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Sun gently licked at his sleeping mates face, relishing in his scent and nuzzling his cheek to the side of his hood, twining his tail tighter around whatever he could of Moon’s coils without disturbing him. The contact was soothing to his sleepy brain, settling the odd emptiness tingling along his scales. He had been woken by the feeling, exhausted and restless and wanting it to stop. Thankfully though, the closer he snuggled, the less restless he felt. He slowly felt himself calm, tongue flicking out again against his mate’s pale cheek affectionately as his eyes drooped.

He was just drifting back off to sleep when Moon shifted under his coils and buried himself further within their tangle, unknowingly escaping Sun’s gentle, sleepy grooming. He let out an involuntary whine as his mates face was hidden, and he couldn’t help but chase him down as best he could with a small thought in the back of his mind that he didn’t want to wake him, even if the closeness was very important right now to his hazy thoughts. He rubbed his cheek against the back of Moon’s head urgently as his hearts swelled with anxiousness at the loss, however small.

Moon grumbled out a sleepy hiss at the disturbance and twisted, dislodging Sun for a hearts twisting moment before curling his arms around him properly and firmly pulling him closer, midnight blue tail sliding along his scales pleasantly and tightening briefly before relaxing again as Moon resettled with Sun successfully pulled deeper into their tangle. Sun let himself relax and snuggled himself down into his partners hold, arms pressed between them against Moon’s chest, giving his chin one final gentle lick that made his face twitch cutely in his sleep.

When Sun woke the next morning, he found himself alone in their den, Moon’s fresh scent having been gone for a little while. Logically, he knew he must just be getting their breakfast from the humans working at the facility they were kept in, but the emptiness swiftly filled him up regardless, crawling unpleasantly over his skin and he couldn’t help but whine. He tried to ignore the feeling, stretching and exiting the cave into the artificial sunlight of the realistic looking forest, hoping the warmth would soothe the ache.

It didn’t.

Every movement felt off, and he found himself rubbing at his arms and tugging his rays anxiously, unable to figure out where the uncomfortable feeling had come from and why it wouldn’t go away. It wasn’t until he saw Moon approaching that he stopped, barely noticing that he’d been rubbing himself against the rough bark of a nearby tree to try and (unsuccessfully) relieve the bad feeling.

He quickly slithered over to his mate; the empty feeling almost entirely forgotten as the crawling sensation lessened considerably. He all but tackled him to the ground, startling the other naga into dropping the tray he was carrying and releasing a shocked giggle. Moon began hissing in playful affront when Sun started nuzzling his face insistently and peppering him with little kisses and affectionate flicks of his tongue, no part of his face spared from the onslaught.

“Someone’s happy this morning.” Moon chuckled fondly, nuzzling him right back for a few long, precious moments as his bonded calmed in his assault of his face.

Shifting his tail, Moon easily lifted himself back up and retrieved the spilt tray of their food from the soft grass. Sun didn’t let go, simply giggling and wrapping himself further around his mate in a silent bid to be carried. Moon rolled his eyes and gave him a look, brow raised in mock admonishment.

Sun grinned toothily, completely unrepentant, and quickly snagged an apple slice from the tray, poking out his forked tongue cheekily at his act of thievery. Moon rolled his eyes again and started back towards their den, very much used to Sun’s antics after almost a year of being bonded.

Sun seemed to be feeling especially playful and clingy today, but that was okay. He had come a long way from the anxious mess he’d been when they’d initially transferred into their enclosure, afraid to show affection outside of their den in case the humans tried to separate them again, but equally unwilling and unable to be on his own outside their den. It had been an odd reaction, but apparently Sun’s mind had, at the time, come to the conclusion that if they hadn’t so obviously wanted to stay together upon arrival then they never would have been separated.

It had taken months of constant stress, anxiety, and slow recovery before he felt safe wandering around on his own where Moon wasn’t within sight, and longer still before he finally allowed himself to trust that he wasn’t going to be separated like that again. His usually so sociable mate had been skittish around humans for the first time since they were young and venturing to the nearby village for the first time, avoiding them and hiding away when they came to talk to them or run their tests or attempt to check his self-inflicted injuries.

He still had trouble with small spaces though, which was unfortunate as back in their original home Sun had loved to burrow into snug tree hollows he’d carved out. He’d made a few around the enclosure in the time they’d lived here, but usually couldn’t stay in them long before he started getting anxious he’d be trapped in.

Adjusting here had been difficult, especially as apparently, they had been the first bonded pair these humans had captured for their ‘rehabilitation facility for mythical endangered species’ in this country and they had been completely unprepared for how to deal with them.

They had been taken from their home only a few weeks after they had completed their bond (preceded by several months of courting and years of friendship) and had been transported away in a small container wherein they had huddled fearfully in hopes they wouldn’t be alone for whatever horrors awaited them, only for the humans to separate them once they arrived. They had screamed and thrashed and fought once they realised what was happening, unable to formulate human words in their distress, but they hadn’t been able to fight the extra drugs shot into them by their captors when some of them got injured trying to contain the two volatile nagas.

They’d woken alone on opposite sides of the same large room in sealed containers and promptly panicked once they realised they were trapped and unable to reach each other. Sun had stopped eating and started clawing at himself and banging whatever part of his body happened to be closest on the walls to his enclosure whenever he had the energy, trying to get out or stop the pain. Probably both.

