Toy Fic

I just had the delight that is watching Hawaiian Vacation as the preceding short to Cars 2. I enjoyed it, especially since it reminded me of what my number-one fanfic priority really is!

29. Bonnie's House

The car pulled up.

"Um, guys?" Hannah said. "If it's all fine with you, I'd like to stay right here in the car."

"…Okay," Yvonne said hesitantly. "Let's go."

Andy and Yvonne walked up to the house and knocked on the door.

"IT'S ANDY!" came a little girl's voice from within, followed by pounding feet.

Yvonne laughed. "Wow," she said.

"Yeah," Andy said with a smile. "She's cute…"

The door flung open to reveal Bonnie in her tutu, smiling broadly. "AND-EEEEEEEEE!" she said happily, tugging on his hand. "Come see everybody!"

"How are they all doing?" Andy asked.

"Everybody is still okay!" Bonnie assured him. "Come on, I want to show you!" Losing her patience, she let go of Andy's hand and took off to her room.

"'Everybody' being all your toys?" Yvonne guessed.

"Yeah, that's right," Andy said. He chuckled. "Ah, yeah. I guess we're free to come in. Hey, Mrs. Anderson."

The spectacled woman smiled up at him from one of her potted plants. "Hello, Andy," she said. "Bonnie's been asking about you for months, I'm glad you thought of us."

"Well, I had to come over," Andy said. "This is my friend Yvonne."

"Hello," Bonnie's mom replied.

Andy and Yvonne followed Bonnie's continued cries of "Come on, come on, come on!" to her room, where all of the toys were gathered around on the floor in welcome.

"I've got some new ones!" Bonnie said. "Look, I have a Hopticopter, and a Giant Microbe, and lots of princesses…"

Bonnie jabbered on, and Andy listened intently. "Yvonne, look at this," he said. He pulled Woody, Jessie, and Bullseye out of the crowd. "You ever hear of Woody's Roundup?"

Yvonne shook her head silently.

"It was a very popular show in the early 50's," said Andy. "And this is the official merchandise. I've had Woody my whole life—" He waved Woody at her. "And Jessie and Bullseye here… I obtained them some time ago, my mom and I don't even remember where. But it didn't take long to figure out that they're all connected, that here I have three of the four official dolls of Woody's Roundup."

"So, what happened to the fourth?" Yvonne asked.

"Hmm… I don't know. I've never seen one."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

somewhere in Pasadena

A large cardboard box was slammed onto the ground, and the men who had purchased it from the yard sale was heard clomping off.

When the Barbie with the painted face emerged from the box, it was without a smile. The years had made her bitter and cynical.

She scanned the apartment where she had been placed, and the various superhero figurines in the room, startled at the presence of an actual girls' doll in the apartment, shrieked and hid behind the large collections of comic books.

"Oh, it's one of these places," the Barbie muttered. She turned to her longtime companion, his face and beard blackened with eyeshadow, his clothes stained in lipstick and blush.

"Did you hear what the guy said?" she said. "Your name is Stinky Pete. I never knew that, did you?"

He didn't answer, not that she had expected him to. For many years now, he had only ever spoken a single phrase.

The Barbie put her hand on his shoulder, shaking him gently. "Well, no point trying to find a new life here," she said. "I guess we're taking to the streets again." She hopped out of the box and onto the floor. "Come on, buddy."

The prospector shakily got to his feet and followed her, his expression not at all changing from the one he wore in his toy state.

"We're gonna be okay," the Barbie said.

"I feel pretty," the prospector said dully.

She smiled. He was still okay. "You're very pretty," she assured him.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"Anyway," Andy continued. "These dolls—even the incomplete set, even in their played-with state—they're exceptionally valuable. I found out when I was about thirteen. Any one of these three guys would fetch me thousands if I was going to sell them."

Yvonne was surprised. "So, why didn't you?" she asked.

Andy looked down at Woody. "Well, he's my favorite," he said.

Yvonne watched Andy look down at the cowboy for several moments.

"I can't sell my toys," Andy finally said. "They're not supposed to be collected. It just shouldn't be done. They're supposed to be played with."

"Wow," Yvonne whispered.

"Don't tell Bonnie any of this, okay?" Andy whispered. "I don't know yet if I can really trust her… but I'm leaning towards it."

"She… she knows that toys are for playing," Yvonne said.

"Yeah," Andy said. He hopped Woody onto Bullseye's back and rode him around a little.

"You really believe this, don't you?" Yvonne observed.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Later, Andy and Yvonne went out into the night air to check out Mrs. Anderson's garden.

"Think she's okay?" Yvonne muttered, waving to Hannah in the car, who waved back.

"I don't know," Andy said. "I think she had a… discussion… with her mother before we left. Or something like that."

They looked down at the flowers. Bonnie was inside the house, helping her mother make a dessert.

"I didn't think I could do it," Yvonne said. "Play with toys, I mean. But I did it."

"Yes, you did," Andy said. "You know, I've never told anyone else what I said about Woody. I just couldn't bear to listen to anybody… trying to convince me to sell them. But I… I felt like you should know the way I live my life."

"You take it seriously," Yvonne said.

"…What?" Andy said, laughing. "I thought we've spent the whole night playing."

"Well, sure," Yvonne said. "But that's… that's a part of life, an important part." She looked at him. "It's something I've been missing."

Yvonne drew a taloned hand to the back of Andy's neck, tugging him towards her. Her black-painted lips met his. Delighted, he drew his hands to her hips, pulling himself as close to her as he could get.

This didn't go unnoticed in Bonnie's empty room. A number of toys crept up to the windowsill to get a good look.

"Whoa, look at Andy go!" Mr. Potato Head said. "The beanpole finally got a girl interested in him."

"Aw, all the girls love Andy," Jessie said, leaning on Buzz. "But… wow, who taught him to do that?"

"He's taken some steps in a relationship," Woody said. "It's not generally something he'd do in front of his toys, that's all."

He hopped off the windowsill and walked deeper into the room, gathering up Cleo under his arm. "Good for Andy," he said fondly. He had always entertained the fantasy that when Bonnie grew too old for them, she would pass them to Andy's child… but it was a mere dream, not worth dwelling on when there was a life to be lived right now.

"Good for Andy," he said again, brushing his face against Cleo's hair.

"I love Andy," Jessie said. "I mean… I know you're supposed to, when it's your kid. But it's more than that. I loved him because of who he really is."

"He's a good kid," Woody agreed. "It was fun to play with him again… yeah, I think in my heart I'll always be Bonnie's toy and Andy's, no matter what else happens in the future."