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Exhaustion was rarely fun for anyone, whether it be physical or mental. The urge to rest or just be away from the world was a feeling that constantly nagged Shuriken without pause, and unfortunately, it would probably be something that chased the poor thief for the rest of his life.
Cafe hours are brutal, and vigilante work at nighttime is often agonizing to endure; Shuriken rarely gets more than two hours of uninterrupted sleep before having to continue the painful cycle of waking up early and going back to sleep extremely late. Sure, it was totally his choice to be a super awesome vigilante during nightly hours, but it’s not like he’s going to stop just for the sake of a very satisfactory sleeping schedule that could significantly improve his performance at both Slingshot’s cafe and Phighting matches. Sleep is for the weak, after all.
Today, the world has decided that Shuriken is weak. How does that work? I’m too lazy to search it up, and so is Shuriken. Either way, Shuriken’s been forced by his brother to take a day off all because he didn’t wake up this morning. Technically he still woke up, just not when Slingshot and Vine Staff decided to shake the shit out of him after failing to wake him up seven times in a row. Vine Staff, the awesome sister she is, effortlessly convinced Slingshot to let him stay home today, worried about the small incident.
Shuriken is now bored at home with nothing to do. He already binged a three-season long anime series about some dude who was some sort of secret spy, failed to go back to sleep, played Uno with himself, ate a whole bag of cookies, and made three different animals out of paper using YouTube tutorials. His last boredom killing idea was to go outside, but even then, he had nothing fun to do. He was sore as hell from last night’s work; all he did was run, jump, grapple around, and throw ninja stars with very little breaks, so the last thing he wanted was to do more of that today unless absolutely necessary.
Shuriken changed out of his pyjamas and into a pair of dark grey sweatpants with a lighter grey hoodie, ready to go out. It wasn’t the fanciest outfit he’s worn, but he couldn’t care less about what he’s wearing on his free day. Or any day, really... Unless Slingshot’s pissed, but that’s unrelated.
He put on his musty old shoes and left, still clueless as to what to do outdoors. Everything looked so boring. Boring smells, boring street, boring sounds, and boring inphernals. Boring must be the word of the day.
As Shuriken was walking about aimlessly, he suddenly remembered something. He has a boyfriend. He isn’t just a sad and lonely single loser. Skateboard is usually always free on Thursdays. And with that, Shuriken has decided to abuse his free will and go to his wonderful partner’s house.
--
While the walk from his own home to Skateboard’s wasn’t too far, Shuriken’s feet felt like they were only a few steps away from falling right off. The overuse of them last night and the sudden, long break they got right after didn’t help the soreness at all. It was a 30 minute journey at most for the fast walker, but it didn't help his ankles. They felt like they were dying on the spot.
Relief was all that the thief felt once Skateboard’s home came into view. Now all he has to do is pray that the trickster is actually there. If he wasn’t, Shuriken would probably cry.
Despite all the complaints about his poor, abused feet, Shuriken ran to the door without hesitation as if he was instantly healed and ready to run a few marathons. He wasn’t, though, and definitely regretted it once he made it to the door, falling over as soon as he stopped. Thank gods no one seemed to be around because if someone was, the vigilante would probably just die on the spot.
Shuriken immediately unthanked the gods as he heard the door open and a calm yet entertained voice speak.
“Shuri? Are you okay, dude?” Skateboard chuckles, helping Shuriken stand back up. The thief was very obviously horrified, to say the least.
“No, I’m never recovering from this. I hope I die. I hope I get sent back in time to join the dinosaurs in getting hit by spicy space rocks. Oh my gods, I hate my life.” Shuriken whines, feeling nothing but humiliation as he brushes debris, pebbles, and dirt off his clothing. He’d never live this down, and knowing Skateboard, this would not be a secret for long.
Skateboard giggles again, tugging Shuriken inside and closing the door behind him. “You’re such a klutz, it’s adorable.” He teases, knowing his words will only deepen his boyfriend’s embarrassment.
“Stop, I’m gonna cry... That was so bad...” Shuriken bitches, covering his face with his hands. He felt like melting into a puddle of nothingness and staying there forever.
“You’ll survive, don’t be dramatic. You just fell face first in front of your awesome boyfriend that will mock you for all of eternity, it’s no biggie.” Skateboard jests, enjoying the scene in front of him. For someone who works so hard almost every day, Shuriken looks like a petty little child right now. As much as Skateboard loves seeing the thief flustered, he knew that Shuriken didn’t come here to get ridiculed on his very rare break day, probably visiting with a good reason.
