Rainbow Heart

Chapter 27

Alright, some more plot. Let's do this shit.

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When Red awoke the next morning he was exhausted. It had been a long night last night. He sighed. He knew that Barney wouldn't let him go out alone anymore after this. Though he would miss his daily walks, he knew it was for the best. He didn't want to go out either if it meant risking his life.

Barney was sleeping beside him. He looked uneasy and exhausted even in his sleep. Red sighed again. Barney had continuous nightmares all night long. Red being attacked really shook him up. All Red could do was try to assure him it was okay. But they both knew that it wasn't. Not because Barney wasn't there to protect him, but because they both knew that he couldn't. Barney didn't have any powers. He wasn't strong. He couldn't do anything if the Black Leopards came after them even if he was there. More likely he'd be killed than help. He was utterly helpless to help him. Barney couldn't stand it.

He sang quietly to himself as he got up, walking to the bathroom. When he looked in the mirror he was surprised. He had been crying. His face was swollen and tear stained. He hadn't even felt it. He was numb inside. Shaking his head, he splashed water on his face. Another day, another panic attack.

Since Barney hadn't had any sleep Red decided to leave him as he was. He needed to feel Pudding anyway. The poor dog was begging for attention. No matter what their psychological problems, Red didn't want their beloved pet to suffer. He knew what neglect was like.

"Hey girl." He whispered. "I'm sorry we ignored you last night. It was tough. I know you might not be able to understand that."

But the look in Pudding's eyes said she did understand. Red had learned to stop questioning the bond between him and his dog. All he knew was that there was magic involved. She whimpered. Again Red shook his head, trying to shake away his distracting thoughts.

"Sorry." He muttered. "I guess I'm really tired today."

As Red dragged the feed bag out of the closet Pudding continued whimpering. Nudging her head against Red's hand. For a while her cries fell on uninterested ears. But soon Pudding was able to drag him out of his thoughts long enough for him to notice her urgency.

"What's wrong, Pudding?" He asked quietly. "Bathroom?"

But a bathroom break didn't seem to be what Pudding was interested in. She had something else to say. Something she couldn't say in whimpers and whines. On instinct, Red knew what to do.

He melted away his exterior and fell into the form of Orange. Orange leaned in close, breathing onto Pudding's nose. But instead of normal carbon dioxide, Orange seemed to exhale something else. A mist. Orange-colored of course. It smelled of citrus and made Pudding's eyes dilate dramatically.

There was something that went between them. A shock. Like when the prongs of a plug that find electricity. He could physically feel the energy travel between them. And as soon as it happened he got another shock. A shock as they connected. A flood of information overwhelmed Orange. He could see Pudding in a new way. He could hear her thoughts and feel everything she felt. He could feel the drool on her tongue and the beat of her heart. That's how he knew that she didn't need to go to the bathroom. She was sick. Something was wrong. Drastically wrong. She ate something that was going to kill her if he didn't help her.

Orange panicked. Green could heal her, but not remove the poisonous food inside her. Which means that even if Green did heal her, he was only prolonging the inevitable. They needed to get her to a vet.

Orange ran to the bedroom, shaking Barney awake. Though he felt guilty for waking his exhausted lover, he needed to save his dog. "Barney! Barney!" Orange cried. "Wake up!"

Barney groaned, rolling over to look up at his boyfriend. He blinked blearily. "Orange?" He croaked. Orange winced, hearing how tired and damaged he was at the moment. "What's wrong?"

"There's something wrong with Pudding!" Orange exclaimed. "She ate some trash!"

Barney sat up, not quite awake but very alert. "Alright, pick her up. We're going to the vet!"

They hurried out the door, Orange clutching his dog desperately and hauling her to Barney's car. Barney quickly jammed himself into a pair of jeans and grabbed his car keys. In fifteen minutes they burst through the doors of the vet. Everyone stared at Orange. Everything from his skin to his onesie was unwelcome. He looked strange compared to the harsh lights and soft blues of the wallpaper. Bright and strange. Like a jelly bean in a jar of coffee beans. But the nurses whisked his dog away for treatment. And Barney and Orange could finally relax. Emotionally and physically drained from the stress of getting Pudding to the vet and last night's debacle. They collapsed into chairs in the waiting room.

"How did you know Pudding ate the trash?" Barney whispered to Orange. Orange sighed, rubbing his temples and tugging at his hair.

"Powers. Orange mist. Some stuff I don't really understand. But I know it has to do with my powers."

Barney paused. It was silent between them for a while. He seemed to be thinking, while Orange was just trying to stay awake. Just as he was about to fall asleep Barney asked "What happened?"

Orange sighed and explained everything. Start to finish. Barney was quiet and listened the whole way through, nodding occasionally to show he was listening. When Orange finished describing what happened, Barney was astonished. He didn't say anything at first, just stared. Orange blushed. He was unsure if Barney would believe him or not. It was a pretty crazy story, even with everything that had already happened. Everything that Barney had already witnessed.

"So you can communicate with animals?" He asked quietly.

"Um... I'm not sure." Orange said, looking down at his lap. "I've never used this power before. Everything I know for certain I've already told you. Maybe I can do the same thing with humans. But I don't know for sure."

Barney nodded quietly. Now he was thinking. But not much. He was too tired for thinking. But with what brain power he could manage, he came to the conclusion that he wanted to test Orange's power.

But another time. Another day. Right now they had other things to worry about. All in a day's work.

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Cool cool another Vacktor power down. One more to go.

-💕 Bubblegum 💕