Moon hadn’t been much better, hissing and growling and throwing himself around until he ran out of energy and sometimes even beyond, or until he had to be drugged so he wasn’t at risk of injuring the researchers. They didn’t seem to know how to stop them from hurting themselves or why they hadn’t given up on attacking their cages- though he had once overheard one of them saying they couldn’t drug them every time or it might kill them.

Hearing Sun chanting his name in distress for days on end until he either gave up or couldn’t continue had been torture, his attempts at reassurance receiving no reaction. He’d had to watch as his bonded’s scales dulled drastically from the stress within those few days to a sickly facsimile of their previously bright palette of yellows and reds, not to mention being unable to do anything about the blood smeared on his arms from his incessant scratching and picking at his scales. It had been one of the worst experiences of his life, if not the actual worst.

Then, one day, they had wheeled Sun out the door and Moon felt the last threads of his sanity snap as he began attacking his cage with strength he no longer possessed, his feral screaming so loud and piercing that the humans had covered their ears to protect their hearing. He hadn’t managed much more than hearing his box creak ominously before one of the humans managed to hit the button that released the sedative, and he was helpless to fight the rapid darkening of his vision as he was forced unconscious, slumping over himself.

He didn’t see Sun for the rest of the day, and he felt despair creep over him brutally. His hearts throbbed weakly in his chest as he leant against the glass, staring in the direction they had taken his life mate. He didn’t even react the when more gas hissed into his cage and his thoughts went sluggish, leaving him unable to even turn his head. The urge to snarl and fight was still there, but it was like wading through a swamp and he didn’t have the strength to pull himself through.

The humans continued to putter around, some muttering about his change in behavior with furrowed brows and displeased expressions, while others scoffed and proclaimed they were glad the beast had finally given up fighting them when they were only trying to help. One particularly cruel human had even added, under her breath, that she was glad to know even monsters could be broken like any other animal. She was quickly shushed and reprimanded by several other humans and Moon didn’t see her return the next day.

Moon didn’t have it him to really care anymore though. He felt like he was dying, like something had dug into the very core of himself and pulled out the most important parts.

It was maybe a few days later, though he couldn’t be sure, when he finally got the kick he needed. A human had walked in, talking about one of the other nagas- which wasn’t usual and Moon almost dismissed them entirely until he heard mention of how they couldn’t get his vitals up even when they tried supplying nutrients directly into his blood as he still refused to eat. Hope sparked in his chest as he forced his eyes to focus on the human, gaze drifting down to the screen they held.

A screen which displayed a picture of his Sun, looking even sicker than when they’d stolen him away again.

Rage flared to life inside him and he began to plan. He would get to Sun and escape from these evil humans even if it killed him. At least then Sun wouldn’t have to suffer for much longer once he was dead- but this? This slow death was torture and Sun didn’t deserve another moment of it.

It was maybe another day later when things finally started to get better, all because an impatient human had made a mistake during one of Moon’s ‘check ups’, having grown complacent with his lack of response and sickly appearance over the past however many days it had been- it wasn’t exactly easy to keep track especially when there was at minimum no visible sky.

They had come to check on him and take more blood, muttering about his health rapidly declining. Moon, however, had made sure to study their routines over the days since deciding on his plan and had held his breath, continuing to lay still when the gas was released into his prison. The worker hadn’t waited long enough to make sure the sedative in the air had done its work to immobilize him before unlocking his small enclosure, probably figuring he wouldn’t react regardless.

Moon had immediately lunged for the open door the moment he heard the click signaling it was unlocked and smashed into it with enough force it dangled from its hinges, accompanied by the most intimidating and rage filled screech he could muster. The human was knocked to the floor, their skull hitting the smooth surface with a crack.

The dozen or so humans in the area had screamed in fright and fumbled to get away as he flared himself threateningly, hood spread wide and showing off his patterning to make himself appear larger. He swiped at anyone who got too close and lunged at anyone with a weapon, knocking them down with harsh thwaps of his tail before carelessly slithering over them, uncaring of his crushing weight pressing down on their much smaller bodies.

His claws dripped with blood from those unlucky enough to get caught by them, though he didn’t bother doing more damage than was needed to scare them away, instead racing towards the door and barreling into it with a deafening BANG.

Humans in the hallway screamed and ran away, but he paid them little attention, flicking out his tongue and inhaling deeply, searching desperately for a hint of his mates scent. He followed the fainted traces of it, pulling himself down the corridor, claws leaving deep gouges in the concrete as he made his way along.

When the scent got stronger, he forced open a door and shoved himself inside, but was met only with a few more humans who froze at his abrupt appearance. One of them smelt like his mate and he growled, twisting back around and following the smell again. This happened several more times until, on the fifth door he tried, he finally found himself in another long room not unlike the one he’d just escaped.

And there, at the far end of the room was Sun, slumped in his tank and staring forwards blankly, lightly banging his head against the glass. He looked awful, like he was one stiff breeze from wasting away into nothing, but he was also the most beautiful sight Moon had seen in what felt like years.

