We're Only Animals: Book 2 - Part 1: Building the Tower

Chapter 32 - Grit Your Teeth and Bear It: Part 2

The couple woke up for the first time next to one another. Bill first, surprisingly. Even so, he took the time to rub his boyfriend's body and curl his fingers in his wool. He had no desire to eat him, which made him feel relieved. Plus, he didn't eat him in the night, which was also wonderful.

    Pina's hands and foot rubbed all over the big mass of a tiger that was holding him as he was roused into a half-asleep state. He mumbled nonsense while he tried to drift back into slumber. It was the best sleep he had gotten in a while.

    Bill kissed his neck and back, rubbing down to his thigh, softly. "Babe..."

    Roused once again, Pina's limbs flailed, his right leg stump hitting uselessly against one of his legs.

    The tiger shook him. "Wake up..."

    "Mmm, nah." His boyfriend batted his hand away.

    "Come on..." Bill whined. "I wanna look at you."

    Pina turned over and peeled his eyes open slightly, glaring. "You can look at me while 'm sleepin'..."

    "Not your face. My favorite part."

    The sheep snorted. "You wanna see my ass? Why do I have to be awake for that?"

    "No, your face is my favorite part. I meant I can't see it if you're turned around."

    "But...you said not my face..."

    "You're getting confused, shut up..."

    "Cuz I'm sleep deprived." Pina rolled onto his stomach and hugged the pillow with his chin rested on top of it.

    Bill rubbed his back muscles. "Deprived?"

    "...Well, that was a really nice sleep. Like, really really nice. Super good." Pina's tail swished back and forth happily.

    "It was. I didn't have any nightmares this time!"

    The dall sheep looked over at him in concern. "You have nightmares a lot?"

    "Uh, what? No...Nevermind, just get up."

    Pina groaned and stretched, kicking Bill slightly as he did so. "Oh yeah, we're gonna try to visit the ol' leg eater today. See if he's eaten any more legs."

    "Uh, yeah...He probably hasn't, though."

    "Maybe they give him little gummies shaped like legs. But the gummies are strawberry flavor instead of blood flavor." Pina seemed amused at his own jokes as he swung his legs over the bed. "Wait, no, it'd be honey flavor for him."

    "I never liked honey," Bill said, keeping a hand on his back. "You look pretty in the morning."

    The unkempt animal looked down at himself, trying to think of something witty to say. Instead, he recalled their conversation last night before they fell asleep. "And that's another reason why I know you really love me. You can appreciate me before I'm all made up."

    "I can appreciate you at any time of the day. I'm a Pina lover, 24/7."

    "Gonna start a Pina fanclub?" he smirked.

    Bill chuckled. "Maybe. No one could stop me."

    Pina suddenly jumped up, falling back down on the account of having only one leg. "Oh my god! I totally forgot that some crazy girl actually started a fanclub for me! It soon became a hateclub filled with my exes, but...WOW, I completely forgot about that." Pina laughed and held his head as the sun from the window illuminated his soft wool.