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“What in the world is that?” Duck questioned from his special chair, releasing the firm grip from his newspaper ever so slightly. The yellow one sat below him on the floor, rocking ever so slightly to himself.
“It..It sounds like, um, water that runs,” Yellow Guy informed the other one before he felt the weight of the newspaper descend onto his messy blue hair. “Awe,” he muttered. “That’s stupid! You’re stupid! Water doesn't run. It has no shoes!” Duck scoffed, crossing his arms while taking a stand from his chair. Yellow Guy rose shortly after, following the older one into the kitchen inquisitively.
Duck gazed around at his surroundings, but could not find the source of the inexplicable noise. A fumbling of a doorknob could be heard as Duck snapped his head around to see Yellow Guy trying to open a locked door.
“The bathroom, of course! Great job. You earn a Me-Token!” Duck announced proudly, eventually feeling the doorknob’s stubbornness for himself. It was locked! It wasn’t respecting his need to open it!
“Wait,” Yellow interrupted him. Duck grimaced, taking a deep breath, then turned to face the other one. “Where..Where is my token?” He wondered aloud, hands clasped together with hope for a reward. Duck struggled for an answer, but decided with a smile, “It’s an invisible currency of my own creation! Congrats!” This elicited a reaction of cheers from the one in overalls. Whatever makes him happy.
He fumbled with the door, listening to the water inside. In fact, he was beginning to hear a small tune. Somebody was humming! “I like to sing too!” Duck banged on the door loudly and impatiently. Why can’t he hum and take part in such a celebration?
The door unlocked, revealing their tall red friend exiting while finishing the tie around his robe. He finally peered down to see his two friends staring back at him in awe. “How did this happen?” Duck questioned with suspicion, taking note of the water lingering on the Red One’s yarn. It looked messier than usual, but shiny as silk. Water was dripping slowly from the tips of the yarn, causing a warm feeling to arise in Duck’s cheeks.
“Um..You going to move? I want to watch Grolton and Hovris..” Red Guy mumbled, hands to his side, eyes focused on the entrance to the living room. Duck was frozen in an unknown feeling and earned a tap on the shoulder from his yellow peer. He snapped back to reality as Red Guy pushed past him with full intentions to retrieve the remote and start his show.
“No! Tell us what you were doing! I demand to know the answer!” Duck pointed to Red Guy accusingly. The taller one turned around while shrugging as he said, “A shower appeared in the house. It’s where you get clean while standing.” Duck’s jaw dropped in shock as such a concept. But he was over it pretty quickly. Oh, well. He grabbed the younger one’s hand and dragged him towards the living room with the red one.
The show played, but it only felt like a soft buzzing noise to Duck. He felt his rocking chair fall back and then thrust forth faster and faster. His eyes flicked from the screen to his red friend not far over from him in his respective chair. What had happened? He needed his visual inventory. Quick.
A clipboard fell into his hands during this whirl of sudden chaos. His visual inventory. Duck glanced up to see Red Guy already walking away and sitting back down to inspect a handmade paper boat Yellow Guy was gifting him. His red friend has shown disdain with his inventory, but has also helped the duck cope using it as well. His chest did this weird fluttery feeling, and he began to feel perspiration enveloping his body.
Red Guy picked up a brush to comb through his yarn, but Duck launched himself quickly from his rocking chair to yank it from him. “You’re so dumb. Let me do it or you’ll look ugly!” It sounded like begging which caused Duck to clear his throat in embarrassment... And Duck never felt so embarrassed.
“That’s..um..that’s funny. Haha! You..you like him,” Yellow clasped his hands together dreamily.
Duck screamed and began to launch at Yellow, hands flailing up and down, only to be blocked by a seated Red. “Yeah, actually. I’d like that,” the red one softly told the furious bird. Yellow bounced up and down, hugging Red tightly around the neck with a smile.
The three sat on the floor, preparing to style the tallest one’s hair. Duck stood behind Red Guy, hovering the brush over his friend's yarn. There was a slight tremor in his hand, but he must get through this. And so it began.