Things big and small clattered and fell around him as he took the most direct path forward, pushing his straining muscles even as they protested from the lack of use towards Sun, ignoring the humans yelping and groaning in pain as they were hit with either his body or the inanimate casualties of his mad dash across the room. He felt his claws sink into flesh and pull out wetly as he beelined across the room- a human must have found their way into his path without him noticing, but he didn’t care and everything just registered as white noise to his panicked brain. Sun was the only thing that mattered.

He had banged on and clawed at the glass and frame, smearing thin trails of blood against the surface, scrambling to find a latch or seam he could use as leverage to rip it open, but it needed a key and nothing near him did more than scratch the surface of the box when he resorted to throwing things. His strength was not what it should have been, and it only made him more frantic the longer he couldn’t break in. He wished desperately for some sort of rock to use, but none of the human things he could see looked heavy or solid enough to substitute. Too much around him was unfamiliar or useless.

He had hissed in panicked frustration, still desperately looking around for something he could use to smash it open before he was forced away again. Sun wasn’t going to last, and he was terrified he wouldn’t get another chance- there was no way he’d get away with the same trick twice. Sun still hadn’t seemed to notice he was there despite all the commotion Moon was causing. He was so close he felt tears build stubbornly behind his eyes.

When more humans came bursting through the doors with weapons at the ready and dragging out their injured colleagues, he had resorted to wrapping himself around the rectangular box as tightly as he could, hissing and growling and jolting forward slightly with sharp swipes of his claws to scare them back without leaving his mate.

He couldn’t speak, he was beyond too stressed to even try, and he couldn’t think of any useful words to convey his demands anyway. Sun was the better one at talking the human language than he was, and now his inability to use it was putting them in further danger. He still didn’t understand why they were doing this to them, he just wanted his bonded. He didn’t care what happened as long as he had Sun.

He didn’t know how much time had passed during the standoff, but eventually a small human rushed into the room looking harried. By this stage Moon was exhausted, his threat display faltering as his energy waned. They’d tried to shoot him with the sedatives a few times, but he so far had managed to dodge or knock them away before they pierced his thick scales. But they seemed happy to just wait for the moment when it became clear he wasn’t moving from his spot- they were probably waiting for him to tire himself out and it was working.

His energy was flagging faster than he wanted to admit and while they had stopped for now, he knew he wouldn’t be able to keep this up indefinitely and the moment they saw an opportunity they would catch him before he could defend himself. He hadn’t been able to eat since they were separated either and he was paying for it now.

He was drawn from his thoughts when the new human slowly approached him, and he reflexively reared forward and hissed at them as he did with all the others who dared get close. This one, however, didn’t flee.

They flinched, but just slowly raised their hands and stayed still, taking an exaggerated step back. They then, bafflingly, turned to the others in the room and demanded they clear out- even the ones with weapons. Moon coiled himself down defensively against the box, poised to strike if needed, eyes narrowed as he watched them shout and argue and eventually start to leave- though not without one of the weapons being given to the human who stashed it under their coat where he couldn’t see it. He didn’t trust this, not one bit.

Once everyone but the new human was gone, they simply stood there and waited as he panted, arms shaking from how hard he gripped the edges of Sun’s prison. He was so tired, but he needed to protect Sun. The human opened their mouth presumably to say something, but he hissed at them loudly to cut them off, glaring and continuing with an extended growl. He had to make sure they knew he wasn’t going to trust them just because they were alone now.

The human paused, then waited a moment before trying again, speaking over his next hiss. “My name is Doctor Riley, but you can just call me Riley or Mr Riley if you like. May I ask your name?”

Moon jolted slightly in shock, narrowing his eyes warily, fingers flexing uncertainly. That was the first time any of the humans had asked him a question- apparently, they had given up on nagas knowing how to talk as their few previous captures hadn’t been from regions where it was still taught and hadn’t understood a word. Grudgingly, he admits to himself that he’s not actually sure he would have been able to respond even if they had tried with him.

To be fair, he did try to answer the question- he wasn’t one to waste an opportunity, but he was still too stressed to focus on how to say it and all he managed was a growling chitter in the back of his throat. He shook his head frustratedly and tried again because he was so, so tired and some small traitorous part of him hoped that maybe this human was willing to listen in the same way the small children and their parents that lived in the tiny village had when they cheerfully taught himself and Sun more words.

He didn’t manage more than the first sound of his name before it trailed back off into a raspy hiss. Riley didn’t seem to mind, and just smiled at him with what appeared to be understanding. The lack of obvious threat had the adrenaline start to leave him, and he found himself lowering closer to the box he was wrapped around. He was completely spent but did his best to keep himself steady and not show weakness regardless. He wasn’t going to let them take him away from Sun again.

“If we’ve caused you any distress-” Riley began, and Moon scoffed scornfully with a glare. Riley then amended, “I’m sorry we’ve caused you distress. I was supposed to be in charge of your care from the moment you arrived, however they failed to inform me of your early arrival. I’ve been told you two were found together?”

Moon didn’t know how to respond, watching the man suspiciously, breath still heaving and hearts pumping furiously in his chest. His silence seemed to have been taken for an answer, however, or maybe he already knew it to be true. Riley nodded to himself and took a small step forward. Instantly, his hackles rose, and Moon let out a warning hiss, hood flaring weakly. His threat went ignored.

