[crow]

She waited a moment to see if Confetti would do as she told him, but he didn’t rouse from his spot. She rose, figuring it was better to leave him be. Sure, the milk would get cold again, but he would probably be fine either way… And maybe he just didn’t feel well enough yet to do it anyway.

In the meantime, they did have to get a futon out for him. Neo didn’t seem like he was going to do it, so it was all on Peach…

[crow]

Not much of a departure from how things usually went, truth be told. It wasn’t ideal, but she was used to it by now.

The closet where they kept all the spare bedding was right outside the door to her own room. She threw it open, perusing the contents. There wasn’t as much as she’d hoped. They might have to go shopping for more soon, especially if Ferdinand had any more accidents that resulted in new family members. It was probably just as well that they never had actual human guests; they wouldn’t know how to accommodate them now.

[crow]

Fortunately there was still enough for Confetti to use. She pulled out the big rolled futon that occupied the entire bottom half of the closet. It took some effort to get it out, and she gave it a couple of good whacks for good measure. They hadn’t aired it out recently as much as they probably should have, but… well, it was just for one night.

The real trouble was, where should she put it? He couldn’t room with her, and Neo’s room was too small to fit anyone else, unless Confetti was really into the idea of cuddling with Neo…

[crow]

Though, come to that, she didn’t actually know if he would have been opposed. He was pretty eager to get all up in the business of the guy who had taken him home.

He definitely couldn’t room with Ferdinand either, not after the freezer. It might have to be Neo’s room after all. Either that, or she could try to convince him to sleep in the half cleared storage room, but somehow she felt that she wasn’t going to be able to sell him on that one.

[crow]

With the futon in her arms, she went back to where Confetti was lying on the ground near the door. The milk remained undrank, she noted with some disappointment. “Hey,” she said, nudging him with a foot. “Where do you want to sleep? There’s Neo’s room, but it’s a bit small, so you might have to squish…”

No response. “Or we can put you up in the spare room. You’ll have the space to yourself, but you’d have to share with some boxes. We haven’t finished clearing it out yet.”

[crow]

Again, nothing from Confetti. Was he dead? He didn’t look dead. Peach frowned, then decided to try a different gambit. “We could put you in with Ferdinand---”

“I’ll take Neo’s room,” said Confetti. “He can sleep in storage.”

Ah, there it was. She was glad that he [i]could[i] respond, but boy, did his response leave a lot to be desired. “Hey, that’s not how it works,” she said. “You pick one of the options I give you, not one you make up. And besides, Neo was there first, you know.”

[crow]

Confetti didn’t give her a response to that one, so after a while, Peach shrugged. “Neo’s it is, then. Hope neither of you roll in your sleep.” He made no move to stop her either as she walked off to Neo’s room, where the door was still closed. Maybe he didn’t mind it, or maybe he just didn’t have the energy to argue.

She hoped he didn’t bully Neo too much, though she didn’t have high hopes for that. Still, better that Neo had to deal with him than Peach herself.

[crow]

She knocked on the door, which was a slightly cumbersome process given that she was carrying the futon. “Hey, Neo? It’s Peach. Confetti’s rooming with you tonight, til we get everything sorted out with the storage room.”

There was a moment of silence, and then the sound of movement. A muffled voice came from behind the door. “It’s really just you?” said Neo, in a doubtful tone.

“Yeah, just me,” she replied. “Ferdinand’s still doing dinner, if that’s what you’re wondering. Open up, this futon is heavy.”

[crow]

Sure enough, after being assured that Ferdinand wasn't the one knocking or present at all, the door opened slowly, Neo peeking through the sliver of space to make sure Ferdinand really wasn’t there. Once he was satisfied on that front, he opened the door fully, and Peach stepped into his room.

It was really more of a walk-in closet. There wasn’t much in the way of personal effects here either; most of Neo’s stuff was on a small shelf in the living room precisely due to the lack of space.

[crow]

“Sorry, I know it’s going to be a bit cramped. Though I hear Confetti’s the cuddly type, if that helps,” she said. She didn’t know if Neo was, but they might find out tonight, depending on how things went.

… Actually, was it a good idea to have Confetti room with anyone, even another guy? He was… probably too indisposed to try anything tonight, right? Peach could only hope, anyway. Though admittedly it would probably be less complicated if he went for another cake, rather than a human.

[crow]

She put the futon down, arranging it as best she could within the small space. It was a little overlapped with the other one... Okay, a lot overlapped, but hopefully it would be just for the night.

With that done, she went out again to fetch some blankets. Neo, possibly reassured by the fact that Ferdinand was apparently occupied with food, went with her this time to offer his assistance. Between the two of them, they managed to wrangle the interior of the closet into something passable for two people to sleep in. It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t the worst looking thing in the world either.

[crow]

Peach peered out the door at the still immobile Confetti. “Hey, your bed is ready,” she said. “Come on, if you’re going to just lay there, you might as well lay somewhere more comfortable.”

She didn’t know if that particular argument was going to work, considering he’d been basically non-reactive to almost everything else, but to her mild surprise, he roused at last from his slump. It wasn’t much--- he was only upright for long enough to zombie-walk into the room and collapse on the futon. But it was something, at least.

[crow]

“... Is he going to be okay?” Neo said, looking down at Confetti. It was hard for Peach not to laugh in the face of that. That really was the question, wasn't it?

“He’ll live,” she replied. It was probably theatrics, anyway. “I’m going to get something to eat.” It was a little too early for bed, but she was looking forward to winding down in her own room, away from anything remotely resembling an obligation. The guys could work things out between themselves on their own.

[crow]

‘Dinner’, such as it was for her, was a mix of flour and two types of sugar with soft butter mixed in, all washed down with a bit of milk. Sometimes there were canned peaches, or fresh when she could get them in the summer, but not tonight. She ate it without much thought, finishing her meal quickly, and tossing the dishes in the sink when she was done.

She debated over it for a moment, but in the end she whipped up something for the other two before she left the kitchen.

[crow]

Neo’s was a routine she knew fairly well by now, and it helped that he didn’t need his different flavors separated, unlike the process they went through when they were baking him. Confetti… was new, but his was basically a white cake recipe with more sprinkles, right? They could always buy the mix from stores if they really wanted to, but she’d always felt that that was the equivalent of eating a microwave meal for humans.

As she passed the boys’ room on her way to her own, Peach took one last cursory look.