You gotta be someone, you gotta be strong, when you got the goods y'know you can't do anything wrong

[gobetween]

There'd been a few days since his visit to Bridge after his illness, following dropping by Perdita, and now here he was racing through the tunnels doing it all over again. This time involved a quick vault through the T. Matthew Fraggle Room, one moment spent to get his bearings, and then off he went again.

The world on the other side would require just a bit more caution, but hopefully Louie would be rather close to the Fraggle hole and he wouldn't have to spend time looking for him.

Comments

[scaredsilly]

"I think you'll find that varies among Fraggles. We've had to remind Mokey more than a few times that she needs to go out to the garden again," he said matter-of-factly, without any real malice behind it. It was just another trait of their friend.

"But with as many Fraggles as there are in the Rock, all I've got time to worry about is laundry. And death. But I enjoy it." He paused, then almost seemed to snicker a little. "The laundry part, I mean."

[talkyourwayout]

Louie paused for a moment - he generally just worried about death when he seemed to be coming up on it. Which was, honestly, way more often than he'd like, but still not a constant thing.

"Uh, that's- Well, I'm glad you like doing laundry. Are you the only one in the Rock who has that job?"

[scaredsilly]

"The official job, yes." Once the rinsewater was empty of clothes, he hauled it up to dump it out as well. "But I've run a couple laundry classes in the past, so there are some other Fraggles who help with the work in their own way."

[talkyourwayout]

"Huh. So you probably do more than thirty minutes a week, then..." But he'd said he liked laundry, so maybe it wasn't so bad for Boober. "Wait, a couple laundry classes? How much is there to know about that?"

[scaredsilly]

"Oh, plenty!" He turned to face Louie, counting on his fingers. All eight of them, as he went along. "You've got to know the best temperature of the water to prevent colors from running, what counts as 'delicates' for sorting purposes, proper scrubbing technique to get out the most stubborn dirt, the best locations for soap, the amount of soap to use in the first place, what additions you need to make for particular stains, how to hang them so you don't crease the shoulders, you have to know when steam cleaning is the best option versus the washboard, and don't even get me started on preventing shrinkage. We may be small but we have our dignity."

[talkyourwayout]

Louie stifled laughter as Boober went on - no ill-intent behind it, just... Wow.

"Okay, that makes sense, then. Guess there's more to laundry than I thought." Honestly, Louie wasn't even sure who did his laundry these days - probably Mrs. Beakley?

[scaredsilly]

"Indeed there is! And there's no one better at it than I am."

He glanced at the clothing, then walked over to take down a few shirts, folding them carefully. It wouldn't take a detective to notice they belonged to Gobo and Wembley, both having a distinctive sense of style.

"Enough time has passed, I think. Come on, I'll walk you to Gobo's room."

[talkyourwayout]

"Cool," Louie said with a nod. He paused before he started to actually follow Boober out, though. "Would you mind - I mean, if Mokey's gone already - do you think I can talk to him alone a little, too?"

[scaredsilly]

"Yeah, of course." It was no question. He remembered how upset Louie was just a few minutes ago, and fully intended to leave anyway once he checked on Gobo himself- er, dropped the shirts off.

[talkyourwayout]

"Thanks, Boober. For fixing up my hoodie, too - I'll come back for it later."

[scaredsilly]

"Anything in the name of a friend." A smile, and he led him on.

Once they reached their destination, they would see Gobo was indeed by himself, Mokey and the others elsewhere in the Rock. He was in his customary bed facing the wall, a blanket pulled up to his ears. He hardly remarked when Boober announced the clean laundry, and the smaller Fraggle lingered a moment, watching him. Then he turned to leave, though he paused by Louie and rested a hand on his arm, nodding gently. With that, he departed.

[talkyourwayout]

Louie returned the nod, and then just stood there for a bit, eyeing Gobo as he tried to figure out how to say what he wanted to say. When he finally spoke up, he still didn't wasn't sure, however.

"Hey... I didn't know."

[gobetween]

At first, Gobo's only reply is silence. Then a deep sigh, and, "Didn't know what."

