Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Vee was prepping herself up for a meeting the mains were called in for. Normal procedures: a fix of a bow tie, dusting her suit and making sure there weren’t any scratches on her screen from the children’s visits that day. 

It was normal. Children poured in and out of Vee’s room, playing her games and cheering as they ran around mindlessly. Vee proudly stood atop her stage as she interacted with her adoring fans. They loved her, so getting a drawing or two from the Craft sibling's floor wasn’t unfamiliar to her. She collected them with pride and with a burning sense of competition to beat Dandy at his own game. She’ll prove to him she can be just, if not more, popular than he. By the end of the day her hands are full. Her room is a mess, the lights are dimmer than before, and her stage is covered in loose papers much like the ones she’s holding. Usually the staff members (or Tisha) pick up all the trash, so she doesn’t bother working with the mess. She shrugs as she lines up the drawings she has to go backstage. 

“Excuse me? Miss Vee?” A child’s voice rang behind her. 

She turns to see a small boy climbing up the stairs to her stage, holding a piece of drawing paper she was all too familiar with. Vee smiled as the kid blew on the orange hair covering his eyes.

That’s one more to add to the pile. Take that Dandicus.

“Well well! I see you wanted to spend a little backstage time with the Vee! Tell me kid, what do you need?” Her tail swung forward in confidence, making the mic twirl. The boy's grin grew so wide the bandage on his cheek almost peeled off. He hopped from one foot to another as he quickly turned the paper to reveal the drawing he made of Shelly. Vee's tail deflated down to her legs.

Nevermind.

“Can you give this to your friend Shelly please?” He rocked on his heels and wasn't able to stand still, switching the hand holding the drawing constantly. Vee didn't know what moving part to focus on, the drawing was barely visible as is. “I drew her this but then she left and I couldn’t find her anymore!” 

“Oh that’s just awful.” Her voice weighed down significantly as she begins to lose interest in helping the kid at all. She glances to the side and decides its best to stay smiling. Roping a kid into her petty feud wasn't exactly the best decision; besides, the customer is always right. “Of course! I’ll make sure this gets to her no problem!”

The boy gasped sharply and energetically waved the paper around for her. “Thank youuu!!” 

Vee watched as the drawing flailed about, unsure how exactly to grab it without wrinkling it. She carefully managed to pinch a corner and slowly took it off the kid's hands, seeing how his eyes grew brighter with gratitude. The drawing consisted of a disembodied Shelly wearing a blue bandana with miscellaneous stickers all over the border; it almost made Vee laugh but she refrained.

“It’s a very good drawing! You should draw one of me sometime!” She brought her mic up and twirled it again in his direction. The boy’s expression slowly shifted into something different. From happy to… Vee couldn’t place it.

“I uhm…” the boy faltered, then shrugged. “..okay..” 

This time Vee couldn't help but completely deadpan. Her eye twitched as the kid awkwardly faced her and decided to turn on his heel and run away. His shoelaces swung in the wind as he skirted past the stands atop the stage.

"Bye bye!!"

"HEY! KID! Stop running, your shoelaces are untied!!!" To her credit, the kid stopped.

"Wuh huh yeah I don't know how to do it, my mommy does it for me." The boy pointed at the elevator on the back end of her floor, presumably where his 'mommy' is. Despite having a parent around, it didn't make the fact he kept running not frustrating. It also didn't make the fact he fell any less funny. At least she knows why the kid is covered in bandages now.

What was that reaction? Disappointment? No one's ever done that while they had my attention.

Vee re-lined her stack of drawings to fit the new one. It stuck out just the slightest bit thanks to the stickers.

Must like Shelly more than me.

She walked backstage and the bitter taste in her mouth followed. A gnawing feeling deep in her circuits itched her, like a hammer and pick chipping away at her psyche. She left the stack of papers on the table in the lounge area, planning to fix herself before taking the drawing with her. However, when she set out for her room, she found herself staring it. It’s so out of place. So overdecorated.

What does she have that I don't? Dirt on her face? ...Doesn’t matter. I’ll give it to her during the meeting.

The meeting she is walking to right now with the intent of not giving Shelly the drawing. Not out of malice, it just simply slipped her mind in the five minutes it took to get ready. Someone must've snuck into her room and secretly deleted the kid's request. Whatever the very mysterious case was, they were meeting up in a little room in the art studio. It used to be a spot to play pretend, but now they actually use it for important business such as compiling all their fanart and displaying their favorites around Gardenview. Among other things of course. 

As she’s walking she sees Astro and Sprout already gathered at the room’s door, presumably locked out thanks to Dandy. He insists on doing 'prep' before anyone goes in, taking his sweet damn time and making them wait outside like they didn't have things to do too. It really ticks her off. She wonders where the ammonite is before not needing to wonder anymore.

“Oh! Hi Vee!!” Shelly waves enthusiastically at Vee with a bright smile. If it weren't for the sound of the quickening steps her way, Vee would've been startled. The overly enthusiastic toon catches up to her, and they walk side by side. 

“Hello Shelly.” Vee doesn’t fail to take account of how close Shelly is, backing away just enough for her not to notice. 

“Oh. Gosh. Today was so amazing!” She flapped her hands in a rapid motion, making Vee lose concentration on her face. “All the kids that visited me today were so cool! Super nice! Super smart too!! Like oh my goshhh, there was this one kid who I talked to and we talked about how pigeons used to deliver letters in the medieval times-”  

Oh?

“-well, it wasn’t invented in the medieval time, the pigeon post was always a thing even going back as far as two thousand years ago. Oh yeah!! It’s called the pigeon post!! It’s such a fun name I LOVE it! Isn’t it so interesting?? How people domesticated this one specific bird to carry notes through long distances?” Shelly got too close again, her wagging tail was a hair away from hitting Vee's legs. This time Vee was too distracted thinking about her question.

That doesn’t sound like a good trivia question, nor do I have any interest in birds. Sure, the intelligence of a pigeon was just right enough for it to be chosen, but it's not exactly something I'd deem 'interesting'. Fun, but not useful.

“No.” She said honestly. Her face stayed the same flat expression she’s always worn. Looking at Shelly however, her usual bright shine flickered before her smile faded, frantically looking at anywhere but Vee's eyes. 

“Oh.” Shelly suddenly became aware of how close they were and backed off. She keeps her hands to herself, and they continue walking.

It’s an okay fact though. I should add more historical questions to my show. Note to self: talk to Shelly more.

The conversation went dead silent after that. The death in the air made Vee wonder why she went so quiet as she turned her head to check on her. Shelly's fingers played with her dress as she focused on keeping her eyes fixed on the floor. Vee blinked in confusion; this was certainly weird. Shelly was never the type to be shy, but before she had the chance to mention anything, they walked their distance. 

“Hi you two!” A voice that shouldered the warmth of a caring friend called out. He waved to them with a familiar smile.

“Hiya Sprout!!” All Shelly did was blink and she was back to being much like before, but her energy seemed to take a hit. She hurriedly made her way over to him and waved back.

“Berryboy.” Vee's tail whipped the air proudly.

“Be nice..” Astro let out a small sigh, the only sigh he could muster after a long day. It was Friday, which meant today was when all the Astrocentric activities were on full display. Every weekday has its own theme, and unfortunately, Friday always take its toll.

“I wasn’t being mean.” Vee shrugged, noticing how Astro's head would tip over every few seconds. It was hard to spot the dark circle under his eye as it was normally always there, but this one seemed much deeper.

“Sure..” Sprout eyed Vee suspiciously before glancing at Shelly and looking back. His eyes twitched between them for a moment before shaking his head subtly. Vee didn't pay it any mind; she was more interested in Astro anyway.

"Hey. How was the slumber party? Looks like everyone but you got a wink of sleep."

Astro scowled as he pulled his blanket closer. "That's because I didn't..."

"Oh gosh.." Shelly’s sympathy cut in, intertwining her own hands. "What happened??"

"All the kids... they like- they like screaming and playing and no matter how much I tryyy to tell them to stop running- or- or to take a rest they just wouldn't listen.. and it was this whoole thing..." Astro rolled his eye in exhaustion, even just recalling the memory made him tired.

"Maybe after this you should go straight to bed because yikes do you look terrible." Vee shook her head sympathetically and put her hands on her hips. 

"That's exactly what I told you! M-minus that last part. Vee that's rude." Sprout points at Astro as he looked firmly at Vee, scolding her with his eyes. 

Does he think that actually does anything? She thinks as she doesn't let the second-hand embarrassment show on her face.

"Whatever. Let's just do what we came here to do quickly, and you can leave, okay?" The gears in her whirred as she tilted her head. Astro nodded.

"Yeah. That's the plan." His eye drooped too low for him to actually look at Vee in cognizance, but she understood the gesture. Sprout kept sneaking glances at both him and Shelly, as if someone will croak here and now if he's not careful. Vee dismisses his agitation and rhythmically taps her foot impatiently for the door. No Pebble or annoyingly bright flower in sight, it’s both a blessing and an inconvenience.

"So. Where's Pebble? I haven't seen him at all today."

“Dandy is inside; Pebble I have no idea.” Sprout shrugged as he reached for the end of his scarf to play with the tassels. He fully turns to the door and starts to knock on it urgently.

“Hey Dandy! All of us are here can you open the door now?” Sprout yells into the door, leaving everyone to wait a beat in silence. Then a click resonated from inside and, just like a magic trick, out came the nuisance with a pizzazz no one wanted. 

“Heya you guysss!!!” A flower with petals brighter than the sun poked his head out to the corridor they were all waiting in. He opened the door completely and stood there smiling a smile he’s smiled a million times before. “Come on in!! You know Pebble doesn’t bite!!” 

Right on cue, the little rock revealed himself dramatically, barking and wagging his tail with so much fervor it shook him. Vee is genuinely surprised she didn’t notice him considering she was already looking down at Dandy. The little guy runs over to Astro and bites his blanket, trying to pull him inside very gently. Astro giggles before covering his mouth with his blanket.

“Alright alright okay I get it.” His voice overflows with fondness. Pebble lets go of him and runs in, peeking out the second everyone else is out of view. Astro takes small steps in, meeting Dandy at the doorway.

“Hi Dandy.” 

“Hi A- W-WHAT happened to you??!” Dandy screeched to a halt as he saw how Astro's eye sunk. He immediately rushed to him and grabbed him by the shoulders comfortingly. 

"Oh, just uh, the kids." Astro manages a small smile to reassure him that he is indeed okay. The flower doesn't seem convinced but is willing to let go of it for the sake of him taking a break from the spotlight. 

"Jeez. Uhm, go sit, I'll try to make it quick." Dandy peered at him affectionately and gestured for him to go inside.

"That's very sweet of you, Dandy." The moon looked down at him with gratitude as he shuffled his way inside the meeting room. Dandy lingered at the doorway for a small moment, carefully watching Astro.

"Can you move??" Irritation poured out of Vee as she crossed her arms impatiently. Dandy's eyes widen for a second before sighing heavily.

"It wasn't even a second calm down." He labored a smile as he made way for the entryway for everyone.

Maybe if I didn't have to squint every time I looked at you. Go dye your petals a darker color and then we'll talk.

All of them eventually shuffle into the room, taking their seats on the color coordinated chairs around a long square table built for humans. The room is adorned with white boards covered in marker ink they forgot to erase and now can’t, multiple things with Dandy’s face on them and a lot of their own merchandise. Everything is dusty, there's a lot of trash and loose boxes in the corners, but it’s nostalgic, and one of the only things they all share equally. This tiny room is their group’s safe space. A spot where all of them come together outside of work, which (un)surprisingly doesn’t happen often. 

As everyone took their places, Dandy sat at the end of the table, rubbing his hands together mischievously. He wrestles with a bag out of view of everyone else and places it on the table with a soft thump. The bag was a squared and white goodie bag the toons were very familiar with. This one in particular had Dandy's name on it. The other mains wait for him to scavenge the rest.

“Wonder how many I got this time.” Sprout smiled earnestly, resting a hand on his cheek.

“Careful. It isn’t a competition.” Vee jokingly twirled her wrist at Sprout, trying to pose herself as collected. He set down his hand and narrowed his eyes at her. A scoff escapes him.

“Says you.”

“Says the person that’s gonna get less than me!!” She quickly raised her head up in victory as Sprout moved his arms around in confusion. Astro and Shelly stifle a laugh but a chuckle bubbles up anyway.

“All righty!! Let’s get started!!” A muffled voice called from underneath the table. He cheerily made his way up and placed the other goodie bags in front of him, checking the names on the bags before giving them out. 

“This one’s Sprout’s!!” Dandy slides the bag over to Astro who sparkles it to Sprout. Sprout's scarf swayed as he perked up and began to excitedly open his bag to see the first few drawings collected for him. The drawings inside were quickly spread out and appraised by Sprout's smiling face. Seeing the excitement on everyone's faces, including the excitement Vee was trying not to show, made Astro liven up. He smiled to himself as he peered at everyone else's smiles.

“This one’s Astro’s!!” While he was distracted, Astro was accidentally startled by the bag sliding too quickly towards him. Dandy gazed at him before putting a hand to his mouth, trying not to laugh. Astro laughs softly with him, taking the time to breathe then opening the bag and viewing the first papers on top. 

“Sheeellyyy!!” Dandy yells out like she hadn't been paying super close attention. Her bag was pushed over to Vee who had her arms crossed. She could feel Shelly's eyes twinkling beside her and it made her a little uncomfortable. Vee grabs the bag by the strands and hands it to Shelly slowly as if she'd pounce on her if she made a sudden move.

“Thank you!” Shelly managed to carry the weight of all the excitability in the world in her voice. So much expression for one simple thank you. It was so confusing how that worked. 

Why thank me anyway? Seems unnecessary. 

 “And here’s!!-“ As Vee thought, she almost missed the way Dandy's face shifted. His smile didn’t falter, but it turned into something more sinister, more hostile. “-yours!!”

