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It was just another day of living at Yoyle City. No longer lost nor abandoned, the city had become the place all of them called home.
Even from a higher place it still seemed so big…
He was looking at the whole city from a hill not so far away. It was particularly windy today, not that he minded, it sort of matched how he felt.
He was so tired, but then again, when is he not? The past few days have been overwhelming to him.
He felt alone, underappreciated. It sounded egocentric, but he felt left behind; everyone seemed to adapt quicker than him! They didn’t seem to listen nor care about what he had to say or how he felt.
It sucked, and he wouldn’t admit it but, the decision to cage Firey and exile Leafy were the straws that broke the camel’s back.
Coiny looked around, making sure no one noticed where he was going. Who was he kidding? No one would know!
Well, Pin would know, but he’s not dumb, he already left a note saying he went to explore.
With a bit of guilt, he turned around, walking closer to the woods.
Leafy huffed, this wasn’t what she expected at all.
Even though it had been a few months after being recovered, she still had trouble acknowledging she walked back to Goiky only to be killed inmediately and recovered back in the city.
Even worse, Firey did it, she was sure of it! Then, why did he pretend not to remember her back then? Ugh, why did things have to be this confusing?!
Thankfully, she knew how to survive in the woods. She’s still pissed off either way, and it’s fair!
Leafy sighed, she collected enough wood to keep herself warm at night, and that’s what mattered currently. Not like resources would run out at any time… But she still had to be prepared.
At least that’s the excuse she gave herself to go close to the border where the woods end and the city starts. The border she didn’t dare to cross yet.
Suddenly, she heard steps getting closer.
Who was it? It was definitely one of them, but why? Were they finally going to capture her and finish her off? Her mind was racing.
She knew they knew she was alive but she didn’t think they’d be brave enough to do so.
Ah, was she too foolish to think she could survive longer? She closed her eyes, waiting for someone to call her out or, perhaps, strike against her…
That never happened.
Instead, she heard a little ‘thump!’
This was a bad idea, but this is the only place he was sure no one would get close to.
He couldn’t be interrupted here, and he was glad about it, although a bit scared.
Coiny knew Leafy was someone dangerous, that’s something he wouldn’t doubt of, but he knew she wouldn’t hurt him… Right?
Who cares if he felt her eyes watching him back then when he was talking to Fries? He would be fine!
And even if Leafy was capable of hurting him, the woods were very big, he doubts she would risk getting so close to the city, she would get caught!
For some reason, he wasn’t trusting his own thoughts that much, so he cleared his throat. He might seem crazy but he started doing what he wanted to do:
Talking to himself out loud.
“I don’t know why I believed Firey when he said this calms him down, I’m totally and absolutely frightened!” He started fidgeting with his hands. “Then again, he didn’t necessarily say I should go here, he said to find somewhere no one could hear me…”
Now Leafy was even more confused than before, has this object gone crazy?
She slowly sat down, focusing so she could try to figure out who this was.
“In any case, I’m dumb for listening! Of course he would give me dumb advice, he has nowhere else to go and no one but me listens to him! Why do I even? He’s stupid!”
Okay, it was Coiny. His voice was easy to recognize, but why was he here?
Did he come here just to talk to himself? Or is this a way to fool her?
She slowly picked up her knife close to her, just in case.
“I guess I felt sorry for him… Cause I sort of feel the same way. That aside, was it really necessary to give him such a cruel punishment? He’s afraid of heights, that’s unfair…”
Leafy gasped a bit at the mention of a punishment, but covered her mouth, worried he might’ve heard her. Thankfully, he didn’t.
“And for what? For helping his friend… I know Leafy is dangerous, but, do I blame her for getting mad at something so unfair? Apparently not as much as everyone does…” He sighed, hugging himself a bit. “It feels as if everyone forgot how kind she used to be. We were little, but I still remember.”
Leafy kept hearing him, slowly putting down her knife. It was the first time in years she was talked about positively.
“I don’t really know why, maybe it’s because I wanted her to win in the first place? She was always kind and people always tried taking advantage of that! Like that one time with the strawberry cake.”
“You remember that…?”
Coiny’s body jumped as he started to cough on air. Leafy panicked and started apologizing as he calmed down slowly.
“Sorry sorry! I shouldn’t have- I should shut up now, shouldn’t I? I’m sorry it’s just… I was interested in what you had to say.”
