Chapter Text
Jack Skellington was bored today, to say the least.
After all the work he managed to get done the day before, he had a bunch of time off for the day. Normally, he'd have enjoyed some time away from all the stress of planning his holiday, but, something didn't feel right, and he just couldn't put his finger on what it was.
Maybe it was the fact that instead of spending his time at home, or with his beloved dog Zero, he was standing in town, engaging in a conversation with a small crowd around him of about 4 or 5 people.
Now, it's not that Jack didn't like them, or didn't enjoy their company- it's just that being followed around everywhere you go can get so tiresome. Especially when you could be doing just about anything else. However, this is just part of the fame that comes with being the Pumpkin King- something that the skeleton has learned to deal with.
The mayor was standing next to him, blabbing on and on about something, but Jack didn't care enough to listen. His mind was.....elsewhere....
'Hmm...I wonder if I'll see Sally in town today....'
He scratched the side of his skull. Recently, Jack found himself thinking about his Ragdoll friend a lot, and, to be honest, he really wasn't sure why.
Sure, she was one of his closest friends, and possibly the most tolerable female citizen in the entire town, but, why would that cause her to be on his mind? It was almost as if there were some sort of feelings there that he couldn't recognize. It was confusing to him.
Jack shook his skull to clear it, placing a hand on his hip. As much as he enjoyed thinking about his friend, it began to bother him. He just wanted an answer as to....why? Why was he always thinking about her?
'It's a shame she doesn't get out more often....I wonder why that is. It's always so lovely to see her..that pretty red hair..her gorgeous eyes... and lips...not to mention her beautiful fa—W-wait! Jeez, calm down, Jack, this is your friend you're talking about! You shouldn't think such inappropriate things about her! What's gotten into you lately?'
He shook his skull once more, internally scolding himself- and feeling slightly embarrassed despite knowing that no one here could read minds. Maybe a distraction like listening to the Mayor would help. Jack turned his attention back to the rambling politician.
"-and THAT'S why Jack is and always WILL BE the King of Halloween!" He exclaimed, tightening his grip on the papers that were in his hand. "I do believe he's doing much better than LAST year! We haven't had this much free time in I don't know how long!" Ah. Of course. More praise. The skeleton closed his eyes and cocked his head to the side with a smile, trying to look and sound as pleased as possible, while also trying to sound like he had been paying attention.
"Ah- Thank you, Mayor. I've just been able to focus a little better on getting work done quicker this year is all" He answered, shrugging slightly. It's not that Jack didn't appreciate his compliment, it's just that after so many times repeating the same old praise, it loses its touch.
"Well, I'm certainly glad, Jack" The Mayor replied, nodding slightly and smiling happily. A few others in the crowd were nodding as well.
The king opened his mouth to reply to them, when a flash of blue and red caught his eye. He turned his head to get a better look, and was delightfully surprised to find his sockets making eye contact with none other than his lovely lady friend, Sally. The same lady friend he had just been thinking of.
A smile spread wide across his face- Jack was positively thrilled to see her! Surely, he had to go say something! They were good friends, after all. He walked toward her, moving through the small crowd with ease. He widened his smile as he came up next to her.
"Sally! Hello there. Lovely to see you out today." He began, his smile staying plastered on his face as he looked at her with a sparkle of excitement in his eye sockets.
Sally was smiling as well, a pinkish tint on her cheeks. She just stared up at Jack for a moment before blinking, and giving a reply. She stammered, "O-Oh! Y-yeah..hi.." She took a second to fix her hair, tucking a piece behind her ear. "Um..th-thank you. It's very...l-lovely to see you as well.."
Jack's smile seemed to widen as he beamed at the sound of her voice. It had just been too long since the two last spoke. He couldn't help but take a mental note on how cute she looked- the pink on her face and her hand nervously toying her hair.
The skeleton was happy to reply, in a calm, gentle manner.
"Thank you. So, what have you been up to lately?" He asked, genuinely curious. "I know it's been quite a bit since we've last talked."
"Oh..um..." Sally played shyly with her hands. "I've just...been doing what I usually do, I-I guess...I made a new dress the other day..."
"That sounds wonderful, Sally! I'd love to see it sometime. I'm very glad you've found something to do that you enjoy." He blinked at her.
The Ragdoll looked pleased as well, the pink on her face growing a bit pinker. She opened her mouth to reply, but was cut off as someone in the crowd called out.
"-Sally Sews?"
Jack turned towards them, placing a bony hand on Sally's shoulder.
"She sure does." He answered, " And, I think she's one of the best seamstresses I know." The skeleton winked at her. Sally bit her lip.
"Oh..I'm n-not really a seamstress-"
"Can you make baby clothes?"
