Chapter 9 - The belt
March 14, 1990
Today was Wakko's birthday.
It goes without saying that the now five year old was super happy to be celebrating his big day today. Aunt Amelia drove Wakko and his siblings to her house to celebrate. Sadly, his mom and dad weren't joining them for the celebration. His older brother Yakko had told him that mom and dad were not feeling well and could not come. Wakko was upset at first about his parent's absence, and thought that they didn't care about his birthday. But after his big brother reassured him that mom and dad are still very proud of him, and they told Yakko to wish him a happy birthday, it made him feel a little better. The birthday party his aunt threw for him quickly put Wakko in high spirits; he completely forgot about his parents not being there and simply enjoyed the day.
The whole inside of his aunt's house was decorated with colorful streamers and balloons. Wakko was amazed at how colorful and pretty the living room looked. His aunt gave his birthday card shortly after they arrived. It was a store bought card with a picture of a dog holding a big number five on the cover. Then, Yakko gave him the card that he and Dottie made for him. Yakko had drawn a picture of the three of them with crayons, with the words 'Happy birthday Wakko!' bolded above the picture. Wakko was so happy that he gave his brother the tightest hug imaginable. His big brother smiled as he ruffled the top of his head, just like he always does.
After that, it was time for cake. The family sat down at the dining room table, everyone eagerly waiting to get their hands on a slice of birthday cake. Wakko was especially excited for the cake; it was his favorite thing about birthdays in his humble opinion. After what felt like an eternity of waiting, his aunt finally entered the room carrying his birthday cake. Wakko's eyes lit up, his mouth watered as they laid upon the marvel sitting in front of him. It was a chocolate birthday cake with chocolate frosting, made upon Wakko's request. He could barely contain himself as he gazed at the cake, but his big brother restrained his grabby hands from getting a hold of the great big dessert.
"Aunt Amelia has to light the candles first." Yakko reminded him.
Aunt Amelia lit a match and lit six candles on the cake. Five candles for Wakko's age and a sixth candle for the year after. The light of the candles illuminated his face with it's orange glow. Yakko and his aunt led the birthday song, and as soon as the last word of the dity had been uttered, Wakko took a deep breath, filling his lungs with air, and exhaled as hard as he could. The candles flickered on the cake, eventually fizzing out into light puffs of smoke. Aunt Amelia, Yakko, and Dottie clapped and cheered for him. Wakko could only grin. Seeing the happy, blissful smiles of his siblings and aunt brought a certain sense of joy to him. It was a feeling that he couldn't quite put into words, but it was a wonderful feeling that he felt.
The feeling of having those you love be with you on such a special occasion.
Wakko proceeded to shove cake into his mouth, handful by handful. The cake was moist, and the homemade chocolate frosting tasted perfectly sweet. It was irresistible; Wakko ate at least two slices of cake, both slices being consumed in under five minutes. His aunt chuckled, advising him that he take his time and chew, but Wakko was so excited that he ignored his aunt's advice and continued to swallow as much cake as he was able to fit into his mouth. It was his birthday, so he should be able to eat as much cake as he wanted, or at least that was Wakko's rule of thumb.
After feasting on cake, it was time for Wakko to open his presents. Wakko followed his older brother into the living room. He climbed onto the couch, positioning himself so that he was sitting on the cushion. Yakko sat next to him, with his sister Dottie sitting on his lap. Wakko smiled widely, his tongue rolled out of his mouth. He waited with anticipation for his birthday presents. Receiving fun new toys was his second favorite part about birthdays. He couldn't wait to play with the new toys that he got.
"Auntie got me new Hot Wheels cars for my birthday," Wakko thought out loud.
"I dunno, sib," replied Yakko, a smirk forming on his face, "Maybe she got you broccoli instead."
"Eww! That's gross!" Said Wakko in disgust.
"Broccoli yucky!" Agreed Dottie.
Then, his aunt Amelia appeared from her bedroom, juggling a handful of presents in her arms. Wakko's eyes lit up, his tail started to wag with excitement. His aunt set the presents down on the coffee table. She then turned towards him and his siblings and smiled. She held a small Poloroid camera in her hands, her finger hovering over the button.
"You guys look precious," his aunt told them.
"Precious," Wakko repeated, inquisit to the new word he had just learned.
"Scoot closer together," she said, "So I can take your picture."
Wakko scooted closer to Yakko. Yakko extended his arm out and wrapped it around Wakko's neck, squeezing his shoulders firmly. His aunt's smile grew wider as her finger pressed the button on the camera. The camera flashed, blinding Wakko with its light. Wakko rubbed his eyes trying to be rid of the pain the camera flash caused to his eyeballs.
"Ugh. I hate that flash!" He groaned.
Yakko too was rubbing his eyes. "Warn me next time before you decide to blind me," he deadpanned.
"You two are one in the same," aunt Amelia laughed dryly.
Surprisingly, Dottie was the only sibling not to be affected by the camera's bright light. She remained perfectly calm.
His aunt handed Wakko his first gift. Wakko practically ripped the present out of her hands and quickly tore through the wrapping paper. His first gift was something that he was expecting to get:
" HOT WHEELS!" Wakko shouted as he held up four packs of Hot Wheels cars.