“I’m going to assume from what I’ve seen here today that we’ve made a grave error. I was unaware my colleagues were not informed on protocol on how to recognize and handle a bonded pair, which is unacceptable and has clearly put your health at significant risk. This facility is still new, and an established bond is something they haven’t encountered here yet.”

His eyes widened and his hood flattened in surprise, dangerous hope swelling inside him. This human- Riley, knew about their bonds? He watched as, slowly, Riley reached a hand into his coat pocket and pulled out a slim plastic card.

“I’m going to come over there and unlock that for you if you’ll allow me. You and your mate don’t seem to be doing so well with the separation. I’m very sorry this has happened to you both.” Slowly, Riley walked forward and despite the man seeming trustworthy, Moon growled a warning, instincts wanting the human nowhere near his hurt mate.

The moment he was within reach Moon, using the last of his strength, struck forward and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him up to dangle high above the floor, hood flaring wide and hissing right in his face, baring his fangs so close they grazed the man’s cheekbone. Riley had yelped in fright and kicked his legs out on instinct, but then went forcibly limp in his hold almost instantly, putting up no further resistance despite the clear danger of being maimed or even killed.

After a long moment of Moon glaring and his gaze being met as calmly as could be, sweat beading down the humans face, Riley slowly raised the hand still holding the card. “I promise, no tricks. I just want to help.”

Moon held them for another tense moment before he let go with one hand, ignoring Riley’s gasp as his clothes pressed against his neck, and reached into the man’s coat to retrieve and crush the weapon hidden there. Only then did he finally (and slightly roughly) drop him to the floor. He kept a clawed hand on his shoulder, the sharp points of his fingers pressing against the pulse point of his neck in silent warning. Riley took it in stride, taking a calming breath that he could feel through his palm, and slid the key through the lock.

The door began to creak open and everything else left Moon’s mind as he shoved the human away harshly, indifferent to if the man got hurt. He swiftly unfurled himself from around the box, yanking the door off its hinges entirely and shoving his way inside as much as he could, some of his tail hanging out of the opening. It was cramped with the both of them in a space designed for one, but he didn’t care.

He cradled Sun’s head in his hands and nuzzled his face against his cheek desperately, pressing as firmly as he could. He squeezed his eyes shut tightly to fight off the tears of relief that threatened to spill. He rubbed their faces together trying to elicit a response, an anxious chitter warbling brokenly in the back of his throat.

Agonizingly slowly, Sun blinked, his eyes focusing on him after a long moment and Moon whined in relief, wrapping himself around his mate as much as he could manage in the tight space. He felt Sun’s shuddering breaths under him as the shock off the past however many days wore off and he began to cry, hugging him back just as fiercely despite his weakness and pain, nuzzling his face against Moon’s neck and flickering his tongue against what parts of Moon he could reach, scenting him for the first time in too long.

Afterwards, once Riley had collected himself from being thrown down (thankfully unharmed aside from some nasty bruises), Moon listened with half his attention as the humans slowly made their way back inside. They balked when Riley refused to shut them inside or tranquilize them, professing that neither of them would do anything now that they weren’t in such extreme distress. Moon couldn’t exactly argue, he was too busy comforting his bonded and himself to care about getting revenge. He’d just have to be satisfied with the damage already done.

Riley had ordered his subordinates around until the two of them were being wheeled out of the room to be taken to their current home. Moon had squeezed himself out with some effort and pulled Sun out along with him when his mate struggled to decide which area was scarier to stay in. They’d been given a large meal and left alone to eat for the first time in over a week or so, undisturbed for days other than the food left in the feeding station for them to take.

Now, Moon watched fondly as Sun curled tightly around him, allowing Moon to feed him slices of fruit as he purred softly in his lap, claws lightly tracing the star-like patterning on his scales and the smattering of scars from fights and from his escape. Halfway through their meal, Sun grew restless and pressed himself closer with a displeased huff, rubbing his tail against Moon’s and squeezing it intermittently, seemingly agitated.

Concerned, Moon dropped a hand onto his back and began stroking soothingly. He was about to ask what was wrong when Sun sighed and settled, eyes drooping sleepily. He hesitated, not entirely willing to disturb him if he was still tired. Sun had slept in this morning, which wasn’t something that happened often. It was rare that Moon would awaken first and manage to disengage from their pile without waking his other half.

Moon frowned, thinking about it properly. This wasn’t normal, Sun was acting strange. Had he not slept well? No, he didn’t think it was that. When Sun had bad nights he was usually woken either by Sun seeking comfort or by sensing his distress. That hadn’t happened and he’d woken with Sun tucked against him almost the same way they’d fallen asleep in.

Gently, he pressed another piece of fruit against his lips. Sun’s face scrunched slightly in displeasure as he flicked his tongue out to smell it before reluctantly accepting the bite, chewing slowly. He refused anything further, pressing his lips closed with a quiet grunt and looking uncomfortable even as he eventually dropped off into a dose, fingers twitching restlessly and gripping weakly against Moon’s scales.

His frown deepened. Sun loved fruit; it wasn’t like him to eat so little. Cautiously, he leant forward and attempted to get a sense of Sun’s temperature with his heat pits. Worryingly, he felt a bit warmer than normal. Was he sick? That would explain the extra clinginess somewhat- seeking extra body heat.

