Made for Each Other
Co-written with: A'Phrionnsa Fala

With that, Wilt led Eduardo inside. There he promptly fetched the big guy some towels, helped him dry off and introduced him to Frankie, who was doing dishes in the kitchen. After formal "hello"s and "is that so"s are exchanged, Frankie comments, "Right, well, I'd give you the tour, but I'm covered in suds."

Thus, Wilt takes over and starts down the main corridor with Eduardo. "So, this is the first floor. Basically anything food-related and laundry-related happens here. Dinner's at 7.00, breakfast is 7.00 till 9.00, and lunch is at noon." speaking of food, he stops suddenly at the door of the pantry "Hey, how long has it been since you last ate, anyway?"

Eduardo's stomach answered for him. It growled so loudly; it caused a few friends to stop what they were doing and glances around - wondering if a lion had arrived. He blushed a bit, putting his hands to his stomach and laughed nervously. "Uh... not for long while..." how embarrassing. Wilt nodded.

"Hmm, well do you want a sit down and a bite to eat before we see the rest of the house? I can ask Frankie to make you a nice, hot cup of tea."

"Sí sí! Por favor!" Eduardo almost gushed; the only food he had eaten was from the garbage. And that was mostly bad for him, so combine an empty stomach with a thunderstorm made for some bad moments. "Por favor!"

Tempted as he was to give Eduardo a sympathetic pat on the back, Wilt didn't. He knew how degrading pity could be. Rather, he got right on the matter of food. A few moments later, the two of them were sat down at the enormous dining room table by themselves. Wilt watched Eduardo all but inhale an entire microwaveable chicken potpies between sips of tea. Wilt watches him with interest over the rim of his own cup. "I think you'll really like it here. It all may seem a bit strange and fast at first, but it's really a great place. It'll feel like home in no time, you'll see."

Eduardo paused, mid gulp from his cup of tea. He lowered the cup as delicately as he could - it was obvious he had played teatime a lot in the past. "So... so we all live here?" he wasn't really sure of how the whole house worked - they weren't just stopping by, but they lived here? Like how he lived with his creator? Wilt lowered his cup to the table, immediately sensing what Eduardo was getting at.

"Well, yes and no... see, Foster's is a foster home... we live here, but only until we're adopted. Kids who want Imaginary Friends come by here all the time." he smiled, tipping his cup at a jaunty angle "Hey, don't worry though. You're pretty awesome. You'll probably get adopted right away and go home with a new kid in no time." Wilt had intended this to be a comfort, but one look at Eduardo's face told him his efforts had not had the desired effect.

"New-new kid?" the idea shocked Eduardo to the very core. How could he just so easily move from her onto someone else? He'd probably fail that child too, the same way he did her. What if he's cursed? Maybe every child he ends up with will end up not waking up like she did, and the idea alone brought tears to Eduardo's eyes pretty quickly. He sobbed a bit, before he covered his eyes as they streamed down his face into his fur, which was just now beginning to dry. "No! No no no..!" he sobbed into his hands and shook his head. Guilt striking him like a dart, Wilt put his cup down and reached across the table, his long arm extending till his hand found Eduardo's shoulder. Comfort was not the same as pity and it was his duty to clean up the mess he'd made.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. That probably wasn't the best thing to say," he leaned out over the table, bringing himself closer when Eduardo just sobbed harder "Aww, don't cry, Ed... can I call you Ed? Anyway, it'll be all right. It's hard at first, believe me, I know. But you'll be okay, I promise. It'll all be okay..." at this point, Wilt has actually crawled onto the tabletop to get closer to Eduardo, trying desperately to reassure the poor guy. Eduardo meanwhile, finally looks up and sees that Wilt is actually sitting right on the table. For some reason, this is very funny. A smile twitched at the corner of his face, seeing such a long limbed creature like Wilt sat on the table like this. It was funny, at least to such a stubby legged fellow Eduardo was compared to Wilt. The smile successfully conquered his face and he smiled, then laughed a bit. He shook his head, shutting his eyes so he'd stop. This probably insulted Wilt, and that was the last thing he wanted to do after all he had done to him was being so nice to him. Finally the bout of giggles subsided, and he wiped his face absently.

"I sorry Wilt... Eduardo cry too easy today..." he hiccoughed, before smiling up at Wilt despite the few tears still caught in his large eyes. "Señor Wilt-" he began, forgetting being told to call him plain old 'Wilt' earlier "Eduardo so grateful, really really am. You is so nice to me..."

