Chapter Text
Living this new life wasn't nearly as luxurious as Puzzles had envisioned. A sketchy run down house in an equally sketchy neighborhood. Wpnz insisted on buying a cheap house over renting a somewhat decent apartment, he claimed he didn't want to deal with obnoxious neighbors complaining about his heavy steps as he moved about.
“Besides…” The hitman once said. “We're just as scary as any other crook in this neighborhood. Or- we'll, least me and Toomp are. Ain't no one gonna fuck with us!”
Puzzles scoffed at the memory. He could be scary too! If he really wanted to. He just… didn't feel up to it. Yeah! And besides, it's not like he had a reason to go out when Wpnz was away… when he was away.
Wpnz insisted on taking hit jobs far from their home, said that it was to keep anyone who may want revenge on Wpnz away from where they live. However all it severed was crippling loneliness on Mr. Puzzles end as the gunman and ball of slime were gone for days on end at times.
Toomp stayed occasionally, but the two didn't click the same way Toomp does with Wpnz. They lived in the same domicile, nothing more nothing less. They respected each other's space and that's all they needed. Though Puzzles would be lying to himself if he didn't admit he envied their bond, how close the two had gotten.
They even shared a room for god sake!
Though Puzzles couldn't complain about that, considering he was the one who insisted on taking the bigger of the two rooms to himself, only further pushing himself into his corner of isolation.
He sunk into the couch, his head in his hands as he groaned. Why was he even so hung over on such things? Sharing a room with Wpnz would most definitely be awful in every sense of the idea!
He’s loud, messy, his snoring was so loud Puzzles could hear the rumbling noise through the paper thin walls. The loud, rhythmic noise he heard every night…. The occasional snorts and words that occasionally broke the consistent noise… A sound he heard every night, falling asleep to the sounds, finding it hard to sleep when it wasn’t around-
No no, what was he thinking! He hated that noise! He didn’t miss it… and yet…
He tried to take his mind off things as he pulled out his phone, checking the time for the fifth time in the last few minutes. Only ten minutes after eight. He glanced out at the setting sun before he opened his messages.
“Be back soon Boxhead! Gotta get sum food for Toomps and me, then we’ll be back!”
That was the last message he sent nearly an hour ago. Where the hell was he? Puzzles crossed his arms with a huff as he started to bounce his leg. Glaring at the wall in front of him as if it had personally offended him.
‘Did he already forget our plans? Seriously, what is taking that imbecile so long? Did he seriously get lost getting back to his OWN house? I cannot BELIEVE he’s making me wait so long!’
Puzzles mind wandered to three days prior, just before Wpnz had left.
“Hey boxhead, me and Toomp are headin out.” Wpnz already had his hand on the handle as he pushed the door open, not planning on elaborating more.
“Oh? Well if your going to the store then-”
“Not that kind of outing. We’re goin out out. Probably be back in a few days-
“WHAT? A few days?” Puzzles stood up, pausing his movie first before turning to glare at Wpnz. “Have you already forgotten what today is you moron?” Puzzles put his hands on his hips as he narrowed his eyes.
“Uh, tuesday right?” Puzzles had to facepalm himself at Wpnz absolutely awful answer.
“No.” He let out a long sigh. Pinching the bridge of his “nose” as he shook his head “You promised you’d help me with a tune up and cleaning remember?” He sounded more exasperated at this point than angry.
“I thought we did one already?”
“TWO MONTHS AGO!” Puzzles stopped himself and took a deep breath. “Is there any way this outing can wait at LEAST a few hours?” Puzzles attempted to make a compromise, but he could already tell by how Wpnz shifted and scratched the back of his head what the answer would be.
“Sorry Boxhead, but this gig is paying big bucks! Look, when I get back I promise it’s the first thing we'll do, and trust me, after this job he can hang out for a while, alright?” Wpnz looked at Puzzles, his hand still on the door handle, as if he was asking for permission to go.
Just after this job… How many times had he heard that in the last six months? Too many. He always talked about one more job, just one last hit, and then they could take a break, spend some time together. Only for a few days to pass and he was once again out, back into the same routine.
Of course Puzzles tried to come along, but Wpnz was resistant, even once physically dragging him back into the house to keep him from coming along.
“... Fine. Just- Be back soon. I can’t stand knowing I'm far overdue for a fine tuning and cleaning, I can already feel all the dirt between my wires just thinking about it.” He shuddered at the thought, but Wpnz barely noticed.