To no surprise, his next present was another four packs of Hot Wheels bundled up into one thick piece of wrapping paper. Following that was a toy police car, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures, and two new pairs of overalls to replace the ones that he ripped a hole in. Wakko felt satisfied with all of the gifts he had received. It was the biggest amount of birthday gifts he had ever received from his aunt.
"Thanks, auntie!" Wakko said sweetly, hugging his aunt's arm.
"You're welcome, kiddo," his aunt replied.
But there was still one more gift on the coffee table that Wakko hadn't opened yet. His aunt grabbed the small, rectangular gift from the table and handed it to the boy. Wakko grabbed the gift from his aunt and, just like he has before, started to quickly tear through the wrapping paper.
"Be careful with that one," his aunt advised, "That is the most expensive gift I bought for you."
Wakko didn't care enough to listen, and he continued to recklessly tear through the paper. Once the wrapping paper had been shredded, and Wakko saw what was underneath, he immediately frowned. All the anticipation he had before was gone.
"It's just a box," Wakko said, looking up at his aunt in disappointment.
His brother Yakko smiled, placing a hand on his shoulder and leaning closer to him.
"What's inside?" He asked.
Wakko opened the lid of the small box and glanced inside. He couldn't believe his eyes. Inside the box was a pair of rubber gloves. The gloves were a bright white color, neatly packaged inside the box. Wakko had always wanted his own pair of gloves, but whenever he asked his brother Yakko for his own pair, he would say, " You'll get them someday."
Someday is now.
His aunt assisted Wakko with taking the gloves out of their respective box and slipping them onto his hands. The gloves felt weird at first: they had a sort of rubbery texture to them, and they tightly gripped around his fingers. But Aunt Amelia said that he would get used to them eventually. "Your hands are just flexing," she said, "It happens to everyone." Regardless of the funny sort of feeling that he felt while wearing the gloves, Wakko was thrilled by the special gift. In fact, he liked them almost as much as the Hot Wheels cars, but Wakko liked those just a little more. He hugged his aunt with his newly gloved hands out of appreciation for everything she had done for him today.
"Thank you so much, auntie!" he told her cheerfully. "I love my gifts!"
"Oh, darling, I bought you those gifts because I love you," she said as she planted a kiss on Wakko's forehead.
"I love you too," Wakko replied.
"I love you most," his aunt smiled. "Happy birthday, bud. You deserve it."
One week later
It was another boring day for Yakko. His body was sprawled out on the couch, his sister laying on his lap. He felt more tired than usual today, which was weird because he slept later than he normally does. He woke up at ten; he usually wakes up at eight. It was raining outside, with raindrops gently patting against the living room window. His mom was working overtime – again – and his dad was out of the house, too. He was alone today, just him and his siblings.
The TV had been switched on and was playing at a low volume. Wheel of fortune was on, but Yakko wasn't really paying attention to it. He had it on as background noise, mostly, as a way to break the dreadful silence that pestered their tiny, crummy old apartment. Yakko's eyes had focused on the hole in the wall in front of the television. His dad had punched the wall the other night after getting home from the bar. Yakko was asleep at the time, but he knew that his father had gotten really drunk. His parents started screaming at each, after his mom found out. Their arguing was so loud that it woke him up. Wakko even woke up from it; that never happens. He remembers his brother being very upset and on the brink of tears. It took him half an hour to calm Wakko down.
" Why do mom and dad always fight?" Wakko asked him, tears smothered his face.
" I don't know, sib."
That was the easiest answer he could come up with at that moment. He understood that his little brother was starting to catch on to the neglect his parents were giving them. Wakko was devastated when he found out that his parents were not going to be present at his birthday party (they were too hung over from a night of drinking to attend the occasion). " They're just feeling sick today," he told his brother, " Mom and dad are very proud of you, and they hope you have a happy birthday." That was complete bullshit, and he was aware of that, but Yakko didn't want his brother to be exposed to the truth. He didn't want to put all of that weight on Wakko when he was so young. All he wanted was for him to be happy.
But that was made difficult when his drunk father decided to punch a hole in the wall at three in the morning.
Yakko sighed. He felt rather bored at that moment, but he didn't feel like doing anything. He ran his hand through his sister's hair. Dottie's fur was getting longer, and her mane of hair was starting to grow out more.
"Soon, I'll have to put your hair in a ponytail," Yakko remarked.
"I wanna look like a pony!" Said Dottie. She turned her head to face Yakko, her eyes glittered.
Yakko laughed. "I'll play around with your hair another day. I'm beat."
"What does that mean?"
"It means I'm tired," explained Yakko. He yawned, placing his arms behind his body and cracking his back. "Let's just sit here and rest for a while, ok?"
