Chapter Text
Mono grits his teeth, it felt like the door was hundreds of meters in the distance, and every step he took seemed like it was through sludge, one of the most exhausting things he has dealt with in this nightmarish journey so far, but his legs couldn't give out now, not when a creature from hell was chasing them, and definitely not when Six was just a few paces behind him, following him with as much faith as possible in this wretched world.
Those damned viewers, ever since they killed that broadcaster, it seemed most of them had gone rabid, attacking anything that moves, whether it be a simple rat or them, but Mono didn't really have time to curse those monster though. Because finally. after what felt like sluggish minutes, but in reality, was at most, thirty seconds, passed, he finally made it to the door.
he can barely catch his breath as Six barrels into him, "Oof– oh sh–" he gets shoved onto the floor, Six's body on top of him, he can barely get his bearings before his eyes widen, seeing monstrously enlarged fingers trying to force their way through the open door, the hand too big to fit through the door's too small frame.
Mono quickly gets to his feet, taking the axe he stole from the hunter's cabin on his back and slicing right through their index and middle finger, there wasn't even a crunch as they went right through the bone, a testament to the sharpness, and to the sheer heft behind the tool, he can hear a pained, wailing sound behind the door.
But his wild swing has also thrown him with it, the axe landing into the wooden floor and embedding themselves into the planks in a flurry of splinters, but thankfully, out of the corner of his eye, he sees the stumps where fingers used to be retreat, and Six slam the door shut, everything going still, until quickly Mono uses his strength to wretch the axe from the ground and bar the door with it.
And only then, can they finally, finally relax.
Mono huffs, dropping on his ass and just staying there, in disbelief that they actually survived, squeezing his eyes shut and taking a moment to compose himself and let his fear wear off, waiting for the pain in his lungs to subside, when he comes to his senses, he sees Six staring at him in concern, a unsaid 'are you okay?' hangs in the air.
"Y…Yeah, I'm fine," he lies, his bones ache and his body feels like it's about to give out due to exhaustion, pressed thin by the strain of running again and again and again, and barely getting enough rest to keep him functioning, but even so, he doesn't want to worry Six, who has the same issues as his own, as well as her unrelenting hunger on top of it.
But she sees right through him, he can still see tenseness in her jaw and worry in her eyes, Mono wonders how long they have been traveling together, and how exactly can she know him so well in the short time since they escaped together from the hunter's cabin.
She offers a hand, which he gladly takes, and let's her hoist him back up, she turns to him, murmuring a sentence, "Let's stay here for a while."
And Mono's will, curse it, crumbles easily at the thought of rest, he nods, grateful.
The apartment was in a shockingly good state for it being the end of the world, it's wallpaper, only slightly peeling off the concrete, the wood planks that make up the floor only being a little dirty and rotten, not devoured yet by the vermin and the like, various rooms dirty, yet furnished and stocked.
Including a almost fully furnished living room, complete with a TV (covered up and unplugged, thankfully), a fairly cozy couch if you ignore it's ratty cover, a couple of chairs and even a desk that had a drawer of various miscellaneous tools and supplies, Mono makes a mental note of what to leave behind and what to bring later.
A bathroom, where despite having no running water anymore, the bathtub being full of (slightly questionable) clean-looking water.
Six started drooling openly when she came across the kitchen. it was stocked with about as much food as you can ask for in the apocalypse, two cans of tomatoes, some of those weird freeze-dried meals, and a few servings of moldy bread and stale dried meats, practically a whole buffet by their standards.
One of the best things though, was that they were actually in-scale, often when they go to a suitable shelter, it was always far too big for them, having been made for the adults, so it came as a breath of fresh air when they came across such a cozy place that hasn't outgrown them.
And so, considering all that, it was obvious that this place was a haven.
Despite that, there were some unsavory details about the place, the lock was broken on the door, explaining why it was so easy for him to break into it in the first place, and not like some parts missing either, more like smashed in, there were torn clothes and discarded sewing instruments strewn about in various places, there were half-eaten, infested meals in the trash.