His head slowly snapped into place, revealing the glare he targeted into Vee’s uncaring eyes. Her antennae quirked as she took the bag with no hesitation or acknowledgement of Dandy's embarrassing attempt at intimidation. Dandy's smile wrinkled before mentally shaking his head.

“And let’s not forget you!!!” Dandy wiggled his fingers and crouched down. A few seconds later, a big thump surprised the room as Pebble was propped on top of the table. He barked with all the energy the rock had and twirled rapidly, almost like he was chasing his own tail. Vee preferred it when he was scuttering on the floor.

“I’ll grab yours now okay, Pebs?” Dandy ducked down once more and grabbed one other bag just for him. Pebble accidentally knocked the bag down as he was spinning, but as soon as some of the drawings scattered about, he stayed completely still. Vee has never seen the rock so focused on something (or his eyes looking in the same direction), but it seems like this was one of the things he drops everything for. Up there with Cosmo's treats. Cue the laughter from the other mains about the debacle and that was that.

All the mains had their respective bag of goodies. They lay silent until something peaks their interest and they share it with the group. There was a sense of pride in receiving these gifts, but while showing them off, they felt so proud of these kids. After a small silence, someone would giggle or the sound of someone kicking their feet would pick up on Vee's antenna. Vee didn't mind; she was absorbed with her own parasocial kids.

“Awww this one’s so cute!!” Sprout put a hand to his mouth in adoration before he showed the group a colorful drawing of him and Cosmo. They were standing in front a burning oven with smiles on their faces. “And very lore accurate.”

Shelly snickers and puts one of her drawings down to move her hands around. “Oh my gosh sound the alarms!!”

“The number of times I heard him say that is NOT funny.” He gently slams the paper as he laughed.

“Eh. Not as good as my drawings. My fans are more artistically talented.” Vee smirked as she lifted an equally crude drawing of her on a stage and what looked to be Scraps… maybe…? It was a masterpiece.

“Pfft-! The way they drew you is silly!” Shelly laughs in between her words, unable to hold it for Vee’s sake. Vee's smirk wrinkled as her tail twitched.

“The way they drew me is excellent!” She puts the drawing on a stack she's gone through and drags her bag closer to peek inside. Shelly chuckles and does the same, staring into the bag then pushing it back to where it was previously. Ever since a couple minutes ago, she's not been sharing any of hers. Vee wonders why in the back of her mind, not thinking it would be anything of note. She instead focused on her kids' superior talents.

“Oh gosh.. look at this one...” Astro piped in after only giggling to himself at this point. He turned the page over for everyone to see, watching how everyone's expressions started to match his surprise. It was an advanced portrait of him sleeping on the moon as the stars sparkled behind him. It was made with a mix of very high-quality looking markers and watercolors; things Vee was sure wasn't something they had in any art room. The fact that a kid was able to draw something like that is applaud worthy.

“Woah that one is.. woah..” Sprout's jaw drops, completely stunned at the sight but still manages to nod. 

“Oh my gosh!! I saw one of mine that looked just like that!! Maybe it was done by the same kid?” Dandy, after not talking for a while, speaks up. He hasn't shared any of his yet, he was too busy compiling some of them into stacks and going one by one counting them.

“Oh stars! If you find it show me!” Astro excitedly pushes his chair closer to him as he waited for Dandy to bashfully shuffle around his drawings. Vee could tell that because of the excitement, he lost count. 

Sprout looks over at them and his own drawings fondly. Hangouts like these really bring a smile to his face, even though they somehow almost always find ways for the meeting to go wrong. He takes the few loose papers he had around and organized them elsewhere.

“Did any of you get some really good ones too?” Sprout asked the girls.

“Uhmm..” Shelly looks down at the absolute mess of drawings she has that almost touches Vee’s side of the table.  “Not anything Astro level, but this one was really cute!!”

Shelly picks up a drawing of her in her dinosaur onesie saying: ‘dinosour fact 1 they are really big’. It’s one she’s shown before.

“Oh that one was really cute!” Sprout looks at it with endearment. 

“Any other you haven’t shown yet?” Vee turns to her in curiosity, carefully placing a finger on one of Shelly’s papers to slide it back to her. Shelly sees how it adds to her mess as she scrambles to say something.

“Uhh… no.. these are-“ Shelly picks some up and looks at them with a sad smile. “These are all of them.”

A pang of guilt hit Vee like the first droplets of heavy rain. She’s never felt a pain much like this, except physical. Even Sprout was taken aback because the truth was: everyone else wasn’t even half done. Sprout’s eyes darted from place to place as he hesitated to reach out. Vee, on the other hand, shifted uncomfortably in her seat, unsure of what to do. She decided it was best not to push or mention it at all and change the topic. If she knows one thing about Shelly, it’s that she’ll deny any and all worry towards her.

“Well, mine vary from really good to really bad.” Vee scoffs, judging drawings in each hand with an eyebrow raised. Sprout flinched at the interruption but hurriedly played along.

“Aww Vee, you can’t say that. Sometimes I can’t tell if you like your fans or not.” Sprout let himself lean on his seat and cross his arms despite the sweat rolling down the side of his face.

“Isn’t it obvious?” She looks at him judgmentally. 

“Is it obvious?” He raises a brow, focusing more on her now.

“That was rhetorical, I’m saying it is obvious.”  

“Well then what is it, Vee?” 

“I was just talking about how my fans are more artistic.”

“PFFT-!!” Sprout caught a laugh in his throat, unable to suppress the sound. The reaction caused both Shelly and Vee to look at each other in confusion. The commotion got the attention of Astro and Dandy as well. Sprout breathed in and out, trying to calm down enough to say what he wanted to say next. He breathlessly mumbles before saying something understandable.

“Artistic like you?” Sprout’s throat was giving in, so bad it couldn’t take another scratchy snort. 

“Yyyyes..? I am very artistic.”

It was Shelly’s turn to crack; she tried holding back a wheeze which sounded like a broken tea kettle. She covered her face and slid off her seat, trying to hide away. The room filled with stifled laughter coming from the both of them. Astro and Dandy stayed wide eyed, watching this conversation go down. Vee just sat there, very confused, not knowing what was going on, but it sure was a change of subject. 

“What? Don’t think I’m special?!” Vee’s eyes crinkled at him, feeling an annoyance starting to bubble. She scanned his whole body looking for any clues as to why Sprout’s acting this way while he shakes his head and his hands around frantically.

“NO no!- You’re special! You- HIC- you are!-“ The words broke up as he spoke.

“Oh my stars..!” Astro looked down as to not start laughing himself. Sprout hunched over the table with his hands covering his reddening face, almost hitting his head on the table. His shoulders shook like he was trying to catch his breath. Shelly hung her head low and banged on the table softly from how badly she wanted to laugh.

Vee wanted to glare at all of them, to stand up and tell them that they’re the ones misconstruing her words and it isn’t her fault, but in reality, she didn’t really want that. Her annoyance was misplaced; even if she didn’t understand, it was nice that everyone was laughing, so then she decided to play along. She just hopes someone praises her for her showmanship. Her arms crossed, her tail swung from side to side, and with confidence and a slight echo, she spoke.

“Exactly. I am very special. Special and artistic.”

Dandy let out an unadulterated scream. His voice boiled down as he wheezed and hit the table in utter uproar, much like Shelly who was also hitting the table to ease the trembling of her shoulders. Sprout looked insane, softly cradling back and forth in his seat and repeating to himself “I can’t laugh at that” over and over while laughing. Vee looked for Astro, but it seemed like Astro was gone. All that was left of him was a snickering mess, hunched over and almost completely hidden under the table. Shelly turns over to Vee and faces her with a red face. 

“PLEASE- oh my god- y-you’re making it worse.” Shelly said in between breaths.

“WE- ARE- SO IMMATURE!!-“ Sprout slammed his hand on the table for every word.

“STOP INEEDTHATONTAPE.” Dandy gestures at Sprout and they laugh harder like the air itself was knocking at them.

“Can we please control ourselves?!” Astro raises his voice, having a little trouble controlling the laughter that rolled out his throat. 

“I’m- AHA- spending too much- …time around Shrimpo..! I’m sorry.” Sprout wheezes out as he lowers his head and rests on the table. Everyone’s laughter fizzles out as the room sighs in relief that their stomach isn’t hurting anymore. Vee checked on Shelly to see her eyes just as bright as before. It was heartening to have such a bright light back.

“Woah we even got Pebble worked up!” Dandy wiped a tear from his eye as he tried grabbing the rock to make him stop moving, but Pebble was spinning too fast for him to do anything. The small pitter patter of his paws sounded like a tiny drum roll. It’s so adorable Dandy just has to give him a pass.

“Awwwww!! Well- Anyways- Oh gosh where’d I put it?” Dandy looked between his paper stacks. “Oh jeez I don’t even remember putting it down haha!!”

“What’re you trying to look for?” The tip of Astro’s hat swung slightly when he turned his head, now fully sitting on the chair.

 “I didn’t want to interrupt… whatever THAT was. Buuuut I DID find what I was looking for!!” He grabs the corner of a particular drawing very carefully and he lifts it up. A very familiar marker and watercolor style drew a portrait of Dandy with other flowers and the sun in the background. Astro gasps.

“I think ours are supposed to match!” Astro couldn’t hide his excitement, not that he wanted to. He fixed his posture to appreciate the drawing properly. 

“Yeah!!” Dandy beams, hesitating to look Astro in the eye but doing it anyways. “We’re the sun and the moon buddy!”

“Hehehe yeah.” Astro takes his own drawing and stares at it for a little longer. Dandy only glances at his before gazing at Astro again.

Me personally, if Dandy was staring at me like that, lethal injection.

Vee chuckled to herself as Astro proudly nodded. “I’m putting this one up.”

“Oh definitely!” Sprout looks over his shoulder to peek at the drawing.

“Yeah yeah! That one deserves to be seen!!” Shelly points cheerfully. 

“Heh!! Be careful-“ Before Dandy could finish the thought, he sat there staring at the rest as if they knew what he was going to say. Astro looked at him worriedly, asking with his face if everything was alright. Dandy glanced, snapping his fingers as his smile faltered. “Oh shoot.”

“What’s wrong?” Astro and Vee say simultaneously, one with worry and the other with impending disappointment. 

Dandy rubs his hands together to comfort himself. “Err.. we were so busy havin’ fun I uhm forgot to tell you guys…”

“So spit it out?” 

“Jeez Vee I’m getting there.” Dandy stops smiling for the first time this meeting, shocking the room and making Vee furrow her eyes at him. It catches the attention of Pebble who scrambles over to him and jumps on his lap with a big huff. Dandy recoils but inevitably smiles softly at his pet.

“Since we don’t really take downnn a lot of our drawingss uhh.. Weee are running out of space and can only fit like-“ Dandy pauses to think. “Two of each….. if we’re lucky.”

“Two?!?” Vee yelled, slightly getting up from her seat to get closer to him.

“GAH! I’m sorry but have you seen the walls as of late?! They are all covered and we have no space to set up posters or promotional material or- or ANYTHING at all!!” 

If Vee can be completely honest, she has not been paying attention to the overflow and, looking around the room, the others weren’t either. It was true what Dandy was saying, they almost never take down a kid’s drawing, reason being that they know where it ends up if it’s not displayed.

Vee sat down and let her antennae droop, looking at the drawings in front of her. The others gloomily followed. The mood from before was replaced with the dread of not knowing what to choose, and mourning the one’s not chosen before the choice. They all looked at the mess of loose papers, thinking about the effort and joy poured into each one. None of them deserved to be thrown away. It only took a glance from Vee to see how tightly Shelly was clinging on to the little she had. That single droplet of guilt turned into a downpour, and Vee was on the brink of a malfunction.

I messed up. I need to make sure that drawing gets to her.

“Look guys..” Dandy’s voice cuts in as he pets Pebble, trying to make himself feel better. “I know it’s- hard.. But we had to do something about it soon anyway. And if I can, I’ll see if I can talk to the handlers about it or something… get a change going…”

A pause where not even the air moved rang through the tiny room. Their ears buzzed from the silence until everyone picked up the sound of a subtle ticking. The gears in Vee’s head churned and murmured despite the silence, all preparing for Vee to sigh with a heavy heart.

“As much as I hate to hear myself say this, Dandicus is right. After this meeting, we have to start cleaning up after ourselves.” Vee leaned on her seat as she crossed her arms and her legs. A feeling she couldn’t shake quivered her tail like an electric current.

“IIII suggestt-“ Dandy begins “weee don’t have to worry about this right noww..” 

“What?” Astro’s soft but confused voice made everyone look at Dandy, puzzled but waiting in intrigue.

“Well, it is the weekend. We can go clean everything up first, leave the floors spotless! And then not have to stress about choosing anything cuz we’d be starting back at square one!” Dandy was visibly getting peppier by the word. “Yeah.. Yeah!! We can totally do that! And stash them away when we’re done! Its genius!!”

The room flickers with hope as they look around at each other, thinking and planning in their own little world. Finally, the room felt alive again. The clock was ticking, but with help, two days would be enough, Gardenview isn’t that big. Nevertheless, his plan bothered Vee. It wasn’t actually a solution.

Stashing them away like inventory defeats the purpose of us wanting them up. What’s the difference between that and just throwing them away then? If we don’t find an actual solution, we’ll end up with the same overflow problem.

“That sounds… “ It was probably the one and only moment Vee could voice her concerns, but she stops herself from berating Dandy. He successfully brought at least a little peace of mind to everyone, maybe she should keep things to herself for now before everyone gets sad again. “…possible.”

For some reason, Vee agreeing with Dandy twice in the same meeting sold the others to trust in the plan full heartedly. 