Dottie nodded. Yakko slouched further into the couch, allowing his body to relax. He placed one arm around his sister, to prevent her from falling. Things were peaceful right now, and Yakko decided to take this moment of silence as a time of clarity. For as much as he has to endure on a daily basis, when his parents are getting drunk and arguing with each other, putting him and his siblings in danger, he realized that sometimes he just needed a break from all the chaos of his homelife. Moments like these were rare, and were occurring less and less. There was never true peace anymore. Peace was being overshadowed by a looming feeling of dreadful anxiety that was swallowing Yakko whole.
But Yakko wasn't doing anything about it. Why should I care? He thought. I'm just the caregiver to my siblings. What is there to do about it? It's not like my mom and dad care how I feel.
Out of the corner of his eye, Yakko saw his little brother enter the living room from the kitchen. The boy was eating a Hershey bar for a snack. Chocolate was cheap – it was one of a small number of foods their family could afford on a weekly basis – so they stocked up on a metric ton of candy bars, much to hungry Wakko's delight.
Wakko proceeded to take his spot on the couch next to Yakko. When Yakko caught a glimpse of his brother, he noticed that most of the chocolate ended up on his body and not in his mouth. Chocolate was smeared all over his shirt, his shorts, and his face – especially the area around his mouth. Wakko was eating the candy bar at a quick pace, taking a bite and chewing it as fast as he could before swallowing, repeating this process multiple times over.
"Don't eat too quickly, Wakko," he advised, "Or you might get a tummy ache."
"But it's soooo good!" Wakko drawled as he took another bite of the Hershey bar.
Yakko rolled his eyes at his brother's mannerisms. He was aware that Wakko was a total chocoholic, inside and out. Give the boy a piece of candy and he'll most likely devour it in seconds. On Wakko's birthday, Yakko was afraid that his brother was going to choke on his birthday cake because of how fast he was eating it. And this doesn't just go for sugary sweets; Wakko will eat everything, literally everything, if given the chance to. Yakko wasn't sure if there was a single food that Wakko didn't like. Put anything on a plate and the boy will eat it.
And Wakko was always hungry. Everyday, Yakko had to endure his brother begging him for something to eat. "Yakko, I'm hungry! Yakko, when's lunch? Yakko, I want a snack!" Over and over and over again. It got annoying fast. But every time his brother asked him for food, Yakko would give it to him. As annoying as it was that his five year old brother never felt completely full after eating, Yakko didn't want him to go hungry, so he gave in to his demands. After dinner, Wakko would ask if he could finish the last of the green beans and corn that Yakko hadn't eaten, and being the nice older brother he is, he'll give it to Wakko every time. Weirdly, his brother didn't hate vegetables that much. There were some veggies he preferred not to have, like broccoli and asparagus, but he would never refuse to eat them. Yakko chuckled when he remembered a lecture his aunt gave him about how toddlers could be picky eaters – Wakko is the exact opposite of that.
He glanced at his brother again, having now completely devoured the candy bar. Yakko noticed just how much bigger his little bro was now than he was last year. Wakko had grown a couple inches, his legs were longer, and his ears perked up higher than they used to. He was starting to outgrow many of his clothes, hence why his aunt bought him some new outfits for his birthday – his parents certainly wouldn't. Yakko even lent his brother some of his old clothes that he used to wear when he was his age. Even the clothes that Wakko was wearing now – a red American flag t-shirt and blue shorts – fit snug around his waist. His brother has gotten wider, too, his belly sticking out further than ever before. All the food that he crammed down his throat every day was taking its toll on his body. The toddler definitely looks to be well-fed.
Compared to Yakko, Wakko was in a healthy condition, but Yakko was not so much the same. His arms were weak, his stomach flat, and he hasn't grown a single inch in months. By this rate, his brother would surpass him in height in two years; Wakko was already half his size, and growing by the day. Yakko was starving, and he was aware of that. He knew it wasn't healthy to eat so little in a day, but it's hard to maintain a balanced diet when there is only so much food in the cupboard. Perhaps he should start eating more of his plate during dinner, and stop allowing Wakko to lick his plate clean every night.
But Yakko knew that he was never going to be able to do that. His brother would continue to eat more and more while he ate less and less. Wakko would grow much bigger, much taller, much stronger than him, capable of taking care of his sorry excuse for an older brother, once he becomes too weak and frail to function on his own. That is, if Yakko doesn't starve to death in the next five years.
Shaking the thought out of his head, he once again glanced at his chocolate covered younger brother. He really needs to stop allowing Wakko to eat so much chocolate. He was fine right now, but in a couple hours, Yakko could tell that the toddler was going to be very cranky, and really annoying, too. Hopefully, his brother decides to go nice on him today and not throw a tantrum.
His eyes then focused on Wakko's hands, and he immediately knew that something was off. It didn't take long for Yakko to notice what was missing.
"Wakko? Where are your gloves?"
Wakko, who was staring at the television, turned his head to face him. The toddler had a puzzled expression on his face.
"What gloves?" He asked. He then looked down at his hands and realized that his gloves were missing. "Oh, right! I dunno where they went."
Yakko was infuriated by his brother's obliviousness. Did Wakko not realize just how valuable his gloves were? His aunt bought those gloves for nearly two hundred dollars at the glove dispensary; they're not cheap. Buying replacement gloves would mean more money down the drain, and Yakko was not going to be the one who gets in trouble for allowing his clumsy brother to lose his gloves.
