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Red’s had a definite feeling all along that this trip isn’t their best idea. There’s a part of him that wonders if the others completely forgot the predicament they put Shadow in a month ago. He didn’t want to say anything if Shadow wasn’t going to, though. It’s Shadow’s body after all.
So when Red wakes up in the room they’re sharing and finds Shadow pacing restlessly, he can’t say he’s really surprised.
He sits up, rubbing his eyes. They’ve actually been able to afford several rooms at the inn this time. It’s something that never happened when they were on their quest, but he supposes being official heroes and actually being paid for their work comes with some advantages. He and Shadow decided to share, Blue with Green, and Vio got a room to himself so he won’t keep anyone else up if he decides to stay up reading all night again. That of course means Red has no idea if any of the others are even still at the inn or if they’ve already gone out for the day. He can look for them, but he doesn’t think he’ll need to. Even if this is what he thinks it is.
“Shadow?”
Shadow stops his pacing and looks up. He’s got one arm hugging his belly but Red can still see how thick his waist is compared to normal. He’s even left his belt off today. “Sorry if I woke you up,” he mumbles.
“It’s okay.” Red scoots toward the end of the bed to get closer to Shadow. “Is it clutching time?”
Shadow shifts on his feet. Red’s not sure if it’s from embarrassment or discomfort. “There’s nowhere to go,” he whines softly.
That’s not exactly an answer but Red wonders if it’s an indirect one. Maybe that’s why he’s pacing, because there’s nowhere for him to hide. “Wouldn’t it be more comfortable to sit on your bed?” he suggests.
Without a word Shadow goes and sits down. He’s looking twitchy and uncomfortable and Red wonders if he’s trying to hold it back again. He climbs out of his own bed, thinking about Zelda and how she acts when she’s having her monthly issues. It’s not exactly the same thing - he’s fairly sure the princess doesn’t lay eggs - but from how Vio summed it up after last time, he’s also pretty sure the way Shadow’s feeling must be similar.
“How about I bring you anything you need?” Red offers cheerfully. “What do you want to have ready when it starts, Shadow?”
He squirms and lets out a huff of breath, glaring at the floor. “A frying pan and some salt.”
The response is more brisk and sarcastic than Red expects and he can’t stop his smile from vanishing into a look of horror. Shadow seems to realize almost immediately that Red meant the offer genuinely and his own expression collapses into near-panic. “I didn’t - I’m sorry - please don’t cry, Red-”
“I’m not.” Red pulls himself back together. Maybe he should try rewording that question. “You said there’s nowhere to go,” he muses out loud, sitting down beside Shadow. “What type of places do you normally prefer to clutch?”
Shadow thinks about that for a minute. Red wonders if he’s ever put much thought into what he looks for or if he just lets his instincts drive him to a place they deem suitable. “Dark and comfortable,” he says eventually. “Small but not cramped. I like closets.”
There’s no closet in here. Red wonders if that’s part of the problem. He considers offering to find him one before quickly deciding it’s best if Shadow stays in their room, where no one’s going to walk in on him. But how to make it more comfortable for him?
He stands abruptly. “I think I have an idea, but I’m going to need your mattress. Would you mind?”
Ten minutes later Shadow is sitting in the world’s clumsiest and most hastily constructed blanket fort made out of both of their beds, watching in complete bafflement while Red arranges the last bedsheet over the top.
“There,” he announces, bending down to crawl in with Shadow. It’s not the best setup and it doesn’t block out all the light, but already Shadow’s looking noticeably less anxious. Red smiles brightly at him. “How’s this? I can go and get more pillows if it’s not soft enough.”
“It’s plenty soft.” Shadow smooths down the pillows under him with one hand. “You know I’m going to ruin these, don’t you?”
“They’ll clean up. Is there anything else you need?”
Shadow just shakes his head, but Red notices the way he’s pulled one of the pillows into his lap. He’s curling up around it and at once Red remembers another thing Zelda usually likes. “Oh, I have an idea! Wait here a moment.”
He’s back less than a minute later with his Fire Rod. Shadow stares at Red like he’s lost his mind. “Don’t set fire to me.”
“I’m not going to set fire to anything, silly. Here, try putting it against your waist.” He offers the rod. Its passive heat warms his fingers.
Shadow still looks unsure, but he accept it. It disappears behind the pillow he’s hugging against his belly. The last of his tension melts away and he sinks slowly back against the mattress that’s serving as a wall. “Red… Red, I think I love you. Ohh, it’s so warm…”
Red tries not to blush at the praise. Shadow’s definitely relaxed now, all of his earlier tension long gone. He almost looks ready to fall asleep even before he clutches. His hand floats down to his tights and he’s already starting to pull them down when he seems to remember Red’s still there.
“Do you mind if I…?” He plucks at them, a little embarrassed. “I usually take them off.”
“That’s okay. Do you want me to leave?” Red offers, feeling awkward himself.
“No, stay. I don’t care if you look.”
Shadow wriggles out of his tights and throws them outside of the blanket fort. He gets comfortable again, legs spread, his tentacle - because Red really can’t think of any other way to describe it - draped lazily over the pillow under his thighs. It’s so long the tapered tip almost reaches his knees and Red’s intimidated by the sheer size of it. He tries not to wonder how it might feel inside him. This is very much not an appropriate time to start pitching a tent in his own tights.
