FLCL (Fooly Cooly): Alternate ending: Every Ending Is A Beginning.
….
Okay, the reason I wrote this: I was dissatisfied with the way "Fooly Cooly" ended, and, although I normally don't have any patience with the Monday morning quarterbacks who post videos and what-not, to wit, "How (fill in the blank) should have ended," I just thought I'd write my own, just for fun. As with most of my ideas for stories, it wouldn't let me alone 'till I wrote it down, and I saw no reason not to publish on FF. If I've taken some liberties with the characters or the physics of the show, remember the producers didn't exactly adhere to either themselves
I don't own any part of the FLCL franchise.
Just a short little story, a one-shot, purely for enjoyment. If you must, consider it an AU.
…
Fooly Cooly: Every Ending Is A Beginning.
….
"So, whaddaya say, kid? Wanna come with?" Haruko Haruhara said to Naota. "I still gotta find Atomsk, you know." She grinned that crazy grin he'd come to love. "And I can promise you it'll be anything but 'average.'"
Naota looked up at her. Her arms were still around him, as his were around her. Is this love? Then why does it hurt so? A tear made its way down his face. He made a decision. Nothing ever happens around here, huh? Okay. "You know what? I'd love to." He glanced over to where Mamimi was looking at them. Even from here, he could see the expression of disappointment on her face. "I just gotta do one thing first."
"Mamimi?" he said, going up to her. "Mamimi?"
"Y-yes, Ta-I mean, Naota?" Now would come the time when he would tell her he was leaving, just like everybody else had left her. Tasuku, her parents…she guessed life under the bridge wasn't so bad, provided she hid when those boys came by.
"I'm gonna be leaving with Haruko now. But there's something I gotta say to you first."
Mamimi turned away to hide the tears. Everybody left her. She guessed it was just the way things went, at least for her. "W-what's that, Naota-kun?" Now's the time when he'd tell her good-bye…
"Would you come with me?"
Stunned by hearing something she totally didn't expect, she turned back to him, still wiping the tears from her eyes. "W-what?"
"I said, I'd like you to come with me. To come with us." He glanced down at Haruko, who nodded, giving him the "thumbs up" sign. Go for it, kid! "If you would. Please?"
"But…but…you've got…her…" And she's magnificent.
A quirk of a smile decorated Naota's face. When had he grown up so? Had it been during the battle with Haruko? When he'd absorbed Atomsk's power? Or sometime before? "I'm not exactly sure who's got who, there. But that's not important." He moved closer, and, very slowly, very gently, put his arms around a very surprised Mamimi, enfolding her in an embrace she'd often fantasized about but never thought she'd actually experience. "I just know I'd like you to come with me."
"I…I don't understand. I, I'm nothing…"
"Don't say that about yourself. You're a good person, Mamimi. People haven't been very good to you, though. They could have been a lot better. A whole lot better." He drew back slightly, looking her in the eyes. "I'd like to be a lot better, to you. If you'll let me." Once again, he drew her into an embrace, holding her head close to him, putting his head on her shoulder. "If you don't want to, I'll understand. But I really want you to come with me. I don't want to leave my best friend behind."
"'Best friend'?"
"At least." He drew back slightly, looking into her eyes, which were still puffy from crying. Now the tears began to flow again. He smiled, looking, she thought, a little like Haruko Haruhara. "So c'mon. It'll be an adventure."
"An adventure." Mamimi's whole life had been an "adventure," from being bullied in school, rescued from the fire by Tasuku, losing him to baseball and the States, her parents abandoning her, dodging truant officers, as well as keeping her distance from those boys…a bad adventure.
But…there are all kinds of adventures, good and bad. Weren't there? And could this be any worse than her life had been so far?
Plus, she just plain wanted to be with him.
And it wasn't like she was leaving anything behind.
She sniffled, wiping her eyes and nose simultaneously. Nodded. "Sure, Naota-kun. I'd love to."
"Then let's go!" He grabbed her by the hand, and took her back down to the ground where Haruko was waiting. He'd already given Haruko his modified Gibson Flying V guitar, and she'd gifted him with her Rickenbacker 4001.
"Ready, kid?" Hm, thought Haruko, noticing the adoring looks Mamimi was giving Naota. She still hadn't let go of his hand. Don't think you'll be a kid much longer.
But if for some reason Mamimi isn't up for it…!
"You think that bike of yours will take an additional passenger?"
"Sure it will. Just go with it. You'll see."
He mounted the Vespa, his arms around Haruko, and Mamimi sat carefully behind him. "Oh, wait. I just thought of something." He half-turned to Mamimi, her arms just then around his midsection. "Uh, something just occurred to me. There, uh, may not be any cigarettes where we're going. That a deal breaker?"
She leaned up against his shoulder, her hair falling over his jacket. "No. I was gonna quit anyway. Maybe this is the best way."
"Good deal," said Haruko, grinning. This was turning out to be more fun than she'd originally thought. She gunned the Vespa and it lifted off into the air. "Let's go!"
The End