Chapter Text
"Son of a biscuit!" Jessie cursed after teacher rudely placed her in the "Lost and Found" basket. Excuse her but she definitely wasn't "lost"! She was Blaze's and she was never meant to be "Found". She just wanted to go to school to check out the situation. Maybe find that kid who stood up Blaze for their sleepover and knock some sense into them. But that simply won't do—no, she needed to find someone like Blaze. A bright kid, with an even brighter imagination that valued playtime as much as Blaze did. Sneaking into school was her only choice!
She hadn't calculated getting into trouble. It all happened so fast. A confused Blaze had taken her out of the backpack, surprised to see her packed in it and that nasty adult wasted no time in toy-napping her. She never imagined that elementary schools would ban toys! She never had that problem with Kindergarten and that was only 4 years ago! The disrespect was unbelievable.
She tried to calm her nerves, telling herself she'd be fine and that the teacher had clearly said that Blaze could retrieve her by the end of the day, with her guardian.
Only problem was that Blaze took the bus— nobody would pick her up from school. So Jessie was stuck there at least for the night, and hopefully mom and dad would be able to come retrieve her tomorrow morning. With that in mind, her thoughts turned to Blaze again. Her sad little face when Jessie was taken by the teacher, her complaints and pleads to get her back. Jessie felt immense guilt for causing all of this. She should have figured out Blaze had a reason for never bringing her along. Not much she can do about it now though. She hoped Smarty, Snappy and Atlas could hold down the fort in her absence. Something told her they wouldn't be as surprised by her situation, considering how much they protested against her, now undoubtedly, reckless idea. She had won the argument easily against the limbless toys as she hid in the backpack with Smarty threatening to call Combat Carl on her.
She wasn't ready to return with her tail between her legs and face them. She had to at least find someone, somehow.
As soon as the thought popped into her mind, she started rummaging through the basket, hoping to found another "lost-but-not-lost" toy. To her disappointment, all she kept finding were snacks high in sugar, spare clothes and a lot of electronic devices. What kind of kids were sneaking phones into elementary schools? But sure, toys were a problem.
Before she could sit with her annoyance, she heard foosteps approaching the room. She tried to tidy her mess as to not cause suspicion and assumed position.
It was the same teacher. "What's with the toys today? Did these kids think we'rerunning a kindergarten?" she sighed, irritated.
Jessie remained still, but mentally cursing the bitter adult. So what if the kids needed their toys at school too? Tsk. She had no right-
The train of thought was interrupted by the adult placing a toy right next to her. She couldn't properly see them since she was frozen but could make out that they were anthropomorphic, like her.
A chance!
She waited until the silhouette disappeared from behind the door before jumping to introduce herself to the new toy.
'First impressions are crucial!' she thought, sporting her signature smile.
"Howdy partner! I'm Jessie!" she turned to the other toy, holding out her hand to greet them.
She didn't expect to recognize the toy next to her.
"Jessie…' they toy processed, a bit flustered.
Jessie reminded herself that the toy next to her came from a very popular, and according to the web, still relevant toyline and that this one probably didn't know her.
Oh well, she sort of already knew his deal, giving her the upper hand in this whole introduction-conversation. Seeing him still disoriented, she continued. "You're Buzz Lightyear, right? I've met you…well, one of you, before… A long time ago…" she mused.
Buzz Lightyear widened his eyes at that. Before he could catch himself he blurted out: "It's you!"
Shocked at his running mouth but still not stopping he realizes "You're Jessie…from back then."
It was now Jessie's turn to be shocked.
"Jumpin' Jehoshaphat! Don't tell me you're the same Buzz from back then?" she asked, excited at the reveal. She stared intensely at him, trying to find a clue that would confirm her suspicions.
Buzz seemed to share the excitement, growing a bit shy at Jessie's intense gaze but himself too preoccupied looking back at her to turn away from it. He smiled back at her, as if to wordessly confirm her statement. But before he could get into pleasantries like "How have you been ma'am?" and "How did you find yourself in this predicament?", Jessie shot him another question.
"Just to make sure… You're Andy's Buzz, right? The one who rescued me from the plane and helped me to get in the mail? Not the… other one" she trailed off, hoping Buzz caught what she meant.
Buzz, who seemed to pay attention to her words like he hung from her lips quickly reassured her. "Reast assured ma'am, I am, formerly Andy's toy and now Bonnie's Buzz Lightyear and I come in peace." he added, letting her know he was no threat.
Jessie giggled at the last remark, remembering their first meeting when he had said exactly the same thing; she secretly thought that he was overestimating how threatening he came across for such a sweet space toy but she wouldn't tell him that.
Their little reunion had distracted them both from their current predicament. After what had probably been the longer she's ever shared a look with someone, Jessie was once again acutely aware of their situation.
"So… how'd ya end up here?" she asked the pressing question. If he was here, that meant he was probably found out the same way she had. Which implied that he had a kid that might just…
Her thought train came to a halt as she saw her question made Buzz's previously happy face drop. He was finally reminded of his situation and he was exremely ashamed of it.
"It seems that I have made a foolish rash decision and gotten Bonnie in further trouble." he sighed.
Jessie was the one to listen closely now. Right, he said he was Bonnie's toy now, a little girl, she assumes by the name. She had a few questions already but patiently waited for him to tell her whatever he needed to get off his chest.
"You see, Bonnie is a wonderful kid. She's extremely clever and creative," a bit of his enthusiasm came back as he described his owner. "and she's always gentle with us toys. She's the best owner a toy could ask for."
Jessie smiled at his words, giving a barely audible 'mhm' both to show that she was listening to him and thinking of her own experience with Blaze. She was happy that Buzz seemed to share the same happy fate as she had with their second owner. Buzz was also smiling while talking about his kid— how could he not?
Though once again he stiffened as he continued. "But the other kids… They don't see it. They don't play like she does and they don't understand her." the frustration was clear in his voice. "She's a shy child and seems to not be able to maintain any afriendships."
Jessie felt the sorrow in his voice and seemed to share the ache; both for his little girl and her own.
Wait a minute. That was it.
"So you came out here to figure out a way to help her, didn't ya?" she said, as if reading his thoughts. Shocked at being read, Buzz simply nodded, his head still facing the floor in shame. "I was opposed to the idea at first. I didn't want to overstep and I had trust in Bonnie's abilities. But the longer it went on the more I thought…"
"….You thought that you had no other choice." Jessie finished is train of thought.
Buzz was starting to get freaked out. He hoped that if the cowgirl did have mind reading abilities she'd skip over the part where he focusesd on how she looked as beautiful and radiant as the first time they met.
Jessie couldn't contain herself any longer; she had to get Buzz in on her plan— Bonnie, who she never met nor even knew what she looked like, sounded exactly like the person Blaze needed to meet. She was sure the two girls would instantly click if they ever met one another.
'No, not if.' She thought. 'When they meet each other.'
Buzz did not miss the mischievous glint in her eye.