Welcome Home

Painting

I woke up to the sun in my face. I sat up and stretched. I looked over at Wally's bed and saw it was empty.

I got up and made my way out to the kitchen. I saw Wally cooking eggs and toast. He turned to me and smiled. 

"Ah, _____________, good morning! How did you sleep?" I made my way over to him and hugged him. 

"Better, thanks to you." He smiled, giving me a gentle side hug. 

"Well , I'm glad. Go take a seat on the couch, breakfast is almost done." I nodded, making my way over to the couch. I looked at the counter and noticed a pile of fan letters laid across the counter.

I ignored it and quickly made my way over to the couch.

I guess he really does like to reread old letters.

Wally made his way over, setting the tray of food on my lap. I looked up at him.

"Thank you, Wally. Hey, can I ask you something?" He sat down next to me. 

"Of course, what it is?" I turned to him. 

"Why do you reread fan letters?" He began to fidget with his hands. 

"Ah, well... If I'm being honest... It makes me feel like I still have a show. It makes me feel wanted and needed." I gave him a sympathetic look. 

"Wally.. Of course you're wanted and needed.. What about all your friends?" He sighed. 

"Oh, don't get me wrong... I love my friends dearly, and they do make me feel wanted and needed... But when you go from millions of fans writing you letters daily to just suddenly being discarded, it's like a piece of your soul dies.." I set my food aside, leaning over and hugging him. 

"I'm sorry you're feeling that way, Wally." He hugged back, resting his head on my shoulder. 

"I don't even know why we were cancelled.. We never got an explanation. I just wish I could go back sometimes. I miss the show. I miss... Having a purpose." I hugged him tighter. 

I knew he was going through a hard time. I knew this couldn't have been something dark. 

He pulled back, making eye contact with me. 

"You've really helped me.. In this short time you've been here, you've helped me feel... Happy... Like I used to be. I can't thank you enough." I smiled at him. 

"You've made me happy too, Wally. Thank you.." We looked in each others eyes for what felt like forever. His face lit up orange, and I felt my face turn bright red. 

He leaned in ever so slightly, before quickly pulling back. He cleared his throat, grabbing the remote and turning on the TV. He silently flipped through the channels, his face still bright orange. 

What... Was that?

I grabbed my food and quickly ate it. 

Wally is a great cook.

I got up and cleaned the dishes. I quickly put them away and made my way back to the couch, sitting down next to him. I turned to Wally.

"Hey, do you want to paint with me today?" He turned to me, his face lit up.

"I would love to!" He quickly got up, running into the other room. He came out with all his painting supplies. I grabbed some things from his hands and we made our way outside.

"Where are we painting?" I looked over at him. He smiled. 

"I know the perfect place! Follow me!" He lead me out of town and up onto a familiar grassy hill. 

Once we got to the top, he turned to me and smiled. 

"It's where I found you!" I looked at him and smiled. 

"Why here?" He smiled. 

"You coming to our neighborhood was the best thing that's happened to us in a long time. We're all so happy you're here." He blushed.

I felt my face turn red. I smiled at him.

"I feel the same way, Wally. You all have made me feel so welcome, especially you. It honestly feels like a dream come true that I'm here." 

We set up our canvases and paint.

"So, what are we painting?" I turned to Wally. He thought for a moment. 

"What about each other?" He smiled. I nodded. 

"That's a great idea!" 

We both got to work. The day passed as we painted. A few of our friends came by to say hello, but didn't want to interrupt our painting. 

After a few hours, we both finished up. We put our paints away, and talked for a bit while the paint dried.

Once the paint dried, we turned and showed each other our paintings. Wally's face lit up. 

"Oh, ______________! I absolutely LOVE it!" I smiled. 

"Thank you, Wally! I really love yours too!" We traded paintings, looking at each detail of them. 

I missed his paintings so much!

We made our way back to his home, talking along the way. Once home, I helped Wally put the paints away. 

"Where should we put these?" I asked, holding up the painting Wally made for me. He thought for a moment, then a smile spread across his face. 

"I have the perfect place!" He took both paintings and made his way into the bedroom. I heard banging, and quickly followed behind him. When I walked in, I saw he hung my painting above his bed, and his painting above mine. 

"What do you think?" He put his hammer down, a big smile on his face. I couldn't help but smile. 

"I love it! It's perfect!" 

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We both got ready for bed, and climbed into our beds. 

"I had a great day with you, ______________. I really enjoyed painting with you." I turned to Wally.

"I did too! We'll have to paint more together." He nodded. 

"Goodnight, ________________" I yawned, cuddling into bed. 

"Goodnight, Wally."