Confession (Wally DarlingxReader)

9

Title: Parents Day
(This is not romance, platonic Barnaby + Reader)

Years had past since (Y/N) planted her own roots within the neighborhood. Her family were like nomads, never stayed in one place long, and when she was old enough and they had visited she came back to stay. She remembers the two days clearly: Her first day arriving and the whole neighborhood had welcomed her with open arms as a tourist, they gave her a tour and spent time with her telling stories of their own adventures and close bonds. That night everyone had made a bonfire and she saw them all huddled around it, some had blankets to share and others had two-to-one and it made her feel a certain way. It was a bad-good feeling, she couldn't quite put it into words that made her feel right.
Envious? She felt envy that they were all so close, she had never thought about the friends she's made along the way like this. The longest she spent with one was about a month, and since leaving their town (Y/N) hasn't even wrote the friends she's made because she knew it'd be hard for them to respond. After that night, she said her fair wells in the morning and left Wally's gang, as they had drove off she hung out of one of the vans windows and yelled another goodbye. It had hurt this time, seeing them grow smaller and smaller and eventually gone.
She didn't get that far down the road before she had her parents stop the van, pack up her valuables and run back to town! Her parents understood eventually she'd find somewhere to settle, that's what they had wanted for her all her life. See her options are limitless.
Though, it was her first time without her parents. Even now years later, she missed them and since they still travel it's harder to contact them. They'd visit once in awhile, but it made her feel lonely.
Her friends are there for her, they're her support group as she adjusted because everyone's done it. Moving away from their family to start their life, it's hard but she's not alone.
On days like these, especially on Parents day, she felt sad. She'd make sun catchers and wind chimes for her parents and they adored them. The back of their van had them all, the tinier the older they were from when she was a tiny tot. Her parents had always made her feel loved and safe, it sometimes was scary being a child on the road but they had always been there to watch over her. Some days she wonders what would've been if she left with them.
Oh gosh, she thought, Here I go again!
Tears began to fall and she couldn't stop it, what was wear is that she was on a bench where everyone could see silly her!
Like a guardian Angel, she heard heavy steps and felt a warm paw on her back. Looking up she saw Barnaby, who she considers one of her bestest friends. He sat down next to her and rubbed her back to sooth her, "I always find you crying when you should be smiling."
(Y/N) sniffled and took her handkerchief to blow her nose and wipe her eyes, "I just have big feelings, Barnaby..."
He gave her a smile and leaned in closer, "Big feelings are good, nothing wrong with crying. It's just a coincidence!" Her nudged her a little with a finger to her side, it tickled slightly and made her laugh.
"Tell me what's wrong?" He offered his flappy ears, he'd always had. His shoulders have years of tears from (Y/N) coming to him, venting how she felt or telling him about something that's upset her. She never hesitated with him, he had the same aura as her parents.
"It's Parents day and my parents are no where!" She cried harder, arms thrown up to the sky and head hung low. Barnaby gave some hard pats on her back and pulled her close for a hug, swaying the both of them. She wasn't a baby, but when he did this it'd calm her.
She felt his chest vibrate with a chuckle, "I thought you were hurt! I'm glad my friend is fine."
He pulled her away just a tad bit, enough to make eye contact, "(Y/N), you're parents are never far from you. You're apart of them!" He pulled out a small mirror from his back and lifted it up for her, "You see? You're what makes your parents, well, parents!"
She looked closer and saw she had the same hair as her father and her eyes were like her mothers, "Also, both your parents put so much effort into raising you that you've taken at least half of them and turned it into you!" That sounded a bit jumbled up but she understood. She never thought it like that, her personality had been handed to her and she adjusted it to herself through the years. Her tears hadn't stopped, but now they happy tears.
"I've never thought of it like that," she hugged Barnaby with full force, "I have something for you!" Reaching into her tote she pulled out a crystal and glass sun catcher. It was from the quarts she would find in the rocks by the creek, she polished them and tied them around wire to they'd hang and catch the sun and omit light. The glass was from some extra milk bottles she'd get from neighbors that might've chipped and couldn't be used again.
"I always made these for my parents, I was actually on my way to see you to give you this FOR Parents day." She held it up and Barnaby saw the twinkle and shimmer, he saw the reflections on the ground and was amazed!
(Y/N) hesitated when he just stared, "I swear it looks better when you put it in your window!!" She needed to clarify it wasn't a dud, Barnaby took it and laid it gentle in his lap, pulling in (Y/N) for a bear hug. I think she felt her eyes bulge out a little..
"I love it (Y/N), I'm not yours but I'm glad you see me as a protector like your parents. It's an honor."
This reminded her why she stayed, for this. The close bond to her friends, the stability and her own home. To settle and find love, to be valuable to a community, she missed her parents but she found another family she's growing with.