Chapter Text
Wally took another step past the laundry hanging behind him, flowing with the wind that pushed it. Over the freshly cut grass he stood, taking in the atmosphere his backyard had to offer.
His ears heard nothing but the summer hush, inactive neighbours in their quiet houses. Ahead of him was a concrete road, made to be only a quiet makeshift street painted with coloured chalk. Face-to-face with his back was the home he shared with his older brother, small and humble. It had everything they needed, and it was the biggest reminder that in a world like this, they had each other.
In a world like this.
The blonde blinked his gaze up to the trees, their leaves shuffling just as lightly as the clothes in the breeze. Green hues mixing with the skies overwhelming purples leaving a sheen on the edge of every surface he could see. He always thought it was wonderful. One look away from the rose-tinted glasses and a couple hours past, and he'd realize it was the opposite as well.
It didn't take long for him to see it. Several bruises on his brother's face and body over the years and he only knows where some of them came from. So many friends of his own and most of their contacts continue to rot on his phone; what used to be a friendship is now a weak thread still being tugged on. Endless ways this world has deemed itself cruel. So endless to the point where it became hard to believe that his backyard wasn't the only beauty he could find. If he could think about the rest of it, he'd cry. At least for a little bit. What followed after that would be cleaning himself up and trying to make do with the little company he has while his brother is out.
Well, was out.
Past the screen door he left through and across their one story house, Wally registered the clicking of the front door. Then came its swift creak and a slam that echoed for only a second before dying out. A pause in between before a familiar voice calls out to him from inside; Gus was back.
Wally dashes back to the porch and peeks his head through the curtains, getting a glimpse at the disheveled, suit-wearing figure scanning the room. On impulse, the younger monkey beamed, buckteeth and everything, as Gus finally noticed him looking in from the back door.
"Heeyy, bro-bro!" Wally skipped toward Gus and hugged him. "How'd the interview go?"
"Hey." Gus shimmied out of the coat on his back and shoved it onto the counter beside him. "About as well as to be expected," the brunette answered, running a hand through the tuft in his hair.
"…Did you wanna talk about it?"
Gus pondered on his choice for a moment before saying, "Nah, nothing worth talking about."
"Okay."
"Oh, but I might hear from one of them by the end of next week, so uh… there's that."
"Oh, cool! Cool," Wally said, glancing around. "You still up for movie night?"
"Yeah, movie night's still on."
A chime from Gus' phone went off; he digs' into his pocket and skims through the notification. Whatever news it was, the older monkey's face contorted at it, alongside a sigh that dragged out into a small groan.
"What is it?" Wally asked.
"Got an email from that postage company; I didn't get the job." Gus flipped the screen toward him, long enough for him to register the message itself and its blurb. "Yep. Ree-jection.."
"Awh, well I'm sure you'll get the next one!"
"Mm," Gus hummed. "How's that day job you got a couple months ago?"
Wally's smile shrunk at that question, placing a hand on the back of his head. In truth, he had gotten fired the week before and never brought it up until now. Shit. He didn't know what to tell him. "It's uh… it's going fine," he stammered.
"…Great, good," nodded Gus, undoing his tie. "Y'know, I think it suits you. Forgot the name of it…"
"Graphic designer."
"Yeah, that," he continued. "The reason I say that is, um… I always thought you were made for colour."
Wally's eyebrows rose, taking a second to make sense of the compliment. Shortly after he shook his head and looked down. "Yeah," he murmured. "The guys from where I work–they really love me."
"I'm sure they do," Gus whispered.
Wally opened his mouth, then clamped it shut. Then opened it again: "Gus?"
"Yeah, Wally?"
"Are you… happy?"
Gus didn't respond. He pulled off his tie and stepped past him towards the cabinets. The brown monkey took a glass out, staring at his own reflection, wide-eyed and not blinking. His hands were shaking; he looked like he was going to break the damn thing. He didn't though, instead he turned on the tap and let cold water simmer up to the halfway point. Gus took one long sip before placing it on the counter. He turned to Wally and said, "I'm gonna go get changed."
"Gus–"
"Did you get some food for movie night?"
"…I ordered pizza."
"Great, see you on the couch," Gus called as he leaned backwards into his room, shutting the entrance behind him.
"…Alright." Wally called back hesitantly.
———
"Still can't believe you chose chicken over pepperoni."
Stretching his hand forward to reach for another slice, Wally turned to Gus. "Yeah, I did," he said, taking a bite, "What about it?"
"Come on," Gus drawled, leaning back on the fluffed pillow at the other end of the couch. "We've been eating pizza since we were like–seven, and you're probably the only person in the galaxy who hasn't tried pepperoni."
"Yeah?"
"Does that not feel a little weird to you?"
The blonde swallowed the piece of pizza in his mouth before turning his body fully to his older brother. "Like some one wise dude said six-hundred years ago or whatever: we have what we like, and nobody can force that away from us."
Gus blinked at him for a beat, then relaxed fully on his edge of the couch looking away. "Okay… okay, you win."
Wally sat up straight, then slumped down again with his back against the couch as he lolled his head toward the television. He isn't exactly sure when the name of the film slipped from his mind, but he found himself craning his neck like a confused dog trying to remember it. Whatever it was, it looked old, maybe from the sixties. Like the ones he'd see his mother cry over; little him always mistook it for her being sad. And she always said that she was crying because it was "such a charming movie", and she was smiling because she saw that beauty and it overtook her so much that it moved to tears. A couple seconds after that, he'd look back at the movie screen and start sobbing the hardest tears he could.
It happened often. But when he stopped, the tears stopped too.
Obviously he still cried, just… not like he used to.
"Gus?"
"Yeah, Wally?"
Wally rocked back and forth a little before proceeding. "Are you going anywhere tomorrow?"
Gus said, "No."
Wally said, "What about the day after that?"
"No."
"And the day after that day?"
"No. Why are you smiling like that?"
Wally didn't even notice he was smiling until the pain on his cheeks set in. He didn't stop though. Because in some corner of his head, there lie the strangest little idea that grew and grew until he couldn't ignore it anymore.
"Do you wanna get out of here?"