It didn't take a genius to piece things together, who ever must have lived here was prepared, just not for adulthood, trying their hardest to pretend everything was alright, mending their clothes as they outgrow them, eating the same food even when it was getting stale to their new palette, and when they finally had enough, smashing through their own front door in a rush, having outgrown their own home some time ago…
Mono must be thankful though, this person who lived here, made this place Six and Mono's home, stocked it, and gave it to them, gave them a warm place to rest and food to eat, however unknowingly. So Mono puts his palms together and whispers a small word of thank to them, despite Six's look of confusion and awfully condescending smile towards him.
But the best thing in this house, in Mono's opinion, was the comfortable, clean, warm , mattress that was in the bedroom, honestly he was ready to pass out on the spot when he came across it, completely ready to ignore the aching feeling in his belly after he took off his brown trenchcoat and threw it on the dresser, getting comfortable in the comforters.
But apparently the world wouldn't let that happen, he groaned as he felt the feeling of a hand grabbing his collar and pulling him off the bed, despite his protests.
He pouted as looked up, he sees Six point towards her stomach and then at him, "What…? Just go get yourself some food in the kitchen…" he says tiredly, head already falling back down into the bed as he closes his eyes.
Six shakes her head in disappointment, poking at him as he groans, annoyed, he looks back up at her, to see she's gesturing aggressively towards his stomach.
Oh
She meant that Mono should eat,
He shakes his head, dismissing her concerns, "Hm…? No thanks, Six, I'll just eat breakfast tomorrow." he was far too tired to care at the moment, and going up and eating something right now seemed like such a bother when he was draped so comfortably in blankets and pillows, a far cry to sleeping on either the cold concrete of the streets or the wet ground of the forest.
So he simply hikes himself up the bed, onto the pillows before pulling his head under the blanket.
He smiles under the sheets, ready to get the best night of sleep he's had in a while…
Only for his eyes to immediately shoot up when he feels hands grip his ankles, flinging him up until he lands on something, or someone,
"W-What the– hey…! Six!" his hands scramble for purchase, landing on her shoulders as she gives an approximation of a piggy back ride to him, she pulls his legs up as she makes sure his hands on her shoulders are secure, and Mono could basically feel the toothy grin on her face, despite not being able to see it.
She carries him through the apartment, Mono can see the humor in It despite his annoyance, it must have been funny looking, considering the size difference between the both of them after all.
She plops him down in one of the cracked wooden seats in the kitchen, Mono stifles a laugh as he watches her climb up the counter in order to reach one of the shelves, but his mouth immediately shuts with a click of his teeth, as soon as she turns back, a glare freezing him in place as she stuffs two cans of tomato soup in her raincoat pockets.
She hops down, sitting on one of the chairs next to his, biting into the top of one of the metal cans and tearing it open with her teeth, handing it to him before she bites into her own, spitting off the metal lid as she twists to face him, sitting sideways on her chair, her expression was sour as she pointed at Mono's stomach, he was sure that her eyes would look narrowed if he could see past her bangs.
She was always serious about him getting enough to eat, and him eating consistently, ever since they escaped the tower, fussing when he skipped a meal, If Mono didn't know any better, he would've said she seemed almost… fretful of him.
"I'm sorry, I was just tired," he puts on an exhausted smile, "It's… been a lot these few days." it has, from escaping the tower and breaking the loop, to trying their best to survive in this world, being chased around by various monster with close to little time to rest,
She crosses her arms, 'Too tired to eat?" she mouths, her lips pressed into a thin line, she didn't believe him, but it was true!
He couldn't always find food for the both of them, even so, he fed most of what they had to Six so that she could fend off the hunger, maybe his body started expecting the lack of food, maybe the hunger becoming ordinary to him, to the point where sometimes, he didn't even notice that his stomach was aching.
"I really can't, I'm not hungry," he explains.
But by the way Six seemed to be calming down, taking a different posture, it seemed she was noticing that, which Mono expected, she was always sharp in many ways, from puzzle solving to her insight.
He really was lucky to be with her.
Although forgive him when sometimes he thinks that isn't the case, when sometimes she looks at him with equal parts mischief and malice, teeth bared wide in a smile that raises all the hairs on the back of his neck, an expression that has him preparing himself for whatever… thing she's about to do, like exactly right now.
Out of all the things Mono expected her to do, maybe she would give into the hunger and devour him whole, not even leaving his bones behind as she would lick at his marrow, maybe she would bludgeon him to death with the chair he sits on, maybe she would denounce him entirely before leaving, Maybe she would–
Mono swallows hard, what is she doing…?
