1. Hugging
Anxiously pacing around in circles, her sneakers managing to squeak along with each step, Dory had absolutely no idea of what to do, as she wearily made her way around the living room of Marlin's apartment.
Surrounding her was an empty sofa and chair, a blank television screen, and a silence, which only continued to unsettle her to no end, as her heart and mind continued to battle it out with one another, a thing which seemed to be happening more and more often as the days went by. It probably didn't help that her thoughts had been taking her to such dark places recently.
Dark. Alone; like how she had felt when he'd first left her. It had been during that long week; the week that they'd found Nemo.
Oh, and that look he had given her. It had been so sad, and oh, so tired. Like his entire world had just been destroyed, taken away from him forever...
"Nemo's gone... And I'm going home now."
She remembered how much her heart had hurt when he said that. Since meeting him, never had Dory wanted to be separated from his side.
"Please... Please don't go away."
In her mind, she held onto visions of him and his son.
Nemo was such a sweet boy to her. It was an absolute shame that anything had ever happened to him before.
"Bye Dory! Bye dad! See ya after school!"
Though she had been expecting a different reaction from him, Nemo had been incredibly excited at the prospect of simply having her presence there in their home. In short, Nemo was enamored with Dory, and her with him. He was such a bright boy, always smiling around her, bringing along with him just a bit of sunshine to lighten her days.
Him and his father were what made her happy each morning.
Dory's mind went back onto the image of Marlin's kind face. Sure, he hadn't always been that way to her, especially in the beginning, but she had always seen the potential in it being in there, and though he had tried to sound so tough and coarse with her... in actuality, he had really been just a big softie. Him, and that cute little orange and white collard shirt he constantly insisted on wearing.
Weeks, she had already been staying in his apartment. Three wonderful, fun, and happy weeks; the happiest three weeks that she had ever had in her life, at least, she thought so, anyway. For some reason, she couldn't seem to remember her life before them, although, after meeting Marlin and Nemo, all of her previous years had seemed to absolutely disappear from her mind.
That thought brought a smile to her face.
Still, she couldn't really remember her family.
But... to tell the truth, Dory didn't really need a family.
She had a new family now.
At least... that is, until they became tired of her and her quirks. Her talkativeness, her loudness, her easily excitable-ness, and her forgetfulness...
Surely they would tire of her.
Right?
No... but... hadn't Marlin offered her to stay?
Oh, Dory just didn't know what to do!
How was she to ever tell him of her fears? Of the dreams that she was having each night.
Letting in a low breath, the girl rested a hand over her heart, trying her hardest to get in a few, good calming breaths before the clock struck four and her two boys came strolling in, smiling, as they walked through the apartment's front door.
Come on, Dory. Breath in... Breath out...
You'll be fine. Absolutely fine.
The sound of a door unlatching pulled her from her thoughts.
"We're home, Dory!" cried Nemo. She listened, her lips quirking upward at the sound of him excitedly throwing his bags down onto the floor so he could find her and eagerly rush into her arms.
A small bit of wall obstructed their view of her.
Marlin felt himself smile at his son's antics. Reaching down to slip off his shoes, the man glanced up, idly calling out to her.
"Dory?" Spoken in the strangled, familiar voice of Marlin, the sound of her name falling from his lips never seemed to not make her heart race. Feeling the heat of a blush creeping up her neck, she managed to let out a small chuckle, as a bright smile slipped onto her face.
"Hey guys!" She giddily waved over to them, grinning brightly as they came around the corner.
Immediately, Nemo came running up, stopping by her side to throw his arms around her waist in a tight hug. He was bouncing upon the balls of his feet as he beamed happily up at her.
"Dory, you'll never guess what I learned from Sandy Plankton today!"
She just as eagerly returned the embrace. "Can't wait, Cheko!"
From behind him, Marlin walked in, laughing. "That Sandy Plankton. Even after all that I've been through, Nemo still believes that that guy knows more than I do."
"Well, duh. Dory- he's a scientist, dad."
At this, Marlin glanced down to send Nemo a queer look. "Um, Nemo. I have no idea what he's been telling you, but... real scientists don't get their PhD's on the internet."
Nemo rolled his eyes, clearly unrelenting with the admiration he held for his friend. "Yeah right. Whatever, dad." He let go of Dory, running off to turn on the living room's TV.
As Dory watched him go, she saw Marlin shake his head in the corner of her eye. Reaching a hand up to his orange-red hair, he let out a small, happy chuckle in his son's direction.
"Oh, Dory. What am I to do with him?"
"Oh, I really don't know..." Dory practically bounced towards him. She stopped in front of him, her usually dorky smile showing proudly across her freckled face. "A trip to Disney World, perhaps?"
Marlin sent her a look which read 'don't push your luck'. It surprised her, and caused Dory to fumble over her words.
"B-But I do think that you're doing a good job with him."
This threw him for a loop. Pausing beside Dory, he looked questioningly towards her. "R-Really? You think so?" He sounded so unsure of his self as he stood there; like he thought he was doing a terrible job at being Nemo's father. He was a wonderful father!
And Dory hated seeing him like that.
Ever the chipper of the two, she cried, "Of course I do. H-How could I not?"
"Oh..."
Marlin didn't know what to say...
He stood there, unsure of what to do next.
After a long moment of silence, he finally nodded towards her, a tiny glint of tears beginning to shine in his eyes. "Um. Well, thank you for that Dory. For saying that."
"No."
She caught him off guard, quickly throwing her arms around his waist.
"What the-?" The brows on his forehead rose up to his hairline.
"Thank you."
Hey, guys! Please leave a comment if you liked it, and leave a prompt if you'd like me to write anything.
Anything. Seriously guys, give me a prompt and I'll do it!~
Baiiii!
~LoveBug53