“Is it starting?” he asks in a hushed whisper.
Shadow just nods. He breathes in slowly and his hips twitch forward. Red sees his tentacle quiver and the base thickens like something’s moving into it. Slowly the bulge starts creeping further down.
He’d seen Shadow, shaking in the hallway a month ago, catch the egg that slipped out of him inside his borrowed formal trousers. He’d seen the clutch of eggs nestled between his knees after it was over. He’s even seen his tentacle several times before. But somehow putting it all together and confirming that they really do come out of there makes Red lose his head a little. There’s no way this isn’t agony for him, he thinks in panic. Maybe he should have tried to get help after all.
He grabs Shadow’s hand. “Breathe, Shadow. In and out. In and out. No wait, maybe you need to breathe in and hold it? Or count? Okay, breathe with me. In, two, three, four…”
Shadow tugs his hand away and Red realizes he’s giving him a funny look. He’s completely calm, barely even reacting to the egg that’s slipping fully out of him. Fluid dribbles onto the pillow and his tentacle barely has a moment to relax before the next egg starts its descent.
“Red,” Shadow says flatly, “I know how to breathe.”
Red watches the bulge travel. His tentacle arches downward, pointing at a spot beside the first egg and ready to deposit the next one there. Shadow grunts quietly and it emerges in a rush. Already the next one’s on its way.
“Doesn’t that hurt?” Red asks in a quivering voice, unable to take his eyes off the process.
“Not down there. Just in here a little.” Shadow taps the pillow he’s hugging against himself. “It doesn’t hurt today though. The warmth feels really good.”
His hips twitch again. Another egg plops gently onto the pillows. They’re soaked already and there’s clearly more to come. Shadow sighs and relaxes back against the mattress. Clearly his time of caring about the mess he makes ended when he started laying.
“How does it feel?” Red asks, unable to help himself.
“It’s really tight, but the wet stuff makes it easier. It feels good to get them out. There’s a lot of pressure inside, but each one that comes out makes it a bit lighter. I don’t feel as heavy and full as I did before.” He looks down past the pillow at the swell moving along his tentacle. “I can hold them in for a while if I have to, but the pressure gets worse and worse until I can’t stop it at all. Like at the party last month. That hurts. It’s not so bad if I can just release them when they want to come out.”
Now content in the knowledge he’s not in pain, Red watches a fourth and then a fifth egg join the pile. The fifth one’s barely out when his entire body sags and his tentacle drapes over the heap like it’s too exhausted to move any more. Red’s eyes turn to Shadow’s face and find him looking completely spent.
“Finished,” he murmurs sleepily.
Only five this time. Red wonders about that, but he isn’t sure Shadow will even know the answer himself. Maybe he’ll ask Vio later in case he has some ideas. He leans over and kisses Shadow’s forehead tenderly. “You can go to sleep if you need to. I’ll get you all cleaned up.”
“Mmm…”
He thinks Shadow might be out even before his noise of agreement ends. Red lifts him gently and lays him down on some of the cleaner pillows, then wraps the eggs up in one of the blankets that got wet anyway. He takes away the pillows that caught the worst of it too.
There’s a knock on the door and it opens. Blue’s already talking while he’s coming into the room. “Hey Red, we’ve been wondering when you’re going to…”
His voice trails off when he sees Red crawling out of the blanket fort with his sodden bundle. It seems to take a few seconds before understanding registers. “… Oh. That, uh. That thing happened again? Clutching or whatever he calls it?”
Red nods and presses a finger to his lips for quiet. “I’m sorry for being late,” he whispers when he gets nearer the door. “I wanted to stay with him and help make him comfortable.”
“Yeah. I mean, that’s fine. Helping each other’s more important than… yeah.”
Blue seems distracted, shooting unsure looks at the bundle Red’s carrying. Red gives him a little nudge with his elbow. “You should go back to the others. I’m just going to get rid of these and get Shadow all cleaned up and then I’ll join you.”
For a moment it seems like Blue’s going to offer to help, but then he nods and leaves abruptly. Red’s too busy thinking about Shadow to give much thought to the way Blue’s acting. He’s most likely just disgusted by the mess, he thinks, and puts it out of his mind.
Shadow doesn’t show any sign of being aware when Red comes back with a washcloth. He cleans up the sticky smears on his legs and then stares at his tentacle for a long moment before carefully wiping it down too. The tapered head curves lazily up into his touch and he has to fight the temptation to take it into his hand just to see how it feels. He should wait until Shadow’s awake and can give consent, he tells himself firmly. Falling asleep with no pants and his dick out does not equal an invitation to be touched.
It’s hard to look away from it though. It’s so different from his own or the other heroes’. He wonders if Shadow can consciously control its movements or if it responds on its own. He’s curious how it’d feel if it flexed in his hand or wrapped around his fingers. His hand drifts to his own lap and he absently strokes himself a few times, wondering how Shadow likes to be touched.
He snaps himself out of those thoughts and covers Shadow up with a clean blanket before crawling out of the fort. Shadow deserves to be left alone to sleep, not have Red sit staring at him and touching himself. Right now the others are waiting for him to join them. He needs to go and do that.
He tugs at the hem of his tunic, hoping it’s enough to hide how excited he’s become, and leaves quietly. When Shadow wakes up later Red’s definitely going to want to talk to him about these interesting thoughts.