Thank you for all of your wonderful reviews. I hope you all enjoy this chapter, though it's a bit shorter than I wanted it to be; it's just the first reaction of 2D to Noodle's return... I'll get Muds and Russ more involved later.
"I'm caught again in the mystery..."
Upon hearing the soft music that came from the familiar man's lips, Noodle slowly rounded the corner until she saw him just standing there. He didn't even notice her. He was just staring at a familiar and cherished photo inside a frame he held in his hand, singing the lyrics rather slowly. Noodle felt her heart burst to life as she stepped into the room quietly and listened to his voice in awe. He was an angel, setting her soul aflame and slowly bringing her back to life. Noodle had not spoken in years, the only noises being coughs, sneezes, screams, moans, groans, and occasional singing, and she was slightly apprehensive about speaking now, so she opted for cutting in instead.
"…I'm sorry that you're feeling it, but I just have to tell you that I… love you so much these days –"
She took a breath as he sung the line, and decided it was now or never, but the words had already begun to escape her lips. "Have to tell you that I – love you so much these days… it's true…" She had sung softly, quietly, but her voice still sliced though the air like a guillotine and left 2D in a state of complete shock. At that moment, time slowed down a considerable amount. He felt the frame he'd been holding slip through his fingers, and was oblivious to the sound of the cracking glass and frail wood as it crashed onto the floor. Slowly, he turned his head to meet the gaze of the very being who had been holding his heart for all of these years.
"Noodle…" he whispered, breathless. He warily stepped forward, extending his arm slowly toward her, as though she was just a figment of his imagination and any swift movement would cause his delusion to evaporate into thin air. "I…ih-it can't be… issit? Issit really yew… Noodle-girl…" His voice cracked, and his breathing hitched as he took another slow step. "Please dun leave me again," he breathed. He took another slow deliberate step forward, looking her up and down, noticing the bruise that now marked a large part of the right side of her face, and the scars that he could see around her neck. She was soaking wet… Did she swim here? Aside from the obvious imperfections that now marked her, she was still a breathtaking sight to behold…
She felt her eyes becoming hot with tears as he spoke to her. She bit her lip, transfixed with this man that stood before her. "It… it is me… 2D-san… I am… really here." Her voice had barely escaped her lips, but 2D had still heard her.
He sprang forward and wrapped his arms around her, holding her as close to himself as he could, not caring that he was now becoming wet himself from her soaked clothing. "Oh, Noodle… Oh my gawd, Noodle… I-I-I-I… I-I c-can' believe… ih's really, really yew!" He choked back a sob. He scrunched his face, tears now streaming down his cheeks when he realised that Noodle had suddenly gone quiet, and she had gasped when he pulled her into his arms. He could feel her body becoming noticeably tense as time went on, and he immediately let her go, but kept his hands on either side of her face, looking into her eyes. He was slightly surprised he could see her green eyes, being that she used to wear her fringe so low over her face before now. "Are yew alright, Noodle…" he asked, brushing his fingers across her cheeks.
She nodded. "I am… sorry, 2D-san… It's just that… I have not exactly had much… interaction with another human in… a very long time." She tried to explain, looking into the emotionless, black dents where 2D's eyes should have been.
His face dropped. "I'm sorry, Noodle-girl… ih's jus' tha'… I 'aven't seen yew in so long," he spoke, his tone full of longing. "And, well… I-I guess I wosn't really finkin about anyfink otha than making sho yew wos really there." He chewed on the inside of his cheek, wanting nothing more than to hold her close to his body and comfort her, and let her tell him that she was really here, and he in return would never let her go again.
Noodle reached up to place her hand over 2D's own, where he held her face. "I understand, 2D-san… I am sure that I can get used to it again… eventually…" She spoke, her voice low and washed over with pain.
2D looked toward the hand now placed over his own and grimaced, "Wos that, then, Noodle? Whot did yew do to yo 'and?" He asked, concerned about the blood from her palm now smeared onto his skin. She pulled her hand away and examined it, upset at the fact that her wound must have opened again without her realising it, but her face remained resigned. She sighed, and held her hand carefully, bowing her head.
