The only thing Noodle hated more then low scores on her mini Tetris game, was Murdoc in the morning. Or at least she used to, she wasn't so sure now. When she was younger and only recently moved into Kong Studios with the boys she had found him annoying and repulsive. A nuisance he would normally try to avoid. He was loud and almost always drunk. He smoked and his pointy teeth remained yellow. His skin had always been naturally green, but she was certain at some time it must have been lighter. Maybe, when he was born. By this certain time, she had just turned 17 a few days back. After 7 years she was used to his disgusting and filthy habits. She would laugh when they guys made fun of each other, (Except 2D, he'd probably be too scared) and joked around with her. They had always been her family. And she had always thought of Murdoc as an Older Brother/Guardian. She'd always love him in a sort of way, and him with her even if he didn't show it enough. She started to notice a few days back after she turned 17. It started while she sat in the lobby of their beloved Kong Studios on a very gloomy rainy day. She was playing checkers, across from her sat the bands very confused lead singer/
"D…will you please do something…its been a while."
"Eh…but I've been wondering Noods…what happens if I move this one, does that mean you have to move this one, and I move this one here and there, do I win?"
Noodle sighed, but smiled.
Even when 2D had always been older then her. He'd always been the same.
She had gotten used to his dimwitted, confused ways.
It was all probably from all the medication he took for his migraines. "I suppose so, 2D" She answered. He thought for a second then moved the piece he had just pointed at, and she cleverly moved another to make sure he could easily win.
She crossed her fingers behind her back, hoping he would move the right one.
He did, and she let out a sigh of relief
"There…looks like you won."
His face twisted into a very surprised expression.
"Really?" He asked in a very high voice.
She giggled and nodded.
"Thank you for playing with me 2D!" She said as sweetly as she could, and got up beaming to give him a big hug.2D's hugs were always nice, but hesitant and different.
When she let go of him, he raised a finger to his mouth and lowered one dented eye in suspicion. She picked up the board and stashed the pieces in their own small compartment and ran away before he could realize what she had done.
She ran towards the lift, and waited till she heard the ding!
She was looking down as she walked inside, still thinking of 2Ds hug. It seemed to compare a lot to when Murdoc hugged her. His were always warm, inviting, and long. Sometimes he would lift her and play with her.
She was too busy thinking, that she didn't notice someone was already inside.
The same person she was just thinking about.
When she bumped into him, the small black and red pieces spilled on the floor before her.
She stared at a pair that she hadn't rushed to pick up. They stared back at him just like his eyes. And when he picked them up for her she looked straight at those same eyes.
His mismatched eyes stared back at her green eyes.
"Oh…hello, Murdoc. I'm…sorry." She said slowly recovering.
He frowned, which then turned into a smile. A very distant, half loving, half cold smile. But he was always like that, and she liked that.
When Noodle entered the elevator, he didn't exit.
Maybe he had come from the basement and was headed to the first floor.
For some strange reason she felt uneasy.
Ever since she had turned 17, he seemed to notice her more…or was it the other way around? Was she finally old enough to be legal in his book?
But…she would have never expected him to notice HER.
They stood in silence, and Noodle held her head low…which felt like it would explode, and her heart was racing like mad. Why was she so scared?
Her heart only ever did when she was scared.
"Noods…love?"
"I don't want to!" She shrieked and pressed herself against the lift wall, and pieced fell back on the floor.
"At least…I don't think I do! But, maybe I do…!!"
She covered her ears and began screaming loudly in Japanese.
"N…n…noodle!" He yelled at her.
She immediately stopped talking.
"What….in the devils heart are you talking about!!" He raised his own hands to his head.
"I was GOING to say that I think the lifts stopped and we could get out, but when you started yelling in that mental way, now we're back downstairs, when you pushed the button with your BACK!!"
She detached herself from the wall in horror. He sounded mad, but she smiled.
She laughed nervously and pressed the 1st floor button again. She didn't pick the pieces up this time. She just stood there, her hands over her mouth.
"I am…so sorry, Muds. I was just…" She stopped talking.
"Come on…tell me what's wrong, what happened? Was it that dullard 2D?"
The lift made the ding! noise and she stepped out.
"Nothing happened…nothing important."
To hide her true feelings, she laughed and pressed the down button again before getting out, leaving a very shocked angry Murdoc inside, and the last thing she saw was his mad face. She covered her face in embarrassment and ran towards her room,
Throwing herself onto her bed feeling like she would cry. Did she have feelings for him or something?
The man who had practically helped her through everything. (That wasn't girl related) and taken care of her since she was 10.
But, she didn't want to be one of those women that he used and left. Alone and heart broken. He could never love her back, anyway…could he?
She was too young anyway. Even he wouldn't do that.
Her mind flashed to the elevator scene. At the moment she had imagined him picking her up and holding her, like he had done so many times before. She had wanted to kiss him then, she just realized, when they stared at each other. Had she always felt this way?
Maybe not completely…when she was younger, was it…a childhood crush?
And she hadn't noticed? For some reason now it had grown into something much bigger. What would she do?
She would confront him tomorrow. Not directly, but hint here and there. He probably already knew, anyway? He knew her well enough, and he knew women too well. He probably read her like a book.
But, if he knew…why hadn't he done anything about it? Was it because of Russel? Would he kill him? Russel had always been TOO protective of her.