A voice rose out of the crowd. Jack's attention shifted off of Sally momentarily, looking over to see a lady standing a few paces behind her. She had pale skin, long black hair and horns. She was also clearly pregnant- not at all a common sight in Halloween Town. The Ragdoll turned around, and after taking a moment to eye the woman before her, she answered,
"Ah..well...I've never tried before, but, I'm sure it can't be too hard." Smiling, the woman then asked Sally if she wouldn't mind making some for when her baby is born, to which Sally happily agreed.
Jack listened carefully while they talked. He couldn't help but admire Sally's kindness- it could take days to complete a task like making clothing, and on top of that, Sally would be busy with any other work or chores or hobbies she already had to do. Yet the Ragdoll still agreed...very sweet of her, Jack noted. He smiled to himself as the nice young lady thanked Sally, and gave her a hug. Sally turned back around toward the crowd- making eye contact with Jack almost instantly. His smile stuck.
"That's very sweet of you, Sally" he complimented, taking notice of the red flush that spread across her nose. He didn't think much of it, other than that it looked...rather cute on her, he admitted silently to himself.
The pregnant demon patted Sally's hand. "Isn't it? That's such a lovely talent you have, dear" The woman told her. "Why, someday you'll even be able to make clothing for your own children! Without having to bother someone else to do it! Very, very lovely."
Jack watched as Sally's eyes widened, a look of shock in her features. She seemed taken aback by that comment- as if it took her completely off guard. She blinked, her blush deepening.
He felt a twinge or pity for her somewhere in his ribcage. She looked...almost embarrassed. Like she wanted to get out of there quickly. But, he couldn't imagine why. That comment itself was innocent. The skeleton felt as if he was...missing something.
"-Awwww can you imagine?" Someone from the crowd shouted. "Sally with her own kids..She would make a fantastic mother! Don't you think so Jack?" He looked up, interrupted from his thoughts.
"Hm? Oh, yes." Jack turned his gaze back to the Ragdoll, making eye contact once more. "I do think so" he couldn't help but smile wider. He'll admit it...Sally did seem like the motherly type who would be good at raising kids. Plus, the idea of Sally with children was...well....adorable to him.
She looked up at him momentarily, before sighing, eyes going half lidded. The embarrassment was gone from her face, and replaced with a look of utter bliss. Jack wasn't quite sure why...and he probably would have remained unsure, if it wasn't for what she said next.
"-You would make the perfect father~"
....
".....what....?"
Jack's smile fell off his face. His sockets widened as he stared at her.
'...did....did she mean to say that...?'
He wondered, but one look at her face gave him all his answers. No. She definitely did not mean to say that.
If he thought she looked embarrassed before, she definitely was now. In fact, Jack had never seen such a look of utter panic sweep over someone's face in such a quick amount of time. The poor thing looked absolutely mortified.
Jack was...confused to say the least. He probably could've handled the situation better if he were able to think this through, but, his mind felt broken. Inside his head, all he could really think was, 'what'.
So he just stared.
That was, until Sally went off, attempting to explain herself.
"I-I mean- I th-think that -y-you would m-make a better father than I would a mother! I mean you probably have more experience with kids than I do anyway and you're like a really nice guy and stuff and everyone likes you so if anyone would be good with taking care of kids it would be you instead of me is what I meant because everyone knows that you like children and stuff and you-you-you would make a better father than I would a mother I mean I'm not saying that I wouldn't make a good mother I mean if you think that than thank you but I still agree with my original statement oh wow look at the time" Sally ranted, spinning around. "Well now it's getting late so I better get home because you know I gotta make supper for the doctor and I can get to work on those baby clothes thanks for having me in town bye-bye!!"
And with that, she ran off. Away from everyone. Away from town.
——
Jack stared in the direction she left, still not moving or saying anything. Even if he wanted to, he wouldn't have known what to say.
Everyone was silent. There was a certain noticeable awkward tension in the air that made Jack's bones ache. Fortunately, shortly after, someone broke the silence.
".....what.....what just happened...?"
The crowd stirred as more people joined in with their comments.
"I don't know...."
"Is Sally okay..?"
"What the heck did she mean by that?"
"...Do we really wanna know?"
A few people chuckled. Jack ignored them, his sockets still stuck to the path Sally exited. Maybe...he should follow her? Make sure she's alright? She did seem upset with the way she fled. He barely noticed the mayor look up at him.
"Jack..are you alright?" The politician asked. Jack didn't respond. The crowd continued.
"Sounds like Sally wants to have Jack's babies..."
"-What female in this town doesn't want to have Jack's babies?"
More giggling.
