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It was yet another cheery day in the Neighborhood. Everybody's favorite artist stood in front of the mirror, adjusting his ascot. Today, he and Barnaby had a game of catch planned. Of course, it was something he was excited for! Why wouldn't he be ecstatic to spend time with his very best friend, after all?
Fixed up to his liking, he left the comforts of Home, waving goodbye to it as he headed down the road. It, of course, didn't take him very long to arrive outside the house of none other than Barnaby. He knocked on the door to the tune of 'shave and a haircut'.
On the other side of the door was Barnaby B. Beagle, asleep on the couch. Even though he had a bed. He was too tired and lazy to go to his room so the living room was the place to sleep that night.
Due to the sudden sound of knocking on the door, he woke up surprised and almost fell off the couch. His body hurt A LOT, like hell in fact, he didn’t even want to move. He growled, annoyed by the sound that woke him up, and slowly got up off the couch. Walking slowly to the door, he felt like that action alone took all the strength he somehow had, and even more trying to open the door. Somehow, his vision was funny, and not in a humorous way. Finally he opened the door to see his best pal.
Wally looked up at his friend, giving him a court wave. That ever present, almost lazy, smile on his face.
"Hello, Barnaby."
He tilted his head, seemingly confused by something. It was like he noticed a trait in his friend, but couldn't pinpoint what was off about it.
"You look funny."
“I always look funny…”
Barnaby responded confused, but actually the comment was not what bothered him. Mostly, it was that his vision was making him see almost two Wallys instead of just one.
“Uhh… Why are you here buddy? Need something?”
Why was Wally here again?
Wally laughed softly at this, in that monotonous way of his. He folded his hands behind his back.
"Barnaby, you're so silly. We were going to play catch, remember?"
He smiled a little brighter up at the other, eyes almost scanning his features.
"Did you forget already? Silly…silly…"
He mused, playfully shaking his head.
“Oh… Oh yeah! We were supposed to do that, huh?”
Barnaby felt like the idea of playing outside was so tiring, besides he didn’t remember saying anything about playing catch yesterday. Or did he?
“Buddy, are you sure that it was today?”
Wally laughed again. Perhaps this was a new game Barnaby was playing.
"Yes! I even wrote it on my calendar."
He said that last part with a small sense of pride. How responsible it was of him! Home was certainly proud of him taking initiative like that. Even if it was for an event that would take place the next day.
“Oh yeah, welp! Let's go buddy…”
Barnaby took one more step outside of his house and, unfortunately, his legs betrayed him.
“What in the-”
Now that he was thinking about it, the day was hotter than he remembered….or was it just him? He felt weak, like he couldn’t move at all. He thought that it was because he recently woke up but it seemed like it was worse now.
Wally regarded the actions of his friend with both concern and curiosity. What could possibly be happening? If it was a game, it wasn't particularly fun.
"Is something wrong, Barnaby?"
He cocked his head as he asked this. His eyes stayed on Barnaby's face, which he noticed seemed oddly pale.
"You're walking strange."
“I’m fine, little buddy! Just didn’t sleep well that's all hehe…”
Barnaby said through pain. Gosh, his body hurt so much in that moment it was terrible. He tried to move again but he couldn’t, he was sweating, everything was blurry. He hated this. He just wanted to have a day with his pal and somehow today he had to feel horrible.
He looked at Wally, he knew he was gonna concern the little one and he didn’t want that. He just wanted him to be happy, have a great time together, damn his legs and body for betraying him!
Wally stepped closer and gently patted his shoulder.
"Maybe you should rest some more then, Barnaby. You can't run if you're sleepy."
He pointed out. While, true that the actual act of sleeping was something that eluded Wally, he still had come to understand that it was something his neighbors needed. He took Barnaby's paw in both of his much smaller hands and led him back into the house.
"Back to bed now, Barnaby."
“No- Wally don’t worry- I slept enough believe me.”
The dog was bigger than the other one but at this point his body didn’t want to fight back at all. He could, he wished.
