Hey everyone. :) Sorry it's taking so long to update "We have Another Problem". Stuff kept coming up, but be patient. I am working on it as we speak. Until then, here's a story taking place in Plastic Beach time. It's been a long time since my last update, but I decided to write another one for old time's sake. :) Enjoy.
Noodle breathed in the ocean air and exhaled it softly. The breeze from outside was tickling her face as she laid there on the floor of the recording studio, hands behind her head with her legs crossed. It was noon and sunny at Plastic Beach, where it reeked of garbage and plastic all day long. Noodle, however, managed to make the most of it by imagining it smelling like the Caribbean or Hawaii. That alone made living in Plastic Beach bearable, especially dreaming of clear waters, steel drums, warm sand, and rich feasts. Living in this floating garbage land was no luxury like those places, but in spite of the poor food and pollution, Noodle at least had her imagination to keep her sane.
It was her mind alone that saved her from her time in hell, her trip to Plastic Beach with Russel, and of course from nearly dying in the El Manana incident with the choppers. Sure, she had parachuted to safety, but that didn't stop the unexpected trip to hell afterwards. Either way, she was happy to be back with the band, no matter where they were at. Months after her return, not much had changed other than Murdoc's bragging, which was twice as obnoxious as ever. He had however, been pretty casual in welcoming her back along with the Cyborg who briefly nodded stiffly at the original before returning with her master to recharge. With the robot Noodle in mind, the guitarist was pretty neutral in an android replicate temporarily filling in for her on their current success, let alone walking around with her own face.
Still, she grinned and bared it and pretty much did whatever she wanted here, including relaxing at the recording studio. Yes, there was stuff scattered around the floor like papers and panties (Noodle suspected they belonged to the Cyborg, judging by the motor oil leaks in them), but it was a place where she could lie, think and stare at the ceiling all day. Being there, her mind would buzz on possible new songs, life during Demon Days, what happened on her way to Plastic Beach…meeting Russel…
The Axe Princess gently touched her bruised eye, a reminder of how much had changed. Even she had changed. Her body had fully matured from her legs to her chest, and it was completely noticeable in the outline of her white dress and striped stockings. Still…even so, Noodle still felt like Noodle, no matter how different she looked from the outside.
There was a soft knock on the door, quietly interrupting her deep thoughts. "Who is it?" She blinked, looking over at the Door.
"Um…" A nervous voice answered, "May I come in? It's me…2D".
Noodle suddenly sat up, eyes widened with surprise. 'Oh my God…' she was thinking. 'I forgot about 2D! How long has it been since I last spoke to him?'
"Ah", she quickly fixed up her hair, realizing how messy it was from lying on the floor all day. "Sure…come in!"
The door opened and the singer slowly walked in. "Hi." He said with a wave and a timid smile. "Konichiwa", Noodle beamed at him. It dawned at her right there. It had been almost 5 years since their last album. The last time she had spoken to 2D was right before the El Manana Video when he was wishing her luck…before it happened. She had been in Plastic Beach for months, but never once tried to make contact with him. Not that she didn't want to, but it completely slipped her mind with all the trouble she went through of reaching them, meeting a colossal Russel and catching up on eating, sleeping and bathing she missed for years.
"Wow", 2D's voice interrupted her thoughts. "Muds sure didn't keep this place tidy". He shook his head with disgust at the sight of the Cyborg's undergarments on some of the amplifiers. "Sheesh…sorry you had to see this Noods".
"It's okay 2D-kun", she smiled, standing up and dusting herself. "I'm used to it by now. I've been coming up here for months just to think. Speaking of which…I'm sorry I didn't come to see you right away", she added, hanging her head a bit. "It's just been so crazy arriving here with Russel and…"
"Ah, don't worry about it love", 2D waved it off with a smile. "I figured you needed time to recover from your trip. Besides, I couldn't leave my room anyway with that blasted whale watching me". He shuddered from the reminder. "After Russel tossed him months ago, he returned madder than ever." He was squeezing his temple as though suffering another migraine. "He forced me to listen to that baby Beluga song 50 million times on a record player as punishment. Don't ask me how he got a record player to work underwater, but he did".
Noodle giggled. 2D hadn't changed a bit. He may have gotten a bit older, showing in the dark circles under his fractured eyes which were vacant as ever, but he was still the same singer she knew from the good old days of Gorillaz and Demon Days.