Moon wasn’t entirely sure what to do except wait it out and see if Sun felt better. He was hesitant to involve the humans, even if Riley was always very kind to them in spite of their less than stellar introduction. Neither of them had really gotten sick once the stress wore off and they felt safer, and he didn’t have access to anything he would have used in the past here. The forest was realistic, but not that realistic.

Slowly, Moon finished his meal and left his portion of fruit next to Sun’s in hopes to get him to eat more later. If he really was sick enough to refuse his favorite food, then Moon doubted he would have any better luck getting him to eat anything more substantial.

Sun woke from his accidental nap sometime later, the uncomfortable feeling that had been plaguing him since the night before having increased. He whined and tried to press closer to Moon, but the slide of their scales sent a shock of overstimulation to his nerves and he hissed, frustrated tears springing behind his eyes.

“Sun?” Moon asked, and Sun twisted to look up at his mate, whose flat face was creased in concern. “Are you feeling sick?”

For a moment he considered lying so he wouldn’t worry his mate, but another wave of that horrible crawling sensation had him disregard that notion just as quickly as it had come. He writhed against the floor and Moon’s tail, desperately seeking something to get rid of this terrible ache but all that did was spark more pain through him. He was so confused, but forced himself to stop moving and making the feeling worse.

“I don’t know,” he admitted pathetically. “I’ve been feeling weird for hours and I don’t know why. Cuddling with you last night helped but now it’s getting worse.”

Moon frowned in thought for a moment, stroking his back in a way that somehow actually felt good where everything else felt wrong, and let him relax slightly in relief. “Do you want me to get Mr Riley? He could-“

“No!” Sun hissed with sudden venom, startling the both of them with his unexpected outburst. The very thought of another person near him and Moon right now sent his anxiety skyrocketing. He twisted himself closer against his mate and ignored the discomfort urging him to move.

“Sunny?” Moon said worriedly, trying to get a good look at his face. “What’s wrong? I thought you liked Mr Riley? I don’t know what’s wrong and he might be able to help you feel better.” But Sun was already frantically shaking his head, eyes starting to water.

“N-no! I mean, yes, but no!” He stuttered, “Just want you. I just- just want you. Safe.” He added quietly, fingers digging into Moon’s scales.

“Okay. Okay, I won’t get anyone else.” He said soothingly, voice lowering like he was talking to a spooked animal. Which, Sun supposed, he sort of was at the moment even if he didn’t know why.

“Do you think you could eat a bit more?” Moon added after a few minutes of silence and Sun’s heartrate had calmed slightly. His face twisted at the thought of food, but one look at Moon’s face had him feeling horribly guilty. His mate was obviously very worried. “Just a little, for me? I saved the fruit for you.”

More guilt settled in his belly. Relenting, he nodded. Moon’s face relaxed slightly in relief as he turned to pull the tray closer and pick out a piece. The thought of eating anything made his stomach twist, but he obediently allowed himself to be fed little bites at a time. Chewing felt like a chore, the normally loved flavors of the fruits tasting like ash on his tongue. Swallowing left nothing but a thick lump in his throat that became harder and harder to ignore until he had to turn his face away from the next one offered, shutting his eyes in shame after only managing a few pieces of fruit.

His breath hitched miserably. He wanted to keep trying so Moon wouldn’t worry, but he couldn’t force himself to eat anything more. He felt ill and just wanted to curl up with Moon and hope the horrible crawling-itching went away.

“Shhh, its alright. You did great, thank you for trying.” Moon rumbled soothingly, bending down to rub their cheeks together affectionately. “Would you like to try sleeping some more?”

Sun nodded and pushed himself up, slowly making his way back towards their den, the drag of the grass against his skin making him twitch, rubbing at his arms as he tried to move faster. He barely heard Moon following him, suddenly anxious about being so exposed.

He slumped in relief once he was inside their den, the cool, smooth rock not as irritating as the grass had been. His skin felt dry and stretched out, which didn’t help lessen the horrible sensations that wouldn’t leave him be. He dragged himself over to their nest and dropped himself on top of the plush blankets and pillows gathered there, curling in on himself miserably.

Moon joined him a moment later, draping himself over the top of Sun’s body. He hoped his body heat and weight would help comfort his mate like it normally did when he was having a bad day. He twisted his body until they were both comfortable and he was able to pull Sun into a hug, tucking his softly spiked head under his chin.

Even with their position, Moon felt Sun still twitching a shifting restlessly, seemingly unable to get comfortable. As a last resort, Moon started quietly humming, a purr rumbling through his chest as he did so. Slowly, agonizingly slowly, Sun’s agitated movements slowed along with his breathing, and he fell asleep, face going slack with tears drying on his cheeks. Moon gently wiped them away and closed his own eyes.

Moon was startled awake sometime later by frantic movement from his mate, exhaustion fleeing his mind with his worry, who was whining and rubbing himself against his body desperately. He looked pained; expression twisted in distress as he writhed as much as he could while trapped under Moon’s bulk. He felt too warm to the touch and his skin was flushed, scales looking dull, though he didn’t seem to be awake yet.

Moon put a hand on his mate and startled at the dry texture, his scales felt slightly… rougher? than normal. Sun continued to shift uncomfortably, managing to free a hand from between midnight blue coils and began scratching at the skin of his opposite arm. The skin there peeled slightly and flaked under the rough treatment, and Moon was quick to restrain his hands, concerned about what was happening until- oh. Then it clicked.

