Cuddling a Komodo (SFW, kind of)


“Honestly, how can they get away with this!? Five days! Five days, to fix the fucking heater, in the middle of winter!?”

Before this week, you saw no issue of having a Komodo dragon as a roommate. Honesty, venomous bites, unpredictable behaviour, size and strength eclipsing that of a human… all that stuff didn’t concern you at all.

Now, what might have made you take pause was being told that a Komodo dragon, if stuck in a house without working heating in the middle of winter, would become almost-insufferably moody.

Kevin was clutching the tip of his heating rock, over in the corner of the room. Continuing his incessant whinging. That ordinarily imposing reptile—with his hefty, yet toned frame, accompanied by a bulky tail almost as long as the rest of him—had been reduced to grovelling around his synthetic stone.

Like most of his species, the majority of his scales were a dull, sandy grey, but he took particular pride in how his upper head and four limbs were discoloured to the others. Those shined a deep bluish-black, though faint splotches of his lighter colouration could be seen in the cracks separating each of those dark scales.

You had joked earlier today that the bluish-black on his face and extremities looked a bit like the start of frostbite. He didn’t seem to appreciate that one…

You didn’t understand the problem, though. You had bought him a high-quality heat rock, and the highest strength UV light you could find. That lamp had been running full blast over his back for the entire day. In fact, your electricity bill would probably be higher than simply having a portable heater running non-stop.

“Ugh, seriously, could you just try calling them again?” He turned his head to the side to look at you. “You weren’t trying hard enough! Try something like, ‘there’s a really mad Komodo dragon who might kill me if you don’t come over and fix the fucking heater’?” The burnt orange contours of his visible eye, encircling his enlarged, pitch-black pupil, conveyed a rather menacing glare as he spoke. At least, more menacing than usual.

You could only sigh after hearing that request for the tenth time today. “I think if I make another call, they might not come at all.” While it was unpleasantly cold, it was nothing that thick socks, an extra layer, and a loose hoodie couldn’t fix. At least, for you. Sure, Komodo dragons are cold-blooded, so insulating them in clothing wouldn’t work to warm them up. But that doesn’t mean they wouldn’t benefit from at least having something thick protecting their scales from the biting cold.

“Anyway, it feels like a sauna over there. What are you complaining about?” you say, returning your attention to your phone.

He hisses in response. “Oh yeah, because I fucking love having to hug this stupid rock for the entire day.” He looks up and taps a sharp claw against the bulb of the lamp. “And was this really the strongest you could find? I said I would pay you back…”

“All they had…”

“I swear, they make these things for tiny geckos or some shit. All well and good if you’re a small fry, but god help you if you’re 8 foot!”

“Give it a rest…” All day. All fucking day had been filled with the sounds of him complaining. “It’s 9 pm. What do you need the heat for this late, anyway?”

Another huff of frustration from him. “I’d rather not freeze to death tonight, thanks. Oh, and I’m also REALLY looking forward to having to hump this dumb rock tomorrow as well.”

He complained about last night as well for the entire day. How he apparently couldn’t get a wink of sleep because he was shivering from the cold the entire night. So not only was he irritated by the temperature, but also grouchy from lack of sleep. You could sympathise, somewhat. It obviously didn’t seem like an enjoyable experience for him. Still, what more could either of you do? Sometimes, you just have to grin and bear it.

He wasn’t doing much grinning, though; his maw had been transfixed into a permanent scowl.

You sigh and say, “Look Kev, I’m just going to go to bed early tonight.” You rise from the couch and stretch your arms upwards, as if to emphasise the ‘I’m sleepy’ point. “Just promise me you’ll turn this thing off before you go to bed? Oh, and don’t actually sleep under it. The warning booklet said—”

“Yeah, yeah. Fuck, getting roasted alive might be a better alternative to having to deal with this for the next five days…”

You couldn’t agree more. He continued to grumble—both to you and himself—as you headed to your bedroom. You guess you can look forward to another five days of having to deal with this attitude…


Your room was pitch black, save for the faint white glow from your LED clock. 11:04 pm. You rarely go to bed this early, but anything was preferable to having to spend another minute with that grumpy lizard. Besides, sleeping under a triple stack of insulated blankets made you feel toasty and snug, despite the chill throughout the house. It was warm enough to sleep naked, in fact, and there was no better feeling in the world than having your entire body heated, with only your upper head exposed to the cold for that point of contrast.

