Pleakley knew it was "wrong".
He knew he wasn't supposed to feel this way. But he was honestly at that point, where he didn't care. After all, no one around him seemed to care either; they just thought it was him being silly — some real life comic relief, perhaps.
They had no idea.
He had so many dresses, shoes, hats, and wigs. He had several sets of makeup, and other skin products. He always made up excuses for the excessive feminine things he bought, though he knew he was kidding everyone.
Including himself.
Then there was the thing with Jumba. The thing that Pleakley wasn't really sure what it was. He liked Jumba. A lot. Though they disagreed a lot, and bickered, and playful banter was tossed between the two of them...Pleakley really liked Jumba.
Probably more than he would like to admit.
Sometimes Pleakley became jealous, especially of Nani. Nani could do all the stuff he "couldn't" and she just took it for granted. She didn't seem to even enjoy dressing up, or putting on makeup. Often times, Nani pushed away the man he loved, in favor of other things.
It was unfair. It was completely and utterly unfair.
Pleakley shook his head suddenly, allowing his thoughts to be reined in. He didn't want to have some strange outburst happen in the middle of dinner, with his family all around.
"Hey, Pleakley, are you okay?" Lilo suddenly asked, looking at him curiously, before scolding Stitch for digging into his dinner as violently as he was.
"Yeah!" Pleakley exclaimed, wincing when it came out louder than he intended. "I mean, yes, I'm fine."
Nani's eyes narrowed. "You've been acting strange all day..."
Jumba made a sound. "How is that different than any other day?"
Pleakley shot him a weak glare, before looking back to the food on his plate. He felt uncomfortable, right then. If he would have been wearing his wig...that'd have been a different story.
"Seriously though," Jumba said suddenly, jerking Pleakley out of his momentary lapse in concentration. "Are you okay?"
Pleakley nodded, making a sound of assent. However, Jumba didn't seem to believe him. He leaned over, placing his hand on Pleakley's forehead. "You don't feel like you have a fever-"
"I said I'm fine!" Pleakley exclaimed, standing up. His eye flashed in anger, surprising everyone. Almost immediately the anger vanished, though. He quickly picked up his plate, walking into the kitchen to clean up the dishes.
Everyone's eyes followed him. Jumba sighed, standing up. "I'll go talk to him."
"Make sure he's all right," Lilo said worriedly, her eyebrows drawing together in worry.
Jumba nodded at her, before going to check on his companion.
Pleakley was bent over the sink, dish gloves up to his elbows as he scrubbed at the plate. Jumba watched him for a minute, wincing at the roughness he was displaying.
He had known Pleakley for a long time; the man was not a violent one, nor one to bottle up his emotions. This time, something was different though. Pleakley was quite obviously upset about something, and it wasn't something as unimportant as one of his soap operas. This was something big, and Pleakley was trying to keep it a secret.
Jumba was a curious man, especially when it came, so he was determined to find out what was bugging his best friend.
"Alright," he said, leaning against the counter. Pleakley jumped, giving Jumba a startled look, before going back to the task of scrubbing his plate. "There's something bugging you. What is it?"
"Nothing," Pleakley shrugged, though the frantic scrubbing didn't cease.
Jumba raised an eyebrow. "Then what did that plate do to you?"
Pleakley sighed, setting the plate aside. He set his hands on either side of the sink, leaning over it. His breathing was ragged, another obvious sign of his being upset.
Jumba gently set a comforting hand on Pleakley's back, being careful not to accidentally push him over.
"Come on. We've known each other for a long time. Just tell me what's wrong," Jumba said, quietly.
Pleakley laughed slightly, though it sounded horribly bitter. "What's wrong, you ask? The answer is quite simple, to be honest." He sighed, pressing a hand to his forehead. "Me."
Jumba tilted his head to the side. "You?" Pleakley nodded. "I...what are you saying? I don't understand."
"It's me, alright?!" Pleakley abruptly shouted, turning to face Jumba. Conflicting emotions were reflected in his eye. "It's me."
"...I still don't understand," Jumba said, growing uncomfortable by his companion's raging emotions.