"Wakko! Tell me the truth!" Demanded Yakko, "Where are your gloves?"
"I dunno," Wakko shrugged.
"Oh, really? You don't know where your gloves are?" Replied Yakko, skeptically. He did not believe Wakko for a second. "The only way you could have lost your gloves is if you took them off. And I don't see any gloves on those chocolatey fingers of yours."
Yakko pointed his finger at Wakko's hands. There were no gloves on them, just his bare hands. Wakko shrugged a guilty grin, his face beginning to sweat. Yakko raised one eyebrow, giving his brother a look of disapprovement, in an attempt to get an answer out of him. Lucky for him, Wakko was observant and could notice even the slightest change in facial expression.
"I don't know where gloves are," he admitted, "All I know is that they're gone."
Yakko put his fingers up to the bridge of his nose, giving out an exaggerated sigh. How could my brother do something so stupid? He thought to himself. A part of him realized that Wakko simply didn't remember where he put his gloves, or he didn't remember why he took his gloves off in the first place. But still, that didn't excuse the fact that he decided to take his gloves off AT ALL! Toon gloves are meant to stay on a toon's hands at all times. There are only two instances where a toon should EVER take off their gloves: when they are bathing, or when they are replacing their old gloves for a new pair. Yakko can easily detest that his brother did not take off his gloves for either one of those reasons.
Yakko sighed again. Calm down, he told himself, getting mad at him won't get you anywhere. He's probably confused. I have to reassure him.
"Wakko, I know you didn't mean to, but you can't take off your gloves whenever you feel like it," he spoke to Wakko sternly.
Wakko tilted his head.
"Why?" He asked.
It was a simple question, but Yakko wasn't sure how to phrase it into an answer.
"Because..uhh…because you can't. Okay?" You sound like a moron. "Look, I can explain this to you later. Right now, we need to look for your gloves, wherever they might be."
"OH! I just remembered!" His brother realized, "My gloves are in the kitchen. They're all chocolatey."
Huh? Looks like he finally came to his senses.
"Alright then, let's go!" Said Yakko.
"But I wanna watch TV!!" Wakko whined.
"I said, let's go!" Yakko reiterated, louder this time.
Yakko grabbed his brother's hand and forced him off the couch. He was in no mood to put up with Wakko's sulky behavior. He gently pushed his sister off his lap, the girl was fast asleep. Dottie will be ok for ten minutes, Yakko thought. He walked into the kitchen, pulling his little brother behind him. He was beyond mad at Wakko for what he did. The thought of his brother deciding to take his gloves off just because he thought they were a little "dirty" made him want to pull his hair out of his scalp.
His feelings of anger were magnified when he got a look of the mess in the kitchen.
Empty candy wrappers were scattered all over the room. Crumbs of chocolate found themselves on every surface. Chocolate stains infested the floor, slowly melting into chocolatey soup. The cupboard door had been left open. Before, there were about ten Hershey bars in the pantry. Now, only two bars remain. Wakko had basically eaten their entire supply of chocolate. Yakko doubted that his parents would buy any more in the near future.
He felt his blood boil inside. Yakko could not believe what he was seeing. He could not even begin to process how mad he was at his little brother right now. No, Yakko was not mad at his brother; he was furious. This was, quite possibly, the worst thing that Wakko had ever done. He's had to put up with Wakko being a brat to him many times before, but this was a whole other level of infuriating behavior on his brother's part. It was such a dumb, idiotic thing for him to do.
Yakko scowled at his brother angrily. Wakko shrunk to the floor, his eyes looking in multiple directions at once.
"Wakko Warner. Do you realize what you've done?" Yakko scolded.
Wakko pulled on his shirt collar, sweat dripping down his face.
"Well?" Yakko cocked an eyebrow.
"I don't know," answered Wakko, nervously.
He had it. This was the final straw. He could not take his brother's stupid oblivious behavior any longer. He felt his face turn red, and smoke started steaming out of his ears. Unable to contain his anger anymore, he grabbed his brother's ears and pulled them hard. Wakko yelped in pain. He tried to escape Yakko's grasp, but he was too weak to pull away. Yakko lifted his brother up by the ears and held him close to his face.
"Let me go!" Wakko cried, "LET ME GO!"
"NO I WON'T" Yakko shouted. "Listen to me, you ungrateful scamp! I know you don't care, well I don't care, either! Do you know how expensive that chocolate is? Do you realize that we may not get more chocolate for a long time? Because of how GREEDY you are!"
He stared at his brother coldly, his eyes staring directly into his soul. Wakko was trembling with fear, his entire body was shaking.
"First, you lose your gloves like an idiot, and now this! You are wasting my time for me to deal with YOUR nonsense! Do you know how much trouble I could get into if mom or dad saw what YOU DID!?"
Wakko shook his head. The child was on the verge of tears.
Yakko continued to speak harshly towards his brother.
"I would have gotten into trouble for something I didn't do. I would have gotten into trouble for what YOU DID! They would yell at me while you were in your bedroom, like the oblivious coward you are! YOU! ARE! OBLIVIOUS!"
