Disclaimer: I don't own The Mr. Men Show or any of its characters.
Note: There is a part of this story about a character that I made up just so his friends could comfort him. Hopefully you all like this story!
A thick layer of snow dressed the town in white, covering the houses, businesses, and roads. Christmas lights twirled in the night, and almost every building was decorated for the upcoming holiday. Most of the residents were excited, hardly able to wait for the special day that would be here very soon.
A bunch of the Mr. Men and Little Misses were at a party at Mr. Happy's house. There was plenty of food, music playing in the background, and a beautiful tree that had sparkling lights wrapped around it. All kinds of different ornaments hung from the branches, including icicles and garland. On the very top of the tree sat an angel that looked down on everyone as if watching over them.
Laughter could be heard all throughout the house as the partygoers enjoyed themselves. A few of them stood around and talked to their friends, while others surrounded the table where the snacks and drinks were.
On one side of the living room, there was a small group that was playing charades. It was Mr. Scatterbrain's turn. The magenta Mr. Man jumped to his feet and ran to where his friends would be able to see him. He seemed to have no idea what they were playing because he fished through his pocket and pulled out a toy. A huge smile formed on his face as if he thought he had instantly won.
The others exchanged glances like they were trying to figure out how to tell him nicely that he wasn't playing the game correctly. Finally Mr. Rude spoke up. "What is that?" he demanded, pointing to the toy in Mr. Scatterbrain's hand.
"A rubber chicken," Mr. Scatterbrain explained in what sounded like a proud tone.
"Yeah, but you're supposed to act something out," Mr. Messy told him gently. "Then we guess what it is."
"Oh!" Mr. Scatterbrain exclaimed as he threw the rubber chicken away. It went soaring across the room, landing in the punch bowl where Mr. Bump was getting a drink. He gasped in surprise when the red liquid suddenly splashed all over him.
Dripping, the blue Mr. Man tried to walk away, but there was now a puddle under his feet and he slipped. His arm knocked against the bowl as he fell, and it flew into the air. Little Miss Calamity just happened to be passing by at the same moment and the bowl got stuck on her head. The two of them laid there on the floor, covered in punch and groaning in pain.
Not seeming to notice any of this, the group continued with their game, but Mr. Scatterbrain was still confused and didn't know how to play.
In the kitchen, away from the rest of the partygoers, there was two Mr. Men. One of them stood on the countertop, while his best friend gazed through a pair of binoculars. A moment later the light green Mr. Man lowered his hands and turned to his little buddy, a deep frown on his face.
"I don't know, Mr. Small," he murmured. "I don't see any lights on. Maybe he's not home?"
But the small Mr. Man was shaking his head. "He'd be here if he wasn't home," he pointed out, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Perhaps–"
They were suddenly interrupted by the host of the party, Mr. Happy, who appeared beside them. He had heard what the friends were saying. "You two talking about Mr. Grumpy?" he asked. When they nodded, he explained," I invited him, but he said he'd rather stay home." Before either of the Mr. Men could respond to him, the yellow man walked off, calling out to Little Miss Sunshine, who was under the mistletoe.
The friends shared a knowing look, giggling under their breaths.
Then Mr. Small turned to look out the window again, intertwining his hands behind his back. "I hope he's okay over there all by himself." There was a sparkle of worry in his eyes.
"Maybe we should go check on him?"
As soon as he heard what his friend said, Mr. Small spun around. "Great idea, Mr. Nosy!" He braced himself to hop off the counter, landing neatly on the floor. Then he started walking to the door that was in the kitchen, his best friend right behind him. "Hopefully we can convince him to come join his friends," he added as he opened the door, leaving Mr. Happy's house with Mr. Nosy. He looked up at the dark home of Mr. Grumpy. "Come on, Nose."
The two pushed their way through the snow, heading toward the house until they finally stood on Mr. Grumpy's doorstep. They shared a glance before Mr. Small reached up to knock.
For several long moments all was silent. Then the lights came on, and a second later the door opened to reveal an annoyed looking Mr. Grumpy; instead of his usual green hat, he was wearing a nightcap that told the friends he might have been getting ready for bed.
When his eyes landed on his visitors, he sighed. "What do you two want?" he demanded, crossing his arms.
