You work all night, you work all day. You still can't keep those worry blues away

[takeittothebridge]

No matter how long it had been, this time of year was always difficult for Bridge. Even with all the blessings and good things in his life, the anniversary of his father's death always left him feeling a bit melancholy, though some days leading up to the day were better than others.

This particular day wasn't the worse he'd felt, but he still gone to take some time for himself, wandering around Duckburg on his own and letting himself get lost in the empty feeling as he walked with no destination in mind, which somehow brought him to the park.

Comments

[takeittothebridge]

Bridge was a bit surprised to find that he did know the song somehow, despite not having heard it before. But with a slight laugh, he sang along with it anyway.

It felt just like being in a musical.

[gobetween]

As the song ended, he smiled at Bridge, warmed by sharing it with him.

"Not bad, eh?"

[takeittothebridge]

With a chuckle, he nodded. "Yeah, that was really impressive. How'd that happen?"

[gobetween]

"Nothing's more important to a Fraggle than music so, we can share it with ourselves and with others. Even if they've never heard it before."

[takeittothebridge]

"That's a pretty cool trick. Bet it makes singing in a group easier."

Or a band.

[gobetween]

He chuckled some and nodded, continuing to noodle around on the guitar.

"Yeah, it definitely does."

[takeittothebridge]

He played a few notes on his harmonica, matching Gobo. Then after a moment he lowered the instrument.

"So uh...you said you knew what it was like, huh? Losing someone."

[gobetween]

His hands paused a moment, then he continued playing, notes slower.

"Uh... yeah. I do, technically. Though I was really young at the time."

He was silent a few moments, then he said only, "I was... raised by my uncle."

[takeittothebridge]

Bridge nodded in understanding. "I'm...sorry to hear that."

Losing his dad had been one of the worst moments of his life. He wouldn't have wished it on anyone, even if Gobo had never met his.

[gobetween]

He nodded himself after a moment, then sighed softly.

"Uncle Matt may've been the one who really decided I was going to be an explorer, but I always knew it. My dad did the same sort of thing, and my mom always said that's what I'd grow up to do." A weak, humorless half-chuckle. "Guess she was right."

[takeittothebridge]

Bridge glanced over at him. Maybe he'd been wrong.

"Did you...ever get a chance to meet them?"

[gobetween]

He seemed confused a moment, then he nodded.

"Yeah. Uncle Matt didn't take me in until I was a few years old. He'd inherited the cave his uncle, who I'm named after, used to live in, and it was a two-fer so, when I needed somewhere to go, there was plenty of room for a little puffball of a Fraggle."

[takeittothebridge]

"Ah..." That was even worse then. "Sorry."

[gobetween]

"Hey, it's alright, eh?" He looked up at Bridge, and though his smile, sad as it was, didn't quite meet his eyes, it was genuine enough all the same. "I was still a pretty happy kid, and that was a while ago."

He looked ahead, still playing on the guitar, then shrugged with a softly amused sound. "Well, my 'young Fraggle' days are a bit closer behind me than some of the others, but..."

[takeittothebridge]

Bridge frowned a bit. "What does that mean?"

[gobetween]

"Oh, that I'm younger than most others seem to think I am." Alright, that was an actual (almost)laugh now. "I'm the second-youngest in my group, the only one I'm older than is Wembley."

[takeittothebridge]

He couldn't help a small snicker of his own. "Really? The others don't know that?"

[gobetween]

"Oh, no they do, but others that I meet usually assume I'm the oldest. Probably because I'm usually the center of the group, or because I'm usually the leader."

Another shrug. "It just kinda happened that way, it's got nothin' to do with age, and everything to do with all that Uncle Matt taught me before he started exploring Outer Space. I was still basically a kid when he left Fraggle Rock, but I still knew plenty about anything I needed to."

[takeittothebridge]

"Ah. I could see that. Experience can do that. For a while, some people thought I was older than I actually was."

[gobetween]

He looked up curiously. "Yeah? Because of your experience with things, too?"

[takeittothebridge]

He nodded, turning the harmonica over a bit in his hands. "For a while, it was just me and my dad, y'know? But when I was growing up, he was working a lot. So I learned to do things around the house to make things easier for him."

[gobetween]

"You know, that's kinda how it was with me and Uncle Matt. Even when he was in the Rock, he was often exploring other tunnels and I didn't always go with him, so I was left on my own a lot. And then there was when he left to go to Outer Space, too. I already knew the others by that point so I was never alone alone, but I still had to learn to do a lot around the caves because Matt was gone on some expedition or another."

[takeittothebridge]

He nodded a bit, looking at the harmonica in his hands. "Does he still go exploring?"

[gobetween]

"Yeah, which is alright with me." He snorted through his nose. "Don't get me wrong, I love Uncle Matt to death but we definitely get along better from either side of a postcard."

[takeittothebridge]

He snickered a little. "Well, I'm glad you still get to see him sometimes, at least."