Work Text:
“No, no, no! You have it all wrong.” Cabby huffed and began taking up her folders. Setting one back down, she took out a map where all sorts of sharpie markers had scribbled all over it. Notes cluttered the familiar landscape of their island, all with separate handwriting and brevity. Pointing to where a light blue circle was drawn, she claimed, “We agreed that the hospital would go here.”
OJ blinked twice before humming, “Oh…. You know, that does sound familiar now.”
“Well, we’ve already begun construction on it so…” Suitcase grabbed herself a bright, brown sharpie and crossed out the blue writing and put in her own note. “We’ll just switch around the hospital and restaurant.”
“Shouldn’t be too hard since we’ve got construction already up and running for the hospital.” OJ shrugged with a smile. “We’ll just make a public announcement tomorrow so we can ensure everyone’s on the same page and just like that, the problem is solved!”
Cabby’s mouth dropped agape in astonishment, “But that’s not what we agreed upon! OJ, you’re in charge of the organization stuff. Out of anyone, I thought you’d be on top of this.”
“Look. Sometimes we’re going to slip up. We’re just human after all. Plus, this is the much easier option other than to move all the materials halfway across the island again.”
As much as Cabby yearned to argue, the logic fizzling in her brain kept her mouth shut.
“Well, if that’s all for today, why don’t we head back home?” Suitcase slid the blueprint towards Cabby for her to slot away. “We’ll need to be up early to make that announcement.” She nodded towards the clock on the half-constructed wall which read 8:37.
“Right.” With a soft, dejected tone, she put her instructions away, holding onto what remained of their unanimous vision.
OJ promptly left with a simple goodbye that was softly answered by his other keystones. However, before Cabby could leave, Suitcase walked up beside her, “Hey…. I’m sorry about that, but you and I both know that-”
“Yeah, yeah. You’re right.” Cabby’s voice remained soft and understanding. “I’m… sorry. I shouldn’t expect us all to be on the same page. I guess…” She held up a hand to her head. “This is all getting to me.”
“I know it’s hard, but someone has to lead this place and at the very least, we’re doing this together. It could be a lot worse.”
Admittedly, the filing cabinet nodded alongside a half-baked shrug, “Don’t get me wrong, taking up a leadership role is right up my alley. I know too well that was my main goal in Invitational, there’s just so much to get used to.”
But then again, this whole “not getting along” thing sounds extremely similar to what I had to deal with back then.
Then I should be able to handle it. Just brush this off and keep going along with them. It sounds so simple.
Suitcase’s voice thankfully sliced through her swirling thoughts, “Just get some rest, alright? I think you need it the most right now.”
A silent scoff was undoubtedly shared between the two of them as they both saw right through each other and into the eyebags tucked away with the assistance of caffeine. Yet, nothing was said and the two departed from the half-constructed building before forking their paths. Where the little luggage was heading, she did not know.
Cabby rolled along the islandside. Resting her hand against her lower handle, she awaited for the moment her mind would draw a blank and she’d have to pull out a map of the island and hope for the best.
Thankfully, she spotted the rushed building that everyone currently resided in. Lowering her arm, a sigh escaped her chest, relieved that no one would go searching for her again after getting lost. (It’s a long story. Best to be shelved away for later.)
So, as she entered their small, makeshift set of bedrooms, she was already acting on instinct. Pulling out a folder she was so used to seeing titled, Off-Duty Tasks, she began scanning through it swiftly, determining what was of highest priority.
“Cabbyyyyy! Hiiiii!”
The familiar sweet, sing-song voice of a plant cut through her thoughts. Withholding a physically and mentally exhausted groan, Cabby masked her begrudging will by holding a smile: “Oh! Hey, Clover!” Her arms trembled as she fought the urge to stuff away her file, trying to cling onto her work for the night and many more nights to come. “It’s been quite a while since I’ve seen you.”
“I know!” Clover’s giddy grin was nearly contagious, (keyword on nearly.) “I was thinking: it’s been since we’ve hung out since you’ve been running our community and all.” The shamrock nervously chuckled. “Soooooo, I thought you would enjoy a little break between you and me!”
“Oh!” Cabby’s smile was faltering. “Well, I’m sorry Clover, but I have so many things to get done! I really don’t believe I have time tonight.”
“But Cabby! That’s what you said every night.” To the filing cabinet’s shock, the plant began to list off names. “Balloon asked you a week ago. Yin-Yang asked you three nights ago. Even Paintbrush wondered if you had taken a break!”
That’s… uncharacteristic of her to say. Once again, Cabby held her hand back. Besides, we’re all changing. I shouldn’t be documenting every little note.
I wouldn’t want her to stare…. She never has.
“So!” Clover continued on. “I think that you deserve a little treat and to get away from all of this…” Her eyes squinted at the writing of the folder, which she could definitely see. Cabby knew her brain wasn’t computing well enough though. “…work.”