“We could also just hide away the ones that won’t be put up in our rooms. That way next week we can figure out what to do with them!!” Sprout suggested, gesturing at everyone as they perked up.

“I like that idea.” Astro looked over at him, speaking much softer after the scare but picking himself up slowly. “And I guess if there is no other choice, we can say we tried?”

Sprout nodded “Exactly!”

“Thank goodness I wasn’t the only one thinking about smuggling some of these!” Shelly fanned her face, trying to cool down after that bit of stress hit them.

Vee tilted herself over to Shelly, whispering loud enough for everyone to hear. “Being so real, I think all of us were.”

Shelly giggled as the room seemed to relate. Her smile shone brightly towards everyone. Knowing that she was okay and happy contaminated Vee.

I’m glad you’re feeling better.

“Well then it’s decided right? Tomorrow and Sunday, we’ll be workin’ nonstop!!” Dandy gave his signature smile before Pebble barked and he almost jumped out of his petals. “AAHOOohh my gosh..”

Dandy let out a relieved chuckle “Hi to you too buddy… jeez I forgot you were on my lap for a second!!” 

“Bark.”

“Oh well, I’ll help you of course!!” 

“Bark bark.”

“Me? I’ll-“ Dandy looks around the room, everyone is staring. Eyes on him never made him sweat but this was a bad time. He hushes his tone. “I’ll be fine, I’ll figure it out like I always do.”

Of course, Dandy wasn’t being discrete at all, it was almost embarrassing to see him hide his problems so badly. Astro most definitely noticed his weird behavior as he scooted his seat closer to him and wore a worried look.

“Dandy.. if you need an extra pair of hands I can-“ 

“AHAHAhaha!! Good one, Astro!!! We can talk about this later but right now!! Man, I am beat!!” Dandy gets up in a quick motion and starts to yawn and stretch; Pebble jumped to the floor and waited to follow him.

“I expect everyone here first thing tomorrow morning alright!! Let’s make that 8am sharp!!” Dandy swings his arm like nothing happened.

“Sounds cool!” Sprout gets up and starts picking up his papers to put back in the bag, everyone else follows suit. As Vee cleans her portion, Sprout whispers something to Astro before walking over to Dandy.

“As soon as I’m done, I’ll come and help you.” Sprout played it off like Dandy wouldn’t say anything.

Quickly, Dandy jumped at the pause. “Oh, you don’t-!!“

“Unfortunately, you don’t have a choice. Friendship or whatever.” Sprout didn’t let him finish as he smiled, almost mischievously, and patted Dandy’s shoulder. “Bye guys!!” 

Sprout walks out, leaving the door open for whoever leaves next. He’s out of sight, but his footsteps suspiciously don’t fade like he’s going anywhere. Astro follows Sprout, patting Dandy’s shoulder with his magic too as a gag.

 “Goodbye, Dandy… And uhm, it’s okay to ask for help.” Astro gives him the most reassuring smile he can muster after all his fatigue came back. He walks off, leaving Dandy to stand there bewildered. As Astro begins to leave, Vee stands up and asserts herself confidently.

“Shelly.” Vee called out. Shelly wriggled in surprise like she dropped something. She was about to leave after Astro before stopping in her tracks completely. 

“O-oh! What do you need, Vee?”

“I need to talk to you. Can you wait for me outside?” Her voice didn’t fluctuate; there wasn’t a shift or a bump in her tone. It was smooth and perfect. Despite all this, Shelly looked nervous, astonished even.

“I-uh- m-me? Okayyy… Okay!! I’ll wait!” She said, a little louder than she should, with a determination that was all too familiar to Vee.

I admire that about you. Even though your persistence is your downfall.

“Great.” Vee faced away from Shelly. Now with her out of the way it was just her and Dandy. But she wasn’t away yet. Shelly stood there awkwardly, seemingly not sure what to do and expecting something else. Fiddling with her dress, she eventually decides to leave and shut the door. 

Now it was just Vee and Dandy. 

A beat goes by.

“So.” Vee taps her heels on the floor impatiently. “Let’s get down to business. No stalling.” 

Dandy grew hostile, pursing his lips upward and looking elsewhere. “I have no idea what you’re talking about…”

“I saw you counting.” Vee points at him accusatorily. “No. Stalling.” 

Dandy let out a devilish chuckle. “You want me to tell you or to spare your feelings?”

Vee’s mic acutely swung its way between her and Dandy, making this more of a performance than not. This was all just a game to him. Too bad he’s going against the master of games herself.

“I already counted yours. You’re eleven short, Miss Version 1.” 

“Last time I checked the short one was you.”

“Well I- hey!- what? What??” He scrunched up his face in confusion as he shrugged in defense.

It was Vee’s turn to act smug. She let her body slump for a second to look Dandy in the eyes better, trying to loom over him. “Just a different way of saying I don’t believe you.”

Dandy looked at her as if she wasn’t being serious. “You might think we’re close, but we’re not!! I’m the main of the mains after all!! You can’t defeat me.”

“I haven’t lifted a finger to even try and I’m eleven away. Imagine what would happen if I did, Dandicus.”

“That’s a lie!! You try harder than anyone here!!”

“You’re bold for saying that to a reflective surface. I say you’re projecting.” Vee waved a hand over her face and then smirked while continuing to look down on him. Vee thought she heard Dandy growl before she realized it wasn’t him.

“Grrr ARF!!” Pebble leaped between them, both of his eyes looking at the two of them simultaneously and snapping them out of their squabble.

“BWOORF!!” Pebble accused.

“I’m not do-“ Vee tried to defend herself but couldn’t. 

“Grrr” Pebble told her to back off.

“Fine.” She grunted, begrudgingly doing as the rock says.

“Haaahaaahaaa!!!!! MY Pebble is always going to have my back!! Because I run this place not you!!~” Dandy mocked, trying to make himself the most insufferable as possible. Little did he know, he didn’t have to try. Pebble turned and looked up at him, still a little agitated from barking at Vee.

“Bark bark! Bark? Arf. ARF.” The barks rang through the room as quietly as a bark can be, expressing his surprise, and his shamefulness towards Dandy. And also dropping a truth bomb and calling him a mess in the process.

“WHAT?” Dandy’s eyes go wide and his jaw drops.

“YOU WHAT?” Vee’s mic and antennae perk up as her screen display glitches in utter bewilderment towards Dandy.

“YOU- I TOLD YOU NOT-!” Dandy looked from Vee to Pebble again and again with betrayal written all over his face, which was growing shades redder by the second.

“YOU LIKE-?!”

“VEE. I’M TELLING YOU RIGHT NOW. IF A SINGLE PEEP OF THIS LEAVES THIS ROOM SO GOD HELP ME, I WILL MAKE YOUR LIFE HELL, YOU HEAR ME?!!?” Dandy yelped with no conviction or threat in his voice. Ironically, it was like a small dog was barking at her. Seeing Dandy so red-faced and embarrassed brought a wicked smile to Vee’s face.

Well, THIS certainly changes things.

“My my!~ Y’know, out of everyone I expected it from, you were definitely up there.” Vee put her hands on her hips and swayed in triumph.

“STOP. RIGHT NOW.” Dandy’s face was almost as red as his petal now; Vee couldn’t help but start laughing.

“You and Glisten could be really good friends!!!”

“STOP IT.”

“Whaaat?~ I’m just trying to be supportive of your little crush! Maybe if it doesn’t work out, I can even set you u-“

“WOULD YOU CUT IT OUT FOR ONCE IN YOUR LIFE?!?” There was nothing in his voice that seemed like a warning, or anger, or even annoyance. It surprised Vee how raw and real he cried, still, his paranoia refused to yell loud enough in case someone was listening in. Of course, she knew how important this would be if it got out, but she didn’t expect for Dandy to care so much. He’s the big star after all; it’s not like anything bad can happen to him anyway.

“I said, not a PEEP. No toons, no handlers, and ESPECIALLY ASTRO.” Dandy stressed, putting his hands on his face to feel the heat radiating off of it. “I- AAHAH-!! I can’t BELIEVE YOU of all people know now. This is just GREAT for me!”

Vee’s screen flickered, deciding on what to say. She hated Dandy’s guts, yes, but was it enough to not say anything?

“Uhmm.. Listen, I know we hate each other and all, and if this got out you probably wouldn’t be as popular anymore and since I’m better than you I’d take your place and be the main character…” Vee weighed her options for a millisecond before abandoning that train of thought. “BUT that would be too much. Even for us.”

“You mean even for you.”

“Yeah even for me whatever. I don’t care about you or anything but it’s not like I wanna roll you up and set you on fire.”

“That’s oddly specific… I just- don’t want this to be blown out of proportion. And for my pet rock, PEBBLE to just OUT ME LIKE THAT.” This is the first time Vee had ever seen Dandy glare at his beloved Pebble. Pebble seemed bothered and restless, scurrying and walking around aimlessly. He is picked up from the ground and his little legs wiggle in retaliation. “YOU need some proper training Mister. NO TREATS until you learn how to keep a secret.”

Pebble whines his way out of Dandy’s grip and runs around like he was already exempt of his punishment. Dandy’s eye twitched as he realized this will take a lot of training.

“Uhhh yeahh… You can trust me. Don’t think you’re safe though.” Waving her tail, she dropped her hands from her hips.

“Vee. Don’t you dare.”

Vee slacked to look Dandy dead in the eyes and pointed at him, making him cross his eyes to look at the finger so close to his face. She inhaled deeply and exhaled a long, mocking laugh. “Haaaaaaaaah haaaaaaaah.”

Dandy gritted his teeth, unamused. “Stop right now or I’ll curse YOU with gay thoughts!”

WHATWHATWHAT

Vee bursts out laughing, feeling a digital tear start to form on her face. Dandy stood there looking like an angry child until her composure came back to her enough to form words. “OH MY GOD- That might- PFft- be the funniest thing you’ve ever said, Dandy!!”

Something in the air fell out of place, like a tiny puzzle piece of tension got lost. Normally, that’d be a good thing, but it made Dandy snap like someone stabbed him. His babyish expression calmed down as it shifted to a more disturbed one. The tonal whiplash hits Vee in the face and makes her raise a suspicious brow at the other toon.

“What?”

“You just called me Dandy.”

For a moment, you could hear a pin drop.

“Oh.” Her fans started to run faster in embarrassment. “Huh.”

Another moment passes. This time it was Dandy’s turn to laugh at her.

“Haaahaaa! Did you think we were bonding?!”

“Ew no??”

“Yeahhh suuuure. Everyone gives in to my charm eventually!” He rocks on his heels and gestures to his funny, squishy body. Vee shudders as she wonders how anyone could find him appealing. She silently prays for Astro.

“Stop talking.”

“LALALA! Can’t hear you over the sound of you liking meee!!” Dandy shakes his head unreasonably, going as far as to cover his ears for a second to scorn her.

“Shut up. I hate you. I’m leaving. Bye.” Vee hurriedly picked herself up and marched to the door, intending to slam it. Not before Dandy gave her his own lackluster goodbye. She faced him with a threat in her eyes as he didn’t even give her the courtesy of a wave; he just stood there and watched her leave with a menacingly big grin. She shuts the door.

I can’t believe I said that. It’s probably going to bite me in the future. Oh, what am I saying? I got some insanely good blackmail! He won’t tell a soul-! 

Vee stopped her thoughts as she flinched at the sight of what was waiting for her outside. All three toons, everyone that had left, stood there. Shelly is explainable because she was asked to wait, but Astro and Sprout were enigmas. 

“You have to talk to Shelly, right?” Sprout pointed at her. Vee turns over to Shelly with an unsure look, hoping she knew what was going on, and turns back to Sprout. 

“Uh yeah? What are you two still doing here?” Vee pointed back skeptically.

“We have to talk to you… but you guys do your thing first we’ll be over here.” Astro strained his voice and cleared his throat, growing embarrassed and decided to stop talking. Despite Sprout’s worried look, he took Sprout deeper into the art studio with ease and turned a corner. Not out of earshot, but respectful enough.

Vee glanced at the corner they turned then back at Shelly then back again, nodding slowly. “Rrrriiight..”

She immediately turns her attention to Shelly, which caught her by surprise. “Shelly.”

“Uh!- Yes! What’s up?” Shelly clasps her hands together, readying herself for whatever Vee has to tell her. Vee crosses her arms in a regular fashion.

“I was just going to ask if you were free, which most likely you are, so I wanted to show y-“

“Oh.. wait! uhh…” Shelly interrupts, embarrassment rising up from her stomach to her head. She mustered a dubious smile at best, but Vee could tell it was desperate. Her face completely fell flat at the interruption as she uncrossed her arms to hear what Shelly had to say. 

The sudden drop of Vee’s body language made Shelly look like she wanted to melt into the floor. “Not to like!- ruin anything but- I have a thing- uh with Tisha..” She said carefully, as if there was a right and wrong answer.

“Aannd I gotta go… I’m sorry…” Shelly finished, looking very sheepish under Vee’s flat gaze.

“Right now?” Vee deadpanned as she saw how Shelly shivered. 

“Well not- now now but- yeah..?” Shelly shrugged, not knowing what else to do. “B-but! Yknow there’s always tomorrow!! I don’t have anything for tomorrow so…” Her nerves wouldn’t let her stay still, her hands moved erratically as she tried to continue. 

Vee stared at her with a cold gaze, so cold it made Shelly freeze in place. Her body started to slow down, but never caught its breath, like it was squeezed out of her. 

“Well unless you count the clean-up then that’s something I’ll be doing tomorrow and well you’ll be doing that too-!”

“Shelly, I know.” Vee says, putting a hand up for her to understand better. Shelly anxiously waits for Vee, not intending to say another word. 

What’s with her? She’s downright frantic. Is she experiencing a psychotic break?

Vee furrows her eyes at Shelly. Shelly gets visibly more worried. Vee unfurrows her eyes. Shelly calms herself slightly.

