Noodles! // Gorillaz fanfic (DISCONTINUED)

☆ Restless ☆

Russel's POV

I sighed, a big tired sigh, and flopped down on the sofa helplessly.

I always came to the 'living room' when I couldn't sleep. It wasn't actually a living room as such, rather just a room with a sofa that the other two called the living room.

There was something about the room that was distracting in a way, and it was why I would always come here when something was troubling me, preventing me from sleeping.

And there definitely some things to be troubled about tonight. What with our previous guitarist cheating on our singer and our new one being a small child who could barely speak a word of English, there was a lot on my mind.

Suddenly I caught the sound of a very small, quiet tip-tapping noise outside. A mouse maybe?

But poking my head round the door revealed that it wasn't a mouse, rather Noodle, looking tired and slightly on edge.

"Can you not sleep?" I asked gently. She nodded in reply. I felt her there. My first night in Kong hadn't exactly been easy sleeping either. 2-D had been getting in and out of bed all night, I was sleeping on a very makeshift bed, and the place just overall gave off bad vibes.

There's something about the atmosphere in Kong studios that's just... unsettling.

"Come in then," I gave her a smile, to show it was ok for her to join me. She crept in, and climbed on the sofa.

We sat in silence for a good few minutes, staring at some mindless junk blaring on the television that'd been quietly playing in the background all evening.

Eventually I realised that she was eyeing up a mug that was perched dangerously on the arm of the sofa.
"Do you want a drink?" I asked. She nodded, and I slowly hauled myself up from the dent in the sofa I'd been slouching in for the past hours.

"Wait here," I told her, before wandering over to the kitchen, and opening a cuboard, where mugs, teabags, coffee powder and a few other stray items were kept.

There wasn't much to offer.
Murdoc mostly drank strong, black coffees when he wanted a hot drink. If he didn't want something hot he'd probably resort to alcohol.
2-D mostly drank tea, and would usually leave lukewarm mugs of it lying around the studio for someone else to clean up. It was mostly just 'good ol' british tea' as he described it, though he could sometimes be caught drinking peppermint tea, which he stated helped his voice and throat when it got sore.

I wasn't too fussed by drinks, and would typically grab whatever was warm and nearest.

After a bit of rummaging and peering around in the cuboard, I found an unopened, unused tin of coco powder.

I warmed some milk, prized the tin open with the back of a teaspoon, and stired some of the rich brown powder round and round in a mug, until it created something that looked drinkable.

I carefully carried it back to her, and she took it from my hands, greatful. Her small fingers wrapped around the mug.

"I don't think," I began, deciding to strike a conversation, "that I ever properly introduced myself. I'm Russel."

"Ruh..ssss...el... Russ...el..? Russel!" She repeated my name a few times, beaming at me when she got it right.
"Mmhmm. The black haired guy is Murdoc."
"Muh... Murrrr... Murduck?" her eyes patiently waited aproval.
"Close enough," I chucked "And the tall, blue haired one is Stu."
"Stew?"
"Yeah, but we tend to call him 2-D."
"Too.. dee? Two Deee?" She looked puzzled, not understanding the nickname.
"It's short for 'two dents'. Because of the 'dents' in his face. Those are actually his eyes."
She nodded and took a cautious sip of her hot chocolate, listening to every word, nodding along.

"Ah, that reminds me." I fished a battered English/Japanese dictionary from off of the floor. Kong was full of many abandoned objects, left behind by it's previous inhabitants, and I'd managed to dig this up earlier.
"I wasn't sure, but it sounded like you spoke Japanese earlier. I was wondering is this would be of any use to you..?"

She studied it carefully flicking through the pages. After a while she nodded and tucked it next to her.

"Hopefully, that'll come in handy." I paused, choosing my next words carefully.
"Hey Noodle?"
"Hmm?"
"If Murdoc ever gets angry at 2-D or starts beating him, tell me, then go to your room, do you understand me?"
"...." She thought for a few seconds before nodding in reply.
"I don't want you caught up in those boneheads arguing and fighting, understand?"
Another nod.

We sat in silence for another few minutes, Noodle sipping at her hot chocolate every so often. The drink was beginning to make her drowsy, and she slowly leaned to the side, curling up in a little ball, her eyelids drooping.
"Hey..." I whispered, not wanting my last words to her to be serious words about things that she didn't need to be concerning herself with.
She glanced at me, fighting to keep her eyelids open.
"Sweet dreams Noodle," I smiled at her, and a few seconds later she was fast asleep.

I scooped her up gently in my arms, careful with her small form, picked up the dictionary, stuffed it in my pocket, and carried her back to her room, treading carefully so she wouldn't wake up.

I set her down in the makeshift bed 2-D had crafted for her, making sure that the blanket covered her whole body, to protect her from the harsh drafts that drifted through the studio.

There was a heavy rain falling outside, and the night was bleak, and starless. The room was cold and borderline empty, the walls a mess of crumbly paint and exposed plaster.

I could see why she'd had difficulty sleeping in here.
"Tomorrow," I whispered softly, to nobody in particular, maybe just to myself. "We'll sort this place out."