This Time Around - Wally Darling x Reader

6 - Midnight

     There was a certain chill about the neighborhood tonight, not particularly unlike the many other feelings of disconcerting anxiousness that had overtaken the colorful houses numerous nights before. In the shroud of darkness, the vibrant hues of red and yellow were quite saturated, leading one to believe that perhaps this town is quite typical. One would find, however, that such normalcy was evaded in favor of a fantastical and mysterious neighborhood. But, as the moon glistened languidly across the patterns of golden brick and dirt that splayed across the ground, the neighborhood of Home was simply just that: home. 

     None of the neighbors were asleep, how could they be? They were all anxiously awaiting your and Wally's return; a homecoming that seemed more unlikely with each tick of the grandfather clock that loomed in Home's hallway. The colorful puppets had busied themselves with tasks that were simply outlets for their anxieties; something that did not erase the worry that knawed at their seams. Eddie sat comforting Frank as he leaned his head between his gray hands on the dining room table, murmuring about how he 'should've done more.' Sally and Julie sat side by side, two unmoving opalescent figures that contrasted the haughty shadows around them. There was nothing worth speaking about, in their opinion. That was, at least, until the two of you returned home. Poppy worried about in the kitchen, cooking up a batch of cookies that she knew would do nothing to calm the pit that had clawed its way into each of their felted stomachs. Howdy sat alone, tossing around a crimson apple that had previously sat untouched on Wally's counter. And then there was Barnaby.

    Barnaby knew better. He would not waste what little energy he had left on pointless anxieties that surrounded aspects he had no control over. He knew Wally. He knew that one way or another, Wally would saunter in his front door, holding you close as he smiled at his friends. He had to know that, or else, he would fall into a mess on the floor. They all looked at Barnaby in Wally's absence, something that the comical puppet loathed. He didn't have the charismatic charm of his best friend, nor the easy-going smile that often tossed everyone's worries to the wayside. No, he was not Wally- but he was the closest thing they had right now, and so he would have to do. 

     The air in the room was unbreathable, thick with the anxieties of the puppets that mulled about it. No one spoke, not even a breath- save for Frank's incoherent mumbling. If one were to come across the room, one would think the colorful figures were in mourning; their sculpted faces that were intended to show no other emotions other than joy sullied by the morbidity of the situation. And perhaps they were mourning, in a way. It was certainly easier than having hope, the light of which flickered out and died as the seconds turned into minutes, and the minutes into hours. 
     "They're not coming back, are they?" It had been Julie who asked the question, her acute voice echoing unnaturally in the space. Barnaby winced, not at the sound, rather than at the nature of the question. No one answered, probably because no one could. Barnaby looked up at her, offering the blonde a sympathetic smile as he sighed. Tears formed at the edges of her wide eyes, and she continued, 
     "You know, this wouldn't have happened if it weren't for (Y/N). They dragged him into all this nonsense! If... if they had never showed up... then-!" A vase was hurled at Julie's head. It shattered into a million shards of despair as it hit the wall, falling to the floor in a damning waterfall as the puppets watched. They all looked to the source of the projectile, finding a heaving Frank who looked at Julie with crazed eyes. They were best friends... why would he ever do something intended to harm her? Perhaps it had been in a moment of overwhelmed panic, desperately needing his best friend to just shut up for five seconds so he could think. Or perhaps it had been perfectly intentional, aimed precisely in her general direction- intended to miss, not hit. He stood up, causing Eddie to take a few cautionary steps back from him. He tried to grab his hand to comfort Frank, but the gray puppet simply just jerked away. Oh, this was serious. 
     "You take that back." His voice was plain, staring at Julie as her eyes grew wider. Her eyebrows furrowed, and she stood up in tandem. 
     "I- what? It's true, Frank. You know I love (Y/N) but if they hadn't ever come here, this all wouldn't have happened!" She yells, her shrill voice growing in intensity as she moves closer. Frank took a few steps forward of his own, pointing his finger accusingly at Julie.
    "Don't even THINK about talking like that! You don't... you don't know how important (Y/N) is to him! Did you even think about that Julie?! Did you even think about the fact that... that-" Frank sputters, suddenly all-too-aware of the figures surrounding him, and all-too-aware that he was about to say something that was not his place to say. Rather, not his place to reveal. Barnaby stares at him perplexed, standing up slowly as he speaks.
      "Think about what, Frank? What are you not telling us?" Barnaby's voice is dangerously low, laced with hints of unrecognized malice as he steps closer to the vested puppet. Frank sputters again, unable to form a coherent sentence as he's somewhat cornered by the much larger puppet. 
     "I-I... I uh..." Frank looks to Eddie, pleading softly as Eddie looks around in bewilderment. He shrugs his shoulders, gesturing at Barnaby as to say 'I don't know! Just tell him!' And so, Frank does.

