She's My Collar

By: KKM

Disclaimer: I do not own the Gorillaz or any related characters/songs. Gorillaz are © Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

Last Time:

"It's okay, Toochi. I understand," she said, biting her lip and looking down. "We've both done some pretty deplorable things lately…" she trailed off and then looked back at him earnestly. "But I really love you and want this to work. We can do this, I just know it! We just need to be more open and honest with each other."

"I c'n do that," he nodded before leaning in to capture her soft lips in another kiss. This one was slower and more savoring as if he was sampling his favorite piece of cake. When he opened his eyes again they were warm and seemed to bare his soul to her. "Noodle, will yeh be my girlfwiend again?"

"You betcha!" she grinned. And so they began again.

Chapter 16: Ticker Tape

2D's grin practically stretched ear to ear as he helped put the finishing touches on the livingroom. Things had been going great in the months since he and Noodle had gotten back together. They were a little rocky at first (for obvious reasons), but they'd stuck true to their words and with a lot of patience and understanding had been powering through their short-comings. In fact, 2D couldn't remember a time when he'd been so happy. Gone was the lingering pain and sorrow that had once hung over him like a damp blanket. Instead, he was filled with a carefree lightheartedness he hadn't felt since he was young.

Sticking his tongue out between his teeth in concentration, he carefully jabbed a thumbtack into the brittle plaster of the wall and stepped back to admire his handy work. He was in luck, he'd gotten the banner straight on the first try! He mentally congratulated himself and looked all around the room at the various bright-colored decorations and origami animals that were now gently swinging from the ceiling and beamed at the colorful room.

Today was a special day after all. Not only was Russel coming back from America today, but on his way home he was supposed to pick up a freshly released Murdoc. They'd finally be all together again. Even though he'd really enjoyed spending some much-needed quality time with his lil' love, he'd really missed his best mates. He missed how Russel used to always bustle around the kitchen and make sure that they were all well and taken care of. He also missed goofing off and getting in trouble with Murdoc. He didn't care if people on the outside didn't understand the dynamic of their dysfunctional little family. They had always brought out the best in one another.

"Toochi, can you help me for a minute?" Noodle's voice called out from the kitchen.

"Be there inna sec!" he called back, already halfway across the livingroom with a bit of a bounce in his step. When he entered the kitchen, he stopped in the doorway and looked around with his brow coked up in bemusement. "Wot's all'is?" he asked, scratching his head at the ridiculous amounts of liquor that was littering the countertops and tables. "Yeh tryin' the kill'em their firs' day back? I fink one o' two kinds woulda' been enough," he chuckled, moving further into the room and kissing her cheek as she was trying to mix a complicated looking cocktail. She gave him a playful snort of indignance and swatted him away so she could stir it properly without sloshing it.

"Oh, come on now. You know as well as I do that Murdoc will come through here like a typhoon the moment he sets eyes on his long lost love," she said sarcastically, batting her eyes for effect before eyeing the drink she'd just mixed critically. "Yes, we could just give him some rum and vodka, but where would the fun be in that? At least this way he can get pissed while drinking something new. Who knows maybe it'll improve his breath if we hook him on the fruity stuff early," she said only half joking.

"I s'pose," he shrugged before wrapping his arms around her from behind and resting his head on her shoulder as she continued to work. His dark eyes watched her movements in rapt fascination.

"And who said I asked you in here for that?" she smirked up at him, though he knew she didn't mind by how relaxed she'd suddenly became as she leaned back against him. "Are the decorations finished? What about the pizza?"

"All tha' stuff's done," he replied lazily, nuzzling his face against her throat as his fingers ghosted over her sides gently. "I jus' finished wit teh 'Welcome 'Ome' bannna' an' the pizza towa' is next teh the couch," he bobbed his head a little as he listed off his duties causing her nose to twitch a little as his blue hair tickled at her face.

She suddenly unwound herself from him with a graceful twirl and gave him a mischievous smile when he pouted at her. "None of that, they'll be here any moment. Now help me get all these drinks to the livingroom. And don't spill any of it," she said that last part with narrowed eyes as she picked up a tray full of mai-tais and other fruity drinks before leaving the room.

2D stuck his tongue out at her when she wasn't looking and then glanced down at the tray he was supposed to carry. This one looked just as interesting and colorful. Checking that she wasn't looking, he leaned down and took a sip of an innocent looking brown colored one. He immediately wished he hadn't as he sputtered nearly spitting out the evil concoction as his face turned red from the sheer ferocity of it.

