Work Text:
Lammy internally sighed as she parked the car in the parking lot of her apartment. She simply sat and stewed, dreading the draining walk up the stairs, or even just mustering up the energy to move and get out of the car.
Eventually it began to get stuffy, so she hesitantly and excruciatingly lifted herself off the seat, throwing a foot out onto the asphalt, and grabbed all of her items off the passenger seat that was missing its typical occupant. She shut the door, about to lock it when she noticed she forgot her apartment keys. She threw her head back in exasperation, throwing open the door and yanking them out forcefully. She then sighed as she stretched, and warily began to make the arduous trip up the endless stairs.
I wonder what PaRappa’s up to right now. Oh, if that dog could see her now…
She could imagine a vivid image of the optimistic rapper in her mind, telling her to keep her chin up, encouraging her on with his delightful catchphrase. The idea of it all made her smile past her extreme physical discomfort.
Each step she took felt like wading through liquid concrete; her legs began to cry out and ache with searing pain as she reached each new level, turning around on the platform to continue again on the next level of stairs. I miss him. I feel like it’s been so long since we’ve seen each other. She was the most ecstatic, second only to himself, when he suddenly got a massive boost in his music career, and was signed on to work at a studio (a real studio!) and do concerts as grandiose as MilkCan’s. But she was admittedly naive, and never expected how this would have had an affect on their time together. Neither of them did.
She would always be happy for him succeeding in his plans, and didn’t want to ever dampen his future endeavors. But…
Gosh, I miss him. I could really use seeing him today.
Or maybe not. Actually, no, I don’t want him to see me like this.
I just need some time to myself. Alone.
Again.
Finally she arrived at her all too familiar doorstep, feeling a sense of faux relief and impatience as she whipped out her keys, attempting to maneuver the items in her arms to have a better grip on them. She poked the keys to the keyhole with a trembling hand, grumbling in annoyance when she realized it was the wrong key on the chain. She fumbled with it in her hands, and even dropped it at one point, to which she yanked them off the ground and growled as she tried to pick the correct key.
Suddenly there was a slight scuffle on the other side of the door. Her blood ran cold as whatever it was got closer, leaning its weight on the door as if it could probably sense her presence. She tried to move to either back away or hold her keys out in front of her defensively, but she felt her muscles stiffen and freeze her in place. Finally the lock on the door clicked, the handle jiggled and turned, and the door swung inward…
…revealing a smiling dog standing in the doorway. His tail wagged along with practically every fiber in his whole body as he shouted out, "Surprise, Lammy!!"
She gasped, and shook her head, blinking her eyes a few times. That's impossible. He wasn’t due back for a while. Maybe she's hallucinating. She was incredibly tired after all.
“Speechless, huh? I get it.” He posed in a silly flourish, eliciting a tired giggle from her. “But really though, c’mere, I missed you so damn much-” He suddenly hugged her midsection, and she staggered on the spot from his weight. Nope, that dog is real. Or at least she's much more sure he is… she would have hugged him back if she still wasn't so shocked, and if she wasn't holding things in her hands. She dearly wished she could. It’s been so long since she’s hugged him.
She then hears him mumbling, from where his face has been smushed into her stomach, “I know we've both been busy doing our own thing lately…”
Mainly him. But I can't impede on that.
He looked up at her endearingly. “Mainly me, so I shouldn't pin all that on you really.”
He stepped back a foot, still setting his hands at her sides.
“So I figured I'd get out early and surprise you at home!!”
She could already feel the downcast feelings from earlier give way to a joyful air carrying her spirits up.
She wanted nothing more than to launch herself at him, glomping him and taking them both down to the floor… but she was still holding all her stuff. She looked to her sides, trying to activate her fogged mind to remember how to set everything down amidst her interrupted routine.
"Oh, here! Lemme help you with that," he said as he reached out and grabbed some of her things, lightening her load.
She cleared her throat, feeling her mouth was unusually dry all of a sudden. “W-Wow. Thank you. It's so much easier to set everything down with some help…”
They both walk inside, with PaRappa setting her bags down on the counter as Lammy stretched and took in her apartment.
It's so good to finally be home…
Her vision landed on the rapper hastily organizing her things where he dropped them off at, and she let out a content sigh.
And my favorite person is here with me too now. Things couldn't be better.
A certain smell wafted to her nose and hit her hard enough that she felt her thoughts immediately gloss over.
Nope, i stand corrected.
Her stomach ached intensely as she narrowed out the source sitting atop her kitchen counter.
“You got pizza?!”
“I sure did! Ain’t I the best bf ever?” PaRappa then bounded over to her, happy as a dog could be, and launched himself at her. She expected the attack this time and managed to hold steady as she tightly hugged him back, though she did sway on the spot a little from the sudden weight.
After a good few moments of tightly holding and nuzzling each other, he finally let her go when he heard her stomach growl loud enough to make him wince. “Okay, how about you go change so we can dig into that pizza?”
