Friends

v. Triple B

A/N: hooray for sloppy writing

She was blonde. Blonde, busty, and beautiful. Noodle could see every inch of skin on her tanned body- that is, every inch of skin that wasn't covered by 2D's bedsheets, or 2D's body. Noodle couldn't breathe. Every muscle in her body was stunned, her brain not yet processing what exactly had happened.
Eyes wide, mouth slightly open, Noodle cleared her throat.
"Uh- Um- Tooch- I mean, Stu- Stuart?" Noodle hoarsely called out.
*
"... Stuart?"
2D woke up to a soft voice he was pleasantly familiar with. But there was an edge to it that was not usually there- hurt. 2D sat there for a few seconds, trying to remember where he was and why she would sound like that. And then he remembered.
He remembered her instagram post. He remembered his night out with Murdoc. And he remembered the woman that lay next to him, and the gross sex he had had the night before.
2D shot upright in his bed. "Oh, u-uh, Noodle..." Silence. "Good- Uh, g'mornin'." 2D could see the pain in her eyes. 'She looks so... hurt.' Her expression was enough to make 2D physically wince.
"Papa has breakfast ready." she said weakly. 2D nodded. For what felt like forever, they just stared at each other. 2D was lost in her blatantly hurt expression. Her eyebrows were furrowed, her eyes glimmering with pain even in the darkness.
'I did this t' her.'
The air was filled with so much tension, you could almost reach out and grab it. Then, 2D's 'friend' woke up.
*
"Good mornin', 2D!" said the blonde woman in 2D's bed. Noodle cringed, trying to hold back the tears.
'That's what I would say to him.'
"I just came to uh- Came to let you know breakfast was ready. I'm sure there is enough for the both of you... Sayonara now." Noodle choked out, and nearly ran for her room. She almost slammed the door shut, and collapsed on her bed. It was a few seconds before she felt the first tear on her cheek.
"He... He doesn't love me." The realization hit Noodle like a freight train.
'All of this time. I have given him my body. I have spent all of my nights with him. I have done things for him I have done for no one else.' Her body was shaking with sobs now. She buried herself in her covers, trying to shield herself from the pain of her current reality.
'I let my guard down. I knew his womanizing history, and I just threw caution to the wind and let myself fall for him.' Noodle mentally punched herself in the face. 'Watashi wa shitte ita hazudesu. I should have known.'
She isn't sure how long she cried for, but Noodle allowed herself to let it all out. Eventually, she was worn out, and she dosed off in to a tear-induced coma.
*
2D could hear her sobbing as she passed her room. Every sob was like a dagger in his heart. Even know, several hours after his new blonde friend Jannette had left, he could still hear it ringing in his ears, cascading in his mind.
'Wha' is she so distraught fo'?' 2D thought to himself as he sat on the back porch of the band's home, smoking a cigarette.
'She's th' one who moved on firs'. I was only tryin' to protect meself.' He took a drag from his cig and put it out on the ground.
'I jus' need to forget abou' it. Time will make both of us feel better.' 2D stood from his chair and reentered the house, heading for the kitchen for his first beer of the day.
'Might as well start early.'
*
Noodle sat in the kitchen, stirring her pot of ramen she had cooking on the stove. Russel was off at work, and the only other car the band had at their house was missing, which lead Noodle to believe Murdoc and 2D had gone out drinking again.
'Just... breathe. Yataiki. Yataiki. Yataiki.'
Noodle scanned the kitchen, looking for the radio. Her eyes landed on it, and Noodle left her noodles for just a second so she could turn it on.
"Yataiki," she whispered, and flipped the radio on. Loud, joyful pop music began to fill the kitchen. A smile crept on to her face. "Suberashī!"
Noodle hopped back over to her noodles, shaking her hips and bobbing her head. She hummed to the tune, occasionally whistling or singing bits of the song she knew. For a moment, all of her problems, disappeared, and she was in harmony.
*
2D heard the music before he entered the kitchen. He knew he would see Noodle, but he didn't stop himself.