That last sentence surprised him, but he was too afraid to turn around, so instead he just sighed.
“Thank you.” He looked around, a bit worried. “I didn’t know you were listening.”
“Well, I almost didn’t. I was going back into the woods, but I heard you.”
Coiny hummed. That made sense, but he still doubted her, even if that made him feel like an idiot.
“Glad atleast someone wants to listen to me.”
“What about Pin?”
Coiny blinked, nearly turning around but remaining in place.
“Huh?”
Leafy rolled her eyes.
“Pin, your best friend? Doesn’t she want to hear you out?”
He sighed and laid against a bush.
“She’s busy with her own stuff, I don’t want to be a burden.” He could hear her huff. “No, I’m serious. I reassure her everything’s fine most of the time and I’d rather comfort her than have her comforting me.”
Leafy hummed, understanding where he was coming from.
“Pin is surely something. She has changed from how she was before, but I guess some things never really change.”
Coiny could hear the amusement on Leafy’s voice. He smiled a little bit.
“And you? You’re supposed to be dangerous, but here I am and you haven’t stabbed me yet.”
Leafy chuckled a bit. “I tried already.”
She heard him go quiet and got nervous she scared him away, but then he laughed.
“I knew I felt you watching me that one time!”
Leafy sighed, smiling. “Yeah, I’m glad I didn’t.” She looked up at the trees. “I don’t really need to give more reasons for anyone in the city to hate me.”
Coiny nodded, then facepalmed cause he remember she couldn’t see him. “Yeah, although they’ll probably find reasons eitherway.”
“That’s what I get for being kind.”
The tone of the conversation suddenly shifted to a sadder one. Coiny looked down at the grass and started playing with it.
“Sometimes when you lend a hand they try to take your whole arm down and complain when you don’t give in.”
“I know! It sucks, but I’m still unable to say no when someone asks for help.”
Coiny smiled. “That hasn’t changed about you. You know, if you were competing with us I probably would’ve helped you with that.”
Leafy blinked, peeking a bit from the bush. “You would’ve?”
“Yeah! Squashy grapes stick together don’t they?”
Coiny didn’t really think that sentence through, but he said it already so there was no use in taking it back.
It was quiet for a bit and, although he was afraid she was mad, she was quite the opposite. Hearing him say that warmed her heart in a way she couldn’t explain.
Suddenly, an idea crossed her mind, but it was too risky. She still didn’t know his intentions, however she couldn’t just leave someone behind.
Maybe she’d hate herself for doing this, but she had to try.
“I know you probably don’t trust me, Coiny, but…” She seemed to think her words a bit, then cleared her throat. “If you want to talk, we could always meet here again.”
Coiny was taken aback by this offer. He wasn’t sure if it was Leafy’s sweet side that was talking or if she was planning something else.
However, it wasn’t in his heart to leave someone who deserves a second chance.
“Sure.”
From talking a bit in the border to talking more in Leafy’s little base, their friendship grew stronger than what they both wanted to admit.
They tried to convince themselves they weren’t friends, that they were still doubtful of eachother, but their laughs together showed the opposite.
But Coiny remembers one day specifically.
“Remember that Snowball was the one who got you in the team?” Leafy chuckled. “Because Needle liked you more, isn’t that stupid?”
“Well, we were stupid, but I’m glad I was added to the team.”
She smiled and looked at him. “Why, Coiny? Are you going to say something cheesy like ‘Because we spent time together’?” Leafy made a dramatic proud gesture. “That might work on anyone else, but not on me!”
“Actually, yeah, I was going to say something similar to that.” She blinked twice and Coiny chuckled. Now it was his turn to goof a bit. “But! I’m no longer telling you! You ruined the moment.”
Leafy got on her knees really fast, giving him puppy eyes. “Please please! Say what you were going to say! I want to know!”
Coiny couldn’t help but laugh at her reaction, but he slowly nodded.
“I was going to say…” He stretched his arms out and plopped on the ground. “I’m glad I was added to the team because that brought me here. Like, we’re here, right now, talking, because I was on the Squashy Grapes with you.”
Leafy laid down by his side, looking at the stars. “How do those correlate though? That was many years apart.”
“But you just laughed about something related to it just now, didn’t you?” Coiny smiled. “If being on that team got me to lay down with you, stargazing, then it was definitely something I wouldn’t change.” He sighed, Leafy was right. He sat up. “But that is very cheesy, isn’t it?”