"We wanted to invite you to Mr. Happy's party," Mr. Small explained, and he gestured to the brightly lit house while Mr. Nosy nodded in agreement to what his friend said.
Mr. Grumpy stepped back into his house. "No thanks," he replied in an annoyed tone, and he slammed his door shut as soon as he finished talking. The vibration shifted the snow on his roof which caused it to shower down on the two friends, burying them in a blanket of white powder.
Popping out of the snow, Mr. Nosy looked around for his buddy, fear shooting through him when he didn't see the small Mr. Man. He pushed his hand into the freezing snow, moving it all around until he felt something. He pulled Mr. Small back up by his tall top hat. Then the two of them climbed out of the pile, shaking the remaining snowflakes off.
"Well that went well," Mr. Nosy muttered, and he looked back at their friend's house. As he watched, the lights turned off once more.
Without saying a word, Mr. Small walked over to one of the windows and pushed himself on the tip of his toes, but he still couldn't see past the wall. He was grateful when Mr. Nosy lifted him up and he murmured a "thanks" to him before pressing his face against the glass, shivering at how cold it felt.
It was mostly dark inside, but he noticed a bright glow at the very back of the house. The small Mr. Man was curious. He dropped to the ground and started walking away, heading to the backyard. "Come on," he called to his friend as he went.
They stopped when they saw a light shining on the snow, watching as it danced around. It definitely wasn't coming from a lamp. They gazed into the house, spotting Mr. Grumpy sitting on the floor next to a burning candle. He was staring down at something in his hands, but from where the friends stood it was hard for them to tell what it was.
Suddenly Mr. Nosy took a step forward, so close to the window that his breathing was clouding up the glass. Mr. Small gently pulled him back.
"I wonder what he has," the light green Mr. Man murmured with a confused expression, and he wiped away the fog so that he could continue to look into the house. After another moment he spoke up again. "I really want to know!" Before his friend could stop him, Mr. Nosy knocked on the window.
Mr. Grumpy jumped in surprise, but when he saw the two, his bow bent. He got to his feet, putting whatever he had on the nightstand as he stormed over to them. He threw the window open, glaring at the best friends. "I thought I told you that I didn't want to go to the party," he reminded them, a hint of a growl in his voice.
"I'm sorry," Mr. Small apologized before his friend could say anything. "But we wanted to make sure you were okay. You seem grouchier than usual…" He choose his words carefully, not wanting to upset him even more.
"I'm fine," the blue Mr. Man snapped, and he reached up to close the window, but he froze when Mr. Nosy put his hands out to stop him.
The light green Mr. Man blinked at him curiously. "What were you looking at?" he inquired.
"None of your business!" Before either of them could say anymore, Mr. Grumpy slammed the window shut with an angry grunt.
The two friends watched him march back to the candle. As he passed the nightstand, he snatched up what he had been staring at earlier. Looking closer, they saw that it was a picture frame, and they wondered what it was a photo of. But neither of them wanted to bug him again, so they decided to just head back to Mr. Happy's house, disappointed that they weren't able to talk Mr. Grumpy into joining the party.
Once they were out of the freezing air, they returned to their spot in the kitchen where they had been watching Mr. Grumpy's dark house, but now they could see the lit candle glowing in the back room.
"I wish there was some way of making him feel better," Mr. Nosy murmured, still not understand why their friend was in such a rotten mood. But he was more curious to know about that picture he had been looking at. What could it be of? And why was Mr. Grumpy just staring at it?
Mr. Small nodded in agreement. "Nobody should be grumpy this time of year, not even Mr. Grumpy." He glanced at his friend with a frown on his face. "But what could we do?"
For a couple of heartbeats Mr. Nosy was silent. Then he suddenly gasped and ran out of the kitchen, heading to the living room. Mr. Small stared after him, wondering what got into him. Curious, he hopped off the countertop and slowly followed his friend.
When he got there, he was surprised to see that Mr. Nosy had called everyone together and was now talking to them. As the small Mr. Man gently pushed past a couple of his friends, he started to pick up on what Mr. Nosy was saying. "...needs our help. He is all alone over there, and we can bring the party to him if he doesn't want to come over here."
"But we are talking about Mr. Grumpy," interrupted Mr. Rude, and he rolled his eyes. "He hates parties, so I say we leave him to himself, if that's what he really wants."