“M’kay.” Even amidst her unending exhaustion, she couldn’t help an air of urgency encouraging her to quickly head into her bedroom and change out of her work clothes; getting her shirt stuck on her horns for a moment in the process. She came back out to see PaRappa sitting on the couch with a plate of pizza on his lap, and the TV remote in his hand. He smiled widely at her and pats the seat next to him.
She trawled over and plops herself right next to him, letting out a massive sigh in relief as she relaxed into the soft couch, closing her eyes in order to revel in the sheer comfort of it all. She felt movement shift next to her, and cracked open an eye to see her boyfriend scooting closer to her, with an expecting look on his face.
She kissed him, leaving him blushing heavily and then patted the top of his head, thoughts still somewhat fuzzy from the prospect of food. “Where’s the pizza at?”
He chuckled. “Uh, just a sec. I wanted to say somethin’ first…”
Oh, that dog and his constant declarations.
She sat up a bit straighter as he closed the distance between them, wrapping his arms around her as they sat flush together. He cleared his throat, proclaiming, “I know you're tired and had a rough day today...” He nuzzles against her and seems to scan her face.
She could barely muster the strength to look at him in return. but yet she still forces herself to. Turning her head felt like stone scraping against asphalt. Even still, looking directly into his big puppy eyes made her begin to fidget and blush intensely, yet she couldn't muster the energy to look back away. So she stared back at him, feeling her resolve melt with each second that drags on.
We’ve been together for how long and I still have trouble with this…
He gazed at her back unbeknownst her inner monologue, keeping on with what he wanted to say. “You're exhausted. I can tell.” He leant forward and rested his forehead against hers, shutting his eyes. She feels herself light aflame from the contact, but paradoxically also felt so calm from being near him. She shut her eyes as well, and let out a relaxed exhale through her nose.
She heard a hum from him before he said, “Just know that even though we're both busy, and you're so tired you can't even blink. I do still love you.”
Lammy jolted - she didn’t expect those words, and they hit her deep to her core. So deeply, her eyes began to tear up as her mind finally caught up and she was able to think through what he just said. Then she let out a weak shout when he affectionately mlems her nose.
He laughed at her reaction, and she finally felt comfortable enough to let the tears fall, feeling herself laugh as well. “I love you too!” She hugged him tightly, and they sat in an embrace while she held him closely.
She stayed in that position for what she thought was a short amount of time, but then she eventually heard a worried, "Uhh, Lams?" and sensed a soft tapping at her back.
"Hrm?" was all she managed to reply back before she could even open her eyes again.
She felt his hand rubbing at her back as he said, “I think you might have dozed off there for a bit.”
She tried to blink past her stalling thoughts, lifting up her head and attempting to force away the encroaching drowsiness. “Ah, sorry…”
He shrugged. “Nah, it's aight. It would’ve been okay, but I just didn’t want your pizza to get cold.”
Her eyes shoot open. Pizza. Food. How could she have forgotten? She must’ve been more tired than she thought. Suddenly awake, her stomach reminded her just how hungry she was with a deep growl.
She hastily let him go and looked towards the counter. “Um, I forgot to get a plate-”
“No no, here, I got you!” He grabbed his own plate of food and revealed an extra plate hidden underneath. “Thought this would happen, so I prepped for it.” He handed her the plate with two slices, and hefted himself up off the couch. “Here. I know you’re starving, so chow down. Imma get some water, you want anything?”
“N-No, I’m good…” Her mouth salivated as she simply gazed down at the plate in her lap.
She heard a cupboard and glasses clink against each other, and the sound of the faucet turning on.
By the time he finished pouring the water in the glass, taking a sip from it, and opening up the box of pizza again, Lammy had suddenly appeared next to him with an empty plate, making him jump on the spot.
He set a hand over his rapidly beating heart as he panted out, “Geez, did ya chew it??”
She looked away bashfully. “I-I haven’t eaten since this morning…”
“Here then!” He waved towards the boxes with a wide grin. “Go to town, we have plenty!”
An hour later they sat on the couch together in comfortable silence. He managed to find a channel airing an old romantic comedy, and the two were enjoying the serene atmosphere now, with the two sitting side by side as they watched the movie.
“Wow, we dusted a whole box,” chuckled PaRappa contently as a commercial came on. He then felt Lammy pressing in on his side, and looked at her to see her eyes closed and her topheavy body tilting towards him. “Hey.” His voice jolted her out of her spell, with her unfocused gaze looking towards him rather than at him. “You feelin’ a bit sleepy?”
“Yeah…” She rubbed her eye and then yawned loudly. “I think I need a nap.”
He nodded. “I’m feelin’ it too. But I don't wanna move from here, this is cozy.”
“M-Maybe we should call it an early night?”
“Nah, I have a better idea where we don’t have to get up.”
Lammy watched as PaRappa scooted down the couch a bit, and then laid down, patting the empty spot next to him with a warm and inviting smile.
She gave a tired smile back and laid down next to him, already feeling incredibly snug as they shuffled to accommodate each other. As she let out another sigh, she knew she couldn't possibly be comfier.
Obviously so when she drifted off into a pleasant sleep, with PaRappa by her side.