Pep Talk

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Author's Note: Another Peppunil. Of course!

Partly working off of the episode "Penny For Your Laughs!"

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Sunil pinched his nose and waved at the greenish, smelly fog polluting the air. Something was definitely bothering the resident skunk of the shop, and he knew exactly what it was; Pepper hadn't intended to, but she had greatly hurt Penny Ling, the oversensitive panda. No matter what she attempted to make it up to her friend, Penny Ling wasn't consoled and continued to cry.

Now the little comedian sat in self-imposed isolation in a corner. If only the stench would stay there too!

"Oh man, it reeks," Vinnie coughed, bulbous eyes watering from the pungent fumes.

"Agreed. Pepper's definitely feeling bad about this whole mess," Russell replied in a muffled voice, having had curled up in a tight ball in an attempt block out the smell. "Perhaps someone should talk to her?"

Minka, being one of the more creative members of the group, had come up with the idea of fetching a large fan and letting turning it up to full strength in an attempt to blow away Pepper's scent. Her friends looked relieved as the air around them became a little more tolerable. Even Russell uncurled to give the monkey a thankful smile.

"Very good idea, Minka," praised the hedgehog. Minka returned his smile with a cheerful one of her own. "So, who wants to go talk to her?"

"Ugh, not me," Vinnie said, shaking his head stubbornly.

Russell shot him a look. "Vinnie! Don't be so insensitive. She's our friend too."

"What? I didn't mean it like that! It's not that I don't wanna help her out," replied Vinnie defensively, folding his arms. "It's just that she stinks to high heaven right now!"

Zoe rolled her eyes at the small gecko and looked at Sunil meaningfully. Her keen sense of potential romance had detected... something, from him that had to do with her friend, Pepper. Now was the perfect chance to push – er – help move them in the right direction! With a mischievous smile, she elbowed her blue friend in the ribs. He jumped and yelped, looking at her suspiciously.

"Sunil, why don't you go on over and have a chat with her? Surely you can give her some words of wisdom?" Zoe said encouragingly, tilting her head in Pepper's direction.

Sunil bit his lip as he looked at the sad form of his skunk friend. "Oh! Well, I'd love to, but – um, well, I'm not so sure I'd be of any help..." he stammered.

Why was Zoe insisting he go over there and talk to Pepper? Why him, out of everyone else? It couldn't be for any particular reason... could it?

Zoe tutted and gave him a small push. "Don't be so shy. Go on, go on!"

"Oof! O-Okay, okay, I'm going!" Sunil protested, glaring at the pushy dog. The others looked on and nodded their encouragement. There no backing out now. "Ahem. Y-Yes... I will talk to her..." he said with wavering confidence, slowly making his way over to the smelliest section of the play area. "Oh boy..."

Inhaling, the mongoose told himself that there was nothing to be nervous about. What she needed was a friend right now, and he was obligated to be there for her. No matter how nervous he was.

"Pepper? Can we talk?"

The skunk lifted her head slightly, sad rose-colored eyes turning to him. "Who? Me?"

"There's only one Pepper here," Sunil chuckled. He gagged slightly as a fresh wave of green smoke assailed his senses, but he managed to not let on to the saddened girl before him. Eyes watering, he sat down next to her and put a kind paw on the small of her back. "Still feeling bad about Penny Ling, I assume?"

"Yeah," Pepper sighed, looking remorsefully at the equally depressed panda. "You gotta believe me; I didn't mean to hurt anyone's feelings. I just wanted to be funny, for once..."

Sunil smiled. "I know hurting anyone wasn't your attention, Pepper. And you're always funny -"

"Sunil, be real with me. No one laughed at my pudding gags. Not even a giggle."

Sunil swallowed, going red in the face. He was hoping she'd forget about that, even if it just happened that day.

"I know, but that was only because it was overused! That doesn't mean you're not funny!" he insisted.

Pepper shook her head, resting her head on her forearms again. "You're just being nice. Whether it was funny or not, I might end up losing one of my best friends forever because I went too far just to get a laugh."

The mongoose gently took her chin between his fingers, meeting her gaze. Pepper's eyes widened at the rather bold move, but she made no attempt to stop him.

"All you have to do is make her realize that you're still her friend with good intentions at heart. I'll even help you," said Sunil, giving her a thumbs up. "I know you can do it."

"You really think so?" Pepper smiled.

"I know so."

Spirits greatly lifted, the girl happily shot to her feet and pulled the mongoose in for a big, warm hug. The persistent foul odor was replaced with the light perfume of roses. Sunil froze as her arms encircled him and pulled him close; his banded tail straightened in surprise, his gold eyes widened and a warm, red tint painted his face.

"Thanks Sunil! You're the best." Pepper grinned, letting him go as quickly as she had initiated the hug. "Make sure to tell Russell and Vinnie they're going to be in on it too!" And with that, she zipped over to her large box of comedy items. Sunil stood in a daze, swaying slightly as he watched her dig through the mountain of props.

She hugged me... she just hugged me... she really, seriously just hugged me...

This mental mantra was only interrupted by the light tap on his shoulder by Russell. The short hedgehog was smiling knowingly.

"So, I assume everything went well?"

"Huh? Oh – yes! Very well!" replied Sunil, smiling nervously. He composed himself quickly and gave both of his friends a pointed look. "And since you all are so worried about her, you're going to help me with whatever she wants us to do."

Vinnie gulped. "Does it involve juggling?"

"Probably," Sunil smirked.

Russell and Vinnie cringed. "Aw man..."

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Author's Note: Thanks for reading! You all know I can't stay away from my OTP for long.

I am taking suggestions; doesn't mean I will write/draw it, but I'm open to your ideas.