Who the hell would mix Fireball and Rumplemintz in a drink and serve it to someone on purpose!? He blindly grasped at the small little written out card she'd placed next to it and read 'Masterblaster' through water eyes. "Mastahblastah my arse," he grumbled, tossing the drink down the sink with a glare. "Mo' li' def inna cup." He quickly sniffled and wiped at his eyes in an attempt to hide the evidence before quickly rearranging the tray to make it look like it had never been there.

"2D, are you coming?" he heard Noddle shout from the livingroom.

"Commin'!" he said with a bit of a squeak and then quickly grabbed the tray to join her. Luckily there were no casualties on the way so when he reached the coffee table, he helped her spread out all of the drinks so that they were easily accessible without trying to look too guilty.

"You okay?" the guitarist asked with a knowing look twinkling in her expressive eyes. He may have hid the evidence, but she could definitely see his red cheeks and even if she couldn't she could certintly smell it. She stole a kiss to confirm her suspicions. "Hmmm, minty," she giggled, watching his face scrunch up in disgust. "What, you didn't like it?"

"No, it was 'orrible," he whined, pulling her toward them now that he didn't have to worry about any glasses tipping over. "I fink yeh almos' killed me."

"Well, we can't have that now, can we?" she teased about to lean forward when the doorbell suddenly rang causing them to jump apart in shock. "They're here!" she shouted excitedly, being the first one to recover as she ran up to the door with 2D close behind and threw it open to reveal a tired, but happy looking Russel and a slightly grumpy looking Murdoc with his arms crossed. She didn't even give them time to react as she threw herself at them with a strong hug. "Missed you!"

Murdoc let out a raspy cry of shock almost falling backwards if Russel hadn't been behind him to keep him steady. His hard resolve melted almost immediately as he hugged her back before giving her a somewhat awkward pat on the head. "S'nuff o' that, girly," he chuckled as she released him. Then he turned his attention to 2D who was bouncing up and down on the balls of his feet as if trying to restrain himself. "Tha' fuck're you doin? Get ova' 'ere," Murdoc demanded and like the overgrown child he was 2D immediately engulfed him in a hug causing the older man to roll his eyes. "Satan, you're pathetic. You know tha' Tusspot?"

When it became clear that the lanky singer didn't plan on releasing him anytime soon, he lightly sucker-punched him in the gut and ducked out of his arms. "OooOOOooo, piña colada. Lovely," he purred, ignoring the kicked puppy look the blue haired man was throwing him for the wide selection of beverages that were suddenly in his eyesight. He wiggled his finger in anticipation before happily serving himself with a content sigh.

"Tosser," 2D muttered with a wince. Honestly, Muds hadn't hit him all that hard; just enough to make the other man release him. But still, that was mean. He shook his head in amusement, still rubbing the spot where the older man had jabbed him before he turned back to Russel and smiled.

Russel currently had his beefy arms wrapped around Noodle with a peaceful look on his face as he allowed her to practically squeeze him to death. Finally she muttered something to him in Japanese before kissing his cheek and releasing him with a happy look on her face that made her seem years younger as she walked passed them to see how Murdoc was enjoying her homemade drinks.

"'D! How you been, man?" Russel asked, thumping the thin man on the back so hard he almost knocked him over like a ragdoll. "Whoops," he laughed as he looked over the other man. He was happy to note that the tired bags around the singer's eyes seemed smoother and he wasn't as pale and frail looking as he'd ben when the drummer had left. "You look good! Finally over that gurl, huh?"

"Fanks!" 2D grinned at him before laughing the last part of his comment away. "Yeh, go' that all straightened ou'. I feel lika' new man fanks teh Noodle's help."

As the singer spoke, Russel's milky gaze landed on the girl who was now laughing at the disgusted look on their leader's face as she'd tricked him into trying one of her more inventive mixes. His lips turned up in a pleased sort of way as he noticed that she too looked much more healthy and lively. For the longest time he knew that she'd been having a harder time with everything than she'd let on so it was nice to see her finally in good spirits. He'd been very worried for both of them while he'd been away, but it seemed like everything had worked out for the best. "Yeah, she's pretty coo' like that," he said proudly. Then he noticed the boxes stacked next to the couch and his eyes lit up. "Awwww yeah, pizza! Tha's what I'm talkin' about!"

Once everyone had a chance to eat a bit and relax, thy started going around the room telling each other what they'd been up to in the months they'd been apart. Russel went first as he assured them that everyone was still on board for the new album. He also filled them in on the crazy shenanigans that was going on in the American election. "Politics, man," he shuddered. "That kinda' shit makes me glad I live over here. I honestly have no idea how that's gonna work out, but either way it didn't seem good."