That’s when he looked at her.
The way she was looking into his eyes made his heart beat fast. Leafy was looking at him as if he was something magical, something she had never seen before… As if he was the most important object in the world.
Was what he said too much? He didn’t expect her to give him so much attention!
He had no clue why, but he felt his face getting warm. Were her eyes always that pretty? Was she always that pretty?
“It was, but…” Meanwhile, Leafy was unable to look elsewhere. She felt dazed. “That is one of the sweetest things I’ve heard.”
They remained that way for a bit, until Leafy also noticed how she was looking at him and turned away.
Coiny had spent most of that day wondering if she had blushed too or if he was making things up, but just thinking about that made clear what he was avoiding to acknowledge.
He liked Leafy. A lot.
Even days after that realization, he still found himself covering his face, flustered, and walking in circles.
This wasn't supposed to happen! Even less with Leafy! He was supposed to have gotten over it in just a few days, it wasn’t supposed to last longer.
He needed help, quick, so he ran to the other object who could listen.
Pin.
“What do you mean letting some days pass doesn’t help with getting over feelings?!” Pin chuckled at Coiny’s reaction. “It’s not funny! What am I supposed to do?”
She thought for a moment, then she pat his head.
“Well, you didn’t tell me who you have a crush on, but you were very giddy lately.” Pin smiled at his flustered expression getting worse. “To be honest, I’d be surprised if they hadn’t noticed yet.”
This only made him groan and lay on the ground, kicking his feet against the air as if hitting someone. After a bit, he stopped and sighed.
“Does this mean they probably know but haven’t said anything yet? Maybe they don’t like me?”
She hesitated. This made Coiny worried.
“Well, not necessarily. Maybe they’re too shy?”
He huffed. Great, that means he’d have to take the step.
“Well, I guess. I don’t really know what to do about this.”
“Maybe start with taking things slow.”
“But I don’t want things to go slow!”
Pin chuckled again.
“If you’re not sure what they feel towards you, then going slow is your best bet, starting tomorrow.”
Who cares about going slow? She didn’t!
They could find her anytime and she wanted to do this before that happened.
Leafy was doing some origami with some tree leaves. Yeah, this was a good gift! Not only was it pretty, but the leaves would remind him of her!
She chuckled nervously, she was also being cheesy, wasn’t she?
After it was done, she went to the border and sat down, waiting.
Soon enough, he came by, a bit nervous. Taking it slow… Right.
Leafy then popped up from the bushes, excited, scaring Coiny.
“Hi, Coiny! Surprise! Here, follow me!”
She didn’t even let him respond as she grabbed his hand and pulled him deeper into the woods.
“Leafy, Leafy! Slow down!”
He just heard her giggle and he couldn’t help but laugh a bit too.
Then they arrived to Leafy’s base. Tree leaves were scattered all around, making Coiny turn from happy to curious.
When he turned around to ask, he found her holding a little bouquet of origami flowers. She had made it with the leaves from the trees and the bushes.
Leafy was offering it to him, so Coiny softly took it. While looking at it he could feel his face flush again.
“It took me nearly the whole day but I really wanted you to have it.” Leafy smiled, suddenly shy. Coiny started laughing a bit, making her worry. “What is it? Is something wrong?”
Coiny then showed her a flower crown made with sunflowers and yellow daisies.
“I had a similar idea to yours. I was meant to give you this before leaving, but I guess this works too!”
Leafy looked at it as if it was the most beautiful thing she had ever seen, so she slowly put it on and smiled, very happy.
“Thank you, it’s perfect!”
“I could say the same about the bouquet.”
He looked at it once more, amused at the irony of ‘going slow’ not working for Leafy either.
So, he extended his hand. Leafy looked at it for a bit, blushing at her own thoughts.
“Sorry, I’m not really used to- Well, not since…”
Both knew what she was going to say, ‘Not since Firey’, but Coiny couldn’t care less right now, so he instead chuckled.
“Leafy, just hold my hand.”
Hearing that made her do so with no more hesitation.
They spent the rest of the time with their hands held together, talking about more silly stuff. Letting him go back to the city was harder since then.
Both still had no clue what that meant, nor what the gifts really represent, but it was fine.
It was not necessary to give it a label yet, nor decide if they’re going slow or fast, as long as they could still meet halfway then everything would be fine.