Hey-o! No one really knows who I am, I don't think, but I am LizzyLucky! You know, one of those semi-desperate authors who tries to pathetically call in readers with the hope of getting some reviews because she likes the attention and wants her stuff to get read? (*Phew!*) Yeah, one a' those! Anyway, this isn't my first one shot, or even my first one-shot collection. My first one, a few months ago, had me totally hooked on one-shots, and I'm hoping I'm not too bad at them. I have a few ideas in mind for Sing (especially when it comes to Buster Moon) and I figured, hey, why not? So here it is! My "Sing! One-Shots Collection!" And guess what? I will not be writing only my one-shot ideas. If you have an idea or prompt you'd like to see me tackle, request it! Yes, you read right, I do take requests! Now, like the over-enthusiastic and very sarcastic writer I am, let's get right down to the plot here: To be honest, I'm not actually certain where it's going, but I want to play with the idea that Buster Moon, yes, the happy-go-lucky Buster Moon, can actually lose his temper. And I actually really love bonding moments between characters, so after we get to see what happens when he's too overwhelmed for his own good, I've got a (hopefully) cute moment between he and 'Mama Rosita.' Honestly, 25 kids? It doesn't matter if he's… what was it? 36? If Buster Moon is down in any way, shape, or form, she's on it like there's no tomorrow. Anyway, hope you enjoy!
~LizzyLucky
"Perfect, Meena, perfect! Excellent progress!" Buster Moon applauded.
The teenaged elephant grinned sheepishly at her instructor. She'd been learning a new song, but had been indecisive about how she wanted to transition from a low note to a very high one. It took her a few times practicing on the stage, but she finally found the right mood for it, and had the song perfected. She didn't realize that Buster had been watching, but she wasn't exactly complaining about the praise either.
"You really think so?" She asked eagerly.
"I know so! You remember the first time you went on stage? The crowd loved you! If a song like that was impressive then, this'll blow everyone off, their, feet!" The koala exclaimed excitedly.
Meena's ears perked up a little and she grinned.
"Now, why don't you head on home and get some well-earned sleep, alright? You'll want to be in tip-top condition for that performance next week!" Buster clasped his hands together and he nodded encouragingly toward Meena.
"Of course! Thank you, Mr. Moon!" Meena nodded respectfully before turning to pick up her bag and leave.
"You're absolutely welcome, Meena, and I'll see you tomorrow!" Buster said cheerfully. As Meena waved her goodbye, Buster turned to the back of the stage and walked between the curtains, finding the rest of the group already rallied together. It had gotten late enough now that most of them had already stopped practicing and simply resorted to chatting with each other.
"Well, gang, I think we did a good day's work!" He announced himself.
"What have we got so far? Johnny?" He turned to the gorilla, one hand gesturing.
"Ah, yes, the song's comin' along great an' all, but I think the piano's out of tune again, and it's throwin' me off." Johnny said, turning away from a conversation with Ash.
"Hm…" Buster put his hands together, resting them underneath his chin in thought.
"We'll have to get that fixed... Nothing to worry about, though!" He said. Johnny nodded passively. Buster hummed approvingly and whipped his hands away from his chin and pointed them toward Guntar and Rosita.
"Guntar! Rosita! How's that dance routine coming along? Still iffy?"
"We're looking at two different routines right now. I think we should do one with more of a traditional feel, but Guntar's sold on hip-hop. I don't think it would be appropriate for-"
"Hip-hop, já?" Guntar interrupted Rosita, jumping up and twisting around to demonstrate himself.
Rosita huffed softly and put her hands on her hips. "The accompanying music will have a softer beat and doesn't move as quickly or aggressively as the pieces you are accustomed to dancing to. I really think that it would be more fitting if we could just-"
"Now hold on here, I think we can come to an agreement. What good would it do if you started arguing? We wouldn't want that, would we? Now, what if you created a mix of the two styles, hmm? Or perhaps use both interchangeably? You could make a comedy!" Buster suggested.
Rosita and Guntar shared a look.
