Y/ᑎ ᑭOᐯ
"Mom, where's Woody?!" Andy cries running outside in the rain.
"He's not coming back" I say wringing out the rain water from my hair.
Now safe inside Andy's room as we await for him to come back. The others thinking he's going to have Woody perched in his arms, me expecting Andy to have empty hands and eyes filled with tear.
"Well Of course he's coming back y/n" Jessie's speaks up. Her voice slightly lispy with a positive ring.
"Oh stop, you know that would give anything and everything if it meant staying with Bo. Have you seen the way he looks at her? Have you seen that way he values her? He's going to stay by her side." I scoff, sharing my reasoning.
Through the open front door Andy's panicked yells can still be hear slightly. His mom calling back telling him to get inside.
"Don't overthink it, I know you're scared for Bo but you know that Woody trusts her"
"Scared..?" I ask myself aloud.
'No I'm not scared for Bo, I'm scared for how this will effect the rest of us. If Woody were to for some reason leave us to stay with her, that a whole lot of responsibility put onto me.'
"I can't find him mom!" Andy continues to search.
'I mean sure I've got Buzz and Slink and even Jessie to give me a hand, but I've been in the role of 'deputy' longer than both the 2 love birds have been apart of this family, and slink has always been more of a hand rather than a leader. Molly's room has lost their 'leader', and that falls back down onto me to figure out.'
"Hey look what I snagged from the cupboard" Mr potato head struts in with Mrs potato head holding a few wash cloths.
Mrs potato head drapes a wash cloth over slinky while I'm ushered over, dragging my feet.
'I don't think anyone here is thinking about how much of an impact this will have on all of us.'
"It's all going to work out for the best" Jessie slings a clean wash cloth over my shoulders to absorb the rest of the dripping water.
Will it though?
A loud cheer is heard from outside followed by the quick foot steps that grow closer and closer to the door of Andy's room.
We all scatter to our previously left places and watch as the boys feet slip into his room. And to my surprise, there's no crying, there's no heart break and sorrow but instead pure joy as he holds his pride in his arms.
He came back?
With a content sigh Andy places the cowboy doll back on his pillow and skips back outs the door closing it and running downstairs, to finally have dinner.
The room instantly bounce alive and rush to the bed, wanting to know what had happened. From my place on the night stand, I look over to see Woody sitting their, staring at his hands, and hardly moving.
Should I approaching him or let him be?
Standing to my feet I slowly tread across the messily made bedsheets, approaching the Sheriff.
Woody..-" I start, sitting next to him against the pillow.
"I couldn't leave my kid" I've stated, his voice weak, his eyes filled with hurt.
"Oh Woody " I pull his arms around me and gently his head down to my shoulder, hand rest on the back of his head.
...
Now 3 weeks later Woody still hasn't bounced back from the permanent departure of Bo. I don't expect him to be perfectly fine and acting as if Bo never existed, but he has been so reserved, I actually feel like I've been running through with my first and biggest worry.
Woody not being here and having to run this room alone.
"Everyone it's time, staff meeting!" I make my way around the room gathering everyone and ushering them over.
I remember when we use to have a staff meeting every week, if not every couple of days, now it's more like ever fortnight or sometimes even longer, it's a lot more relaxed and I prefer it that way.
Opening the door to Andy's room, a couple of Molly's toys, the trio of Barbies make their way inside as I hear a pair of boot hitting the ground with every step growing closer behind me.
"I can't do this" Woody mumbles slipping past me.
"Uh- I, you need more time? do you want me to call the meeting off?" I turn to look at him, his eyes not meeting mine.
"... No. It's been to long since the last meeting, it's due." Woody's voice quiet and almost meek.
"So, do, do you want me to hold the meeting?" I try to piece together the request.
"I do"
Panicked I reply "But I've never done that before, I've never been the one to-"
"I know you can, that's why you're my deputy aren't you?" Woody crakes the smallest smile, a genuine one, the first I've seen in week from him.
He slips out of Andy's door and disappears down the hallway, leaving me nervous to hold this meeting.
I walk over to the chatty crowd and prepare myself.
'Alright no big deal, you've seen Woody to this 100 times before. You always say something during these staff meetings so this should be a piece of cake.'
Gathering myself and looking at the left notes I hear a confused voice from behind me "Y/n where is Woody?"
"He's not ready he told me"
"So who's holding the staff meeting?"
"He asked me to."
'Stop stalling, let's get this over and done with, you'll feel better once you start.'
"Alright everyone! your attention please!" I step up onto the tiny stage made from building blocks.
About 2 months ago we lost Mike the toy speaker, it's been some getting use to but I really wish he were here right now.
At the sound of my voice more and more toys turn and quiet down only to graced with confused expressions on their faces.
Quickly gazing my eyes over the crowd my voice hitches in my throat as I stand before the crowd of not only Andy's toys, but Molly's as well.
It would be right about now that I would meet eyes with Bo and she's give me a reassuring smile and I'd know that I can do this because someone out their believes I can, but she's not here anymore.
