Chapter Text
“I want you to start meeting my friends more. I think it’s gonna be like… exposure therapy to you!”
As much as she adored Leafy, this was not one of her finest ideas.
“But I like how things are now,” replied Pin adamantly. Why did her girlfriend feel a need to change the status quo, which has worked for ages now. The phrase “don’t fix what’s not broken” existed for a reason! Her precious second in command was a social butterfly that needed all sorts of attention to keep herself happy, but surely she should understand that her rather dashing heroic partner was more akin to the solitary, fierce badger. She didn’t have friends because she didn’t need them. They were below her.
Besides, friends threatened to muddy the waters of being the iron-willed leader she dreamed of being. The only loyalty she should have was to her own goals or to Leafy.
But Leafy didn’t see it the way she did. Her wonderful smile faded slightly as she brushed along Pin’s cheek with her fingertips. “Oh Pinny,” she murmured, “I just get worried. Even Coiny has his bunch of friends; I just can’t stand the thought of you being all on your lonesome.” She touched foreheads with the thumbtack, eliciting a rumbly purr from the leader. “If you’re on good terms with my friends, then you won’t be as alone and that’d make me feel better.”
“But I don’t need anybody else,” insisted the red object, “I have you. That’s most important to me, alright?” If Leafy feared about her being alone, then Pin would stick right next to her side more! That would mean neither one of them would be so lonely! Her dear lemon leaf meant more than the world to Pin; a few “friends” wouldn’t come close to filling the void Leafy left if she wasn’t around. Even if they were friends with Leafy, they would never be an adequate substitute. “You are all that I need. Friends don’t cut it for me.”
“Pleeeeeease. For me?”
Her soft hands rubbed Pin’s arms. It was one of the many tactics that never failed to make the thumbtack settle down and force her normally tightly shut mind a bit open for suggestions. Pin chewed on her bottom lip. She didn’t need anybody else. She adored the freedom that came with being unshackled from relationships as dull as friendships. It was what allowed her to make decisions for the greatest good.
But Leafy was pleading her to do this and Pin held her opinions in high regard. Whatever the lemon leaf said was innately important to her.
Pin pushed aside her beliefs. Maybe Leafy was seeing something that she hadn’t noticed before. Thinking it that way made the already bitter pill easier to swallow. “… Fine. I suppose I can make an exception,” she answered. Then, she smiled slightly, nuzzling Leafy and giving her a small peck. “Only for your sake and no one else’s.”
Leafy was glad Pin was taking a stab at this.
Well, she always tried something the lemon leaf requested. Sometimes it worked out, sometimes it didn’t, but Leafy had a feeling that Pin didn’t like to say she never tried it to begin with. Whether it be the thumbtack’s honor or egotism at play, Leafy didn’t care to figure out which one specifically as long as she went along and tried new things.
On the topic of friends, the term didn’t exist in Pin’s vocabulary and it was pretty bizarre to think about. While Leafy had her different categories dividing positive acquaintances from friends from best friend(s), she didn’t see the same categorization in her girlfriend.
It ranged from “Utterly Despised” to “Annoying” to “Tolerable”. None of it had any positive connotations.
Everyone needed a little socialization. Even someone as picky as Pin.
Trying to make Pin befriend all of her friends was an impossible goal no matter how much wishful thinking Leafy did. The wide range in personalities in her friend group would clash with her girlfriend’s particular nature at some point. She had to be smarter.
Because she loved her dear great leader so much, she was going to bring her around her bestest buddy, Bubble. It was a bit of an honor, in Leafy’s eyes, for the two of them as she planned on introducing the most valuable people in her life to each other!
She wouldn’t need to worry about Bubble though. Her bestie was well-behaved, mild, and a bit on the anxious side. However, her best friend’s anxiousness may not work so well with someone as direct as her girlfriend without some prior coaching.
“You’re going to promise me that you aren’t going to insult Bubble,” said Leafy as they both were on their way to meet up with Bubble at a nearby park. “She’s really important to me, but she’s also really sensitive to what others say about her so you’re going to keep all your remarks to yourself.”