Was Murdoc repulsed by her?
He was annoyed about a little girl and her tiny crush…she was sure of it.
She groaned and sat in a fetal position shaking back and forth…and she fell off her bed.
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He was feeling extremely worried, but he didn't know why. He could feel that something was wrong with Noodle. She was the one that sounded worried, and he could sense it was about him.
She HAD started yelling and screaming as soon as he said her name. Well, her cute shortened nickname. When he finally made it upstairs (After that absolutely adorable incident with the lift --) he had gone to the kitchen, and he was certain he heard her crying as he walked by. She had seemed very nervous lately.
Could it be that she had a secret boyfriend outside the studio? Was that why she was being so nervous around him? Because she knew he would beat the pulp out of whoever tried to get near his little Noodle. Or was it inside the studio?
Not Russel…he was practically her father. Not…not 2D!!
He made a face of disgust, and let out a small growl, his hand turning into a fist. He'd kill that idiot. She HAD said it was nothing when he mentioned him. No…Noodle wouldn't do that. He felt uncomfortable thinking of Noodle with a boy.
He thought of her small round face, and…come to think of it. It didn't look so small or innocent anymore. Her hair was longer, and the purple had grown thicker and straighter. She could even be beautiful…He shook his head and lowered it, where he sat at the table.
No, she couldn't not be, she WAS. But…why was he thinking of her like…
"Hey, Muds!" Russels voice said behind him.
Murdoc snapped out of his thoughts with a jolt.
"Oh…ye…yeah!! Yeah, what do you want you giant tub of tuna?" He yelled trying to recover to his darker side.
"What did you do to Noods, man, she's crying like crazy in her room."
"What….?" He looked up more surprised and shocked.
"But…what makes you think it was me who did anything?!" He let out a growl after every syllable to seem more ominous.
"Well, you were the last one who saw her right? She's been tearing and won't open the door to anyone." He made a face. "Not even D?" He asked curiously.
"No…I just told you! No one. Not even me. Why would D make such a difference anyway?"
Murdoc smiled to himself, glad that she hadn't opened the door to him.
He knew she would never have a relationship with Stu anyway.
"Maybe she'll open the door to me." He thought carefully.
Russel laughed loudly in his face.
"We already tried! Your not going to make this better, it was YOUR fault in the first place." Murdoc opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it.
Instead he walked past him, out the kitchen door and through the corridor towards her room.
He stood before the door, hesitating before knocking. He decided not to. Instead he said "Noodle?" through the side of the door.
He heard her stop crying.
Silence.
"Go away!"
He tried turning the door knob. "Noodle, open the door…look love, I don't know what I did, I HOPE it wasn't because of me, but I'm sorry, and I don't generally say…"
She opened the door, her tiny head peeking through the door. She opened the door wider to let him in. He turned around to glare at Russel, who he had noticed had followed him closely behind. He felt like laughing, but he felt it would ruin the moment, and Noodle would slam the door in his face. Secretly, he was scared of her martial arts skills.
Russel was wrong this time, and he felt like showing off. But, instead he followed Noodle back into her room.
As soon as she closed the door, he felt uneasy, especially with the way he had just been thinking of her. Is that why she was so scared, did she think that he would…
But she wouldn't, because she HAD to know that he would never do that to her.
He looked at her face, her eyes were covered by her bangs, but he could see her cheeks were bright pink. He lifted his hand to push her hair aside, but she stopped him.
"Murdoc…" She started.
Oh no, this was serious. He just stared,
"Have you ever loved someone?" She asked still holding her head down."Well…ah…sure, loads of times."
She shook her head.
"No…not like that." She knew what he was referring to.
"I mean…really loved someone."
He didn't say anything for a while.
"Once…but that's really it."
He saw her frown, "Who was it?"
"Oh…it was a long time ago…but she hated me."
Noodle tilted her head and looked at him, a blackish green eye peeping out from behind her bangs. "Is it really possible for someone to hate you, Muds?"
He laughed darkly, "A lot of people do…"
"Well…I don't. Just the opposite." She smiled, making her eyes grow wider.
He smiled at her, and played with a loose strand before her ear, and placed it behind her ear. "Why are you asking?"
She was silent.
"I don't know…what it feels like"
"Is that why you were crying?"
Her eyes looked up at him, then down at the ground.
She nodded hesitantly.
"Why didn't you just ask, then! I could have easily told you." He said laughing.
She looked up, expectantly. He sighed, deciding against it, but he still did it.
"Well…every time your around that person, your heart starts to beat faster…eh, you notice the most smallest greatest things about that person, that no one else has noticed before. They make you happy, and…sometimes sad. When they don't know you love them, your usually scared or nervous around them, and when they know, and love you back, there's this…warm feeling inside you, nothings better then it. Its just…love that's all, you just know it, you'll know when your in love, Noodle."
She was looking up at him with big eyes.
"Are you in love, Noods?" He asked curiously.
Her eyes were still fixated on him.
"Eh…no, no Murdoc." She lowered her head again.
He nodded. "Okay…ah…do you feel better?"
She smiled up at him, baring all her teeth. "Yes!"
She hugged him gratefully, her arms wrapped around his neck, her feet almost floating in the air, although her mind was drifting off, and after this moment her feelings grew bigger….