Interesting.

“Shelly.”

Shelly mentally jumps out of her own skin. “Y-yes?”

“Are you okay?” Vee says, a little concerned.

“O-oh oh! I’m fiiine really, it’s just uh- I’m gonna be late..?” 

“Oh.”

Well, if that’s the case…

“Don’t be. I’ll talk to you later then.” Vee dismisses.

“Oh okay then!” Shelly fixed herself the slightest bit to seem more energetic, maybe a little too eager to leave for Vee’s liking. She walks backwards as she says her goodbye.

 “I’ll see you! Thank you!! And I’m sorry!!” She waves, then starts to quickly make her way to the nearest corner and turns it. 

Vee stands there. Sorry for what?

Vee squints in confusion. Thanks for what?? …Shelly, you are a puzzle to me.

Vee didn’t have enough time to process the conversation before she heard footsteps walking in her direction. She turns to face Astro and Sprout in annoyance.

Not a second to myself today, huh?

“Is she gone?” Sprout peaks at where Shelly was previously, obviously not being there anymore.

“Seems like it.” Vee says sarcastically, rolling her eyes. Sprout takes a deep breath in and out, prepping himself for what would come next.

“Vee, we need to talk.” Sprout asserted, giving her a stern look like a parent would to a misbehaving child. Astro, standing off to the side, nods in an unconvincing firmness.

Vee looks between the two skeptically, feeling like she’s stepped into a puddle. “About what…?”

“It’s about Shelly.” Astro says slowly.

What..?

“Specifically, how you treat Shelly.” Sprout continues. 

“I’m confused.” Vee looks to the side, conscious of Dandy on the other side of the door they’re next to.

She was a little shy, but she was fine..? Why would that be a cause for concern?

“It’s just you-! you do this thing-“ Sprout racks his brain, passing a hand through the leaves on his head. “it’s not just Shelly..!”

“Uhhhhuhhhh…” Vee slowly nods at Sprout’s broken English, making Sprout a little more frustrated.

“What he’s trying to say is that uhmm.. you sometimes.. don’t- …how do I put this…” Even in his exhausted state, Astro is better at putting things into words than Sprout. “You come across as uh rude sometimes.”

“And by that, we mean most of the time.” Sprout takes out his pointer finger like he was the one that got the point across. Vee gazed at them as if they were in the distance.

Oh.

…

 I want to go to my room, I’m tired of them already. 

Vee breathes in and lets out a loud sigh. Similar scenes start flooding back to her, all of them blurred so close together. It was hard not to see them as they were in the present.

“Okay. What was it this time?” Vee couldn’t stop a glare their way. 

“You’re just- too literal. Too expressionless. No one understands what you’re feeling so they don’t know how you feel towards them.” As Sprout flailed his hands around to make his point, his voice morphed into someone else’s. All the keywords lined up perfectly with things Vee has heard before time and time again. First Veronica, then this person, then that person then again and again and again.

“How is that my problem? It’s not like I hate anybody other than the obvious.” She gestures to the door behind them.

Some of the other toons are more unpredictable. Why me?

“Well Vee, it IS a problem! Some people CARE about what you think.”

People should stop being so difficult.

“Well, they should, but assumptions aren’t something I can change.”

I already know how this goes.

“You’re not getting it!” Sprout rubs his eyes shut and tries to focus. “You think you’re better than them, so you don’t try to even have a relationship with people!!” 

People ADORE me… and I DESERVE that praise..!

Vee, as taken aback by this as she was, grew hostile and raised her voice. “That’s not true.”

“Stop! Oh my stars, stop!” Astro grabs the attention of both of them, worried that they might get into a screaming match. 

“What Sprout is trying to say,” Astro looks at Sprout, his eyes telling him to take this time to calm down. 

“You don’t think about how it makes others feel whenever you say something that isn’t- say… isn’t very nice?” Astro calmly explains, talking in a rhythm in hopes to reach out to Vee. “With an attitude like that it makes it seem like.. you don’t care or don’t like the person you’re with.”

“Well what if I don’t?” Vee remarked, not hiding the snarkiness behind the question.

“Be nicer about it?? Don’t just act like you don’t care and shut down the conversation literally seconds in. You gotta be able to get your point across without making the other person feel like- well- feel like dirt!!” Sprout intervened, still feeling a little jumpy.  

“I don’t do that?? I actually listen to people when they talk to me.” Vee defended. She wasn’t going to let these two misinterpret her own feelings and make her seem like the bad guy. 

“The entire time you were ‘talking’ to Shelly before the meeting, you were uninterested and shut down the conversation the second you had the chance to!” Sprout yelled, exasperated. He breathed in and out. “Sorry, this has been on my mind for a long time.”

Sprout takes a second to catch his breath, Vee was going to take the opportunity to clap back at him when he stopped her with a hand before continuing. “And I get that’s how you act towards everyone, but it’s starting to really affect Shelly.” 

What..?

Vee visibly deflated, her hard expression fell softer and her breathing calmed. Vee stared at them, wide-eyed, not knowing what to say or how to defend herself against something she wasn’t sure of. There was no reason for them to lie to her either.

“…what happened?” Vee said quietly, almost hesitating to even know.

“She was talking to you, and you made her feel really bad.” Sprout’s frustration from earlier had now fully dissipated, in its place was worry for his friend. 

“Did-“ Vee falters, not wanting to believe it was a possibility. “Did Shelly talk to you about me? Did she say that?” 

“No... Shelly doesn’t usually talk to us about her feelings… ever… but when you two were talking, it was very obvious she was excited.. and then she wasn’t.” Astro shook his head slowly in a polite manner, trying to calm her down. 

“No, it was- She started talking to me and asked me if I was interested and I said no. I was being honest!” Vee scrambled, it isn’t something she does a lot, but anything to help her feel better about herself. 

“Your opinions shouldn’t be just a yes or no though... It sounds like- like you want the conversation to end... like a one and done thing..” A feeling of tranquility swarmed Vee as Astro got closer to her. The exhausted energy around him didn’t diminish his ability to calm people down. It made Vee feel so vulnerable knowing that he felt like he needed to use it.

“I didn’t. That’s not- …what I want.” Vee slowly looked to the floor and watched Astro’s blanket sway as he moved.

“Then please, express that… Shelly would be so happy if she knew.” Astro looked at her sadly.

“…I care…” Vee’s tail rubbed against her leg in comfort. Wanting to defend herself, Vee considered speaking in code to throw them off, but she knew it wouldn’t do much.

“You’re not good at showing it.” The bluntness in Sprout’s voice reminds her of something she’d say. Unlike Vee, he wore a caring and calm face, holding his hands out like he was presenting something. “But if you do, then it’ll come easy, right?”

Vee stared at Sprout, seeing that they were both now calmer she decided to clear her head. Even with a blank mind there was no stopping the seedling of the guilt she felt being planted. She’ll do anything not to water it, and she guesses it’s about time she redeems herself. Where to begin was a whole other train wreck.

“What should I do?” The best course of action she saw was asking for help. She was always smart enough to do things herself, but this was like a maze to her, even if she didn’t want to admit it. Sincerely, she wanted to do better, to be the best in every way, but she can’t do that without someone explaining how.

Both Astro and Sprout glanced at each other in amazement by the sudden change. They’ve never seen Vee so genuine, and Vee has never been this vulnerable with anyone before. It might’ve been Astro’s doing, but they didn’t want to just play off this significant step towards progress.

Sprout stopped to think, weighing the options in front of him. “Maybe prove to her you’ve been listening to her… like give her something she’s mentioned wanting! Or something like that.. I know whenever I want to make someone feel nice, I try to gift them something special.” 

“That could work.” Astro’s drear faded into hope as his voice became much lighter. “Everyone knows that she likes dinosaurs so uhm, try something she’s talked about recently.”

“Errrrr….” In truth, Vee doesn’t talk to Shelly often, which is why she told herself to talk to her more. Even so, Vee can think of something to gift Shelly, it sounds simple enough.

Not anything surface level, everyone knows she likes dinosaurs and old plants.. but where’s the creativity in that?! Ugh. Is that really all I have to go off of??

“I don’t talk to Shelly much-“ Suddenly, after scrolling past her memories of her, the echo of one from the present moment reached farther than any other. It boiled down to two specific words.

Pigeon post.

“I have an idea. I already have something in my possession to give her.” Vee gave a hopeful smile, setting down a fist on her other hand in confidence. “Sprout.”

“Yeah?”

“Do you know where Cosmo is?”

Sprout looked at her strangely, unsure if this was a good or bad thing. “If he isn’t in the kitchen with Boxten, then he’s somewhere else with Boxten.” 

 He grew a little uneasy and fidgety before warning her. “…don’t do anything weird….”

Vee put her hands on her hips and stared him down. “I’m not gonna murder him, Seedly, calm down.”

Sprout’s face turned to stone while Astro sighed in familiarity.

“Say that again and I won’t help you in the future.”

“Fine fine.” Vee rolled her eyes playfully, waving her hands in defense along with her tail which was swaying her mic around. She put her arms down and mulled something over, feeling a little tense but shaking off the feeling. Nothing stops the Vee, not even feelings. “But, thank you. For this.”

“Anytime Vee, we are your friends after all.” Astro yawns and closes his eye in an attempt to catch a wink before actually falling asleep.

“And don’t forget that either.” Sprout scolded her the same way he always did but wore an earnest smile on him. 

“My plan will work.” Determined, Vee gave them a triumphant, cocky smirk, one she’s shown off many times. “I guarantee it actually.”

“I’m glad you’re confident, but uhm..” Astro tries not to wince as he considers his words carefully. “be.. mindful. A lot happened today and I’m not sure if she’ll even be willing to talk to you or accept something from you so soon.”

Vee didn’t think of that. What a wrench. “Ah. Well… I’m sure it’ll be fine, whatever happens as long as I get her to feel better in the end right?”

“That’s the spirit! I guess!” Sprout tried to be supportive as he swung his arm.

“Time for me to get to work then!” Vee clasps her hands together confidently as the other two nodded in support of her.  Then, she remembers to watch her volume as there is still technically someone else here. “Can we please leave? I have a feeling Dandicus has been eavesdropping this entire time and I really don’t want to deal with that.” 

Sprout eyes the door behind them. “Sounds good..”

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Vee and Sprout separate from Astro as he gets to go to his room and have the sleep he desperately needs. Vee pushes the button to the kitchen floor as the elevator responds by rattling in place.  When they arrived, Vee was surprised to see the renovations made in the place. It almost looked like a completely different diner. Sprout walked through it all with ease as he hangs out here more than he does on his own floor. They walked past the booths, which were noticeably sparkly and clean, so were the countertops, and the seats, and the signs that plagued the entire floor. It smelled like lovely with the hint of a smokey after smell as per usual. 

All in a day’s work for Tisha it seemed, who was just a distance away. She was mopping the arch entrance to the kitchen, slightly covered by the colorful cleaning supplies and gloves lined up on the counter next to her. As they got closer, she didn’t look away from the puddle she was working on. Sprout tried tip toeing past her through the entrance, stepping on the chemical water anyway and leaving chemical water footprints. The ripples splashed at Tisha’s feet before she looked up and gave Sprout a glare.

“Thank you Tisha I appreciate you Tisha!!!” He gave her a nervous smile as he waved and left to the kitchen where he knew she wouldn’t follow. Yet he forgot someone else who couldn’t follow either.

Vee looked at the wet floor, along with the water bucket and mop in the way and instinctively took a step back. Tisha took note of Vee, but didn’t actually realize that she was there, then remembered that she just saw Sprout and did a double take.

“Wait.. what?” Tisha looked back into the kitchen, then at Vee with a pensive look. “Huh.”

“What?”

“You guys are out earlier than I expected.” Tisha’s unamused face told her she didn’t like that. Seeing Sprout go through probably ticked her off.

“Yeah.” She had no interest in continuing this any further, although Vee couldn’t shake the confusion she felt her gears processing.

“Where’s Shelly?” Tisha wore a curious look, half blocked by the tissues covering her face. 

She was supposed to be with you.

“No idea.” Vee shrugs off the confusion, deciding to be nonchalant about it.

“She didn’t mention anything?” 

Vee looked off, trying to spot any other spelling mistakes in the menu. “…Apparently it was none of my business.” 

It bothered Vee knowing Shelly lied to her just to get away, but considering what she knows now about Shelly’s feelings, there is not a world where Vee blames her for that.

Might as well act uninterested so Tisha doesn’t look for her. Wherever Shelly is right now, I don’t think she wants company.

“Hm. I see.” The conversation seemed to be over, but Tisha stayed staring at Vee expectantly. When Vee stared back for a moment, Tisha’s face slowly dropped into something more impatient.

“Well go on.” Tisha gestured to the kitchen; she waved the mop that direction and it made a splashing sound only Vee would find irritating. She looked down, hoping deep down the splash was a figment of her imagination and the water was all gone. The water was in fact not gone and the floor was still dirty, and it still had chemicals in it, and it was still deadly.

Tisha looked down at the mess of water and came to her senses. “Ohh..! I forgot.”

“That’s not something you forget.” Vee gestures to herself as her mic presses forward between them. “You can tell just by looking.” 

“I guess I don’t take notes of people who simply don’t care enough.” Tisha bit, sounding like she’s been practicing that one in the mirror for a while now. Vee cringes and waits for a second to tell her off, but instead she rolls her eyes in annoyance as she knows how this song and dance goes. Thinking about it more clearly however, Tisha had a point, she was being a not-so-friendly-word, but she has a point.

“I could die.” Vee also had a point.

“Hmph!”

“I could die!” 

“Doesn’t sound too bad...” She considered. 

“You can’t be serious.” Vee shook her head in disbelief; Tisha was really starting to get on Vee’s nerves now. Sprout and Cosmo were probably having a grand ol’ time and she’d much rather get this done as quickly as possible. 

