AN: On to #3! I wanted to put this up yesterday, but kept signing me out every time I tried to click 'publish'. -_- Thanks to numbah435spiritsong (I hope so, too XP), Princess Scissors (ain't he, though?) and Numbah1999 (Hopefully it doesn't taste like my school...*shudder*) for their scrumptious reviews!
Disclaimer: Let's not get into specifics here. It makes me cry a little. KND ©Patrick Warburton and Cartoon Network.
29 Tries
Attempt #3 – The Sweater
Did she ever wash that sweater?
It was the same one, every day; the same soft green garment set upon her shoulders that sagged to her knees and hid her hands in voluminous sleeves. Wally used to wonder if maybe she had a dozen of the same sweaters, lined up on hangers in her closet like a wooly green army, black tights underneath and hanging like spider legs.
He asked her about it once; when he first noticed that there was a loose thread in the left elbow each and every day. She looked him straight in the eyes with that wide, dreamy smile and said, "I like green!" Okay. She liked green. Her sweater was green. She liked her sweater.
That should have been the end of it.
But...
"You're just a stinky Mister-Grumpy-Pants who doesn't know how to care or share!"
"Girly-girl!"
"Stinky!"
"No, you stink! Your sweater stinks!"
"It does not!"
"Yeah, it does! Pee-yew! What, do you dry your dog with that thing? Yuck!"
Numbuh Three burst into tears at the climax of yet another fight, running off with one of her Rainbow Monkeys pursuing in the grip of a trailing sleeve.
A smack in the head from a red hat, a bad joke about arguing like married couples, and a grumpy 'harrumph' from Numbuh Four as he resided himself to the couch for the evening; that was normal, and things should have progressed as such.
But...
Pink and white stripes. Numbuh Four couldn't quite wrap his head around it. Cruddy pink and white stripes. Numbuh Three skipped past him, chirruping a jolly 'good morning' just like normal. As if she wasn't wearing a cruddy pink and white striped sweater and the sleeves didn't cuff at her wrists.
Wally stared openly, but he didn't ask.
The next day it was deep purple with a Rainbow Monkey.
The next it was bright yellow.
The next day she wore a pale blue one with the word 'Angel' printed on the front in glitter. The word twinkled merrily and it made him sick.
"Numbuh Four, what do you want to watch?"
"I don't care."
Her smile slipped for a moment as she shot him a strange look, but it quickly brightened as she lifted the remote in triumph. "Ooh, look! 'Rainbow Monkeys the Movie: Friends Are Forever' is on!"
"Whatever."
Another look from the corner of her eye. She clicked the remote and allowed the trilling tones of her favorite cartoon fill the silence and muffle the foul mood of her friend. When she tossed the remote back on to the cushions, the sleeves of her blue sweater swayed, the cuff slipping lower down her wrist.
Wally watched with sudden heightened interest, watching the fitted cuffs slide over her white skin. Then she caught it. She actually grabbed her sleeve and pushed it back up her arm to free her hands, and Numbuh Four was plagued with a sudden urge to yank it back down. It wasn't right, seeing her hands. They looked way too small.
"Why are you glaring at me?"
Wally blinked. Her hands had made it to her hips, and he followed the line of unnatural blue fabric up to her lips, pressed in a line, and her eyes, narrowed in suspicion.
"I'm not."
She set her jaw. "Well what are you glaring at then, my sweater?"
"Yeah. It's stupid," he replied without much thought.
People were often amazed at how quickly Kuki Sanban's temper could be sparked, and the devastation that the little Oriental hurricane could commit upon a person and their psychological well-being. Wally was one who was particularly gifted in poking the proverbial bear, but like a true fool, he never really learned why he came out with bite marks.
"Ow, ow, OW!"
She pelted him with everything in her reach, soda cans, couch cushions, the remote, her own shoes, berating him with angry words with every toss of her tiny hands.
