Work Text:
“Nine-thirty! I can’t believe how early we finished!” Toby exclaimed, “I also can’t believe NotEnrique tried to trap us in Strickler’s office with that fart cloud. I mean, in a way, I guess he was kinda right. Probably shouldn’t have trusted a Changeling. But, still!”
He and Aaarrrgghh were taking the long way back to Toby’s house, sticking to the woods and shadows as much as possible. Finishing early meant more people were still out and about after all.
“I kid you not, I’m going to wake up so. Freaking. Sore tomorrow. I bet you anything and everything.” Toby prattled on.
Aaarrrgghh hummed in question and his wingman understood.
“Yeah, ‘cause you know that rope I’m always complaining about that Coach Lawrence says every kid is supposed to climb but I can barely get myself off the ground?”
Aaarrrgghh made a noise of acknowledgement and Toby continued.
“Well, when the Anamonstrum chased me and NotEnrique to the gym, the little poop-bag left me alone after we closed the doors. Just shimmied himself up the rope and into the vent, and since the man-eating smoke was going through the freaking door cracks and I didn’t know where else to go, I decided to follow NotEnrique. Yup. Nothing like fear and adrenaline to make your body do things it doesn’t ever do on any other day.”
It wasn’t until Toby paused for a second to take a breath that he realized what he had said, but he couldn’t do anything about it now. With any luck, Aaarrrgghh hopefully either hadn’t noticed or hadn’t cared. Neither of them had faltered with their walking, at least not that Toby could tell. He felt his heat beat a little faster and decided to continue talking.
“So yeah, pretty sure the one and only time I could climb the thing, I beat the school record ‘cause I caught up to NotEnrique really quickly. Also, ow. That fall down the ventilation shaft really hurt. I kind of fell on my head, but not completely. Would that count as a concussion? Wait, but if I had a concussion I wouldn’t be able to walk in a straight line and see clearly. Or is that being drunk? Both? What do you think, Wingman?” Toby asked, looking up at his much larger friend.
Aaarrrgghh’s face twisted a bit in thought then he shrugged. He didn’t know either.
“Jim’s mother.” He said simply. Toby nodded.
“You’re right. Dr. Lake would definitely know how to tell when someone has a concussion. Probably wouldn’t be a very good doctor if she couldn’t, am I right?” He chuckled, giving his wingman a playful elbow nudge. The large troll smiled down at him.
They reached Toby’s fence and Aaarrrgghh peeked over the fence, holding Toby in his palm to let the younger boy see as well.
“Alright. Think we’re in the clear.”
Aaarrrgghh raised his small friend up and over the fence, letting him hop off his hand and move out the way before he jumped over himself. Toby was unlocking the back door when Aaarrrgghh raised his ears in alarm upon hearing the shuffling of feet behind the door.
Toby heard light movement behind him and soft thud he’d come to associate with Aaarrrgghh hoping his and Jim’s fences. He turned around to an empty backyard.
“Wingman?” He softly called out, confused at the troll’s sudden disappearance. The door behind him opened and let out a curtain of light.
“Toby-Pie! What are you doing out here so late? Were you at Jimmy’s house?” Toby whipped back around when he heard his Nana’s voice. His Wingman’s vanishing act instantly made a lot more sense.
“Nana! Y-yeah…Jim and I were out late. Studying. I would’ve used the front door but I thought you were already asleep and didn’t want to wake you.” He grinned sheepishly.
“Oh, honey, that’s sweet of you. I was actually up making some apple pie. Would you like a slice? Let me get you a slice.”
Nana walked back inside and Toby’s face fell a bit. On one hand, his Nana’s pie was awesome. On the other, his best Troll friend was stuck outside with no way to get in until Nana went to sleep or was distracted enough by her programs. He turned back around and saw Aaarrrgghh’s eyes peering over the fence, his horns and fur managing to blend in enough with the woodland behind him. Toby gave a small half shrug and gestured helplessly to his Nana in the kitchen. Aaarrrgghh raised one of his giant hands and made a shooing motion. Toby got the message and whispered yelled to his friend.
“I’ll let you in as soon as I can,”
Aaarrrgghh responded with the newest human gesture he’d learned, one he liked a lot; a thumbs up. Toby let out a giggle and returned the sign.
“Toby-Pie! Here’s your pie!” Rang out Nana in a musical lilt.
“Coming, Nana!” He closed the door behind him, casting the backyard, and Aaarrrgghh, in darkness once again.
