Stranded in Paradise; Welcome Home [An II Au]

I Missed You, Bed

The first thing Nickel did upon entering his room once again was just flop down onto the bed, letting out a groan into the pillow. Balloon followed in shortly after, sitting on the bed right across from him while he watched him groan. "It's...really nice to be home, huh? I missed this bed..." Balloon smiled and laid down on the covers, staring up at the ceiling. Nickel leaned up again and turned onto his back, chuckling in response. "Heh...yeah. I don't remember the last time I've talked to Baseball for almost the whole day...or literally anyone else for that matter."

Balloon chuckled. His eyes soon glanced down at the twig in place of his leg. "So...do you...think you still need that stick to walk?" He asked. Nickel hummed in curiosity and looked down at his prosthetic. "Hm...probably not. I'm sure I can get a cool new prosthetic when Test Tube comes back...if she does. That being said, I don't think I need to walk on this thing for the rest of the day. Just...wanna lay back in my bed and relax."

"...Do you think the wound's healed up yet?"

Nickel looked back down at his leg. Then, he leaned up, biting into the bandage holding the twig to his thigh and pulling it up. The twig separated from the skin and rolled off the bed, the gray coin spitting out the bandage on the other side. He then turned his body to Balloon to let him see the wound. The salmon balloon's eyes widened in surprise to see the skin around the open wound had almost entirely closed up, only a little bit of tissue around the wound being accounted for. "Is it really that bad still?" Nickel asked, prompting Balloon to shake his head. "No! Not at all! It could...never look better, honestly!"

"Yeah, you don't have to lie. It's pretty gross."

Nickel laid back against his bed, looking up at the ceiling just like Balloon was. "Nickel...why did you forgive Yin-Yang?" Balloon asked. Nickel seemed to ponder an answer for a moment, and then sighed.

"...Just didn't wanna start anymore drama, you know? I knew if I didn't forgive Yin-Yang sooner, it'd probably be the start of another long-winded emotional roller coaster. We had enough on our hands...or foot...on the island, and I didn't want any arguments to make us go crazy."

"...I...guess that's a fair point. Let's just...try to relax for the rest of the day then, okay?"

"Yeah. Let's."

The conversation died down from there as the two sunk back into their beds, embracing the comfort of their home once again.

...

Fan set Cabby's file down on his dresser, letting out an exasperated sigh as he laid back down on his bed. It felt so nice to not be sitting or lying in the dirt. Yet, the other unoccupied bed still made him...melancholic. The bed that Paintbrush used to sit and lie in with Baxter. It was hard accepting the fact that no one else will sit in it again.

No one could ever replace what Painty had.

Fan's eye then glanced down at Cabby's file again, playin it into his lap while he overlooked the cover. A bright periwinkle blue with Cabby's silhouette on the front. Taking in a sigh, he opened up the file and read over the first page.

Cabby(Me)
- A file cabinet
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- It's never good enough.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.
- Really trying her best.

"Hey! Flat face!" Fan suddenly heard a familiar voice by the door. He quickly shut the folder and placed it under his pillow, looking to see the friend who he missed so much since he was gone.

Lightbulb.

Standing there, waving with a smile while a slice of pizza dangled from her mouth. Fan smiled "Lightbulb! Aw man, it's so good to see you again!" He said as he ran up to her, wrapping his arms around her in a hugging embrace. Lightbulb slurped up the pizza into her mouth and chewed then pat Fan on the head. "Sho..." Lightbulb said while chewing, "You gunna...tell me...about your island adventure or what?"

"It's uhh...a long story. Maybe we can go and talk about it over some pizza, huh?"

"Oh shoot alright. This is my 37th slice and I'm dying to get more."

"Okaaaayyy...maybe as long as you keep pizza intake on the low..."

Fan pat Lightbulb on the shoulder as the two walked down the hall, talking all the while about the island and what they did while they were gone. Yet, as they did, they passed by someone. Someone who could barely keep a straight face when seeing Lightbulb, Painty's best friend, for the very first time.

Silver Spoon.

Paintbrush's killer.