You could still hear Kevin groaning and pacing around outside, from somewhere in the house. But you paid him little mind, as your eyelids flutter. You find yourself drifting off not long after.

… Though, some unknown time later, you begin to stir. Your body was telling you to wake up. It didn’t take long for you to realise that you were freezing! Or, rather, it seemed like you were freezing. The chill was centred on your back, and seemed to be slowly spreading through your entire form. But it was strange. You still felt the comfortable weight of those thick blankets pinning you against the mattress. So where did this painful sensation of cold come from?

In reflex, you tried shuffling to a different position on the bed, but you barely moved an inch. In your groggy haze, you then tried rolling onto your back, hoping to conceal it from the cold by flattening it against the mattress. But again, your body refused to move. What was going on?

Still trying to rouse yourself from sleep, you feel another patch of ice form on your chest. You shiver from the sudden sensation, and move your hands up to it by instinct. They come to rest on something solid and pointy. Like… claws?

A raspy voice pierces your ears and brings you closer to lucidity. “Fuck dude, how are you so warm…?”

“K-Kev?” you say, still in a daze. What was he doing here?

… Actually, that was a good question! What was he doing here!? In your bed?

The realisation causes you to snap awake, and, with outward shock and confusion, you say, “W-what the hell are you doing in my bed!?” Your hands press against that chill on your chest once more, and finally muster the energy to glance down at their source. His huge, scaled hands were wrapped around you, and his claws—in desperate need of a trim—were resting against your skin. A little too close for comfort! “A-and why are you holding me!?”

You hear him exhale next to your ear as a deep, rolling grumble seems to sound out from the depths of his throat. “So, dude, I like, had the best idea…” He chuckles as he tightens his arms, adding a bit more pressure to your chest. “Okay, so, humans are warm-blooded, right? So… what if I just use you as a heat rock?”

“W-what?” Is this really what this was all about? You probably should have used some choicer words in response to his absurdity. But the bizarreness of the situation, along with having been suddenly woken up from the unwelcome sting of his winter chill, didn’t result in the most eloquent response from you: “I’m not a heat rock!”

“Well, not during the day! But it’s not like you’re moving anywhere at night. So what’s the harm?”

“Kev, seriously!?” His behaviour was becoming ridiculous now. In addition to being a moody prick, he was now turning you into an icicle! “Y-you don’t just hop into someone’s bed and start hugging them!”

“Come ooooooon. It’s either this or I freeze all night!” he says, clearly trying to guilt-trip you. Even including a drawn-out whine in his words for added effect.

“You’re not going to freeze!”

“Do you not feel how fucking cold I am? I’m ALREADY freezing!”

… He has a good point. He’s extremely cold! You only just pieced together that the coldness seeping through your back must be coming from his enormous body pressing against it. It also explains why you couldn’t move an inch—having a hefty Komodo dragon grasping you would stop anyone.

But that doesn’t excuse him from now sharing that chill with you! You’re now actually shivering, but that only encourages him to grip you tighter. And then, seconds later, he wraps his legs around your waist. It was done so smoothly; you didn’t even have time to protest or react before he binds you between his limbs. And now you have another half of your body exposed to his freezing cold form.

A sudden reminder shot into your head as you felt the claws of his scaled feet rub up against your outer thigh—you were naked!

“G-get off Kev! I’m not wearing anything!”

“I don’t care about that, dude. I’m always naked.” He huffs out a sigh as he adjusts his position and presses more of his scales along your back. His head was seemingly resting just behind your ear, as you could feel his humid breath steam against it when he exhaled.

You were getting annoyed at how he found an excuse for everything. You being naked and him being naked wasn’t the same thing! “Y-yeah, okay, but you have your stuff hidden in yo—"

“Yeah, and that’s why I don’t care. All that matters to me is how fucking warm you are…” His words had become gentler—despite his still-rough language. It was a welcome change to his angst throughout the day.

You wiggled, hoping to somehow fling him off. No luck, however. Komodo dragons may as well be unmoveable objects. You were still irritated at his uninvited intrusion upon your sleeping space, but, at the same time, him coiled around you certainly wasn’t the worst feeling in the world. Especially as you could feel him slowly warming up.

Trying to make your voice sound as annoyed as possible, you ask, “So, you’re using me as a heater.”

“Yep!” His tone is radiating with sudden, positive energy, with a hint of his trademark smugness.

