I'd Rather Be Me (With You)

Garden of Beaten'

"Aw geez." You wiped your shoe on the doormat, grimacing at how much there was. Your shoes were stained beyond belief despite you getting them only a few days ago. "These things are ruined, I'm never gonna get the stains out."

"It's alright, nothing a bit of shoe cleaner can't fix." Sandy waved his hand assuring, "I think I have some left around here somewhere." He turned towards the cabinets behind him to start his search. You looked down at his shoes, which were somehow completely white without a speck of dirt to be seen.

"What exactly were you doing out in the rain without an umbrella anyway?" He asked, making you tense up a bit.

"I just got caught up late at work, we're the only place not wrecked at the moment. It's really overwhelming and we're a bit shortstaffed." You explained, "The stress must be making it hard to think a little."

"Is that really it?" Sandy paused, "You've been like this for a while, especially since the whole DBK incident. Are you sure it's nothing else?"

"Uh," You thought for a moment, before taking a deep breath. "Well, M-" You stopped. "Pigsy did Food Wars a while ago."

"Oh yeah, I was really happy to find out they won that thing. But I wasn't worried, nobody makes better noodles than Pigsy."

"Right, but, I wasn't exactly able to help at all. Then I started thinking more and I just wondered whether or not I'm a real member of the group?" Sandy raised an eyebrow, "I know we're all friends but lately it just feels like he- you all have stuff to do without me. I know it sounds selfish..."

"It's not selfish to want to spend time with somebody [Name]," Sandy smiled, "Your needs are important too. Plus I'm sure MK doesn't mean to leave you out of things."

You nearly jumped when he said his name.

"What? Pfft- no..." You trailed off.

"You nearly mentioned him twice just now. But don't worry, your secret's safe with me. I'm pretty sure the others haven't figured it out yet." He paused. "Well, maybe Tang has, that guy has a knack for these sorts of things."

"I'm just worried about how to bring this up with him." You took your shoes off, moving to sit down on the couch. "I don't want to come off as too clingy but he's way too dense. Every time I try mentioning it to him he doesn't pick up on it." Mo followed behind you, taking a seat on your lap. "I don't know what to do anymore."

"Look, I don't have too much experience in this department, but you like him, and I bet he likes you too. Just tell him how you feel, he's a nice guy, even if he doesn't like you back it's not like your friendship would be over."

"But it'd be so awkward! How am I supposed to face him after that?"

"You're stronger than you think [Name]. If a baby bird never decided to test its wings, how would it ever learn to fly?"

"That's awfully poetic."

"And true." He grabbed the shoe cleaner and his smile grew wider. You looked down to see Mo had fallen asleep on your lap, along with several other cats you hadn't noticed until now.

"Oh, I didn't even see them climb on here." You scratched behind Mo's ear, making him purr.

"Hey, you're a natural! Do you think you'd mind watching them for me sometime? They really like you."

"Sure, why not?"

—

"Look, we all know the kid's head over heels for them, it's obvious at this point. But since when do they have a thing for him?" Pigsy crossed his arms, "Why didn't you tell him, Tang?! You could've saved us months of hearing him talk about them!"