"We'll 'ave teh keep an eye on it," Murdoc suggested with a thoughtful look. "Much as I dun care 'bout their elections we might be able to use somethin' teh make a statement. Memba' tha' song we did wi' Benjamin? Wouldn' they just shit if we released tha' right before the big day regardless of who gets it?" he mused, getting that look on his face that signaled he was plotting something.

"Hmmmn, yeah that could work," Russel replied absently, rubbing his chin. Noodle and 2D shared a look of boredom. They seldom cared for discussions like this.

"So, Murdoc," Noodle started, trying to change the subject. "How was prison this time? No black market explosives this time, I hope."

"Heeeey," he growled, narrowing his mismatched eyes at her. "No there wasn't, thank ye very much. Nah, mostly kept to me-self this time. Though it wasn't half bad out in tha' yard. Bloody morons couldn't understan' why they kept getting attacked by crows. It was fuckin' hilarious," he grinned evilly. "Then I may have done somethin' to provoke a poltergeist at some stupi' cunts who thought they could ge' the best me. Let's just say tha' they won't be botherin' anyone anymore…" he trailed off with a gleeful look in his eyes.

"Riiiiiiight," 2D twitched nervously tapping his fingertips together as he tried to search his foggy mind for a subject change but came up blank. He ended up staring off with a pained look on his face as he forgot what he was trying to think about.

Russel shook his head in amusement; still the same old 2D, that was for sure. He turned his focus to Noodle who was nibbling at a pizza crust. "So, what have you guys been up to while we've been gone?"

"Oh, um not much really," Noodle replied with a shrug, tossing what was left into the empty pizza box. She silently kicked 2D's leg hard beside her causing him to yelp and blink stupidly at them.

"I've been workin' onna new song!" he supplied, successfully removing their attention from her as they stared at him with interest. "S'not finished yet. But I'm hopin' it will be soon," he said proudly.

"Is that so?" Murdoc asked him doubtfully. 2D was already dazing off with a weird grin on his face, probably thinking about the song again. Or maybe day dreaming about his inspiration for the song. Either way, Murdoc didn't seem pleased about being ignored so he tipped over a glass of ice on top of the vacant man's head and laughed out loud as the singer started flailing around trying to shake out he cold ice cubes that had just slid down his shirt. This only succeeded in getting everyone wet.

"Oi!" 2D gasped, grabbing some leftover pizza and smashing it into the bassist's face in retaliation. Everyone froze in surprise at the action and waited in tense silence for the older man's reaction.

A slow predatorial grin split the Satanist's face and that was all it took.

No one was sure who grabbed for what first. All four of them were grabbing and throwing anything they could get their hands on in probably the messiest and stickiest food fight they'd ever been a part of. Nothing was safe! Not even the decorations as melted cheese and pepperonis went flying in all directions. Something about them all being together finally after so long had broke them into this adrenaline-fueled madness and not one of them could find a reason to be mad about it.

When they'd finally ran out of ammo, 2D and Noodle had found themselves bunkered behind the couch while Murdoc had knocked over the coffee table to use as a shield and Russel had unsuccessfully tried to hide behind an armchair. They looked around the room and burst out laughing. They hadn't done anything this ridiculous with each other since they'd lived together at Kong.

"Well, I betta ge' this shit offa' me so I c'n get some rest," Murdoc said, stretching his hands high above his head causing his back to pop a little. "Mmn, a real bed," he mumbled to himself.

"Uh, yeah. Imma need a shower fo' sure," Russel chucked, scratching the back of his head. There was a peperoni stuck to his forehead, but he either didn't seem to mind or couldn't feel it as he turned to start for the stairs.

Noodle looked around the room, biting her lip a bit. "Maybe we should clean this up tomorrow," she suggested.

"Mo' cleaning?" 2D groaned, slouching against the back of the couch with an exhausted frown.

"Well, on tha' note I'm out," Murdoc said, heading to the door. There was no way he was about to get roped into cleaning when he'd just gotten back.

Noodle sighed and rolled her eyes as she tugged 2D away from the pizza massacre. "C'mon, Toochi. Let's get you all cleaned up."

Though they did clean the livingroom the next day, the smell of pizza never did quite come out of the carpet. 2D had found it hilarious and started drawing little comics of the pizza phantom he told them was haunting the Spirit House. He never realized until later that Murdoc had swiped one of them and wouldn't know about it until a couple of weeks later when their leader announced their upcoming trip to Jamaica.

A/N: This chapter was meant to be a bit silly but also showing how everything is slowly being pieced back together. We'd had so many depressing chapters that I wanted the reunion to be fun and light-hearted. The rest will be more serious and fitting I suppose.

The next chapter will take place when the band went to Jamaica to record with Popcaan. The next chapter will also be the last chapter that takes place in the past so it will kind of full circle to where we were in the present.

Enjoy!