moving forward

Fennel stirred the meatloaf around in the plastic tray. Beside her Musharna floated back and forth, trying to cheer up its trainer, who had been like this for a couple of days now. Little sleep, little conversation, meals spent so quiet and listless. These were all the signs of a foul mood. Usually this would be associated with a bad performance in work or an argument with one of her friends, but the doctor had a relatively good week. The papers were written, the relationships were stable, and the ice cream in the fridge didn't have freezerburn. It was just…

Look at that, the meatloaf was so soggy. Fennel's cheeks puffed in annoyance as she stopped stirring, realizing that she probably had placed her meal in the microwave for longer than she should have again. She forced that poor Mr. Meatloaf to transform from a frozen piece of meat to a depressing piece of disaster. It wasn't fair to take out her frustration on Mr. Meatloaf; it wasn't fair to take out her frustration on anybody. Frustration tasted bad. Lamenting over her fallen dinner for a few more seconds, Fennel saluted it before throwing it in the trash. One day, she vowed, she would move forward past this problem, if only for all the soggy dinners she had destroyed.

Soon the Xtransceiver rang. Fennel meant to ignore it, but Musharna held it in its mouth, nudging the doctor with the pointy part until she accepted it. On the other end was Juniper, looking concerned yet distracted, holding a clipboard in her free hand as she yelled a few words at one of her assistants. "Bianca, no! Only the Snivy like the eggplant! Don't let the Oshawott get to it. They'll just throw it everywhere…you did? Get a mop and bucket, then. We'll be up all night again." The other end was like this for a few more minutes. Fennel watched Juniper's bubbly assistant, Bianca, fall over herself twice as she tried cleaning up the Oshawotts' mess. It was slightly amusing, but the doctor remained serious until her girlfriend got back on the line, now looking sheepish. "Sorry. Dinnertime at my castle. Not all the subjects favor tonight's selection."

"I see this."

"What's wrong, Ed? You haven't been answering my calls. I talked to Amanita earlier, and she said you might be a little down-"

"No worries, Aurea. I'm fine," Fennel cut in, biting her lip. She wanted to tell Juniper about her problem, but she knew the professor just laugh at her. It was indeed comical, from a bystander's point-of-view, yet this little, comical problem was a problem, at least in Fennel's eyes. How could Amanita be better at playing Frogger than her? That little froggy always wanted to run itself into semis for her, but for her sister that creature was all too happy to safely cross to the other side. It wasn't fair. Sighing, Fennel patted the screen where Juniper's forehead was. "I don't want to keep you on the phone for long. You look busy. I'll talk to you when I'm in a better mood."

"Are you sure, hon? I can stay with you for a few minutes. It's not any trouble for me."

"No, no, that's okay. I need some time to think. I love you, Junicup."

"Huhhh…I love you, too, Edith."

They kissed, then hung up on each end. Fennel gave the Xtransceiver to Musharna, who took it back to its rightful spot. The doctor leaned forward and grabbed her video game controller, admiring every button that was on its awkward figure. Maybe if she practiced for a few extra hours, she'd be strong enough to challenge Amanita to a rematch. Faster time receives the cookie jar for the week. Yes, this was a brilliant plan, perfectly brilliant. It wasn't like she was neglecting her work or her relationship or anything. That familiar glint of hope came rushing back to her eyes as she turned on the television. Soon enough she'd reclaim her title as the best gamer of the Fennel family.


(Original notes: Fennel is the Rigby of video games, except Tetris. She can do Tetris.)

Originally written February 20th, 2016 on tumblr for femslash february. Not much to it. Heartwarming gays, ye.