“Don’t worry boxy, I'll be back before you know it!” And with a quick wave, he was gone, once again leaving Puzzles alone. But unfortunately that obnoxious idea of his inner working being overdue for a cleaning bothered him day and night. Of course he could do it himself, but there were several spots that were borderline dangerous to clean without help.
Before meeting Wpnz he would go ahead with cleaning himself on his own, putting up with the pain it caused him when he brushed his hands up against the wrong sensor, something that happened often when you couldn't see your own insides. But with Wpnz around now, cleaning has become much faster and far less painful. Dare he say it, it was… almost enjoyable, relaxing even.
Despite those stupid gun fingers of his, Wpnz was surprisingly … gentle. He was meticulous, careful, but most importantly he was thorough, getting in places Puzzles wouldn’t even think to clean.
Puzzles chuckled a bit, remembering the first time Wpnz helped him clean his internals, he made such a fuss about how some parts hadn't been properly cleaned in years. That and between them both learning which spots were even more sensitive in a way that caused Puzzles to break out in laughter, oh Wpnz didn’t let him live that down for nearly a week, but at least from then on out he was much more careful.
Puzzles paused and shook his head as he felt his fans kick on as his motors heated up. No! He was mad at him! Now wasn't the time to reminisce on such things. He stood up from the couch, stomping as he made his way over to the door in the kitchen leading to the garage. He swung the old door open, it creaked sharply before hitting the wall.
“Stupid moron, taking his sweet time, can’t keep a promise to save his stupid stupid STUPID-!” He yelled as he kicked a nearby box, the cardboard slid across the floor before hitting the wall with a soft thud.
He took a moment to take a few breaths to calm down. “Now now Mr. Puzzles, don’t let that imbecile get in your head, you’ve done this before, you can do it again. No big deal.” Puzzles grabbed the toolbox where Wpnz stashed the cleaning supplies. Opening it up he took everything that he needed out one by one.
“Lets see… Pressurized air, micro fiber cloth, Isopropyl, alcohol wipes… yep, that should do!” He grinned as he turned to the metal work bench and froze. Normally he’d sit on the table while Wpnz worked on him, the cold air and hard metal never seemed to bother him when Wpnz was there with him. His warmth… his gentle touch…
Puzzles found himself fidgeting with his suspenders as he stared at the table. “M… Maybe my bedroom would be a more comfortable spot.” He chuckled to himself as he quickly walked out the garage with his acquired supplies under his arm.
He walked through the kitchen and down the hall, and finally into his room, this time being nicer to his own door as he opened it gently and closed it behind him. Setting down the cleaning supplies on his night stand, he plopped himself onto the bed, wasting no time to start undressing himself.
He hummed a little tune as he started to unbutton his shirt. What was he getting so worked up about earlier? He didn't need that brute's help, he was capable of taking care of himself! After all, he was perfectly fine on his own before! All by himself… all… all alone…
He smacked the side of his head. “Get a grip, Puzzles! You are better than this! You don't need him! You can… you can do this…” He swallowed hard. The memories of the past creeping up in his mind, all the times he shocked himself, nearly knocking himself out. But that was the past! He can do this!
He took a deep breath as he slowly started to take apart his front panel, placing it beside him as he looked down, not really seeing much. He had an idea however, as he stood up, walking over and grabbing a floor length mirror, moving it in front of where he was sitting, before settling down once more.
Now with a better view, Puzzles felt much more at ease. He went straight to work, using the pressurized air to get as much of the dust out as he could. The cold stream of air made him shiver, but he pressed on. The cold alcohol wipes didn't seem to help much, but he wasn't trying to be comfortable, he was trying to get clean.
As he continued on his confidence in himself only grew, he even started to hum again as he continued. What was he so worried about? He could do this with his eyes closed! This wasn't so bad-
ZAP
“ACK!” Puzzles yelped as two wires bushed up against each other, causing a small spark between them, his sudden movements causing another shock.
“D-Damn it! Damn it all! I-If I just-”
ZZAAPP
“OW OW OW!!!” He quickly pulled his hand out, but in doing so he unintentionally ripped out one of his cords, coolant now spraying everywhere. “No no nO NO NO NO!!!” He shrieked as he tried to tie off the cord.