Wakko winced. He closed his eyes and scrunched up his face. One tear fell down his left cheek, then another tear fell down his right cheek. One tear was followed by another, and another, and soon, Wakko had started to cry. A gush of tears was coming out of his eyes and streaming down his face. He wailed loudly. He was speaking some words in between sobs, but those words were indistinguishable.
Yakko had never seen his brother cry this hard before. He has seen his little brother cry in many different instances prior to this one, but never has he seen Wakko look so pathetic and helpless until today. As Yakko watched his brother cry, he realized that his tears showed more than just sadness; they were tears of regret. These tears were directly caused by him lashing out at his brother over making a mess, a mess that he thought was a big deal, but now seemed like a smaller issue than he originally made it out to be.
All of a sudden, Yakko felt a horrible feeling in his stomach, a gripping pain that rocked his core. And the more Yakko thought about that pain, the larger that pain became. That pain made him feel miserable. What horrible, evil part of his brain made him decide to act so cruel towards his own brother? How could he say those things about Wakko to his own face?
You ungrateful scamp! You oblivious coward!
Feeling terrible about what he had done, he gently set his brother down back onto the floor, letting go of his ears. Wakko buried his face in his hands, continuing to cry into them. It was such an unbearable sight to Yakko, knowing that he was the one who caused his little brother to be so upset. He made his brother cry. The pain that was in Yakko's stomach grew bigger. It was becoming unbearable. He couldn't ignore that guilty, horrendous, dreadful, soul crushing feeling inside of his stomach any longer. He HAD to do something about that pain.
He knelt down to his brother's level, gently placing his hand on Wakko's shoulder. Wakko shook his head, refusing to release his hands over his face.
"Wakko, I-I had no idea. I-I I didn't mean to lash out at you the way I did," Yakko told his brother, holding back tears of his own. "I was just mad. I don't hate you. I don't think you're a scamp, and I never meant to call you by that name. I understand if you don't forgive me, but just- just please show me your face."
Yakko sat there in silence, waiting for an answer. Guilt was biting at him like fleas. He would never forgive himself for what he just did, but he would feel relieved if he knew that his brother had forgiven him. That is, if his brother did forgive him.
Finally, after an eternity of still silence between the two of them, Wakko lifted his head out of the cuffs of his hands, revealing his tear drenched face. He was still crying, but it had softened some, and it appeared as if the child was not feeling as distraught as he was before. Yakko found himself smiling.
"There you are. There's the brother I love" Yakko said gently. He used his fingers to wipe away his brother's tears.
The two brothers looked at each other, not saying a word. Then, Wakko ran into his brother's arms, Yakko holding his arms out for him. The two shared the hug together. All the troubles that had separated them were swept away with this hug, and peace was quickly being restored.
After another long moment of silence, Wakko spoke again for the first time.
"I didn't mean to eat all the chocolate, Yakko," Wakko owned up, "I'm sorry for being such a pain."
"No, Wakko. I'm sorry for being so harsh. I'm just not really feeling my best today. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."
"I'm more sorry."
"I'm the sorriest."
The brothers were staring at each other nose to nose. Then they both laughed, and it wasn't fake laughter; it was genuine. Who knew that the saddest of situations could be so comical at the same time?
"Ok, ok. We're both sorry," declared Yakko.
"And we both forgive!" Added Wakko.
"Agreed."
Yakko continued to hug his brother. He was glad that his scolding didn't have as much damage on Wakko as he would have thought; Wakko was still his goofy, happy self. Knowing that his brother was happy was important. Yakko never wanted his little brother to be sad, nor did he want to cause him to feel sad.
I really have to control my temper, Yakko thought sadly, I could really hurt him if I'm not careful.
After another minute of hugging, Yakko decided that it was time to clean up the mess in the kitchen. He asked Wakko to help pick up the candy wrappers and put them in the garbage. Luckily, he agreed. Things were now working in his favor. Together, Yakko and Wakko grabbed as many wrappers as they could carry and, once their hands were full, threw them in the garbage can. Yakko used a wet dish rag to wipe the chocolate stains off the floor. While he was wetting the dish rag, Yakko found his brother's gloves sitting on the counter by the sink. Sticky, gooey chocolate was coated all over the white gloves, turning them brown. Yakko now knew why his brother decided to take his gloves off; they were disgusting, and were in no condition to be worn.
Yakko ran the gloves through hot water, using his fingers to rub the chocolate off the gloves. Getting the chocolate off was harder than he thought, as the sticky chocolate was already starting to harden. I really gotta stop allowing my brother to eat so much chocolate, he thought. After running the pair of gloves under hot water for about two minutes, and drenching them in soap in the process, Yakko was able to remove most of the chocolate from the gloves. There were still some faint chocolate stains on the gloves where the chocolate globs used to be, but they were barely noticeable, so Yakko considered them clean.