     It was a cool evening, perhaps about a week or two ago, when Frank was out in his garden. He was completing his usual routine of watering his flowers and ensuring that Howdy hadn't turned into a butterfly yet (He was currently five dollars out on a bet with Barnaby that it would happen next week). Frank wondered when, if ever, Howdy would turn, and he sincerely hoped he would not miss it. As he worked dismissively among the lilies, Frank noticed a splash of yellow and blue in the corner of his eye, standing unmoving as his wide eyes stared at Frank. He stood up to greet his friend but stopped as if he had no control over his movements, panicking slightly as he tussled with his condition. Wally only smiled brightly, almost too brightly, but said nothing as Frank struggled. It was almost as if Wally was controlling him, if only briefly, and Frank was helpless against him. Nothing like this had ever happened before, for heaven's sake, it was Home! Nothing bad ever happened here! That is, nothing that he knew of. Wally took a step closer, smile unnaturally large and eyes fixated as if they were looking through Frank rather than at him. Frank knew that Wally liked staring. It was just one of his things, like how Poppy liked to wrap people in her wings until they had to wrestle themselves away, and how Howdy liked to shake people's hands with such a firm grasp that they often had bruises (He never intended to hurt anyone, but Eddie himself had many deep purple splotches on his palms to attest to this fact). This staring, however, was different. It was icy, almost malevolent as Frank's eyes grew wider in fear. No, something was just not quite right, Frank was sure of it. But what to do was the question.
     "What's the matter, neighbor? Cat's got your tongue?" His voice was no different than usual, and he held his arms behind his back as he stepped ever closer to Frank. His tone, however, was dark, laced with hints that meant nothing good for Frank as Wally stepped- to Frank's horror- on top of his lilies. He stopped in front of the frozen puppet, cocking his head to the side as his grin grew horrifyingly wider. This was not the Wally he knew. There was a certain darkness behind his eyes, hinting at a malevolence that Frank could not explain. Frank had seen Wally sad, upset, or even angry, but his eyes never looked like this. So... devoid of all life. Frank tried to speak again, but choked on his words.
     "Oh, don't bother with that, Silly!" His voice was playful, which horrified Frank so much more than when it was threatening. He struggled some more, eyes pleading with Wally as the shorter puppet just simply stared. Wally opened his mouth to speak again but was interrupted by a shout,
     "Frank! Oh, thank goodness you're out here! Howdy's all out of roses at the shop and I was wondering if-" You stopped as your eyes landed on Wally. It was as if a switch had been flipped, and Frank fell to the ground with an 'oof!' as Wally's eyes turned to you. He smiled brightly, eyes once again filled to the brim with warmth and love as he took in the sight of you. Slightly out of breath and mildly sweaty, you (rather poorly) hid a basket filled with red apples behind your back, smiling sheepishly as your eyes met his. He would've stared at you forever if you let him. Every time he saw you was just like the first, and he tried ever so hard to commit every detail of you to his memory. Everything from the upturn of your mouth at the corners and the rise and fall of your chest as you stood, he was smitten. But he could not be so crude; there was company present. Company that, only seconds ago, he... what was he doing again? He could not remember why Frank had been frozen, and he quite honestly did not care as he moved closer to you. 
      "You're very hard to surprise, you know that? Always showing up in the most inconvenient of places..." You mumbled, feigning annoyance as he smiled wider. 
      "Any place that you are is not inconvenient, dear, it is only fate." His voice was flat but teasing, and he wrapped an arm around your waist as he used the other to pull your face level with his (Which was quite a considerable descent down). Your cheeks were dusted with an incredible shade of pink, one Wally made a note of to use in his next painting. He pressed a soft kiss to your nose, and let you stand up to your full height as you spoke.
      "Well, fate is telling me that you need to get your butt out of here so I can speak to Frank privately, Wally." You said with a lilt, curving your hand to caress his jaw as he nuzzled into your palm. He rolled his eyes, pulling away from you slightly as you speak.
      "I'll leave you to it, then. Don't be too late, neighbor." He flashes a charming smile at you, and then he's off, skipping happily down the path as you clear your throat. Frank is still on the ground, staring bewilderingly up at you as you offer him a sympathetic smile.
     "I was not entirely lying about the roses, but... there is something a bit more pressing I would like to talk about, Frank." He nods, seeming to understand the intent behind your words as he picks himself up off the ground. You two make your way inside, and you let out a shaky sigh as you sit down at his table. He sits across from you, wide eyes expecting answers as you open your mouth to speak. 
    "So... uhm... about all that." You start, fidgeting nervously with your hands as you stare down at the wood grain. 
     "Wally... what's wrong with him? Why is he acting so strange?" Frank furrows his eyebrows, looking at you expectantly. You take in a deep breath, and speak, 
      "I first noticed it a couple of days ago. Wally's always been one to stare, but it's like something comes over him lately. There's this... darkness in his eyes that I can't quite explain. But it's only when I'm not around. Like just a moment ago! He was all... creepy and whatnot until he noticed me. It happened to Barnaby earlier this week too... I don't know what's going on." Frank nods, understanding much more than you could ever know as he removes his gardening gloves. 
       "(Y/N)..." You look up to meet Frank's eyes but can offer him no answers as you smile sadly.
       "It started in the middle of the night. He got a phone call and said some...really strange things to whoever was on the other end. Ever since then, he's been so out of it. It's scary, and I'm worried..."
       "You're worried he's going to hurt someone." Frank interrupts. You nod, pressing your lips into a thin line as you continue. 
      "I don't think he wants to hurt anyone. But, it's like he doesn't have control over himself. It's only staring and whatnot for now, but I don't know. If I could just figure out what that stranger said to make him to freaked out..." You groan as you speak, pressing your face into your hands as Frank reaches across the table. He grabs your hands, forcing you to look at him as he speaks.
      "Wally loves you. Much more than you know. Whatever it is... you can fix this. He'd move the sun for you if you asked." Frank says with a soft smile, squeezing your hands encouragingly as he speaks. You sigh, mumbling softly as you talk,
       "Do you think so, Frank?" He nods, letting go of your hands as he pushes up and away from the table.
      "He adores you. I truly think that he would die for you. Or worse, live for you. Now, you mentioned something about roses?" You smile, and follow him to the garden.

