Plumeria sat down onto her bed. She could feel the exhaustion of the day creeping up on her, and that fresh shower feel only heightened her desire to sleep it all away. Her hair down, Zubat pajamas on, she took a quick look at her collection of plushies on the drawer, before-
*vrr, vrr*
A text. Granted, she was going to sleep earlier than usual, but this late? She figured she'd check it, might be Team Skull 'business'. But it wasn't one of her cute numbskulls at home, nor the "Big Boss" himself, but that instead that cute, meek guy she invited to a date earlier: Mast. A selfie of himself in front of that cafe she was trying to take him to, paired with the caption:
"Still want that Hot Cocoa?" as well as an attachment: the menu.
"Sure, thanks" a simple reply that hid her confused, yet amused reaction. Not 15 minutes later does a quick rapping at the door signal his arrival. She opens the door, seeing that same cute guy in the sea-green & white cap and vest. "Well, c'mon. Get in. It's cold out there."
She says, a light shiver passing through her. He steps in as she closes the door behind him. After passing her her cup of Hot Cocoa, they sit on the side of her bed, sipping and reminiscing of the day's events:The end of Liza's training under Guzma, the strange run-in with the punks, and their date that was quickly derailed to ensure a young girl reunited with her friends. Then, Mast looks up, and is met by Plumeria's collection of plushies. "I knew you liked them, but I didn't know you had this many!" he exclaimed. "I got a lot of 'em, that a problem?" replied Plumeria, with a sort of judging look in her eye. "Nah. Makes it easy to know what to get you, actually. Besides, I kinda like them too." He answered. Plumeria was slightly taken aback, only to quickly recover and say "Well, if you think they're impressive, you should look next to you." And when Mast looked over, he saw the cream of Plumeria's cute, fluffy crop: a massive Furret Plush that towered over them in the corner of the room, just behind the door. "Woah." Was all Mast could conjure for a response. "Impressed? She's the biggest one in my entire collection, even including the ones I didn't bring to Pasio. My Life-Sized Furret." She stands up and stretches, yawning as she tosses the cup into the trash bin. "Well, it's getting late. Wanna stay the night?" she asks, with a slight grin on her face.
"Are you su-" Mast began to ask, only for Plumeria to cut him off:
"It's fine. You brought me the hot cocoa, so you can stay the night if you want." He hesitated, then nodded and replied: "Why not? I'll stay the night."
"Sweet. Now get up." Mast stood up and began walking toward the door. Plumeria went under the covers, lifted up a corner, and said "Now get in."
"What?"
Questioned a nervous Mast, who turned around quickly and began turning red, much to Plumeria's amusement. "Turn off the lights, get comfortable, and get in here." She ordered. Then, in a much softer tone: "I'm not gonna have you sleep on the sofa." Mast relented, flipping the light switch, kicking off his shoes, and hanging up his cap & vest, before joining Plumeria under the covers in his undershirt and shorts. She dropped the covers and gently wrapped her arms around the very flustered Mast before whispering a quiet "Good night" and drifting off into sleep. Mast laid there for about half an hour, thoughts raging through his mind at a mile-a-minute for about half an hour, before exhaustion, coupled with the comforting warmth of Plumeria's arms around him, and the heavy quilt on top of him, coaxed him to sleep.