As much as Cabby yearned to deny her offer, another part of her worn out desired to take Clover by the hand and allow the lucky plant to guide her wherever she wanted. Cabby looked down at her file and then back up at Clover’s bubbly, sickeningly sweet face.
Every muscle in her arms gave in, “Alright. Sure.”
Clover’s eyes sparkled and she skipped around Cabby, “YAY! This will be so great for you! Come on! I know the perfect place for us to go!”
Clover grasped Cabby’s hand and pulled her back outside. The filing cabinet swiftly stuffed her file back inside, begrudgingly shelving away her work for later.
<><><>
Cabby did barely any work as Clover kept dragging her along the islandscape. The last rays of the setting sun washed the sky and far off ocean in sunbursts, purples, and pinks. Stars began to sparkle in the unbothered atmosphere and the nearly full moon baked its reflecting, bright light upon their little islandy home.
Was that called waxing or waning?
Shaking her head, she opted to just allow Clover to drag her across the island and toss any curiosities and thoughts out the window.
Windows…. But she instantly ditched that idea too. Did we plan for the restaurant and hospital to have windows? Of course we did, right? They’ll need natural lighting if we can’t get electricity. But knowing Test Tube, there won’t be much to think about. Then again, windows are still windows. It’ll feel claustrophobic and odd without them.
The high-pitched voice caught her off guard: “Isn’t it beautiful out here?”
Cabby agreed, “It is.”
I sort of wished I could snap a picture of it.
As Clover slowed, Cabby refocused on her surroundings of hills and trees and more trees. Blinking twice, she couldn’t help but wonder, “Clover, are you sure you know where you’re going?”
Because I doubt I can find my way home from here.
“I sure do! It’s just up here on the hill!” She pointed up the slope of a tall hill. The plant grasped Cabby’s hand again and began hauling her up, straining a bit as she pulled. The hill’s shape reminded Cabby of the one making up the Crappy Cliff. It probably was that very hill.
Upon reaching the very top, Clover ran off from Cabby, reaching the edge of the cliffside in seconds. While Cabby was slower and more cautious in her approach, Clover skipped right by the edge without a care in the world. Finally stopping with a stomp, sending pebbles and dirt falling down the sudden drop, she gestured towards the sky left behind by the setting sun with an exclamation, “The view is so much better above everything! Get over here Cabby!”
As she giggled, Cabby closely watched where her wheels rolled as she approached the cliffside. Clover’s feet basically met the air as she stood just inches away from a possible, permanent death, (if not for her luck factoring in,) so Cabby kept her distance with the edge by three feet, ensuring that little outside forces wouldn’t send her tumbling over the edge. Yet, she still took Clover’s request to heart and gazed over the horizon.
The view faintly refreshed the good old Deja-vu feeling that she had been up there before. Trying to pull the memory from the deep recesses from her brain, she barely recalled being accompanied by Suitcase and OJ, hearing their voices discussing the view. Thankfully, those two clues were enough for her to put together that they probably needed the sky view of the island to map everything.
She wanted to physically face-palm: Of course it was. Where did you get the blueprint? It’s not like Mephone can generate it for you. He’s gone solo.
Pulling herself back towards the view, she did have to admit, “It’s grand, Clover. The setting sun really does wonders for the landscape of our home.”
“Yeah! Plus, you can see all the construction happening from up here!”
Indeed they could. Down below, Cabby could see the restaurant beginning to take shape and a plot of land getting cleared out for another building. Behind a swath of trees, she could see the top of the HOOT building far off in the distance. Somewhere further down the island, the hospital was getting built where she could not see it.
A thought struck her so violently that she pulled open her lower cabinet without a second thought. Flipping open a file even got Clover’s attention, “Oh. Something wrong?”
“I was just thinking….” Scanning the map of the island, she pointed at the restaurant, “The hospital was supposed to go there, that way it’s in the center of our island and is best accessible from every point on the island. But now it’s been switched with the restaurant which puts it at a problematic spot for those on the south side of the island.”
An irritated sigh billowed from her lungs and she spun around, “No. This is all wrong. They should’ve listened to me when I pointed out their locations were switched. If anything ever happens and whoever gets hurt cannot access the hospital because of this, it’ll be on our hands and more importantly, jeopardize the victim’s safety.”
She began rolling towards the hill’s slope, “I need to speak with them again and get this in their heads.”
But before she could send herself down the slope at a swift speed, Clover grasped her hand. Her fingers wove through her own, interlocking them softly, but firmly as she said, “Wait! Cabs! I…” Clover drifted off for a moment before the words found her again. “It’s getting late. I’m not sure if they’d like you bothering them so late.”
Gazing back up at the steadily darkening sky where stars were beginning to twinkle against the brisk evening, Cabby unwillingly took a pencil and scratched a note inside the file so she could slide it back in place. Turning back to Clover, her shoulders shifted, “Yeah. You’re right.”
“Just spend another hour out here. You haven’t even seen how amazing the night sky is this far up.”
“Wouldn’t it look the same just about anywhere?”
An innocent smile fell upon the plant’s face, “Don’t you want to find out?”
