Here it is, guys, the Sepper one I promised, hot off the press. Sepper is my OTP, but I see it as more of an awkward crush on Pepper's part wherein it's unknown if Sunil actually returns her feelings. Talking too much… anyways! This is set in the same general course of events as "Penny for Your Laughs". Hope I got the details right… enjoy!
Pepper didn't mean to say it. She was just going on down the line, you know? Trying her new shtick out on everyone. She wasn't even thinking when the words came out of her mouth. Not even his sparkling amber eyes could persuade her to stop her incoming joke.
"Sunil, you're so boring, sheep count you!"
What… what the hell? What did she just say?
At about the same moment the mongoose turned away to put his head sadly on the box in front of him, Pepper wanted to punch herself in the jaw.
She wanted to tell him how sorry she was, how untrue her words were, how mean she was being. She could have thrown herself down at his little blue feet if it would make him smile for her.
But she didn't. That was how it always was—no matter how much she loved her friends, no matter how much they meant to her, she still didn't find the right ways to express her feelings. That was why she didn't stop to apologize. In fact, she kept moving down the line; Minka was her next target, the pink spider monkey Pepper loved so much receiving exactly the same treatment as the now-dejected mongoose.
It was only that night, in the comfort of her own house, where Pepper really felt the guilt. Sure, she had fixed things with Penny Ling… but Sunil was a different story. She knew the others had gotten over their respective jabs quite quickly—Sunil, however, was sensitive. He, like Penny, would not be fully okay until given an apology.
She knew where he had ran off to; after moping a little, he had almost certainly dashed straight to Vinnie. The gecko would be waiting, too, likely with a comforting hand, a gentle "It's okay, man, she cracked one about me, too" and the promise of a scary movie marathon that night to make up for the harm Pepper's new shtick was causing everyone.
Damn him. She loved the gecko like her little brother, but she knew she couldn't bear to see him wooing Sunil, with his nice attitude, gentle personality… big heart… oh, who was she kidding? She didn't have any of that stuff. Nothing Sunil would want, anyways…
She pulled her blanket above her head, trying to make the nagging thoughts disappear. It was going to be a long night.
The next day, after a fitful and tear-filled night's sleep, Pepper found herself, once again, at the pet shop. For once, there was nothing that excited her about the day ahead. With the way the guilt of her previous errors had been burrowing into her conscious, not even her genius new shtick could make her feel better. After all, she thought caustically, it was her shtick who had gotten her into this mess in the first place.
She looked around bitterly. Coulda used a few days away from this place. She grumbled internally to herself, wiping her aching eyes.
She said good-morning to no one as she bolted straight for her prop box. Tired though she was, there were a few things she had to set straight before she could relieve her aching conscious. The first thing on her priority list?
Fix things with Sunil. Step one to wooing him.
With that small glimmer of hope fighting valiantly against her nagging sense of guilt, she spent a few minutes sifting frantically through the plethora of comedy items she had accumulated over time before her covetous gray paw reached its target. She grinned to herself.
Bingo. This'll help him see.
She grasped a hold of the prop tightly, inspecting it. It was one of her favorite items—a water gun disguised as a daisy. Not only was it pure comedic gold, it was sure to elicit a chuckle from Sunil, whom she hoped would view it as a symbol of her, you know, feminine charms. Or whatever.
She figured she wouldn't put anything in it. After all, another trick with Sunil as the victim was sure to put her even farther out of this favor than she already was.
Still… that water dish looks miiiighty tempting. Hm? No, no, focus Pep. Eyes on the prize. You're trying to make it up to Sunil, not squirt him with some stupid water gun. The look on his face, though—his cute little face…
Though Pepper was waging a war against her conscious, she already knew which side would win. She liked Sunil, she really did. However, few things could beat a good joke, and still fewer could beat the skunk when she had her mind set on something.
With a quick, furtive glance around the shop (no one, thankfully, was paying her any heed) she began filling her daisy-turned-water-gun to the brim. With a giddy smile, she then turned to look for her target.
There he was, playing by himself in the far corner of the shop. No Vinnie yet, either, Pepper noted happily. He must be off watching T.V. Perfect.
She faked a lot of bravado for how nervous she was feeling, and walked right on up to the mongoose, paws behind her back to hide her comedic weapon.
Remember, Pepper, she scolded herself internally, This is about the apology… you can trick him after he starts to smile.
She began. Operation apology was a go.
"Hey Sunil, how are you on this loooovely morning?" she drawled with nervous excitement, both about her prospective apology and her prospective trick.
Despite the previous day's events, the mongoose didn't look too fazed. He gave her a small smile. "Oh, hello Pepper! I am fine, what about you?"
"Good as gold, buddy. Whatcha up to there?" She gestured to the box beside him, hoping she sounded genuine enough to please him.
"Right now I am in the process of preparing for my next magic trick. I want to make the contents of this box disappear completely." He paused and looked at her with strange eyes. Pepper was briefly confused at what he was getting at, but he soon continued slowly. "That is… not too boring for you, is it?"
Pepper could have sworn she heard her heart snap in two. Of course he remembered. She suddenly felt the full sting of her guilt rear its ugly head, the likes of which made her want to drop her prop and turn tail, away from the somber blue face of her friend and crush.
Still, though, she tried to continue. "Uh, heh, course not!" Her smile was forced and painful, and he looked on blankly at her.
After a pause, she shook off her smile and continued on. She sighed.
"Look, Sunil, I wanted to talk to you about that… What I said to you and the others yesterday wasn't right. I realize that now. Heck, I realized it the moment I said it. I didn't mean to hurt your feelings, or make you feel like I actually believed that about you. H-honestly, I think you're pretty cool, I mean, your magic tricks and everything are awes—"
It was hard to catch Pepper, in all her rugged overconfidence, by surprise. But the hug Sunil had enveloped her in might have done the trick. She couldn't breathe, and it wasn't due to the intensity of his hug. He was quite gentle, actually, with his comforting blue paws... her train of thought stopped and she turned a bright shade of red.
"Er, Pepper?" he inquired, snapping her out of her reverie. They were still in a semi-close position, but he had pulled away slightly to look at her with bemused eyes. "I do truly appreciate your apology. In tfact, I found it quite… touching, may I say. I am just glad you do not sincerely think I am a bore. Of course I forgive you and all of that, however I must ask… why am I all wet?"
She was dumbstruck. Two surprises in a row had left her unable to speak. Sunil's teal chest was covered in water, water that must have spurted from the daisy when he had hugged her.
"Eh, er, I… uh… wouldja believe it was part of another joke?" She had nothing left to do but be honest. Her eyes closed in a wince as she prepared for yet another heartbreaking action by Sunil.
Instead, she was met with the sound of his giddy laughter. Make that three surprises. Damn, they just wouldn't stop, would they? She opened her eyes to see him wiping a tear from his.
"Hehe, oh, Pepper," he chuckled in his low voice, "You are simply too much!" He paused again, this time looking quite happy. He seemed to be hesitating in some form, a little nervous. Pepper wondered why, but he soon answered her thought with a teasing, "You did not quite get me this time, though, did you? I suspect it was I who took you by surprise."
Woah, look at Casanova go, Pepper mused in response to his presumed attempt at flirting. Still, she was charmed… had she actually done it? Won his favor? With the way he was inspecting the daisy in his paws, she presumed so.
She grinned to herself, leaving him with the comedic prop. A little too much mushy stuff for one day, but she was still pleased.
Not boring, she mused, not boring at all.