"I don't know…" Rosita said uncertainly.
"Well, what about this, you could-" he started.
"I gotta go, Mr. Moon, see ya' tomorrow!" Johnny said suddenly. Buster turned to see Johnny pushing the curtain aside and walking off the stage.
"Goodnight, Johnny! Get a good rest!" He called.
Before he could turn back to the issue at hand, Mike stomped in and stood straight, directly in front of Buster's shoes.
"Where, may I ask, is my saxophone?!" He demanded, tapping his feet and huffing impatiently.
"I'm sorry, Mike, I haven't seen it." Buster said sympathetically, his ears creasing back slightly.
"Oh, that's it, is it? My instrument mysteriously goes missing, and you don't care? The performance is next week, Moon! Next Week!" The mouse snapped. Mike jumped up and grabbed onto Buster's bowtie, pulling the nastiest expression he could manage. As Buster's head shot up to meet the rodent, he noticed Rosita and Guntar still arguing about the style they should have been dancing, Rosita listing on her fingers all the reasons traditional was the right choice.
"I refuse to perform without my saxophone! And how do I know one of you fools didn't take it, huh?" Mike yanked on the tie, forcing Buster to meet him in the eye.
"But hip-hop is more fun! More movement, more audience, more fun, já?"
"Yes, more movement, but not appropriate movement for this performance!"
"Hey! Are you even listening?! I said, where's my saxophone?!"
Before Buster could even respond, the saxophone in question was thrown his way. He reached out an arm and caught it delicately in his hand.
"You left it in your session's room again, Mike. Jeez. I bet you didn't even check in there, so shut up about everyone stealing it, okay?" Ash said, rolling her eyes. She was sat on a crate, legs crossed, and gently strumming on her guitar.
"How dare you?! Sneak into my session's room? You musta' put it there, cactus head! And accusing me of accusing everyone here? No, no, no, no! I was only accusing Moon, here!" Mike growled. He jumped to Buster's palm and picked up his instrument before jumping to the ground and storming over to Ash.
"Excuse me? 'Cactus head?' Is that what you called me?" She stopped strumming and turned her head at Mike, eyebrows creased in anger.
"What are you gonna do about it, huh? Oh, look at me, I'm so scared! Moody teenager alert!" This time Mike rolled his eyes, throwing his arms up for exaggeration.
"Hey! I am not just some-" Ash stood up to yell at Mike, but Buster jumped between the two, putting a hand out to stop both of them.
"Woah, now, hold on!" He said nervously.
"No need to fight! It was a misunderstanding, right? Mike, you've got your saxophone back, undamaged, and your room is untampered with, alright? Good? If it isn't, I'll go check your room myself! So why don't you head on home and get rested for practice tomorrow?" He suggested, nodding toward the curtain.
"Yeah, whatever! Better than hanging around here with her." Mike clamped his fists and walked almost poutily out of the room, grumbling to himself as he went.
"Hey!" Ash growled. She jumped up and run in front of the small mouse, bumping Buster, who winced, as she went.
"Hey, it's okay! Mike's just a little grumpy's all! You'll both do great in the show and you two can get along fine. I'm sure of it!" Buster tried. He jumped their way, trying to break up the fight, and rubbed his shoulder where Ash hit it.
"Yeah, well, I'm not! Just keep him out of my way." Ash said lowly, pointing a finger at Mike.
"Me?! You stay out of my way, Princess!" He immediately retorted.
"Princess?! 'Cactus head' is one thing, but I am not a princess!" Ash yelled at him, exasperated.
Before he had the chance to intervene again, Johnny peeked his head back into the room.
"Ah, Mr. Moon? Meena's come back, she says she needs to speak with you. An' I'm just gonna go grab my sheet music. Forgot it on the way out."
"Yes, Johnny, of course. Tell Meena I'll be right with her!" Buster replied in the most optimistic tone he could, rubbing his forehead frustratedly. As Johnny walked through the middle of the room, Buster turned back to Mike and Ash.
