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"So, what exactly did I give up my bedroom for?" Battat asked in annoyance as he followed a pair of Pippins who were sprinting in front of him, leading him to the new room Tenna had given him. He didn't know the details, but, from what he could gather, the others wrote some sort of petition to get.. something. He was surprised the boss agreed to it, but after learning that the cost of it were all of their bedrooms (Battat's included), the sudden "generosity" suddenly made much more sense. Still, the two dice seemed excited, giggling to themselves as if the cost was completely worth.. whatever it was that they requested.
"Oh, don't be so grumpy, greenie!" one of them spoke up. "You're gonna see it's MUCH better than some boring ol' bedroom!" "Yeah!" the other one added. "Everyone's already loving it!" Battat scoffed. "Well, it's not exactly hard to impress you all." They didn't respond to his comment as they kept leading him somewhere. They passed the hallway that led to what used to be their rooms and instead continued forward. They made a turn later, down the corridor with their shared kitchen and dining room, and headed towards the end of it. The green Pippin raised an eyebrow. There was.. a door. There never had been a door there before. When did Tenna add this?
"Come on! We're almost there!" One of the two dice opened the new door and quickly slipped in. The theorist hesitated for a while before following them. He went in and closed the door behind him, looking around. It looked like some sort of changing room, just lacking a place to sit. There stood rows of red lockers with faux golden numbers on each one. There were lots of them, one for each Pippin, Battat assumed. And that meant there were LOTS of them.
"Hurry up! We'll show you yours!" They giggled again. "We even made sure yours was green!" They headed left and ran between the first and second row of lockers. He was stunned for a short moment, caught off-guard, before he snapped out of it and went after them. "H-hey!" he called out. "What's all this for!?" he asked but they were too far away to hear him. He was VERY confused. He assumed they asked for something stupid like a playground - they usually bothered Tenna for ridiculous things like that. But this seemed actually somewhat thought-out; and that fact made him somewhat anxious, since it was COMPLETELY out of character for his kin to be serious about anything.
He rushed after them, going down the same path that they did. They were standing at the end, grinning widely as they stood by a green locker. He quickly reached them and stopped to look at it. It was about a head taller than him. There was a string that was coming out from the gap between the upper edge of the door and the top of the locker, with a key tied on its end. There was also a number up there: "512". 512? There was no way he ran past 511 lockers. He looked at the one next to him. 323. Of course. Of course they weren't numbered properly. He couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief. Yep, that felt like his kin again, alright. He should've known that that seeming organization wouldn't last long. He felt silly for thinking otherwise for a second.
"Your stuff's already in there, so you don't even have to move it! We've got everything covered!" He looked at them. "When did you and Tenna have time to set this whole thing up anyway?" he asked, but they just shrugged. "You always ask such silly questions, greenie! Stop overthinking it for once!" Battat opened his mouth to defend his reasonable question, but he didn't get to say anything as one of the two grabbed his wrist and started dragging him somewhere. He tripped over his feet a little before picking up the pace. He sighed. What was even the point of asking them anything...
They eventually reached a door on the opposite wall to the entrance. The Pippins let him go and stood on either side of it, giddy with excitement and anticipation. "Now, are you ready to see the HEAVEN we got Tenna to make us!?" one of them asked, shifting from leg to leg. The green dice rolled his eyes. "Enough with the fanfares, just open the door already." "Awwh!" the second one whined. "You're no fun!" "Fine, fine!" the first one exclaimed. "Act like you don't care all you want, but once you see it, you'll HAVE to admit how amazing it is!" And with that, the Pippin grabbed the doorknob and opened the door. Battat's eyes widened in surprise. That was.. not what he was expecting.
It was a HUGE room, with the floor covered in countless mattresses. There were LOTS of pillows and blankets. It looked both like a playground at a mall and a mental asylum at once. There were other Pippins, huddled up together in groups. Some were talking, lots were playing cards, few were reading, most were sleeping. They didn't pay any attention to the door opening, either out or too caught up in what they were doing.
The whole room was a bed. It was just one, huge bed.
While Battat was certainly taken aback, it wasn't THAT illogical. Pippins were social creatures, painfully so. There was nothing better for them than to cuddle up with one (or more) of their own. Not only that, but they tended to get anxious if they were separated for too long. Back when they still had bedrooms (which was exactly one day ago), they'd share one bed in groups of four, five, sometimes even six. Now? Most groups in there had at least a dozen of dice all over each other. It made sense, it was just something Battat hadn't expected. Nor did he ever think Tenna would agree to something like this.
He couldn't help his cheeks from going a little pink at the sight. He was used to his kin's overly affectionate ways (though he always tried to avoid being a part of them the best he could), but this was a bit much. The idea of all Pippins in TV World sleeping in one, giant bed (him included) was a bit much. Especially since he was the only one who didn't have any roommates before this...
"Soo, what do you think~?" one of the two Pippins that led him there asked. The theorist didn't respond at first, still a bit stunned. "... I'm... I'm gonna ask Pluey if I can move in with him..." he eventually muttered out. The two dice giggled and one of them grabbed his arm. "Aw, come onnn! Don't be like that!" Before Battat knew it, he was dragged into the room, his feet sinking in the ridiculously soft mattress. He stumbled a bit before regaining his balance. He could feel his face grow hotter. He was standing there. He was actually standing on what was essentially an unbelievably giant bed, surrounded by his kin having the coziest time of their lives being snuggled up to one another. He was participating in their clinginess just by being there and it was more than what his isolated, touch-starved self could handle all at once.
The other two ran past him to join one of the scattered groups. He stood there awkwardly, not really sure what to do with himself. Was he supposed to leave? Was he supposed to stay? Was he supposed to.. join someone? Suddenly, being the odd ones out hit him more than it usually did. He swallowed dryly. He felt like an idiot just standing there like a lost child, but he wasn't sure what exactly he was meant to do. No one paid much attention to him, already occupied with each other. He COULD go up to one of them and join, they'd surely love an extra buddy in their cuddle, but...
Instead, he just sat down where he was standing. He sat cross-legged and stiffly stared at the others. He felt like a creep, watching them being so touchy with each other, but they didn't seem to mind. They never did. He looked down at his feet, grabbing them with his hands. This was so awkward... And to think he'd have to come back and SLEEP there during the night was just... He knew this wasn't about him - that was what the others wanted, and he couldn't say no when it was just him that was uncomfortable. Not that he was really able to change anything at that point. But the whole situation made something flutter in his stomach in a nauseous, but also weirdly warm, way.
He let out a small exhale. It was going to be fine. He would just.. find himself a corner to settle in or something. Away from the others. Away from their affection. Away from their warmth. His eyes wandered over to one of the groups which was napping, snuggled up with each other for comfort. Away from their... Away.. from...
His throat tightened.
What did he even want?
His eyes slowly fluttered open, his eyelids almost glued together by sleep. The first thing he saw was the ceiling, dark from the lack of light and the late hour. The next thing he saw was a different Pippin, laying with their head on his chest, fast asleep. By that one was another, arms wrapped around them, their head resting against Battat's side. He stared at them for a while with drowsy numbness.
It was still late. He didn't exactly remember how he got into that situation, his mind foggy after just waking up. And yet, he couldn't help but smile slightly at the warm, comforting weight on his torso. He put his arm over their chest and looked up at the ceiling again with a quiet, content sigh, exhaling through his nose. Did it really matter how he got to that point? He closed his eyes, drifting off again.
For once in a long time, he didn't need to know.
Nonsensical affection was still affection.