“STOP STOP STOP JUST STOP!!!” He quickly ran over to his dresser as he grabbed a random shirt and shoved it into his chest cavity, trying to stop the fluids from making even more of a mess. In doing so he could feel cords and wires crossing and being pushed against each other, causing his sensors to fire off. He groaned as he grasped the edge of his bed as he was bent over in pain. His breath was ragged as he tried to gather himself.
“Damn it… damn it…” He whined as his grip only tightened. “This wasn’t meant to… Why did this have too…” He could already feel the lack of coolant affect him, his frustration didn't help as his fans desperately kicked on to pick up the slack the coolant wasn't.
Pricks of digital tears found the way at the corners of his eyes. How did things turn out so badly so quickly? “I… I can fix this. I can fix this! I just… I just have too…” He slowly made his way to his door, but as soon as he put his hand on the handle.
“Hey Boxhead!” Wpnz voice rang out through the house, causing Puzzles to freeze. “I’m Home! Sorry it took us so long. Toomp wanted some Donalds and tried to eat the cook behind the counter. I kept telling him to eat the cashier first so I didn’t hav’ta pay but he wouldn’t listen! Probably because the guy in the back smelled like sadness and french fries.”
He laughed as he walked into the living room. “Hey boxy, where are ya? I also got sum of that premium shit for your cleaning on the way too… Boxhead?”
Puzzles panicked as he locked his door. God he couldn't let Wpnz see him like this, he would never hear the end of it. Unfortunately he soon felt the drip of coolant running down his stomach, he looked down seeing the shirt he was using was already soaked in the fluid.
Puzzles let out a series of panicked whines as he went to grab another shirt, but the chaos of him quickly moving around didn't fall on deaf ears, as Toomp turned to look down the hall. He tilted his head as he started to trot over to Puzzle door.
“Hmm? What is it goober?” Wpnz followed close behind, till he was face to face with Puzzles door. He knocked using the back of his hand, causing Puzzles to jump.
“Hey boxhead? You alright in there?” He tilted his head, he couldn't help but feel a slight twinge of concern. Normally as soon as he comes in he's bombarded with Puzzles yelling at him, That or Puzzles practically dragging him to the couch to watch a movie. But silence? That was new in all the worst ways.
“I-I’m fine! Just… Tired is all! Don’t w-wory about that cleaning!”
“... You sure? Ya seemed pretty adamant for me to do it when I got back.”
“Yes of course, I just- Handled it myself! It's fine, everything's fine! Please go away!”
Now that was even more concerning. Wpnz went for the door handle, but it wouldn't budge. “Locked? Hey boxhead, open the door!”
“What?! No! I-I mean, why do you need to come in?”
“Let me in boxhead, I can smell yer bullshit from a mile away!”
“I’m- I’m changing right now!”
“We're both dudes Boxy”
“I’m… On my… period??”
‘Son of a- PUZZLES! OPEN THE FUCKIN DOOR!”
“I’M FINE! GO AWAY!”
There was something in Puzzles voice that took Wpnz aback for a moment. Sure Puzzles yelled at him frequently, but there was… something about his voice. He sounded distressed rather than angry, and it only worried Wpnz even more.
“Puzzles…” His voice was calm now. “I don’t know what's goin on in there, but if you don’t unlock this door in five seconds im bustin it down.” A long silence followed. “Boxhead I mean it…” Wpnz paused as he started to hear something, it sounded like… Hissing?
“Hey, you hear that half pint?” Wpnz asked Toomp as he pressed his head against the door, Toomp doing the same. “Wait… that ain’t hissin… it sound like-”
THUD
“Puzzles?!?” Wpnz took a step back, and with one good placed kick the door caved in, Toomp quickly grabbing it before it hit the floor and putting it aside as Wpnz charged in.
Puzzles was laying on his side on the floor, holding a coolant soaked shirt in his chest cavity as he whined. His fans were whirling at full blast, making the loud hissing sound Wpnz had heard.
“Damnit boxhead, why didn’t you say something!” Wpnz was quick to sit him up, setting him up against his dresser. “Damn you're warm… At least it's just coolant… Boxhead, why didn’t you open the door?”
“I’m sorry.” Puzzles whined, flinching as Wpnz pulled out the now ruined shirt. He let his head slump down and to the side. “I thought… you would be mad… and make fun of me that I messed up… I’m sorry… I’m so stupid-”
“Hey now, cut that shit Boxy. Come on, look at me.” Wpnz gently put his hand on the side of Puzzles head, moving it so he looked right at him. His face display was covered in a light shade of red, no doubt from the overheating.