"We can't do that," Little Miss Sunshine objected. She turned to the red Mr. Man for a second before sharing a glance with Little Miss Helpful. "Mr. Grumpy is still our friend, even if he doesn't like parties," the bubbly Little Miss added, looking around the crowd that surrounded Mr. Nosy, who was standing in the center.
She's right, Mr. Small thought, and he walked over to his best friend. "We need to try to get him in the Christmas mood," he told the Mr. Men and Little Misses.
Everyone exchanged glances with the ones closest to them; nobody talked for a long moment until finally Mr. Bump spoke up. "And how are we supposed to do that?" the accident-prone Mr. Man questioned, sounding doubtful and curious at the same time.
Mr. Nosy looked thoughtful, and everyone else around Mr. Small seemed to also be trying to come up with a way of making their friend feel better for the holidays.
A flash of light blue caught the small Mr. Man's attention, and he turned hopefully to Mr. Quiet, wondering what he was going to say. He dashed over to his friend's side, pushing him in the middle of the group beside Mr. Nosy, joining both of them.
At first Mr. Quiet seemed too shy to speak in front of everyone. Then he took a deep breath, let it out, and opened his mouth, but suddenly Little Miss Daredevil bumped him aside as she exclaimed," Christmas caroling!"
With a sigh, Mr. Quiet walked away, disappearing in the crowd of people.
Mr. Small thought about what the Little Miss said before nodding. "That's a wonderful idea!" he told her with a smile. "I'm sure some carols will get Mr. Grumpy in the Christmas mood!"
Some of their friends looked doubtful, but still everyone followed Mr. Nosy and Mr. Small out the front door, heading toward Mr. Grumpy's house. After a few minutes of discussing what song they should sing, finally deciding on one, Mr. Small knocked on the door. He stepped back to stand beside his best friend as they waited for an answer.
It was a while until finally the door flung open. "I thought I told you two–" The blue Mr. Man suddenly cut off when his gaze move over all the Mr. Men and Little Misses in front of him. But the shock didn't seem to last as his eyes narrowed and he demanded," What do you all want?"
"We want to make you feel better," Mr. Small told his friend, and he glanced behind him at the others. Then he gave a nod to Mr. Nosy, who turned around and signaled to everyone that they were ready to start.
But they didn't get far into the song before Mr. Grumpy shouted," Stop!" He glared at all the people that was in his yard. "I just want peace," he went on in a quieter voice, suddenly appearing upset. "Why can't you all understand that?" His eyes landed on the best friends where they stood in front of everyone. "You two bug me all year long, with your questions and nosiness! Why can't you just leave me alone during this time?"
"Because nobody should be alone on Christmas," Mr. Small responded, frowning up at him. "This time of year is for friends and family."
When the small Mr. Man said the last few words, Mr. Grumpy's eyes started watering, and he turned his back on everyone, closing the door behind him. But he didn't slam it this time which seemed so unlike him.
All of the Mr. Men and Little Misses behind the best friends exchanged glances, and even Mr. Rude looked concerned about the blue man.
"Can we please talk to Mr. Grumpy alone?" Mr. Small asked, turning to the rest of their friends. He gestured toward Mr. Happy's house, silently telling them to go back to the party. "We won't be long," he promised.
Most of them walked back inside, but two stayed where they were, looking at Mr. Nosy and Mr. Small with uncertain eyes. "Are you sure that's a good idea?" asked Little Miss Calamity, and she shared a look with her boyfriend.
"Yeah," Mr. Scatterbrain agreed, for once seeming to realize what was going on, and he appeared really worried for Mr. Grumpy like everyone else. "He said he wants to be alone."
Mr. Small shook his head. "Trust me, nobody truly wants to be alone on Christmas," he told them. "Please let us handle this," he added before they could say anything else, and he was thankful when they finally nodded and walked back to Mr. Happy's house.
When they were gone, Mr. Nosy looked down at his little buddy. "Should we continue to push him?" he questioned, sounding unsure.
"He's our friend," Mr. Small reminded him as he turned back to the door. "We need to check on him." He lifted his hand, hesitating at first before finally knocking. He stepped back and waited for an answer.