"I-can't-believe-you-Wally-Beetles! You jerk! You dummy! You stupid-head! You meanie! You bully! You-you...aagh!" When she ran out of projectiles, she settled on her fists, smacking him about the head and shoulders while he held up his arms to protect himself and shrieked weak protests.
"How-dare-you! You hate my sweaters, you hate me, well, I hate you!"
She sat back, energy spent, her face flushed with anger and chest heaving.
Wally stayed in a defensive position on the floor, eyes wide with shock. What is with this cruddy girl?
Then Kuki sniffed, her clenched fists trembling as tears oozed from her eyes and dripped down her cheeks. Therein lay some degree of normalcy; they fought, and Kuki would cry. The 'waah', stomp, and run-away tears were something temporary, something she would forget about and smile at him the next time they met. Then there were the shaking, nose-running sobs that made him feel guilty because something was really wrong and he better fix it now. These tears were that kind.
Lowering his hands, Wally stood cautiously, a trickle of panic in his expression. "Ku-Kuki, stop it...Stop crying, okay? U-um...I..." he looked around at the scattered array of living room material. "You can hit me more, i-if you want, so..."
"I -hic- don't -hic- want to hit youuu-hoo-hoo!" she wailed, breath hitching between words as her fists relented to scrub at her leaking eyes. She collapsed back on the couch and buried her face in her arms to cry in earnest, sobs shaking her tiny frame. The only thing Wally could do was sit back down and wait, awkwardly snatching his hand back every time he nearly got the nerve to pat her comfortingly on the head.
Eventually the tears subsided and Kuki sat up, wiping her nose on her perfect-length sleeves and leaving long trails of snot on the pale blue canvas.
"You done?"
She nodded, sniffling, and they lapsed into silence once more.
"Oh, Cake 'n Bake Time Rainbow Monkey, I never wanted you to change! I wuv you just the way you are!"
"Really, Sweet Valentine Friend Rainbow Monkey? You do?"
"Of course! You're so huggable and snuggable and caring-sharing! We'll be friends forever!"
"Thank you, Sweet Valentine Friend Rainbow Monkey! I promise to always be true to myself, from now on!"
"Rainbow Monkeys, Rainbow Monkeys, oh-so-very round, and super-chunky! Spreading love wherever they go, everyone is made of a big rainb-"
Surprisingly, it was Kuki who switched the TV off. Wally turned to look at her in her awful not-Kuki sweater, her red, puffy eyes focused on him.
"Wally, do you hate me?"
His eyes bulged out. "No!" he practically shouted, no hesitation whatsoever. Is that what this is about?
She gave a watery smile and wiped at her eyes a little more, and he noticed she'd slipped her hands ever so slightly into the sleeves. Better. She just wasn't Numbuh Three without that silly green sweater with its too-long sleeves and loose thread in the left elbow. That was exactly why he couldn't hate her. That was why...
Wally cleared his throat nervously, feeling his face heat up. "I actually..." Her eyes were on him again, and he concentrated on his hands that rested in his lap. It was a good moment; it was almost perfect.
"I actually...like...I really like..." He made the mistake of looking up, seeing her eyes glittering at him like dark water, lashes wet from the tears that stroked her pretty face and stained her awful blue 'Angel' sweater. She shouldn't wear blue, Wally decided. Or yellow or purple and definitely not pink and white stripes.
"...your green sweater."
Her eyes filled up again and she smiled in a way that made him remember why he liked her in the first place, and as she threw her arms around him with a squeal and a cry of 'Really, Wally? You do?', he thought it wasn't such a bad thing, having her hands out of the sleeves. They were really soft.
AN: I have a creative writing portfolio due at the end of this week, so don't expect any more updates before then. I'm already running out of ideas...So send me some! With a single click of that snazzy little button down below, you, too, can use the power of words! Review me and show me your stuff! (Let's pretend that didn't sound awkward and just move on.) Thanks for reading!
Tickle that Toast!