Percy was feeling very bored and bothered, with only the Troublesome Trucks for company. Ever since he began that morning, they had begun teasing him over being small and useless. Percy knew this behavior all too well and tried to brave through it like he usually did, but today, the trucks were very naughty. Percy had to take three loads of goods to three separate stations, but as hard as he chuffed and as much as he scolded the trucks to be quiet, they simply would not stop fussing, jabbering and holding back. It made Percy wish that Gina were here to shunt them along with no trouble and keep them at bay. He even missed Bradford to keep them quiet for him. Percy also wished he could see Emily. Not only was he her little joy while Thomas was away on his adventures, but she always made him feel better when he was faced with tough problems. She was his mother figure and very loving and helpful to him. But Percy couldn't think much about it as he struggled on with his trucks.
Emily, meanwhile had her own trouble with the Troublesome Trucks. She had a few deliveries herself, but wherever she went, her trucks constantly held back and let go without warning, making Emily pull hard then suddenly lurch forward every few minutes. It soon became rather annoying. She knew not to pull so hard, a truck would split apart, like it did when she had to take that scrap train while helping Donald at Arlesburgh, but she was not very pleased with her own day. She wished it could end much quicker. It made her wish Thomas was here to help her mood. And just like Percy wished he could see her, she wished the same about him. Without Thomas to turn to, Emily saw Percy as her cute son to help her when she felt lonely, and it made her wonder how he was feeling at this moment. But another sudden lurch forward from her trucks interrupted that thought, making her groan with frustration as she huffed on through her day. But a very heartfelt and playful night would soon await her and her favourite little green engine.
At last that evening, Percy returned to the yards, tired, grumpy and impatient. He roughly bumping his trucks into a siding.
"Too small and too slow all day!" the trucks jeered.
"S-s-SLOW YOURSELF!" Percy wheeshed impatiently as he gave them another harsh bump then steamed away from the siding. "I wish Emily were here now! She'd make today so much better!"
Then presently, as favor would have it, he saw Emily return with her trucks. She did not look happy as she found her own siding to place them in. Percy watched as she banged her trucks hard into the buffers. Fortunately, the buffers were secure enough to hold in place.
"RGH!" she hissed angrily as her trucks hit the buffers loudly.
"Temper-temper," giggled the trucks.
Emily hissed steam at them as she left the siding to try and settle down. "I wish Percy were here!" she wheeshed to herself. "He must be feeling quite miserable right now!"
Then, as if right on cue, she heard it. "Hello, Emily."
She looked and there was Percy right in front of her. Emily immediately changed her mood when she saw him. She went from frowning with frustration to smiling with delight, as did Percy when he saw her much brighter mood now.
"Oh! Hello, Percy!" she chimed. "How was your day with those trucks?"
"Hello, Emily," Percy whistled cheerfully before looking a little stubborn about the trucks. "Those trucks would not be quiet, or let me pull them too easily! It was so difficult, I actually wished Bradford was there to keep them in line! What about you, Emily? A strenuous day?"
Emily sighed. "A tough one, yes. And extremely frustrating!"
Percy and Emily sighed together, simmering in their frustration together about such a rough, demanding day…until Emily suddenly spoke again.
"Percy…" she said more calmly. "Come with me. To Knapford Sheds."
Percy perked up when he heard this. "Another mother-to-son night together?" he asked with hope.
"Wait and see," Emily winked as she and Percy set off. When they arrived at the sheds, Percy backed in first, while Emily followed him a little inside.
"I'm starting to feel better already, Percy," said Emily. "I've been wondering about you from time to time today, thinking about how hard it must have been to deal with such badly behaved trucks."
"I was only hoping you were alright, Emily," said Percy. "As well as thinking about Gina and her shunting tricks."
"We've both had a long, difficult day, Percy," said Emily. "I trust you're rather tired of those trucks by now."
"No questioning that, Emily!" exclaimed Percy. "They would not stop tricking me!"
"Well, I felt the same today. But now that we're both done for the day, in these sheds again…after such a demanding and burdensome day, how would you like us to have a little fun together? Mothers and sons play together from time to time."
Percy suddenly felt playfully eager. "Really, Emily? You'd like to play with me?"
"Yes, Percy," Emily smiled. "We can cheer up together, right here. You and me."
She buffered to Percy very softly and gave him a kiss on his cheek…then Percy heard something that made his heart tingle happily. Emily began purring softly as she brought her lips closer to his cheeks. Percy felt his boiler bubble joyfully as he heard such a lovely sound from Emily.
"Come on, sweetie. Give Mummy a smile," Emily purred.
She reached her lips out to Percy's cheek and began to very gently tickle it, nibbling his cheek playfully, which made him giggle and begin to shake.
