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Looey could practically feel the change in the air as he got swiped at by Gigi. The balloon dog tumbles to the ground, his body feeling heavy despite how light a balloon would be. His fingers scrabble at the ground, just barely managing to pull himself up onto a desk and duck behind it before Gigi’s hand could grab at him one more time.
Without missing a beat, bounding past a bookshelf was none other than Pebble, their back up distractor. With a sharp bark and protective huff, the Twisteds’ attention fell on the pet. With a reluctant and worried glance thrown towards Looey, he runs off with the creatures in tow.
Crud. Crud crud crud..! It was only the seventh floor, and he already lost so much air. He already had to take a healing cupcake in between floors from Sprout because he was getting too deflated, too hurt. This is the third floor that Pebble had to sub in to help out. That’s basically half of the floors!
It wasn’t even like the Twisted combos they were dealing with were particularly hard, either. No, not at all. Looey has dealt with them all before without getting even a tiny scratch in the past. Not even a single cupcake was handed to them before. Why is it that the one time he offers himself up for the role of distracting, he starts to fumble?!
Unsurprisingly, as per request of Sprout – along with the others who ended up agreeing – he had to get pulled aside to wait near the elevator while Pebble took over after Looey reached a certain deflation point that was certainly not healthy for the balloon dog. In between each ride to the next floor, they could feel a hole being burned into their back by a certain main toon the minute they fell thin.
The worst part of this was the reactions to his failures. Not a sneer or spat of anger in sight. Instead, there was concern and worry. Sprout put cupcakes into his hands without a hint of judgment. Pebble would whine at him instead of huffing in annoyance, gently but firmly nudging Looey’s foot to try and take over as lead distractor to protect him. He almost hates that this little rock is proving to be much more useful than he is. He’d rather his team all yell at him rather than… this.
Despite sitting on three full hearts and completely safe from harm, their heart still doesn’t feel full of air. His mind wanders to how he screwed up so bad and so quickly. Ever since Dandy started the Ichor Project and insisted on the rest of the toons going down into the depths of Gardenview, he’s often been one who filled the role of distractor. While it wasn’t an easy job to learn, eventually, you do get the hang of it. You understand the quirks of each Twisted. You learn the layout of each messy room down to each placed table and bookshelf. Even Looey himself can admit that he can bring something to the table whenever the other toons suggest taking a run into the abandoned parts of Gardenview.
So why, oh why, is he tripping over his own feet and getting his tail handed to him by the Twisteds?!
Each concerned glance Shelly gives him as she passes by only makes his stomach churn worse. Here he is, unable to do the one job his team trusted him to do. He’s busy eating up Sprout’s tapes and bandages without offering even a single thing in return. The least he could do is at least promise his team’s safety from Twisted Boxten, for crying out loud!
His tail slams against the ground as he tugs on his long ears. This is so embarrassing..! Why did he offer himself up to be the lead distractor anyways?! He knew it was a bad idea..!
As his thoughts threaten to consume him, he doesn’t even notice a leaf landing on his shoulder.
“Looey? Is everything alright?”
The dog in question jumps. Looking up, his eyes meet the one face he really didn’t want to see this whole run.
“..hey, Sprout…” he drawls, giving his partner an awkward grin. Of course one of the people he adores most is on the same run where Looey can’t put one foot in front of the other. It’s just his luck. “I’m fine. All safe and sound here..!” He answers wryly, gesturing to the elevator. Doing nothing. It’s only floor seven and he’s out of commission. That never happens to Sprout or Pebble.
Their partner frowns and shifts their weight onto one foot, resting a paw on their hip. “Are you sure? We can head back early for you, Loo.” Sprout’s tail drifts over to rest on his shoulders, the limb providing a gentle warmth. It would be much appreciated if it weren’t for his current predicament. “This wasn’t meant to go that far. We can stop now.”
Looey knows that. That’s partially why he stepped up. It wasn’t meant to be a serious run. Just a quick fuel run to get ahead on their Ichor quota for the week as well as grabbing extra supplies like bandages.
Well, it would be a good bandage run if Looey didn’t keep consuming them all.
Looey waves a dismissive hand. “‘s fine. Everyone’s pretty busy. I don’t want their effort to make time for this run to go out the window for something like this.”
But they don’t falter. “You’re clearly not in the right headspace for this, Looey.” Sprout crouches down, their arms resting on their knees. Slowly, their paw reaches out to brush their dull claws against his cheek. Even with all the feelings he’s currently feeling, their tail wags slightly under their affectionate touch. “We can try again tomorrow.” Looey can’t help the guilt that builds up in him. Sprout is treating him so gently. Treating him softly like someone who deserves it for such a lousy performance. Looey would lean into it if he didn’t feel so torn up inside.
Seeing their lack of a response though, Sprout just sighs and stands back up. Their tail still remains around Looey’s shoulders, the leaf at the tip of their tail brushing under his chin. They remain there for a little longer while the ringing of machines being finished pop up around them. It doesn’t take long for Vee to call out that she’s on the last one.
When the elevator opens, Sprout leans down to help their boyfriend to stand. Sprout calls for Pebble to return back and, like usual, Pebble comes running in with Twisted Goob and Poppy on his heels.