“Leafy, you cannot expect me to not correct her if she does something wrong. As a leader, I must carefully guide the herd for their own good!” Pin let out a scoff. “How am I supposed to do that if you won’t let me criticize her for her poor performance?”
“Because Bubble is Bubble and we’re hanging out – i.e. there’s nothing to wrong in the first place. Therefore… nothing to correct others on.”
Pin looked displeased and let out soft sighs about it. If it were anybody else telling her this, she would have started a full-blown argument to assert her authority, but she was speaking to the one Plant that remained above that kind of thinking. “Fine then. I didn’t realize I was to coddle Bubble like a toddler today,” she growled. “It’s a good thing I brought my keys so I can jingle them in front of her for entertainment.”
“Be nice,” Leafy responded sternly. The park was within viewing distance and with it, she could see Bubble reading to kill the time. It wouldn’t be a great first impression if her best friend heard what Pin was saying despite Leafy knowing full well that this was nowhere near her typical “mean” behavior. “I know you don’t want to be ‘nice’ nice, but just don’t be mean and maybe… learn a bit about her.”
The thumbtack went quiet, thinking about what she had said. “Learn a bit about her… for blackmail?”
“No. You are not doing that.”
“You’re really killing me here, Leafster,” she sighed. “But fine, fine. I swear I will be as reasonably polite as I can.”
As much as her girlfriend struggled with being social, Leafy knew that she was capable of being… behaved (it was the best term she could come up with). Now that she made it clear that Bubble was someone to not be mean to, she had to trust the process.
So, Leafy began to ease the process for both her best friend and girlfriend. “Hiiiiiiii Bubble!!” chirped the lemon leaf, leading the charge with Pin close on her heels. “How are ya?”
Bubble looked up at her first with a grin quickly forming on her face. “Leafy! Oh, it’s been a bit, hasn’t it?” Closing the book, she stood up to hug her best friend. “I missed you!!”
From the corner of Leafy’s eyes, she saw Pin bristle the moment Bubble hugged her.
“Haha… Yeah, of course it’s been a bit!” she replied warmly but broke the hug rather quickly. Leafy kept an arm on Bubble and turned her towards the thumbtack. “Bubs, I wanted you to meet Pin. We’re pretty close now and I thought it’d be nice to start introducing my buddies to her too.”
Then she stepped back, figuratively speaking. Bubble was kind and as long as Leafy was nearby, she was brave enough to do her own introductions. Despite Pin’s reputation, Bubble approached her with her hand held out. “Hi Pin! You’ve been friends with Leafy for long?”
And then came the first bump in the road.
Pin was on pause. Her gaze fixated on Bubble’s hand and her expression blank. There was no tiny facial cue that told Leafy what was on her leader’s mind. Was she mad about the way they hugged? Pin knew very well how much she enjoyed hugs so it didn’t make sense if it caught her by surprise. Was it the handshake? Oh god, she should have told Bubble to not shake Pin’s hand! Pin always took it as a way to “establish her dominance” by almost cracking the other person’s hand.
Her girlfriend’s fingers twitched.
Leafy sighed, her breath shaking as she felt panic sink in. She hoped that she’d never be put in a situation where she had to pick between her girlfriend and her best friend, but–
Pin reached out, holding Bubble’s hand by the edge of her fingers and very gently shook it. “A pleasure.” Her words sounded flatter (which, to Leafy, wasn’t too different from her usual monotone speak) and careful. But Bubble was not one to notice such small details. Instead, the clear bubble stared curiously at the way Pin shook her hand for a moment before breaking it.
“Ooooh!” she exclaimed, “I get it! You’re not a handshake kind of person!” Bubble smiled widely, prideful that she put so much thought into coming up with this rock-solid conclusion! “Are you more into fist bumps?”
Pin chewed on her bottom lip to suppress the urge to frown. “No,” the thumbtack curtly replied.