[talkyourwayout]

"About your Uncle Matt. You never... Said anything about that."

[gobetween]

"Sure I did. I talk about my Uncle Matt all the time."

[talkyourwayout]

"No, Gobo." Louie sighed before going on. "I don't mean just- I mean that he raised you."

[gobetween]

The silence after that was deafening, and it was hard to tell what Gobo's reaction was. Louie couldn't see it, but he was staring at the wall wide-eyed, and after a moment he turned enough to look over his shoulder at him.

"...Yeah. He did."

[talkyourwayout]

"Yeah," Louie echoed. "...Look, I won't ask about your parents. I'm sure you get that enough, and I... I don't like it when people ask about mine. Even if Mom's back now, it's just... Not cool. But that's the thing, Gobo - my mom was already gone when I hatched. Uncle Donald raised me and my brothers for, like, ten years. So, you know, I- I get it.

"And for what it's worth? I would've knocked someone out, too, if they'd talked to me about Uncle Donald like that. Or at least, I'd have tried." A beat. "You can't tell anyone that, but it's the truth. I have tried, before, because some people are jerks about him. So I know how you feel, Gobo." He glanced away, but raised a hand to place on the rock wall alongside Gobo's head, leaning. "And I wouldn't say that if I wasn't sure it was true, because I don't like it when people think they know how I feel. But... This is different. Or maybe I'm wrong, but it sure feels like I'm right."

[gobetween]

His expression dampened as he watched Louie, turning to see him better. His own uncle had raised him-? That... was something he hadn't known either, hadn't even thought to ask about. The sudden connection between them took him a bit by surprise, but just as it had for Louie before, it was like something clicked into place now that he knew that.

And there was just one thing to do. He sat up in bed, took Louie by one arm and pulled him into a tight, warm squeeze.

[talkyourwayout]

The tiniest of ohs escaped Louie as he was hugged, but he quickly returned the gesture. "Thanks, man," he whispered.

Really, it was no wonder why they were friends, was it?

[gobetween]

"Thank you," he returned, just as softly. One final little squeeze in the hug and then he leaned back, giving Louie a smile. It faded after a moment though and he sighed, glancing down at his hand. It had been wrapped from wrist to middle knuckles, and he carefully flexed his fingers as he stared.

"That doesn't make what I did right, though. Fraggles don't solve problems with their fists, even if it is a bully issue. I just got so caught up in the moment, and I lost my head."

[talkyourwayout]

"Not really, but... Man, you should spend some time with my brother, Huey. He's usually the smartest person you'll ever meet, and the nicest, too - but don't tell anyone that, either. Anyway, when he gets mad or feels hurt, he really goes nuts... But he's still Huey, you know?"

[gobetween]

Gobo was still looking down at his hand as Louie spoke, but he nodded, showing he was listening. Then he sighed and looked up.

"...There was a time, not long after my uncle left for the first time, where I found myself really doubting that I had it in me to be an explorer. Because I got so caught up in my own head, I wound up screwing up real badly and unleashing a monster through the Rock, from a labyrinth it usually remains trapped in. I made it right in the end and resealed it, but when I came back to cheers, I didn't really feel right about it, at first. I was the one that caused it to get out in the first place, right?

"But my friends reminded me that, in the end it was how I made it right, that showed who I really was. Even if I lost myself for a minute there and caused some trouble, the real me shone through. The brave explorer, who always knows just what to do to help people."

At a sudden thought he blinked and glanced off past Louie, brow furrowing a bit in thought. He put his hands down on either side of him and hopped off forward out of the bed.

"Come on. We're going out to the garden."

[talkyourwayout]

Louie was smiling and nodding along when Gobo hopped out of his bed - at which point he was suddenly quite lost. He stared as his friend zipped away, out of the room, staying put in his own confusion.

"Gobo? Gobo, wait, what are we doing now?!" He took off after him. "Gobo, hold up!"

[gobetween]

"We're going to the Trash Heap!" He'd gone out of the room at a good clip, but once out into the wider, more populated areas of the Rock, he loped along the pathways instead.

"I've got an idea, but I have to check something first!"