“Me and Looey are going to return back, if that’s alright.”
Before Looey could protest, before he could say that he has at least a few more floors in him, the other toons murmur agreement and acceptance. Vee hits a button, sending the group back up to the main floor. Back home.
— – — – –
“Sorry for today, everyone..! I guess circus rehearsal took a bit more out of me than I thought!” Looey sighs, hopping out of the elevator.
“Don’t worry about a thing! We appreciate the help!” Shelly waves her hands quickly, grasping Looey’s hands and offering a reassuring yet worried look. “I hope you recover quickly!!”
“Thanks, Shelly…” He squeezes her hands back before letting go. Sprout slips out of the elevator as well, naturally gravitating to their side. Behind him, he can feel an insistent press from what Looey can assume to be Sprout’s tail pressing against their back. With a final wave to his group, Sprout turns to guide him along, their tail ensuring that Looey doesn’t stray too far away from them.
“Are you hungry?” His partner asks, their tone kind as always. “Cosmo told me he was baking something before we went down.”
Looey just shakes their head. Food is the last thing on his mind right now. Sprout nods and lets the two fall into silence. Despite the emotions in the air, the quietness between them is far from uncomfortable. If anything, Looey is grateful for their presence. It’s probably the one thing that’s keeping them from spiraling too far into their thoughts of self-hatred.
But they don’t stop walking. Looey isn’t exactly sure where their partner is leading them to that takes them this long to get to, but it does help a bit, he supposes. The anger directed at themself from before seems to slip away with each step down the hall. As it all starts to recede, all he has left is just the residue of annoyance for his performance. He has distracted much harder combos before! He’s even been able to distract while cracking jokes or talking with Yatta. His hands drag down his face as he groans. It’s not even just the fact that he messed up. What makes it worse is that he messed up in front of Sprout. He at least wanted to seem capable in front of them…
“I don’t know what went wrong…” he finally grumbles, his hands sliding back up to tug at his ears.
At that, Sprout tilts their head thoughtfully. “Not every run has to be a perfect run, Loo Loo. No one is asking that of you.” Their paw reaches for one of Looey’s hands, gently coaxing his hand to loosen its grip on his ear. “And if they are? They’re crazy with some sort of problem.”
Looey’s grip does lighten up under Sprout’s paws, mainly because he’s a weak man for his partner. “I know I know I know..!” At least recently, his self-esteem has been getting better. He has learnt to ignore the nagging thoughts of anxiety that try to tug at his heart. But sometimes, they do make their presence known. “It’s still embarrassing.”
“I suppose… But I’m not too concerned about it.” They simply shrug. The short bluntness of the statement makes Looey’s ears lift just slightly.
“And why’s that?”
Sprout cracks a small smile. “You’ve saved us more times than I can count. Even when short on air.” Their face soften and they turn to face Looey, causing them both to stop in their tracks. “Just one bad run isn’t going to change how I, or the other toons see you. You can do better next time.” Sprout gathers his hands and holds them, offering a firm squeeze.
The words aren’t revolutionary. Honestly, they’re something Looey has heard many times over. It’s probably something he’s said before to someone. But, when he hears it from Sprout, one of the most honest toons he knows, it’s easier to let sink in. The bickering thoughts in his head seem to quiet under Sprout’s kind words. Even after a run like that, Sprout still looks at them the same. That means more than anything.
Finally, Looey lets out a breath he seemed to be holding for a little while now. His shoulders finally slump and he squeezes their paws back. “..Thanks, Sprout. I needed that, I think.”
Sprout’s smile widens and they lean in to peck his cheek, an action that never fails to make his tail wag. “It’s nothing. I’ll always be here for you, Looey. You know that.”
Even if the feelings from today’s run still sit in his mind, likely haunting him during times at night when he can’t sleep, he can at least bask in the comfort of Sprout’s honesty.
Letting go of his partner’s paws, Looey is finally able to take a look around the area before raising a skeptical eyebrow.
“Isn’t this the same hallway from earlier?”
To this, the main snorted. “You didn’t notice? I’ve been walking us down the same looping hall since we left the elevator.”
Looey can feel his face warm slightly. At least this time, it’s not because of his bad run from earlier. “I really thought we were going somewhere! We just kept walking for so long!”
“It seemed like you needed it, no? You only just now realized it, after all.” Looey can’t deny that, even if he wanted to. The constant walking did help with feeling everything out. It was, unfortunately, a good deceptive trick on Sprout’s end.
“All that walking made me hungry, though…” The balloon whines. He drops his head onto Sprout’s shoulder, patting his stomach. “You mentioned Cosmo baking something earlier..?”
Sprout chuckles, their paw finding Looey’s once more and slipping their fingers in-between Looey’s with ease. “I sure did! Cosmo was mentioning a new recipe he came up with last night using some fruit that was going to go bad. He might be finishing up now!”
Looey’s tail wags. A sweet treat or two does sound pretty good right about now. “Well, I don’t mind being one of the first taste testers if he needs it.”
“He’ll appreciate it. We just have to hurry before the others catch wind of it.”
“Already on my way!”