After that, it was Wakko's turn to get clean. Yakko took off his brother's clothes and threw them into the laundry basket in the bathroom. They would be washed with the other dirty clothes when their family next visits the laundromat. Next, Yakko led his brother into their bedroom, where he needed to find a clean new outfit for Wakko to wear. He allowed his little brother to choose his own shirt and his own pants as he usually does. Wakko picked out a black shirt with a yellow Batman logo on it and yellow shorts to match. Once his brother had made his selection, Yakko slipped the shirt and shorts onto his body. Wakko was less ticklish today – he didn't move as much when getting dressed as he usually does. Lastly, Yakko placed the squeaky clean gloves on his brother's hands. The gloves were now covering Wakko's fingers, back where they belonged.
"There you go," Yakko said. He looked at his brother sitting in front of him, his tongue sticking out as normal, his tail wagging happily behind him. "Does that feel better?"
"Yes! I feel much better!" Wakko answered, throwing his hands in the air.
Yakko grinned, glad to know that his brother was acting like his happy self again.
"Sorry for making a mess in the kitchen," he apologized.
"We already did apologizes, Wakko. I forgive you. I'm not mad anymore. Ok, sib?"
Wakko sighed, his smile changing into a look of confusion.
"I know that, but I got my gloves all dirty, which made you upset. You said gloves are important, but I don't know why."
A lightbulb turned on in Yakko's head. His brother's question has triggered the big brother energy inside him. He, nor his aunt, had really explained the significance of the gloves to Wakko. He remembers when he was Wakko's age, aunt Amelia gave him the lecture about the ins and outs of the gloves and hammerspace, so he was surprised when she didn't do the same for his younger brother.
But now was an opportunity to give that same lecture to his own little brother, just like his aunt had done for him. He might as well, right?
"Well you see, Wakko," Yakko explained, sounding professional, "these white gloves of ours are much more than just a fashion choice; they are essential for a toon to live life to their fullest."
"Why?" His brother asked.
"Because, Wakko, they allow us to use our toon powers," he continued, "The gloves allow us to reach into our hammerspace and generate any object that we desire to construct."
Yakko liked how he worded that explanation, he thought he sounded very smart. And that could only be a good thing, because he was only going off of what his aunt had told him. But by the look on Wakko's face, Yakko could tell that his younger brother was having a hard time catching on.
"I don't get it," he told him, scratching his head.
Hmm. Looks like I'm gonna have to break it down for him, Yakko thought.
"Remember watching Looney Tunes with me on Saturday morning? Remember when Bugs Bunny pulled a giant mallet from behind his back?"
The mentioning of Bugs Bunny triggered an excited grin from Wakko.
"Yes! I love Bugs Bunny!" Wakko said.
Yakko laughed at his brother's innocence.
"I love Bugs Bunny too, sib. Ya know, when Bugs pulled that giant mallet out from behind his back, he was using his hammerspace."
"Is that where he keeps his hammer?" Asked Wakko.
"Yes, it is. It's where he keeps all of his weapons," Yakko replied. "He can also create new weapons with his hammerspace."
"How?"
"That I will show you."
Okay. Time for the fun part!
Yakko took a few steps back, so that he would have enough room to do what he was about to do. He looked at his brother for a moment to make sure he was paying attention. Wakko was staring at him, feet dangling over the edge of the bed, waiting to see what he was about to do. His brother was being a lot more patient than Yakko thought he was capable of.
"Watch this, Wakko!"
Yakko reached his arm behind his back, wiggling his hand into his hammerspace. He thought of what he was going to pull out as he started to shape the object inside of the invisible space. As he thought about this object, he could feel the large, heavy item form in the palm of his hand. The thing he was holding started to become heavier in his hand; Yakko had never created this big of an object with his hammerspace before. He gritted his teeth, his face turning red. He knew that this oversized object was almost done constructing himself. Yes. Yes. I can do this, Yakko told himself over and over again, I can feel it. It's..it's…it's ready!
Using all of the strength he had in him, Yakko pulled his object out of his hammerspace one inch at a time. His younger brother watched with wide eyes as he pulled his beast of a creation out from behind his back. His muscles straining throughout his arm, he pulled with all his might. Finally, with one great heave, Yakko was able to pull the large entity out of his hammerspace and placed it on the floor beside him. He panted, wiping sweat off his forehead. His arm was numb, but Yakko had done it. He's ACTUALLY done it.
He created his very first mallet.
Wakko bounced up and down on his bed, ecstatic about what he had just witnessed. Frankly, Yakko was impressed with himself, and how he was able to pull that off at all without any practice prior to today. He wasn't sure what he was going to do with the mallet (at least until it disappeared from thin air in a few hours from now) but that didn't really matter right now.
"Wow! That's amazing!" Wakko said, "I wanna do that!"
Wakko put his hand behind his back like Yakko had done before. He pulled his arm back out to find that his hand was empty, no mallet in sight. The child frowned, disappointed, but his older brother placed an encouraging hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, sib. With a little practice, you'll be able to create a mallet from your hammerspace just like your elder brother," Yakko encouraged his brother.
Wakko grinned giddily. "I wanna learn how to do that!"
