Some Fluffy Among Us Logic One-shots

The Sweet Nectar of Life

[Synopsis: Gnome and Engineer have had waning luck with birdfeeders lately; no matter how much they try to squirrel-proof them, the squirrels ALWAYS manage to find a way to get in and eat all of the food. So, of course, they don't see many birds outside...Until one summer day, Engineer's lemonade attracts a visitor.]

[Location: Gnome and Engineer's house]

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"No birds, Engie?"

"...Nope."

"It feels weird without all of them around."

"...Yup."

"Uuugh...Stupid squirrels..."

Gnome sighed deeply as she slumped into the empty porch rocker beside her fiancée, bothered by the lack of birds in the yard. It was strange how during the winter, they were seeing titmice, cardinals AND finches all over the place, feasting on the seeds in the feeder and perching in their trees out back. But ever since the first flowers began to sprout in the spring, the squirrels that'd been hibernating throughout the winter had been taking the food for themselves, chasing off the birds and hogging all of the seed. Engineer had tried several times already to squirrel-proof the feeder using extra perches, slick surfaces for less grip and even small barbs at the top of the feeder, but his efforts were in vain. The squirrels always came back, and they always ate up all of the birdseed that was put out within just a couple of hours.

Eventually, they just gave up and stopped wasting their seed on them, hoping the lack of food would at least repel the squirrels. They were frequenting the house a bit less, but their visits weren't declining nearly as fast as the birds' had when they first arrived.

Gnome took a sip of her ice cold lemonade, trying to look at the positives.

"Well...We still get lots of butterflies and bumblebees," she remarked. "They're nice."

"M-hm," Engineer nodded. "Good for pollination, too...But I still do miss the birds."

"I wonder why we don't get as many swallows around here...Don't they eat bugs instead of seed?"

"Yeah, but...Most of the bugs we're seeing, they can't eat. We don't have that many mosquitoes or spiders around here. And they can't eat the butterflies and bees."

"Why can't they eat the butterflies?"

"A lot of them are poisonous. Including the caterpillars," he informed her. "If they eat the wrong kind, they regret it within a span of minutes, so they usually don't chance it."

"Oh...I see."

Engineer nodded in response, staring out into the backyard again...Neither of them said anything to one another for a few minutes, each too busy wishing that there were still birds coming around. But after a while of silent moping, Gnome finally decided to speak up again.

"...How about I go make us some cucumber sandwiches to go with this lemonade?" she suggested. "We can sort of have ourselves a picnic out here."

"Hm...That does sound nice," Engineer replied, smiling lightly. "You need any help?"

"Nah, don't worry about it; you just sit tight and I'll be back in just a couple minutes, Engie."

"Thanks, babe."

With that, the lime crewmate disappeared into the house...Engineer let out a long, deep breath and leaned further back into his seat, closing his visor...He could still imagine the sound of the cardinals singing, dotted all over the branches of the white oak in their backyard like pretty little red Christmas ornaments. The males would pick seeds up off of the ground and feed it to their mates, practicing for when they would have chicks to feed in the spring.