What he didn't expect however, was for her to come jumping towards him, the chair sounding far away as it clatters to the floor, he focuses on the small figure currently bounding towards him, he braces himself for teeth digging into his forearm, for it to tear into him as he raises his arm up, or a punch to the throat as he slams his head back, or anything, but when she lands on him, instead, Six gently, so uncharacteristically gently, takes his chin in one of her hands, Mono, maybe he was surprised, that Six, would be slow, careful, that he let her do as she wanted.
He was even more surprised when, she took his tomato soup, and forced it to his lips, he choked, his arms flailing before Six caught them, "Drink up, bag boy…!" her voice was grating and hoarse from disuse, a cutting edge to it that Mono loved, he shivers as he goes limp in her grasp, trying his best not to choke on the sauce that Six was force-feeding him, until finally, the tin can was empty.
He coughs, sputtering chunks of unpuréed tomato from the soup, Six simply laughs at him as she shoots the empty can directly into the bin, his eyes water as he glares at her.
After this, he doesn't expect her to bring a finger to his face, index caressing his cheek, and Mono could barely hold down his blush, his head and his feelings disorientated from rollercoaster of emotions that Six was inflicting on his poor heart, especially when she wiped his face with it, lapping up all the tomato sauce and bringing to her own lips, sucking on her finger before smirking at him in a way that had him feel hot under his collar.
She grins with all her teeth visible, Mono flinches back as she leans in close to him, blowing a cold puff of air to his ear, "What did you think I was gonna do…?" she asks, voice raspy from disuse, as she played on his fear.
Well… no, Mono wasn't scared of Six... no, that wasn't true, not completely anyways, saying that would ignore countless sleepless nights, where he held his breath as he watched Six writhe from hunger in her slumber, hands poised like claws as she started raking them across her own abdomen, looking to soothe the pangs of pain, but Mono knew it was to no avail.
He was always desperate to find more food to feed Six after nights like those, But even so, a part of him wondered, when was he gonna be the next meal?
Despite that, Six did everything she could to keep the hunger away from him, even resorting to the point of biting her own arms, which Mono could catch a glimpse at every now and then when she was asleep, cuddled up near him, he always felt guilty of being scared of her afterwards, although it was kinda hard to keep that guilt when she tried her best to freak the hell out of him sometimes.
Six was nice, she looked out for him, although she liked scaring him far too much for his liking.
Before Mono could think more on that, Six tugged on his sleeve, pulling him out of the kitchen, past the living room and into the bedroom, before pointing at the mattress with an expression that said ' Well? Didn't you want your rest?'
He yawned, his tiredness returning after the sudden rush of energy that Six's actions caused fades away.
He sighs as he returns to bed, silently whispering apologies for ever leaving it, "Goodnight, Six," he murmurs, hands already addicted to the soft feeling of bedding and comforters and blankets, he's gonna be so sad when he leaves here… well, that's a future Mono problem, not a now Mono problem, so he shelves that thought at the back of his mind and enjoys the softness.
"..."
Well, maybe he would enjoy it, if someone wasn't still here…!
The bedroom wasn't just the mattress and a closet, there was also a few fancy brown reclining arm chairs that were in the room, perfectly serviceable for a good rest, although it looked like someone thought otherwise.
Mono huffs, a scowl on his face as he turns back to face her, "Go sleep in that chair over there or something," he was far too exhausted to really deal with her at the moment.
Six looks at the chair, making a 'tsk' sound before looking back at him and making a condescending yet soft 'hm?', "And what gives you the right to sleep there?" she asks.
"I'm tired."
"And I'm not? Mono, Mono, Mono…you are being really mean to me, you know?"
He groans, "Don't care, didn't ask, shoo."
Six pulls a face at his feigned, disinterested rejection, "Mmhhh…! Then why don't we sleep on the same bed then?" a devilish grin replaces her displeased expression,
"You're gonna infect me with all the diseases you have," he hides his smile behind the blanket at the cute, angry pout that makes it's way across her face, he rolls a bit to the side to dodge the pillow thrown his way.
"Oh shut up, we've slept near each other before, and you seem to be alive,"
"Yeah, 'seem," Mono makes a snide comment, that even he doesn't understand.
"What does that even mean…?!" Six was getting more and more exasperated, and he probably shouldn't take so much pleasure in pushing her buttons, but it really was fun riling her up in the same way that she did to him constantly.
