starlightcafe | But I ask you please, don't fence me in.

"I'm doing this for money, I'm doing this for money," Louie reminded himself under his breath, as Dunlin gummed on his hand. Sure, he may not be as driven by greed as he once was, but it was still nice to be on the payroll of - one of - the richest ducks in the world. Nothing wrong with having some extra spending money, and all that. Still, he was getting impatient waiting for Gobo to wake up. Impatient, and pretty grossed-out.

"How does one tiny little guy have so much drool in him?" he muttered, then sighed with relief when Dunlin let go of his hand. Louie got up and grabbed for a sheet off the roll of paper towels over the sink - he hadn't torn it off, though, when he heard a familiar voice crying out wordlessly. He gasped and ran to check on his friend, without letting go of the paper towel - sheets trailed after him until one finally ripped away from the roll. He arrived in the sitting room to see Gobo tumble off the couch and onto the floor, limbs a tangled mess in the blanket he'd been sleeping beneath. When the Fraggle came to his senses, the first thing he may see was Louie leaning over him, looking concerned.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Gobo huffed sharply, glaring him down. He glanced past a moment, to Scrooge watching them both, then turned back to the shorter duck.

"The only reason I'm upset is that it's stopping me from getting sleep. It's done and behind me, so why should it still bother me??"

Something strange in that last bit though, it almost sounded like he was asking...

"Because it was messed up!" Louie exclaimed, spreading his arms. "Gobo, what happened to you was really scary! And now you know there are really people out there who are okay with doing things like that! That's not going to just... Go away. You need to, I don't know, talk it out, and really figure out how you feel. It sucks! I know it does, but... What else can you do?"

"How I really feel?" He opened and closed his hands a few times, anxiously. "How I feel is- ...scared. Really scared, alright?? Scared like I haven't been since- since the first time I went out to get the postcard. Because I don't know who's safe and who's not, and- and now everyone else is here too! And they're counting on me to keep them safe, and I can't! What if it happens again?? We might not have a lucky break next time!!"

He turned away from them and sank down to the floor, head dropping between his shoulders.

"I can't...! Keep them safe... Sometimes I wish I'd never left Fraggle Rock in the first place, then that never would've happened..."

Louie let out his breath - he hadn't even realized he was holding it in - and walked over to put a hand between Gobo's shoulders, lightly.

"Sometimes I feel that way about Uncle Donald's houseboat. My family is always going on all these adventures now, and- Gobo, I'm scared pretty much all the time. And there's no easy answer. You can't know things will be okay... But it's not your job to make sure of that, anyway. All you can do is take the good with the bad, and... And think of all the things you wouldn't have if you hadn't left Fraggle Rock."

He stayed where he was watching them silently, but there was something in what Gobo had said, something Louie wouldn't get that he did. So, before the Fraggle could reply, he walked over to them.

"The thing is, laddie, it is his job. That's part of being a leader, is makin' sure that those you lead are safe." He gently placed a hand on Louie's shoulder as he passed, then stopped in front of Gobo, leaning down a little to look at him. "But it's not your job alone, Gobo." When he looked away, Scrooge reached out and took his chin firmly and, though not unkindly, forced him to look back up. "No, listen to me.

"I know better than anyone else in the world how much being the boss, being a leader, can be as difficult as it is fulfilling. You've got so many things you're trying to juggle, and when a new worry you never had before suddenly comes intae the picture, it can throw everything out of balance and it'll all come crashing down. You may wish it could go back to when it was simpler, but how happy would you truly be? Why, even if you were back at the Rock, something would come along and make you wish for an even earlier time! That's a never-ending cycle, and you cannae let yourself get bogged down in it.

"The real thing to do is, to not isolate yourself. I know that, in tryin' to be a good leader, it can seem like it's all on you to do what's good for everybody. But they're their own people too, laddie, they can make their own decisions, and they can help you and advise you when you're having problems. That's what a real leader does. He's not an island. He listens to the people he's protecting, so that everybody can work together and make it better than it ever was before."

He'd glanced at Louie before and then Scrooge now, particularly when he tilted his head up so that was all he could look at. He listened, though. He listened to them both.

Think of all the things you wouldn't have if you hadn't left.

A good leader listens to those he's protecting.

He trembled again, though for a different reason as he suddenly dove forward and wrapped his arms around Scrooge, hugging him tightly, gratefully.

"Thank you, Scrooge... For everything."

There was something in that last word that he 'heard' more in the hug than in the actual speech. A lot had certainly happened since he'd met Gobo, hadn't it? And he'd given him, and his friends, a steady supply of food, safety, somewhere- and someone -they could count on, and though Louie hadn't been there to see the poaching incident first hand, he had. So he knew the unsaid, and there was a familiar smile on his face that Louie might catch as he hugged the young Fraggle in return.

"Uncle Scrooge, Gobo." Feeling him lean back, he did the same and smiled at that surprised face, placing a hand atop his head to gently scruffle his hair. "If you'd like. And that goes for the rest of your friends, too."

The second hug just then said all it needed to, to.

Edited 2019-11-18 20:04 (UTC)

Louie sat down on the floor as quietly he could - in part not to interrupt the moment, and in part not to draw attention to himself, or the fact that he was tearing up. It was just- Well. These were his two best friends, really, and seeing them help each other - bring out the best in each other - like this was nice. With a soft sniff, he smiled, happy to just watch them.

How lucky was he, to have friends like this?

But I ask you please, don't fence me in.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

1/3

2/3

3/3

no subject