At this point, Jack, who was listening to every word, had had enough. Finally, it seemed time for him to pull himself together and silence everyone before someone says something they'll regret. The skeleton blinked, clasping his hands together to get their attention.
"ALRIGHT, everyone. That will be quite enough of that, thank you." He said, his voice edged with annoyance. "No more comments will be necessary..."
Everyone quieted down, although not before more giggling was heard. The Mayor looked back up at the King.
"...what are we going to do now, Jack?" He asked. The skeleton glanced back and forth between him and the main gate exit. He sighed, his mind made up. He absolutely could not just let Sally go like that. He needed to make sure she was okay. He turned back towards his crowd, who were waiting patiently.
"Okay, everyone. Please, return to any assignments you may have to complete. We may be ahead of schedule, but we all know how easy it can be to fall behind, so I want everyone to do as much as possible. Now, if you'll excuse me...." He passed through the crowd, heading in the direction his Ragdoll friend fled a few moments ago. "....I'll..I'll just be one moment." He nodded his head once, before slipping his way through the gate, and beginning to head down the crooked path in search of his dear friend.
——
The situation was only now starting to sink in as the skeleton walked. Now that a few minutes had passed, his mind was really starting to fuzz as he tried to make some kind of sense of all this.
'I just don't get it....did she really mean what she said? I mean...maybe you just misunderstood her. She did try to explain herself...oh, but! That sounds right but if feels...wrong! Like the way she explained her words seemed logical but...it doesn't feel correct. It's almost like there's more to this...'
Jack scratched the side of his skull in annoyance.
'Surely, I must be missing something....perhaps I'm overthinking this...'
He sighed, shifting his gaze from the trail at his feet up to in front of him. He stopped in his tracks.
Sitting down against the wall not too far ahead of him was the exact person he was looking for.
Sally
She was hunched over on the ground, covering her face with her hands. Jack winced at the sight- she really did look upset. Now he was glad he followed her out here. He walked towards her, noting a few things on the way. Despite her position, she didn't seem to be crying, which was good. He could also tell that she hadn't noticed him there yet.
Not wanting to scare her, he softly called her name as he approached.
"...Sally?"
He saw her flinch, but otherwise, she remained motionless. She also didn't reply. The skeleton sat down next to her.
Normally, he would've taken this silence as a hint that she wanted to be left alone, and would've done such.But, after what happened, he wouldn't live with himself knowing he abandoned her when she needed reassurance. It was more than obvious that she was still upset.
He spoke to her again.
"Sally..? Are you okay?"
This time, he heard her sigh. A sigh of defeat- he recognized it anywhere.Gradually, his friend lifted her head. He could see her face now, but she wasn't looking at him in the eye. She gave a weak smile, even choking out a bit of nervous- and fake- laughter.
"W-what? Me? Ahhahah, o-of course! Why wouldn't I be..?"
The skeleton frowned at her, stifling a sigh himself. She claimed to be okay, but he knew that wasn't true. He could see it in her eyes.
'...she...she thinks I'm upset with her, doesn't she?'
He thought. After all, it would make sense. But that wasn't the case. Jack wasn't even close to upset with her- he just didn't want her to feel bad.
"Sally please, I just wanted to make sure you were okay..." When he saw her smile fall, he added reassuringly, "..I'm not upset"
Sally blinked, looking up at him. She stayed frowning, but at least she was speaking to him now.
"You're...you're not?"
"Of course not." He scooted a tad closer to her. "You just worded your sentence wrong. It's alright. Happens to everyone. Once you explained yourself, I knew what you meant."
Even though he said it, he wasn't sure if he fully believed it. Apparently she meant to say that he would make a better father than she would a mother? Does...does that even make sense? But he put that out of his skull immediately, figuring it would be better for the both of them if he just took it anyway.
"Y-Yeah..." The Ragdoll stammered. "I'm sorry..."
Jack shook his head. "Don't be. Really, Sally, you're perfectly fine. I just wanted to make sure you weren't too embarrassed." His smile returned as he added, "We wouldn't want to ruin our friendship now, would we?"
She smiled.
"No..we wouldn't. Thank you, Jack..." He nodded to her.
"You're welcome. Now..."
The king stood up, brushing off his suit as he did. He turned back around and held his hand out to her, offering to help her up. After a moment, she took it, and he helped her to her feet with ease. A small pink tint came to her cheeks.
"Let's just put this behind us, shall we?"
Sally nodded. "Gladly"
Jack felt a thump somewhere in his ribcage as their eyes met, followed by more as Sally smiled gratefully up at him. He smiled back.
Despite all the confusion of today, he felt genuinely happy. Happy to have helped Sally. Happy to be Sally's friend. Happy to just be here with her. Happy just to see her.
Maybe someday.....
I'll understand why....