“I’m not, Vee, don’t worry, but it’s not like I can speed this up for you.“ As much as Tisha holds her life over her head (or a malfunction), Tisha never actually tries anything. “You’re going to have to wait.”

“…or you could be better at your job..” Vee half-whispered, knowing she would catch Tisha’s attention.

“Excuse me?” Tisha glared at her with an eyebrow raised, daring her to say that again.

“This entire place is already cleaned enough! Why not clean in the kitchen?” Vee stepped forward. 

“I am-“ Tisha sighed in a bitter frustration “-this is me mentally preparing for.. that.” She gestures to the kitchen, shuddering as she imagines the horrors that wait for her. One of the only things Vee knows about Tisha is that she cleans, so she decides it’s time to push her buttons. For efficiency’s sake.

“Aren’t you supposed to like cleaning? I don’t have time for your stalling or your remarks or your ‘three riddles’.” Vee pointed at her, carefully nudging herself closer as a form of dominance. “Learn how to work faster.”

Tisha gripped at her mop so tightly Vee was surprised it didn’t snap. Her tissues covered most of her face, but from what Vee could see, it was the most murderous death stare she has ever looked directly at. Vee was worried about dying before, but now the water seems to be the least of her concerns. 

“Fine.” Tisha’s voice boiled with an inner rage she’s never seen get let out. She propped the mop up and disappeared into the kitchen. The voices echoing from where she went ceased and the entire floor went eerily silent.

Vee gulped as she heard the clicking of Tisha’s footsteps coming right back to her. She slowly walked over, as calm and elegant as ever, with the air around her shifting in irritation. Under her arm was a rolled-up carpet, it looked old and unloved and was covered in designs Vee couldn’t exactly see. The clicking stopped as Tisha stopped in front of the puddle, looked at it, then looked at Vee.

“Word of advice…” Tisha said between gritted teeth. “Don’t say things like that to the person with the bucket of water.”

Vee quickly eyes the bucket to make sure it hasn’t moved from its place. Tisha proceeds to unfold the carpet, giving it a nice rush in the air, and set it over the puddle. Vee leaped backwards, away from the splash. The carpet was big enough to cover most of the puddle, except for the tiny leakage at the ends. It was also thick enough to absorb some of the water while also looking like it was comfortable enough to walk over. 

“There you go, princess.” Tisha snarled with the most vexing smile Vee has seen from her. Vee, of course, saw that the water bled through the carpet and hesitated to even consider walking on top of it. Even with all the worry and the sweat starting to form, Vee managed an offended look at Tisha.

“This is all your getting from me, hun.” Tisha spat.

OKAY, fine. 

Vee willed herself to step over the edges of the puddle and onto the moist carpet. To her surprise, it didn’t feel like a current passed through or anything failed, so she quickly made her way to the other side and jumped a fair distance to finally be safe. Vee breathed deeply, relieved. She straightens herself and looks back at Tisha with a smirk, like she had successfully defeated her. Tisha’s face told her that if she is ever a splash away from death again, she won’t hesitate. Vee turned away from her and quickly made her way into the kitchen.

When Vee entered the kitchen, she noticed two things. One, the kitchen countertops, along with the toons cooking, were covered in flour, batter (maybe dough?), mystery stains and smelled like sugar and syrup. Two, the three toons inside all looked like they were recovering from a mass panic. Cosmo, Boxten and Sprout all snap their heads over to Vee, Sprout’s eyes in particular grow wide as the pieces of the puzzle start aligning. Boxten’s eyes sparkled at Vee’s presence, but panic already made itself at home with Sprout. He scrambled from the oven to Vee almost in an instant.

“VEE.” Sprout yells between his teeth in a hushed whisper. “What the HECK HAPPENED?”

“WHAT?” Vee mimicked “Trust me I didn’t do ANYTHING.” 

“THEN WHY WAS TISHA SO… PISSED OFF??” Sprout looked side to side as if she would appear behind him. 

“I MAY or may NOT HAVE insulted her work ethic.” 

“VEE.” He lowered his voice to scold her.

“WHAT?” Vee retorted. 

“WHYYY…?!” Sprout gave her a pathetically pitiful look. 

“You LEFT ME OUT THERE.” Vee desperately wanted to say something aloud, but she knew it might attract Tisha to their location like a predator to prey.

“I THOUGHT YOU GUYS WERE JUST TALKING!!-“ Sprout tried his best to keep his voice down, growing more stressed by the second.

“ME AND HER? I WAS QUITE LITERALLY TRAPPED.” Vee moved her arms around to her every word. She recognized it as one of Shelly’s mannerisms. She mentally noted an understanding; it was very cathartic.

“Vee we JUST talked about this NOT TOO LONG AGO.” Sprout stops himself from saying what he was about to say, instead he inhales sharply. “You’ve GOTTA stop being a- WELL YOU KNOW.”

“I was TRYING to be critical this time.” Vee clarifies with a finger pointed up.

“OH!” Sprout’s eye twitched. “WELL THAT’S JUST GREAT, VEE!! GOOD FOR YOU.”

They were both gradually becoming louder and louder, worrying the other two spectators. 

Cosmo cleared his throat loud enough to interrupt the two, they both whipped their heads around to look at his very concerned expression. Cosmo jumped back at their sudden reaction and waved the mittens on his hands around in defense. “Guys i-it’s okay I have an idea!!”

“Let’s just start baking an apology cake or- apology cookies- It doesn’t matter!! We can all share and everyone will live happily ever after!! And uhm she won’t be mad!!” Cosmo hurriedly pushed out an enthusiastic tone, covering up the tension he felt coming from just down the hall. Sprout, at the sight of him trying to make things right, joins the enthusiastic train.

“Right!! There’s no point in freaking out is there?!?!?”

Vee rolled her eyes, momentarily making her gaze land on Boxten. Boxten froze before giving her a small smile and wave. 

“Hi Vee.” He said quietly.

Vee gave him a nod.

Boxten got visibly more excited.

“We’re gonna need all the help we can get!!” Cosmo’s eyes turned hysterical, along with Sprout. He walked over to where the aprons were set up next to the counters and put one on. 

Cosmo turned his attention to Boxten and gave him a sweet smile “Boxten, you are just a beginner and yet you never cease to amaze me by how quickly you understand my lessons.” 

Boxten turns to him a little rattled, seemingly in his own world “O-oh? Thank you Cosmo! That’s really sweet.” Boxten gave him a thankful smile.

“Remember when I told you that baking is supposed to be relaxing and fun?” Something about how Cosmo’s brow twitched caught Boxten’s attention. 

“Yes! Uhm I r-remember!” He grew nervous as if he was being tested.

“Well, this is an advanced lesson! But since you’re such a good student, I’ll teach it to you now!!!!” Cosmo puts both his hands on Boxten’s shoulders and lets his head drop down. He stays like that for a second, inhaling and exhaling deeply. He lifts his head up and stares directly into Boxten’s soul with a grave expression. 

“We have until Tisha decides to clean the kitchen.” He said with a hoarse voice. 

“Oh!” Boxten started to sweat a little. The key on the back of his head started to click as it winded slowly. 

“No pressure!!” Sprout pats Boxten on the back giving him an unsure smile as he tries to hype him up. Boxten’s key spins faster as he slowly and carefully hugs himself for comfort.

“Don’t say it like that!” Cosmo scolded. “Look at him! It’s already bad enough.” Cosmo gestures at Boxten who was looking around the room, eyes frantically tracking his next steps. 

“Boxten! Boxten, hey!!” Sprout snaps his fingers in front of him to snap him out of it. Boxten shakes it off and stares at his fingers then at his face. The key on his head clicks and spins a little slower with the eye contact.

“Wah- what??” 

“We’re here for you, Boxten. With the three of us, we got it!” Sprout gave him the most reassuring smile he could.

“What if I mess something up-“ Boxten peeps.

“Ah ah ah!! No!! None of that!! You are more capable than you think.” Sprout silenced him quickly, knowing that with that train of thought he could spiral.

“R-right.. Right!! Okay!! Thank you Sprout!” It seems like Boxten doesn’t quite believe in himself but knowing that they trusted him made him trust himself too. He gave him a polite, quick bow. 

Sprout smiled and pumped his arm up, cheering them on. “Come on guys, we can do this!!”

“Yeah!!” With Boxten’s confidence regained, they all, cheerfully but hurriedly, start cleaning off the counter tops to make room for the next baked goods. Cosmo stares at the cute little pastries he was baking before in disappointment as if he never liked it to begin with. Boxten grabs an array of mixing bowls and whisks and runs to the sink next to them. Sprout jumps over to the counter next to the fridge which has spare, clean supplies ready to use, drying on a towel.

Vee stood aside, watching the toxically wholesome display of teamwork in front of her as she kicked her feet impatiently. She was waiting for a chance to start speaking, but the three somehow filled every second with reassurances and gratitudes. It made her want to go back to talking to Tisha.

“Aaand!! We’re gonna need your help too, Vee.” Sprout halted his jog back to the main baking area and pointed at Vee from across the room.

“Huh?” She glanced away in confusion one too many times, now it looked like Sprout teleported in front of her with a green apron held over his head.

“Yup, that’s right. You’re coming with US!!” With a battle cry, Sprout ran at her as Vee tried to flee from Sprout’s attempts to put the apron on her. They ran circles around each other until Sprout eventually fits the square in the circle hole. Vee’s antennae get tangled and she grunts in irritation, trying to get them out, also unknowingly giving Sprout time to secure the tie on the apron. He did it so quickly it was like an onstage wardrobe change for a cooking segment on her show. She stands there, feeling like a wet cat.

“There!” He looked so proud of himself before noticing something. He quickly rolls up her suit’s sleeves to her elbows. “Now you get to make up for your mistake!”

“This is ENTIRELY UNNECESSARY.”

“Tooooo baaad!!!” Sprout pushes her over to the other guys. Everyone looked so color coordinated it pained Vee. All of them looked at her and immediately started to tell each other to do things. The kitchen grew noisier as all of them shouted directions and affirmations. Boxten ran across the room for a paper towel roll which was inconveniently placed at the opposite end. He quickly balanced all the utensils he cleaned the gunk out of and dried them next to the fridge. Sprout and Cosmo on the other hand booked it for flour, milk, eggs, butter, all the things you would need to bake cookies. Vee couldn’t make out the exact ingredients before being pushed onto the counters next to the oven and being handed a mixing bowl by Boxten.

“It shouldn’t be so hard right? I mean- You’ve had baking segments before!” Boxten nervously but cheerfully talked to her. As a fan, Vee already had a lot of respect for Boxten, but as for right now he needs to excuse her for being a little irritated.

“I wonder where all the cameras are.” She deadpans sarcastically, wishing she were on stage right now. Boxten steps away and laughs awkwardly.

After a blip in her memory, Vee was put on mixing duty while the others did… other things. Vee doesn’t know frankily. All she knew was that they were rushing at first but now they are taking their time and doing things correctly. All the utensils that weren’t going to be used were left to dry on a paper towel, the ingredients they needed the most were already poured into Vee’s mixing bowl, so they were pushed aside to the central counter, and everything seemed peaceful for a moment.

“Mix it well.” Sprout peeped over Vee’s shoulder, carrying the flour somewhere.

“I know.” The eggs were slowly fading into the other ingredients.

“Not too well, it makes the cookies flat.”

“I KNOW.” As she’s busy yelling at Sprout, her hand slips and a clump of flour lands on her arm.

After the bowl was mixed, it was swiftly taken away from Vee’s hands. She didn’t even blink before Cosmo started to plop chunks of the light brown dough on the parchment paper. Vee still couldn’t figure out what kind of dough it even was as she noticed flour all over the crevices of her hands and arms.

“Erm, how exactly do you clean this off normally?” Vee spun her arms, inspecting them.

Cosmo looked at her through the corner of his eye. “Oh! Just use water it’ll come right- oh.”

Vee scowled, accepting that she won’t be able to clean this out any time soon, or get it out at all, like glitter.

The cookies were put into the preheated oven (thank you, Sprout) and set for fifteen minutes. Vee leaned on the counter she was working on, chilling out after all of that and making sure she doesn’t even intrusively admit this is fun. She, out of habit, tries to wipe sweat off her face. Instead, she covers her vision with the same flour that infested her arm. No one seemed to notice this, so she scrambled to find the paper towels on her lonesome. The powdery texture allowed her to see just a little bit, and it’s not like she didn’t know where everything was already, but unfortunately, someone moved the paper towels. She aimlessly tried to feel for it, but it was gone. Then, in another stroke of bad luck, she was given the mixing bowl again by… Sprout? Maybe? It was heavy to the touch, so they must’ve already put the ingredients inside. Vee walked back to her station in frustration and started to mix without thinking.

“Why don’t you guys have a mixer?!” Vee blindly called out to anyone near her.

“We do!” Cosmo yelled back at her from, Vee could only guess, the fridge.

“Machine’s broken. We really need a new everything here.” Sprout was somewhere next to him.

“Oh har har. Is that why I’m the one mixing? A mixing MACHINE? I get it.” It’s funny because she’s actually good at this. Vee snickers as she takes the whisk out to twirl it sarcastically.

“Get back to work, mixer!” Sprout sounded a little closer.

“I wanna say something really mean, but just for you, I’ll refrain.”  Vee put the whisk back and continued to mix at a consistent pace. Boxten, who was in the pantry, started to laugh to himself about the interaction.

Then and only then did Vee realize she didn’t see what other ingredients were in the dough. She put the bowl down and unrolled one of her sleeves to clean herself off. The flour wasn’t fully gone but it was enough to see that Vee mixed the bowl too much for her to learn what kind of cookies they’re even making. She scowls as Cosmo looks at her with a puzzled look.

