Thanks so much to everyone who posted reviews! It means a lot! :) ((disclaimer: i do not own gorillaz. all rights go to damon albarn and jamie hewlett.))

When Russel got home that afternoon, it was quiet.

Too quiet.

"Hello?" He closed the door. "Noodle? Muds? D? Anyone home?"

There was a loud snuffling noise on the couch. Russel carefully made his way into the living room. "Yo, Muds."

Murdoc groaned. "Whassamatter..."

"Where's Noodle and 2D?"

The bassist rubbed his sleepy eyes and shrugged. "I dunno."

Russel rolled his eyes and went back into the kitchen, where he proceeded to restock the fridge and cabinets with food. He had been running all sorts of errands today; getting junk food for 2D and Noodle's late-night video-gaming, stopping at a convenience store to get some cigs, and picking up as much as he could take home of their fan mail.

Russel threw a pack of cigarettes as Murdoc. "Here."

He perked up and took one of the box.

"Not in here, Muds."

Murdoc waved him off and lit it. He took a drag and exhaled, sending a gray cloud of smoke into the air.

Russel scowled. "Go outside or something. Don't make this place smell worse than it already does."

He puffed a smoke ring at him and stood up, slightly wobbly from sitting all day. "I'm gonna go check on the girls."

Murdoc wouldn't have made it up the stairs if it hadn't been for the railing. He was glad it was there. He flung open 2D's bedroom door.

"Faceache, are you in h-" He froze, unable to finish his sentence.

Noodle and 2D were in the middle of, er, making out.

The next couple minutes were a bit of a blur. Murdoc started screaming at the top of his lungs, which called Russel upstairs to see what all the fuss was about. 2D and Noodle sat, red-faced and uncomfortable while Murdoc shouted at them.

"-YOU SERIOUS RIGHT NOW WHAT THE BLOODY HELL WERE YOU THINKING 2D I THOUGHT YOU KNEW BETTER THAN TO DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS JESUS-"

Russel rubbed a large hand over his face. "Anyone care to tell me what's going on?"

Noodle was too mortified to say anything. 2D opened his mouth to speak, but couldn't get a word in.

"WHAT'S GOING ON? WHAT'S GOING ON?! I COME UP HERE ARE FIND THESE TWO EXCHANGING SPIT AND RUBBIN' THEIR HANDS ALL OVER EACH OTHER AND-"

"Murdoc!" Noodle yelled. "Shut. Up."

He narrowed his eyes. "I'm talking to you, too, young lady."

"I'm twenty-three years old, in case you haven't noticed," she hissed, seeming to grow bigger with each word that she uttered. "I can make my own decisions. I'm not a kid anymore, and it's not weird that I'm with 2D, okay?"

"Weird. Pah. Well, it's weird for me! And for Russel, too. Right, Russ?"

Russel shrugged. "She's got a point, man. You can't baby her anymore."

Murdoc, seeing that no one was taking his side, sputtered and hmph-ed all the way downstairs.

Russel reluctantly followed him downstairs, not eager to witness another tantrum.

Oh my God. Noodle buried her face in her hands. That was awful.

2D, who had been silent this whole time, put a hand on her shoulder. "It could've gone worse, y'know."

"I know." She smiled and took his hand. "He'll get over it."

But he didn't.

For three days, eleven hours, and twenty six minutes, Murdoc acted as if 2D and Noodle didn't even exist. They tried talking to him, but not once did he respond. It was as if he couldn't hear a word they said.

"Okay," said Noodle on the second day. "This is getting ridiculous.."

2D picked at a loose string on his tshirt. "Yeah. Why isn't Muds talking to us? Is he mad?"

Russel knew what was going on. He decided to have a little talk with Murdoc. On the third day, he approached him in the kitchen, cautiously, as if he were made of glass. "Murdoc."

He pulled a beer out of the fridge and sniffed. "What?"

"We need to talk."

"Yeah, yeah. About what?"

"Our other band members. You know, the ones you've been ignoring for the past three days."

He took a swig from the bottle and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "Oh. Right. That."

"You gotta stop this. They ain't hurtin' anyone. What's the big deal?"

Murdoc clenched his jaw. "I... don't know." He sat down on a chair, slumped. "There's something about this that just bugs me."

Russel sat next to him. "You're afraid that you're losing your little girl, aren't you?"

"That's ridiculous," he said. He paused. "You really think so?"

"She's growing up. Fast. You need to face that. And D... you should be glad she chose a guy like him. Think about it. There are hundreds of other guys who'd lie to her and leave her in the dust. She's in a good place right now."

Murdoc sighed. He finished his beer and went up to see the other half of the band.

Approaching Noodle's room, he lingered in the hallway. Her and the dullard were singing a duet to El Mañana, and they didn't sound half-bad. The guitarist's sweet voice mixed with 2D's smoky, slightly raspy vocals. It was nice to listen to. After they had finished, he heard them talking and laughing softly. Before he could lose his nerve, he burst into the room.

Noodle, who had been writing down guitar chords in a notebook, stopped and stared at him. 2D put down his guitar. "Hullo."

"Hey." Murdoc hung awkwardly in the doorway. "Can I talk to you guys?"

2D shrugged. "Sure."

"Sorry I've been such an arse lately. Noodle, I was just scared to think of how much you've grown up. And Stu, I'm glad you're with her. If I had to pick someone to be with our little girl, it'd be you." He ruffled each of their heads affectionately, messing up their hair.

"Um, thanks, Murdoc." 2D patted his hair down. "Means a lot."

Noodle smiled knowingly. "I thought it was about that. You guys need to come to terms with reality! Don't I look different? I don't know how you keep thinking I'm still twelve."

Murdoc smiled. "You'll always be our little girl, Noods."

Noodle rolled her eyes. "I know, I know."