Chapter Text
(Y/N) was sitting under a tree near their home, gently pulling blades of grass from the ground with a downcast look and their knees up to their chest. They noticed a large shadow cast upon them and looked up to meet Home’s resident comedian, Barnaby B. Beagle
“Why the long face, kid?”
He said after taking a long drag of his pipe and looking down at them somewhat uninterestedly. (Y/N) stayed quiet and looked down again, sniffling a bit. After about a minute they mumbled something
“I yelled at Julie today…”
They said, barely audible with tears in their eyes. Barnaby was a bit surprised, tilting his head to the side in confusion in typical dog fashion
“You yelled at her? Whyever would you do that? Too many bowling balls thrown your way?”
(Y/N) Didn’t laugh and instead buried their face in their hands, becoming a little ball of sadness under the tree
“I felt so bad when she started crying that I just ran away and came here…”
The big blue dog sat down beside the smaller human on the soft green grass and put an arm around their shoulders in comfort
“Don’t sweat it kid! That rainbow monster is a crybaby when she doesn’t get her way. You would think she is the one in charge of the rain pouring with the caliber of her waterworks! Heh heh”
Barnaby tried to lighten the mood with a jab at Julie but (Y/N) didn’t react at all. This worried the pup a bit
“Is this thing on? That material would have gotten a chuckle at least out of anyone else. Even Julie!”
(Y/N) Only leaned on Barnaby’s fluffy side and sighed. They felt awful for yelling at her but were conflicted because she did make them upset… They recalled briefly all the times they had also snapped to the other neighbors in the past
“I always do this to the others… i just keep quiet on things that bother me until i can’t take it and i…explode”
The pooch looked down at his neighbor and realized the seriousness of the situation. Just because he is a Professional In Funny Business™ doesn’t mean he is entirely heartless. With a gentleness that surprised even him, he picked up (Y/N) from the ground and set them on his lap. He wrapped his fluffy arms around them in a soft embrace and laid his big head on top of theirs, effectively trapping the human in a big bear (or dog i guess) hug
“You know kid…i don’t just make fun of people because i like being a meanie”
He started, looking at the horizon deep in thought
“Sometimes folks do things that get ya riled up and if you swallow the words every time they will pile up and rot inside your tummy. And after a while they come back out as a verbal beating. That’s why i say them out right”
(Y/N) Looked up at him, listening to his every word
“It is better to say those words directly to others so they know when they ticked ya and stop the behaviour that irked you, ya get me?”
(Y/N) Felt comforted by the big warm fuzzy weighted blanket around them that was Barnaby. His words of wisdom also made the cogs in their brain turn
“But if I speak my mind…won’t I hurt their feelings?”
“Don’t you hurt them more by snapping at them?”
Barnaby retorted. He was right, (Y/N) thought. If they had just mentioned to Julie that they were upset with her constant rule changing in games then they could have talked it out and come to an agreement instead of them just yelling at her their discontent and running away. Same thing with all the other times Julie or the others had made them upset before this one. They looked down a bit and snuggled into his chest more
“I’m still mad at myself for yelling at her…”
Barnaby sighed and rubbed his cheek gently on the top of (Y/N)’s head in comfort
“I know, kid. Once you drop the egg and break it there’s nothing more to do than apologize honestly to the hen”
“But what if she doesn’t forgive me?”
The smaller being questioned, anxiety making their head feel heavy and simmering
“I’m sure she will, (Y/N). Knowing Julie she probably already forgot it happened and is ready to play a new game”
Barnaby released the human from the bear hug and stood up, offering them a paw
“Come on now, you better go talk to her before she goes back out to the forest to talk to the flowers. You know once she opens her trap it takes several guys my dainty size to close it”
He said with a reassuring smile. (Y/N) Smiled too and took his paw, getting up and looking toward Julie’s house with newfound confidence that an apology and more honesty in the future would bring brighter days and less headaches for them
“Thanks Barn”
They said sincerely and hugged the big pupper
“Anytime, kid”
He said, hugging them back, his little tail wagging behind him.