“Leeching off my superior biological advantage?”

“Yep!”

“And what do I get out of this?”

“Hm,” he says, mock-pausing for thought. “I guess I can promise to be a little less grumpy tomorrow…”

Wonderful. A little less might make living with him bearable. Just a little more.

Pleased that you seemed to be a bit more accepting of what was happening, he repositioned his hands; sliding his smooth scales around your upper torso. His pointy claws followed behind them, lightly scratching along your skin. It caused a strange, tingling sensation, though it was by no means unpleasant.

“Also dude, jokes aside, this actually feels great. I can’t believe we didn’t think of this idea sooner.”

Well, of course you didn’t think of that. Turning yourself into a portable heat rock for him wasn’t exactly an appropriate solution from your point of view!

As he made himself comfy underneath the sheets—all the while tucking himself snugly against you—he was also idly tasting the air by flicking his forked tongue out. A trait common to many lizards. However, as he brought his head further towards you, you feel his sticky tongue glide along your ear lobe. The surprise contact sends a shiver up your spine, as you shout, “G-get your mouth away from there! The last thing I need is to get sick from your bacteria!”

“Hey!” His tone had become coarse and gruff. “That bacteria thing is some bullshit that was invented by the iguana lobby! Completely made up! My mouth is—”

You interrupt before he starts on one of his rants. “L-look Kev, I don’t care. But the last thing I need is to get sick from this!”

“Reeeelax, dude. I’m not gonna bite you…” He chuckles at a joke neither of you made, and, instead of retreating his face from your head, he brings it closer! You feel the soft under-scales of his neck nuzzle against your cheek and jaw, as he tries to find a comfortable position to lay his head on you. You just… don’t even have the energy to complain anymore. Complaining wouldn’t make a difference, anyway. And, at the very least, the underside of his maw feels surprisingly comfy resting on top of you.

You feel his throat vibrate against your cheek as he gives a long, wistful sigh. And then silence.

For only a few moments.

“Chomp.”

“Seriously…” you groan out. “I’m doing you a huge favour here…”

“Yeah, I guess you are. If you wanna pretend you don’t enjoy getting cuddled…” He makes an exaggerated sniffing noise, and, while incorporating some mock-sobbing, says, “I-I can’t believe y-your heart is so cold that you d-d-d-don’t even like being cuddled… A-and I thought I was the cold-blooded one…”

You decide not to dignify that with a response. Though he doesn’t need one to keep the conversation going.

“But seriously. Dude. Your body heat is working miracles here.” By now, he was exuding a gentle warmth, and—while it didn’t yet compete with the triple-stack pile of blankets—it was a welcome change to the onslaught of frosty scales he had initially ‘graced’ your body with.

You couldn’t say you hated it. In fact, the feeling of his huge form embraced with yours, combined with the gentle rise and fall of his chest against your back—in time with the deep breaths still sounding in your ear—was very soothing and strangely reassuring. It makes you feel protected and secure.

But you don’t want him to get smug through him realising that you were enjoying the experience. Trying to be subtle, you say, “It’s fine. Let’s just keep this between us, okay? And get some sleep.”

“Wait. One last thing.” He hesitates, idly tapping a claw on your chest, as if searching for the right words. “My tail is still kinda cold. Could you, uh… cuddle it? For me?”

“Really? It’ll warm up, eventually. And besides, if I do that, then your chest will start getting cold again.”

“You don’t need to move an inch. See.” As he spoke, his bulky tail curved itself between your legs. You gasp from the feeling of the scales gliding along your thighs; their cool temperature in stark contrast to the rest of his body. As if expecting you would panic from the sensation, he tightens his arms and legs around you and squeezes you deeper into his comforting form.

His long tail was a massive and often unwieldy instrument. A surprised turn from him would often send any items perched on top of furniture (and, occasionally, the furniture itself) hurtling across the room. That’s not to say he was clumsy. His tail was very flexible, in fact; despite its girth, he had complete control over its movements, which was often needed when trying to navigate the tight confines of human-centric architecture.

And tonight, Kev was showing off just how flexible that appendage was.

After the first few feet cleared your legs, he curled it upwards and inwards, closer to your body. Moments later, his smooth under-tail was brushing along your belly. And then your chest. As if he was trying to sandwich you between his heavy tail and muscular torso.

