Object show oneshots

16. Snowlight - We're gonna go so far

Length: about 4960 words

HOOOOOOO BOY I LOVE THIS SHIP AND I'VE BEEN WAITING TO WRITE ABOUT IT FOR AGES (also look at my beautiful boy I love him)

The wind had changed: the weather had become fairer and the ground dryer: the puddles evaporated back into the clouds. Some of the contestants had seen Four become more and more stressed, reorganising recording screens and firing zaps at whoever dared come too close, so they had deduced that the fourteenth episode was nearing.
"I wonder what it'll be about." Firey wondered aloud to Coiny as they sat side by side watching them go about their business.
"Beats me. I saw X bringing in some heavy stones yesterday, but I don't know whether they're anything to do with the challenge." the golden disc replied, intently watching Four slide their index finger over one of the screens and type in a quick code, before spinning the panel around from square perspective to that of a diamond.
The two former arch nemeses had become even closer since Pin had rejected Coiny on the cliff some weeks before, Firey being as supportive as he could to his new-found best friend.
"Hey, you two! Can you come help me and X shift these stones? They're struggling to do it alone and Four's busy with other things." came a voice from behind them. The two were mildly surprised when Donut came forward, seeming in a much better mood than normal.
"You seem well-rested. Has Gelatin given you a break?" asked Firey. Donut seemed to wince slightly at Gelatin's name, but steeled himself and continued.
"Oh no, far from it... I had an amazing time last night."
Coiny and Firey both turned to each other, wiggling their eyebrows.
"NOT YOU TWO AS WELL! I had a hard enough time having the Factor of Four inside me with GB and TB around. I don't need this now."
"Is it not how it sounds?" Coiny inquired, still readying his eyebrows in case he needed to move them again.
"We just talked all night. It was sweet, and exactly what I needed. I feel like I can share anything with them already."
He trailed his gaze over the short distance to lock eyes with the smaller host, who waved energetically.
"I love them so much." Donut sniffed, wiping a small tear out of the corner of his eye.
"Wait... you and X?"
At first Donut was mortified, but then cast off all his fear of judgement and clarified, nodding hard. Firey and Coiny teased and congratulated, overjoyed at his success, accompanying him over to where the blocks lay, dead weights stubbornly frowning as they refused to be moved.
"Hello Donut! Thank you for agreeing to help me!" X cheered gratefully, lifting up one end as Donut and Coiny took the other in shivering arms as the weight pulled violently downwards against them, as Firey stood idly, pretending to inspect his hands.
"Jesus, this is heavy. Firey, can you please just actually help." Coiny asked in a strained voice, disgruntled at his unwillingness to aid them.
"Alright then, but wouldn't it be better to get a flyer on this job? Preferably Black Hole." the crackling fire replied, picking at his fingers with boredom.
"Huh. That's actually a good plan." Donut agreed, continuing to move the block along with the two other objects, but after they'd laid it on a small cart he dusted his hands and called out.
"BLACK HOLE! We need Black Hole!"
Nobody replied. A leaf blew in pirouettes over the piles, and crickets chirped in the bushes: a tumbleweed could have rolled across and nobody would've batted an eyelid. As Donut remembered Black Hole's hearing issues, he was ready to give up, but then a small yellow shape zoomed through the air and over one of the blocks, sending a shock of electricity through it with a zapping sound.
"Oh. Hey Lightning! Could you... possibly... not do that?"
The little flyer obeyed, asking curiously what they wanted with Black Hole, or, more specifically, what Black Hole could do that he couldn't.
"Four asked me to move these blocks for them, but I just can't seem to do it." X explained.
"Leave it to me." came the simple reply, as the bolt swept down upon one of the stones, clamping his short arms around it and managing to lob it over the cart. The enormous stone thudded densely onto the grass, sinking into the ever so slightly moist soil. Lightning stared at it with a vacant half-smile for several seconds before speaking.
"That was supposed to work." he explained, as the others gaped at him with open mouths.
"How bloody strong aRE YOU?" Coiny exclaimed, marvelling at the length of Lightning's throw, measuring it in his head with disbelief.
"Flyers carry people all the time. We have to be tough."
He hovered swiftly over the cart, retrieving the errant slab and slamming it on top of the rest. The others watched him, astounded at his strength, before X announced in an exhilarated voice that they were going to go and fetch the other flyers, if they were truly as powerful as Lightning had said they were.