"Whatever! We are going to sleep together…! Whether you like it or not," Mono almost flinches at her poor choice of words, thinking maybe he pushed things too far, but before he can exclaim any expressions of embarrassment, he winces as Six falls on him, basically using her weight to slam into him,
She crawls off of his gasping form, taking a spot near him, even having the audacity the cuddle up right next to him, hell, even facing him…! Even being so close that the tips of both of their noses were practically touching!
He can only imagine what expression he is making, probably some mix of horrible embarrassment and half-hearted anger that his him gritting his teeth or narrowing his eyes, it's in times like these where he really misses his paper mask.
Although apparently somebody thinks otherwise.
"I'm so glad you lost your bag…" her voice was raspy from disuse. Mono can feel a lump form in his throat as he tries and fails to swallow the building saliva in his mouth, his hands fidget anxiously as he wonders where she will go with this, he is pretty sure he is already about to shake his head in disagreement with her statement.
"I love seeing that cute face of yours…" He chokes on the lump on his throat, fingers starting to clench more around the sheet as Six, curse her, starts to giggle, laughing at his expense even as she goes cuddle into him, putting her head to his chest and listening to his heartbeat.
"You're awful, Six…"
She turns to look up him, turning to peer at him through one lidded, smug, crimson eye, "Really? I'm awful? Well, I can be so much worse, my Mono…"
Six leans in towards close to him, and for a second, he thinks that the hunger has overtaken her, and when he feels a breath on his neck, he feels like she is going to rip his throat off, but all he feels is a little nibble, and a quick lick which has him flinching slightly at the expected sensation and looking back to Six surprise.
Mono groans once he looks at her face, a satisfied smirk at her lips, the same single red eye looking at him after she brushes aside her bangs,
"Y-You...!" he shouts, undignified as he realizes, but Six doesn't do as much as flinch despite their aversion to loud noises, in fact, her grin turns even more shit-eating, if that was even possible.
"I told you I could be worse…" she laughs, in a truly horrible way that gets his heart pumping, and blood rushing to his face, a truly awful way that makes him want to bring their lips together, truly, can there be a worse person than Six?
"Ughhh..." he groans, frowning as his adrenaline leaves him, he can hear his heart beat rapidly in his ears,
"Goodnight, my Mono~" she says, flipping over so that her back was facing him, the yellow of her raincoat taunting him as he starred holes into her back, his dissatisfaction begging him to do something to get back at Six, but his mind kept drawing blanks, tiredness doing him no favors for his thinking abilities.
He sighs, it's only when he's staring at her back though, does he notice, he winces slightly as he sees the amount of dirt that was being tracked onto the bed via the mud that was clinging to Six's raincoat, the poor thing has barely been washed since they found it, if she is gonna sleep here, then she should at least take that off!
"Wait…"
"Hm… ?" Six makes a questioning noise, but doesn't turn back to face him.
He goes gently to tug it off Six's body, first shifting himself with his elbow until he's placed himself right at Six's back. He slides his left hand carefully under Six's side and right hand above, from there, his hands track the middle of the material of the raincoat, slowly undoing the buttons.
"Oh, so you want to strip me?" Mono could feel the smirk on her face, even as she was turned around, he tugs the raincoat off her fully, leaving her in her slightly too large dark cardigan. lightly tossing the raincoat to one of the sides of the bedroom, near the dresser.
Mono may or may not have been red in the face from her comment.
But when he turns back to face her, he is surprised to find a equally red hue from Six's neck and ears, and despite himself, he smiles, even with all the bravo she showed and teasing she did, Six was equally as nervous as he was, shy to him even, and maybe that's why, the reason that he took it a step further.
He grabs her shoulders and flips her around, making Six face him, "--To answer your question, yes, I do want to strip you," he smirks at the fall of her prideful expression, as the red on her neck overtakes her face, and she looks at him with wide eyes and a slack jaw, a hitch in her breath has him barely stifling a giggle.
"...!" her expression really was adorable, especially as she tries to bury her face into the crook of his neck, nuzzling towards him in an effort to hide from him.