They thought he wasn't going to come out again, but after another few moments, the door opened, and Mr. Grumpy stood there, the pain clear on his face. His cheeks were wet from his tears. "What?" he murmured with a weak roll of his eyes like he didn't even care about being bugged anymore.
"You can tell us if something is wrong," Mr. Small told him in a soft voice, and he walked closer to him, but he stopped when Mr. Grumpy stepped back. "We just want to help."
For a long moment Mr. Grumpy just stared at them. Finally he sighed and turned around, surprisingly inviting the friends inside. They entered the house, hoping they were at last getting somewhere with the grumpy Mr. Man.
Suddenly they both shivered, realizing that it was colder in his house than it was outside. "D-Don't you have h-heat?" Mr. Nosy stammered, shaking just like Mr. Small was. They moved closer together to share each other's body warmth.
"What's the point?" Mr. Grumpy muttered as he walked across the living room, disappearing into another part of the house. The best friends ran after him. "This whole holiday is a waste of time," he added when they joined him again.
"No it's not," Mr. Small objected gently. He looked up at his bigger friend, silently asking for help.
Mr. Nosy nodded. "It's a special time to spend with friends and fam–"
"Don't say that word!" Mr. Grumpy suddenly interrupted, glaring at the light green Mr. Man.
"What?" Mr. Nosy asked, confused. "Fam–"
Mr. Grumpy stormed over to him, slapping his hand over his mouth. "I said don't say that word!" he reminded him, narrowing his eyes at him. Then he stepped back, looking away from the friends. "Besides, I don't have any," he added with a sigh and he walked over to where the candle was, its flames dancing as if it could go out any moment. He sat down on the floor beside it and reached over to pick up the picture frame.
The best friends exchanged a glance. "You mean, you don't have–" Mr. Small was just able to stop himself from saying the "F" word, not wanting to upset Mr. Grumpy even more. Suddenly understanding why he was in such a terrible mood, the small Mr. Man walked over to him. "I know we aren't related to you, but we see are you as… Well you know…" He smiled at the blue man, hoping to make him feel better, but Mr. Grumpy didn't even look at him.
Mr. Nosy nodded in agreement, joining the two.
"I have relatives," he finally admitted; he sighed after he said that though. "But I don't talk to them much anymore." He pressed his back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling. "I used to be close to my… mother…" He took in a deep breath before letting it out slowly, tears starting to fall out of his eyes.
Mr. Small took this chance to glance down at the picture, and he noticed it was of a family. In the lap of the full grown Mr. Man sat a younger, red one, who had an expressionless look on his face. Beside them was a Little Miss who held onto a kid who looked a lot like Mr. Grumpy, but this one was smiling and appeared to be laughing as he stared up at the blue rectangular Little Miss.
The small Mr. Man realized that this must be Mr. Grumpy's family. He's never mentioned them before, and he was curious to hear about his dad and the other young Mr. Man, but he was more focused on his mother since the grumpy man brought her up. He wondered where she was now, and he was about to ask Mr. Grumpy, but Mr. Nosy beat him to it.
Sadness shadowed his face as he gazed down at the picture. "She got sick one year," he began, his voice sounding dull with grief. "She only got worse and worse until…" He broke off and closed his eyes, more tears rolling down his face.
The friends turned to each other, both of them realizing what he was trying to tell them. "Oh, Mr. Grumpy, we are so sorry." Mr. Small stretched out his arm to comfort him, but Mr. Grumpy knocked his hand away.
"It happened around this time of year," he went on, pushing himself to his feet. "That is why I want no part of this stupid holiday." He walked over to the open door of the room they were in and pointed out it. "Now that you understand why I have nothing to celebrate, can you please leave me alone?"
Mr. Small glanced at his friend before turning back to Mr. Grumpy. "We can't," he told him, joining him by the door. "We want you to know that you're not alone. If you won't come to the party, then we will stay here with you. Right, Nose?" He looked hopefully at his best friend, glad when Mr. Nosy nodded and went to stand on Mr. Grumpy's other side.
"We can't leave family alone on the holidays," Mr. Nosy pointed out, but he covered his mouth as if he just realized that he said the word Mr. Grumpy didn't want to hear.
But Mr. Grumpy didn't seem to care about that anymore. "Oh, no, you're not staying here," he quickly responded, and he pushed Mr. Small out the door, but when he tried to get Mr. Nosy to leave as well, the light green Mr. Man wouldn't budge.
