starlightcafe | So much for my happy ending.

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So much for my happy ending.

He'd thought coming here would help. Home sure wasn't doing him any favors, with most people trying to get him and Huey to make up. So he'd come to the Other Duckburg, but he'd been venting to Unca Scrooge and he'd revealed that he'd punched Huey first. He hadn't even known that Unca Scrooge didn't know that... And while he hadn't gone right to the other end of things and sided with Huey, Louie definitely felt like Unca Scrooge wasn't on his side anymore.

He'd excused himself, some excuse about getting some soda or something, he couldn't really remember, and he'd just... Left. He couldn't be with anyone else who didn't understand. It wasn't fair. Nobody ever understood - for a while, he thought... Well. Back home, things had been getting better, but now with the whole Huey blow-up...

He just felt so alone. And Louie was really sick of feeling alone. He wanted someone to be there for him, to hug him, to care and get it... But he could hardly even admit that to himself, much less anyone else. Instead, he'd been thinking about how he just wanted to be somewhere safe where no one who was mad at him - or at least, he thought was mad at him - would find him.

He was in the park when he noticed the large hole in a rock. Sure. It wasn't like anyone would see him in there, he figured, so he crawled in and curled up on himself. After a moment of silence passing, he took in a hitched breath, which lead to a sniffle, and the next thing he knew, he was breaking down, bawling into his arms folded over his knees.

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"I know, and I'm glad for it." Her mood may still be a bit buoyed, but the air was starting to go out of his. "I sure wish that was a little closer with me sometimes, though. It gets lonely out there for one little Fraggle. Sometimes if I go far enough, I see one or two others, not from the Rock. But it's not the same."

"Oh, Gobo." She gave him a quick hug. "I wish that, too. I wish me and the others were the sort who would go beyond the Rock for a while... I really do, but we're not."

"Well- well you went with me for a little bit, when Doc moved! Remember? The sunrise over the mountains was your favorite part."

He sighed softly, leaning on her shoulder.

"I used to not think I was much of an explorer. Heck, I used to want to be a juggler when I was a little fuzzball. And look at me now!"

His eyes closed partway and his voice distanced some. "Just think of what you could do if you really tried, too..." It seemed like a thought he just barely spoke, particularly with the sigh afterward. Shifting, he snuggled his snout a bit more into Mokey's sweater, and closed his eyes the rest of the way.

Voice returning to normal volume he said, "I almost don't wanna leave again, but at the same time I do. I don't know what to do, Mokey."

"Of course I do." She was touched that he still remembered her favorite part of the desert, even after all the adventures he'd had since then, on his own. And it showed in her smile. "Oh, Gobo. I'd love to be with you on your journeys, but... Well, I just don't know."

When he spoke up again, less softly, she sat up a bit straighter, looking surprised. "But you have to go again, because you are an explorer. And you can't do much to explore a place you already know like the back of your hand, now, can you?"

"I guess not. I'll sure enjoy being here while Louie's here, though."

He'd made up his mind it seemed, but still didn't sound very happy.

"I know you miss us, Gobo. And we miss you, too. I miss you..." She kissed his cheek. "We've always found answers to our problems before. We'll do it again with this, one way or another."

Gobo smiled a bit at her gesture, which did more to lift his spirits than almost the rest of their conversation.

"Yeah, we will." He wasn't much for outright affection, aside from hugs and the like anyway, but he swung his tail around hers and settled against her again. "I've missed you, too."

"That means so much, Gobo," she whispered, cozying up against him. He didn't need to be affectionate in the same way, and she didn't expect it, either. Everything about him was what made him Gobo, so she wouldn't change a thing.

Mokey stifled a yawn, then smiled. "Maybe tomorrow we can ask the Trash Heap what to do," she murmured, eyelids fluttering for a moment. "She'd be happy to see you, anyway, I think."

"That's a good idea. I'd like to see her too, and I bet Louie would find her neat. She'll know just what to do."

With that decided, he was content to sit here with Mokey, though, "I heard that yawn." He chuckled a bit. "It's pretty late, eh. You should go to sleep."

"Maybe," Mokey admitted with a gentle laugh. "But I'd rather stay with you... At least for a little while longer."

He nodded, without opening his eyes. "Mm, alright. I'd like that, too."

Mokey watched him do so, and found it all too charming. There was just something cute to it. Maybe that something was Gobo being Gobo, though... Sometimes, privately, she thought he just might be her favorite Fraggle.