He gets an even better idea on how to tease her, and before he can stop himself, he's already pulling up Six's shoulders, forcing her confused eyes to meet his gaze, he can barely keep the smirk from showing on his face as he starts to speak,"You said… that I look better without my bag," Mono starts, building himself up to say what he means, "Well, I think that, you look better without your raincoat, you look pretty wearing that cute cardigan of yours,"
Despite his intentions to tease her, he really did mean it, the way it looked almost oversized on her slim frame, the fabric going past even her hips and falling a bit above her knees, it's sleeves were too long, essentially forcing Six to roll the cloth back on her forearms, the dark, almost navy. color of it really matching her hair, and even complimenting her burgundy eyes… it was nothing short of enchanting.
"..."
Mono could practically see the gears turning in Six's head as she processed what he just said, it was incredibly funny seeing her face turn progressively more and more red, until the blush on her skin was as red as the tomato soup they ate minutes ago,
Mono thinks that it's funny, Six had high attack but low defense, She could catch him off guard quickly with compliments or insults or whatever else, but he could always do the same to her, and as he's staring into her face that looks like she wants to disappear from this world, he thinks that it's only fair.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Mono eyes start gazing towards the blankets, he does everything in his power to not look at Six, uuh… maybe I went too far? This is really awkward… Mono thinks to himself, this was bad, but it was worse when they just got out of the signal tower, he remembers the mood being so tense that it could be cut with a knife, Six really was pissed at him for breaking the music box, even though she pulled him up and saved his life.
Thankfully it was all settled afterwards, well… Mono used the term 'settle' loosely, more like it all culminated in an argument between them, but Mono clarified why he did what he did, and after a bit more screaming ( and biting ), and later crying and hugging, discounting the fact that Six bit off a chunk of his shoulder when they both got physical with each other, everything went well, despite how she acts, Six really was forgiving…
They got into more fights after that, a safer way to travel there, a fight they could have taken on here, but they were more lighthearted, they always forgave each other when the sun came around, they were only worried about each other's safety after all. (not that they would say it out loud)
He is snapped out of his thoughts by Six moving towards him again, going to curl against him again, and Mono accepts her wholeheartedly, embracing her as he wraps his arms around her waist, her hands find his throat, and for once, he doesn't get nervous, not even flinching as she wraps her arms around his neck as she returns his hug.
"L…Let's just sleep," Six muttered, and he's a bit relieved that she broke the silence, Mono smiles, biting his tongue to keep himself from laughing at the flustered tone in her normally resilient and cheeky voice.
He listens to her though, and tries his best to fall asleep, one thing he can't help but notice though, is just how nice her scent was.
She smells surprisingly nice… for someone who hasn't taken a bath in weeks anyways.
Maybe they could finally clean themselves tomorrow, they had plenty of water to spare in the bathroom anyways, Mono sighs at the thought, when was the last time they had taken a shower? He remembers them bathing in a lake a few weeks ago, did that count?
They did wipe themselves down with a damp cloth a bit ago, after they had found the bathroom, but there was only so much that can do, Mono's hair felt dirty, a little crusty due to the dirty rain water always dripping everywhere in the Pale City.
The point was, he really could use a shower, ready to fully wash away weeks worth of dust, dirt and whatever else off his body, but for now, he'll just look forward to it as something to do tomorrow.
Although Mono notices something peculiar, Six swaying slightly in place, almost shaking, at first, he was a bit confused, not to mention a little concerned, had she come down with a cold? but the he realized what might have been the issue, she always liked having her raincoat on, so it could have been possible she was always used to another layer on her, uncomfortable now in just her cardigan.
Maybe it was a blessing in disguise then that Mono's coat really was always a bit too big on him. Being the perfect size for him to drape over the both of them in some soft kind of makeshift blanket.
He leans back, Six makes a small noise of protest as he stopped cuddling against her, but it wasn't for long, as he reached towards the dresser and snagged back his coat, returning to her, Six opens her eyes to look at him tiredly, as he grins, soft and happy and he lays the coat over the both of them,
Mono swears, that look of pure adoration and affection in Six's tired eyes has him falling in love with her a second time, he makes a promise to himself that he will never forget this moment, even if she's gone fully rabid due to the hunger and is devouring him whole, he'll fight back, as to not leave her heartbroken when she snaps out of it, and when she does, he'll hold her, promising her food, and shelter and warmth.