Yakko smiled, ruffling his sibling's fur. He was glad that his younger brother was willing to learn how to use his own hammerspace. He honestly really enjoyed giving Wakko that little demonstration. But with the uncomfortable pain in his upper arm, and his back cramping up, he wasn't sure if he was physically up for continuing this lesson on hammerspace.
"Uhh…maybe another time, Wakko. I'm feeling a little tired all of a sudden."
"Aww! But I wanna learn now!" Wakko said, disappointed.
"I know, but how about we do more of this tomorrow. I'll teach you how to use your hammerspace, and maybe you'll even make something," Yakko promised his brother, "It'll be fun, just you wait."
Thankfully, his brother seemed to agree with that idea, as he quickly wrapped his arms around Yakko's waist, thanking him over and over again. Yakko was surprised that his brother was so invested in hammerspace. From what it seemed, Wakko had always hated learning. Every time Yakko tried to teach him how to read, write, and do math, Wakko would always cry and complain about doing it. His younger brother would refuse to even sit down at the table whenever it was learning time. Seeing Wakko be so invested in learning about this specific topic left Yakko feeling flabbergasted, because it was so unlike Wakko to be like that.
But Yakko wasn't complaining. As his aunt had told him many times before, hammerspace is an essential skill that all toons have to learn, and it's important that a toon learns to use it at a young age. Yakko himself was still learning how to use his hammerspace to its full potential, so he supposed that he and Wakko could learn together. Pretty soon, Dottie would be five years old and get her own gloves, then it'll be her turn.
And Yakko would be the one to teach her.
Two hours or so had passed. Yakko and his siblings were in his bedroom. Yakko had brought out a box of crayons for Dottie to color with. The little girl was drawing a picture of the family. When she was done, she showed the picture to Yakko. In the drawing, Yakko was cradling Dottie in his arms, with Wakko standing next to him holding his hand.
"That's such a pretty picture, Dottie," Yakko praised. "You're becoming a little artist."
"I great artist!" Said Dottie, proudly.
Meanwhile, Wakko was playing on the great big mallet that Yakko had created with his hammerspace. He was swinging around on the handle of the mallet as if he were an acrobat.
"Be careful, Wakko," Yakko advised, "Don't fall off that thing."
Wakko ignored his warnings and continued swinging. He was a spaz of energy who never seemed to burn out completely. Yakko was just glad that his brother was tiring himself out before bed. He had heard that exercise was a good way to get sleepy, and that definitely worked for his younger brother. Right now, he was hyper, but soon, he'd be sleeping like a lamb. And Wakko's exercise wasn't bothering Yakko's time with his little sister, so it was a win-win for the both of them.
Wakko spun 'round and around, and then, he did a flip off of the mallet and landed onto his feet. Yakko clapped, even he was impressed.
"Very nice, Wakko. Bravo!"
"Want me to do it again?"
"Sure. Get all that crazy out of you."
Wakko painted, his mouth open and his tongue lolling out of it. He took a moment to catch his breath before running back to play on his own, personal jungle gym.
"YAKKO WARNER! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE NOW!!"
Yakko flinched as he heard the loud, harsh voice echo from the kitchen to his room. He knew that tone of voice all too well – his father was pissed with him. He didn't know why yet, but whatever the case, he was in hot water now.
What could it be this time? He thought. I have been in my room since the time you got home!
He gulped. He stood up on shaky legs and slowly walked out of his room. He could feel his sibling's eyes staring at him as he left abruptly. He didn't have time to reassure them that he would be ok, so he said nothing. He walked down the hallway and into the living room. As he walked, he thought of all the possibilities of what he could have done wrong, but his brain couldn't come up with any ideas.
All Yakko could do was brace himself.
When he entered the living room, Yakko saw his father standing in the kitchen holding something in his hand. The man's face was stone cold, his eyes fierce, watching him closely like how a hawk watches its prey. His father WAS the predator, and he was not one to mess around with. Yakko understood this.
Yakko approached his father, trembling on his knees. *SMACK* His father greeted him with a good slap to the face. He stepped back, his body shaking. He could see his father raising his arm up from a mile away, yet he was still startled when his dad smacked him. Yakko's eyes shrunk as he looked up at his much taller, much more powerful father towering over him. He held up the dish rag in his hand, the same dish rag that Yakko had used to clean the chocolate stains.
"You have ten seconds to explain to me how you got shit on my dishrag before I beat you to a pulp!" His father threatened.
Yakko gulped again, his face starting to sweat. So this was the reason why his father was mad at him?
"Umm, umm, It's not sh-poop, dad," Shuddered Yakko, "It's…I-it's chocolate! It's chocolate!"
His father raised an eyebrow. He seemed unconvinced by Yakko's answer, even though Yakko knew for a fact that he was telling the truth.
"I love how confident you make yourself seem when telling those lies," his father sneered, "You're really bad at lying, ya know that?"
"I'm not lying, dad! It's the truth!"
"DON'T ARGUE WITH ME!!" His dad snapped. "I'm your father! You have to treat me with respect!"
"But dad, I-"
"What did I just say!?" The man yelled, gritting his teeth with his words. "You must be deaf or something, because you're not listening to ANYTHING I'm saying!"
