A/N: So far, I've been writing consistently but I'm not sure if this is any good tbh. BUT, I'm still gonna write anyway cos I love this pairing and I feel like it deserves more love too.
Chapter 2: Operation I.D.E.A
"You woke me up for this?" Wally grumbled as he rubbed his eyes, his hair sticking up wildly in different places. Abby stared at him blankly. "I could 'ave been sleeping i-"
"Stop your complainin' and get over here!" She was doing this to make him smile and to stop him from moping around but it was proving to be a difficult task.
Wally set his lips into a thin, angry line as he walked up to the dark-skinned girl who wasn't even paying attention. They were only in their pyjamas and she didn't even give him the chance to change! Abby was leaning against the wall, peeking out at something - or someone, but he couldn't be bothered enough to be curious.
It clearly wasn't like he had a choice because before he could comprehend anything, Abby grabbed his arm and yanked him towards where she was. He shot a sharp glare in her direction but she ignored it.
"Look, Numbuh 5 knows just the thing to fix things between you and Numbuh 3."
His eyes widened and he snapped his head left to look at Abby. She looked hesitant but there was an encouraging smile playing on her lips. There was only so much they could do; she wanted this to work so Wally would be the same again and he hoped the same. He wanted things to be back to normal...he wanted to be able to pair up with Numbuh 3 on certain missions and to be able to talk to her as usual.
He shook his head furiously as Abby whispered the plan into his ear. A disbelieving scoff left his lips and she crossed her arms, watching him with a frown.
"I'm tellin' ya, this ain't gonna work," Wally grumbled, shoving his hands furiously into his pyjama pockets. Abby rolled her eyes before slapping the back of his head with her red cap causing his head to drop forward. He swung around, rubbing the back of his head as he glared at the girl responsible.
"What the heck was that for?!" his heavy Australian accent seeping through even more due to his anger.
"You know what it was for, Einstein," she said, sarcastically. Wally scowled at her but his anger went unnoticed as she wasn't even looking at him. He was getting irritated as every time he tried to show her that he was angry, she never paid attention.
It reminded him of the many times he'd be interrupted whenever he would try and tell Kuki how he felt. Just thinking about her again, caused the odd pain in his chest to start up again.
Wally shook his head to get rid of the icky thoughts and his eyes trailed Abby's line of sight instead. It didn't make things better because she was focused on Kuki. With an irritated release of a breath, he mumbled, "Do I have ta do this?" He turned to look at Abby. "C-can't I do this later or somethin'? Heh...heh," he let out a nervous laugh as Numbuh 5 shot him an unamused look.
"It's now or never, baby," Abby stated, determination burning within her eyes. Wally was almost afraid at the look in her eyes and his face scrunched up in disgust at how excited she was about this. He just wanted to run away at the very least. He turned back around and his emerald eyes trailed over to the oriental beauty who was humming a cheerful tone to herself as she slathered some maple syrup on her pancakes.
Wally sighed. He didn't want to spend the rest of his life avoiding her - even though that was the original plan.
With a deep breath, he puffed out his chest and pulled up the sleeves of his pyjamas. "Alroight, I'm gonna get this lousy confession over and done with."
Before he walked off, Abby pulled him back by tugging the back of his clothes. "You gotta mean it, Numbuh 4! Do you want her to be with you or not, boy?" she scolded, glaring at a certain golden-haired fighter. Wally looked at her; a part of him knew she was right - he didn't want to risk losing her. This was his only chance, but another part of him wasn't ready to confess again.
Would she say she didn't like him back? What if she actually fancies Numbuh 1?!
Wally clenched his jaw; he wasn't gonna let some cruddy fear stop him! He nodded once in thanks to Abigail and then turned, stalking towards Kuki. As he stood next to her, she spun around, her dark eyes bright and sparkling as always and his breath caught in his throat. He cursed himself for freezing like a statue as Kuki blinked at him.
"Hi, Wally!" she said joyfully in that childish voice of hers. He cleared his throat.
"Uh, hey Kooks...I, uh, I-I wanted to...I, uh, wanted to tell ya somethin'." He rubbed the back of his neck as he felt his cheeks flush. Kuki tilted her head and peered into his eyes, hers filled with anticipation.
"You do?" She gasped loudly and exaggeratedly, "Have you finally started to like Rainbow Monkeys?!"
"Wha-no!" he exclaimed in horror. Just the thought of it made him wanna vomit and he resisted the urge to facepalm. He couldn't believe the lousy Rainbow Monkey junk made its way into their conversation. He shuddered before spitting out distastefully, "It's nothin' to do with those cruddy bears!"
She giggled, a smile still on her face. "You're just saying that! You'll start to love it like I do, soon. Just you watch!"
Wally clenched his jaw. He wanted to tell her before he chickened out but Kuki's random conversations - that he secretly loved - was standing in the way of that.