"Guys, come on now, I'm sure we can get along, can't we? It's been a long day, and we've got another one coming up tomorrow, so why don't we rest up? Some sleep ought to do you good! And in the morning, you won't feel grumpy anymore and should be able to practice your own ways, right?" He clapped his hands a few times, smiling brightly at the two musicians.
"What? That's not how it works!" Ash growled at him. Buster's ears drooped at her tone.
"Some folks just don't get along, okay? Stay out of this, Moon!" Mike agreed.
"You don't even understand what's going on! We're not grumpy! You're just getting in the way!" Ash added.
Ouch. That one kinda hurt.
Buster's ears folded flat against the back of his head, half fearfully, but he kept the smile up as best as he could.
"Hey, it's alright! Maybe you're grumpy, maybe you're not, but there are other ways you two can get along with each other! Why don't you head home, and we'll sort it out in the morning?" He suggested once more. It really was getting late.
As both Ash and Mike pulled on their best accusing expressions and turned to spit something back at him, Rosita, behind Buster, began to raise her voice.
"...is so impractical! Not only does this song have a tradition beat, but it also comes from a classical era! It's completely accoustic and consists of an orchestra and small band! How can hip-hop really go with that sort of track?" Rosita was arguing. While she made a good point, her frustration was really showing through.
"Ah! Come now, maybe we can compromise, yes? Perhaps find another song? Or dance traditional for this performance and hip-hop for the next?" Buster clasped his hands tiredly as he walked up to the two, putting on yet another grin.
Guntar, who had his hands up and mouth open to argue, froze in his spot and turned to the Koala.
"But our next performance after this one isn't for a month!" He complained, reaching his arms out.
"Which will give you plenty of time to make up a brilliant routine for it, so we can both learn it in time!" Rosita reasoned.
"The only reason you haven't learned this hip-hop dance in time is because you don't want to! There is no sport in that!" Guntar argued, crossing his arms.
"Woah, woah, woah, so you haven't learned the hip-hop routine for this song yet?" Buster asked.
"No, I haven't, but that's because he keeps changing it, and it's not a good style for the performance!"
"Okay, okay, so doesn't this make it an easy choice? Go with the hip-hop this time- I mean the traditional- and then you can both have the routine down in time for the performance! And like Rosita said, you'll have a whole month to come up with and perfect a hip hop routine for the next performance, yeah?"
Instead of Guntar's characteristic "Já!," the pig turned on his heel and stuck his snoot in the air.
"I don't even know the traditional routine yet, so hip-hop would be better! Only one of us would have to learn it before Friday!" He said.
"Oh, dear… But it's the same with the traditional dance, isn't it? Only one of you would have to learn it?"
"That's right. And it would be easier too." Rosita said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice.
"You're certain? Can you both agree on that? Which routine is easier to learn?" Buster folded one arm across his stomach, and rested the elbow of his other arm on top of it.
"Traditional!" "Hip-hop!" They said at the same time.
Buster opened his mouth to say something, but was interrupted once more as Johnny cut through the middle of the room again, this time carrying his sheet music, and Meena peeked her own head in. And suddenly, everyone was talking all at once.
"Um, Mr. Moon? Can I-"
"See ya Mr. Moon! I'll be here bright an' early tomorrow!"
"Moon! Get over here and tell this pin-head to stay out of my stuff!"
"I'm not a pin-head! Mr. Moon, I-"
"Hip-hop would be easier to learn! Mr. Moon, I will show you!"
"Mr. Moon has already agreed that Traditional would be best to-"
"Mr. Moon!"
"Moon!"
"MR. MOON!"
Buster's ears had creased back as far as they could go, and he used his hands to pull them to the sides of his head, blocking out the excessive noise.
"ENOUGH!" He bellowed suddenly.
And just like that, the entire room had gone silent. Half a dozen pairs of wide eyes turned his direction, surprised to be hearing the smiling, optimistic theatre-owner Buster Moon yell out like that as he lost his patience.