Sun was shedding.

Moon almost laughed at the realization, relief sweeping through him as he slumped forward to press his forehead against his bonded. It was just a shed! A bad one to be sure, but completely normal! Nothing to be so stressed about.

Once he had taken a moment to calm down from the worry, he carefully extracted himself enough from their pile that he could examine his bonded. Naga sheds were, in theory, similar to that of an ordinary snake, but they tended to shed much less frequently once they reached maturity and it wasn’t unusual for some to only have one or two a year, though they tended to be a lot more uncomfortable in that case. It was purely a genetics thing, shedding less generally meant that their scales held up longer before needing to be replaced or their environment didn’t wear them down as quickly- not including times where a shed triggered early from too much damage to the existing scales. Moon himself tended to shed a couple times a year, usually because he was more prone to damaging his scales (he had the faint scars as proof) hunting or defending those he cared about. Sun generally shed a bit less, though not for lack of wearing on his scales from his high energy activities. Their shed also tended to progress decently swiftly for most, meaning less time to be uncomfortable and having to be cautious about tears in the peeling skin before it was fully ready.

He thought back, trying to estimate how long it had been for Sun. It had… actually been abnormally long since his last shed, before they were brought here actually. Moon hadn’t had one either, and he winced thinking about how much that was going to suck. That… wasn’t so good. His poor mate must have been so stressed his body didn’t want to let him be vulnerable as self-defense. He hoped that this was a sign Sun was recovering well from the trauma of their arrival. Moon wasn’t sure what it said about himself that he hadn’t had one in just as long, but pushed that aside for much later once Sun was feeling better.

Transferring Sun’s twitching hands into one of his own, he cooed soothingly as he began examining the progress of the shed. He would let Sun sleep as long as he was able; if he was in this much pain and discomfort while asleep it was bound to be much worse while awake. No wonder his mood has been all over the place today, Moon was sure that he’d be spitting metaphorical venom with a nasty temper if it were him, so he wasn’t going to judge Sun’s reaction to a bad shed.

Thankfully, it seems his shed was progressing fairly quickly as normal, judging by how dull his colours appeared. It would be another few hours before he’d need to find a way to help soften it up enough so they could begin removing the dead layer.

Sun shifted restlessly again, jerking his arms and managing to get one free, claws immediately scratching at his other arm before it was once again forced away. He let out a miserable sounding keen, brows furrowing deeply in displeasure and yanking on his arms so he could rub them against his torso. Sympathy filled Moon’s chest as he tried to gently restrain Sun from irritating his skin further and hurting himself.

A few stray tears leaked from closed eyes, and Moon had an idea. Carefully, he moved one arm to trap it beneath his bulk and cradled the other. Leaning over the yellow-orange limb, he drew his smooth tongue across the dry skin, his saliva creating a temporary barrier to soothe the itch. He swiftly fell into the rhythm of slow, gentle laves up and down the arm from wrist to elbow as he groomed the skin, saw the irritated area calming under his attention. He watched as Sun’s expression relaxed minutely, the fingers of the hand falling still and the arm going slack in his grip the longer he ran his tongue over the limb. Satisfied for the moment, Moon placed the arm down to rest across Sun’s belly and retrieved the other arm from its cage to repeat the process until both arms had been liberally coating in his drying saliva.  

Now that the itching in his mates arms appeared to have been appeased for the moment, he arranged himself more fully over his bonded in hopes that his body heat and pressure would assist in soothing the painful itching and prevent Sun from easily being able to scratch at himself and irritate the skin further. Moon settled in for a long wait, intending to keep a close eye on Sun to try and sooth as much discomfort as he could until it was time to notify a human they needed warm water.

Sun blinked awake; mind fuzzy as he tried to focus on something past the unbearable crawling sensation that had finally forced him awake. He was tired, though he’d done nothing but sleep and fail to eat for hours.

He shifted- or well, he tried to, but found he was pretty well stuck. Moon was laying his whole body on top of him, thoroughly covering essentially everything except his head, and was pressing him quite firmly into his own tail and the bedding below. The warm weight of his beloved was comforting, but even that couldn’t suppress the desperate need to scratch his skin off.

Moon was fast asleep, face lax and twitching minutely as he dreamed, the silence only interrupted by the occasional (cute) little snuffling sounds as Moon adjusted his breathing in his sleep- Sun let himself focus on his face and how adorable he looked. His cheek was cushioned on his arm which was extended outwards and his hand dangling in the air. His hood was tucked back, and the fingers of his right arm curled lightly against Sun’s collarbone.  

He couldn’t focus for long, he was just so itchy. He struggled to pull an arm free, sighing in relief when he finally managed it. He was just about to resort to using his teeth to try and relieve it when he smelt something and paused, flicking his tongue at his arm to make sure which, while still painfully itchy and dry yes- smelt very strongly of Moon.

Sun was confused and he stared at his arm for a long moment, then, “Eugh!” he exclaimed accidentally, scrunching his face up with a huff of incredulous laughter. Moon jolted on top of him and blinked his eyes open, looking around for a moment before quickly realizing there was no threat and staring down at him blankly.

“Mooooony, why did you lick me?!” Sun pouted, still trying not to laugh at the unexpectedness of waking up to find his mate had licked all over his arm- and likely the other one too.  