“C’mon buddy, you don’t need to do this-”
Suddenly he was interrupted by a pain in the throat that made him cough very loudly. That surprised him, and cursed him because doing so made it hurt more.
Wally looked up at him again. That smile was still on his face, but with worry laced into it.
"That doesn't sound right.."
He thought aloud. There was simply no getting around it. His friend had to rest. He brought Barnaby to the bed, rather than the couch, and had him sit on the edge.
"You look…how would Sally say it? Dreadful, I think. Lay down, friend."
He instructed, voice still as gentle as always.
Barnaby really didn’t want to, but his body really did, so he lay down on the bed. He felt so heavy, and the bed felt so soft and comfortable.
“I am sorry for all the problems bud… Guess my funny bone feels weird lately.”
He can’t make puns about this well either, he felt like he couldn’t breath well. He just wanted to fall asleep right there and not wake up for at least a week.
Wally tapped his chin as he thought over his friend's symptoms.
"No..you're sick!"
He finally pieced it together! How joyous! But also not. He took Barnaby's paw once again, giving it a soft pat.
"There, there, neighbor. You need rest. Oh..and soup of course. That's what Poppy says, yes?"
Sick? Actually, that made sense. Barnaby hated being sick more than anything right now.
“Is not that bad-”
A cough interrupt him again, finally he gave up
B“Y’know what little bud? Guess you are right, I am sick…”
Finally with that he felt less tense. His body decided to become a bunch of bricks on him so at this point he won’t move at all, but made the strength to grab Wally’s hand weakly. Wally smiled sweetly back at him and gave a short nod.
"I'll make soup. Yes. It can't be that hard?"
With that, he pulled away and wandered off to the kitchen. He'd seen Poppy make soup of all kinds plenty of times. Surely even he could do it. He looked through the cupboards and, thankfully for Barnaby's sake, found a can of soup. How fortuitous! A very lucky event for Wally and Barnaby's stomach.
He took down the can and climbed off the counter, getting out a pot. He placed it on the stove. The knob was how you turned it on, he remembered Poppy showing him this. The turned it, listening to it click, perhaps a bit longer than he should have, before turning the dial to 'HIGH'. With great care and deliberate turns of the twist on a can opener he managed to find, Wally opened the can of soup and emptied the contents into the pot. He let it heat up, perhaps a moment too long, considering it was a tad thicker than it was supposed to be.
Proudly, he filled up a bowl with the soup and took it to his ill companion. He presented Barnaby with the soup and looked rather pleased with the results.
“Thanks little buddy…”
Barnaby adjusted himself to sit in his bed and carefully grab the bowl, even though it was not completely like a soup should look like he ate it anyways, almost too fast.
The warmth of the soup made him feel a little better. It tasted very good. He could eat 20 of these in the day, or maybe it was just because he was sick, but the most important part is just his little buddy made it for him. That alone made the soup a little bit more special.
His tail now was wagging with the thought in mind. There was a noticeable gleam in Wally's eyes now. He was very happy that his friend liked his soup. Walking around to the side of the bed, he carefully climbed up and sat by Barnaby.
"Are you feeling any better now, neighbor?"
“Yeah, thanks Wally”
Barnaby smiled at him and grabbed his friend, hugging him. He felt so sleepy right now, might as well get the rest now.
“You don’t mind taking a nap with me buddy?”
Wally, of course, was limp in Barnaby's arms, not that he minded the hug. He nodded slowly and hummed in thought.
"Yes, I think that is a good idea. I'll stay here and we can nap."
Napping for Wally did not involve sleeping, but instead he could simply enjoy being in the company of Barnaby while he rested.
Barnaby finally felt so sleepy, so tired, he yawned before finally closing his heavy eyes. Putting Wally, who was still hugging him, beside himself and falling asleep so fast, one could hear his little snores. This was probably the best day for him, getting sick isn't so bad if you can pass the time with your pal anyways. This was much better then playing catch.