` ` Cozy ` `

The hallways echo with the pairs of steps, loud in the quiet of the night. Though, Orion would hardly qualify this time as really night-  he has gone to bed at much later times than this. What is it now, 11? That's… too early. Way too early.

He starts to tug back, but the hands around his wrist and the second pair pushing his back persist, keeping him moving.

"Come on," Says a higher voice, and he glances down, mouth twitching at the sight of Daphne practically dragging him through the house. Her tone implies that she is not taking 'no' as an answer- and enough experience tells Orion that it would be a fight to insist otherwise. It is too stubborn.

"It's too early-" He starts to voice his thoughts, but an insistent shove from behind causes his teeth to clack, voice stopped.

"Listen, if Daph's insisting, then there isn't any use in arguing with it," Faust says, a smug inclination to their tone that has Orion's frown deepening. "You know how she is. Besides, I thought you'd be excited by the idea of sleeping with her~?"

Before he can even react, Daphne's voice squeaks from ahead of him, "Faust!"

"What? Just trying to help~" Yeah, they're definitely smug.

"That's not helping! And that's not even what we're- we're not- agh-!"

"Oh? Does the idea really fluster you that much-?"

That finally elicits a shove from Daphne: the issue is that Faust, very tactfully, decides to use Orion as their shield. Their grin is as wide as their face, snickers escaping them as they shove him in front of them and Daphne's hands find Orion instead, making him grunt in reply.

"Enough," He grumbles, eyeing both of them. As per usual, it means nothing.

"Yeah Daph, wait until the bedroom-"

"Shut up!" Is all they get before Daphne's grip on his wrist suddenly tightens decently painfully. Before Orion can say a word more, Daphne drags him, much faster this time, towards their destination. He cannot help but stumble in the moment, caught off guard.

Behind them, there is a pause, before Faust calls, "Hey- wait up!"

As Faust had already stated, the destination was the bedroom: very specifically, the one he rarely ever uses. It had been gifted to Faust already by this point, but the two are acting as if he has any priority when it comes to who gets to use it. Which… it is his house, but this was given to Faust already. It's theirs now. Is that really that hard to understand…?

Still, they shove him inside, where he finally digs his heels in. They feel sluggish, but it is not anything he has not dealt with before: he has operated on exhaustion stronger than this. He stops around the center of the room, hands instinctively slipping into his pockets once he has managed to yank them free of Daphne's iron grip.

She seems okay with that for now: her gaze goes to his dresser instead, where it stalks over and begins rummaging through. Faust finally catches up then, rolling their eyes in amusement as they shut the door behind them.

"Top drawer to the left. I kept all his stuff the same in there."  They offer. Daphne simply follows, tugging open the drawer. Orion resists the urge to flinch at the way she digs through them: there's an order to it… Tiredness halts his tongue for now though, instead just making it buzz unpleasantly as his stuff is messed with. He'll have to reorganize that later.

His arms, they're… heavy. Same as his feet and head, though, once again, it is not anything he has not dealt with before. Tiredness is something he is just used to, by this point. Still, as Faust leans up against him as usual, like he were some sort of personal wall for them, he finds that he kind of wants to lean into it, his eyes a bit heavier.

Really, he is used to sleep claiming him unannounced, something forced upon him wherever he may be in the moment- which usually happens to be his office chair. These feelings are similar to the ones that typically pull him under, but he only digs his heels in further at the feeling of it: it is too early. 11-something, it is far too early. He could still be working right now. Why did he even humor this to begin with-? He has resisted Daphne's pleading eyes in the past, but somehow, he let himself get roped into it and Faust's request regardless. He could have pulled away and shut himself in his office, why did he let these two drag him down here-? He should leave now, while he is still-

A hand finds his waist.

Wordlessly, Faust's hand slips into his pocket.

They remain leaned against him, an easy smile on their face as they watch Daphne, their arm keeping him… rooted. It keeps a loose hold on him, not able to do much if he walks away, but… it keeps him from moving, for now.

They glance at him, then. "You should probably sit down. She'll be real mad if you run off."

At his blank look, they press more into him, using the momentum of unbalancing him to push him a bit further towards the bed. "You're already here anyways, you might as well."

He could argue more. He is fully capable of doing so.

Faust, however, looks up at him with an expression that is…

…Mm.