"There are six of you here right now! You all have something or other on your mind, I know that! Mike, you have your saxophone, is it damaged? No, it's not. I understand that you and Ash don't get along but could you try? And Ash, same goes for you! A bit of bickering is one thing, but when you carelessly push past others in order to snap something at someone in an argument, ow, by the way, it's too much! You can strum on your guitar, you can chatter, but this is too far! Guntar, Rosita, it's not that hard to pick a routine and go with it! The song, at this point, is more traditional, and it's been learned by one of you already! Go with that one and then with hip-hop next time! Then you have time to change it multiple times and you can both learn it at the same time! Okay? As for Johnny, I-!"
Buster cut himself off suddenly, gasping slightly. He had been using one finger to tap down on the palm of his hand as he made each point, every time he stressed a word, and did so as he confronted each member of the group there, his eyes darting wildly across the room and his voice growing louder, quicker, and more irritated. He looked frustrated, and his ears had been pointed in an almost threatening way. But now, his face registered surprise, probably at himself. Regret for his temper caught up with him so quickly that his ears practically slapped themselves flat against the back of his head. Each face around him looked guilty for upsetting him, but there was something else, too. A little bit of fear, mixed in.
Slowly, Buster's shoulders sank and his expression became more self-disappointed in addition to being regretful. Now that he'd slowed down, too, he realized that Meena and Johnny, who he'd been about to go off on, hadn't even done anything wrong. They just needed his attention when it was least convenient, and neither of them even knew.
After a moment of silence, he opened his mouth to say something, utter anything akin to an apology, but he couldn't make his voice function.
"I- I didn't mean to- U-um-" He stuttered. He'd just lost his temper in front of the whole group. Yelling, scolding, even. Not only had he lost his temper, but he'd made all six of the creatures standing in front of him feel upset, whether they'd done something wrong or not. And even further than that, he'd scared them too. It was evident in their eyes. The happy-go-lucky, everybody's-friend koala, Buster Moon, had finally lost his temper, and took it out on everyone in the room. He knew he could look threatening when he wanted to, but he hadn't wanted to.
"I-I'm sorry, Mr. Moon." Meena whispered from her spot, tucked between the curtains. She looked on the verge of tears.
"Oh, no, no, Meena, you did nothing wrong! It's alright, okay?" He did his best to put his smile back on and keep up his cheerful voice, which was comforting to Meena, but his ears remained flat against his head, and the rest of his posture still slumped.
"I'll just come back in the morning." Meena said quietly, retreating back to the other side of the curtains.
"Sorry, Mr. Moon." Guntar said after she'd gone. Nods and hums of agreement went around the remainder of the group.
"I guess I am just grumpy…"
"Moon, pal, I gotcha, I can go. Just a misunderstanding, right?"
"We should have simply come to you first, instead of waiting and causing an argument, Buster."
"I- um, you okay, Mr. Moon? I didn't mean to get in the way or anything…"
Buster stood dumbfounded as they each, one by one, apologized, and waited expectantly for him to reply. He tried to think of something to say, but nothing came to mind. He hadn't lost his temper like that in over a decade, and he couldn't even remember why he had done so then. He raised a hand and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Sighing, he put his hand back down.
Had he really just lost his temper? He was supposed to be the positive one! So… So, there were two arguments at once, that was… It wasn't uncommon. How come he wasn't able to handle it this time? Mike and Ash always argued. They had crazy nicknames and retorts in mind all the time, they probably had them stored up for this kind of arguing…
As his thoughts began racing, Buster put a hand to his head and plopped down on a crate behind him.
This was ridiculous! He should have been able to at least say something! He always had something to say when the others felt discouraged, or when they were arguing. As aforementioned, Ash and Mike fought all the time. He always managed to get them to calm down, but it was usually by encouraging them to get along, or redirecting them to other activities. Not by scolding them!