“You ain’t stupid, ya just… made a mistake is all… I know I give ya a hard time but that doesn’t mean you’re dumb.” Wpnz small smile faded as he looked to the side. “I’m sorry to keep ya waiting for so long-”
“N-No! It’s not… it’s not your-”
“It is my fault, I fucked up, and…” Wpnz sighed. “I’m sorry.” Silence followed as both simply stared at the other. It was rare for Wpnz to apologize. Even when he knew he was wrong. Puzzles could feel himself warm up even more but… this warmth was… different.
Wpnz could see how Puzzles face got even more red, which only made him snicker. “Hey, earth to jigsaw, you think you can stand up so I can get you to the garage? Or do ya want me to just fix you up right here?” Wpnz stood up as he waited for a response.
Puzzles however, could just barely hear him over the sound of his fans, it was starting to give him a headache. “Nghh… Can you just do it here? My floor and sheets are ruined at this point anyways.” The idea of having to get up and move around sounded like a chore, yet he at least tried to stand to get into a better position.
“Easy Boxy, I got ya.” Wpnz held out a hand to help him up, before gently helping him onto his bed. “There ya go, nice and comfortable, now just hang tight while I-” As Wpnz turned to exit the room to go and grab his tools, he noticed Toomp slowly waddling into the room. His body looked bloated, as it swayed side to side with each step. Before Wpnz could ask, Toomp spat up Wpnz tool box, a shop vac, a box fan, and a lot of shop towels.
“Hah! Nice going slime ball! Ya read my mind!” Wpnz gave Toomp a quick pat on the head as he walked over to the wall to turn on the overhead ceiling fan. Turning around, he noticed Toomp face planted on the floor. “Yeah, all that stuff must have been heavy, take five lil dude.”
Wpnz picked up what he could, quickly setting up the box fan on Puzzles night stand first, giving him more relief while he started to dig through his tool box.
Puzzles however could now let out a sigh of relief as his own fans started to calm down as the fans around him helped out in cooling off his systems. He was able to close his eyes as he took a moment to just relax. He felt… safer now. He had his insides open for the world to see, so vulnerable. And yet, when he was here with him, he didn’t feel so exposed.
That pleasant warm feeling came back, as he gave a small smile with his eyes still closed. Wpnz noticed, glancing over as he stopped what he was doing, just to stare at him. That face… that… stupid goofy ass face. Wpnz own face had a faint shade of blue as he smiled. Seeing him so at peace after everything… it just-
“Wpnz?”
Wpnz shook his head and blinked as he looked at Puzzles, who was now staring at him.
“Huh? What's up Boxy?”
“N… Nothing. You were just staring at me.”
“Hah! Oh… yeah.” Wpnz had to think fast. “Sorry I was just… thinking about how I was gonna do this…” That part wasn't quite a lie. “Yer bed sits lower then the work bench, it's gonna be a pain to lean over to work on ya… Though… You don’t mind if I get a little up close and personal do ya? Just this once of course.”
Puzzles paused for a moment, a spinning loading spiral appearing in the corner of his screen as he thought about it, though it wasn't a hard choice. “Well… Toomp already went through all this trouble bringing all this stuff in here… I suppose- w… wait- WHAT ARE YOU DOING!?”
Puzzles sat up as Wpnz crawled onto the bed and sat directly on his hips. “God, don’t make this weird jigsaw-”
“You’re the one making it weird!” Puzzles retorted as Wpnz rubbed his forehead.
“Look, I know this position ain’t ideal but I need to get up close and personal with yer insides so I can clean up the coolant all up in there. Jus’ hold still, the harder you make it for me the longer I gotta stay like this, so quit flappen your yapper, lay back down and let me work my magic.”
“... Never say that last part ever again.”
“Yeah that's fair.”
Wpnz quickly grabbed the shop vac, setting it too low as he tried to get out as much of the coolant as he could to get himself a better view of what he was looking at. Of course the second the shop vac made contact with Puzzles internal workings the TV head let out a loud snort as he arched his back, getting out a series of giggles.
“Hahaha! Snort- Watch it you scrap he- hehe, HAH! Stopitstopitstopit!!!” Puzzles began to squirm as Wpnz had to hold back his own laughter.
“Watch it dumbass, I told you to hold still!” He tried to sound serious, yet was grinning like an idiot. Eventually though he did have to hold down Puzzles, pressing on his shoulder with one hand while he carefully vacuumed out the remaining coolant.