When did they learn how to do that? Emulate that same pleading look that Daphne seems to have accidentally perfected?

Mm. Feeling stupid, he holds his tongue as Daphne faces them once more.

"Of course." It says, flat. Orion's gaze falls on what she holds: in her hands are a pair of silk pajamas, colored a dark shade of black and shiny in the lamplight. White embroidery is stitched along the edges of the fabric, hand-sewn, and very obviously expensive. Daphne makes a face at it, though it doesn't seem judgemental at this point: just expectant. "Of course you'd own something like this."

"Looks comfy." Is all Faust offers. Daphne runs a hand along it.

"It's silky."

"Is that… not? Comfy?"

"Sometimes." Daphne shrugs. "Can be."

Without another thought to that, she tosses it over to Orion, watching him catch it and instinctively fold it back up properly. Daphne follows after it, coming up behind him and shoving him along, far more pushy than Faust is.

"Go, go on, change," She says, getting him further from the door. Once he's near the bed, she stops, ignoring his eye roll. "If you don't, I'll tear that suit off of you myself."

"Really now~?" Faust is laid over the bed on their side, grinning at the two of them. Daphne stares daggers at them.

"Faust."

"Geez, fine, fine," They finally hold their hands up in surrender, grinning once more.

With that, Daphne leaves him to it, only sending once more glance and wave to 'get to it' to Orion while she goes back to the drawers. It leans against them, fingers beginning to undo the straps of its overalls. Orion watches for a moment as she tugs them down, rolls released over the fabric, before his eyes carry his attention back to the clothes in his hands.

…He promised. It makes his frown twitch. But, he promised he would do this.

With the flare of his nostrils, he begins undoing his tie. His fingers are meticulous, going about removing everything piece by piece, folding it as he goes. And as he works through the suit, he listens to the other two, letting their voices act as white noise.

"Oh by the way- Faust, where's your stuff? You said you didn't touch Orion's drawers."

"Yeah, I just left his as is. I don't need the space."

"Then where do you keep your extra clothes-?"

"Mm? Oh- I don't have any."

…Both Daphne and Orion visibly pause.

A beat passes. Only then, Faust processes the silence, just now realizing how bad that sounded. Carefully, they readjust their tone, eyes glued to the roof.

"I mean, I've got plenty. I just don't have to keep them anywhere." Their hands slip behind their head. They've shifted to the end of the bed now, where they let their head hang off the end, legs up and crossed.

"…That doesn't make sense." Daphne is eyeing them.

They smear a smug expression over their face, something amused, something guarded. Their smile white, Faust eyes Daphne before a noise emits from them. Daphne and Orion stare at the shapeshifter as their clothes… morph. The black melds into their skin, briefly akin to melting paint before bubbling white, and a moment later, out flares a white cutoff, looser on their body than the bodysuit. Their socks remain, but the shorts melt away similarly, replaced with a looser pair.

It's… uncomfortable to watch. Though, the shirt looks like a medium to Orion-? Medium, small leaning maybe. He notes it down internally for later while Daphne makes a face.

"…That's horrifying." Is all it offers, face pale. Faust just waggles their eyebrows.

"Horrifyingly cool?"

"You're so weird." 

"Just for you~"

In reply, Daphne just throws an extra shirt at them. They pull it off their head, rolling their eyes before holding up the garment, looking it over.

"…You own t-shirts?" They direct at Orion. He is partway through unbuttoning his shirt now, the vest and tie folded and set aside.

"…Yes." Is all he offers. When he says nothing more, Faust scoots closer, pulling themself onto their stomach.

"I didn't think you owned anything other than suits."

"And that stupid robe."

"And the robe." Very important addition indeed. Orion stares at both of them with an unimpressed look.

"Just because I have a preference does not mean I am not prepared."

"Prepared for what?" Faust cocks their head. Behind them, Daphne lets out a swear, nearly tripping as she yanks off her overalls. 

…The few loose shirts he has in there were gifts from Gil. Well, 'gifts'- Gil knew Orion would never use them but insisted on getting them for him anyways, stating that it was for when, in his words, 'You finally get that stick out of your ass'.

He could tell Faust that. Or…

"Just in case." Is all he offers instead. It gets an exaggerated sigh out of Faust, satisfying to him. Let them guess a bit longer.

