ACT ONE

Ellie Rose was a tough girl. Everyone onboard the space station knew that. But they also knew she could also be soft-hearted and concerned, particularly towards her friend and leader of the Toppat Clan, Henry Stickmin. The leader of the thief gang appointed her as his second-in-command, his special Right Hand Lady, and because of that, she held the responsibility of not only running the clan should he be thrown out of commission for some reason, but also to protect and advise him. And right now, her main focus centered on his health.

During a very recent jewel heist, he injured his left shoulder thanks to a security guard's bullet striking into his shoulder like a worm burrowing into an apple. Thankfully the medics managed to get the bullet out and heal his wounds. At least his flesh wounds.

But Ellie suspected that thanks to a combination of his endurability, his years of experience as a thief, and his near superhuman ability to conjure up options and solutions almost at will, the physical wound paled in comparison to a wound that dug much deeper than what he displayed on the surface. Ever since the previous leader of the Toppats, Reginald Copperbottom, handed the reins of leadership over to Henry for the second time - she wasn't there the first time it occurred so she couldn't truly testify what happened between the two men - Henry changed. She couldn't pin down exactly how, but he seemed more... reserved than usual. Perhaps it was because he wasn't quite yet used to interacting with a large group on a regular basis when he worked as a lone thief, but whatever was going on, it was enough to catch her attention and do some investigating.

Which was why she currently stood in front of his bedroom door. After being discharged from the medical bay, Henry retreated to his room to recover from his injury. She would have left him alone had it not been for one factor that alerted her to his presence in the room: the sound of water pouring into a cup.

Deciding it was okay for her to see him, she knocked on his door a few times. "Hey Henry, are you in there? It's me, Ellie."

A moment of silence then she could hear his footsteps getting louder and louder. Another moment of silence then she could hear the mechanics within the door operating as he unlocked the door. The door opened to reveal Henry. A large blanket hung from his thin shoulders.

"Hey, I came to check on you and - oh. Uh... you're... not looking so hot, chief. Everything okay?"

Indeed he looked so ill. His top hat crown glistened proudly, but the color from his face? Pale. The light from his eyes? Dull. The expression? Drained and sad. The only remotely colorful thing about him was the purple cup of freshly made tea he held in his hand, the hot steam rising from within the tea and curling around his neck.

Henry tried to smile a little, the corner of his mouth struggling to tug upwards. And he won his struggle... sort of. He managed a very small smile as he nodded.

Ellie didn't buy it. "Liar," she accused. "Now how about telling me how you're really feeling?" Pinning him with a stink eye, Henry sighed. He was about to reply but a yawn erupted from his mouth instead. Upon closer inspection, she could see he was more tired than he appeared.

Ellie placed a hand around his back and accompanied him back into the room. "If you're tired, why don't you go to bed? It's been a busy day and you should get some rest. It's natural you'd be tired after everything that's happened." She sat him down on his bed and then sat by his side. The colors of the bedspread were to Henry's liking - the scarlet and gray color scheme was fitting to the quiet man's tastes, although the grays seemed to wash out the reds with the current mood emanating from its owner.

He looked back at her before staring into his tea-filled cup. "Can't sleep," he quietly confessed. Closing his eyes, he drank some of his tea. It warmed him from head to toe. He felt a little better, but not by much.

She frowned. "Can't sleep? Is it because of your shoulder?" She received a shake of the head to that. "Then your shoulder's healed?" She received a so-so motion, flipping his hand back and forth. So the shoulder was gradually recovering, or at least it wasn't hurting him too much anymore. Just as she suspected.

Out of comfort, she held an arm around his back again. "What's wrong then? Do you want to talk about it? I'm all ears if you need a soundboard to echo off of. But I should tell you that if you're worried about what the Toppats think, you shouldn't be. They're happy with our new prize and nobody got killed. That Cuban Topaz has got the clan talking about you. With good favor, I might add."

He grew a tiny smile again. He was genuinely pleased with the results of the heist - stealing the beautiful Cuban Topaz provided the clan with a priceless and mystical gem to their collection of prized treasures in the vault. Sure, he might have gotten hurt, but it was on par for the course. Besides, he built a strong wall of endurance in his years as a thief, and it was paying off.