Great. My one weakness: the willingness to learn.
Cabby rolled back up towards Clover, desperately masking the will to fix what was her task pronto. Thankfully, the always inattentive Clover didn’t notice a thing as she smiled wide, “It’ll be nice, Cabby! Trust me!”
Maybe it will…. The filing cabinet smiled, hoping that she was right.
Receiving said smile, Clover dropped onto her back and faced the sky. When Cabby didn’t speak nor move, the plant giggled, “It’s best to see the stars when you’re laying down, silly!”
A statement hitched in Cabby’s throat. As the will to speak dissolved, she gave in to Clover’s intended request. Rolling up beside Clover, she inhaled once before letting herself fall backwards. Her arms shot back to catch herself, but once again she was not fully prepared nor capable to catch herself. Her hands slipped on the grass and her back collided with the ground with a thundering thud of her hollow, metal shell.
Clover jolted with the impact, drawing her limbs close as if Cabby nearly crushed them, (she was nowhere close.) The filing cabinet watched her splay back out normally and an embarrassed blush took over her face, “Sorry….”
“It’s okay! I didn’t mean to react like that… hah.” Clover’s view returned to the darkening sky where she pointed high above their heads, “Look! We can start seeing them already!”
Cabby focused on what she was pointing to in the night sky before faintly seeing stars shining down upon the Earth. They were beginning to pop up all over, drawing their attention.
“Do you like stars?” Clover spoke back up without much of a warning.
“Huh? Oh. Yeah. They’re nice.”
The two laid there in silence simply looking up at the stars. Cabby knew Clover too well. Clover would simply see a pretty view of black and sparkly white specks. Meanwhile, Cabby couldn’t help but wonder if there was more up there hidden from the naked eye as she stared at one. Like all the stars are to us, how small are we in the recesses of our own world? From what we understand, many fans who watched Inanimate Insanity do not know of our status nor whereabouts.
Are we simply forgotten figments all part of some silly reality show and nothing more? Who are we really to be shaping the land when we have no rights or legality to even be here? What if someone did find out and try to kick us out? Where would we go? Most of the people stuck here don’t know how to work or live. We’d be screwed.
Her gaze refocused on the night sky up above her. Witnessing all the stars at once that had no reason to interact with each other, she calmed herself with the soft reassurance, We just need to be ourselves. We just need to be.
Sometime during her thoughts, she did not realize Clover had placed her hand above her own. By the time Cabby did take note, she could not decipher if the plant had done so consciously or not. Yet, Cabby had no desire to make Clover move away.
This is nice.
“It’s nice and quiet up here.” Clover commented after a while.
“Yeah. Peaceful.” Cabby noted with a nod. “No yelling. No fussing. Just… silence and the stars.”
“Us and the stars?”
Cabby threw her gaze over to Clover who gave no indication that she would acknowledge what came out of her mouth. So, Cabby just laughed, “Yeah. Just us and the stars. Two completely different groups just trying to exist out in this strange world.”
For a while, they laid there just taking in the night with nothing but each other and their calming thoughts. Finally, Cabby felt relief and relaxment wash over her, a feeling she hadn’t truly felt in what seemed like forever.
Have I… actually taken time to just relax before? I guess I wasn’t… around before season three and the moment that season ended, Cobs attacked, and then I was put in charge alongside OJ and Suitcase.
Huh. I didn’t know this felt so good.
A soft breeze rushed around her. It threatened to pick Clover’s light stature off the ground, but Cabby swiftly secured her grip on Clover’s hand. When a stronger gust picked her up, Cabby kept her tight grasp on Clover, ensuring she didn’t fly above her head. Clover’s free hand found anchorage on Cabby’s lower handle, consequently putting them face to face.
They stared into each other for a long moment, not out of shock nor repulse, but a strange concoction of willingness and enjoyment.
When the gusty winds took a break and Clover floated back to the ground, Cabby realized some stars had left their view. Focusing intensely in the last beams of sunlight fading far across the horizon, she spotted dark clouds rolling in to obscure their view. In the distance, the sky lit up.
“Aw… I guess we have to get back.” Clover sat up as the roar of thunder rang throughout the island.
Cabby swiftly boosted herself upright: “Unfortunately it appears so. That could be a nasty storm rolling in.”
“Did you at least enjoy it?”
The most genuine smile was communicated from Cabby, “Yeah. It was great.”
Clover replied with a wide, giddy grin and her feet tapped the ground in place almost like a dance. Before they could get going though, the wind returned and picked the plant off the ground entirely. She gasped as she flew by Cabby, just barely interlocking her hand with Cabby’s outstretched one before she was blown away.
Cabby did not remove her smile as she pulled Clover closer. Letting her feet touch the ground, but still ensuring a firm grip was interlocked with her hand, she gestured, “Let’s get going before you become one with the storm.”
So, with the plant by her side, Cabby began her descent down the hill. She hoped that the night would pass by quickly just for the opportunity to hang out once more.