Duck gently ran the brush through the yarn until he hit a very rough spot. He earned a small yelp of deadpan pain from his friend, causing him to instinctually grab his head to dull it. Their hands touched for not even a mere second before Red lassoed his back like nothing happened. Duck could feel the touch burn and linger on his hands. One of the teachers once told him this was a sensory reaction, but the ending of that lesson wasn’t quite good, so let’s not ponder it.
He kept messing with the rough patch until it finally went through, feeling satisfied with the result and hard work he exhibited. That should impress the red one and yellow one. Oh, no. It’s time for the front of his yarn. “So..” Red Guy seemed to already have read the awkwardness of the upcoming new seating situation. Duck circled his taller friend, landing in the front of his face.
“I’m..I’m bored. Let’s play on the computer,” Yellow kicked his feet impatiently. “There’s only one computer day. You know this,” Duck scooted over on the floor next to him, a softer tone became present. This poor kid. How did he get so daft?
Yellow grumbled something to himself. “Fine, I’m going.. going to bed!” He huffed, standing up with his fists clenched and ran to their room. “Change into your pajamas!” Red Guy and Duck hollered after him simultaneously, earning a surprised look from one another.
“Let’s keep going,” Red patted in front of him to encourage the bird to take a seat and continue. Duck dropped in front of him, ushering for the taller one to lean his head down so he could brush it with ease. Red Guy tilted his head down with his hands in his laps. Duck brushed through the red yarn and hummed.
“That’s what I was singing in the shower,” Red Guy noticed, eyes widening. “It was so inane, I just had to continue. I obviously am singing it better. You’re awful at singing!” Duck said so casually, it never felt like an insult. In fact, his insults always felt like affection.
Red chuckled with a hint of giddiness in the air. There was then thoughtful silence. “Do you still like looking at me?” Duck’s brush strokes stopped abruptly and his breath hitched. Ahem? He fought not to meet Red’s eyes, but he didn’t win.
“Huh??” He felt so attacked right now. “I..I hate you,” Duck responded after a stint of silence. He placed his hands in the mitts of the red one and squeezed tightly. “Of course I still like looking at you.” Red squeezed back too and brought his head into Duck’s forehead to nuzzle it ever so lightly. The bird twirled the yarn in his hand at such close contact, feeling warmth at the gesture. His chest felt heavy, his stomach felt better than those pesky bees (not hard to do actually), and he felt hot. Very hot.
The brush had been discarded by now and clearly forgotten. Duck let his hands trail up to the chest of his friend, crawling towards him to sit in his lap. The red one found solace in exploring every inch of Duck’s face with his soft, warm nuzzling. The two fought back and forth, missing each other by just an inch in each nuzzle to complete the movements being made with their faces and heads against the others.
Like all things, the moment ended. Duck buried his head in Red Guy’s shoulder, face filled with an abundance of yarn. The smell of his friend was an uncertain one but he enjoyed it nonetheless. His friend caressed the back of his head as he proceeded to tuck his head onto Duck’s. Might want to add every single bit of the red one’s yarn to the visual inventory!
Red clasped his hands with Duck’s as he lifted him to his respective chair. “I..I really liked that. A lot,” Red Guy softly admitted, eager for a response. Duck stared at the floor. “I think I like being with you too, not just looking.. And I like taking care of the yellow one who I want to kill also. And I’m glad that we, of all beings, are stuck together.” The bird probably gave the most comprehensible speech of his life.
Yellow entered with a blanket, scratching his eye tiredly. “I want warm milk,” he told the two. Duck scoffed in annoyance to retreat to the fridge, “Honestly! You should know better than this. As the house father figure, tomorrow you will mow the lawn. I don’t know what that means, but it’s because I love you. Wait no. I hate you. Wait, no I do love you. Don’t tell anybody I said that! Ugh!!” The milk was laid on the table to a sleeping Yellow.