____________________
Only when he heard Wingman and Nana talking to one another and saw the occasional, calm movements of them in the kitchen did Aaarrrgghh dip back below the fence line with a small sigh. Despite the tight fit the house was for him, he enjoyed spending time there with his human friend.
But his delayed entry wasn’t what had him troubled. He knew Toby wanted to keep his grandmother from the Troll world and he respected that whenever he could. What had him worried was the constant chattering from Wingman on their way back from the school. Granted, Toby talking nearly nonstop (much like Blinky) was nothing new. But after spending so much time with him he had noticed that when the young boy was nervous about something, he spoke much faster and the thoughts he voiced were more scattered than usual.
It had not gone unnoticed by Aaarrrgghh when, exactly, his Wingman’s nerves increased, or rather, the words that caused it.
Man-eating.
He was certain Toby hadn’t even realized what he’d said until after it’d been voiced. So, he pretended as though he hadn’t heard it. It wouldn’t have done the situation any good to draw even more attention to it.
He believed what Toby had said back in Strickler’s office, that he was one of the good Trolls now. He knew this. He had worked at maintaining his oath of peace for close to a millennium. It didn’t erase his bloody past, nothing ever would, but over the years he’d done what he could as atonement. Blinky knew this better than anyone else, though Vendel came in close second.
In a way, he knew it was too good to be true. To have someone simply…dismiss his past as if it never mattered was practically unheard of. And by a human, no less. He’d spent enough time with the boy to know that his mind never really took a break. Aaarrrgghh knew that Toby, despite his admirable attempt at not letting his past re-define their friendship, had questions and concerns. Everyone always did.
Still.
It hurt.
Laying down on the grass behind the Domzalski fence he let the muted chatter from inside become background noise as his mind wandered.
Would Toby ask for more information about what he did? About his time as Gunmar’s general? If he’d ever been to the Darklands?
His Wingman wasn’t very well known for keeping his thoughts to himself, especially when they concerned topics about his friends.
Did Toby still think of him as his friend?
If he knew more, would he even want to be near him?
Aaarrrgghh let out a small groan and shook his head. If a hundred years ago someone had told him that he’d one day care what a human thought of him, particularly because he’d become a close friend with them, he would have laughed in that troll’s face.
He let out a soft sigh.
Aaarrrgghh hated talking about his past. He despised even mentioning it. All he could hope for was that his Wingman kept his thoughts to himself and would respect Aaarrrgghh’s decision to not bring it up.
He laid there for several minutes longer, a frown on his face and trying to keep his mind from going to dark places when he heard the buzz of the back light turn back on. He got to attention but kept hidden. Last time he’d gotten stuck outside because Toby’s nana was up and about, an actual burglar had tried to enter through the back door. The light had made the man hesitate but didn’t fully deter his actions. A deep and menacing growl from Aaarrrgghh did.
Carefully, he peered through the fence cracks, trying to see a familiar shape when he heard Toby’s soft call.
“Wingman?”
Aaarrrgghh poked his head over the fence line with a cautious glance around.
“Nana?”
“Went to bed a little while ago,” Toby replied with a smile and Aaarrrgghh hopped the fence.
“You still got the Fetch?”
The troll opened his lightly closed hand to reveal the black and green ring. It had been decided that having the well-known device in Trollmarket would be too risky and Toby had offered to keep it at his house until a more permanent solution could be established. Blinky reluctantly conceded with the condition that the boy did not look into it again or place any other limbs through. After describing what he’d seen, Toby wholeheartedly agreed.
As Aaarrrgghh silently struggled to get through the bedroom door, he listened to the update being given.
“Jim said the dinner with Strickler went about as expected. Horrible, but no one died, at least. Also, we were totally right. Strickler is definitely a Changeling.”
With a small grunt he managed to finally pull himself through. He gently pushed the door closed and paid close attention to what his Wingman was saying.
“Also, I had this idea for how to maybe find Enrique, but I wanted to bounce it off you first.”
Aaarrrgghh raised an eyebrow and gave a soft rumble in question while he watched the boy get ready for bed. If his Wingman was thinking of how to save the other human child, then he was most likely feeling better than earlier. Good.
“So, what if, and hear me out, we send NotEnrique to go get the real Enrique back from the Darklands? I mean, it could work, right? He’s the only one of us small enough to fit and since he was practically just there, he would also know where Claire’s little brother is being kept and if he runs into anyone or anything, they’d be less likely to question his being there since he’s a Changeling! It’d totally work! What d’you think?”
