"Stuart!"

2D paused, blinked a couple of times, and shook his head, continuing on his way. He'd been hearing his name being called a lot since the second or third day he showed up on his father's doorstep. Sometimes male, sometimes female, usually with a kun attached to it, depending. He'd accepted a while ago that it probably wasn't a side-affect of his pills and he might just be crazy. Insanity was a relative thing, anyway…

"Stuart!"

It had never been quite that loud, though. Or clear. Or so blatantly…unaccented.

Something caught him from behind with the force of a compact sledgehammer, and he and his measly balance went down with a kind of surprised pooh right beside the cotton candy vendor. He tried not to notice when he caught a mouthful of dirt and gravel.

"Stuuuuuuuaaaaaartt!"

Wot tha fuck –

"'ey! Me name's 2D!" he said angrily, twisting his neck around and – and –

Big, green eyes. Long, shaggy hair. Noodle grinned at him, toothy and delighted. "Hello."

"Careful you don't break his skinny ass," someone grumbled nearby, and 2D twisted his body around in another spectacular display of flexibility to see what that was. Russel towered over them, doing this weird thing with his face where he scowl-smiled. Tried to scowl but ended up smiling. Whatever.

His brain was trying so hard to make the connection. Noods and Russ, what was the significance. Uh…

OH! Ding-fucking-ling!

"NOODLE!"

He flipped himself over and gathered her up and squeezed her, face going right for her choppy hair. "Where'd 'oo come from! An' since when d'yoo call me Stuart?"

"I just returned from Japan." Her voice was muffled by his shirt. "My English is greatly improved."

"Oh…yeah, wull…I like 2D better."

She rolled off him and righted herself in one smooth, consecutive moment, then held out a hand to help him up. He slung an arm around her shoulders, unwilling to be separated. Russel gave up and just smiled, practically sparkling.

"Hey there," he said gruffly, and clapped him hard on the back. 2D beamed.

He tried to vocalize some of his utter rapture into words, and failed. "Guys!" he cried, voice cracking.

Noodle nestled her head against him, deeply content, and…huh. She was past his elbow. How old was she again?

His excitement, ever uncooperative, got the better of him and usurped into word-babble. "Ah can' believe 'oo came t' visit! Wait till 'oo meet Pop, 'e'll realy like 'oo, an' 'oo c'n see m' room, an' where I work, an' everyfink – "

"Uh, D? Chill out for a second."

2D fell short, blinking. "Somefink wrong?"

Noodle had gone a little straighter and a little less relaxed at his side, but she was silent, waiting for Russel to speak. He looked down at her questioningly, but she avoided his eyes.

"…Russ? Somefink wrong?"

Russel's jaw worked. "…man, we didn't come to visit. We came to take you back."

2D stared at him. "Back where?"

"Back to Kong," Noodle said quietly. "We want to bring the band back together. We want to start over again and fix every – 2D-kun!"

He didn't reply, just kept on in the direction he was going, face murderous. No. Heeeelll no. Fuck that.

He heard her running after him. "2D-kun, please!"

"No," he barked out, because she could probably outrun him so escape wasn't a viable option. "No way I'm goin' back there."

She skidded to a halt in front of him, little face so upset and distressed he had to look away. For once she actually looked her age.

…whatever it was.

"But – our family!"

"'s not a family so long as 'e's there," he retorted shortly, because 2D could be short when he wanted to, and started to walk away from her again.

He'd hurt her feelings with that, definitely, because he was almost out of earshot when she came after him again. "He's not there!"

2D stopped dead. Oh. Well. Well, that changed things.

Wait. No it didn't!

"But 'oo're goin' t' find 'im, aren't 'oo?" he asked suspiciously.

Noodle winced, a little, then seemed to find her resolve again. "I don't know where he is," she said evenly. "But I plan on finding him, yes."

"Wull, then, I don' want nothin' t' do wit it," he snorted.

Something like anger seemed to ripple through her. 2D, having been on the receiving end of her displeasure in the past, stiffened and leaned a little away from her.

"You're acting like a child," she hissed, eyes narrow.

He worked his very hardest to keep his voice unimpressed. "Yeah, wull, good luck tryin' t' get me t' care."

"You're a coward!"

…okay, that kind of stung.

"Am not!" he said, offended.

"You are letting him kick you out of your own home!"

"'s not me – "

"Yes it is!" she insisted. "It's our home, and you're getting the opportunity to get there first!"

It took him a full ten second to process that, so much that he was halfway through turning his head belligerently away from her when it clicked. "Wait. Wot?"

Russel rumbled over to them, chest heaving and face slick with sweat. "God…damn."

Noodle kept her attention on him, face dead serious."This is your chance to – to assert your authority. Just don't let him treat you cruelly. Prove that you are worth something."

…this was actually starting to sound kind of good. He didn't want to admit it, though. So he tried to look resentful.

"It's easy for 'oo t' say," he accused. "'e's never laid a finger on 'oo."

"'cause he knows if she did she'd break his neck," Russel said, exasperated. "Jesus."

Okay. Okay, this was all sounding really, really good. But still…

"Wot about me job? Me pop?"

And again Noodle looked weirdly vulnerable, uncertain and awkwardly trying to find her footing. He kept having to remind himself that she was a teenager now.

"Are you…are you truly happier here?" she asked.

"…wull, no," he admitted. "But – "

"D, shut the fuck up and pack."