“Then… elbow bump?”
“No.”
“How about… a secret handshake!”
“But you already-“ Pin cut herself off as Leafy shot a warning glance. No correcting Bubble on every little thing she did wrong. She looked upwards to the blue heavens, hoping to be granted the patience of the gods in this situation. “I mean, no, Bubble. I do not do secret handshakes either.”
The gears turned slowly in Bubble, but the fact that they were turning in the first place was what really mattered. Her face brightened up the moment another idea popped up in her clear, spacious mind after what seemed like three minutes of waiting. “Oooohhh! I got it! You must be a hugger just like Leafy is!”
Bubble, in all her naivety and light, made the mistake of stepping forward to the thumbtack with her arms wide open. If Pin was a hugger, then Bubble figured that the most appropriate response in this situation was to give the thumbtack one big warm hug as well!
That did not fly.
Pin didn’t like her personal space invaded. She was very clear on that with the only true exception being for Leafy herself. She didn’t care if Bubble was one of the most least threatening objects to exist. She didn’t care that there was no sign of aggression in her body language. What she only cared about was that Bubble was going to touch her.
That was just darn disrespectful.
To touch a leader, someone so utterly superior to her in every manner, without permission? Did no one teach manners around here?!
And Pin was forced to keep her mouth shut all for Leafy’s sake. But every fiber in her being screamed at her to give Bubble an earful. How could she? How dare she hug her? Just like that? With no regard to how important she was?!
Her nerves started to boil, hotter than fresh lava spewing from a violent volcano. As the hour of reckoning came closer, Pin dreaded her only course of action; doing nothing. All for Leafy’s sake, she couldn’t say or do anything. Only a small, indescribably upset, tiny whine escaped her. How pathetic that her end was going to be like this. Pin wanted to come out of this world bathed in glory and all the reverence owed to her and yet this is what fate dished out to her — someone touching her, pressing their bodies uncomfortably close, with the other not realizing the kind of disrespect she was doing to her.
“O-oh! Oh, Bubs, let’s not do that to Pin, okay?” Leafy quickly stepped in, blocking the horrid gesture with her own self and taking one for the alliance. She was the one that filled Bubble’s arms for another hug and it gave Pin a really mixed reaction to see it so close to her.
Pin looked away, letting out a deep, shaky breath to settle her body from the bullet she just dodged.
“Maybe next time,” suggested Bubble, peering at Pin curiously.
“No next time,” answered the thumbtack, narrowing her eyes at the idea. “Don’t hug me at all. A ‘hello’ is enough.”
She hoped that Bubble would remember it for next time.
How could Leafy befriend someone like this?
“Ugh.” She pushed aside the thought, but it quickly came back to finish itself. “Bubble. Of all the objects in the world, it’s Bubble.”
Bubble. Someone so ditsy that the amount of emotional hand-holding Leafy did for her was infuriating to see. Bubble. Someone whose will was as fragile as her body. Could she even think for herself most of the time without looking towards Leafy for confirmation?
Wait a minute.
Bubble… rarely strayed from Leafy. She was sure that the clear object rarely thought, but followers shouldn’t be thinking. They should be busy following their leader! And Leafy was… wonderful. She deserved to be followed and as a deputy, it was still expected for followers to follow her whims as well!
So… it was…
“Here’s your ice cream cup!” In Leafy’s hands were two cups; one medium-sized and one in a kiddie tiny size. She handed the tiny cup to Bubble, who accepted it graciously. “One mint ice cream and I made sure they didn’t confuse it with their mint chocolate chip flavor.”
“Thank you so much! Agh, I swear I visit ice cream shops all the time and I still end up getting the wrong flavor.” Bubble took a small spoonful of the lightly blue-green ice cream and took a bit.
Pin chopped at her strawberry ice cream, preferring to soften it up a little more before eating it. “Why don’t you get mint chocolate chip?” she asked as it became the most pressing question in her mind. What kind of freak only wants mint ice cream? Pure mint flavoring with no chocolatey respite anywhere in their bites?