But there lied a different problem - some of the Toppats...

He placed his tea cup on the nightstand next to his bed and pulled his hat off. The golden dollar sign necklace previously worn around Reginald's neck now hung as hat decor on top of the hat's brim. Henry traced the dollar sign's shape tenderly. Ellie watched and waited as he collected his thoughts.

Sighing again, he set the hat next to him. He peeled off his brown shoes and motioned with a hand towards her.

"Oh yeah, sure thing." She moved to let Henry pull his legs onto the bed.

He leaned back against his headboard and placed the hat onto his crossed-legged lap. Biting his lip, he tried to select the right words to express himself, which was easier said than done. Henry usually refrained from divulging his feelings on a regular basis.

"Take your time," she assured as patted his knee. "Start wherever makes you comfortable. I know it's not easy for you to share your problems when you were used to carrying them by yourself for so long. Trust me - been there, done that."

He nodded - and he perked up. Her words gave him a good starting point for how to voice his concerns.

Seeing the sudden movement, Ellie sensed he found a way to tell her what was going on. That was fast. "I guess by the way you moved, it was because of something I said and you can tell me now?"

He gave a thumb's up.

"Great! So... what's on your mind?"

Mentally preparing himself, Henry took a deep breath in. And exhaled it out.

Timidly, he asked Ellie...

"Am I expendable?"

Ellie looked like she was the one struck down by a bullet. "Wha - expendable?! No! Of course not. You're the chief of the Toppat clan! We wouldn't have pulled off the heist today if it weren't for you. Yeah, you got hurt, but your shoulder's already recovering. You're strong, fast and tough, and I told you - the Toppats are saying good things about you. Heck, you've got a lot of good things going on for you!

"I - Why would you say that about yourself?" This was honestly the last thing she would hear Henry say.

He looked away. Clutching the blanket close to his chest, he was about to speak again, when a better idea came to mind. He looked around as if watching for anyone or anything eavesdropping. Sucking in his lips, he leaned forward and beckoned a hand for Ellie to come closer. Once she neared him, he tucked some of her hair aside and whispered into her ear.

A/N: As the Right Hand Lady, Ellie pulls multi-duty as second-in-command of the whole clan, protector, adviser, and confidante of the Toppat Clan leader. But she has one other role that she built with him before she became his partner in crime - that of a loyal friend. And as a friend, it is almost customary to share secrets with other friends. But some secrets may carry more weight than others. Will she be able to bear the weight of the one Henry is disclosing to her? She will soon find out, here in the world of sticks, stones, potentials and bones.

I was inspired by the following fanfics: AKhaos's "Toppat Days" and LunarLilac's "Lilacs and Living Quarters" (both available for viewing on Archive of Our Own). The line of action occurring in the pieces inspired this piece - the former for the budding romance between Henry and Ellie, and the latter for the setting, the details (like Henry's bedspread color scheme) and name of this two-parter short story.

References:
-"Consider the lily and how it grows. It neither toils nor spins"... Bible verse Luke 12:27. It was a good verse to use as a summary for this story, and given that Ellie's hat holds purple lily petals on top of the brim, it made all the more fitting to use. If I see something from any text that I think I can use for writing, I'll use it!

-The Cuban Topaz is not a real gem, but its inspiration is! Topaz comes from the 1969 espionage film, 'Topaz', directed by the Master of Suspense himself (Mr. Alfred Hitchcock). Cuba plays a large role in the film because the film takes place during the 1962 Cuban Missile Crisis. For those who don't know what that was, in a nutshell, it was when the world came close to engaging in nuclear warfare. But thankfully it didn't happen.

Back on point, I needed a gem or some other object of worth to act as a foundation for the plot (and to help explore more of the Stickmin universe). I was originally going to use the Pink Panther Diamond, but I didn't like the idea of rehashing a gem. So I went onto the 1960s thing I could think of which was this film. There aren't any gems in the actual film, but in this case it worked to my advantage haha!

Enjoy!