love in a toy shop (gepetto x stromboli)

2

Geppetto pov:
   My head was spinning. I could barely form a single thought and the words in my brain mushed together until sentences looked like a game of scrabble. My ears rang as I could distantly see a tall man standing above me. 'is that stromboli?' I thought. Why was he here? Doesn't he hate me? Of course he's probably just here for another puppet. That's all anyone ever wants from me is my stupid puppets. When can someone just come over to spend time with me. Even my son doesn't care about me. He's off doing god knows what with whichever new friend he met on his way to Pleasure Island.
    Slowly, my hearing became less muffled and I could finally make out what Stromboli was saying. "I'll get you some water," was all I could hear. I stood up and my vision started to blur. The last thing I remember was looking for that new cedar that I bought for a project, and the next thing I remember was waking up under a stack of wood and toys. I sat down on my bed and felt the soft fabric under my hands. All I wanted to do was sleep but something was telling me that I had one chance to shoot my shot, and if I didn't take it, I would never be able to forgive myself.
   I stumbled into the kitchen, catching myself on various chairs and desks as I tried to pick my feet up off the ground. I saw that large man standing in the kitchen looking through the cabinets. Before I could even gather my thoughts, I was walking towards him and embracing him. What is wrong with me?! He stole my child. But, maybe that wasn't the only thing he stole. I could feel the warmth of his body heat me up. I haven't hugged anyone like this in a long, long time. It felt nice. I felt wanted for the first time in forever. I could stay like this forever. "Uh... hi there, can I help you?" He said. He sounded confused. Honestly, I can't blame him. I am also very confused, but it was like I couldn't control what I was doing.
    He turned around to face me and I could feel tears running down my face. It was warm and I couldn't stop. It's like they were pouring out of me. I was starting to feel embarrassed. He was just standing there. I was about to walk away, when I felt him hug me back. Suddenly my brain was back to being a pile of mush and letters. This isn't real, right? I must've hit my head really hard to be hallucinating this real. For this time in years, I felt like the little hole in my heart was filled. Maybe I could finally sleep at night knowing that maybe someone in the world cared about me. "Strom?" I said. That nickname was new. I had never called him that. Then again, I had never had a full conversation with him until today. "Yes?" He sounded genuinely concerned. No one had ever worried about me before. It feels nice. "Can you just stay with me?" I was expecting him to just leave, and then I would just go back to being the lone toy maker who gives greedy kids toys.
   Then I heard words come out of his mouth. Words that I never thought I'd hear. Finally, I could feel happy. "I'll stay with you forever."

Word count: 586