the art of music /// s.l x h.s

two // towels and herbal tea

~ July 9th, 1929 ~

The Music Department had finally been built, which brought more employees to the studio. Among these employees was Wally Franks, the new janitor. His job is mostly about cleaning, but he also happened to make accidental messes almost all the time.

Him and Sammy didn't get along well.

Wally Franks was holding a bucket of a mixture of water and ink that he recently mopped up. Wally, being the inexperienced janitor that he is, thought it would be safe to leave that bucket on top of Sammy's cracked office door, while he looks for his keys.

Obviously he'd never seen a cartoon before.

Henry was also in the music department at the time. He found it relaxing to doodle while the band warmed up. But nearby, he heard a loud CRASH, and than a voice screaming "WALLY."

The band stayed put, but Henry jumped off the top of the piano and decided to investigate.

Henry walked down to hall, only to see a wet/inky version of Sammy. "Sammy? What happened to you?" Henry asked, worry on his face.

"That little prankster Franks" Sammy muttered through gritted teeth. "By god, next time i see him I'll-"

"WOAH. Calm down." Henry said, cutting him off. "Here, follow me. Let's dry you off."

Henry dragged Sammy into a nearby empty room, the only things in there were instruments. Henry left for a brief moment, then came back with towels, a bucket of water, and herbal tea for Sammy.

Henry dipped a towel in the water, and began trying to remove ink from his ink stained skin.

Henry almost forgot about his massive crush towards Sammy until now. I mean, they'd never been this intimate before, Sammy just staying put while Henry rubbed a towel over him.

Henry sure hoped his face wasn't red.

By god, ever since Sammy got this job, his appearance has increased. He was actually able to buy a house, meaning he was no longer covered in grime. Instead, his face was actually pretty soft, with light stubble.

Once Henry did the best he could, he gave the tea to Sammy and sat next to him. Sammy looked down at Henry. "Thanks. You didn't have to do that."

"And leave you there dripping, decapitating our new janitor? I don't think so." They both laughed at the thought.

Sammy never noticed Henry's laugh before. It was small and dainty, kinda like him. It had little snorts in it.

Sammy liked it.

Wait, what?

Henry was pretty tired from today, having to sketch at least five different scenes. His eyelids dropped and his head rested on Sammy's shoulder.

Sammy tensed up. He looked down at Henry, never really noticing him this way. His glasses were crooked from the position he was in, and his mouth was slightly open, breathing softly. His green eyes were closed, his curly red hair falling in front of his face.

Sammy didn't know what he was feeling. He only felt this way for the few girls who came into his dads bookstore, but that wasn't as intense as what he was feeling for the curly-haired animator.

Sammy was falling, and he was falling hard.

The only problem is he didn't know.

~ couple days later ~

Norman Polk noticed changes in the music director's behavior.

Whenever Henry was in the department, he acted more poised and attentive, but whenever Henry actually talked to him, he was a mess.

But so was Henry.

"How dumb can they be?" Norman muttered to himself. "It's almost like everyone can see it but them."

It's time Norman speeded this process up.