After the fifteen minutes were up (thank you, Sprout), the first batch was gently handled out by Cosmo. He left the oven door open to look in awe. Everyone took a peek at the perfectly round and delicious looking cookies. Vee squinted and tried to get a closer look, she saw something in between the chewy nooks and crannies of the cookies, but she still couldn’t tell what it was. She grumbled and decided it was finally time to ask someone.

“Hey, what kind of-“ Suddenly an alert popped up on her screen. ‘OVERHEATING’ it said. The alert screeched an alarm that made everyone back away from the open oven. It hit Vee how hot the oven was breathing its air onto her and now she has to think fast to make the alarm stop. Everyone makes way for her as she rushes to the refrigerator. Her hands struggle with the door as it won’t budge. She forces it open and feels the cool air touch her metallic skin, fully relaxing. Not a thought goes through her. This is tranquility at its finest, staring at a carton of eggs inside a refrigerator. Sprout was the first to laugh. Vee tuned out the rest of them.

Vee doesn’t know how long it took her to cool down but it was quick enough for her to tune back into a new problem the bakers found themselves in.

“Dude, where’s the icing??” Sprout turns quickly from side to side, some of the powders on him repel into the air.

“I SWEAR, I was using them for the pastries not too long ago, they should’ve been by that counter!” Cosmo’s guilt-ridden self points at the counter he’s talking about, now adorning Vee’s mixing bowl and a few other tools.

“Cos…” Sprout gives him a pitied look.

“Uhmmm…”

“Boxten! We gotta make more icing!” Boxten drops the whisk he was holding in the drain out of surprise. He spins on his heel and holds himself steady on the edges of the sink.

“Uhm, what are the ingredients for that again..?”

“Here lemme show you. Cosmo, check the pantry maybe it’s in there somewhere??”

“Highly doubt it but maybe???” Cosmo shrugs as he does what he’s told. Vee was a little zoned out but as soon as Cosmo was out of the picture in a smaller room while the other two were busy, all she could see was a golden opportunity.

She successfully sneaks inside behind him with no one the wiser of her ulterior motives. Now away from the kitchen, they’re surrounded by tons of kitchen supplies. The pantry was stocked full of cans, crates, and stains, coupled by silverware, plasticware, snacks and candy. Vee huffs playfully at the variety of trinkets they store in here. Fortunately for her, she didn’t have to catch Cosmo’s attention as he heard her scoff and got spooked.

“gAH! Oh Vee! Yeah, I don’t know if the pipping bag is even here…” Cosmo looked around, hunting the icing with his eyes.

“I’m not here for icing. I need to talk to you.” Vee stepped closer, hiding her arms behind her and raising her head to look professional.

“Oh- Oh! I- uhh sure! What do you need?” He gripped the one mitten he was wearing sheepishly.

“I’m after Pebble’s treats. I know you have a supply of them.”

Cosmo was taken aback and began to get a little nervous. “I do…”

“Can I have some?” The more Vee stepped closer, the more Cosmo stepped back.

“Eeerrrm…” Cosmo looked to the side, mulling it over in his head. “III don’t think Dandy would uhm like that. He told me not to hand them off…” 

Vee suspected that was the case. As a main she felt like she should have access to them anyway, so, ulterior motives or not, this is ultimately a good thing. “The reason why Dandy doesn’t want that is because you’re too generous with them. If you share them with me for example, I have a lot of self-control, so Pebble’s treat intake would stay constant.”

Cosmo looks up at the ceiling, the stars in his face wrinkle as he contemplates. “I don’t knooowww..”

“Please Cosmo, I’m with Pebble all the time!! I know exactly when and when not to give him treats.” The sweat built up on Cosmo’s face and dripped down dramatically. It looked like it’d take one more push for him to crack.

“Besides sometimes he needs them in moments when you’re not around.” Vee noticed that this specifically caught his attention, like his guilty conscious didn’t let him sleep over it. 

“Like during meetings. He can get a bit…” Vee looks side to side suspiciously. “…sassy.”

“Oh no.” He puts a hand to his mouth.

“Mhm.”

“Oh that’s bad.”

“Yeah.” Vee nods.

Cosmo shuffles uncomfortably one more time before his body sighs and calms itself. The mitten he was holding was put down on top of one of the shelves of the pantry as he moved things out of the way. “Well, I guess I can give you a bag of them.. I should probably thank you for saving me the trouble of telling Pebble no!” 

It’s all going according to plan. I just need to find Pebble next.

Cosmo pulls out a giant white jar with the engraving ‘cookies’ on it and a transparent baggie. The weight of the cookie jar becomes uneven as Cosmo slides some treats in the small baggie. Vee waited patiently and victoriously. All the pieces of her plan are coming to fruition, just like the pieces of the treats entering the tiny baggie. Cosmo outstretched his arm, making the bag swing lightly.

“Don’t let anyone see you with these.. or tell anyone!! I might get in trouble..” Cosmo gives her pleading eyes but smiles despite it.

“Of course. I ain’t no snitch.” Vee smiled confidently, it worried Cosmo just a little. Vee isn’t particularly known for her stealth. The jar is carefully and quietly put back in its place by Cosmo who put his one mitten back on.

“Now just act natural.” She said as she pushed Cosmo out of the pantry with her.

Cosmo calmly walked over to the messy countertops, looking fine but also looking like he did something dirty. Sprout immediately caught on to the change.

“Cos, are you oka-?“

“YUP!!!!! Tots!! Tots fine!!” Cosmo gave him a double thumbs up, smiling a little too widely. Sprout takes a second to look at Vee who came out behind him from the pantry. Suspicion rose on Sprout’s face but Vee’s eyes told him to knock it off. In any case, he was busy helping Boxten put food coloring into the icing, so he didn’t try anything else.

Now to actually acquire Pebble. Dandy didn’t leave the meeting room, so most likely Pebble is with him. She hasn’t a single idea as to how she will pry Pebble off of Dandy’s hands, which is a problem. Normally, they’re inseparable. Something really dramatic has to happen for them to part.

Maybe I can knock him unconscious with the door if he tries to run after me… or I can lie. Yeah that seems like the better option I’ll just lie-

“PEBBLE NOOO!!!”

A sudden shrill screech from the kitchen entrance startled the kitchen-goers. All of their eyes landed on Dandy who was frantically waving and reaching his arms out with a very panicked expression on his face. They were not sure why until the corners of their eyes picked up a grey blur darting across the floor. It ran round and round between Boxten’s legs, barking and scuttling excitedly. Unfortunately, Boxten freaked out and stomped the floor trying to go backwards. His foot hit Pebble’s side and, much like a pebble would do, it tripped him.

“gUHHDR WOAHGH!!!!” Everyone watched as Boxten tried to grab onto something to stop his fall, but alas, the only thing in his hands was the bowl of icing and unmixed food coloring. Metal clanged onto the floor loudly, making Vee cover her antennae. Dandy doesn’t try to waste any more time and springs into the action. He chases Pebble, doing laps around the central counter and causing a mass panic (which this kitchen is very accustomed to). The tiny menace seemed a little disoriented and bumped into the counters, causing a booming sound to resonate through the floor along with any tool close to the edges to fall off and hit the floor. Even with Boxten on the floor, groaning in pain, it didn’t look like he’d stop at just him. Pebble’s eyes filled with intent as he ran towards Cosmo with Dandy trailing behind him.

“WUH UH AAHHHH!! PEBBLEPEBBLESTOPSTOP!!!” In just a fraction of a second, Cosmo leaps for the cookie tray that was still smoking. He takes a mystery cookie and holds it up high above his head with a determined but fearful look. Vee saw how Pebble’s eyes grew wider at the sight, and how he ran another lap around the counter before preparing to jump on Cosmo.

“NONO THAT’LL MAKE IT WORSE I’LL CATCH HIM.” As Cosmo held the cookie up high, Sprout protected him by jumping in front of him with his legs and arms spread out. Dandy ran with his arms outstretched as much as he could and it seemed like he was finally going to be able to catch him. A glint shone in Sprout’s eyes as he decided to run at Pebble as well, essentially cornering him. A blink goes by and both Dandy and Sprout twist their ankles trying to follow Pebble who sharply turned toward Boxten’s direction. He was still recovering from his fall, being considerably bluer and covered in icing didn’t look very comfortable, but nevertheless he found the strength in himself to stand on his feet. The scene was indeed inspiring, but unfortunately, Pebble ran through him again. Even if Vee was recording and played what happened back over and over, it wouldn’t make sense. Dandy, Sprout, and Boxten somehow found themselves all piled up on one another unwillingly in a sticky icing pile. They yelped and groaned in pain as all three lay on the floor with their determination depleted.

As funny as the display was, it didn’t make Pebble’s U-turn towards Cosmo any less terrifying. Cosmo jumped out of his skin and tossed the cookie back on the tray, presumably trying to psych him out. Surprisingly, Pebble didn’t fall for it or even run after Cosmo when he ran and hid. He just kept going straight ahead, as fast as he could, with his tongue out, going after…

Vee panicked and instinctively put a hand on the baggie to secure it in her pocket. It was the only thing she could do fast enough before Pebble jumped and knocked right into her gut. Pebble is a pebble, everyone knows that, but he is certainly not as heavy as one. The air gushed out of Vee as her back hit the floor, almost hitting her head on the wall of the pantry. As she groaned in pain Pebble stood on her chest, panting and wagging his tail like it was just a game of fetch. Her hands wiggled in anticipation as her adrenaline quickly grabbed him by the sides, like a burger. She held him up as if she was benching him, putting him in air jail for the time being.

“PEBBLE! NO! BAD ROCK!” It almost hurt to yell after being clabbered, but Vee knew if she didn’t assert her dominance now, Pebble would terrorize her for the treats in her pocket. Her arms shook under the weight, not to mention how her back ached from the crash, but she was determined to see this through. Not only that, but Pebble quite literally jumped into her arms, this opportunity is one she can’t pass up.

The room calms as the scurrying of tiny rock paws don’t litter the air anymore. Cosmo stares at Vee completely stunned as the other toons groaned and painfully get up from their fall. Both Boxten and Sprout untangle themselves and start to wipe off the icing on their faces to see. It didn’t seem like Dandy cared about the icing as he stumbled his way over to Vee as fast as possible. She had successfully caught and immobilized Pebble (although his little legs fought for liberty).

“Oh my god… he took the no treats thing so seriously after I doubled down…” Dandy crouched in front of her, panting as his hands rested on his knees. He took a second before reaching out for Pebble. Vee sat up very quickly and snatched Pebble closer to her, giving Dandy an uncharacteristically wide smile.

“Hey, I could rock sit him if he’s being a brat.” Vee tried to shrug but Pebble’s weight didn’t let her. It didn’t seem convincing at all but given what happened before and this, she’s figured there’s a rift between the inseparable duo right now. How Dandy’s face shifted and thought confirmed it to her, and with a big sigh, Dandy rolled his eyes.

“I- …sure fine. Whatever! Hear THAT Pebble?!? I’m so mad at you I’m leaving you with VEE!!” He stared into Pebble’s eyes and gestured towards Vee before completely dropping his face and giving Vee a serious look. “But don’t do anything to him or you’ll rue the day.”

“Sure.” Vee wore the same uncharacteristic smile.

“I’m WATCHING you.” Dandy stood back up and began to walk away, leaving the disarray he started behind. His footsteps echoed quietly through the floor until they dissipated. The sound of the growing silence invited Vee to maneuver a way to stand, unfortunately there wasn’t a way to do that with Pebble still in her arms. Everyone in the room flinched when Vee placed Pebble back down on the floor. Her shoulders sighed in relief but everyone else crowded around them.

Sprout pointed at her “H-hey! Pebble is-!”

She shot up, maybe a little too quickly as she stumbled forward a bit. “What? Pebble and I? We’re peas from the same pod! We’re connected by the hip! He’ll listen to me.”

“Are you okay?!” Sprout then switched targets and tried to stabilize Vee.

“Uhm. Yes...perfect.” Vee denied the pain in her gut as she shooed Sprout’s hands away. As she said, Pebble did stay attached to her hip. It wasn’t anything too suspicious, but she still had to be careful.

Just get to my floor. I’ll run if I have to. You can’t keep me here forever!

“Well! My work here is done!! Bye guys!” Vee’s tail swirled around as she ushered Pebble out hurriedly out of the entrance. Pebble followed her excitedly, panting and spinning as the others, or at least Sprout, looked at her with the same concern.

“Wait what-?” Sprout was almost offended.

“B-but the decorating!” Cosmo gestured to the tray of cookies, fully abandoned and forgotten about.

“I don’t have to mix anything else do I?” Vee tilted her head towards them, her antennae dangling.

“No…?” Cosmo kept his hands close to his chest and fiddled with his mittens.

“Then I’m gone.” Vee gave them a winning smile as she shrugged and continued walking. She heard the other toons discuss their plans after she left, a little muddled as the clicks of her heels on the squeaky clean floor fill the almost empty hall. 

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Tisha sat in one of the booths, away from the kitchen, a leg on top of the other with her head resting on one hand. She was taking a small breather after what happened with Vee. It ticked her off so much that she had to further ruin that carpet. The scowl on her face grew as she stared at a wall with an unending train of thought behind her eyes.

Why did Vee need to go inside the kitchen anyway?! She never has business on this floor, much less in there.

Tisha tried to take her mind off of Vee, she was getting too heated over her and doing something like that is letting her win. She’ll tolerate her games for Shelly, but playing her games is not something Tisha wants to do right now.

I have to stop letting her bother me so much. Next time I see her, its lights out.

Tisha sighed, content with her conclusion, feeling a little calmer. Then, much to Tisha’s umbrage, two certain toons entered the kitchen with loud crashes and booms and screams having followed. The chaos inside fueled her dread and made her want to run away much like the toons’s panicked scurrying from inside the kitchen. She tapped her foot on the floor for a while she couldn’t understand the time of, feeling herself lose her grip entirely.