"I'm glad." She leaned her head against his once more.

Gobo breathed in a long, contented sigh. Sure, the back of his mind still niggled a little with his problem, but he could put it to bed for now. The Trash Heap would help and if nothing else, his friends were always around.

Worry's for another day.

Mokey let her own eyes fall shut. This was so comfortable, and so nice, that she was nearing sleep when something caught her attention - a sound that wasn't quite familiar. She opened one eye, just a tad, and glanced off, seeing Louie approach. She smiled and gently nudged Gobo.

He'd been lying in Gobo's nook of a bed, still awake long after his thoughts had quieted down. The Rock was alive even in the quietness of night, it was just something he could feel... He'd been happy just to lie back and take it in.

Then he'd heard it, not out there but within. Something like a melody. He'd been able to stay relaxed, to just listen... And then came the words. Louie sat up - fortunately, not all the way, because bunk beds meant he was used to having a "roof" over his bed. Was this...?

Now he was creeping - or trying to creep, quietly - through the Rock. He had to find Gobo, and fast. Part of him was terrified that he'd lose the song soon. That it would disappear as quickly as it had come.

"Gobo- Oh!" he saw his friend cuddled up against Mokey, noticed their contentedly sleepy smiles and their intertwined tails, and paused in surprise. "Uh, sorry. Am I interrupting?"

Gobo had been on the edge of sleep himself when Mokey nudged him, which was enough of a heads-up to prevent him from being startled by Louie calling his name. He sat up and stretched a little, then scooted away enough that he could turn toward his other friend, offering him a smile.

"Nah, just enjoying the night. What's up?" His eyes searched his face with a bit of concern. "It's pretty late; couldn't sleep? Everything okay?"

Edited 2019-09-19 23:20 (UTC)

Upon being assured that he hadn't cut in on a moment or something, Louie beamed. "Yeah! Yeah, everything's fine. I think I got it, Gobo!" He was so excited - it was nice to get excited. The last time he had let himself get like this had been over money, and that hadn't gone well, of course. Honestly, he was too hyped to even explain himself further.

"Got it?" He looked at him for a moment in confusion, before it hit him what he must mean. "Oh! You heard it?"

Louie nodded, managing to calm down a little - but only a little. "I think so. I mean, I must have!"

Despite his earlier sleepiness, Louie's enthusiasm was contagious, and he found himself bouncing a little.

"Alright, let's hear it!"

He sang with a soft voice, and not just because of the rest of the Fraggles being asleep. Still, throughout the song, Louie's voice was always certain, even confident.

♪It’s me, here I am
And I’m hoping you can understand
That I don’t know exactly
Who I want to be
But you can figure it out with me

Sometimes, the nights are long
And it’s hard to know where I belong
There’s so much to see
It’s scary to be free
But you can figure it out with me

And I know I’ll find my way
I’m closer every day
To someone I can be
No, it’s not easy
But you can figure it out with me♫

Gobo positively beamed, lightly bobbing his head as Louie sang. When it was finished, he motioned for another round through it, reaching to pick up his guitar. As Louie sang his song, Gobo danced his fingers over the strings, supporting him but letting his voice ring.

When, and only when, the last notes from them both had faded away down the tunnels, he hopped over to him and wrapped him up in a happy hug, laughing lightly, then came to stand beside him, keeping an arm draped over his shoulders.

"That's a wonderful song, Louie! See? I knew you'd find one in you."

Louie chuckled, a bit embarrassed, especially as Mokey applauded the performance - but mostly, he was happy. Finding the song, and then sharing it, had felt really good. Like he was getting in touch with not only himself, but... The world.

"Well, I'm glad one of us was so sure. Thanks, Gobo."

"Sure thing, Louie," Gobo said with a soft chuckle. "Just stop and listen, and you'd be able to find it."

Still brimming with pride, he looked up at Mokey with a smile. "Aw you shoulda heard him on the way down here, Mokey! We needed to light the tunnel and I knew there'd be some Ditzies about, and and with a bit of my guidance a'course, we had a little duet. I figured something like Muck and Goo would really wake them all up, and it worked!"

"Oh!" Mokey gasped happily. "The song your Uncle Matt would sing to you! You've passed it on," she pointed out with a smile, as she lay a hand on Gobo's arm.

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