Chapter Text
The weeks dragged on with the same routine, Frye would come in and give them food, leave for a few hours to give space, then check their wound. As far as Shiver could tell, their wound had healed considerably, due to the small bits of praise Frye muttered under her breath in octarian. They weren’t sure if they were supposed to hear it, but it’s not like they could dull their senses on command.
Frye would stay for longer each time, sometimes bringing in the large manta in to visit Shiver with her. They will admit, the two have warmed up to them considerably, even with the language barrier. It’s just something about their movements, it seems like they were communicating not only with sound but with their bodies. Quite the interesting concept, so they decided to pay attention more to what their movements were. It was far easier to figure out what the two wanted.
One of the most awkward things is their free range of the building that they resided in. Frye had told them that it was okay for them to explore on their own the second day in very broken octarian, but Shiver understood somehow. Looking back, they appreciated her effort. But still, it was weird to roam around these unfamiliar halls, and the furnishings in the rooms were all so unfamiliar. Wide chairs that were as comfy as the beds, smaller versions of the same thing, the lights that hung low off the ceiling, it was all so weird.
Though, it was something they had grown used to in this short amount of time. With all the care and attention they were given, Shiver couldn’t help but begin to trust the two. After all they’ve done for them, Shiver isn’t quite sure what they want for return, but they're even beginning to doubt there will even be a fee. Fyre and the manta are the sweetest beings they’ve ever met, outside Valerie.
The two even bought a book with inklish words translated into octarian, and Frye would sit down with them and teach them how to pronounce certain words and their meanings. That, and courses that were online, too. But Shiver preferred spending time with Frye instead.
Everything was going so well, their life has improved, they had new friends that they could trust, a comforting place to call home, and yet, there was still one problem. Shiver couldn’t sleep. Not even with the plush bed and soft blankets that brought warmth, no, they could only sleep for a short while before waking up again.
It was quite annoying.
The sheets rustled as Shiver shifted positions once more, their arms pushing them up and onto their back. Shiver’s eye drifted to the ceiling, tracing the light that hung in the middle. They were trying to pass the time, as rummaging around trying to fall asleep was always uncomfortable. Shiver let out a sigh, and closed their eye in defeat.
The sensation on their tentacles laying on their face was slightly comforting, as they had grown to partially cover their damaged eye. A reminder of how long it’s been since they’ve arrived. Shiver wasn’t actually sure how long they’d been staying here, because they lost count after the first few days, but it had to be at least over a month now.
Shiver let their head fall to the side, their gaze filled with the amazing sight of a wall. They snorted at the thought. The wall was actually incredibly plain, yet the rough texture of it was intriguing enough. It was hard to keep a grip on their thoughts as their eyelid was pulled down slowly once more.
Shiver’s eye opened just minutes later in frustration, and they groaned as they forced themselves to sit up. A sour expression adorned their face. Man, this was annoying.
They slowly got out of their bed, cold air hitting their exposed thighs. The new clothing they had gotten for sleeping in consisted of shorts and an oversized t-shirt, both in a pastel shade of yellow. Both were from Frye, of course. The attire let the air nip at their skin, but Shiver didn’t mind, the clothing was comfortable. It also smelled like her.
They opened their door and quietly stepped into the dark hallway, the only light was moonlight shining at the end of the hall. Shiver stepped towards the light quickly, entering the living room and heading in front of the balcony door. The blinds were open, as always, due to the fact that they lived on the four floor of the building, apparently. Well, that’s what they’ve been told. They haven’t exactly left the apartment, Shiver was too scared, scared of finding an unforgiving world waiting for them, to take away the happiness they finally received.
Shiver inhaled sharply. They never like thinking about the what ifs, but their brain likes to overthink. Especially on the nights they can't sleep, which is most. Their hands moved up to clutch each other in front of their chest nervously as they gazed out into the open desert, the moon shining above and the sky full of stars. Claws dug into pale skin, as Shiver let their mind wander into darker territory. They were so into their thoughts in the moment that they never even heard the footsteps coming towards them.
“Blue?”
They jumped at the sudden noise, turning around to face Frye at the mention of their temporary name, (They have yet to properly communicate Shiver’s name, due to hesitance, so Frye started calling her Blue, as it was easy to remember). Frye was standing by the couch tiredly, her tank top wrinkled and her shorts slightly pulled down revealing a bit of her underwear.
A sudden sense of Deja vu washed over them. This situation felt familiar . Shiver stood, wide eyed. They couldn’t place their finger on it, and before they could get too deep into their thoughts Frye spoke again.
“Blue? You good?”
Shiver’s train of thought snapped and they met Frye’s gaze, lightly nodding their head before looking down at the floor, a little guilty that they woke her up. Out of the corner of their eye, they could see Frye’s ears lower slightly.