"It is nothing, 2D-san," she told him. "I just cut myself when I grabbed your knife without thinking," she explained, now starting to shiver slightly in her cold, wet clothes. He nodded, turning toward his bed, reaching under and pulling out two clean tissues. He took her hand in his, and placed the tissue in her palm, closing her hand tightly to absorb the blood.
"An' whot abou' this?" He lightly brushed his fingers along the bruising beneath her right eye. "Ih looks rather painful… How'd yew do this?" He asked her curiously. Noodle looked away, bowing her head, and 2D was forced to drop his hand. She bit her lip, closing her eyes as a single tear squeezed out from her eyelid, and raced down her face, dropping onto the floor to be forgotten, unlike the memories that Noodle was forced to carry with her. He grimaced, not quite sure of what her reaction to his question meant. "Wos te matteh, Noodle-girl?"
She shook her head, and her breathing hitched as she spoke, "I do not… want to talk about that right now." She reached up with her own hand and touched the bruise, hating the way it still felt as though it were fresh. "It is… I have… not really thought about how… how it happened… in… ever…" She opened her eyes finally, and began looking at the scars that decorated her arms.
Still frowning, 2D watched her, though he couldn't clearly see what she was looking at in the dim light of his room. He was confused. She was so different; what had happened to the outspoken, bubbly teenager he'd had before? "I'm sorry, Noodle… Yew don' have ta tell me if yews don't remembah-"
"But I do remember, 2D-san," she cut him off, staring into his eyes with her own. He felt his heart falter as he saw the anguish buried beneath the blank face she hid behind. "I remember… everything… like a bad dream… a horrible nightmare…" She spoke quietly, but her words still impacted him greatly.
"Awright then… I guess I unde'stan…" he nodded to himself, his brow scrunched as he tried to come up with any answer, any reason as to why she seemed so lost. Why did it seem as though she had lost herself? And why did she seem so hurt and timid?
"I am sorry, 2D-san… I will tell you," she told him desperately. He looked toward her again, his face still sorrowful, and full of broken thoughts. "…In time, but not… not right now… when I am ready, I promise to tell." She told him.
He lifted his hand, and touched her face again, stroking her skin lightly. She looked back to his face, watching him as he gazed at the bruise that marred her. She wondered if maybe he thought it was disgusting, and wanted to look away from him, and hide her face, but she didn't want to leave him again. She didn't know if she could handle being away from him. "Yew don' haff ta tell me," he whispered. He moved his free hand to hold onto hers, grinning when she curled her fingers over his.
"I want to," her voice was full of pain, but oddly, she still wore no emotion on her face.
He nodded slowly, and began brushing through her hair with his fingers, his expression painted with sadness as he tried to comfort her. She stepped forward, hesitantly at first, but wanting the warmth of his arms again, she walked forward until she met him, wrapping her arms around his waist. He smiled warmly, wrapping his own arms around her, tears slipping down his face when he heard her sigh lightly in reaction. He rested his head atop hers, which was quite a bit shorter than his own. He moved his hand to her back, and rubbed his hand into her wet shirt, like he used to do when she was younger, and they stayed in the position for a couple of minutes until 2D's voice broke the silence, "I fink we shou' get yew inta some dry clothes. Don' want yew catchin a cold now." She nodded and reluctantly pulled away. "Um… I guess yew could wear one of me shirts," he suggested.
"Actually… I have my things… they are just outside of your room," she told him, her eyes darting out the door anxiously.
"Oh… well, tha's great," He spoke, and left the room for about twenty seconds before returning with her two suitcases and wet rucksack. "Here," he placed them on the ground. "Yew get dressed, an' I'll be righ' back," he told her. Swiftly, before she could respond, he left, taking the lift and leaving Noodle to her own devices. He knew if she spoke, he wouldn't be able to resist going back to her, and begging her to speak to him, but he needed to take care of her right now. She'd been on her own for years, but in this moment, it was the first time in a long while she had actually felt lonely.
