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Y’know Barry really never thought he’d be in a princess-and-the-frog type situation. Like, forgive him for thinking magic wasn’t real. And forgive him even more for expressing his doubts to an asshole wizard. But it had been a good hundred years since he got cursed to live forever in the body of a doll and he still hadn’t found his true love, let alone kissed them.
Not from lack of trying. He couldn’t exactly fault people for not wanting to kiss a small, horrifying porcelain doll.
In the past fifty years or so, magic had become more mainstream. The stories Barry grew up with about spooky witches, dangerous mythical creatures, and terrifying demons had become an everyday norm. The owner of the thrift shop Barry currently resided in was a werewolf himself and was personally one of the nicest people Barry had ever known. He made Barry was large dollhouse to live in, so he wouldn’t have to sit among the other (lifeless) dolls. He took his lunch breaks with Barry and while Barry couldn’t eat, they had very nice conversations.
For the first time in years, his life finally broke free from the sad cycle he had been in. And, even more amazing (or maybe, even worse), Barry had a crush on someone.
He had long since given up on True Love’s Kiss or whatever. To be honest, he couldn’t remember half of what was said in the curse in the first place, but True Love’s Kiss put too much pressure on a relationship right off the bat. Also, Barry was very bad at talking to people. The werewolf store owner- Magnus, that is- was fine. Most of the employees here were fine. Hell, even the customers were chill when he had to interact with them. But something about Lup made Barry’s brain go all fuzzy and he could never get the words out correctly.
Embarrassing, if you were a human person. Downright mortifying as a talking doll.
“-and it’s not like I was trying to be mean to him,” Lup was saying. Barry had his flimsy arms resting on top of a book, his head in his hands. “But like, what the hell am I supposed to do when my brother comes home with a guy whose family literally used to run a business that hunted mythical creatures? Like, we’re elves, babe, did you forget? Was I supposed to not try to hurt him? Does Taako even remember what happened in 1932?”
“Probably not,” Barry said. Lup’s shoulders sagged.
“Probably not,” she agreed. “He’s gonna get himself hurt, though.”
“Sometimes that’s what happens,” Barry said.
“Yeah but there’s a difference between “getting hurt” and “this guy has the tools to kill you and might use them”.”
“That’s, uh, that’s true,” Barry said. “But do you really think Taako’d bring him home if he wasn’t at least a semi-good person? Would he risk your safety like that?”
“No,” Lup said, though she didn’t seem happy with it. “Guess not.”
“He’s an adult,” Barry said.
“He’s still acting like he’s seventy,” Lup grumbled. She ran her hands over her face, scrubbing at her eyes. “You’re right. Again.”
“I’m always right,” Barry said. Lup snorted, flicking the tip of his hat. Barry batted her hand away. They settled into a round of easy silence, watching different patrons pursue the aisles. Giving advice to Lup was always a lot easier than just talking to her. At least he could say some useful things then. If she asked him about his day or anything, he’d be a mess. Granted, he was a mess at most other times, so maybe advice-giving was just his exception.
“Hey, Barry?” Lup asked after a few minutes of watching one customer sort through their picture frames.
“Uhm, yeah, Lup?”
“Taako and his new babe and I are gonna go clubbing,” she said. “Meaning that Taako’s gonna get shitfaced drunk and I’m gonna grill that dude to hell and back. And I was wondering if you, uh, if you wanted to tag along or not?”
“I can’t drink anything,” Barry blurted out before he could stop himself. Lup turned to look at him, smiling.
“Wasn’t asking you to,” she said. “I’m gonna need some backup with this guy. Figured you’re as good as anyone.”
No one had asked Barry to go anywhere in years, let alone clubbing. He was suddenly grateful that his expression couldn’t change much now as a doll, because he’d be blushing terribly right now.
“Oh, uh, then sure!” Barry said. From just behind Lup, he could see a customer starting to shove as many picture frames as he could into his bag.
“When should I pick you up?”
“I mean,” Barry shrugged. “Any time is fine. You, uh, you know where I live.” He nodded off to the right, where Magnus had placed his house in the back room.
“I’ll be by at six-thirty, then,” Lup said. She winked. “Wear your best.”
Like Barry could change clothes. He snorted.
“I’ll find myself a cool jacket from the toys section,” he said. Lup laughed. And then, out of moral obligation, he said, “the guy behind you is stealing all the picture frames.”
“Shit,” Lup said, standing up and turning around. Picture frame man’s bag was full and awkwardly pointy from the edges of the frames. “Sir, we’re not gonna let you in again if you keep doing this!”