Broken Pipes (BATIM STORY) Wally x Thomas

Learnin' yer ways!

  This Thomas guy is actually pretty nice when ya get to know him. He may be tough an' gruff on the outside, but he has a heart in there. Just today, he figured out a way to explain this ink pressure stuff to me in a way I'd understand. I've never had someone change the way they explain things before. It's helped a lot, I've learned so much so quickly! You should see for yourself. Narrator, take it away!

~+~
...Erm, thanks, Wallace..?
   Thomas was writing his GENT report for the day as Wally walked up to him.
  "Soo... Where are we gonna head next?" he asked, fidgeting with the hems of his sleeves.
  "Actually, we're done for the day." Thomas replied, finishing up the paperwork. "Thank you for all your help, Walls."
  "No prob! Despite workin' near Sammy, it was fairly quick an' painless- Wait, what'd ya call me?" Wally double-takes, after processing the new name given to him.
  Thomas fumbles with his tie anxiously, his face flushed with embarrassment. "Oh. Walls. I just thought-"
"That's genius!"  Wally shoots his hands up for extra emphasis. "Why didnt I think o' that nickname before??" He giggles, sitting back down.
  Thomas sighs with relief, slumping onto a nearby wall. "So, am I allowed to call you Walls?"
  Wally practically cackles. "Of course ya can, ya college boy!"
  "Hey!" Thomas lets out a hearty laugh, "No need to bring in your lack of education!"
  "At least- HEH- at least ahm not some prissy college boy wit' a stupid master's degree!" Wally goes into a giggling fit, Thomas joining in not long after.
  "Can you two do this somewhere else?" a very annoyed music director hisses, "It's distracting, and these stupid cartoon songs don't write themselves!"
  "Sorry, Mr. Lawrence. I- heh- I'll get out of your hair." Thomas packs up his things, taking off towards the exit of the music department.
  "Bye, Sam-Sam!!" Wally snickers, running off.
  "Don't call me that!!"

~+~

  Sammy may be a grump, but he's fun ta mess with. Especially bringin' up that whole shebang in the storage closet, heheh! At the end of the day, though, 's long as I get my work done I can't get fired. So I'll keep cleanin', so long as I-
  ...Well shucks. Lost my stupid keys. Again! How many times do I gots ta lose these things?! Ugh!
  Guess I should start makin' rounds with these trashcans again. 'Cos if Sammy finds out how often I lose these godforsaken things, I'm... You get the point.
  Actually, 'fore I forget, I got called into Thomas' office. I dunno if I did somethin' wrong or what, but he said it was urgent. I just hope that nothing's about explode, or worse- Hope I'm not boutta get laid off!

~+~

  As Wally nervously strutted towards Mr. Connor's office, he looked around the administration office. He quietly watched as they all worked on paperwork, plotting cartoons, or otherwise, taking note of the messier offices he'd have to later go back and clean up. Yet another all-nighter tonight...
  Wally ran into the wall with a thunk, completely spaced out. He rubbed where his face hit, sucking in air through his teeth.
  "Shhhiiii....." He hissed under his breath, before looking around, glad nobody saw him. He adjusts his hair to cover the bruise-to-be.
  Quickly making his way to the office, his hand freezes at the door. Deep breaths. After a while of hesitation, he's able to knock.
  "Come in," a gruff voice says, the sound resounding off of the walls.
  "y-Ya wanted ta see me, sir?" Wally approached meekly, trying not to stutter, and failing.
  "I just wanted to run through some things with you, because I might not be here next week. Do you have a minute?" Thomas asks calmly, shuffling through papers that varied from blueprints to reports.
  "Uhm- yeah! Yeah, what's the plan?" Wally asks, pulling up a chair towards the mechanic's desk, sitting on it backwards.
  "Well, some of the copper pipes near the art department have been acting up, the pressure going haywire every now and then... That kind of crud." Thomas grumbles, writing down some notes as he speaks, "Here. I mapped out a plan for if I leave. Can I trust you with it?"
  "Uhh, duh. Ya know, ya taught me good, an' I think ah unde'stand. So, basic'lly, ahm jus' makin' sure these pipes don't go ovah 45, right?" Wally asks, proud of himself for remembering.
"Y'know, you learn pretty fast, kid!" Thomas beams. Wally stutters a little.
  "Ahm not a kid!! 'M Twenty six..." Wally takes a pause, turning his flushed face to gain eye contact. He squints his eyes, grinning. "...an'-a-half!"
  Thomas chuckles. "At that height? ...Debatable."
  Wally pounds his small fist into Thomas' sides, with rapid succession. Thomas doesn't even flinch, aside from a chuckle.
  "Maybe! Yer! Too! TALL!!" Wally remarks through poorly placed hits.
"And- heh-maybe you're too weak to properly punch me."
  "Ay!! Ahm tryin' here!!" Wally shoots a glare up, flustered but having fun.
  "Ha! Well, you-...What's that on your head?" Thomas motions to the bruise from earlier, a worried look flashing his eyes.
  "NOTHIN'KAYBYE" Wally blurts out, swiftly fixing his hair before turning on his heel and running out the door, sprinting back to his supply shelves.

~+~

  I swear, if Thomas saw that stupid bruise, I'm gunna run away an' off of a cliff. Half-jokin' there, folks! ....Why aren't ya laughin'?
  Anyway, apparently Tom was serious 'bout bein' away. He's tutoring some newbies from his company, GENT, over at Archgate Films. I didn't even know we had other rivaling studios other than Disney n' that other one.. Dunno. Forgot!
  So, I guess I'm on duty again. Time ta make him proud! See ya then, folks! In the meantime, I'm outta here!