Chapter Text
WARNINGS;
- There are a few swears in the beginning.
- I will use British-English from time to time, including the words favourite and colour.
- In the show, everything happens very quickly, and most of the time, unusual things happen, which means there are big time skips in the story with no explanation.
- I tried to get as close to the show as I could, but I made Lesley a bit more caring than most people perceive her.
- This story is still a bit scuffed, so I am working on it a bit.
Start of the story!
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There were three of them. No doubt, only three.
They sang about it every morning, or so they thought. It was always the same time and day, and the three almost never thought about it. However, when the ‘smart one’ was there, it thought about it out loud. But one remembered after that incident. The regular of the smart one. That same one also remembered the upstairs. The three rooms that the other two have never seen before, and the lady. The big, tall, colorful lady, and the piano that she had. He couldn't exactly remember what they were all for, however. Although the same one had remembered what was upstairs, he couldn’t remember what the book was. The big book with weird looking drawings on the front and on the papers inside of the cover. He also remembered the shredder. The shredder…
“HELLO??!! WAKE UP YOU DUMBASS!!” The green one called out.
The yellow one rubbed his eyes, then sat up and yawned greatly. He flung his arms up and stretched out his body before quietly putting his hands back down to his sides on the mattress. The feathered one slapped his face before storming out and sitting at the kitchen table, where breakfast was presented. The blue-haired boy rubbed his cheek before throwing the blanket off of his legs and standing up beside his bed. He quickly slipped on his house shoes and shuffled his way into the kitchen, where the light was bright. He squinted a bit and put his hand over his eyes to keep the light out. He climbed up the side of the chair and sat on the cushion at the top, where he always sat for breakfast. On the table, there were three bowls of oatmeal. Mango oatmeal, to be exact. Before the three ate, the other two had to start their morning argument.
“Why didn’t you wake him up when you got up?! I’m not the one who wakes everyone up in this house!” Duck squawked in anger. He flailed his arms around for a bit.
“I was going to,” Responded Red Guy, “But you went off to wake him when I was trying to let him sleep for a few more minutes.” His tone was still calm, but there was a little anger in his voice that could be heard. He sat with his hands flat on the table as he stared at Duck.
“Well, YOU’RE waking him tomorrow!! I’m not doing SHIT tomorrow for you or him!”
“Yeah, well I’m not doing anything either, since you’re deciding to be a bitch.” The tall one responded.
At this point, the yellow one had drowned out most of the noise while he laid his head on his arms that were neatly folded on the table. He groaned at the loud noises that sometimes rang his eardrums nearly deaf.
He thought for a bit while he had his head down. Usually he didn’t think before breakfast, but something clicked this morning. It was like the smart one had taken over his brain. He remembered the lady, the stairs, and the rooms. He also remembered the piano. Even though he already knew about these things, he suddenly had a flash of them. He felt the need to go upstairs, and a whirr stirred up in his chest. He hoped the other two would stop arguing first, so he could eat breakfast and maybe sneak away while they were in the other room. As soon as he started hoping, he stopped. The arguing got louder and they were both standing up, ready to fist fight each other. Yellow sighed and figured he could just go now, since they were distracted, and they never really noticed when he was gone anyway. He slipped down from his chair, landing on the tile beneath him. He quietly made his way around the table, and around the other two who were still fighting. He looked for a way up, for stairs, for anything. He searched for quite a while before he finally found them. He stared. He stared at the stairs, mouth agape as he reconsidered his decisions. He looked back at the mirror in the other room, hoping for an answer from the smart one. It just nodded, like it was reassuring him to go up. He stood for a moment at the bottom of the stairs before taking a step up, then another, and then a few more. He reached the first room, but he knew it wasn’t right. He knew it wasn’t the door. He searched for another case of stairs, then finally saw one on the left of the hallway-like shape. Same thing, he took a step up, and another, and a few more. He stared at the sign at the door, watching the jumbled numbers and letters turn into words. He knew that they said something, but it also wasn’t what he was looking for. He needed the piano. He needed to hear the piano, and this wasn't it. Suddenly, a light from the next case of stairs shone down upon him. He flinched and quickly looked up the stairs. He heard the twinkling of a music box and.. the piano! That's it! The piano! He quickly ran up the stairs, stumbling and tripping on them as he hurried to get to the door. He was exhausted at the end, but he caught his breath and calmed himself down before the door opened by itself.
There she was. The lady. The big, tall, colorful lady.
"Come in, dear. I know you've been searching for me." Lesley forced a smile as she turned around to face the yellow boy. He quickly walked in, then started fidgeting with his hands and picking at the stitches on the sides of his wrists. He was anxious to meet this new person, but he knew she was there for a reason.
"Uh, um.. who.. are you?" He sputtered out at last.
"My name is Lesley. It's so funny that you don't.. remember." Her voice lowered into a softer tone at the end of her sentence. She quickly stood up and went over to Yellow. She grabbed his hands and, from what she saw, stopped him from picking at his seams and possibly ripping them loose.