Frye frowned and stepped forward, lightly resting her hand on Shiver’s shoulder. “Are you sure? I haven’t ever seen you up this late.”
They lifted their head and met Frye’s gaze, before speaking in broken inklish, “Always… like this..” Shiver hesitated between words, trying to find the correct terms to convey what they felt.
Frye tilted her head in concern, “What do you mean?” Her tone was soft, and her voice was laced with worry. Golden eyes gazed into crimson.
Shiver looked at her with hesitation, but eventually relented. They lowered their head, “Sleep is not… often.”
Frye’s hand gently rubbed their shoulder, and all Shiver could do was focus on the warmth that it was giving them. The touch was very pleasant.
“So… what I’m getting from that is you have a hard time sleeping?”
Shiver nodded.
“Why didn’t you tell me before?” Her voice was slightly dejected, and her ears were lowered farther than before.
They simply turned their head away, gaze lowered to the floor.
“Well… That’s okay. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Don’t think so…”
Shiver racked through their brain for salutations that had worked before. All the things they had guessed would help before didn’t work when they finally had them. The solutions they had access to in the military were no longer available to them. Well, unless…
Shiver let themselves lean forward, and Frye let out a surprised squeak, scrambling to catch them in her arms. Their body’s reaction was immediate. The warmth from her body alone made them grow sleepy, and Shiver raised their arms, bringing Frye into a hug in an attempt to pull her closer. They couldn’t help the fact that their eye started to drift closed, while resting their head atop her chest.
Frye seemed shocked by the actions, letting out various small sounds of confusion before finally accepting it, wrapping her arms around Shiver to return the hug. Shiver smiled as Frye’s warmth engulfed them.
After a few moments, they felt Frye shift a bit, but they never let go. They even let out a small noise of protest as she tried pulling away. Shiver could hear the light giggles bubbling up in her chest, the sound soothing anymore unease that was brought up with the shifting. The moving subsided, and sleep finally was able to sink its sharp claws into Shiver. They lost any thoughts they had in that moment, mind drifting off. The last thing that they could register was the back of their head being gently caressed as they fell into slumber.
Frye, to put it nicely, was freaking out. The octoling that she had taken in two months ago had fallen asleep in her arms, still standing, mind you. This was the most amount of contact that Blue had ever initiated in the time that they stayed here, the last had been simple headpats, when they were mimicking Frye. She was excited, but extremely shocked. Fyre wasn’t expecting a jump this major, but it was welcome nonetheless.
She stared down at the octoling who was asleep in her arms, face smooshed against her chest. To be honest, she was kind of flattered that Blue found her tits that soft. But they probably didn’t know what they were doing. Octoling customs were most likely different than inklings, so this could be a regular thing there. Frye didn’t wanna knock it though, they were quite warm.
Her legs started to get tired from supporting both their weights, so Frye, as gently as possible, hoisted them up in front of her, so as to not break contact. She made her way to their bedroom, surprised that Shiver hadn’t woken up with all the movement. Their door was ajar, letting Frye step in without a fuss.
She walked to the bed, leaning over and softly removing Shiver from her. It was quite hard, due to the fact their grip was strong, but Frye managed. She put Shiver under their covers, and quietly went to leave, but she heard them stir.
A soft voice came from behind her, “...don’t leave..”
Frye turned around, finding Shiver sitting up, fear filling their eyes and on the brink of crying.
“Please.. Don’t leave me.. Please..” They begged, their voice cracking. Frye’s heart broke then and there.
Shiver’s gaze never left Frye as she made her way back to the bed, kneeling down beside them. She lifted her hand and gently carressed their face, wiping away the forming tears.
“It’s okay, I’m not going anywhere.” She smiled, and Shiver brought their hand over hers, gently hanging onto it. A few tears fell down their face before a small smile graced their features. Fyre smiled back, wiping the stray tears away. A few moments passed before Shiver shifted farther to the side of their bed, a silent gesture telling Frye to get in. It took a few moments, but Frye finally obliged, lifting up the covers and crawling under with Shiver.
As soon as Frye got settled, they immediately moved to cling to her once more. She let it happen, moving her arms around their back. Shiver pushed their face back into her chest, in which Frye flushed a bit, but overall ignored it. A light rumbling noise started up, making her ears twitch. She tried looking around, but stopped when she realized the source was right in front of her. Frye could feel a light vibration on Shiver’s back, and the noise rising and falling with their breath. She smiled, Shiver was purring.
Her eyes started to drift close, the combined warmth and the soothing sound from Shiver was an attack on her senses, making her more tired than before. Frye held shiver close as she drifted off into the field of dreams.