“I-I-I’M- SNRK- TRyiNGG!!” Puzzles voice glitches as he tried to keep it together.
The whole time poor Puzzles was a storm of giggles and snorts as he tried his hardest to hold still, only to fail miserably every time. The process taking far longer then it should have, but finally, after a solid five minutes of torture on Puzzles end, Wpnz manedge to get most the loose coolant that was pooling inside him out the way, making things easier to see.
“There, see, that wasn’t so bad now was it Gigglebox?” Wpnz chuckle as he moved the shop vac aside. Puzzles meanwhile was still trying to catch his breath.
“Y… Yeah… hehe… j-just… warn me next time, will you?” He was catching his breath as he muttered, still occasionally giggling as his inner workings still felt fuzzy.
“Yeah yeah, now seriously, you gotta hold still for this next part. I'm gonna re-connect your cooling tube now alright?” He glanced up at Puzzles, who nodded, giving him the go ahead. Wpnz gave him a nod back as he went in, his hands getting coated in the remnants of coolant the vac didn’t get. He didn’t seem to care though, wasn't the grossest thing that's been on his hands after all.
It took some digging to finally get his hand around the blasted tube. “Ah hah! There you are.” Wpnz moved carefully, resting his other hand on Puzzles stomach to steady himself, he slowly moved the tube back into place. “Heads up Boxhead, this might feel a bit weird.” Before Puzzles could ask or rather, protest, Wpnz quickly, and somewhat roughly, shoved the tube into its port, a soft click was heard as the connection was made.
Puzzles jumped slightly at the sudden movement. It didn’t hurt per say, but it definitely surprised him. He gave Wpnz a look as the hitman shrugged.
“Hey, I warned ya.” A chuckle came from him as he reached into his tool box, pulling out a can of coolant. “Here. sit up a bit and drink this, slowly now.” Wpnz held out a hand as he helped Puzzles sit up, cracking the can before handing it to him.
Puzzles took it, wasting no time taking a slow yet long sip, the cold fluid was welcoming to his system as he drank slowly. Wpnz meanwhile reached his hands inside Puzzles chest, gently pushing a few wires out of the way to get a better look at the coolant tube, watching as the fluid flowed through. He didn’t see any leaks or damage to the tube itself, which was definitely a plus.
“Looks like everything's all good in here, Just need to clean out this coolant and then you can head to bed big guy.” Wpnz chuckled a bit as Puzzles glared at him.
“I’m not a child, you don’t need to tell me when to sleep.”
“I didn’t say you were a kid, but trust me, you’ll want to take a fat recharge after all this. Your systems are gonna have to work overtime trying to get that coolant pumping through ya again. Just relax Gigglebox, I won’t judge if ya fall asleep while I clean out yer guts.” He snickered again as Puzzles rolled his eyes and huffed at his comments. Yet he didn’t protest as Wpnz started to methodically clean out each internal component with care. While he hated to admit it, it felt beyond relaxing, like getting a message. He felt himself relaxing into sleep, until a question nipped at his brain, causing him to blink as he looked at Wpnz.
“Wpnz… Can I ask you something?”
“Huh? Oh yeah, shoot.”
“Are you… here to stay this time?”
“What? What do you mean? I’m here aren't I?” Wpnz grinned, but his eyes showed a hint of concern, deep down he knew where this was going, but he couldn't really run away from this conversation, not when he was wrist deep In Puzzles chest.
“I mean… you always say this is your “Last mission” But… it never is. You spend maybe a week at most before it’s back to the missions. You’re always talking about how much money you get and I just… Don’t understand why you have to keep going back out there.”
“Boxhead… I…”
“Do you… just not like spending time with-”
“Of course not- I mean, I love hangin out with ya dummy! It’s just…” Wpnz looked off to the side.
“Shit… How do I explain this? It’s just… I figured if I got this shit out the way that… Y’know… we could get enough money to get a nicer place. Further south maybe, where it's warmer? I dunno…”
“Why didn’t you tell me? I’m not helpless, I can help you!”
“I know damnit!” His voice raised before he stopped himself, taking a deep breath before he continued.
“I just… didn’t want to drag you into this shit… when that death fridge almost got ya, for a moment I thought… I was gonna lose you… I didn’t want that to happen again… I Just thought If I got enough money then we wouldn’t…”
“Wpnz… Look at me please.” the question hung in the air before Wpnz finally looked up at him.