"My, what a bad habit you have." She felt a few strings of thread sticking out, and she moved his hand around, looking at all of the seams that have already popped from him picking at them. "Why have you been doing this?" She quietly asked.
Yellow stared at Lesley. Not in the eyes, but just.. at her. He didn't want to respond. Thoughts raced around his mind but he didn’t know what they were about. He tried to grasp his ideas but all he could think of was just jumble. He looked up at Lesley, and noticed her worried look.
“Well?” The annoyed tone in her voice could barely be heard, but it made Yellow shake with anxiety. He stuttered a bit more than usual.
"U-uh.. um. I um.." He hesitated, and Lesley gave him a 'I'm waiting.' look.
"I'm.. I get nervous some.. some time." He muttered.
Lesley sighed, then picked Yellow up by grabbing under his arms and supporting his body with the palm of her hand. She set him on the piano's bench, then she opened a drawer that was embedded in the side of the piano. She grabbed a small needle and matching thread, and a pair of scissors to cut the existing pieces of thread hanging out from Yellow's arm. She quickly sat back down. The way she sat, her legs were over the front and back sides of the bench. Yellow did the same, since he figured that's what he should do too.
"Now, let's get you fixed up and brand new." Lesley hummed a bit as she carefully held the yellow boy's hand. She cut the existing threads that were hanging out, and he looked away in fear. He grabbed the side of the bench with his other hand and gripped it tightly. He closed his eyes shut and he frowned from the new pain circulating in his arm. It felt like a knife was stabbing through his wrist and forearm a million times. It hurt so much that tears ran down his face. Lesley shushed him and continued to sew him up.
"It's okay, just a few more stitches, dear." She reassured him. He nodded as he wiped his tears from his face and sniffled a bit. After a few more minutes, Lesley finished the last stitch. She quickly tied up the thread and cut the excess off of the needle. She threw both the needle and the thread away in a little bin next to the piano leg.
"There you are. Good as new!" Lesley clasped her hands together and smiled at Yellow, admiring his new stitches.
"They.. kind of look like.. your ones!" He smiled and giggled a bit, but it still sounded like he wanted to cry more. It still hurt, but at least it looked nice.
"Yes, exactly. Now, hurry along, you don't want to starve, do you?" She waved her hand toward the door that the yellow one originally came through.
"I can't stay with you?"
Lesley stopped for a moment, staring at Yellow with angry eyes.
"But I want to stay here.." He added, "..Please?"
"Your friends are waiting for you!" She smiled larger, trying her best to make it not look fake.
Yellow paused for a moment before replying. "They are.. always.. fighting.." He frowned as tears formed in the corners of his eyes again. "I don't.. I don't want to.. go back!" Tears streamed down his face. He kept his mouth closed for a bit, then he opened it to audibly cry. He sobbed and sniffled as he opened his arms for a hug.
"Oh, …alright." Lesley picked Yellow up the same way as she did earlier, but this time, she held him close to her chest. She wrapped her arms tightly around the smaller one, and he did the same. He cried into Lesley's jacket, but he felt comfortable. It was nice having a hug from… from….
Oh. I'm back downstairs. How did I get here?
He walked out of their bedroom, scarred. His tears left marks on his face, but he thought neither Red or Duck seemed to notice when he cried, so he went out anyway. He quietly tip-toed to the kitchen, where the two were sitting calmly. Were they done with their argument? The two of them stared at him as he climbed up into his chair. The same bowls of mango oatmeal sat on the table, untouched.
"Where did you go? Were you crying?" The red one asked.
The yellow one's eyes widened as he looked down at the table, not wanting to answer. This felt like.. like..
The yellow one finished his oatmeal last. It was hard for him to eat after he experienced the upstairs. He remembered the lady. He remembered crying.
"Well, we'll be in the other room. Don't run off again." The red one demanded.
"Oh.. kay." Yellow responded.
“Yeah! And STOP eating so slowly! We almost miss our shows in the morning because of YOU!” Duck screeched.
Red grabbed his beak and held it shut. Duck flailed while Red was speaking. “SHUT UP YOU BIG FAT GREEN THING!! Anyway, don’t listen to him. You can take as long as you’d like.” He smiled at Yellow before dragging Duck by the beak into the other room.
Yellow sat at the table, thinking. ….Thinking? He usually doesn’t do thinking, but ever since the smart one was here he.. changed. He didn’t have smart thoughts, but at least he could grab a few ideas and think about them. The whirr in his chest started again, but worse. His brain hurt. No, everything hurt. His head and chest mostly. He grabbed and held the back of his head as he put his legs up onto the chair. He leaned his head onto his knees and he rocked back and forth slightly. Tears streamed down his face and he tried to cry quietly, since he knew the red one would be coming in the kitchen soon for a snack.
He felt a touch on his arm. He flinched and quickly wiped his face as he looked up at the red one.
“Hey, what’s… what’s wrong?” Red asked.
