[Art is not made by me]
Enjoy your yummy dessert I made for y'all <3 (savor it because I made it extra long for you ;] )
Eddie Dear's POV:
It was the day after Julie made the great idea of trying to have me talk Frank out of their "hibernation". After finishing my mail route I slowly made my way towards Frank's house. Why am I so nervous? I thought to myself as I walked up Frank's porch where they would usually spend most of their time on a sunny day like this. I'd glance down at the wooden rocking chair Frank would sit in, empty. I'd sigh, wiping my sweaty palms on my pants before lifting my hand and knocked on the door.
The door swung open to reveal Frank looking down at a book in their hand, not even looking up from the page they were reading. "Julie I told you I'm busy-" Frank cut themselves off when they finally looked up from their book and stared up at me. "Uhm- Wrong puppet." I'd chuckle nervously. Frank's expression remained stunned for a split second before their face turned completely red with (seemingly) embarrassment.
The door suddenly slammed right in my face.
Frank Frankly's POV:
"Oh my stars- this is not happening right now." I'd mutter to myself as I pressed my body firmly against the door. "Why is Eddie here?!" I'd silently scream at myself. "Can I please just chat with you, Frank?" I hear Eddie call out from the other side of the door. I'd open my mouth to reply by saying that I was busy today but my morbid curiosity got in the way of my logical thinking... or is it something else? Oh forget it! Anyway, I'd collect my composure before opening the door once more.
"Ahem-" I'd clear my throat before continuing, "I apologize for slamming the door. I was just not expecting to see you- erm. Please, come inside." I'd choke out. Eddie carefully entered the house, glancing around. I'd close the door behind myself before speaking out again. "So, what is it you needed to talk to me about?" I would walk over to my bookshelf and return the book I was reading back into place. "Oh- uh-...." Eddie stuttered, clearly unprepared for the question. "I just wanted to check up on you, y-you know."
I'd swiftly turn around, my arms crossed over my chest, unsatisfied with the answer he had given me. Eddie clearly saw my unsatisfaction and continued rambling; "Cause I was worried about you- and, everyone is. I-I mean! I mean Julie was worried about you, a lot, and you just kind of disappeared with no warning so- so I decided to see how you were doing... on behalf of Julie..." Eddie sputtered; giving a nervous, awkward smile. I let out a deep sigh, "I'm fine, Mr. Dear." I replied while glancing away towards my bookshelf. "You got a lot of books." Eddie blurted out.
"Yeah, I like to read." I'd say blankly as Eddie walked past me and took a closer look at the bookshelf. "I'm surprised I didn't notice it when I was here last time." He spoke softly, taking out a book from a shelf and flipping through it's pages. "Do you like bugs? Or-... butterflies?" Eddie questioned, looking up at me. "Uh... yeah, I do. I'm an entomologist. In other words, someone who studies insects. Although, I do specialize in butterflies." I'd say with pride. No one usually asks me about my interests. So I am glad at least someone asked.
"That's pretty cool! I mean, it's ironic coming from someone who isn't a big fan of insects." Eddie chuckled, looking down at the book. "Really? What's there to not like? I mean insects can come in all shapes and sizes! Did you know that there are approximately 900,000 different species of insects, and it is suggested that there are over millions of species left to be discovered? Don't you just have that complete thrill when you find an insect? You just get to marvel in it's uniqueness and beauty. Every insect is like it's own person with it's own personality....."
Narrator/no one's POV:
Frank continued to ramble on their passion as poor Eddie stood there in complete silence. Eddie glanced around and started to look out one of the windows that overlooked Frank's flowerbeds, glad at least the rose bush was looking okay. Eventually zoning out as he observed the beautiful garden. Meanwhile, Frank noticed and tried to snap him out of this odd trance Eddie was stuck in. "Hellooo? Oh come on.." Frank huffed out, "Earth to Eddie? Excuse me?!" Frank said, snapping their fingers in front of him yet nothing seemed to work.
Frank grumbled to themselves, observing Eddie for a few seconds before being fed up with being ignored. Frank took their hand and tugged firmly at Eddie's tie around his neck, bringing their faces nearly inches apart. "Are you even listening?" Frank questioned in an irritated tone. Eddie looked right into Frank's eyes, his breath shallow. It took him a few seconds for his brain to compute what was happening. "I am now." He'd say in a sly, smooth and oddly flirty voice. "Oh forget it." Frank huffed, pushing Eddie away. Their cheeks glowed a bright rosy color.
