Cuddles X Toothy

No Escape

Without thinking, Toothy ran off the ship and onto who knows where, leaving his crew mates behind. "Ye notice our lad be acting strange?" "Yeah" an unfamiliar voice emerged and Russell and Lumpy looked in shock to hear that it came from none other than Mime. Just then Flippy finishes his meditation for the day. Once Flippy turned around he saw Mime laying on a soft beded floor with a towel covering his back. "What happened to Mime?" "Ye a long story, has Toothy be strange with ye?" Flippy shook his head. "No, the only thing I know is that he was ignoring calls on his phone before we started meditating." "Yar be his phone now?" "I made him put it away, it's probably on one of the beds."

All 3 when walk down the ship with Lumpy carrying loopy Mime on his shoulders. Russell lights a candle and suggest they find Toothy's phone quick for there isn't a lot of oxygen under a ship. Lumpy mistakenly let's Mime go with one hand then Mime slides off knocking the candle out of Russell's hand. Fire began to spreading and everyone heard a sound all too familiar that no one wants to hear; The soft whimpers of Flippy...

Meanwhile

Toothy's POV

I ran, I don't know where, who knows how long, I almost forgot why. I hadn't been looking at what's in front of me as my eyes were everywhere, which caused me to trip on sand, land face first full body into a cactus. I rip myself out and start to cry, I'm too full of adrenaline to even think straight, I'm just too much of a mess right now. I definitely didn't realize it right away, but apparently I had made a scene of myself since a majority of my body is drenched in blood. Now I'm a whole new kind of mess, I don't know what to do with my... I just wanna hide and never come out...

ᴰᵒⁿ'ᵗ ʲᵘˢᵗ ˢᵗᵃⁿᵈ ᵗʰᵉʳᵉ ʰᵉˡᵖ 'ᵉᵐᵎ

I look up to see a girl standing above me, in all while shading me from the sun. I can't handle it, I don't want people seeing me like this!

Next thing I know I'm sitting in a bar with bandages everywhere, from my left hand to my knees, shins, right arm and more. "Ah, did the adrenaline finally die down?" I look up to see that girl, now clear to see as she's cleaning cups. "I guess.." she chuckles. "It must've been mighty scary seein'ow fast you were runnin." "I guess.." I don't know if repeating myself annoyed her, she just lifted my chin up then held my face. I look at her confused until she broke the silence. "Auuuh, ya got lady problems." Shocked by how closely accurate this girl figured my problem, I instinctively asked how she knew. "Honey, I'm a bartenda, I see that look all the time. The names Madeline, what's yours?" She asks me as she finished cleaning the last cup.

"Toothy" I say before I yawn.

Madeline: So Toothy, what got ya runnin like messed up horse?"

Toothy: I don't remember anymore..

Madeline: So ya forgot the 'What' but not the 'Why'? A newbie like ya will fit right in this partta town.

Toothy: How did you know I was new?"

Madeline: I've met enough people to know that beavers ain't typically around this part 'o town.

I sigh in defeat. "You're right, I am running away, but I don't have lady problems... besides, he already has a girlfriend" there was a slight pause silence, not awkward, just silence. "Why not fight for 'im then?" I shake my head "I can't, if I'm not able to make Cuddles happy, then I refuse to stop him finding happiness somewhere else; I love him too much for that... besides..."

I come out to Madeline and tell her everything. From the kiss, to the pictures, all the way to leaving Happy Tree Town. I felt judgment increase through each word coming out my mouth, I wanna stop but I can't not talk about it, it's like she opened up the floodgates. As soon as I finish, Madeline laughs. "Darling, we're furry mates that are almost always nude; Ya' dirty pictures are just pictures!" I perk up when she said that. "So I'm not a creep?" "Oh no, that definitely makes ya a creep, and I dunno if I'd date someone if I found out about it" I want to curl into a ball, but I'm too bandaged to do so without it hurting.

"But at least ya would get ya' answer, if I were in ya' shoes, I would just tell 'im. After all, getting rejected is a lot better than wondering 'what if?' for the rest of ya' life." She's right, I can't keep avoiding my problems, but I don't think I'm ready to tell Cuddles how I feel just yet. "Thank you Madeline, you really helped me, I need go."

Just then Madeline stops Toothy from leaving the bar. "Hold up partner, you ain't goin nowhere."