What you were feeling was almost indescribable. Warm, restrictive force resting around your back. Cold, heavy weight pressing into your torso. And snug, welcoming blankets bundled on top of you. Despite being effectively bound by the heavy Komodo dragon who had rudely interrupted your sleep, you felt safe and content.

Before long, his entire tail had travelled up your form, and its hefty yet cushiony undercarriage was squishing against your lower waist up to your collarbone. His tail tip furled in front of your eyes for a moment, as if he was trying to figure the best spot to recline it against. He decides to curl it back slightly before tucking the tapered tip underneath the fluffy pillow supporting your head.

You hear a satisfied huff from Kev, whose head otherwise remained still atop your cheek during the entire process. His voice was now as silent as a mouse, as he said, “There… you comfy, dude?”

“Yeah… I am.” You couldn’t think of another time you felt this comfy.

“Do you wanna cuddle it?”

“Hm? Cuddle… what?”

“My tail, dude.” He squashes it against you a bit more, pulling you into a firmer embrace. “I hug you, and you hug my tail. It’s not fair that I’m the only one who gets to wrap my hands around something…”

You didn’t need to think twice. With his own arms still tucked under yours, you stretched yours out and wrapped them around that chubby noodle adjoining your chest. It was just wide enough to let your hands meet together on the scalier front-side of his tail. You interlocked your fingers and squeezed your arms in, pulling the bulky tail deeper into your chest. It was now lukewarm. If the rest of his body was anything to go by, in a few more minutes, his tail would radiate a soothing warmth against your torso.

Almost as if it was a natural next step, you repeated the process with your legs: wrapping them around the lower part of his tail—slightly thicker than the upper half—and tucking them in tightly against his soft scales. With your arms and legs both in place, you tense the both of them; trying to squish yourself even more between him and his strong tail.

And you stayed like that. With you in a never-ending bear hug with his tail. And him treating you to an unending, full-body cuddle.

You both stayed silent for minutes. Relaxing in each other’s embrace and warmth. You could feel his tail warm until it reached a cosy temperature. He was squeezing into your back. The only movement you could feel was that of him breathing, and a quiet, uniform rumbling from his neck; gently vibrating your head.

He shifted slightly, before his tender, scaled hands and feet left your body. Your disappointment was short-lived, thankfully, as he suddenly pressed further into you. He was reaching his limbs out to his tail. You saw his hands glide along the tail’s soft underbelly and working their way around to the other side. Before you felt them come to rest on top of your clasped hands. His feet repeated the same process, and soon, you feel their pleasant touch against your toes.

And, as you did, he tenses the both of them; kneading you between him and his tail once again. The entire experience felt like a heated blanket encompassing you. Though, instead of cloth, it was the smooth scales of a large (and ordinarily moody) Komodo dragon; now toasty-warm up thanks to your own metabolism. An odd, though affectionate, symbiotic relationship.

Kev sounds a joyful, though sleepy sigh, and says, “Thanks dude… I really owe you for this. Not too tight, is it?” He sometimes surprised you with just how warm-hearted he could be.

When he wanted to be.

“Nah, I think it’s just right…”

“Just right, he says… Fuck, why are you humans so warm and soft? Skin feels fucking amazing…”

You playfully scoff, and ask, “And why are you so big and heavy and scaly?”

“To force you into tight hugs, idiot.” You feel his clawed fingers rub along your own, as if he was trying to reposition them just slightly. The odd contrast of rigid claws against your malleable skin makes you feel warm and tingly.

Kevin treats your ears to a mellow chuckle, in response to his own ‘joke’, and then says, “Let’s try to get some sleep then, okay?”

“Yeah, I’m about to pass out.”

“Me too. Spending a night freezing will do that to you. So glad to know things will be different tonight…” From your peripheral vision, you see a thin, flicking shadow. Likely his tongue poking out to give your smell one last taste. “… Night, dude.”

“Night, Kev.”

And then you both became still and quiet. The room was tranquil.

You were trapped between a rock and a hard place, quite literally. Soft skin between hard scales. His toned body on one side, and his thick tail on the other; both sides gently compressing into you. As if you had been squeezed into a heated cocoon.

And despite that—or, perhaps, because of that—you were completely at peace.

Your last thought before dozing off were the realisation that you can look forward to another five nights of having to deal with this.

But, then again, who says you have to stop after five nights?

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Pub: 17 Nov 2021 22:53 UTC
Edit: 17 Nov 2021 23:08 UTC
Views: 1177