Despite that though, it does take him a bit by surprise when she just straight up kisses him, on the lips , it was quick, just a simple peck, but it still left him reeling, he can feel his face flare up in a horrible blush, he thinks his mouth is parted open in shock due to the slight gasping "Uh…uh…" noises his vocal chords are making against his own will.
It seemed Six wasn't doing any better though, despite her teasing and occasional lewd comments, her face was flushed almost as red as his own and it was clear to Mono that she acted without thinking, simply doing whatever came to her mind and paying the price for it now with her (well deserved…!) embarrassment.
Six stares at him for a moment, if he wasn't so flustered himself, he would probably try to crack a joke at her looking at him like a fish out of water, before quickly shutting her eyes, and pretending that nothing at all happened and she was just trying to sleep.
Mono laughs nervously, he doesn't know how to to process Six's advances at first, nor the bubbling, confused emotions in his chest that are clawing to be let out, then it becomes clear what he should do.
He grasps her shoulders gently, surprising her as she stares at him, studying his intentions through her bangs with half-lidded eyes, eyes that go wide when he sweeps aside said bangs, moving them to where they drape off to the side of her face, and he can, for what feels like the first time, see her face fully, clearly.
Her face really was cute, her forehead was small, just like the rest of her, there were some freckles and even a couple scars, but Mono didn't mind, he thought that it only made her more charming.
But what caught his eyes were hers, soft as she gazed him in a sort of daze, beautifully dilliated, crimson pupils, soulful, a lovely frenzied, warm, lively red that only Six could have, their color really was vibrant, Mono doesn't even know how that was possible, red wasn't a natural eye color, was it?
He brings his lips up to her forehead, lightly grazing the skin there as he feels Six's breath hitch, her fingers bunch and grip into the collar of his shirt tightly, turning into fists as he presses his mouth to her skin in a soft kiss, probably the most gentle they have been with each other in a while if Mono was being honest.
He pulls back, only to see Six's eyes blown wide staring at him in shellshock.
"Oh, shit- sorry, I… didn't-" -think, he wanted to say, he wanted to slap himself for being so stupid, how could he forget…!?
She didn't like people seeing her face, so much so that she would swat away his hands with a angry hiss every time he tried to move aside her bangs, he often times ended up with a black eye after his attempts, for who seemed like an early teen, Six hit hard.
Mono can feel her quiver slightly, she opens her mouth to speak and he waits for her harsh scolding that he definitely deserved, but he is surprised to hear the no words come from her, her mouth gaping as her words fail her.
He then doesn't know what to expect when she grasps his hands in her own, grabbing his slightly shaking palm with her fingers, guiding them upwards.
She guides his hands up until she's reached her face, before carefully, cautiously, yet also somehow with anticipation, places it on her cheek, as if to say ' No, it's okay,'
Mono thinks her eyes look even more beautiful, the glint of hope and happiness making her eyes glisten, and a tear falls, and his hand moves subconsciously, without him even registering it, to wipe the drop away with his thumb.
Mono thinks he is gonna cry too.
Six curls closer into him, and he barely surprises himself when he does the same, he loves the way she sighs against his skin, the way her warm breath feels like it thaws out his very soul, loved the softness of her in his arms, and despite the fact that she was so dangerous, she was also so small that Mono could cuddle against her and almost completely smother her.
"Y-You're so warm, Mono…"
She always murmured that when they were sleeping together, even sometimes joking that he ran as hot as the furnace where they incinerated the doctor, he doesn't know how to feel about that.
But he does know how to feel about this, he feels a smile tug on his face as he brings Six in closer, while stuffing one of his hands in one of the coat pockets above them to warm it.
"I-... I love you… goodnight," she stutters, and Mono almost freezes in place, but melts right back into her as he feels her nuzzle her face against his neck, his eyes were closed, and even if they were open, he would only be able to see Six's hair, but despite that, he can still feel her nervousness, without any exchange of words, expressions or anything, he can still instinctively know what she's feeling, that realizations has him clutching harder at her waist, biting his lip slightly as he feels her do the same.
"Love… Love you too, Six," In the same vein, as when he could feel her anxiety, he could feel her happiness, but it was especially easy when he can feel her smile against the skin of his neck.
"Goodnight." Mono says, and he falls into a sleep; not to be interrupted by something breaking the door or harsh little nightmares, but being coddled softly by the girl laying nonchalant next to him