Toby looked at him earnestly and Aaarrrgghh contemplated the proposal. It had the beginnings of a good plan, albeit high-risk, particularly for the human baby. But all that hinged on one main thing.
“Changeling won’t want to go back.”
“What if we bribe him?”
Aaarrrgghh thought for a moment before shrugging.
“Maybe. But not likely.”
Toby swept out his hand in front of him, “Don’t worry, I’ve got just the thing.” He handed Chompsky a Nuggat Nummy which the gnome took eagerly. “Phase one of ‘Get NotEnrique Onboard to Save Claire’s Brother’ starts tomorrow!” Aaarrrgghh simply gave a small shake of his head as his Wingman got into bed. No one sane enough would ever want to get into the Darklands, especially if they just got out. Besides, sending a Changeling who was just recently assigned would cause too much suspicion to those trapped there, which would put both the Changeling and the infant in danger, though he didn’t care too much about the former.
Toby clicked off the light and Aaarrrgghh looked over a bit sadly.
“No Sushi?”
“Sorry, Wingman. Not for me tonight. You know I love hanging out with you and Blinky and going to Trollmarket, but I need to catch up on some much needed Z’s.” Toby replied with a yawn.
“Zees?”
“Yup. Sleep. I’m exhausted.”
Aaarrrgghh gave what he hoped was an understanding smile. The night was young, and he didn’t want to be alone with his thoughts. Toby caught onto his disappointment.
“Sorry, big guy. I promise I’ll play with you tomorrow. Do you want me to set it up anyway?”
Aaarrrgghh nodded gratefully. He knew the process, but everything was far too small for him. The calming game music began playing very quietly.
“Alright. Night, Wingman.” Toby said with a yawn, one hand rubbing his eye and the other giving Aaarrrgghh a friendly pat on his stone arm.
“Goodnight.” He rumbled back. He heard Toby get into his bed and he started up the game, appreciating the distraction.
Maybe…maybe, Toby really was okay with what he’d learned about his Troll roommate. Or maybe he really didn’t care since it was so long ago, centuries before they’d met, or his ancestors even existed. Aaarrrgghh had grown rather fond of his Wingman. Maybe their friendship didn’t have to change.
______________________
It had taken every ounce of Toby’s willpower to not pepper his large Troll friend with questions. Back in Strickler’s office, it had been glaringly obvious that his Wingman had felt extremely guilty and ashamed of his past, and Toby hadn’t wanted him to keep feeling uncomfortable. He’d meant what he’d said. Aaarrrgghh wasn’t one of the bad guys anymore; he was with the good guys—the good trolls; helping train the Trollhunter to keep Gunmar from ever escaping the Darklands and everything, all while being a pacifist.
But hot damn if he wasn’t absolutely bursting with curiosity.
Honestly, that’s what it was more than anything else. Curiosity. Intrigue.
He and Jim had been told for months how Gunmar was the ultimate bad guy. How it was super important that he and the other Gumm-Gumms never got out of the Darklands because of all the evil and destruction and world ending things that could happen if they did.
Hearing that his best troll friend had once been, not only a Gumm-Gumm, but Gunmar’s freaking general made him realize how little he really knew about his Wingman’s past.
That and, oh yeah, Aaarrrgghh, his Wingman, the troll who Toby thought was just a gentle giant because of how much of a cinnamon roll he is, used to eat people.
If it had just been the other stuff, Toby could have brushed it off far more easily. Maybe it would have been easier to disassociate that version of Aaarrrgghh with the one he saw everyday. But, that one little detail seemed to just drive everything home, and that was the one he was having the most trouble getting past.
When the words “man-eating” left his mouth on their way back home Toby had wanted to smack himself in the face right then and there. Just because that’s what he was hung up on didn’t mean his Wingman needed to know he was. It was clear he felt bad about what he used to do and who he used to be, but people change and Aaarrrgghh had managed to turn his life around. Afterall, there were countless stories of humans defecting from their country or military during wars to join the opposing side—why would it be any different for trolls?
Toby’s mind drifted back to the book pages he’d seen. One side with a painting of Bular, not Gunmar, like he initially thought. And the other side with a fierce, and admittedly scary, looking Aaarrrgghh. Holding a human while others ran away.
He tried to imagine that past Aaarrrgghh. Violent and dangerous, with people running away from him in true fear lest they be killed and eaten. Posing enough of a threat to human and troll kind that his place in the book of Gumm-Gumm history was right next to Gunmar’s son.