“Is Coil here?” Shuriken finally asks, curious and desperate to change the subject.
“Nah, he’s out doing whatever. Wanna watch a movie or something?” The skateboarder proposes, pointing to the TV in the room beside them.
“Fuck yes.” Shuriken takes off his ragged old shoes and welcomes himself in, sitting himself down on the couch and relaxing himself. Skateboard’s couch was heaven compared to any other furniture. Shuriken almost fell asleep again right after seating himself. That’s how comfortable the couch is.
Skateboard sits down beside him, grabbing the TV remote and turning the video on. He put on a random anime movie, fully aware of the fact that Shuriken won’t be paying attention to it and will fall asleep either way, this isn’t the first time they’ve tried watching a movie together.
Wrapping his arms around Shuriken, he pulls the other against his side, letting his partner’s head rest on his shoulder comfortably. Shuriken was already falling asleep; the couch and the skateboarder’s embrace were an unbeatable duo that could put Shuriken unconscious no matter when.
Skateboard turns the TV back off, snuggling into Shuriken’s slightly smaller but warm figure. It was a bit worrisome how toasty Shuriken could get when he sleeps, but it’s overall endearing, even if it’s not normal to be that hot while resting without sweating at all.
Rhythmic snores started to escape Shuriken’s mouth, signalling that he was out cold. As cute and funny as his snoring is, it gets really loud, and Skateboard makes the smart decision of going to sleep before it gets bad. It’s better to sleep through Shuriken's snoring rather than trying to close your eyes too late. And if you so happen to be a light sleeper, say goodbye to shuteye if Shuriken’s around.
“Goodnight, Shuri. You big baby.” The trickster says before planting a gentle kiss onto the thief's forehead, getting comfortable before finally letting himself rest too, the couple now cuddling peacefully, oblivious to Coil sneaking into the room to take a few hundred pictures. When the fuck did he get here hello
--
Shuriken jolts awake as a loud phone alarm went off. Louder than his snores. Poor guy already got an unlucky start to his day, hopefully nothing bad happens later.
Skateboard, who’s still next to him, is also awakened by the evil phone alarm of doom.
“What the hell, man. I was so comfy...” The skateboarder complains, standing up to turn off the phone alarm. The culprit was Coil’s phone, obvious due to the extra obnoxious sounding alarm, hidden somewhere in the kitchen. Skateboard groans as he realizes that he’s going to have to survive the insufferable noise until he finds the phone.
Shuriken rolls off the couch, still tired. “Why is there an alarm set up so early...?” He questions groggily, rubbing his eyes to wake himself up a bit.
“It’s 11am, Shuri. It’s not that early.” Skateboard responds, searching the drawers for the phone.
Shuriken immediately panics. “WHAT?? 11AM??????? WHY DIDN’T YOU WAKE ME UP?!” He quickly runs over to the front door to put his shoes back on. “Sling’s gonna be so pissed, man.”
“I was asleep too, dude. My couch is just too OP. Can you help-” Skateboard cuts himself off as he finally finds the phone. “Oh, neverm-” He pauses as he sees the lockscreen image after stopping the alarm.
Shuriken notices and walks over, peeking at the source of his boyfriend's shock. It was a photo of them on the couch last night, sleeping blissfully. It was a cute picture, he had to admit, but doubtlessly material useful enough for mocking and teasing.
“Coil’s dead.” Skateboard says casually, turning off the phone and tossing it aside carelessly. Shuriken knows Coil will live, but he can’t help the faint dread he feels for the dual-colored inphernal. Skateboard knows how to deal with ragebaiters, and that makes him sound way scarier than he actually is.
“Well, I’m gonna head back to the cafe, Sling’s probably gonna kill me if I miss another day of work.” The thief says, already heading to the exit. “Good luck with Coil.”
“Good luck with grumpy catboy.” Skateboard blows a kiss, going back to his room presumably to go back to sleep.
Shuriken shudders at the thought of having to deal with a grumpy Slingshot again. A grumpy Slingshot is something genuinely scary for any inphernal, especially if the irritation is directed at them. It’d probably be safer to get to the cafe as soon as possible.
Shuriken opens the door to leave, immediately being met with a very grumpy Slingshot. A very grumpy Slingshot that left the cafe just to come see the unfortunate thief.
Shuriken is so very cooked. Roasted, baked, deepfried, and burnt.