"YOU'RE NOT LISTENING, DAD!!"
Yakko immediately regretted lashing out at his own father. His father lunged at him, grabbing by the shirt collar, lifting him up to his face. His father breathed loudly, Yakko bracing his dad's breath hitting against his face. *SMACK* His remark had earned him another smack to the head.
"WHAT DID YOU SAY, YOU WORTHLESS CHILD!?"
His father's words blasted through Yakko's ears. Yakko felt his heart go to his throat. His pupils shrunk to a microscopic size as he continued to be braced with his father's menacing stare. He felt himself tear up. Yakko wouldn't dare allow himself to cry right now, not in front of his father. But it was too late to back down; he put this on himself.
"I-I said you…I said you're-"
"FESS UP, BOY!"
"I said you're not listening!" Yakko confessed. A single tear dropped down from his eye. "It's not shit, dad! I swear! It's chocolate! I swear to you, it's chocolate!"
His father stayed silent for a moment, remaining the same cold stare he'd had on since he first walked out here. After a straight fifteen seconds of silence, the man spoke:
"You useless, pathetic little brat!" he scorned, "it's ones like you that make me SICK!"
After his father said that hurtful comment, Yakko was thrown to the floor with great force. He yelped in pain as his body made impact with the floor. His arm was no longer the only part of his body that hurt. Everything was hurting him.
And it was about to get even worse.
Yakko looked up at his father. He was taking off his belt. No! Nonononono! Not the belt! Not the belt! Yakko felt his heart sink. A slap in the face was a force to be reckoned with, but that was nothing compared to what the belt could do. His father always wore one. It was the belt that supported his blue jeans around his waist, the belt with the golden buckle on it, and now, it was going to be the belt that his father used to beat him! Be strong, Yakko! This is not the first time dad has used the belt on you! He kept running those words through his mind, trying to ease his own angst. But it was no use; he put this on himself.
WHACK* *WHACK* WHACK*
The first three slaps were the most painful. Yakko cried out in pain, helpless to his father's beatings. His dad was holding his leg down with his foot, limiting his chances of escaping. *WHACK* *WHACK* Real tears were starting to trickle down Yakko's face. He didn't want to look any more of a coward than he already was, but he was helpless in that moment, so he might as well let it all out. *WHACK* *WHACK* The pain was unbearable now. Yakko let out long, continuous sobs as his father continued to slap his belt across his back. *WHACK* The hardest slap yet. He couldn't take it anymore. This had to STOP!
"NO, DAD! PLEASE! I'M BEGGING YOU!!"
"YOU GOOD FOR NOTHING IDIOT! YOUR USELESS TO ME! YOU'VE NEVER MEANT ANYTHING TO ME!"
"ROCKO WARNER!! WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING TO OUR SON!?"
Yakko gasped. Was that his mother screaming? Was that his mother standing up for him? Yakko's eyes peered towards his left, noticing that another figure had entered the room. His father stopped beating him, his attention turning towards his wife.
"Stay out of this!" His father growled, walking away from Yakko and towards his wife. "Go back to your room, Elizabeth."
"No! What are you doing to our son!?"
"Giving him what he deserves. He got shit on the dish rag and he refused to admit it."
"Why did you have to BEAT him!? I told you not to do that to our children!"
"He has no respect for me. He has no respect for either of us. How could I have raised such a disappointment of a child?"
Yakko felt like he was going to get sick. The throbbing pain of the bruises on his back were tormenting him. But somehow, hearing his father say those things about him made him feel emptier than he has in a long time. How could I have raised such a disappointment of a child? Those words were the equivalent to a punch to the gut. No. This was a punch to the heart, a punch that destroyed every happy memory that he has ever had with his father. Every moment he had shared with his father, from beginning to now, was meaningless to him. It meant NOTHING! His father was a horrible, horrible person.
His parents started screaming at each other. Yakko took this as his opportunity to escape, escape away from his horrible, cruel parents. He fled as fast as he could from the kitchen all the way to his bedroom. He didn't even bother to look back.
When he got to his bedroom, he saw his siblings standing by the doorway, scared expressions on their faces. Yakko knelt down to his sibling's, wrapping his arms around both Wakko and Dottie. He promised himself a long time ago that he was never going to allow his siblings to get hurt the same way he did. When he made that promise, he meant it. Yakko allowed himself to cry in front of his siblings – he couldn't help it. He was too devastated to not allow himself to cry.
"Yakko sad," Dottie said, a frown puckering her lips.
"It's ok, Yakko. Me and Dottie are here."
Yakko looked at his siblings with his tear-drenched face. This was probably the saddest he had ever felt in his entire life, and yet, that innocent comment from his little brother sparked a feeling of happiness inside of his devastation. Somehow, Yakko managed a weak smile as he hugged Wakko tighter.
"I love you so much," he told his siblings, "I always will."
It was only now that Yakko realized that his siblings were the only two people in his life who he truly loved. They were the only ones who loved him back. Wakko and Dottie were too innocent, too sweet, too caring to ever hurt him. In the sludge of anxiety, abuse, and devastation, Yakko could only consider this as a good thing.