"That doesn't answer anything and you know it." They whine- but, seeing that their whining will not get them the answer this time, they elect to just toss the shirt back over to Daphne when the girl comes back over, now only wearing her undergarments. She catches it with a surprised look, before simply laying it back on Faust's head.

Faust pulls it off, saying, "What-?"

"That's yours." Daphne says. Faust looks more confused.

"I'm already dressed-"

"Just put it on anyway!" There is a small bit of heat to Daphne's cheeks as she squeaks out the reply. Faust blinks in surprise- but Daphne merely walks past them, back towards Orion, who finally just got his own clothes on, his suit folded and set aside.

She hands him something extra: that brown sweater the two had gotten him awhile back. Orion stares at it, eyes tracing over the comfortable material before Daphne pushes it into his arms, letting him feel the knit.

"Put that on," Her voice is softer. From here, she's staring directly up at him, cheeks still a tad red from her conversation with Faust. It isn't incredibly demanding, just a bit softer, and…

…

Her eyes widen briefly, before she yanks her head away, shoving the sweater the rest of the way into his hands before pulling away entirely. What expression must he have been wearing-?

"I'll be back!" She announces, a bit too loud. As she stomps out the door, she adds, "If you leave, I'm killing you!"

He's left standing there dumbly, knit in hand and staring after her in confusion. From the side, he hears Faust snort.

"Woooow." Their eyebrows raise high, eyes half-lidded. "You two are just… wow."

Orion, still rather confused, slips his arms into the sweater instead of giving them anymore of a reaction. Faust just grins to themself, kicking their feet lightly as they twist the t-shirt more in their hands.

"Say, what do I have to do to get either of you to look at me like that, mm~?" They're teasing, Orion can tell. He ignores them further, pulling the sweater on entirely. 

It slips over the pajamas easily. The silk itself is soft against his body in a way he… had forgotten, honestly. He doesn't actually remember the last time he fully dressed for bed; for the past while — and how long has that been? — he has just been falling asleep in his office. Which is comfortable enough, that's not a problem, its just…

This feels… warm. The texture is nice, and the sweater tucked over everything is making him feel even warmer. It's comfortable in a way he isn't usually allowed.

Hm.

He pulls the front closer together, closing the sweater, and glances back at Faust, who has just been watching him. Rather than touch on whatever they insinuated, he nods to the shirt in their grasp instead, saying, "Your turn."

Faust blinks at him. He watches them pull a grin back on, more hesitant this time. "Eh?"

"She will get upset again if you don't put that on."

Fair point. The smile falls away, having barely been there anyways. 

Their thumb rubs it lightly for a long moment… before they eventually just shoot back, "Only if you sit down."

…Ugh.

Orion sighs again before stepping over, sitting down on the mattress beside them where they are sprawled out. Faust looks satisfied by that; they pull themself up, cross-legged as they yank the shirt over their head.

It's much bigger than them, as is most of Orion's things. He will have to measure them at some point for sure, but this is giving him a good basis: they like body suits, he knows that, he could find some decent ones. And hell, they could have every t-shirt he owned if they wanted…

As their head frees from the gap, they shake out their hair, eyes re-focusing on the way it hangs off of them. Once they do, they… they go silent.

For a long moment, they just stare at it, picking over it.

"…Do you ever wear these?" It wasn't a question Orion was expecting from them. Still, he thinks it over.

There was when Gil had first bought it and demanded to know if it fit. He feels like he vaguely remembers wearing them once or twice while sick-? Oh, and in the early days of the kittens adjusting to the house, when they would claw anything he was wearing and he didn't want his suits picked while attending to them, he wore these instead.

So, he offers a nod. "Yes. Occasionally."

Faust just nods to themself. Quiet, almost out of view, their hands tangle in the front where it drapes over their lap, holding the fabric between their fingers, tracing it.

It's followed by a deep breath, in through their nose.

"…I can tell." Is all they say after that, a bit lamely. As if to shake off the thought, Faust half-leans half-falls against Orion, head bumping his shoulder. "You should actually sit down, by the way."

"…I am sitting."

"But you're so stiff." Their fingers jab at his side until he pushes their hand away. "You gonna relax? Like at all?"

"Maybe." His voice is still in the same tone, but he trusts Faust to catch the small bit of humor in it- which they do, with a scoff.

Before they can quite follow that train of thought though- they both look back over at the door as they hear footsteps again, fast and sure. A second later, Daphne appears, squeezing herself through the doorway with something much larger in hand.

