Gorillaz One-Shots

Caretaker {A little RussDel at the end}

Murdoc sat, as he so often did, drinking. 2D was curled up and leaning on him, half-awake. Russel was the only one capable of doing much at the moment, which was how it often was.

Each member of the band had a certain place in the structure of Gorillaz. Murdoc was a sort of mascot, and the one who started the band. He also kept the band together... he was the Gorilla Glue of Gorillaz, if you will. 2D was kind of the comic relief, and he always looked on the bright side. It was obvious why Murdoc loved him; they balanced each other out perfectly. Noodle was just a kid. She kept everyone on their toes. But nobody much paid attention to Russel, who had a lesser known and under-appreciated role: the caretaker.

2D was groaning from falling off the chair. It was actually less 'falling' and more 'Murdoc prodding him off with his bottle, telling him to shoo'. Russel mumbled something and walked over, picking up the lanky singer effortlessly.

"Murdoc."

"Whaaaaaaat? Murdoc liked to pretend that he didn't really get drunk, but everyone knew that wasn't true. He has a lot less alcohol tolerance than he thought.

"Stop shoving him off. There's room for both of you." He sat 2D on Murdoc's lap, as Murdoc grumbled in complaint. 2D had... just a dazed look on his face. Probably painkillers. So Russel took both the liquor and the pills and tossed them in a drawer, locking them up. But Murdoc and 2D were too busy cuddling and kissing to notice.

A confusing couple, they were. But at least they were happy.

"Thanks, Russy-Russ..." 2D waved at him drunkenly.

From upstairs, there was a loud slamming noise. Yet again, it was time for Russel to go and save the day. He marched up the stairs and knocked on Noodle's door.

"Come!"

He stepped in, walking sideways through the narrow doorway. Noodle had her GameBoy in her hands, rapidly pressing buttons, until a few seconds later she screamed and flung it across the room.

"Hey, hey, be careful with that, okay?" He picked it up and put it in her hands again. "Hard level, huh?"

"Yeah..." Her tongue poked out of her mouth as she concentrated.

"What kinda game is it?"

"That one you got me. A shot. Shooty."

"A shooty, huh?" He sat down lightly on the bed next to her. "Get under that space beam, then hit the alien. You get double ships if you do, so you hit two times as many."

Noodle did as she was told, her face lit up with the bright colors on the screen, and gasped. "Woah... thanks Russ!"

He ruffled her hair, yawning. "No problem..." He left, walking down the stairs again, opening the door to his own room. "Del?"

"Hey hey!" He floated over. "... you look exhausted."

"Just another day with the band..."

Del scoffed, pushing Russel over to the bed. "Oh man... well, sit back and relax. I'm gonna be your host... your ghost host."

"Nerd." Russel climbed into bed, curling up, yawning. "I'm just tired, you don't have to take care of me."

"Nonsense..." Del took off Russel's hat. "It's what I do." He kisses the top of his head gently, going about fluffing up pillows and smoothing out sheets. Finally, the blue ghost snuggled in next to Russel, holding him in his arms. "Wasn't that nice?"

And while Russel knew being caretaker was rewarding, he'd admit that it was always nice being taken care of by someone who loved you, too.