"Kuki!" he said, suddenly cutting her off. She stopped rambling and looked at him innocently. As soon as her eyes were on him, he froze, yet again. Coward, he spat to himself. He wanted to prove to himself, and to Abby, that he could go through something if he set his mind to it. Plus, he wanted to get this confession off his chest now.
"Say, um, I-I've, uh, got somethin' else to tell ya," he stuttered, reaching up to rub his neck sheepishly as he felt his whole face flush once again. His heart pounded against his ribcage and he swallowed, trying to get rid of the awful feeling. Kuki now looked confused, her mouth wide open.
"Okaaaaay?" she dragged before excitedly saying, "just tell me, Wally! Tell me, tell me!"
"I'm tryin' for crud's sake, just shut up for a second!" he yelled, frustrated, mostly with himself. The anger that burst out of him was both at the fact that he couldn't confess and because she wasn't giving him time to think and say the lousy words. As soon as he looked up, he caught sight of Kuki's crestfallen and crushed face. His expression immediately changed from irritated and annoyed to a guilt-stricken one as he watched tears well up in her eyes.
He wanted to confess but here he was, making the girl he liked, cry. He fumbled with his hands as he awkwardly stood next to her, and then just like that, her head fell back and loud, echoing sobs erupted out of her mouth.
"N-no, don't cry Num-Kuki! I know I'm a jerk, alroight? I'm sorry, I didn't mean it!" he said with a panic, trying to make his voice as soft as possible. He couldn't stand seeing her cry. Wally knew that from behind him, Abby would be shaking her head in disappointment but he really didn't want to think about her or anything at this point.
Kuki sniffled and lifted her head up, wiping her eyes. Her big, doe eyes looked straight into Wally's remorseful ones. "Do you mean it?"
Wally had never nodded his head so fast in his life, his eyes wide with hope. "I do, I do!"
A few seconds passed before a small smile grew on her face. "Okay," she said, giggling a little at his desperate face.
Wally let out a sigh, looking as though the weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He then turned his head to spot Abby who was watching them, her face serious. He turned his head a little to ask for help as his hands were sweating like no tomorrow and his heart was ready to jump outta his chest.
He nearly screwed everything up, and he didn't want to do that again.
Abby, even from where she was standing, could see that the boy was having trouble confessing. He was the best in combat and sport, but when it came to girls...well...Kuki to be specific, he was as lost and confused as a puppy.
She tried to encourage him to continue by waving her hand frantically in a 'go-ahead!' motion. Wally turned his head back around and came face to face with Kuki again.
"I-I..uh, ahem," he cleared his throat awkwardly and sent her a crooked, bashful smile, "I l-"
"Numbuh 3, I need to have a quick chat with you." Nigel walked into the kitchen but froze as Wally snapped his head to stare wide-eyed at a certain bald boy. Nigel ignored the blonde boy and turned to Kuki, instead, fueling his anger.
Nigel pinched the bridge of his nose as Kuki's face changed into a confused one. "You forgot, didn't you?"
Her face suddenly lit up, her eyes widening. "Oh yeah, that! Of course, I haven't forgotten about it, silly! What am I, an airhead or something?" she scoffed incredulously with a giggle. Before running off to Nigel, she spared a glance at the fury-filled Australian boy, "Bye Wally, tell me the thing you wanted to tell me later!"
The whole conversation caused Wally to narrow his eyes. Teach her what? Wally scoffed, and turned around, storming off in the direction of Abby.
"Told ya this wasn't gonna work," he mumbled, a deep frown on his face as he walked past Abby whose eyes expressed worry. She sighed as her eyes were trained on Wally's back as he strode in the direction of his room. Her head then turned and she looked in the direction Kuki and Nigel went. Surely there was nothing going on.
Slowly she pushed herself away from the wall and walked over to Wally's door that was shut. "Numbuh 4, open up," she said, this time more softly.
There was no response from the other side and she figured he was moping. "I'm comin' in!"
Wally's head shot up as soon as Abby walked in through the door - without permission yet again - and glared at her. His frown hadn't left his face and seeing her caused his shoulders to hunch. Her stupid plan didn't cruddy work, so the last thing he wanted was her suggesting other ways.
"You do know that Numbuh 1 and Numbuh 3 aren't flirtin' right?"
He scoffed. "You saw what happened back there, didn't ya?"
Abby rolled her eyes. He was so dramatic sometimes. "That ain't flirtin'. He was probably just gettin' her to do somethin' for a mission, you know?"
Wally looked at her as if she was out of her mind, knowing she most likely wouldn't see the frustration in his eyes considering his vision was covered by his blonde locks. "Numbuh 1 asked Numbuh 3 to help him with somethin' for a mission?" he said incredulously. "Uh, do ya not see somethin' wrong with that?! He asked Kuki of all people!" he exclaimed.
Abby crossed her arms this time. She really didn't want to think about Nigel or Kuki together - it seemed unlike them. Besides, their interaction didn't look suspicious to her at all. Wally wasn't the smartest...or the brightest when it came to much, clearly.