Moon huffed, flopping back down heavily causing Sun to expel his breath with an audible ‘oof’, red eyes already falling closed again, cheek smooshed back against his arm. “Your shed was hurting you,” he mumbled slowly, words slurring. “Mmm… licked ‘em to ssoothe… for a bit…”

His breathing slowed back down as he fell back asleep, and Sun felt bad for waking him. Moon hadn’t been sleeping well for days, old nightmares keeping him awake and the lack of sleep often caught him randomly. He was good at pretending he was fine once he was fully awake, but times like this? He struggled to wake up once asleep if he felt safe and there was nothing demanding his attention.

Sun blew air through his lips, staring at the dark ceiling of their cave and valiantly trying to ignore his dry scales demanding his attention. A shed. He had no idea how this hadn’t occurred to him. It had been a long time since he last remembered having one, though this was definitely the worst he’s ever had the displeasure of experiencing. Stupid humans, messing up so much of their natural routines.

Longingly, he thought back to that little hidden hot spring clearing that he grew up with and had shown Moon once they met. He shuddered involuntarily at an insistent wave of discomfort radiating from his pinned down tail, as if punishing him for remembering a time when this wasn’t such a painful experience. How he wished for that right about now. The artificial river and small pond ran cool, and while it might help sooth some of the burning it would make everything pull tighter and not help his shed past relief in the moment.

He didn’t want to try and get up- in part because he didn’t want to wake Moon, but also because he feared he wouldn’t be able to handle moving around long enough to go ask the humans to give him some warm water to soak in. If Moon was worried enough about him scratching himself to pin him down and lick his arms up, then it must have been pretty bad. Even now, it was taking all his focus to only just rub his free arm back and forth against what he could access of his coiled tail below him.

He lasted another ten minutes before he felt like he was going to go insane if he could scratch himself. “Moon,” he whimpered pathetically, gently shaking his shoulder. “Moon, I’m sorry. Please wake up, I can’t take it anymore.”

Moon twitched, claws scraping against his overly sensitive torso in a satisfying but frustratingly not enough feeling as his fingers curled into fists. His eyelids parted only slightly before falling shut again, turning his face down into the yellow chest below him with a sigh. Sun clicked a few times in frustration, shaking his shoulder less gently, squirming ineffectually under his bulk.

“Sun?” Moon asked groggily, finally, finally, lifting his head and blinking at him slowly, jaw cracking in a wide yawn. His thoughts were muddled and a bit slow, exhaustion nipping at his eyes and making his vision take a minute to focus. It took him a few long moments of Sun asking him to let him up before he remembered. Right, shedding. Sun was shedding and he didn’t know how long it had been- he hadn’t meant to fall asleep at all, wanting to keep an eye on its progress so he could hopefully organise something with the humans.

Moon pushed himself up, stubbornly pushing away his exhaustion and nuzzling his mate in apology. “Sorry Sunny, I didn’t mean to fall asleep. Stay here and I’ll go tell the humans. Please try not to scratch, you’ll only hurt yourself.”

Sun nodded, though his face said that Moon would need to be quick. Rolling off of Sun, he made his way out of their nest and towards a wall that held a large door and a one way window. He banged his fist on it impatiently, very aware that every moment he wasn’t with Sun was another his bonded had to suffer alone.

There was a crackle as the speaker turned on. Then came, thankfully, Mr Rileys voice, “Moon? What’s the matter?”

“Sun is shedding. He needs warm water.”

“Shit.” Riley cursed immeadietly, and if Moon weren’t so ansty to get back to Sun he would have found the reaction amusing. “Alright, I’m sending the order now. We’ll wheel in a tub for you, but its going to take at least half an hour before the waters ready. Can you wait he-“

“No.”

Riley didn’t miss a beat, continuing on as if he hadn’t been interrupted. “I’ll buzz the intercom when we’re ready, then we’ll bring it over to your den so you can stay with him. That okay?”

Moon nodded, turning to leave before hesitating. He turned back, lifting one hand and gently tapped the claws of his two middle fingers onto the glass twice to show his thanks wordlessly before turning away again. One of the children in their old village used to do this to them when she had trouble talking- she’d tap them twice for thanks and three times for please. It was so endearing that Moon had picked up the habit, happiness filling his hearts when he would respond to her using them and she would beam at him. Shaking away those thoughts, unwilling to get caught up wondering if she and the other children in that little village were okay without them, he makes his way back to Sun.

He finds Sun curled into himself on his side, fingers clamped underneath his crossed arms. He’s writhing slightly against the floor, jerking as if catching himself before it starts again. His eyes are screwed shut and he’s biting his lip hard enough to draw blood, rays pulled back tight against his head. There’s a distressed chittering noise coming from him, so quiet Moon didn’t hear it until he got closer.

“Oh, Sunny,” He says quietly, quickly moving to his side. Carefully, he sets himself around and behind his love, slipping his hands underneath Sun’s own so he’s no longer digging his claws into his sides.

“W-will they help?” He asks quietly, voice strained. Moon nods and squeezes his hands.

“Yes, it’ll take a little bit longer for it to get here though. Riley will alert us when they’re ready. Think you can wait that long?” Moon asks, despite knowing they don’t really have many options at the moment. Sun doesn’t answer verbally, just nods and curls up tighter.