Noodle threw the tissues in her hand away and took a clean one. After a couple of seconds, she opened her suitcase, taking out her pajamas for the night. She squeezed out of her wet clothes that stuck tightly to her frozen skin, and threw them to the side of the suitcase. She unhooked her bra and underwear and stuffed them underneath the other wet clothes. She quickly stepped into her pajama bottoms and pulled them up over her hips, then pulled her shirt over her head. 2D had just come back when she had finished changing. She jumped at the sound of his voice. "Alrigh', now jus' lemme change me wet shirt an' we'll get yo 'and awl fixed up." He placed the medical kit he left to fetch on his bed and walked toward his closet to find a dry shirt and some pajama bottoms to put on while Noodle took a seat in the middle of his bed.
She blushed and looked away when 2D pulled off his shirt with his back toward her. He quickly pulled off his own trousers and replaced them with his pajama bottoms, then went back over to Noodle, setting himself next to her as he opened the medical kit he'd brought down. He took some antibacterial cream and wet wipes, as well as a bandage, laying them out beside his leg to get easy access to them. "2D-san, you do not have to-"
"I know, Noodle-girl. But I want to," he spoke, softly taking hold of her injured hand, laying it palm up in his own, and wiping it off with one of the wet wipes, which stung a bit. He then spread the cream across her palm to prevent infection. She watched his hands as they made their quick, sure movements and she was transfixed as she watched him place a bandage on her hand and then wrap it up for her, wondering how he could have found the time, or excuse, to figure out how to tend to wounds. He reached out and used his fingers to coax her chin up to look him face-to-face. He grinned and put a dab of some sort of healing ointment in his hand, taking a small amount on the tips of two of his fingers. "T'is will 'elp yo bruise get betta," he told her gently. She nodded, giving him permission. He pushed her fringe aside and dabbed it lightly onto her skin, massaging it in until it the lotion was no longer visible, then he handed her a brush, which she took and began combing the knots out of her still slightly wet hair.
"Thank you, 2D-san," she whispered.
"Anythin' for you, Noodle," he breathed. She handed him the brush and he took that, as well as the medical kit, and put it down next to her things. "All righ' t'en. I fink ih's time ta get some rest," he grinned. He caught her off guard when he picked her up off the bed and pulled the blankets aside. He laid her back down and pulled the blanket over her, tucking her in.
"But this is your bed," she protested quietly, still shocked that he had moved her from her place.
He shrugged, "I know. But yew need summere ta sleep, an' I don' mind crashing on one o' te couches upstairs."
As he turned to leave, Noodle began to feel anxious about being left alone. She didn't want to be abandoned again. What if she woke up, and she was back in Kong? Would 2D still be there when she woke? This island made her feel unwelcome, and she didn't want to find herself on her own the very first night she was forced to sleep here, especially not after she'd found the man she'd been searching for since before she'd been dragged to hell. "Will you stay with me," she spoke into the silence. "In here?" He turned to face her, standing in the doorway, staring at her, his expression unreadable. "I do not… want to be alone… I am… afraid."
"I don' fink t'as a good idea," he swallowed nervously.
"Please, 2D-san," she whispered. He knew he could never resist her pleas. Without even making the decision to do so, 2D found himself walking back to her, hesitant to touch her again. He didn't want to make her upset like she had been before. Carefully, he moved onto the bed, breathing deeply as he laid down beside her, not daring to get too close to her body, but it was difficult on his small cot.
"Yew know, t'is reminds me o'when yew used ta sleep wiff me when yew wos a li'l girl," he spoke, his voice soft.
"Won't you be cold," she asked, wondering why he had chosen not to get beneath the covers with her, but partly relieved that he'd decided not to.
He ruffled her hair playfully, "Nah. I'll be fine, Noodle-girl. S'kinda warm in 'ere t'night…," he explained. He brushed his hand through her hair as he watched her for a short moment. "Noodle…"
"Yes, 2D-san?" She looked to him again.
"How did yew find us," he asked, clearly curious as to how she could have found them on an island that was believed to be nonexistent.
She looked to the ceiling as she spoke, "I found a picture, and then I took a boat and followed the stars for nine days until I found the island…" Yes, she knew she would definitely never want to have to go through that again. Being stranded in the middle of the ocean had been, well, nothing compared to Hell, but certainly had taken its toll on her.
"A boat, huh… Then why was yew awl wet when I sawr ya?" He asked with more enthusiasm.
"It sunk," she stated simply.
He grimaced, "So yew had to swim 'ere?"
