Karma Is Baby

4: Obviously Not Sleeping

Fyodor heard a lot of loud noises from Nikolai's room.
Was Karma there?... He started to get worried. He was sure Nikolai wouldn't harm a child... But he still doubted it a little bit. He carefully pushed the door open.
Nikolai and Karma were laying on the floor, laughing so hard they were crying.
Fyodor sighed. He knew it was around 1:00 AM, but still... They were acting like animals... He hoped Nikolai's bad behavior wouldn't rub off onto Karma.
"Ah, Dos!" Nikolai sat up, wiping his eyes, "what brings you here?"
Karma stifled his giggling, trying to just breathe.
Fyodor smiled a little bit, "I heard a lot of noise so I figured I would come make sure someone wasn't dying."
"Awww, you do care!"
"Yeah, about my carpet," Fyodor looked around the room as Nikolai narrowed his eyes at him. "Speaking of, how do you have so much stuff?..."
Karma lifted himself up to sit with a sigh. He didn't think he had laughed that much in his life.
Nikolai dug around for a clock, ending up finding five. "Uhm..." he scratched his head, "none of these clocks are right... This one says it's 5:13, that one says 5:14, that one 5:15, this other one 5:16, and that one.... Those aren't even numbers?" O one of the clocks were images of animals.
"How is anyone supposed to read this?!"
Fyodor closed his eyes for a moment, "Gogol... why are all your clocks wrong?..."
He shrugged, "I'm sure there's a clock in here somewhere that's right."
Fyodor looked around again, "did Sigma come by earlier?"
Karma tilted his head, "yeah, how'd you know?"
Fyodor shrugged, "he's grown attached to you. I'm sure he wanted to make sure Gogol hadn't done anything to you."
Nikolai gasped, "I would never!"
"Just this morning you were encouraging him to choke."
"That was a joke! You people have no humor!"
Karma stood up, holding in a yawn, "do you know what time it actually is?"
Fyodor shrugged, "last I checked it was 1:02 and it's been around five minutes or so..."
Nikolai stood, "that means it's bedtime! Karma had a sleepover with Sigma last night so I think it's my turn!"
Karma was sure he would not sleep if he spent the night in here. But it seemed like a fun idea.
Fyodor smiled, "nope. It's my turn."
"What?! But I go back in two daysssss!" He whined, "pleaseeeeee???? I've been so goooodddddd!!!!"
Fyodor held his hand out to Karma, "no, I don't think that's safe."
"I didn't think you'd be so protective," Nikolai stated as Karma took Fyodor's hand. "Oh well! Guess it'll have to be a triple sleepover!"
He used his skill to snatch a pillow off his bed and followed them out.
Fyodor knew it was no use to bargain with him and he told Karma so. Karma nodded.
"But... he's not as scary as I thought..."
Fyodor smiled, "it's been a long time since anyone was willing to play with him. I'm sure he appreciated your company."
Karma was about to ask what he meant when Nikolai spoke up with a gasp, "is there even enough room on your bed for the three of us?!"
Fyodor sighed, "if we move some of the pillows off..."
"What?" Both Karma and Nikolai asked. Was it possible to have so many pillows you wouldn't be able to fit three people?
Fyodor pushed his door open and the others were astonished by what they saw.
Covering all they could see of the king size bed where thousands of pillows. Karma imagined how that must be the softest thing in the universe. Nikolai was in a state of shock.
Then the clown smirked, "wow, Dos. You must be really lonely!"
Fyodor sighed as he started pushing pillows onto the floor, "loneliness cannot be measured by pillows..."
"Then I guess you just really need a hug," he shrugged. Then he whispered to Karma, "the more pillows people have the more touch-starved they are."
"Touch-starved?"
Nikolai nodded, "he desperately needs a hug."
Karma tilted his head then stepped in and started clearing space.
"I'm not wrong," Nikolai shrugged.
"You should go change," Fyodor gestured to the door with his head, "this won't take that long."
Nikolai snatched Karma off his feet and ran out, "see ya!"
Fyodor sighed as he changed as well. He was pretty sure none of them would be sleeping for at least another hour.
Nikolai ran back in with Karma in his arms still, "all done!!!"
Fyodor climbed onto his bed and laid down, "I'm tired."
"Well, duh! It's time for bed!" Nikolai threw Karma onto the bed. He yelped from fear of hitting the wall, but he had been thrown with surprising precision.
Nikolai lay at Karma's other side. He immediately closed his eyes and stopped talking.
Karma was very surprised.
Fyodor chuckled a little bit, "just wait. He'll start talking your ears off soon enough."
