Pink Elephants on Parade (Wally Darling x reader)

Real.

[Trigger warning! Light self-harm in this chapter! Nothing extreme, no cutting involved, but it does go into detail, so just a headsup]

You didn't tell them about what you saw today. You knew they wouldn't know anything about it, nor would they understand.
"Actually, Wally?"
"Yes neighbor?"
"Could we just... go relax somewhere?"
You thought maybe, if your dream wasn't that eventful, you'd wake up with more energy.
"Sure thing."
He took your hand and led you to a big tree to sit in the shade. The two of you sat down, resting on the tree trunk. You looked up at the clouds, watching them pass by, despite the complete lack of wind.

"Say, is it always sunny in Home?"
"Almost always, yes. Sometimes it rains. Sometimes it snows."
"I see."
There was silence for a while, during which Julie and Barnaby joined you. Eddie passed by and you gave him an open invitation to join, but he was in a hurry with his deliveries today.
"Ain't this nice?" Barnaby asked.
"It sure it." you exhaled.
"Why are we laying down actually?" Julie tilted her head.
"Well... After all the adventures we went on, we have to take it slow every once in a while."

"Our neighbor's home is tiring." Wally said, keeping his eyes closed.
"Really? Home shouldn't be tiring, home should be nice and fun!"
"It's not always fun where I'm from." you brought your knees closer to you. "And in my case, it's never."
"That's just too sad!" she looked at you, concerned. "Why not leave home and come to Home!"
You laughed.
"If only I could Julie. If only I could..." you smiled. "Besides, I don't have to. You guys bring Home to me. And I can't thank you enough for that."
"No problem buddy." Barnaby gave you a thumbs up. "We'll always be here for ya."
"Yeah!" Julie nodded. "Next time, we'll go on even more adventures and we'll have double more fun!"
"God will and the creek don't rise."
"...What?" you looked at Wally.
He never answered, and no one acknowledged what he just said.

You woke up.
'What was that?'
Although your dream kept going as nice and peaceful as always, you were still confused that he would say something like that, even after you looked it up. Maybe it was a common expression in the 70's? That must be it.
"You are one little weirdo aren't you?" you booped the nose of your Wally puppet, whose arm was still detached (you never had the time nor the material to get to that).
Your theory didn't work either it seemed, you were just as tired as you were yesterday. Maybe even a bit more.
'That is weird.'
And this time, you were actually late to work, thankfully you've prepared everything the night prior.

As tired as you were, being late gave you an adrenaline rush, now you were fully awake which was good, maybe... When you got to your office, you were panting.
"Ah, there you are." Sallie whispered to you as you unpacked your stuff. "Morgan asked where you were, I told her you went to the bathroom."
Your eyes widened and you looked at her. She vouched for you?
"...Why?" you asked without thinking.
"Why?" she chuckled. "I don't want you to get in trouble, obviously." she said before going back to work.
'But why?'
You thought about a possible reason why she would be nice to you. Maybe she was going to ask you to do something for her later on, and because she did something nice to you then you'd have no choice but to say yes! You kept your guard up all day.
But she never asked anything. Nor did she bring it up again.
It made you so confused, a bit uncomfortable even.

"Okay guys!" Julie huffed, spinning around in her new outfit. "Today, we're playing business!"
"Not gonna lie Julie, I work in a business-like setting, I do *not* want to relive it." you smiled with furrowed eyebrows.
"But... But my outfit!" she gestured towards herself, up and down.
"Mmh..." Wally thought. "How about we play neighbors instead, you can be a business neighbor."
She gasped.
"Okay, I'm happy with that!"
"What am I gonna be...?" you asked yourself, thinking.
"You two could be the young married couple who just moved in!"