Casino Cups x Reader Oneshots

Stalling on the Track

Mugman + Platonic Reader
Requested in DMs
681 words
shoutout to the mfs who request oneshots w mugman i love all of you actually

Mugman was having a bit of trouble picking a book to read. His mind was racing, stuck on the argument he had with his brother, Cuphead, earlier that afternoon. So he stood there in front of the library's bookshelves, furrowing his brow when recalling the fight.

"Excuse me, sir?"

He turned his head to see someone with an armful of books standing next to him. Embarrassingly close to him, he should've noticed the stranger. "Oh, shoot, yes?"

"Are you alright?" They hesitated when asking their question.

"Um..." Mugman was surprised at the concern in their voice. "Why do you ask?"

"I don't know, you just seemed a bit unwell. Like, mentally."

Even though he had never quite been one to trust a stranger, Mugman felt a comfortable presence around them. And besides, it might be nice to talk about it.

He turned his body to face them. "It's just... my brother and I got into a fight."

"Oh, I'm sorry about that. What were you two fighting about."

"Some stupid shit," Mugman sighed. "But I dragged up some past stuff and said things I shouldn't have, you know?"

The stranger nodded.

"So I came here to try and calm down. But I've just been thinking about how awful I was. I wish I could take back what I said."

"Yeah, I get that." The stranger spoke. "You gonna apologize to him?"

"The second I get back home."

That made them smile a little. "That's the most important part. Some people won't even do that."

Mugman didn't say anything, just hummed in agreement.

The two fell silent. After a bit, Mugman spoke up again. "I'm a little worried it won't help to apologize, now that I think about it."

"Hm?" They tilted their head to the side. "What makes you say that?"

"Because..." Mugman paused to think about what to say next. "We butt heads a lot, being brothers and all. But, the stuff I brought up was better left in the past. And I've talked to him about things he does that bother me before, but he never seemed so... bothered before." He shook his head. "What if I really hurt him? How can I fix that?"

The stranger gave his shoulder a light squeeze. "Look, I get where you're coming from. We've all made mistakes. But that doesn't matter. The only thing that matters is trying your best to make it better, even if you aren't perfect at it and especially if you're putting in the effort."

Mugman smiled softly. "Thanks, I guess. That actually made me feel a whole lot better."

"No problem." They shrugged. They looked over their shoulder briefly, then turned to him. "I oughta get back to work, there's a line to check out books at the desk, so."

"You work here?" Mugman asked. "I haven't seen you here before."

"Oh yeah, right. Well, I just started working here last weekend." They scratched their head lightly.

"I always thought working in a library would be nice," Mugman remarked. "The idea of spending all day around books sounds like heaven."

They laughed, "Well, there's a difference between reading and working in a library. of course. It's a lot of writing and stamping and sorting cards and... books..." Stopping abruptly, they pushed Mugman backward just enough to stick the books in their arms on the shelf.

"Oh, that's what you were here for?" He asked, amused. "Sorry for getting in your way."

They waved off his apology. "Nah, it was fine. I'm glad I could help you out."

"Yeah, thanks for that." Mugman smiled at them before looking over their shoulder, "You really should get that line."

"Right! Right." They ran to the end of the aisle of shelves. "If you need help finding anything, let me know!"

"Uh, actually," Mugman called out after them, "I didn't catch your name?"

"Oh!" The stranger froze for a moment before turning around. "It's (Y/N), you?"

"Mugman. It was nice meeting you, (Y/N)." Mugman grinned. "See you again soon."

"Yeah, see ya!" They answered cheerfully, running towards the counter.

man I haven't updated this book since last year ha ha hee hoo (except today is january 25, 2023 and the last real oneshot i posted was may 28, 2022 so that's like 7 months I wanna say?) thanks to the person who requested this for your patience see you guys in the summer of 2025 i guess