"I'm glad these are getting shifted in time. Four's gonna be so proud of them." Donut sighed, relieved that X wasn't to endure any needless abuse in the near future, smiling gratefully at Lightning as he threw the rocks around, finally attempting to tug the incredibly weighty cart forwards. He strained hard, screwing up his eyes as he tried his best to make the carriage budge forwards, but it only wheeled forth a fraction before sinking back into the ruts that its wheels had scarred into the ground. After the tears of effort had drained back into their ducts, a white circular shape swam into existence in front of him. The casual grin, the folded arms and the slightly squinted eyes followed suit.
"Pretty impressive." he leered.
"SNOWBALL!" Lightning squealed, raising his arms and smiling in an unsettled way. A droplet of sweat appeared on his forehead, as he gripped tighter to the cart than ever before, yanking it backwards with all his might. It didn't budge an inch.
"To clarify, I can do better than this! I swear! I've been working these arms out!" he defended weakly, pulling harder and harder until the wheels rocked in their axles, and his shoulder moved in its socket. A sudden spasm of pain shocked through his arm, causing him to bawl in agony.
"AHHHH! Fuck!" he cursed, clutching his injured shoulder and floating downwards towards the ground.
Snowball laughed insensitively and carried on walking, announcing that he'd see him later after he'd learnt how to use his arms.
"Piss off, Snowball! Hey, are you okay?" Coiny asked, running over to take a look at his injured limb.
"I - think it's dislocated." the flyer gritted his teeth in pain.
"Ok, ok, let me see..."
"What an asshole." Donut growled, flipping Snowball off as he sauntered away from the scene.
"Don't do that! He's a nice guy really, he just - doesn't like to show any strong emotions."
Donut narrowed his eyes.
"So he has fragile masculinity then?"
Lightning, despite his physical discomfort, turned hostile at this.
"Look here, Donut. Everyone reacts differently in different situations. Yeah, I may be kinda girly in some ways, but he isn't. That's just his personality. Don't judge him for it."
"Then why did you try to show off your powerful arms to him? That sounds a bit like fragile masculinity." smirked Firey, leaning a hand on the cart and stroking his chin in what almost seemed like a rehearsed gesture. Lightning began to sweat again, attempting to raise his mangled arm, but abandoning it when it proved too painful.
"T-to clarify-"
Firey's expression intensified, as he supported even more of his weight against the blocks.
"Ha. I just exposed you." he sniggered.
Coiny shook his head and grinned ecstatically.
"I don't think that's what he meant." he said, nudging Lightning gently so as not to hurt him. The flyer hid his face in his hands and turned scarlet, confirming Coiny's suspicions.
"So, what did he mean?" Firey asked, confused at everyone's reactions. Coiny shrugged sarcastically, frowning with disbelief.
"You seriously didn't pick that up?"
Firey's blank expression answered the question for him.
"God, you're so fucking stupid... this is why I hated you for two whole years."
"You were the mean one!"
"Calm down." Donut demanded angrily, shutting the other two up as they realised they were falling into old unhealthy patterns. Coiny cleared his throat.
"So basically. Lightning likes Snowball and we've gotta set him up with his crush because he helped so many of us."
The penny dropped.
"Oh! And it's so ironic because he's supposed to be the matchmaker!"
"You got there in the end."
X returned with Puffball, Cloudy and Black Hole, who spent a few minutes awkwardly hovering over the bricks, discussing what to do.
"Um, the problem is that - that we don't have any limbs, so just because Lightning could chuck stuff around doesn't mean we can." Black Hole stated in his slightly awkward conversational tone.
Meanwhile, Donut had managed to coax the ball joint of Lightning's shoulder back inside its socket with a thick snap. Tentatively rotating it, he floated sluggishly back over the the gargantuan pile of slabs.
"Lightning, if you could get the stones onto mine and Cloudy's bodies, I can transfer them to the truck." Puffball instructed in her musical voice.
"Will you be able to support that?" questioned Firey, slightly concerned at her ambition.
"I managed to carry your fat ass to Yoyle summit." came the reply.
"You carried my fat ass to the air space next to Yoyle summit, traitor."
Puffball bristled, but eventually deemed it a fair criticism and backed down.
"What are you going to do about me and Snowball, Coiny?" Lightning murmured in the bronze coin's ear.
"Leave it to me. I'll find a way."