     Later that evening, Frank is startled by a resolute knock on the door. He sighs, taking off his glasses and folding them neatly as he stands. He places the book he was reading onto the sturdy wood of his end table, and moves to answer the door. When he opens it, he sees nothing but the very top of a swirly poof of blue hair. He looks down and is met with Wally's unamused face.
     "What do you want?" Frank asks rather plainly, and Wally's unamused frown turns into an apologetic grin as he speaks.
      "I'm sorry to disturb you, neighbor, but I need to talk to you." Frank sighs, and motions for the yellow puppet to make his way inside. Wally smiles brightly, grabbing a pillow off of the couch and using it as a booster as he sits at the table. Frank sits across from him, and for a moment, they resemble the positions you and Frank took earlier, but this time Wally with the questions, and Frank with the answers. 
      "About earlier-"
      "(Y/N) told me all about it. But the thing I can't understand is, why?" Frank questions, furrowing his unibrow as he stares at Wally.
      "I don't know." Wally's voice is soft and quiet, and he stares at his folded hands as he all but whispers. Frank sighs and runs a hand through his hair.
      "They mentioned that you've been acting weird ever since a phone call? Does that have anything to do with it maybe?" Frank asks inquisitively, and Wally's eyes widen in realization. He looks at Frank with wide eyes before speaking.
     "Pinkie promise me you will not tell (Y/N) what I am about to tell you." Wally's tone is so urgent that it sends Frank to the edge of his seat, and he nods fervently. 
      "Pinkie promise," Frank replies, locking his finger with Wally's before staring at him expectantly.
      And so Wally tells Frank everything, starting from the very beginning. He starts with seeing you for the first time, muted hair absorbing the sunlight as you sulked into the neighborhood. He tells Frank about the very first time he kissed you that first time around, and how it felt so unbelievably right that he nearly suffocated you because he did not want to pull away (Frank would have never admitted it, but he did think that was quite cute). He told Frank about how he saw you die for the first time. And then for the second, third... and so forth. Then he told Frank about this time around, and how he was so insistent that this time around, he was going to save you- because without you, Wally was sure that this world of his own making would shatter.
      Frank stares at Wally, who is now so entirely focused on not making eye contact with Frank that it's almost laughable. 
       "So... that's probably why I'm doing that. It's not intentional. I just..."
        "You want to save them?" Frank asks, and Wally nods as he looks up at him. The gray puppet sighs, and then sits back in his chair as he pinches the bridge of his nose. 
        "Well... it's not perfect... but I think I know something that you can try."