It’s been almost 12 years since Tammy and Avi met. Avi will soon turn 19, and Tammy will celebrate his 18th birthday a few weeks later.
He lays on his back, looking up at the ceiling. The rumble of the train rocks and wobbles the mattress, the distant engine chugs along, and the bright stars of the countryside flood through the window. Sleeping in a luxury booth, their room consists of a single bed pressed against the far wall, with the window at their side, six square feet of floor space on the left, and a wooden door by their feet that slides into the wall. They have a few pieces of luggage they smuggled onto the train; spare clothes, money, and enough guns to kill everyone from engine to caboose.
Tammy sighs breathlessly, and raises his head slightly to look right.
Avi has him in a death grip, arms and legs wrapped tightly around him as if he might escape, her face buried against his neck, and her tail coiled around his left arm. Her long, silky black hair is messy, tickling Tammy’s nose every time he breathes in, but he can’t even scratch. Avi’s 500-pound body is mostly lying on top of his right side. She’s wearing a baggy set of hand-knitted blue pajamas, identical to Tammy’s.
He lets his head slump back onto the pillow and stares at the ceiling. It’s been four years since ‘the incident’ where Avi broke many of his bones and gouged out large chunks of his flesh. He never thought he’d be sleeping in the same bed as her again, yet here they are.
“Hmhmmhnnngh,” Avi groans and tightens her hold on her husband. Tammy can feel her lips twist into a smile, “it’s okay Tammy,” her words are slurred and tired, barely conscious. Only Tammy can decipher what exactly she’s moaning. “I’m here…”
“…I know.” Tammy keeps his voice hushed. He tries to bring his left arm around to pat her back, but it’s held in place by her tail. He tries to move his right hand, but it’s long since gone numb after being pinned beneath her left hip. But he knew this would happen. She’s always been affectionate, and they’ve only recently started sleeping together again.
“Awww, heheheheheh, if you wanna go another round, you should just say so..!”
“…What the hell do you mean ‘another’?”
The tip of her tail, coiled around his arm, rattles happily, and Avi starts nibbling Tammy’s neck.
He frowns deeply. Both because she’s slobbering all over him like a large dog, but also because it’s bringing back all sorts of unpleasant memories. Four years ago, Avi took a bite out of his traps and chipped bone.
But now, even if she’s hugging with enough force to break the ribcage of a normal man, she’s being gentle.
“…What exactly do you like about me?” Tammy asks softly.
Avi pulls from his neck and moves in, rubbing the right side of her face against his. “Eeeeeverything…”
“Anything specific?”
“Specifically eeeeverything.”
He narrows his brow, “are you sure you’re not awake?”
She starts giggling messily, then tucks her head under his chin, pressing her face against his chest. She starts munching on his shirt.
Using his psychic powers, he peers into her mind to witness her dreams. Dream Avi and Dream Tammy are in the same position, but the bed is slightly smaller, and Dream Tammy’s left hand is rubbing her back.
“Huh. Thought that’d be dirtier.”
Suddenly, her dreams have them covered in soap bubbles. Still fully clothed, not even wet, but covered. “Heehee, but Taaaammy, we already took a shower.” Her dream focuses on Dream Tammy’s sleeping face, giving him a long, curled soap mustache and goatee.
“Shower-sss. Two. Separate. We didn’t bathe together.”
Avi frowns and stops munching his shirt. For a moment, in her dream, they’re sleeping on two separate beds. It only takes a second for her to force the beds back together and tighten her grip.
“Khaaaa-!” Real Tammy wheezes.
In the dream, Avi keeps squeezing him to replay the sound over and over. With each repeat, Tammy’s exhale sounds more and more like a squeaky chew toy.
Real Tammy frowns and uses his power to force change in her dream.
Dream Tammy sits up and pushes Avi off, disregarding her great weight. “Alright, girl. This is getting painful now. Stop.”
Avi sits cross legged, hands on her feet. Her tails swishes behind her and she cocks her head. “Tammy?”
“…Yes?”
“You pushed me off.”
“You were squeezing too tight.”
“You’re not nearly strong enough to do that.”
“Rude! How weak do you think-“
Avi smirks and his shirt explodes into multicolored confetti. Toned, well-developed, not an ounce of body fat from his abs to his fingertips, it’s like he was chiseled from marble.
He looks down. “…Any particular reason why-“
Avi jumps on him and pins him to the bed, snuggling once more. “This is your punishment for invading my dreams,” she says cheerily.
“Gyugh, can you at least let up the pressure? You’re crushing me in real life.”
Real Avi loosens her arms. Only a small relief, but at least it doesn’t hurt. “Happy now? You baby…”
“No. Also remove your tail from my arm.”
“Oooor, how about..!”
Real Avi frowns slightly and starts moving her tail. She drags Tammy’s arm over and plops his hand down on her head.
Dream Avi smiles, “did it work? I think I feel something, but I can’t tell.”
Dream Tammy sighs, but smiles nevertheless. “Yes, it worked.” Real Tammy uses his limited motion to affectionately rub the top of her head.
Real Avi smiles, with Dream Avi flailing her tail around the room. “And you’re okay with it!?”
“…Yes? I’m fine with patting your head.”
“…Head?”
Dream Tammy narrows his brow. “What?”
Dream Avi buries herself against Tammy’s bare chest, “nothing!”
He drops the subject and leaves her dream, wide awake and lost in thought for the rest of the night.