"Ooh! Ahh! E-Emily! Stop that! Th-that tickles!" Percy giggled cutely.
"Show me your adorable smile, Percy," Emily cooed affectionately. And she continued nibbling his cheek, gently pinching his skin and making him laugh harder.
"E-Emily! You're tickling me!" Percy laughed.
"That's it, Percy. Who's my cute little son?" Emily teased playfully. As she nibbled his cheek a little more, Percy kept giggling innocently.
She soon stopped tickling Percy and let him catch his breath. Percy was now smiling from buffer to buffer, which is just what Emily wanted to see right now. After such a long, demanding day with the trucks, this was exactly what made it all worth it for her. Emily smiled with all her lovely teeth. Then she pressed her soft, gentle lips to Percy's cheek for a lovely kiss, softly pushing him to the back of the sheds, protecting him as a mother would.
"Emily! This is so much fun!" Percy chirped gleefully as his buffers touched the back of the shed.
"Oh, Percy. I love you," Emily bubbled. "Give Mummy a bigger smile."
Percy shuddered happily as he melted into her loving kisses. Emily was kissing him so much, she left tiny lip-marks on his face, making her giggle sweetly as she rubbed her cute little nose and her cheeks to his, cuddling him happily.
"Oh, mummy!" Percy bubbled as he blushed bright red. "You're such a lovely kisser. So gentle and playful."
"Thank you, Percy. It's just what a perfect mother and son would do after such a rough day," she crooned. "You're just the perfect engine to delight my heart when Thomas isn't here."
And she very gently nibbled Percy's cheek again, making him giggle more. Percy could not feel happier than right now. With so much trouble the trucks had given him, to end the day with his mother figure made him feel like he never had any trouble.
"Hm-hm!" Emily laughed. "It looks like you're a ticklish little engine, Percy…I like it!"
Percy smiled again, but then felt a certain thought hit his mind. He looked at Emily with a slightly curious expression.
"Emily…are you ticklish?" he asked politely.
Emily heard Percy and suddenly felt a little strange by what he had just asked. She knew all-too well how she and Thomas would tickle each other, using their tongues all they could. She assumed Percy was just asking the question for yes or no as an answer. And yet, with Thomas travelling the world right now, she suddenly figured that there was a simpler, much more innocent way she and Percy could do it.
"Well…would you like to see if I am?" she offered sweetly as she leaned in closer to Percy, bringing her cheek closer to him.
Percy was suddenly perplexed, nervous and a little flustered all at once. He did not expect Emily to be this open and innocent, even just for fun. Before he knew it, Emily's cheek was only inches away from his lips. The little green engine could not believe it. He was only expecting a simple yes or no when he asked her the question.
"What are you doing, Emily?" he asked.
"Letting you tickle me, of course," Emily giggled as she looked at Percy's puzzled, perplexed face. "Kiss me, Percy. Nibble my cheek, like I do with you."
Percy still did not know what on Earth to do right now. Emily could see this and tried to ease his indecision. "It's okay, Percy. I don't mind."
"Well…I…well…are you sure, Emily?" Percy asked nervously.
"Yes, Percy," Emily said kindly. "Don't worry. With Thomas, I do it quite differently, but with you and me, it's just to have fun."
Percy knew this is what Emily wanted him to do. Being her cute son figure, he thought it best to oblige her wish.
"I suppose a little friendly tickle wouldn't be bad," he thought to himself. "It's sure to be fun."
So he buffered to Emily and decided to be careful. He very gently kissed her cute little nose as lightly as he could, making sure he didn't surprise her too much.
"Oh! He-he-he!" Emily giggled softly. Percy very lightly kissed her cheek next, earning another giggle from her. After a minute of lightly kissing her cheeks, he briefly paused, blushing a deep, sheepish red.
"So far, it looks like the answer would be yes," Emily smiled. "Keep going, Percy."
Percy knew Emily would be disappointed if he didn't give her more of a giggle. He decided to do something different. This time, he buffered to her and politely nibbled Emily's cheek. It felt so warm and soft, and it made Emily giggle a little louder, making Percy happy.
"Oh-ho-ho-ho! Percy!" she sang. "You're such a fun friend!"
Percy giggled to himself, proud that he could make Emily laugh so dearly. He kept gently kissing and nibbling her cheeks, listening to Emily's adorable giggles, laughs and little remarks.
"P-Percy! Percy!" she laughed. "That tickles! You're a perfect little son!"
Percy's heart was bubbling very gleefully now, but he paused again to let Emily rest. She panted a little from how much she was laughing.
"Huh…Oh…" she breathed. "That was fun, Percy."
"I think I can say yes to my question now," Percy peeped cutely. "My mother is a ticklish engine!"
"You're perfectly right, my dear Percy," Emily replied. "If you'd like…I'd be pleased if you'd tickle me one more time."