"Ok.." I breath out in a shaky breath.
Clutching the piece of paper in my hand with the notes Woody wrote.
A couple of years ago we ditched the podium stand, kind of wish we still used it right now, feel like I need it to hide behind.
"As you can probably gather, today I'm holding the staff meeting due to last minute changes.
"Where's the sheriff?" Potato head calls out.
"Physically I don't know, but mentally I know struggling. Which leads me to my first point, the loss of a very friend and leader of ours." I stop for a breath before continuing. "The departure of Bo has taken its toll on all of us, in a negative way. But it's time that we bounce back and rebuilt out bases on a way she would have done herself."
"But who's going to fill her past roll?" A rag doll of Molly's calls out.
A quarrel between the entirety of the crowd. Some for the idea of electing someone from Molly's room, others believing it's unnecessary to have another 'Leader'.
"Molly always plays with me, I'm a good choice, I know how to make her happy!"
"How dare you say that"
"Why is this an issue, this isn't something that we've worried about before"
"Who said that's fair"
"I don't trust you"
"I think that we should elect on of Andy's toys"
We don't need a leader, we aren't like Andy's toys, we can handle ourselves"
"Are you nuts?"
"This leads me to my second point"
I look up at the fighting crowd and see the slightest bit of move my out the corner of my eye looking towards the door I see the cowboy himself, slightly hiding behind the doorframe listening in.
"I think we should go and find Bo and bring her back, that would be so much easier"
"Oh shut it "
How long has he been there for?
"Everyone please just calm down" I call out, my request to shut the argument down is ignored.
The crowd continues to fight and bicker.
"ZIP IT FOLKS" I yell out suddenly, surprising the crowd and myself.
With this new found silence I begin to speak once again.
Jabbing my finger at the crowd I begin "Right here's gonna happen around here from now on, I speak you listen." Quickly tapping my chest bone, or where it would be with my index finger I continue " I'm here because I'm working to fix your issues and complaints, and you should respect that" finishing my little rant I slice my hand across my neck, implying that I'm not wasting any more time "So can it."
"As of right now, we have no leader of Molly's room, we are going to wait to see what happens, but if it comes to the worst we will find someone to fill Bo's roll" I say relating back to my notes.
Mumbling under my breath I comment "and as much as I hate to admit, it's most likely going to be me"
"Hey ay! Why, who put you in that authority-" Potato head starts shooting at me, as if the situation relates to him at all.
"I don't make the rules here" I bluntly reply.
(Bro I know this meeting kinda sucks right now, I'm gonna come back and fix it up but it's been liek 4 days since I last updated and I'm sick of writing it so deal with it )
...
"How are you doing now?" I jump up onto the window sill, leaning my shoulder on the side of the glass facing Woody.
"You know, it's been odd not having Bo around and I'll admit for a while there I didn't think it would ever get better. But she was right, I'm starting to feel ok" He says meeting my eyes confidently for the first time in weeks.
All I can do is smile. This has effected me just as much as it's effected him.
"Hey, urh, I spotted you earlier just by the door during the meeting, what was that-" I'm cut off by Eoody.
"About? I knew that leaving you to hold that meeting alone was cruel, I'm sorry for that and I couldn't drop and run I would t allow myself to do that. So I look in and it was just as chaotic as what I imagined it would be, but you handled it just as I believed you would". Woody alternates his view from me and the yard outside that's graced with a deep sunset.
"Y/n, you know Bo was so proud of you"
I look up confused "proud?"
"Proud" Woody says simply.
"Could you be a little more vague?" I laugh rolling my eyes.
"She always saw your hard work, kind efforts and attitude towards issues, she always mentions to me how she admired how you were able to remain so content and calm, even when the situation hurt you".
I can help my smile a giddy smile, she really Bo always brought out the best in me.
"And I have to agree with her, I admire you to" Woody slides forwards and takes my hands on his, squeezing them gently.
Woody face is washed with a emotions that I've never seen him express towards me before. It happy and warm yes, I've witnessed that many times before but there's a twinkle in his eyes, a love struck one.
"The last thing that she said to me was 'With her by your side, you'll be ok'" Woody's eyes not leaving mine.
"Her?" I ask.
"You!"
I look at him, a confused smile gracing my face.
"At first I though Y/n? Of course Y/n would stay by my side, why wouldn't she? But then it hit me like a boot on a fly... I'm also by your's."
'He knows?'
Letting go of my hand he pulls the leg that's hanging off of the ledge moving my body closer to him "All these years and I've ignored how deeply you mean to me, of course I've always acknowledged I care but never fully admitted to myself because I've always had excuses to hide from my true thoughts and feelings about you, how much I really am smitten for you."
"I never thought this day would come.." I mutter.
I must have had a slightly off look on my face because Woody's drops with panic a
"Y/n please tell me that you just flow it."
Cracking a purely free feeling smile I wrap my arms around him tightly squeezing him.
I feel his arms wrap around my back as I whisper "of course I will sheriff"
BRO ITS HAPPENING OMG STAY CALM
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Word count: 2230