She nodded, "Yes, but only about ten miles…"
He pouted his lips, wondering how she could not have found the fact that she had to swim in that freezing, whale- filled ocean for ten miles absolutely terrifying. The thought of the whale made him shudder, so he decided to move onto another question bubbling from his lips. "An' since when do yew read stars," he teased.
"I did not before now… it was really hard to find this place," she told him, watching his face curiously. "I was worried that I had come out here for nothing." She looked away from him again.
He smiled softly, "But yew didn't. Yew're a real brave girl, yew know? I don' fink I could 'ave done ih." He sighed.
"What if you knew I was here?" She questioned.
"If I knew yew wos 'ere… then I would 'ave tried," he breathed. She nodded, satisfied with his answer. A few silent moments passed before 2D spoke again, "Noodle?"
"Yes," she looked at him again.
He scrunched his brow, unsure of how he should tell her, or how she would react. "I fink t'at I should tell yew… Murdoc… well he…"
"He what?" She asked, worried something had happened to him.
He took a deep breath, swallowing back the bile that crept up his esophagus. "Well, yew wos gone, an' e needed someone oo' could play te guitar like yew… so he… 'e made an android… he wanted ta replace ya… and 'e did… wiff 'at piece a scap metal t'at looks jus' like yew…"
"I see," she said in a low voice. "That explains a lot…"
He arched his eyebrow in confusion, expecting her to be more upset. She didn't frown or anything. She just kept that blank, emotionless expression on her face. "But she's nuffin like yew… she doesn' even compare…" he whispered.
"That is… nice to hear," she breathed.
"I can't believe 'ow old yew got," he mumbled as he cupped her cheek in his hand and rubbed the bruising under her eye with his thumb. "I guess I wos jus' expectin tha' when I found yew, yeh'd still be tha' li'l girl tha' wos me bes' friend in te whole world. An' now yews all grown up… nineteen years ol'…" He began to trail off.
"Do you miss me being little?" She asked, saddened by his words.
"Yeah, sometimes," he looked away for a second, before fixing his eyes on her once more. "But I don' care. Yew wos gonna get old whether yew wos 'ere or not… an yew know whot?"
"What?" She asked, her voice hushed.
He smiled, "I wosn' expecting yew ta get so beautiful… I mean, yew wos beau'iful before, but now yo so much more…" He flushed, realising the words that had escaped his lips, and pulled his hand away. He bit his lip, worried that he had accidentally made her uncomfortable. She was a woman now –he shouldn't be saying such things to her when his words could be mistaken.
She blushed in return, "Thank you…"
"Are yeh tired yet?" He whispered, changing the subject.
"Yes, a little," she answered, and she turned to face the wall, trying to relax her body to fall asleep. He turned to lye on his back, staring at the ceiling before finally drifting off himself.
(When this began)
I had nothing to say
And I get lost in the nothingness inside of me
(I was confused)
And I let it all out to find
That I'm not the only person with these things in mind
(Inside of me)
But all that they can see the words revealed
Is the only real thing that I've got left to feel
(Nothing to lose)
Just stuck, hollow and alone
And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own
I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long
(Erase all the pain 'til it's gone)
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I've wanted all along
Somewhere I belong
And I've got nothing to say
I can't believe I didn't fall right down on my face
(I was confused)
Looking everywhere only to find
That it's not the way I had imagined it all in my mind
(So what am I)
What do I have but negativity
'Cause I can't justify the way, everyone is looking at me
(Nothing to lose)
Nothing to gain, hollow and alone
And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own
I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long
(Erase all the pain 'til it's gone)
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I've wanted all along
Somewhere I belong
I will never know myself until I do this on my own
And I will never feel anything else, until my wounds are healed
I will never be anything 'til I break away from me
I will break away, I'll find myself today
I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real
I wanna let go of the pain I've felt so long
(Erase all the pain 'til it's gone)
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real
I wanna find something I've wanted all along
Somewhere I belong
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm somewhere I belong
I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm somewhere I belong
Somewhere I belong
Linkin Park - Somewhere I Belong
FYI, I am not bashing any characters in this story, especially not Murdoc, but he is a bit cynical at first in this story. I think he's fantastic, as well as Russel, but I have to say that I do adore Noodle and 2D even more.