2D, grinning at her giggles, carried on. "Anyway, I managed to outsmart that bastard fish by crafting up this Donk-a-tron. It's brilliant. The loud noises scare him off, so that gave me the chance to finally come up and see you".
His eyes widened and suddenly went a bit pink. "I mean…not see you-see you, but…you know…finally get a chance to catch up with you and all".
The Guitarist giggled. "It's okay. I knew what you meant". She gave her wrist a small squeeze. "So…how are you?"
"I'm well", the singer said. "Apart from the whale and being kidnapped by that sodding Bassist, I've never been better. How about you…?"
"I'm good too". She told him. "Like I said earlier, I usually come up here to think. Be it new songs or just…thinking in general."
"And Russel…?" 2D asked. "How's he been?"
"Ah, he's out for a swim", Noodle said. "That's pretty much all he can do now since he can't fit…you know", she giggled. "Yeah…" 2D smirked. "I wonder if he'll ever return to normal."
"Who knows", she shrugged, "But so far, he's doing pretty well for a man his size".
"Cool", the singer said, then shuffled his feet. "So…um Noodle."
"Yes?" The guitarist blinked, wondering what was on his mind.
"Um…I was just wondering", 2D went on, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly, "If you…wanted to see a movie with me…for old times sake".
Noodle beamed. "Sure!" She said. "Of course I'd love to see a movie with you. We haven't done that in ages".
"Yep", the singer nodded. "This will give us something to do apart from staring at polluted water for a change". She agreed with a small nod of her own, and stepped forward to take his hand. "Lead the way". 2D jumped a bit from her hand grasping his, then smiled as he gave it a gentle squeeze. "Alright love", he winked. "Let's go".
Noodle frowned when the lift opened up to the Master Bedroom…Murdoc's bedroom. "I don't get it". She scratched her head. "Why are we going to Murdoc's room if we're just going to watch a movie?"
2D winked. "You'll see". As they entered the Master bedroom, Noodle couldn't help but be in awe at how big it was. This place was beautiful, despite the clutter of stuff on the bed. "We couldn't watch this in your bedroom, 2D-kun?" She asked, arching an eyebrow at the Mickey Mouse phone on Murdoc's night stand.
"Are you kidding?" The singer looked at her, bewildered. "No way am I going back down there with that Whale. Besides", he added, shaking his head, "I only get better reception so to speak up here than down there".
"You sure we won't get in trouble for being here?" She said, imagining the green man beating down on the poor singer for trespassing. "Not really", the singer shrugged. "He spends so much time in that secret room of his, he practically lives there. He never comes up here".
Noodle looked around while 2D was setting up this old looking computer on the floor. "So…what movie are we planning to watch?" She asked, eyeing his actions curiously. He looked over at her with a grin. "We're going to watch the new animated movie, Rio". He told her. "I figured it'd be a nice change from the usual Zombie films I watch".
"Didn't that movie come out recently in the theaters?" Noodle frowned. "And…what does this have to do with the computer?"
"Simple", 2D said, typing up something on Google. "If we can't go to Rio, being stuck on an Island and all, we'll bring Rio to us on a movie link".
"In other words", Noodle stuck out her tongue, "You're planning to have us watch it through a Bootleg recording someone filmed with crappy quality".
The singer laughed. "It's better than nothing".
He quickly scanned the links to see which had a good recommendation. "Ah…this one", he clicked on it. "Come and sit Noodle. It's about to start". "Okay", the Violet haired girl took a seat on the floor besides the singer; their elbows nearly touching as the dark quality begin to play the intro of the movie.
"Wow…" Noodle was grinning ear to ear as the movie ended with the birds of the movie singing "Real in Rio". "That was great!"
"I knew you'd like it", 2D beamed, proud that she enjoyed it. "Wasn't the music spectacular?"
"Oh yes", she nodded, standing up with a quick random spin. "I especially loved the part where Blu and Jewel were dancing in that Bird club. That was just…wow".
"Maybe we could use a Samba flavor in our next album", the singer suggested when Noodle shook her hips a bit to an imaginary beat. "Of course this will give Muds an excuse to see Chicks in Rio De Janiero", he added with a snort. The Axe Princess laughed while she kept on dancing. "Maybe", she said. "Who knows what will happen with another album in mind".
"Those birds were beautiful", the vocalist sighed, staring off into space. "Especially Jewel…God, if I had a girl like her, I'd be the luckiest bloke alive".
