"I'm gonna dunk that rat head-first into a toilet."

"Incredible. We're being held captive and you're still mad about your FUR?" Yin didn't even bother turning around, still trying to burn a hole out of their hypoallergenic bubble prison. Whatever it was made of, Fastidious had done his homework since none of her Woo Foo spells so far seemed to work.

"And not just any toilet, ohhhh no, it's gonna be a gas station toilet. And when I'm done, I'll pull him out with a used plunger to the face. And then-"

Cursing under her breath, Yin gave up and took a step back. After almost an hour of blasting the bubble walls with magic, all she had to show for it were slightly singed marks and nothing else. Gritting her teeth, she turned on her heel to glare at the other rabbit from across their prison. "You could HELP, you know!"

Yuck just glared back, curled up in his own side of the bubble, teeth bared as he pulled on his fur - not the usual dull, dirty green, but an immaculate shade of aquamarine. And yet it was even more of a mess than usual; an unruly nest of knots that Yuck kept pulling on, scowl deepening as his fingers came out with clumps of hair entangled in them.

"So you got a bath; big deal!" Yin kept talking as she took a step closer, hands on her hips; "It's not gonna kill you to be clean for ONE day! So stop being such a baby and help me get out of here-"

"You think this is funny?!" Yin's ears lowered over the volume in Yuck's voice. He'd gotten to his feet, taking a threatening step forward as she took one back. "Do you have any idea how horrible this feels!? I'm cold, my skin itches, my fur's all twisted up and it feels WRONG!"

Yin scoffed with a shake of her head, but didn't say anything else as she watched Yuck brush his unruly fur. It was blatantly obvious that Yuck didn't know the first thing about grooming, which frustrated her to no end as someone who cared maybe a little too much.

It wasn't until he let out a loud hiss, an even bigger clump of fur stuck to his claws, that she decided she had enough.

"Stop doing that! You're gonna get bald at this rate." Yin was still mad at him, but seeing Yuck basically tear off his own fur like that wasn't something she wanted to see. She closed the gap between them and held his hand before he put it in his fur again; "You don't take baths, I don't know why it surprises me that you don't know how to brush your own fur, either..."

She was too distracted to notice the way Yuck had frozen in place, staring holes into her hand holding his with a mixture of outrage, surprise and...something else. But the sizeable knot of aquamarine fur atop his head was what caught her eye, and without thinking she reached out to smooth it down.

Yuck pulled his head back, baring his teeth like a cornered dog. Yin pulled back her own hand before shooting a glare of her own. "Listen, you were the one making a big deal about your hair! It's not like I'm gonna hurt you!"

"I don't know that."

The accusatory tone in Yuck's voice made her do a double take. Yuck wasn't even as angry as he was wary, still suspiciously eyeing her hand like he expected her to punch him. It was then that she realized she'd overstepped his boundaries, a slight blush of embarrassment spreading across her face.

"OK, look, this is clearly bothering you and now it's even bothering me, too. Just let me help you so we can both get out of here." This time, Yuck was the one to take a step back as Yin took one forward, and the sight made her eyes soften. "Please. I won't hurt you, I promise. I'll make it quick."

He hesitated for a long time; he still didn't seem completely convinced by her words, yet eventually he leaned his head closer to her, eyes shut tight. "If you try anything, I WILL bite your fingers off."

She just rolled her eyes before raising both of her hands, holding Yuck's head in place while her left one dug into that knot she'd been trying to untangle earlier-

Sweet Shooda his fur was SO soft.

It wasn't at all what Yin expected; she was used to seeing his fur all rough and dirty, and even though it was clean now she didn't expect it to feel this soft. Longer than hers or Yang's fur, Yuck's was almost downy this way, like baby fur. She had no idea how he had so much trouble untangling it, because it basically gave away under her fingers with only the slightest of pulls, almost like putting her hand through water.

And she had to hand it to Fastidious; it smelled nice, too. Kinda lemony. She made a mental note to ask him what brand of shampoo he'd used before kicking his butt.

And as she gently combed her way through Yuck's fur, she noticed other changes; Yuck's tense posture had relaxed, and his angry, scrunched up expression - like he was expecting to be attacked at any moment - had visibly softened. If she didn't know better, she would've sworn he'd fallen asleep, would've sworn he was actually leaning against her touch.

...

Wait a minute.

Purring? Yin's hand froze. She could definitely hear it now; a low rumbling coming out of Yuck, she could almost feel it. Is Yuck really purring right now?

Because rabbits could purr when happy just like cats could; the reason it wasn't as well known was because rabbits only did it when they were REALLY happy. And if Yuck was purring...

Because I'm brushing his fur? His sworn enemy? While we're trapped? Talk about low standards. And yet the moment she thought that, a pang of sadness struck her; if this was enough to make him purr up a storm, then clearly happiness didn't come easy to him. And somehow that was sadder than she could articulate.

"OK, done!" She pulled her hands faster than she meant to, and Yuck nearly toppled over with such short notice. "NOW can you help me get out of here?"

However, Yuck didn't seem to react fast enough. He was still blinking the sleepiness away, his hand running through the fur atop his head. It was still tousled, but now the fur fell down in wavy aquamarine strands rather than all bunched up in knots. And that, coupled with the innocently confused look on his face, he almost seemed...

It was weird, how easily it was to forget he was a kid, too.

"Yuck...?"

"I, uh..." He cleared his throat, lowering his hands and avoiding looking at Yin in the eye. His voice was uncharacteristically soft. "That was...nice. Thanks, I guess."

"You're welcome. I guess." She played it off as a joke, but why was her face so warm? Why couldn't she stop staring at him? Why did she still want to run her fingers through that soft fur again so badly? She didn't want to feel like this. "But, uh, bubble prison? Clean-obsessed hamster? Think you can give me a hand?"

She saw him blink again, saw the recognition in his eyes as he remembered where they were and why. And just like that, that strange and soft expression was replaced by the usual anger and malice she associated with Yuck.

Why was she disappointed?

"I'm still gonna flush that gerbil straight into the sewers." He growled as he stood beside her, facing the burn she'd left previously on the wall as his hands lit up with orange magic. He paused for a second, then stared at Yin from the corner of his vision, and there was no softness there. "You better think twice before telling anyone what happened, got it?"

She didn't answer that. Her own hands lighting up blue, she swallowed down her disappointment. Like she always did. "Let's just get out of here."