"Numbuh 4, trust me, there ain't nothin' goin' between them! Come on, we'll try to fi-" she was cut off by the humourless laugh that left Wally's lips. He shook his head, a spiteful grin on his face.
"Nah, don't bother," he said. "Just leave 'em to do whatever they wanna."
Before she could say anything, Wally laid back down on his bed and settled comfortably. He turned away from her though, not allowing her to see just how heartbroken he was. He did, in fact, want the plan to work - but it had failed so who was to say that the next plan would work?
"Now let me sleep, alroight?" he mumbled, grumpier than ever. Abby obeyed his wishes just this once; she felt bad for dragging him into a plan that backfired. She wanted him to be happy though, hence why she didn't want to give up.
-.-.-.-.-.-
Wally and Kuki were talking.
Kind of.
It was awkward, to say the least. They talked during missions but because they had to - that was their job. Wally sat on the couch, his feet up on the other half as he watched TV. But his attention wasn't on the screen but on a specific girl. Usually, he didn't stare at her like this, but not speaking to her at all was getting a little annoying. Kuki was playing with one of her lousy Rainbow Monkey - he scowled at the dumb teddy bear but decided to ignore it and focus solely on Kuki instead - and smiling to herself.
Her smile made him want to grin himself; though he would never admit it, he found her kinda cute. Before a grin could form, he shook his head and turned back around to the TV. He told himself to not let his emotions get the better of him and to ignore everything.
Yeah, he and her talked - but only when needed. Wally knew ignoring her and hurting her in the process wasn't the best plan, but he needed time. Jumping to conclusions wasn't the smartest, but then again, he wasn't the smartest cookie anyway.
Now grumpy about everything, he puffed up his cheeks before blowing out a heavy sigh, his hand resting on his cheek now. Just when he was getting bored, Kuki bounded over and picked the remote from his hands casually, changing it to the ugly and annoying Rainbow Monkey show. His mouth dropped open and he stared at her incredulously.
"Hey! I was watchin' that," he yelled, defensively. Kuki smiled and poked her tongue out at him.
"Well, not anymore! I'm watching TV now, silly billy."
"Cos you stole the cruddy remote from me!" Wally leant over quickly and snatched the remote back, causing her to gasp.
"Give that back, Wally!" she exclaimed, leaping onto him and clutching the remote. He held it tightly in his hands, gritting his teeth together so he wouldn't lose it and end up having to watch the singing, candy-coloured creeps!
"No! There is no cruddy way I'm gonna sit 'ere and watch those furry-faced weirdos singin' and dancin'!"
"They're not weirdos, Wally!" Kuki whined, finally grabbing hold of the remote. She moved to the other side of the couch and Wally scowled. He tried to yank it out of her hand but the pouty face she was making didn't do anything to help. So, he sighed in frustration and leaned back, sinking into his seat, frowning deeply.
"Fine, watch whateva you want," he mumbled under his breath as he crossed his arms. Kuki wasn't paying attention anymore as she giggled and jumped into place next to him, swaying to the theme song of the Rainbow Monkey show.
Stupid Rainbow-Stupid-Monkey's, he thought grumpily.
After a few minutes of being scarred, Kuki turned in her seat. "Wally?" she began, softly. He was staring at the TV blankly as if he was being forced to watch a documentary. "Wally!"
Kuki's voice startled him and he jumped. "Huh-what?!" he yelled, suddenly alert in case they were being attacked.
"I just wanted to ask you something..."
Wally's eyebrows furrowed, now curious. "What is it, Kuki?"
She twiddled her thumbs, a small frown on her delicate face. "Just...why have you been ignoring me lately, Wally? Did I do something wrong?" she looked up, her eyes wide with sorrow.
The look made him shudder in guilt. He hadn't meant to make her sad like this. He just didn't want to get hurt, seeing her and Nigel together.
"What? No, Kuki, you didn't done anythin'. It's just-" He cut himself off, looking away and playing with his hands, unsure of how to explain to her.
"Just what?" she interrupted, her eyebrows furrowing. When he said nothing in response, Kuki frowned at him. "You're such a...a...a big meanie- head, you know that?! You never tell me anything and now you're ignoring me without telling me what I did wrong."
"Cos there's nothin' to tell!"
"I just want you to go back to the old Wally!
"I haven't changed, Kuki! I have no idea what you're talkin' 'bout," he said, breathing out in irritation, getting angrier and angrier by the minute.
"This is why I like Numbuh 1 better than you!" she yelled. It was as if time stood still when those words came out of her mouth. It immediately crushed him. It was like his heart had been stomped on over and over.
Before Wally could say anything back, Kuki ran off and he watched her with his mouth agape. Things had escalated so fast that he couldn't really register what just happened.
All he knew was that he and Kuki had a fight and now, she hated him.
Just cruddy great, he thought bitterly and with that, he threw his head back, groaning in frustration.