Noodle giggled. "What would you do if you had a girl like her?" She asked, ceasing her dancing for a moment. 2D pondered. "I'm not sure." He scratched his head in thought. "I'd probably give her flowers for one thing. Maybe I'd write a song for her…dance if I could find the courage to ask her".
The Guitarist rubbed her chin. "What would you do if I asked you to dance with me?"
2D looked a bit flustered. "M-me..?" He breathed weakly, staring at the floor. "Um…I don't know".
"Oh come on", she teased, taking his hand. "It's not so hard". Before he could object, she reached over to the computer on the floor, typed in "Hot Wings from Rio" on Youtube, played it, and yanked him over to her the moment the music began to play.
He gulped a bit. "I'm…I'm not sure". Noodle gently pressed a finger to his lips. "Just watch me", she whispered. "Don't think about it. Feel it in here", she pointed at his chest. "Like Raphael said in the movie". She added with a wink.
2D watched as Noodle began to sway her hips to the rhythm of the beat, did a couple of turns and urged him with a nod to follow her lead. "Here goes…" he mumbled and moved a bit awkwardly, trying to match her steps to the music. It didn't take long for him to feel comfortable with his movements and soon was able to catch up with Noodle as Will. took lead in the song. He may not be much of a dancer, but Noodle could tell he was having fun, and unexpectedly grabbed her hand, and twirled her around a bit. "Whee!" She cried out gleefully when he pulled her into a dip.
2D blinked, as though realizing he had just put Noodle in a romantic position and quickly pulled her back up again. "Oops…" he muttered. "I'm sorry." He was laughing a bit nervously and scratching his head. "I got a bit carried away".
The Guitarist took his hand, giving it a gentle squeeze. "It's okay 2D". She whispered when the music ended. "I didn't mind. In fact…I kind of liked it".
2D looked over at her, reddening a bit. "You did?" Noodle nodded. "…Yep. It…caught me off guard".
She slowly brought her hand up to his chin and cupped it softly in her fingers. "You can dance". Then…without even thinking, without even planning…Noodle carefully tiptoed up to 2D and gave him a small, chaste kiss on the lips.
The blue head's eyes widened in shocked when she pulled away, cheeks reddening like a tomato. "I'm sorry", Noodle muttered, realizing what she done. "I don't know what came over me".
2D, who had been in shock for a moment, blinked and quickly shook his head, "No-no…its okay Love", he said, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "I'm just…um…surprised you did that".
The violet haired girl felt herself trembling a little. Was he angry at her for kissing him? She knew there was an age difference between them, but…she is technically old enough isn't she?
"I didn't mean to", she whispered, hurt at possibly damaging their friendship now. "I got carried away and…"
"It's alright". He gave her shoulder a small pat, and she looked up to see him beaming down at her. "I guess we both got carried away. We have been separated for more than a few years now."
Noodle's heart sank a bit for some reason. "Yeah…that's right", she said, trying to smile, but felt no glee from it. Why did she feel disappointed that 2D was shaking this off so easily?
"You sure you're not bothered by me…kissing you?" She boldly asked, blushing as he reddened a bit. He giggled a bit. "Samba's a passionate music", he said, waving it off with a vague smile. "You know…it makes you do things."
"Yeah", she agreed, rubbing her arms self consciously as an awkward silence passed between them. "Well…we better get going", she finally said, breaking the silence. "Murdoc will have our hides if we don't leave soon".
"Very true", 2D rolled his eyes. "Let's go". Before they left, however, Noodle felt the singer take her hand and give it a small squeeze, causing her to look back at him and was in shock as 2D bent down to kiss her on the cheek. "Thanks love for the dance lesson".
The young Japanese woman blushed and touched the spot where his lips rested. The spot felt warm. "No problem..." She breathed. Whether he meant that kiss as a friend or not, it didn't matter to her. She was just happy to finally see him again after all these years. She squeezed his hand back with a small smile. "Come on. Let's get out of here".
"...Where to?" The Blue head wondered. "How about the Beach?" Noodle suggested, leading him to the lift. "We could use some fresh air, even if it is polluted".
2D thought about it for a moment. "Alright", he agreed. "Let's go".
...And end. :D I might continue this with more 2D and Noodle moments and this will probably be a shorter story in comparison to my previous stories. There's more to come so stay tuned!