It was hard to think of his Wingman that way.
So instead, he tried to focus on what he did know.
Aaarrrgghh was very protective of his friends. Loyal too. He also liked listening to people talk. That much was evident by his friendship with Blinky and himself, he never asked them to stop after all. Aaarrrgghh liked playing Go-Go Sushi. A lot. The big guy had beat Toby’s high score ages ago and was well on his way of setting a new record. He thought Toby was unusual (to be frank most people did anyways) but seemed to like spending time with him either way. Aaarrrgghh and Blinky had been best friends for several hundred years. Toby wondered if they had already met by the time the Battle of Killahead Bridge took place or if it was later.
Wait. Don’t think about Killahead.
Toby tried to limit his mind to only think about things he knew.
Aaarrrgghh really liked socks, but then again, all trolls did as far as Toby knew. He also really liked VHS tapes, and cat dander and hairballs, which to Toby’s mind, ew. But who was he to judge? He had eaten cat food when he was younger and had liked it. Besides, in Trollmarket there was a cat stand for the trolls to buy cats to eat. Toby recalled that when they first met, Aaarrrgghh had said “yummy” when he mentioned his Nana had cats, so he liked to eat cats too. Was it because it was meat and that was similar to hu—
Nope. No. Not going there. No.
Positive thoughts. Only things I know firsthand.
Aaarrrgghh is…umm…big…?
Way to state the obvious but, yeah, okay.
Aaarrrgghh was big. Bigger than most other trolls Toby had seen actually and he’d noticed that sometimes he used his imposing stature to keep less tolerant trolls from messing with him and Jim, especially during their first few trips to Trollmarket. But despite his bulk he was also very fast. Way faster than Toby on his bike, that’s for sure. Fast enough to outrun Bular, definitely. Did that piss Bular off? Had Aaarrrgghh always been faster than him? Did he used to interact with the Gumm-Gumm prince regularly all those centuries ago? What about before he became a pacifist, was he stronger than Bular too? Did he used to spar with him? Was—
No, Toby. Stop.
Was he a good fighter?
Stop it.
Well, obviously, since he used to be a general.
Toby.
And whenever he helped Jim with his training in the Forge, he always dodged and moved around the ancient deathtrap like it was just a fun obstacle course. Which made sense since he had been a leader in an extremely deadly army and had probably been used to dangerous and unpredictable combat and battles.
Toby, stop before you start thinking about things that could make you upset.
But Toby was no longer listening to his conscience. His imagination was let loose.
He thought back to Jim’s birthday when he’d fallen from the sky because of the Stalkling. How they’d both been so scared they wouldn’t make it in time to catch him. How Aaarrrgghh had suddenly sped up significantly and his tattoo carvings had glowed green right before he’d caught Jim and saved his life.
Toby thought back to the only other time he’d seen that same glow, back to the first night Aaarrrgghh had spent as his roomie, though officially was there as protection for his home. He’d put on a violent video game for them to play and had been saying something when the glow of his carvings started and his eyes had, quite literally, gone dark and Aaarrrgghh had furiously smashed a controller. What had he been saying? Toby thought of the storyline, he hadn’t played that game in ages, not wanting to accidentally set his Wingman off again. Something about ninjas…oh yeah, cyber ninjas. The point was to always kill all the cyber ninjas. He’d probably been saying something about needing to kill them al—
Oh.
That was something Toby had heard Bular say once or twice and he had no doubt “kill them all” was a common phrase, or order, for Gunmar and the Gumm-Gumms.
Toby mentally smacked himself in the face. He’d said a trigger and hadn’t even properly realized it. He thought it had been the game, not the phrase. Well, maybe it had been the combination? It was pretty violent game after all. Toby wondered if Aaarrrgghh had any other triggers he had to watch out for. He didn’t want to accidentally make his Wingman uncomfortable.
Toby gave a deep sigh. He’d been thinking about this for hours and was completely drained, physically and mentally. He was no closer to any answers but at least his mind was now mostly empty of all the things he’d been pushing aside since seeing The Book of Ga-Huel. He’d deal with everything else later. What mattered was he’d managed to hold his tongue and respect his Wingman’s decision to keep his past private.
If Wingman wanted to talk, then Toby would be there and be supportive, no matter what he personally felt. And if he didn’t…well, Toby would support him in that too.
With a satisfied sigh, Toby rolled over in bed again and finally fell asleep.