Orion starts to stand, but her quick grunt of, "I got it!" and Faust's hand on his shoulder keeps him in place as Daphne drags in a piece of machinery. It looks like-? Oh, it's one of her fans from the garage.

Faust jumps up next, leaving Orion alone on the mattress; they grab a chair, scooting it over for Daphne to deposit the fan onto. With a whuff, it drops it, then wipes her forehead and murmurs a quick "Thanks."

With it obvious that they didn't need help, Orion settles a bit more onto the mattress. The headboard presses into his back as he pulls his legs up, watching the two of them as he curls up slightly, hands settling on his ankles.

"You brought your fan." Orion says, pretty obviously. Daphne just waves a hand at him.

"Mmhm. Let me just…" She digs around in the back of it for a moment. Then, with a little shudder, it spurs to life, the blades beginning to whirl. At the sight, Daphne lets out a pleased "Aha!", leaning back with her hands on her hips.

Faust raises an eyebrow at the sight. "…Yeah?"

"I like the noise." Daphne shrugs. After a beat, she adds, "Don't put your hand in that."

"As if I was planning on it."

"I can never tell."

"Owch." They exaggerate the sound; Daphne's eyeroll has a snicker escaping them, humor showing.

Orion lets the two's voices melt back into the soft noise the fan emits. It isn't too loud, just a pleasant rattle and the whirl of the machinery, something that blends in well with the others' prattle. Though, the breeze is decently cool; no wonder Daphne uses this in her garage. He finds himself burying a bit more into the sweater, legs folding a bit more against his core while his hands come up to rest on his arms instead of his ankles.

"Can it actually cut things?"

"Um, yes. It's a blade." Daphne explains. Faust is wearing that smug look again, Orion can see it from here- they're egging Daphne on so she will start explaining the machinery all over again, even if they've heard it before. He doesn't blame them, really: it's nice hearing her talk.

While she rattles on about blade sharpness and shape, Orion feels himself sinking more into the bed. Again, exhaustion tugs at him, but he blinks a few times, chasing it away as he eyes pick out the clock nearby: 11:42. Not yet.

"-But, yeah, it can cut things, so don't put your damn hands in it unless you really want to lose one." 

"Got it," Faust hums, satisfied, their expression horribly fond in a way impossible to hide. Daphne must finally catch herself, because as she stares at them, red flushes over its face again. It turns away, hands shifting to fold across its chest instead.

"…Right. Anyways."

"Anyways." Faust echoes, drawing out the word in their deeper voice, teasing. Daphne flushes worse, then whips her head away, brows furrowing.

"Anyways, bed." She squeaks, stepping away. Faust lets out a 'mmm' in reply, following.

"Don't forget your gloves."

"My-?" Daphne looks down, then lets out a bonus squeak as she realizes. Hastily, she yanks off her gloves and tosses them aside, having forgotten to remove them when she'd shucked off her day clothes earlier. Faust only snickers at the sight.

With that, the two finally approach the bed again, where Orion has been waiting. Well, 'finally', is what he would think; however, as they look at him, he only just now manages to make himself zone back in, obviously having lost track of how long he had been waiting. He had only been half-paying attention for the last couple minutes; his eyes are feeling heavier by the second.

He blinks open an eye, head hardly raised. And…

Faust and Daphne just stare at him.

…It goes on for a little too long, actually. His brows furrow, head lifting just a bit, hands twisting in the sweater's sleeves.

"…What." His voice is not much more than a grumble. All he gets in return is owlish blinks.

 …Why does Daphne flush again? Why does Faust's expression soften the same way he's seen it soften so many times for her?

Faust comes around to his side of the bed and starts to sit, their hands pushing him more to the center as they murmur, much gentler, "Scoot over." Daphne similarly comes to the other side of the bed, slipping onto the mattress and lifting up the covers for them all, sliding under them herself too.

Orion is maneuvered to be between them and then covered by the blankets, the bed sinking under the weight of the three of them. Wordlessly, Faust's hands find his sides, their arms wrapping around him and their head settling on his shoulder. Daphne faces his front; she starts to settle in, but as she starts to press into his front, Orion sees the way she hesitates, eyes staring at his chest.

