Chapter Text
It was a long day in the neighborhood, especially for the little caterpillar running his store, it almost felt like everyone came in for groceries, and he was feeling so sluggish today, though did his best not to show it since he doubted it was anything serious, he was taking one more check of his stock before closing for the evening, he'd hate to run out of any of his neighbors favorites! Only noticing a few small things, like how Wally bought a few more apples than usual, and how Sally was burning through glitter all week at a much faster pace… All things he noted for the next time he ordered for the shop.
He hardly kept himself up as he hung up his apron for the evening, his arms struggling to coordinate resulting in them bumping into one another, he let out a yawn as he trudged his way out of the shop, now, usually he'd make himself a bed out of the soup cans, and sleep on top of those, but he figured maybe visiting his partner Frank would help him sleep a bit better..
He fumbled his way through the neighborhood until he found his beloved's nice little home, it's hard to find someone when you're a giant bug, in fact it was hard to make friends in general, so meeting the folks in the neighborhood, and meeting Frank was a genuine miracle for Howdy, someone so fascinated in him, somebody that didn't seem unnerved by him, it was nice, so nice. He loved Frank so much.. He knocked lightly on the giant green door, and lit up a little when Frank answered.
"Oh-" the grey puppet started, rather surprised by the unexpected visit, "good evening Howdy, I haven't heard from you all day," he hummed, reaching up to check his partners face, just hoping the poor pillar was alright, he looked exhausted.
"Heyy Frank, sorry I got so caught up in the shop, everyone, and their giant clown dogs were getting groceries," he explained, pressing his cheek into the others hand for that sliver of warmth in the cool evening air, "would it be alright if I uh … Stayed at your place tonight?" He asked, yawning just a little bit, "I haven't been sleeping too well," he explained, smiling wearily at his love.
"Of course Howdy, come on in," Frank gestured as he ushered the man inside. He led Howdy through the little house, trying to find enough blankets for his sudden visitor, and get Howdy comfortable in the guest room.. Now usually, Frank would simply let Howdy crawl into his own bed with him, but he was about half way through a rather long study, and would hate to keep Howdy up any longer with having the lights on. So this was a healthy compromise.
Howdy was barely on his four feet by the time he was able to lay down, mumbling some slurred words of appreciation to Frank for his hospitality, a warm hug, and some final goodnight 'I love you's before the caterpillar was out cold in the little makeshift bed.