn’t— She wasn’t exactly trying to be subtle about her feelings, she wanted Digital to know that she. How she felt about her. But there was still delicacy to these things! She had to practice her self-control!
Dober wasn’t afraid – well, maybe she was a little afraid – to admit that she liked Digital. Quite a bit. Or, as Palmer had put it less elegantly, that she had a huge, obvious crush on her best friend. Just thinking about it made her want to squirm, but she couldn’t let Digital know how badly she was freaking out.
She just, liked Digital. So much.
And she was confident – somewhat confident. Semi-confident. That her feelings were mutual. It was hard to tell with someone like Digital, who got excited and flustered over every uma musume. But now and then she caught Digital, quietly looking at her, with something unreadable in her eyes. Or the way Digital was closer with her than any other uma musume.
The fact that they were here, together, after working on their new doujin together. Dober knew that she was special to Digital in some ways, but whether those were romantic, she wasn’t completely certain. She was so maddeningly close to her, and not just in the literal sense, and she felt that all she had to do was give it a little push.
Which was what this weekend was supposed to be for. What this whole bed sharing scheme was for.
There was no mistake. At the time the idea had felt tempting, something to finally move them one direction or another. Get them closer. Let her make some kind of move.
What she hadn’t anticipated was just how nervous she was going to feel sleeping next to the girl she liked. Really, she’d thought she’d at least be a little cooler and calmer about this, not the complete mess she was right now.
Though, the thing she really should have expected was Digital’s reaction. Of course she was going to offer something like sleeping on the floor. It was Digital after all, who would give an uma musume the last of her money and then run off before she could be thanked. It just made the guilt in her chest worm its way deeper inside.
Now she couldn’t even look at her, because she could tell Digital was still awake, and she really didn’t want to be a weirdo staring at the pretty girl next to her all night. Still, maybe if Digital fell asleep first, she could scoot just a little closer.
Not that she wanted to impede on Digital’s space, just. Maybe. One of them moved when they were asleep. Closer to each other. There was plenty of plausible deniability. Not that she needed that. But she did make this only-one-bed, and now she had to lie in it. Next to Digital.
Who was still clearly awake, doing her best to stay still, though Dober could hear her fidget on occasion. Dober wanted to comfort her, but she knew that if she called attention to her, it would only serve to make Digital more nervous.
So, Dober stayed quiet, listening to Digital’s breath next to her to see if it would even out eventually, and finding herself drifting off without ever noticing.