Not long later, the intercom buzzes and Sun lets out a relieved sob. Moon gently shushes him and starts to pull away so he can get everything organized.

Riley approaches a few minutes, slowly pulling a very large tub of steaming water on an electric cart through the makeshift path to their den. Moon goes to collect it from him when he suddenly hears Sun hiss and he snaps his head back. Sun is staring at Mr Riley with wild, slightly glassy eyes, backing away slightly. Thankfully, Moon doesn’t need to do anything before Riley is raising his hands in surrender and backing away, before ducking out of sight to presumably leave the enclosure. Sun calms down after, though he still looks a little out of it.

Moon quickly helps lift Sun upright, not liking the almost feverish feeling of his dry skin. Sun whined in pain and tried to twitch away, scratching furiously at the base of his torso- though Moon was quick to grab up both hands.

“Come on Sunny, it’s bath time,” he coaxed, tugging him towards the tub. Sun resisted slightly, glancing around anxiously. He probably didn’t feel safe leaving their den, but the tub wouldn’t fit so there wasn’t anything Moon could do to make his mate feel safer. He tugged harder and Sun reluctantly began to follow, still whining anxiously and trying to get his hands back.

“Alright, up we go!” Moon exclaimed, darting forward to lift Sun’s torso and dump it into the water before he could squirm away. Sun yelped in shock, before groaning in relief, pulling himself the rest of the way into the warm water with no complaints. Moon couldn’t help but smile and shake is head fondly and climbed in the tub too.

The water was lovely and Moon took a few moments to bask in the heat before turning to attend to Sun, who had sunk so low in the water only his nose was visible so he could still breathe. Moon gently began rubbing it along Sun’s yellow and red scales, pressing down just enough to for it to feel nice and help sooth any pain or itching without being too rough.

After making his way all along his tail, Moon situated himself low in the water behind Sun and hugged him from behind, gently rubbing his sides and arms with one arm holding his mate securely against himself. Sun sighed in content and purred, leaning heavily into him. It wasn’t long before he fell asleep, and Moon was glad and made sure that he wouldn’t slip below the water and drown, occasionally running water over the exposed parts of Sun’s head.

Once the water began to cool to lukewarm, Moon carefully found an edge of skin on Sun’s head and started to slowly pull it away. There was some resistance, but he managed to get it off after several minutes without waking Sun. He was hoping to get as much of it done before he woke, as Sun wasn’t a fan of the feeling of his old skin being pulled off.

It took a lot of patience and careful maneuvering, but he managed to get the dead skin off his arms and torso before Sun began to stir. Pressing a chaste kiss to his cheek, he sat him up against the edge of the tub and used his claws to find the edge he had broken off while doing his torso. Moon didn’t get very far before Sun woke up, looking a lot better and no longer out of it like he had been before.

“What’re you…? Oh! Thank you Moony, you didn’t have to-“

Moon flicked water at his face, tutting while Sun spluttered. “Silly. I wanted to, and we’re almost done. Lift?”

Sun lifted his tail so Moon had better access and began carefully dragging the skin back until it was folded over itself, where he then pressed his hands over it and slowly began pulling it back, shifting his hands back to the top every few centimeters. Sun huffed, face scrunched, but didn’t say anything else and simply continued to pull his tail towards himself, every pull revealing beautiful new scales that shone in the light.

When Moon finally reached the end of the tail and pulled the last of the skin from the tip, the water was cool and no longer as nice to sit in. Sun slumped with an exaggerated groan, sloshing water everywhere while Moon carefully rolled up the shed skin and dropped it beside the cart, climbing out after it.

Moon yawned and gestured for Sun, who happily set his hands on Moon’s shoulders as support while he slithered back onto the grass.

“You look lovely,” Moon praised, admiring the vibrancy of Sun’s colours. Sun flushed and shoved him away, which made moon giggle and continue in a purr, “Pretty! Beautiful! My pretty little- ah!”

Moon yelped, suddenly finding himself tackled to the floor and defending himself from Sun’s fingers. “Take it back!” Sun admonished without any seriousness.

Moon hissed and shook his head, squirming frantically and failing to suppress his laughter from the assault. “No! My pretty sunshine~” he simpered cheekily, squeaking when Sun licked the side of his face in retaliation, having ceased his tickling for the moment knowing Moon couldn’t handle it for long before it got painful instead of playful.

“I yield!” He exclaims, panting for breath. He was too tired to keep up with the game for as long as he would like, but he was extraordinarily pleased that Sun was back to his old self now that the shed wasn’t driving him crazy and stressing out his body.

Sun let him up and they made their way back inside their den, they’d let the humans deal with the bath cart later. It wasn’t long before they had coiled up around each other, heads pillowed on part of Moon’s tail and part of Sun’s acting as a blanket of sorts. They lay facing each other, foreheads pressed together and arms wrapped snuggly around the other.

“Mmm, thank you Moony,” Sun murmured, not bothering to open his eyes. Moon’s breath hitched, signaling he had been about to fall asleep. He just hummed, nuzzling forward to kiss his flat nose before settling again. Sun smiled and gave his body a quick squeeze before relaxing and following his mate into sleep. He was so lucky to have Moon for his bonded.