When he turned the corner in to the kitchen, his heart skipped a beat. There, he saw her. She looked...
'Happy,' 2D thought. His eyes traveled over the woman's petite figure. She was smiling, subtly dancing, humming, tapping the wooden spoon she was using for her noodles to the beat. 2D smiled at the sight.
'She looks so stunnin'.' he hummed in his mind. Almost immediately, all happiness erased from his mind as he remembered their situation. Suddenly, he felt awkward standing there, secretly admiring her.
"Ahem," 2D cleared his throat. Noodle almost dropped her spoon.
"Bikkurishita!" she spun around, her face visibly sinking when she saw the man standing in the doorway.
"O-Oh, it's just you To- Stuart." Noodle switched off the radio, keeping her face down and staring in to the pot. 2D winced.
"Tha's the second time you've called me by me name t'day..." he pointed out, and rather dumbly. Noodle said nothing.
2D went to the fridge, and grabbed his water. He stood there for a moment, his back to the guitarist. He couldn't bring himself to move from his spot. He was so close to her, closer than he had anticipated getting to her again. If he reached out his arm behind him, he could almost...
"Why, Stuart?" Noodle's question snapped him back to reality and basically threw him off of a bridge. 2D definitely had not expected Noodle to ask him something so blatantly and out of the blue.
As he thought about the question, something in his chest burned. It grew more intense, and 2D realized it was anger. Yes. He was angry at his little Noodle girl.
''Ow can she be playin' dumb with me? Does she fink I didn't see? Does she really fink I'm tha' stupid?'
2D turned and faced Noodle, and took a step toward her. Noodle looked up at him, with all of her hurt showing plainly on her face. With closer inspection, 2D could see the bags she had under her eyes from crying. He almost shied away, but for once, he didn't let himself.
"Why?" 2D repeated. Noodle stood her ground. "Why did I go out with Murdoc and find the bustiest, hottest bird in town? Is tha' wha' you're askin' me?" 2D could see Noodle's heart break in her eyes, but he didn't believe it. He felt his own hurt boiling over.
"Because you did i' t' me. You went out and had lunch with some bloke and posted all over instagram about' i'." 2D felt the relief of letting his emotions out almost immediately, and held back a sigh. Noodle's expression changed instantly as well, which prompted 2D to keep going. "Wha', you though' I wouldn't see? I saw i', luv. I saw the picture in all its glory. An' it bloody hurt." 2D was now holding back tears. Noodle's expression had changed from pain, to blank, to... was that, anger in her eyes as well?
*
"... You went out and had lunch with some bloke..."
Everything clicked in Noodle's mind now. The picture she had posted on instagram had obviously looked like a lunch date to 2D. Noodle felt herself becoming angry, just like 2D was feeling right now, she supposed.
Instead of listening to the rest of 2D's accusation, Noodle took her noodle's off of the stove and drained them, putting them in a bowl and grabbing a fork. 2D had finished talking, and was staring at her expectedly. He was breathing heavily, like he had just run a mile and was out of breath.
"Stuart, tell me one thing." Noodle asked, as calmly as she could. 2D looked at her, confused and a little shocked. His eyes were glistening, showing he was holding back tears.
"... w-wha'?"
"Did you look on Gabriel's instagram page?"
2D frowned. Noodle was expecting a 'no.'
"N-no, why would I 'ave looked at 'im?"
Exactly. Now Noodle could continue.
"He's gay." she said, letting her anger out with her venomous tone. She looked 2D directly in his dark eyes, which widened with surprise.
"We met up to catch up on our lives over lunch, because I hadn't seen him for years." Noodle clenched her fork until her knuckles were white. She stepped to the door frame, and stopped in her tracks.
"We talked about our relationship statuses. Not only is he gay, but he's engaged." Noodle continued, a little quieter.
"I told him about us. I told him I thought we were moving toward a relationship. I guess I had better call him and tell him I was wrong."
With those last words, Noodle slipped out of the door frame, and quietly made her way back to her room.