This day CAN’T get any worse. It CAN’T. It just CAN’T.

As Tisha was about to get up to head to the kitchen to at the very least stop any further chaos, the floor went silent. The toons inside spoke in a normal volume and the metal clangs had stopped ringing. It was like magic watching Dandy walk away from the mess so sure of himself instead of the panicked expression she expected. They locked eyes as he walked before Dandy’s face immediately grew a little sheepish.

“Oh… Hi Tisha! Uhm… Haha.. Y’know, I appreciate everything you do around here..!” His smile didn’t alleviate the stones weighing down her stomach.

“How bad is it..?” She spoke with a hesitant, dreadful voice, the only voice she could manage.

“Ehh.. I’m sorry…” Dandy’s cheerful attitude cracked as he carefully snuck away from Tisha and a second later, entered the elevator he came from and left with one less rock by his side. She felt her shoulders slump deeper as she covered her face with her hands. If her groaning was any louder, she wouldn’t have picked up the sound of someone’s heels clicking in her direction.

The loud taps shook her away from her despair for just a second as she recognized them. She knows she doesn’t need to, but Tisha strategically positions herself in a way where she is hidden from Vee’s sight. Tisha waited patiently for her to come and stared, the little self-awareness she had at the moment told her this was embarrassing but she shooed it away for spying’s sake. Vee walked with her hands in her pockets, which Tisha noted, wasn’t something she did often. Pebble was by her side, a little closer than she’d ever seen him with Vee. They made their way over to the elevator as Vee sneaked looks behind her shoulder. She knew that Tisha was there but not exactly where, which gave Tisha some peace with her hiding spot. Vee called the elevator and waited patiently for it to arrive, finally lifting her hands from her pockets to take out a small baggie, probably thinking it was safe to. She held it high up to her face.

Is that why she was here..?

Tisha eyed the suspicious baggie, but she wasn’t the only one. Pebble went completely still as he sat and stared intently at what Vee had in her hands. It wasn’t long before the elevator door opened and Vee put away the secret bag to step inside and presumably scolded Pebble with a wave of her finger. With Vee’s back turned, Tisha couldn’t piece together any details of her behavior or what she was saying or the bag, because of this, she risked peeking out of her hiding spot. She sees Vee nod to herself before the elevator door closed with a familiar clank as it blocked her vision. Tisha remained staring at the elevator door, wide-eyed and thinking. The unwant of thinking about the robot bubbled in her and she shook her head to prevent it.

No! What am I doing?- I need to- need to get my mind off of this.

She shook the thought from her head and decided that now was a good time to clean the kitchen. No more of that pesky dread and grossed out feeling, she’ll swallow it all down. She clicked her way over to the kitchen, strutting with spontaneous confidence and determination she could only call flimsy. Unfortunately, as soon as she entered, she was met with a drop in her stomach and a high pitch screech from Boxten.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Ten treats. Ten treats at the palm of my hand. It’s enough to convince Pebble to do anything for some time. I better not waste them.

She played with the bag in her pocket, feeling the elevator bellow and rattle as it went up. Her eyes looked straight ahead and weren’t paying attention to Pebble’s scuttling. As long as her pocket was intact and Pebble wasn’t trying to bite his way to the bag, she felt no need to pay him mind. Until she suddenly heard him whine.

“Bworf…” He sadly barked.

Vee squinted her eyes at him. “Oh so now you feel bad for him? Didn’t have that realization while you wrecked the kitchen?”

Pebble’s eyes drooped downward as he walked around slowly and restlessly.

“Or when you outed him?”

“BA- …Grrr.” Pebble defended.

“An accident?? Suuure.” With a roll of her eyes, her mind begins to wonder back to that scene. She tries not to but laughs anyway.

“Still probably the funniest thing that has happened ever. I mean, him?? Of all people?? Why do that to yourself? It’s just stupid.”

“GRR BARK!”

Vee jumps away from the sound, unable to escape it bouncing off the walls. “Yeesh, okay fine. Though to be fair, you haven’t been the nicest.”

Pebble let out a grumble and huffed as annoyed as he could. There was still a semblance of sadness left in him, somewhere in his little body, clear as day. Vee can’t have that, even with the treats, she’d prefer for him to not be this way.

“Uhh. There there, Pebble. He’ll be fine.” Vee gave Pebble two pats on the head for reassurance. Pebble looked up at her in surprise, not expecting the other to do that.

“To be honest, I need something from you. That’s why I have these.” Vee shakes the bag around from outside her pocket, making the bag wrinkle loud enough for Pebble to understand. He tried his best to look straight at her, trying to give her his full attention, but it still looked a little silly. People say he has a staring problem, but in her opinion, he stares a perfectly normal amount.

“I’ll catch you up on the plan on the way to my room.” Vee smiled confidently as Pebble attentively wagged his tail and barked in agreement.

And so, they went. Both of them confidently strutted into Vee’s floor like they owned the place (for Vee that was the case). Moving through arcade machines and lights, and as promised, Vee explains as follows:

Step 1: Write an apology letter for Shelly.

Step 2: Give the letter to Pebble.

Step 3: Have Pebble deliver the letter to Shelly.

Step 4: Shelly reads the letter and feels better.

Step 5: Complete operation Pebble post.

It’s simple enough though it’s debatable whether Pebble was listening to her fully, probably having his own ulterior motives. Whatever his case was, it was an incredible and thought out plan by yours truly. Surely it’d work out in the end even if she didn’t try with the letter. They climbed up the stage’s stairs as Vee puts a hand to her chin.

“The only problem is that I don’t know where Shelly is. She could be in her room but if she isn’t it bodes a problem.” Pebble follows her as she takes a turn to the stack of papers on her lounge area’s table. There sat the drawing, unmoved and unloved. “…Maybe it won’t be too much of an issue…” 

“Bark?” Pebble wasn’t so convinced.

“We can stake out on her floor and wait for her to come back if she isn’t in her room.”

“BARK????” Pebble was even less convinced.

“That’s not stalking. Its waiting.” Vee distinguishes as she gestures a division with her hands. Her tail swoops and she grabs the overly decorated drawing from the pile. Looking at it didn’t spark the same feeling as before, those were almost a distant, fuzzy memory now.

 “I have to redeem myself, Pebble.” The guilt that weighed her down was finally being lifted as she walked to her room with the drawing and Pebble in tow. It’ll work out in the end. It’s the Vee we’re talking about. She’s good enough to write the best letter ever and sweep Shelly off her feet with how good it is. Triumphantly, Vee’s head rose, feeling like all the hard parts were finally over.

The door to her room creaked open and stayed that way as Vee immediately sat on her desk chair. Pebble sniffed and peeked around her room curiously, not having been here a lot. Vee isn’t one for decoration, unless it’s her face everywhere, then she’s definitely one for decoration. Small trinkets like prizes and trophies scattered themselves around along with a bulletin board with all the words that describe Vee. Her desk was at the opposite end of her dressing wall, a wall dedicated to her different suits and bow ties accompanied by a vanity mirror. Everything was neatly organized, except, surprisingly, her bed. It was unkept, unused, and looked like it was only there for exhibit. Pebble couldn’t jump on her bed sadly, it was too tall for him, so he made his way to Vee’s side and sat there, waiting for Vee’s step by step plan to actually take off.

She spun in her chair cheerfully and proceeded to place the drawing on her desk as she pulled another paper from her drawers. Rattling the pens in her pen holder, she decided to pick a green one among the other green pens. The pen went in and out as she clicked it in thought, staring at the blank paper under her.

“Okayy.. I’m writing… I’mmm wriiitinggg… okayyy…” The tapping of the pen on the desk became the only sound heard along with the creaking inside Vee’s head. For some reason, someone as great as her is drawing a blank.

“Bark..?” Pebble tried to see if there was something wrong.

“What? I’m thinking.” Vee switched her focus to him, still fiddling and clicking the pen, just a little quicker now.

“Bark bark…”

“Sure I can, just watch!” She spun her chair back to her desk and hunched over the paper. Her pen hit the blank lines and she started to write. “Okay. Dear Shelly, I think you are……… very….. fossil…. like……”

Vee expectantly looked at Pebble who gave her a perturbed look. Vee chuckled nervously and darted her eyes from him and back, slowly turning serious as she realized Pebble was being genuine.

“What’s with the face?! Let’s see you write it!” Pebble was then lifted up and put on her desk. Vee not-so-nicely threw her pen in front of him, knowing full well Pebble couldn’t pick it up from the flat surface even if he really tried.

“Arf.” Pebble says it how it is.

“You’re annoying.” Noticing she was wasting time, Vee rolled her eyes and took the pen in her hands. Antagonizing Pebble is a lose-lose situation, she should stop now and focus on what’s really important: making herself look good writing the letter. She crosses out the first line and continues the draft below it.

“Shelly, you are incredibly… proficient.. at digging?” Vee glances at Pebble and he shakes his head. Vee sighs and crosses the line out.

“Shelly, we got off on the wrong foot. Or claw…” Vee taps the pen on her screen in thought. “-does she have claws?”

Vee doesn’t have to look at Pebble to know she has to cross that one out too. “I’m sorry for not liking your fun fact. It just wasn’t all that fun.”

“Woof.” The unseriousness of her attitude made Pebble question if this plan was real.

“I am not vilifying anything! Uggghhr, why is writing this so hard?!” Vee grew frustrated and slammed both her hands on the desk, spooking Pebble in the process.

This was supposed to be the easiest part, that’s why I left it for last! It’s just like writing a script, Vee. Don’t lose your cool.

Vee pushed herself away from her desk, her fans slowing down calmly. She looked up at the ceiling as she rested her head atop the headrest. “Shelly, I’m sorry for not thinking your facts are interesting…okay betterrrr…” Vee looked at Pebble. “Better right?”

Pebble stood to try more easily explaining it. “Woof… arf, arf..?”

“Focus on apologizing…? Focus on apologizing…” A light bulb went off in her head, and she dragged herself and the chair back to her desk. Her pen was oh so confidently picked up and used to write another line.

“Shelly I have no idea what I’m apologizing for.” She wrote with a smile.

“B-BARK?!?”

“WHAT? It’s the truth! I don’t perceive myself as rude! I want to at least explain my side too!”

Something about cutting a conversation short… to be honest it doesn’t sound that bad… I don’t understand why this would be a big deal to anyone.

“GrrrBARK.”

“Fine FINE!! OKAY.” Vee put her hands up flamboyantly and decided to let go of her calmness. This was frustrating enough as it is, holding it in would make it worse. She inhaled deeply and deadpanned as she crossed out the previous line and started a new one to mock Pebble.

“Sigh. Dear Shelly, it’s disappointing I haven’t noticed how my actions have made you feel.” Vee then melodramatically dropped her pen and spoke spitefully. “What do you think about THAT? Is THAT good enough for you you literary critic?!”

“Arf. Bark bark!” He affirmed.

“W-w… it is?!” Vee tried to keep the surprise from her voice.

“Bark!”

“…oh. Well. That’s easy. I can totally write more using this as an example.” The messy draft paper was crumbled and thrown into a trash bin nearby with precision. A new paper filled its place and Vee’s pen quickly wrote the one line Pebble approved of. Vee backed away to look at the paper, thinking and planning it a little more thoroughly. She clicked away at her pen.

“My comments are not a way to patronize you, uhhhh they are….. My comments are not…” Vee hummed as her gears turned; it didn’t help that she had zero experience of doing this in the past.

Is it this hard for everyone? Or can a simple ‘I’m sorry’ really fix everything? …Did I make this more complicated than it needed to be?

With every click of her pen and tap on the desk, Vee strategically thought out every one of her words. Her writer’s block surprisingly burdened her a lot softer the more she wrote, as if she already knew what to say without thinking. Shelly deserved a considerate piece, one that reflected how she would want to be apologized to, and one that doesn’t hit Vee in the ego much to her denial that she wasn’t trying to write that way. As her mind ticked with focus, Pebble looked over the paper, not giving her an expression she could read. She glanced at him one too many times to continue writing and put the pen down for a second.

“Can you read..?” Her voice raised as the question was a bit ridiculous.

“Woof!” He cannot.

“Ah! …Okay.” Vee nodded and continued to write, slowly raising her head to look at him once again. “Don’t worry though, I am almost done. I just need to add a p.s.”

It’s important for Shelly to know what I know. I wouldn’t want the playing field to be unfair. Although I am very curious as to what Shelly was up to tonight…

The p.s. was added and lo and behold, the letter in all its glory was done. It was a tad disappointing how long it took her to write so little words, but she was proud of herself for taking responsibility and working hard to fix her mistake. This is what friendship is really about! And creativity points! After Vee had written the letter she immediately got up to look through the filing cabinet next to her bed. She scrolled through the mess and found a few envelopes she kept thinking they would be useful one day.

“Right. Now I need something to seal it. Like with tape or.. a sticker.” Vee took the envelope in her hands and played with the ends in thought. As much as Vee loves stickers, there aren’t any in her room. Usually, she gets them from interactions with children, who stick the stickers on her head without her permission. She loves having them on her as accessories but not being able to choose where the stickers go bother her. One of the only times she’s ever received stickers as a sheet was from Shelly. Vee had just got done with a show and went backstage…

What was it she said..?

“I heard you liked stickers sooo I got you some!” Vee could still hear the audience on the other side whispering among themselves as Shelly presented a set of dinosaur stickers to her with a sparkle in her eyes. Vee took them in her hands and inspected each one. At the time, she didn’t have the time to chit chat, so she told Shelly she was busy and walked away.

I still have to hunt down whoever told her that. It might’ve been Brightney... Curses..!

With this memory fresh in her mind, Vee recalled what cabinet she’d put the sheet in, pulling out an almost untouched sticker page. Some of the dinosaurs had already gone much to Vee’s disdain who wanted to see the set completed still. She decided it wasn’t a big deal and took a triceratops, which she remembered was one of Shelly’s favorites (to be clear, every dinosaur is her favorite).

