Decision
Story by: The ever-awesome Shining Spirit Dragon
Pairing: Lumpus/Slinkman
Plot: Lumpus has to make a decision on who he loves most.
Author's notes: Ok, just a story I wrote for he heck of it. I've been inspired by WeyrdChic's "Beautiful" so I decided to make my own version.
Also, I'm getting pretty ticked off that people keep saying that Lumpus and Slinkman are guys, and that my stories are gay. I am aware of that, otherwise I wouldn't have written them. I'm a proud L/S fan, so deal with it. If you can't say something nice, don't say anything at all. Hate my stories? Don't review. Period.
Ok, now that I got that taken care of…
Let's get this story started!
Lumpus loves the night. The only time where he can be alone, hidden from the world in the arms of darkness. He loves the whispers of the wind croon to him like a lullaby, the crickets chirp out their song to him, and the frogs croaking by the lakeside. He loves the sound of silence mingling in the air, free like him from those wretched campers. To walk out and reach for the glittering stars meant the world to him. In his point of view it was as though God had spilled glitter all over the sky. He loved the night sky, but he didn't always.
He had learned so much staring up at them resting on a sandy towel by the lakeside, the incoming tides washing at his feet. But it didn't matter, as long as he had the passion to learn about those stars, the one thing he never had as a child, thanks to his parents, who had never really supported him whatsoever.
He gazes up at the night sky, trying to follow the swift hand of the figure next to him, pin pointing the locations of the glittery mass above them. "You see that? That's Libra. It's the one that looks like two scales. That's my sign. And over there is Polaris, the North Star, the brightest star in the night sky. It's in the east, so that means that we are in the west. Oh, and that is the Big Dipper…"
Lumpus tried to digest as much info as he could while trying to find where the stars and constellations were to match them, but soon he merely gave up and just followed Slinkman's gestures. He wondered at times why it didn't bother him that he listened to the slug's chatter, maybe it was because that he had known him for so long, with the long years of them working as partners, or maybe even dating back long ago when they themselves were Bean Scouts. Maybe it was the fact that Lumpus had grown used to being around his partner, joking with him, being side by side with him, even when they got into their tiffs. It amazed him, really, that no matter how much they got at each other's necks that they always came back to staying at each other's side. Like magnets, he liked to call it.
But yet there was something that he forgot about.
Jane Doe was also there. From the past to the present, she was always there. He wonders at times why she is here. She seems, oblivious…to everything. She likes to live in her own world, like he does. She likes to believe that the world is just a nice place to be, where there are no problems, no ways for her to think that she's in trouble for something. She's just a happy-go-lucky person.
He knows better. The world isn't just teatime and dress up. It can be a dangerous place. And when he's in trouble, does she come rushing to his aide? Does she stay by his side, concerned over his welfare, and stays with him all the way? No. Slinkman has. He's a true friend.
Which brings him to a decision. Should he go to the woman he loves, or stay with a friend that he trusts?
He frowns, staring up at the sky. He turns his attention to his partner, who is watching him with a concerned look. That's something he wants. Some compassion, another thing that his parents never gave him.
When he talks with one of the two a voice talks to him, scolding him with things like "Why should you talk to her? She doesn't respect you for who you are, just the fact that you are a Scoutmaster like her. She's oblivious to your feelings, is that some one you want to stay with for the rest of your life?" or "Why do you treat him like that? He's your friend, not your slave. Do you think that he enjoys being pushed around?"
As much as he hates to hear it, it's true.
Lumpus turns to Slinkman, patting his shoulder, telling him that it's all right. The slug calmed down, giving a soft smile, before going back to pointing and teaching. Lumpus smiles back, resting his hands on his chest, listening and enjoying Slinkman and his chatter. His mind had been made up. It might be hard, but he will forget her, let her dissolve into the background, and focus on his friendship with slinkman. He might love again, and maybe it might be someone whom he never expected. Lumpus pondered as the night progressed, as he now held a sleeping banana slug close.
And maybe, just maybe, that some day he and Slinkman would take their friendship up to the next step.
Fin.
Well, what do you think? Wasn't it heartwarming?