“The chocolate chips are really pointy so I can’t eat them very well… It, uh… took us a while to find a place with only mint flavor and not just the one chocolate chip kind.” Bubble smiled towards Leafy. “Leafy was the one that got some stores to start offering mint-only options.”
The lemon leaf chuckled. “Well… I did get some help with that.” She glanced towards Pin, who stared back with a vacant expression.
“What help? I don’t remember helping.” And she was sure that she wouldn’t willfully help out Bubble of all people.
“The letters, Pin? That random favor I asked you to do like a month back by now?”
That certainly clicked in the thumbtack’s mind. “Oh.” She was aware Leafy was a fan of ice cream, but she hadn’t questioned why her girlfriend asked her to write a few angry letters to a couple of different ice cream stores about why they didn’t carry mint-flavored ice cream. She thought Leafy just wanted to cause a bit of chaos.
She’d have more mixed feelings, but writing angry letters was something she enjoyed doing anyway so.
“Are you going to say thank you?” she asked to Bubble.
Bubble looked confused. “For what?”
“For getting your cursed ice cream preferences into easily accessible, local stores.” Pin had dedicated time to this endeavor even though it was a favor to Leafy. Bubble should be grateful and should explain how grateful she was. “Didn’t you hear your ally? Without my hand, you would still be picking chocolate chips out of your ice cream right now. Say thank you.”
“Pin, don’t do that,” said Leafy.
“Do what? I’m not doing anything!”
Leafy nibbled on the plastic spoon, taking a moment to think about her next moves. “You’re being bossy.”
“It’s not bossy, it’s establishing my influence on the matter,” replied the red object. Despite the topic, her tone remained neutral with her beloved deputy, not an ounce of rage seeped out towards her lack of understanding. “I deserve to be rightfully compensated.” Turning back to Bubble, all neutrality vanished as she began to focus her distaste on the fragile object. “Now say thank you. You can say that, can’t you?”
“Can we not do this right now? Bubble, you don’t need to thank her.”
“Leafy. I am commanding her to do something. Please do not interrupt me.”
“I am not letting you do that to Bubs! It’s ice cream!”
Yet, Pin’s ego hungered for a shred of reverence and she didn’t stand down despite her love’s words. “I’m serious about this! It’s important to me that Bubble shows her undying appreciation to me for this favor I did!”
It seemed to have broken Leafy.
She covered her lips with her hand, blinking as if it were to stop herself from shedding frustrated tears. “I’m going to take a walk right now, I need a breather,” said Leafy and without waiting for any kind of response from either, she hurriedly rushed off.
Leaving Bubble and Pin alone.
“I should go check on her.” Bubble remained confused on what happened, but what she did understand was that Leafy was upset. As her best friend, it was her job to cheer up her bestie!
Pin blocked her.
“No. You don’t get to do that,” hissed the thumbtack. “It’s your fault that Leafy got upset!”
Bubble stared owl-eyed at her. “… me?” She could barely believe what she was hearing. She was the reason her best friend wasn’t happy anymore? “Well, then, I should go tell her I’m sorry then!” Worry fluttered inside despite not understanding that she had done nothing wrong. All she knew for sure was that she needed to apologize to her friend!
“You’ve done enough damage. I will go bring her back again, but you could have avoided all of this if you just thanked me like I asked.”
Oh… It was so obvious. Bubble looked down at the ground. The frown on her face felt strained and painful. “I-I didn’t mean to do this,” she murmured. Leafy did so much for her, even going out of her way to find a way to get ice cream shops to have mint-only ice cream and this was how she repaid that kindness? “I’m… I’m sorry. I think I’ll just go home. I’ve already caused a lot today…”
No goodbyes. No promise that she’ll take Bubble’s weak apology to Leafy. Nothing. Only a simple “Go”. Pin didn’t waste more time watching Bubble emotionally deflate right in front of her. She had better things to do with her time, such as finding her girlfriend and calming her down.
And without much more, Pin walked away.