“I know I’m not a walking weapon like you, I can’t do all the same things as you, but I have skills that can help you, I want to help you, I want to be with you, I-” He stopped himself, a heart monitor line appeared on his face, causing Wpnz to raise an eyebrow before giving a small smirk.
“You wanna finish that sentence?”
“N-No! I got my answer, you can finish cleaning me up now!”
“Boxhead~” God that voice, Puzzles can already feel himself heating up again.
“Puzzles isn’t here right now” He muttered as he took a long loud sip of the coolant. Wpnz sighed before he gently turned Puzzles head to look at him.
“Puzzles. Just tell me.” But the way he said it, he already knew, he knew the moment he caught that idiot when he fell out of the sky after blowing up the Death Cube. He just wanted to hear him say it, to know it was true, that it wasn’t just him getting his hopes up again.
“I… I like… spending time with you… all the time. I… want to be around you… always. I don’t want you to leave again. Wpnz… I… think I like you.” Puzzles was fidgeting with his hands, as he looked off to the side. Slight tears had appeared at the corners of his eyes on his display. He felt so overwhelmed saying the words he wanted to say for so long.
He felt beyond anxious, he didn't know how Wpnz would react, the last thing he wanted was for him to leave, to drive away one of the few friends he's ever known, and one of the only people he's ever loved.
Wpnz however, simply moved his head back to look at him again, for once, his eyes were soft, an expression rarely seen.
“I know. I’ve known for a while now.”
“Y… you did?”
“To be honest Boxhead, you aren't exactly subtle… but… I guess I’ve just been waiting for you to say it.” Puzzles smiled as he giggled.
“Sorry to keep you waiting then!”
“Hmmm, nah. All good things take time or whatever they say, I don’t mind havin to wait.” Wpnz leaned in, giving Puzzles a small peck on the top of his casing, which caused the TV to giggle.
“Yeah, there's my Gigglebox!” Wpnz smiled as he left more and more nips and kisses here and there. Puzzles giddy chortles only grew more as he started to stim as he flapped his hands.
“Haha! Wpnz, you’re too much!” Wpnz only chuckled in response.
“Alright alright, I’ll stop. Gotta finish up cleaning ya anyways, but don’t think you're safe just yet! I’ll getcha, when you least expect it!” Wpnz grinned, letting out a low rumble from his throat as Puzzles laughed.
“Yeah, so is the tickle monster going to finish his job then so I can get my beauty sleep? It's nearly midnight!” Wpnz only nodded.
“Yeah yeah, I'm nearly done, just relax Boxy.” Wpnz rolled his eyes as he went back to cleaning, this time with a soft smile on his face.
Puzzles smiled as he watched him work. Watching his boyfriend work. His. all His. He grinned as he repeated the word in his head over and over, he barely noticed as the world around him started to fade. The feeling of Wpnz cleaning him with tender care, the satisfaction of months of words he never said finally out in the open, the weight now off his chest was immense, and it felt beyond wonderful.
He wasn’t sure when he fell asleep, but he knew when he woke up when Wpnz was putting his chest plate back on. Puzzles face display was still off, from Wpnz perspective, it seemed he was still asleep. He didn’t intend to wake him up, as he tried to slowly get off of him.
He thought he was home free, till he felt a pair of arms wrap around him. He froze before looking down at Puzzles.
“Ya up Boxhead?”
“Hmm… stay with me please?” Puzzles voice was quiet, it was clear he was awake, only barely.
“Snrk… Boxy, no offence but your bed is disgusting. Tomorrow alright?” Wpnz tried to get up again, but Puzzles grip was firm.
“Seriously? God… alright, come here ya big baby.” Wpnz wrapped one arm under Puzzles as he lifted him up, using his free arm to help Puzzles wrap his legs around his waist as he made his way to his own room. He was quiet as he walked in, glancing over to see Toomp asleep in his own bed.
He sat down on the bed with Puzzles in his lap, for a moment, he wanted to stay like this forever, but even he couldn't deny he too was getting exhausted. He finally shifted back, before laying down with Puzzles on top of him. He sighed as he ran his hand along Puzzles back, tracing circles as he stared up at the ceiling.
He listened as Puzzles made soft noises every now and then, enjoying every moment. This was… something he missed so dearly. Something he didn’t know he so desperately needed. He sighed as he finally closed his eyes, and fell asleep.