Yellow stared again, not wanting to respond. He knew the other one wouldn’t understand the hurt in his body. He wouldn’t understand the smart one, the tall colourful lady, the rooms, the upstairs, nothing. Red’s hand tightened around Yellow’s shoulder. He flinched again and squinted at the pain, but he looked up at Red with tears streaming down his face again. Red was making his hurt worse. He wanted to just shut down and relax on his bed, or maybe eat his favorite food, or… or maybe.. maybe see the lady again.
“Answer me.” Red demanded. He was getting impatient, and it could be heard in his voice.
“I.. I’m.. I’m sorry! I’m sorry, I’m sorry!” Yellow quickly wrapped his arms around the Red one, but Red pushed him away.
Instead of saying something, Red stepped back and raised his hand. Yellow looked up at him in fear as he curled himself up. Red moved his hand and..
SMACK!
Ow. Hit by his own friend, and not playfully. Again, he cried, but this time it was oil. The running oil stained his face and clothes black. He slipped off the chair and shoved the Red one away from his chair. He quickly ran back to the stairs and ran up them, and Red followed, curious. Yellow tripped and fell about a million times trying to get to the third door, and by the time he was there, Red was already at the second flight of stairs. He quickly ran into Lesley’s room, making sure to close the door and lock it behind him. Lesley quickly looked back at him with fear in her eyes. She quickly stood up and sped over to Yellow.
“What happened?! Are you alright?” She frantically asked.
“He’s.. they..” Yellow muttered. “He’s follow me.”
Lesley stared at the door, then back to Yellow. Her eyes opened wide and she quickly ran over to the playhouse, moving Red’s figure from the second floor back down to the first. The heavy steps of the red one stopped as he was teleported back down. He was in his chair in the other room, watching TV. He forgot about the situation.
Yellow looked back at Lesley with fear, and oil was still dripping down his face. Lesley screamed in horror as she realized what he looked like, then quickly picked Yellow up and sat him on her bench. She grabbed her tools from her drawer and quickly sat down next to Yellow.
“Can.. can I-” Yellow was cut off.
“No time to speak! I MUST get you fixed up before.. Before..” Lesley’s voice lowered at the end of her sentence as she dragged it out into silence. Yellow stared at Lesley as he tried to wipe his ‘tears’ away, however, it just made it worse. Oil went over his hand and completely stained it. Lesley grabbed his arm and pulled it away from his face.
“No, leave yourself alone! Just be still for one moment!” She frantically demanded.
Lesley quickly pulled the front of Yellow’s overalls down to get to his battery compartment.
“W-wait a minute!! Wait!” Yellow called out.
Lesley ignored him as she opened it, took the batteries out, and quickly opened a little hatch in the back of it. She cleaned the oil and dirt from his battery compartment, then grabbed two new batteries from her supplies. She quickly closed up the hatch in the back, put the new batteries in, and closed the battery compartment. She quickly put Yellow’s overalls back and cleaned up his face, hand, and overalls with towels and a special oil cleaner that she knew would come in handy.
"..Where am I?" The smart one asked.
"Oh, you silly! You're up here, with me!" Lesley giggled.
Yellow looked around, curious of the sights before him. He looked up and down at Lesley, admiring the patterns on her coat, before looking over at the piano and the walls. He hopped down from the bench and looked up at Lesley.
“What.. what is all of this?” Yellow questioned.
“My, my, you were just here! Don’t you remember me?” Lesley laughed a bit, bending down to his height to look him in the eyes.
Yellow looked around, avoiding eye contact. He stared at the glass window above the piano, commending the patterns in the coloured glass. The red, green, and yellow stood out most to him, since the patterns looked like the main three, but he couldn’t tell if that was on purpose.
“Don’t you?” Lesley’s voice lowered as she stared at him, expecting a ‘yes’ to come from his mouth.
“Erm.. no, not really..” The yellow boy responded.
Lesley stared more in disbelief. She shook her head, and sighed, raising a hand to rub her forehead because of a headache. Yellow flinched when she raised her hand, since he thought she was going to hit him. Lesley looked back up at him, worried.
“Why are you flinching, dear?” She asked quietly.
“The.. um.. The other one, he hurt me.” Yellow responded as he quickly looked at the ground and started fidgeting with his fingers. Lesley looked at him in horror before pulling him into a hug and holding him tightly in her arms. Yellow tried to say something, but no words left his voicebox. His hands lingered by Lesley’s sides before he put them around her. He smiled a bit, but just enough that you couldn’t tell he was. Lesley let go, a small tear running down her cheek. She quickly wiped it away, laughing it off.
“Look, you can stay just for today. I’ll give you your favourite meals, but you have to promise you won’t be back for a while, okay?” Lesley smiled again, holding out her pinky finger.
Yellow nodded happily as he pinky-promised Lesley that he wouldn’t be back for a while. He was satisfied with his new batteries, and he didn’t want the other ones taking them again. Lesley quickly stood back up and started walking toward her piano.
“My, don’t you think we should get working on that book again?”