"Hey it's okay." Wilt was just happy to see him not crying anymore and felt a swell of accomplishment and flattery at his words, "Look, you've had a long day. Why don't we get you settled into a room and save the rest of the tour for later?"

Eduardo nodded his head, very agreeable now. He felt a lot better now he had something in his stomach, and his fur was no longer wet and heavy. Wilt lead him along a long hallway lined with doors - doors of all sizes for the different sized Imaginary Friends that filled Foster's. But with each check, someone occupied the rooms. After an hour of searching or so, Eduardo sighed. "Is okay Wilt, maybe I sleep on couch?" he offered. Wilt smiled.

"Sure, if you want. But as it happens, my roommate was just adopted last week and the bunk above mine is free. We'll want to run the sheets through the wash first, though. My roommate was named Manky Moe for a very good reason." Wilt wrinkled his would-be nose, "But yeah, you can room with me and my other roommate Coco if you want. That is, unless you're sick of me already." he smiled beatifically. Eduardo looked shocked at that statement.

"What? No! I never being sick of Wilt, never!" he persuaded Wilt, even if he didn't need it. Wow, first he finds him, takes him to this wonderful home full of Imaginary Friends like himself and now even offering him to sleep in the same room! He felt like crying, but he had a little more self-control now. Luckily. Wilt laughed humbly.

"Well, that's good to know. Anyway, my room's on the third floor. We'll get you settled and you can take a shower, then call it a night if you want." Eduardo happily followed Wilt up the stairs. Wilt got fresh linens from the closet and carried them to the room. "Well, here we are! If you want to chill for a sec, I'll just get your bed made up, then I'll show you where the bathroom is, okay?" he goes about doing this while Eduardo looks round the room, taking in the nest situated in the corner, the set of bunks on the far side, the antique dresser, etc. Eduardo looked out the window, he could see the street stretched out before him and the sun visible far away already beginning to set. Dear me, was the day almost over with already? He didn't remember it passing so fast, and shook his head. Eduardo glanced over his shoulder at Wilt, who was now putting the new bottom sheet on the top mattress of the bunk bed. Narrowing his eyes a bit he saw just how tall Wilt was, compared to the bed.

"...where you sleep, Wilt?" he asked, surely he didn't sleep in that nest, and if he slept on that small bed his limbs must hurt in the mornings. Wilt blinked. He should have thought that would be quite obvious.

"Well, I sleep on the bottom bunk. Coco has the nest over there. Why d'you ask?"

"Your bunk so small!" Eduardo pointed out. "...and you not." as in height wise. Wilt shrugged,

"Well, it is a little snug, but you get used to it. I've been here for a long time, so it doesn't really bother me anymore."

Ed paused, wondering if he should ask just how long Wilt had been here, or not. Eduardo decided not to, not now anyway.

"Oh, I see." he nodded, not really seeing it but wasn't sure what else to say and didn't want to come across as an idiot. Wilt read worry in Eduardo's tone and waved his hand dismissively.

"Oh no, no, no, you don't have anything to worry about. I've just been here for a while because, well, kids don't really want a broken friend." he shrugged, maintaining a causal tone. "And hey, I know it sounds kind of awful now, but it'll get better. Guardian Friends are always adopted off really quickly. You'll see, the perfect kid will come round and want to take you home really soon, trust me. You're great." he grinned bracingly and gave his new friend a pat on the back.

"Mmmmfhmm." Eduardo grunted, still unsure about this whole 'going home with a new kid' idea. He was such a big, scary looking thing - he knew that, and he saw how many children had run screaming once they spotted him during the thunderstorm when they were getting off a bus, or walking in the rain with a parent. American children were weird - children back where he came from loved what he looked like, saying he reminded them of bulls. Or even a minotaur, and what a compliment that was. His thoughts were getting away from him again, and he shook his head to clear it. "I not be sad if I no go fast, though." he told Wilt, staring out the window again. "...I like it here."

"Well, great!" Wilt finished tucking the sheets under the mattress, "Hey, it really is an awesome place. And if you ever have any problems or just need someone to talk to, just ask me. Really, I've seen it all." he dropped Eduardo a wink and went over to the closet, in search of a fresh set of towels. Eduardo could easily believe that statement, had been good, and had managed to not stare at the scars that Wilt had. Or how one of his eyes didn't work very well, or the missing limb. Despite all of that, Wilt was probably one of the most happy fellows Eduardo had ever met, and that did confuse him a bit. But asking such a question as to how those happened was rude, he knew that. Just like how his creator told him no to stare at her uncle's wonky eye. And that was one wonky eye for a human.

To be continued…