[Fast forward a few minutes]
"Oh come on Frank I've apologized-... 1, 2, 3, 4... 4 times now!" Eddie whined, pouting his lips like a little child. Frank just scoffed it off and sat down on their couch, book in hand. They flipped open the book and started to read a page where they previously left off at. Eddie huffed, walking over to Frank and looking down at them. He'd bend over, using a finger to tilt the book away from Frank's gaze/view. Frank looked at Eddie with a mix of confusion and irritation. "Look, I know a place you might like, maybe it'll help you forgive me.." Eddie spoke softly, standing up again.
"You know what?" Frank said in an annoyed tone, rising up to meet Eddie'd gaze once more. "Fine, I'll give you one chance to redeem yourself, Eddie Dear." Frank said, shoving their book against Eddie's chest before walking off to freshen up a bit.
Frank walked out of their bedroom in some new, fresh clothes along with some pleasant floral perfume. "Alright, Eddie Dear. I'm ready." Frank paused in the middle of the living room, where Eddie had sat himself on the couch. Frank leaned to one side, hand on their hip. "G-Great!" Eddie sputtered out, seemingly mesmerized by them for a split second before collecting himself.
Eddie stood up and walked Frank out of their house and continued to lead them to the edge of the forest that surrounded the neighborhood. "Eddie wait- Are you sure about this?" Frank paused in their tracks; gazing at the deep, dark and mysterious forest. As Eddie turned around he could see a glimpse of worry in Frank's eyes. "Yes, I'm sure." Eddie replied in a sympathetic tone. He held out one of his hands for Frank to hold. "I don't need your sympathy..." Frank muttered under their breath before taking Eddie's hand and walking together into the forest.
They walked along a barely visible path that Frank had never seen before, speckles of light shined through the canopy. While Frank was being overly wary of their surroundings, Eddie walked with complete confidence and glee. Him and Frank were holding hands! How romantic! Eddie thought to himself, completely unaware of their woes.
The two eventually came up upon a barrier of bushes blocking the path. Frank stared at the bushes with complete confusion. Eddie had let go of Frank's hand and walked right through the barrier. "Come on Frank! It's just across the bushes!" Eddie spoke from the other side. "Look Eddie-.. I just don't know. Maybe this was a bad idea." Frank mumbled. Eddie then appears half way through the bushes, his clothing tangled with twigs and leafs, while his hand is stretched out towards Frank. "Do you trust me?" Eddie spoke.
Frank held their breath, pausing for a moment before reaching out their hand and gabbing onto Eddie's. Eddie then pulled them through the barrier. "ACK- Eddie! What the-..." Frank yelled before being met with a beautiful scenery. It was an open space where the trees drew back to reveal a field of flowers that spanned over acres. Frank brushed the grime off of their clothes, completely breathless from the view. "Eddie how did you find this place? No mailman needs to be out this far from the neighborhood no less." They questioned, turning towards him.
"Heh, I guess I just stumbled upon it one day and... thought you would appreciate it." Eddie nervously chuckled. Frank's expression said it all, they were completely blown away by this discovery. They walked out into the field when a butterfly gently approached them. Frank held up a finger as a place for the butterfly to land. "Huh, a monarch butterfly. As common they seem it's rare to actually see them in this region.." Frank said whilst enchanted by it's beauty, wishing they had brought their booklet with them to be able to draw it's perfect complexions. Eddie just observed Frank from afar before speaking up. "So... am I forgiven?" Eddie said with a sly smile, leaning against a tree. Frank turned around and for once they wore a soft smile on their face.
"Maybe so." They replied in the same tone.
(Total word count: 1715)
Sorry this took longer to get out than the other chapters! My motivation was kinda on the low for the past few days; but it's kinda also because I wanted to put so much into one chapter so I just made it extra long which is why it took longer. But I am really dishing out this good chapter for y'all so I really hope you like it as I put a lot of work into it. -TiKi
PS. Did y'all see the new update on Welcome Home's website?! I just love every puppet's voice (I was honestly not expecting Sally to sound like that but it somehow fits perfectly)! And I just feel so much more confident about writing about the characters because I feel like I know more about them. And Frank had a lot more humor than I thought they did lol!