"Really? Why?" asked Percy.
"It's lots of fun, of course," Emily chimed as she pecked his cheek with another kiss. "And I think a fun laugh would help us both sleep like a baby tonight, especially after such a rough day with the trucks! We both deserve it as our little reward to each other!"
Percy smiled. "Okay, Emily! Whatever you say."
So Percy gently and cutely nibbled Emily's cheeks again. Emily giggled cheerfully at first, but within seconds, she began laughing a little harder. Percy watched as she closed her eyes and saw her lovely smile open her mouth, letting out her laugh. Percy felt just like a young boy playfully tickling his mother after a bedtime story. Emily began to shake a little as she kept laughing, adoring Percy's little nurtures every second of the way. Percy could not be happier as he kept kissing and nibbling her face like she would do with him whenever they spent a night here during Thomas' first world adventure.
After ten delightful minutes of Emily laughing and Percy tickling her, he withdrew his lips and let Emily calm down and catch her breath.
"Goodness, Emily!" Percy gasped. "That was fun!"
Emily took a moment or two to catch her breath until she was breathing calmly and quietly again. But then she suddenly got her playful look back.
"Here I come, Percy!" she squealed happily as she began kissing and nibbling Percy's face again.
"He-he-he! Emily!" Percy whistled joyfully. "Thank you, mother!"
Emily giggled as she heard Percy laugh and cheer to her motherly banter. It was quite a fun change for the better. Both engines had gone to a difficult, frustrating day to a rather playful night together.
About ten minutes later, Emily stopped to let Percy rest again until they had both calmed down and smiled to each other.
"Thank you so much, Percy," Emily hummed happily.
"You're welcome, Emily," Percy peeped. "Are you happy?"
"Oh, yes, Percy," Emily giggled. "I feel much better after working with those trucks all day."
"And…you didn't mind me tickling you?" Percy asked a little bashfully.
"Never, Percy," Emily smiled. "There's nothing wrong with laughing or being ticklish. What matters is that we do it for the sake of loving each other. You and I as mother to son, and Thomas and I when we share nights here…"
And she leaned in toward Percy and kissed him on his nose, earning another giggle from Percy.
"Thank you, Emily." Then, one more very heartfelt idea came to Percy.
"E-Emily…" he said softly. "I love you so much as my mother figure…Now that we're feeling quiet and calm…Can…can we please hug each other? With your steam?"
Emily heard Percy and felt sweetly touched. She remembered doing that with Thomas just before he left for China. As a mother figure to Percy, she thought it'd be very touching to so with him too.
"Of course, my baby Percy," she crooned.
"Can we?" Percy peeped.
"He-he-he! Ooh…" Emily swooned kindly.
Percy smiled enthusiastically as Emily gently let off steam and let it drift toward him. What made him very happy was the beautiful, motherly twinkle in Emily's eyes and her absolutely perfect smile as she buffered to him once more.
"Come here, you," she whispered. "Let me give you a hug, Percy."
Percy watched as her steam slowly surrounded him while she buffered closer to him. When she did that, Percy could slowly feel the warmth of her steam settling all around him. Then Emily gently pressed her soft, warm, delicate cheeks to Percy's and hummed quietly with such a smile on her face. Percy had never felt so close and so connected with Emily before. While not as connected as Thomas could be, it was just like a mother gently wrapping her arms around her baby. Percy felt so safe now in Emily's warm, gentle embrace, and he immediately began to feel sleepy.
"There, Percy. What do you think?" Emily whispered soothingly.
"Oh…Emily," Percy whispered. "It's exactly like a hug…"
"I love you, Percy," Emily hummed happily. "I love you…hm-hm…"
"I love you too, mummy," Percy replied cutely.
Emily kept letting off steam feebly, making sure she kept Percy warm and snug in her steamy embrace. Percy had such a delighted look on his face. Then he felt even calmer and safer as they gently caressed each other with cuddles and kisses over the next few minutes, until eventually, Emily's steam disappeared and she let out a deep, sleepy yawn.
"Ohh…Mmm…time for bed now, Percy," Emily whispered. "That was so lovely."
"Thank you, Emily. For such a playful, happy night," Percy yawned. "Sweet dreams, mother."
"You're perfectly welcome, sweetie," Emily smiled. "Sweet dreams, Percy."
She kissed his cheek once more and she and Percy fell fast asleep, feeling very happy and very comfortable in each other's mother-to-son hold, and there they slept, dreaming peacefully together until morning.
Surprise! Wasn't expecting this one myself either. Jeremy loves throwing us these curve balls, and I am A-OK with that if it means giving you guys new content. The next story will hopefully be coming up relatively soon. So until then, let know what you all thought of this story and we'll see you all next time.