…Then, without warning, she moves him. With a grunt, she gets him rolled onto his back instead, causing a few questioning murmurs from Faust on the other side. Orion scowls at her, but… the expression eases as she buries herself into his side instead, arm thrown loosely over his stomach.

"More comfortable," She says, glancing away. Faust merely nuzzles more into Orion's shoulder instead, rolling their eyes.

"Uh huh."

"Shut up."

Their bodies are… are warm. A shudder runs through Orion from the fan, but from the combination of the sweater, covers, and the two bodies beside him, he finds his body melting into the heat, craving it. A sigh escapes him, followed by the feeling of his limbs finally… relaxing.

It feels… good. He isn't used to this feeling of calm, not in his own bedroom. Er- Faust's bedroom, now. It looks like they've barely changed anything, though.

He stares between them, eyes half-lidded as the two bodies get comfortable up against his sides. Daphne's hand finds his chest, wrapping around it, her finger brushing against Faust's.

Nearby, the clock ticks. 11:49.

Still too early.

…It is stupid how he thinks he could sleep right now. How he thinks he might be able to close his eyes and just melt into this.

Not yet. 11:50. He could have been working these last ten minutes.

…But Faust wraps a leg around his, pressing closer, their face nuzzling completely into his neck. Daphne lets out a sigh, finally comfortable enough to settle her cheek entirely into his chest. And he thinks for a brief moment, maybe it is not a waste.

11:51. His scowl grows.

"Damn, loosen up." Faust grumbles into his neck, startling him a little. "You're like a rock."

Behind him, he feels Daphne's other arm shifting.

"I told you, it's too early." He grumbles back. He can feel the furrow of Faust's expression.

"What does that even mean…?"

Why bother explaining? He knows neither of them will get it. He starts to shut down, head tipping away, but-

His head tips right into a hand.

Daphne's other hand is settled behind his. It's fingers, tentatively at first, begin picking through the strands of  hair pressed against them.

…He resists a full body shudder.

Nails and finger tips sift through his hair, gently tugging strands out of the gel he had run through it this morning. Little by little, the dark strands begin falling out of the hold. When Daphne speaks again, he barely catches it, his focus entirely on the feeling of her nails against his scalp.

"Geez." She grumbles. She nuzzles more into him, hiding her cheeks as her fingers work. "You're like a damn cat."

His eyes tug back open, having involuntarily shut at the attention. It's blurry now, but he manages to pick out the clock in the corner once more: 11:53. Mm…

Another hand joins Daphne's; Faust shifts, slipping their hand into his hair next, teasing the strands around his neck. They let out a little amused sound at the look Orion sends them, tired and content.

"Okay. Okay, yeah, I see the appeal." They hum, getting a small snort out of Daphne. Orion would send them both a glare, but… Faust's nails scritch at the base of his neck, and he cannot resist the way he melts into it.

The thing is… What he had not  expected out of all of this is the silence. Not the physical room, obviously: the fan is keeping his ears filled. But, that's the thing: by this point, this early, when he closes his eyes, he is used to unpleasantries. Stupid thoughts and scenarios he cannot quite seem to quell from his mind.

But, here with the pleasant thrum of machinery and the breathing of the two bodies he worries about the most nuzzled up beside him, he finds his mind tonight is… actually quiet. It's quiet. There isn't anything pressing at it, fears of things happening around him, to the house, to these two people- its just quiet, save for the scritching along his scalp.

…He swallows. His chest feels heavier with more than the arms thrown over it.

It's good. It's nice.

It's nicer than it ever has been.

11:58. His limbs feel like butter. One eye stays barely open, his breaths evening out. He does not think his bed has ever actually been this appealing, not with what usually comes with actively making the choice to lay down.

11:59. Faust says something to Daphne, their fingers stroking a section of his hair above his ear, "Look, it looks like a cat ear."

"You- … It kind of does."

"Do your side."

"No."

He thinks he feels one of them press a kiss against his cheek. A grumble escapes him, some murmur not even he knows what it was intended to be. Faust only murmurs back, "Yeah, love you too pookums."

And finally- 

12.

It's still early, but at least not too early now. A shiver finally runs through him, his eyes falling shut, a final sigh escaping him. The others must feel it, because a second later, they're wrapping fully around him again, nuzzling closer then before, and…

And he lets himself sink.

The last things he manages to catch are a whispered, "Look at that. Are we good or what?" and the sound of two fists hitting another before the world around him fades out, going dark.