And it was the same thing with Rosita and Guntar! That had, actually, surprised him just a bit. Sometimes they squabbled, but most the time it was pretty easy for them to agree on something. And even when they couldn't, they didn't argue. Not like this. Rosita was the mother of- how many was it again? 24, 25 kids? And Guntar was such an optimist, almost as much as Buster was… Wouldn't either of them have thought to talk to the other about the dance style sooner than one week before the performance? It wasn't even that, either! But even then, they'd come to him multiple times in the past to settle a disagreement on a dance of some sort. Or a song. Or the costumes. Or… well, something along those lines. He'd always been able to sort it out with them…
He was supposed to be able to sort it out, wasn't he? He had to be the one that smiled and worked hard. There was no pessimism permitted! That's how it had always been… Well, except for when the theatre had collapsed… And his mom died… Then his dad… But his dad had wanted him to be optimistic as well as he could, hadn't he? When things had gotten rough for them, when they had to move, whenever one had gotten sick? He was supposed to be the happy one! He had to keep his cool and be encouraging as often as he could... It was a standard he'd set for himself the moment he'd watched that casket lowered into the ground.
"Buster? Are you alright?"
He shook himself out of his thoughts and moved his hand away from his forehead to look up. He jumped a little upon realizing that the entire group had gathered around him, each looking more worried now than guilty. Rosita stood directly in front of him, being the one to ask the question.
"I'm fine." He said slowly, eyes widening a little.
"Really? Cuz… You don't look like it." Ash said pointedly from the side.
"It's alright, guys, really! I just need a good night's rest, that's all. Why don't we all head home for the night, huh?" Buster stood up again, brushing off his white shirt and straightening his back. He'd composed himself for the moment, but knew he definitely needed a break if he was going to keep up the act.
Skepticism was written plainly in every expression in the room, Buster's included, but, slowly, each turned to leave, a silent agreement to what he'd said.
All, that is, except for Rosita, her motherly instincts kicking in. While the others didn't see it quite so plainly, Rosita could see straight through Buster's act, knowing full well that he was disappointed with himself and probably had some other mixed feelings. But hey, when you've got 25 kids…
"Buster, are you sure you're alright?" She repeated the question. Out of the all the members of the theatre, she was the only one who ever referred to him by his first name.
"Huh? Oh, yeah, yeah. I'm sure." He said distractedly.
"Buster…" Rosita's tone grew more firm. Knowing he couldn't talk himself out of the situation, Buster sighed, letting his frame slump again.
"I've never lost my temper like that before." He said plainly. Rosita was a little surprised to see how quickly he gave in. But, then again, she had a pretty solid 'no arguments' aura about her at this point.
As she moved to put a hand (cloven hoof?) on his shoulder, he stopped her, opening his mouth to say something else.
"I appreciate your support, but I can't… I'd rather not get all too gushy. It's very kind, but…" He trailed off, sounding more uncertain as he went.
"I'm sorry, Buster." Rosita dropped her hands, disappointed, but she remained in her spot. Buster knew she was expecting more of an explanation. Even if he'd said he didn't want to get into it. But the decision was made.
"I never knew my mother." He said after a moment. Rosita's shoulders slumped sadly and she looked at him, attentively.
"She died birthing me. Growing up, 4, 5, 6 years old and beyond, I could never understand why my dad was so sad. At least, not until I could understand the concept of death. But I hated seeing him that way, and so promised I would be happy for him, no matter how hard it got. He always told me, 'Buster, your mother was beautiful. You would have loved her.' Or he would tell me, 'Your mother was the most caring creature in the world. I wish you could have met her.' Every day, he told me that she was amazing in every way he could think of. I started to feel like I'd really missed out on something wonderful if he could speak so easily of her, day after day of hard work. Hard work which he did for 30 years, just so I could have this theatre. Or, really, the theatre that stood here before the one that does now. I just…" He paused a moment, eyes drifting almostly guiltily to the floor.
"Because I was always trying to be happy, I never really… lost my temper, before now. There were a few times, sure, and it was hard to stay positive when my dad… when my dad passed away… But… Just losing my temper this one time, it reminds me of those few, concentrated moments in the past when my feelings had been just as negative. When things had gone wrong. It was kind of like I'd forgotten my promise to be happy for everyone… I'm supposed to be encouraging and positive. I'm supposed to be kind and understanding… I have to…" He trailed off, wringing his hands a little bit as he finished.