"We care about you, Mr. Grumpy." Mr. Small returned to the room, staring up at his friend. "Please come with us, and let us show you that you have family here in Dillydale. We are begging you: Don't be alone on Christmas."
At first they were afraid that he was going to keep insist on staying home in the dark all by himself. But finally he sighed and gave in. "If I agree to go to the party, will the two of you leave me alone?"
Mr. Small nodded. "If you come to the party, we will let you spend time with the rest of your family."
Mr. Grumpy sighed again. "Fine," he muttered. He went over to blow out the candle, and the room was engulfed in darkness until Mr. Nosy switched on the light. Then Mr. Grumpy walked over to his closet, taking off his nightcap and putting on his regular hat.
When he returned to the friends, Mr. Nosy grabbed his arm, and the blue Mr. Man found himself being dragged from his house into the freezing night. They pulled him to Mr. Happy's house, finally letting go of him.
Once inside, everyone turned to look at the three. They exchanged surprised glances when they saw Mr. Grumpy.
"How did you convince him to come?" Little Miss Calamity asked, walking up to the best friends with Mr. Scatterbrain right behind her.
Mr. Small shared a look with Mr. Nosy, and they both silently decided to keep what they learned about Mr. Grumpy a secret. "It was easy," Mr. Small told them instead, turning back to their friends. "We just reminded him that his family was here for him during the holidays."
The couple looked at each other before shrugging and walking off, holding hands.
Mr. Nosy and Mr. Small turned around to see that Mr. Grumpy was talking to Mr. Happy and Little Miss Sunshine. They were welcoming the blue Mr. Man to the party.
Knowing they needed to keep their part of the deal, the best friends turned to go back into the kitchen. They still had a clear view of Mr. Grumpy, who was walking over to the snack table, but suddenly Mr. Messy stepped in his way. He said something to the grumpy man that Mr. Nosy and Mr. Small couldn't hear. But they noticed that Mr. Grumpy nodded and grabbed a few tiny sandwiches before he followed Mr. Messy to another part of the house that was out of sight of the two friends.
"I hope he has a good time," Mr. Nosy said as he turned to his little buddy.
Mr. Small nodded in agreement. Then he hopped off the countertop. "Come on, Nose," he called to him as he walked away. "Let's go see what everyone else is up to."
A couple of hours past, and the party was coming to an end. A few people already left, but the house was still full of Mr. Men and Little Misses.
Mr. Small sat on the floor beside his best friend, watching as Mr. Happy started to put the food up. The small Mr. Man tossed the sandwich he was holding into his mouth. As he swallowed it, he noticed someone walking to them. He looked up in surprise when Mr. Grumpy stopped in front of them, for once a happy smile on his face.
"Thank you," he unexpectedly said as he gazed down at them.
The two friends stumbled to their feet. "For what?" Mr. Nosy asked, putting his head to one side in confusion.
Mr. Grumpy looked embarrassment as he rubbed his arm with one of his hands, and he turned away from them. "For showing me that I do have family here after all," he finally explained, glancing back at them. "I actually had a good time."
Mr. Small's heart swelled with happiness. "Of course." He nodded. "We couldn't have just let you stay home all by yourself on Christmas."
"Yeah," Mr. Nosy agreed.
"But don't think my opinion of you two has changed," he quickly went on, playfully glaring at them. "I still think you're annoying and need to mind your own business. But I guess I should open up to my family around Christmas." As he said the last few words, his gaze scanned over the remaining of the partygoers.
Mr. Small nodded. "Like I've been saying, nobody should be alone on Christmas."
Mr. Grumpy nodded an agreement before announcing," Well I should be getting home." As he walked off, he called over his shoulder," Merry Christmas!"
"Merry Christmas!" the two friends echoed, both feeling good that they had been able to get Mr. Grumpy out of his rotten mood and actually got him to have fun for a night.
"Tonight was really great," Mr. Nosy said, glancing down at his friend.
Mr. Small nodded. "It was," he agreed.
"I wonder what next year will be like," he murmured as he followed Mr. Small to the door.
"We just have to wait and see, Nose."
The two left the party to go back to their own house, calling out a final "Merry Christmas" to everyone who was still there.
Please review! No flames please!
Thank you for reading!