Pebble excitedly looked at her, wagging his tail, still atop her desk like a king. Vee walked over to him and folded the letter and the drawing into the envelope, then sealed it with the cute little triceratops. Seeing her completed work made her feel like everything she’s done up to now was worth it. She proudly took the envelope in her hands and inspected it for any imperfections on the outside. None. Great!

“Okay. Pebble.” Vee called for his attention, and his attention she received. “You’ve been waiting for this for a long while, so I won’t delay it any further.”

The rustle of Vee’s pocket was exactly the sound Pebble was waiting to hear for the past hour. He wagged his tail so harshly he made it to the edge of the desk and jumped before he could fall off accidentally. His little paws hit the floor with a tick as he spun around in pure happiness.

“As a token of my appreciation. Pebble, you get a treat.” Vee smiled at him, putting the baggie on her desk and taking out a single boned shaped good. She waves it in front of him but snaps it away before he could get closer. “But no funny business, you understand? I don’t want you getting distracted and leaving me alone with her to explain why I’m there uninvited.”

Pebble does his best nod and pants impatiently after the treat.

“Okay, good boy.” Vee throws him a bone, and the little devourer shovels the thing in seconds. It seems like Pebble hasn’t had one in a while. Or is really fat. Either way Vee can’t let him out of her sight just yet, the little over-sharer has a rebellious side after all.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

When they got to Shelly’s floor, an eerie confusion hit Vee. Not only was no one here, not even Shelly, but the entire floor was unlit safe for the lights on the T-Rex’s stand and the projector in the projector room. It’s not common for an entire floor’s lights to be off, especially a main’s. Shelly must’ve done this herself, but the why escapes her. Her confusion led her to settle in the projector room. It wasn’t out in the open and had tons of blankets Vee could use to hide her screen’s light. As for Pebble, they agreed to split up and watch over both the elevators. She was hesitant to let him go without supervision but decided to trust him enough to at least warn her. She snuggled up in the blanket as comfortably as possible and watched the elevator next to her. 

And that was around twenty minutes ago. It started to concern Vee that Shelly wasn’t here yet, considering how late it was already. Another problem creeped up as the stake out droned on, a problem she only recognized when Pebble started doing laps around the floor: boredom. Sometimes Pebble would drop by and sit with Vee before she shooed him back to his post. Vee didn’t want to admit it, but the boredom was getting to her too. They might be here for hours, it’s not that bad if she takes a small break, right?

Vee sighs and drops the blanket to her shoulders, a surprisingly comfortable placement.

I feel like Astro…

Vee’s thoughts dulled as she turned to look at the projector. It sat behind a number of bean bags and pillows as it crinkled and flickered loudly, calling Vee over with a voice she recognized too well. She narrowed her eyes and neared the projector, eyeing what was projecting carefully. 

Shelly presented a standard looking fossil with a strange shape imprinted on it. “Take a look at this! What an interesting shape, right? It might look like a leaf but it’s not!!”

“It’s a ribcage.” Vee’s voice cut through the small pause, seeing her antennae’s silhouettes on the wall as she drew closer.

“It’s a small animal’s ribcage! And from the looks of it, it seems to be a type of reptile! Come with me! We’ll investigate it together!!” Whatever episode this was, it was certainly not one Vee was familiar with. Shelly beamed as she waved her hand over for the audience to follow, which was weird. It wasn’t super unusual for the toons to talk to the audience, but it seemed like the entire episode was like this.

Does Shelly have a special episode just for this room? That would make the most sense but…

The fact this could be the case caused a gnawing feeling, the same hammer and pick chipped away.

I want a special episode.

“Woof!”

“WAH-! Oh! Oh. Hi Pebble.” Pebble wagged his tail as it was time for another one of his visits. Vee brushed off her startled expression and continued to watch the episode with what she can only assume is resentment. This feeling is unwelcome; it shouldn’t even exist. She is the most popular toon here. So why…

“Arf arf..?”

“Oh. Uh. No, you can stay this time. I have the feeling Shelly will take a while.” Vee’s face fell flat as her thoughts were interrupted, turning to Pebble who, upon hearing her words, strolled his way over to her feet and watched the episode with her. Vee shrugged the blanket tighter and started to get a little more comfortable.

Thinking about it won’t change anything, so I won’t. There’s no point in thoughts like that.

She subtly nodded to herself, smiling and appreciating the time she’d spent with Pebble. He isn’t the toon she’d usually hangout with, but it was nice to share something with another, even if it was a rock.

“Let’s see… Taking a closer look we can see the spine going aaalll the way down to where a tail should be! There’s no other distinct features so it would be tough to determine what reptile it was, but don’t worry! I ran all the necessary tests and found that this here! Is an abronia lizard!”

Hm. They’re endangered.

“These lizards are as close to a modern dragon as they get! They come in all sorts of different colors! And their scales are unlike any other!! But unfortunately, the little guys are endangered due to habitat loss which is why it’s so important to preserve and protect life and what it leaves behind!!”

Exactly. Any type of history is important.

Vee smiled at the episode, seeing how passionate Shelly looked and how clearly she explained, it reminded her of the conversation they had. When she looked at Vee with the same light in her eyes as the projection on the wall, it was hard not to look back and see how badly she messed up. All Shelly wanted to do was talk to a friend and Vee wasn’t adequate. The light from the projector shone on Vee’s slumping body, catching the attention of Pebble.

“Aauur..?” Pebble whined a question.

“I’m fine. Just-“ Vee felt her way down her pocket, letting go of one side of the blanket to hold out the letter for her to see. “-I need this to be delivered.”

That’s when both Vee and Pebble felt a vibration deep under them. A shaking, indescribable sound rang through their bodies as they sensed what was coming. Vee and Pebble looked at each other before darting to the room’s entrance, staring wide eyed at the elevator’s door. Metal began to rattle louder and louder as someone got closer to their destination. Vee blinked twice before thinking quickly and handing Pebble the letter. He bit into it and got ready to pounce out whenever he got the chance.

Finally, after who knows how long, the elevator door opens next to the projector room, revealing a disheveled and tired looking Shelly. She heaved a heavy box in her arms as she staggered her way out of the elevator and into her floor. Not a sound came from Vee or Pebble as they hid behind the wall separating them.

“Gosh.. I- HUFF- deserve.. a.. aaUGHH…! A medal!” Shelly mumbles to herself, taking each step with care. Her legs waddled towards her room and, with great difficulty, she managed to persevere her way there.

The elevator door behind her started to click downward, closing slowly and steadily, awaiting a big drop. Pebble looked at Vee with eyes that told her to run. Vee quickly and quietly scrambled to her feet, dropping and leaving the blanket behind on the floor. Her heels clicked and clanked on the floor regardless of how careful she was, so she decided to run for the elevator instead. The hurried steps on the floor made Shelly’s head turn, but she saw nothing except the elevator door close. She didn’t give it a second thought and tried to quickly venture her way to her destination.

Shelly burst down the door when she reached her room, where a few heavy looking boxes lay on both the floor and on top of each other. Her arms trembled under the final box and she lets go, causing a slam to resonate out through her open door and echo through her entire floor. The satisfying thump made Shelly completely hunch over in relief. She flicked a bead of sweat off her forehead as she closed her door and began to walk for her bed.

I could really go for some coffee right now… ehh, maybe not now but… whatever…

Finally, she can stuff her face with her plushies and knock out for the night. The soft touch of her many pillows pulled her into sinking into them. Her eyes shut and never wanted to open again as she embraced the darkness and her fatigue... Until her eyes shot open at the sound of scraping at her door. It screeched quietly, as if a small animal were scratching at it, trying to get through. At first, Shelly thought she was imagining it, who would be at her door at this hour anyway? She must already be dreaming.

Oh Astro, there’s a dinosaur behind that door isn’t there..? Mmm dinosaur… what kind… maybe an archaeopteryx… or a really really tiny tyrannosaurus-

“Wphmff!” A muffled bark came from the door. Shelly isn’t aware of any dinosaurs that can bark.

“Wuh… P-Pebble???” She called out in bewilderment, throwing the soft fabrics off of her to get up. As she paced for the door, she turned on the lamp on her desk. The light illuminated her room enough for her to see the uninvited guest in the darkened halls of her floor, waiting. Pebble wandered in, as he usually does, with a peculiar envelope in his mouth

“Oh my goodness Pebble hi!! What are you doing here, bud? And what’s that??” Shelly crouched down to inspect the envelope, not expecting for Pebble to let her take it, but to her surprise, he dropped the envelope in front of her and panted. A shiny little triceratops sticker seal caught her eye as she took it in her hands.

 “Is this for me? Oh who am I kidding it’s probably- …who did this?!?” She turns to ask Pebble, who was not where she left him. Pebble was too busy trying to climb one of her beanbags to answer. Shelly giggled at him and scanned the envelope again. There was no writing on the outside, only a very neat envelope and a brand new dinosaur sticker.

That looks a lot like one of the ones I gave to Vee. Gosh I messed that up so badly…

Hesitance creeped up her neck and down to her fingers. She couldn’t help but find the blank envelope with the cute sticker on it intimidating. This was ridiculous, there’s nothing to be scared of, even if it came out of nowhere, especially if it isn’t hers.

“Uhmm Pebble are you sure this is for me??” Shelly dragged herself to Pebble who was still trying and failing to get on the beanbag. He seemed to be too focused on his mission to answer. Shelly swallowed down a lump in her throat as she strolled to her bed and sat to stare at the intimidating letter. The triceratops stared at her judgmentally.

Don’t look at me like that!!! Fine!! I’ll open you!

Shelly’s face wrinkled as she opened the envelope, careful to not hurt the pristine condition the sticker is in. The envelope contained two folded pieces of paper. Both of them were promptly taken out and laid before her on her bed. Her hands hesitated to choose one, but the nervous energy that ran through her choose the lined paper first. It crinkled softly as she opened it.

Writing..?

She unfolded the paper completely and glimpsed at the bottom.

‘From yours truly, Vee’

She instantly re-folded the paper and put it down next to her, unable to suppress the shiver she felt go down her spine.

Vee sent ME a letter?? Why??? What did I do?? Oh gosh what did I do?! Doesn’t Vee prefer to talk face to face?? Why would she send a LETTER OF ALL THINGS?? Oh god she’s mad. She’s mad at me. What did I do oh gosh..

“Did you know about this??!” She turned to accuse Pebble, who found his way to climb the beanbag and is now sleeping soundly. Even so, she knew he could hear her.

Well, if Pebble is fine with it… But why would Pebble care either way?? Ughh nooo.. she’s so mad at me and I don’t even know whyyyy….. I wanna cryyy..

Shelly glanced at the envelope’s second parchment, equally afraid to open it. It feels like a minute goes by before she moves again. Her composure rebuilt itself slowly, thinking that maybe, just maybe, this was a good thing, and maybe, just maybe, she wasn’t in trouble and the other paper isn’t a list of instructions on how to get better (even though she’d take it to heart if it was).

Vee isn’t the type to do this, sure, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad thing! This could be a super mega good thing and I’m just overthinking like always haha!!!

Despite, highly doubting her words, she took a breath and unfolded the letter again, this time focusing on the words and trying not to think of that person in question.

"Dear Shelly,

 

It is disappointing how I haven’t noticed how my actions have made you feel. Trust me when I say I don’t mean my comments in any other way other than literal. I see now how that can be misunderstood from time to time… It was never my intention to make you feel bad because I do consider you a friend and I do care about you. I listen, Shelly. Even though I personally don’t find it all that much of a fun fact, the pigeon post is something you took interest in, so I’m delivering both this letter and this drawing through pebble post.”

 

Shelly gazed at the other piece of paper and unfolded it without a second thought. The colorful stickers bordering the edges popped out as she instinctively grinned at the sight. It was a drawing of her, among other dinosaur doodles, wearing a blue bandana and winking. Vee having this in her possession almost made Shelly laugh at how bizarre the mental image is. This letter so far isn’t anything like she expected; she put down the drawing and continued reading with intrigue.

 

"A kid gave it to me after he couldn’t find you. It seems like you’re the kid’s favorite. Anyways, I hope the delivery process was at best entertaining and at worst amusing. Creativity is only one of my specialties after all, but expressing myself is not so I’ve heard. I care, Shelly, and I do hope you are okay after my comment from today. 

 

P.s. I know you weren’t with Tisha

 

"From yours truly, Vee

Shelly sat there with her jaw slightly open, feeling like the space around her had gotten ten times vaster. She didn’t trust her eyesight and blinked frantically, expecting for the letter to disappear, for a sign that tells her this is another one of Astro’s dreams. But nothing happened. No matter how much she waited for a movement, a sound, a feeling, nothing came of it. It was there right in front of her and this was reality, but it didn’t sound real. It didn’t sound like Vee at all. Vee never apologizes, at least not like this.

Is this a prank?! It can’t be, it’s too elaborate..!  And no one can mimic that handwriting so well! It has to be from Vee…

Shelly was the reason she put all this effort in. The thought of Vee sitting down and writing her this letter made her heart twist. It felt like on one hand, because of Shelly, Vee put in a lot of effort to do something she doesn’t normally do which makes Shelly feel really guilty. One the other hand…

This is… so.. sweet.. -AUGH! FOCUS, SHELLY. VEE KNOWS I LIED TO HER.

As soon as she thought about it, like really thought about it, her body wanted nothing more but to sink into the ground and live in the dirt. Like a worm.

Oh my god Vee knows I lied to her... Oh my god she knows... And she still APOLOGIZED to ME…  I need to do something about this..! I need- I need to give her something back!! I can’t just not thank her!?!

Shelly forgot all about her sleep and took the papers to her desk where she grabbed a designed pencil of hers and started to write her own letter on the back.