Pleakley glared at him slightly. "I thought you were supposed to be smart."
Jumba glared, feeling his face heat up. No one insulted his intelligence.
"I am smart! At least about things that matter," Jumba growled.
Pleakley leaned forward, a snarl morphing his face. "So what? I don't matter?"
Jumba rubbed a hand over his face. "You're not understanding what I'm trying to say-"
"Aren't I?" Pleakley asked, sounding more hurt than angry, then. Jumba watched as Pleakley sighed, his arms dropping lifelessly to his side. "I'm going for a walk."
Pleakley walked out of the room then, before exiting the house all together. He walked down the long dirt road that lead away from their house, going into town. He walked through town slowly, marveling at how the people thought nothing of his paper-thin disguise. In a way, that made him a bit happy; to them, he was just an odd woman, married to Jumba, who lived with the Pelekai's.
Eventually, Pleakley came to the beach. It was at that time of the night when hardly a soul was out and about, too preoccupied with the goings on at their respective homes.
He sat down in the sand, not caring if his dress got a little sandy; he wanted to enjoy the sunset, and try to unwind from the argument he had just held with the man he loved.
Yep. Loved.
He loved Jumba. Here, with the beautiful sunset, colors so beautiful and bright being tossed across the rippling waves of the ocean, Pleakley could admit that he loved Jumba, at least to himself.
And then Jumba was there. He was sitting down beside Pleakley, slightly breathless, but there nonetheless.
"You didn't understand what I was trying to say," Jumba said after catching his breath. Pleakley glanced at him.
"You're...you're different," Jumba said quietly. "I can understand most everyone, to at least a certain extent, but you...you're complex." He sighed. "Emotions and all that...they're hard for me to understand. And that's a lot of who you are, so you're hard for me to understand."
Pleakley looked at Jumba. The larger of the two felt his face heat up, ducking his head. "If that makes sense, I suppose."
Pleakley hugged him suddenly, burying his head in Jumba's arm. "Thanks for explaining," he said, his voice muffled. Jumba shifted uneasily, unsure if he was enjoying the close proximity of Pleakley or not.
"Um...but...I am having a few questions for you..." Jumba said awkwardly. Pleakley pulled back, looking up at him. Jumba's four eyes reflected the beautiful sunset so perfectly, Pleakley couldn't restrain himself.
He kissed Jumba.
He kissed him!
What was he thinking?!
Pleakley pulled back almost instantly, feeling a bit more green than usual. He could not believe he just did that!
"Sorry! I didn't mean-it wasn't-I-I-I-Sorry?" Pleakley stuttered out, wincing as the shocked expression on Jumba's face.
Pleakley's stumbled apology seemed to break Jumba out of his stupor. He turned away, rubbing a hand on the back of his neck. "It's fine...I mean..." He glanced back at Pleakley, who looked as though he was internally berating himself. "I...guess I kind of liked it."
Pleakley froze, and hesitated only briefly before turning back to Jumba. "You...?"
Jumba huffed, puffing out his chest, though the effect was ruined by his heated cheeks. "I mean, it was nice. Not something I'd do all the time, but-"
Pleakley hugged Jumba's arm once again, laying his head against his shoulder. Jumba sighed, before patting his shoulder.
"I want to...I mean...I don't know how to say what I'm feeling sometimes," Pleakley said suddenly. The admittance came from deep within Pleakley - that much was obvious to Jumba. "I feel like things...they build up in me, and I just don't know-"
He cut himself off. "But you help." At that Jumba turned and looked at Pleakley, who (in turn) looked up at him. "I like having you around...I like you."
Jumba knew he meant the world to Pleakley. He also knew that Pleakley meant the world to him.
Hugging Pleakley to his side, he said in full honesty, "I like you too."
They sat there, watching the sunset. It was brilliant, in brightness, with the colors that could only be imagined darting around their forms. A person walking past wouldn't be able to see exactly what they were shaped like, or their genders, or appearances.
They would have only seen a couple, who really liked each other.
A/N I really enjoyed this. I really really did. I don't have much more to say, except that I hope that you enjoyed! XD
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