"Will not!" Nikolai folded his arms as much as one can when laying on their side.
Karma giggled as he nestled under the covers. Sigma had been right, Fyodor's room was much more comfortable than his own. Just as Karma closed his eyes, Nikolai gasped.
"We should make a cake tomorrow!"
"See," Fyodor smiled.
Karma rolled his eyes.
"At least cookies, then," he seemed very adamant, "we have to make some dessert before I leave for who knows how long!"
"Just don't make a mess, Sigma will end up cleaning if for you."
"I won't! I'll clean up after myself! I'm a big boy!"
Karma couldn't help but laugh at this exchange. They kind of acted like a married couple. Though, Karma hadn't met very many.
Nikolai was looking around, "you know, I think I've only been in here for more than one minute a few times."
Fyodor sighed tiredly, "is it some achievement to be in my room?"
"No..." Nikolai said quietly, "I've just never gotten the chance to actually look around... well, even now it's dark so I can't really see anyways."
Karma noticed just how naturally the three of them fit on the bed. It was like it was made for them. He wondered if Fyodor's skill could see the future...
Nikolai put his arms around Karma coming closer to the middle, "you aren't allowed to complain."
Karma pursed his lips, suddenly feeling the urge to complain.
Fyodor laughed quietly, "just don't suffocate him."
"Why would I?! I just got him! That would be a waste!" Nikolai squeezed Karma, "and it's no fun to cuddle with a corpse!"
"How would you know?" Fyodor asked with a challenging edge in his tone.
Nikolai shrugged, "you are basically a corpse."
Fyodor smiled, "but you've never cuddled with me."
"I can imagine what it feels like," he grew defensive.
Karma held his mouth closed, afraid to let any giggles escape.
"Oh? So you've dreamed about that too?"
"No!" Nikolai said like a liar.
Karma was practically shaking with the effort. He didn't know how long he could last!
"At least you didn't have fun doing it," Fyodor chuckled.
"That-" Nikolai sounded like he wanted to correct him but he stopped himself. He let go of Karma and abruptly turned around to pout like a child, "you guys are so mean to me."
Karma took a deep breath in and out, finally calming himself.
Nikolai turned back over swiftly, "don't laugh! It isn't funny!"
"It is, though," Fyodor smiled.
"Is not." Nikolai folded his arms again.
"It is very funny," Karma said.
Nikolai bit his lip, "you aren't supposed to gang up on me."
"Deal with it," Fyodor relaxed.
"I don't want to..." Nikolai mumbled.
"I don't buy it."
They both looked at Karma.
"Are you two secretly married?"
"No," Fyodor stated. "Why? What makes you think so?"
"'Cause you guys act like it all the time. Er, since I've been here, anyways."
"You sweet, sweet, innocent baby," Nikolai pat him on the head a little harshly.
"But you have been." He reasoned, "you're always touching him and staring at him like you want to kiss him."
Nikolai blinked very slowly and dramatically, "no I haven't..."
"Yes you have."
"No..." Nikolai put his hand over Karma's mouth, "you're too young to understand the difference between wanting to kiss someone and wanting to kill someone."
Fyodor chuckled, "I have to take Karma's side on this one."
"What?!"
Karma pushed Nikolai's hand off, "see?! That's two against one!"
Nikolai scoffed, "you guys are terrible at sleepovers!"
"Well, we aren't sleeping," Fyodor chuckled.
Nikolai narrowed his eyes through the dark, "that's not what I meant."
"I know," Fyodor smiled to himself as he buried himself deeper into his comfort nest.
"Fine... it's a truce then," Nikolai pushed Karma over to Fyodor. "You stay on your side, traitor."
Karma giggled as the blankets fell over his face and he pushed them off. They fell over Fyodor's head instead. Karma fixed it and patted Fyodor's head gently.
Fyodor made his almost-a-laugh noise again, "you don't have to tuck me in. I should be doing that for you."
Karma shrugged, "I can tuck myself in." He proceeded to tuck himself in.
Fyodor closed his eyes with a smile.
After a minute or two of content silence, Nikolai spoke again. It was like he had some strange impulse to ruin quiet moments.
"Hey... can I come back over?..."
"You were the one who put me over here," Karma rolled his eyes.
"Right........ so is that a yes?"
Karma shrugged tiredly, "I don't really care."
"Good," Nikolai came back over and put his arms around the both of them.
Karma was honestly surprised that his arms were long enough for that. As Karma closed his eyes again, with Nikolai's soft Jammie's against his arm and Fyodor's blanket cocoon against his other, he felt safe for the first time in his life.