"Buster, no one has to be anything. 'Happy' and 'outgoing' aren't the only emotions you're capable of. Fear and anger, sadness and loneliness, are all very real emotions. The only thing you're supposed to do is to be able to feel those kinds of things. It's great that you can remain calm in situations where others look up to you, but blocking out everything else, all the time, is unhealthy." Rosita explained. She moved forward another step, putting a hand on Buster's shoulder, this time without any complaint from the koala.
After a moment, Buster looked up at her, gratefully.
"You're such a momma-bear, you know that?" He said, half amused. "Er, well, pig." He added sheepishly. (Ba-dum Tss!) Rosita chuckled.
"Just try to remember that, okay? You can take a break every now and again. And losing your temper over something like this isn't a bad thing unless you take it too far, which you haven't done. No one went home crying. No one went home injured. And everyone got the message pretty clearly. We all understand that we went too far, and I'm sure the others would agree that it's time to step back into line."
"Thank you, Rosita. I appreciate that and I don't say it enough."
Surprising Buster a little, Rosita leaned forward and hugged him. He hadn't had a hug from anyone since...
Ha! Since Nana Noodleman helped him restore the theatre a year ago!
In all seriousness, though, he'd never had a genuine hug like this from anyone except his father. And usually he was the one initiating the hug. Now to get one from someone else? And from Rosita of all creatures. It was the most…
Mother-like thing that'd ever happened to him. And he wasn't sure whether to smile warmly and let himself be content, or start crying because he'd never experienced something so emotionally generous from someone else. He'd already lost his temper, but maybe Rosita was right about letting loose.
Eventually he settled on a little bit of a mix, hugging her firmly back and both smiling and tearing up at the same time.
The rest of the evening went like any other cheesy story would. Rosita and Buster finished their hug, regained their calm, and discussed how the following performance would turn out before Rosita was excused to go home in order to care for her family. (AKA, your author is too lazy to write up the awkward part of whatever happens after a dramatic hug…)
As Buster put himself to bed (drawer?) that night, he felt a bit of balance had been restored. He'd had enough negativity for the day to last a normal creature…. Three days? He'd probably pull his positive side back up for another good dozen years or so…
Er, well, the point was that he fell asleep with peace of mind. It took him a little while to realize it, but Rosita was the closest thing he'd ever had to a mother. It felt good to talk things out with her, and he was only just beginning to understand why it was that he didn't feel quite so vulnerable as he thought he would. Honestly, being 36 and breaking down in front of one of your employees could be a bit embarrassing, but he'd made good friends with Rosita.
Actually, he was on pretty good terms with everyone working in the theatre, at this point. Mike being just a bit of an exception...
Maybe it wasn't so bad that he'd lost his temper. He still wished he hadn't taken it out on everyone, especially Johnny and Meena, who hadn't even been on his 'you're irritating me' list for the evening, but he'd learned a great deal from the experience.
Maybe it was okay to be negative every now and again…
Every cup had to be emptied and put through the washer before it could be filled again, right? (An analogy he'd gotten from Rosita…) Maybe that's all it was. He'd spent all his kindness and just needed a recharge.
Maybe it was okay…
Just this once.
Ha! Ha. Cringes. Ha.
Wasn't that just so…
Cheesy?
Bah! Whatever. What's done is done, and at this point I don't know if I want to change it. It'll either fail, or take off! And I will hold to the belief that my skills as a writer have rocketed enough that I'll call this good and ignore any nay-sayers. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it! I'm not certain now whether or not I want to make a one-shots collection or not. If I get requests I will keep writing one-shots, but otherwise, maybe not. It all depends on you guys and whether or not Fanfiction can function well enough to put this story where it goes when it's new!
Alright, now you've read through the cheesiness that is my writing, thanks for sticking around guys, and tell me what you think! REVIEW AND REQUEST!
-LizzyLucky