[Art is not made by me]
Mentions of alcohol/alcohol consumption and intoxication! If you are uncomfortable with these subjects then I advise you to skip this chapter. Thank you for reading!
Narrator/no one's POV:
Eddie finished a long day of work, staggering to his house's front door. "Phew..." Eddie sighed, digging around in his messenger bag for his keys. Once he recovered his keys he'd unlock his front door and walk inside, making sure to lock the door behind him.
He hung his cap and messenger bag on his coat rack, walking past the front desk area towards the non-post office section of his house. (Girl idk how to describe his house. It's hard enough when you don't have any cannon visuals from inside their houses 😭)
After Eddie changed into some more comfortable clothes beside his work outfit, he made his way towards his personal desk where he would spend his free time on his personal projects. He took a seat and started on one of the projects. He recently learned about origami and wanted to try more techniques.
Mid-way through his activity he heard his doorbell ring. Eddie wasn't surprised by this because his post office was open 24/7. So, he stood up from his desk and walked over to his front door. Once he unlocked it, he opened the door. "Whether letter or parcel, whether rain, snow, or shine, we weather the weather and never decline! Who may I assist?" Eddie sung, taking a second to notice who was at the door.
"Oh! Ms. Partridge." He noted, giving a cheerful smile. "Thank goodness you answered, Eddie Dear! I was starting to get worried." Poppy said in a worried tone, her ruffled feathers started to relax and lay flat again. "I was going to offer you to come to my house for some dinner! I wanted to have some company over. I also made more food than I had originally planned..." She said, muttering the last sentence.
"I would be delighted, Ms. Partridge! Give me one minute to prepare then I'll be over quickly." Eddie accepted Poppy's offer excitedly. The two shared a goodbye before Eddie closed the door, walking over to his room to get ready.
Once Eddie had finished getting ready he walked out of his house and towards Poppy's barn. Eddie knocked upon Poppy's door only for a few seconds to go by before it swung open. "Ah, Eddie Dear!" Poppy happily cooed, "Please, come inside!" She stepped aside and waved Eddie inside. "I've got some more people coming over but Howdy is here! He can keep you company while I continue making the dinner table. You can make some small talk in the living room in the meantime!" Poppy chirped, leading Eddie into her living room before stepping away into the dining room.
Howdy was sat on a couch reading a newspaper, glancing up at Eddie's arrival. "Ah, well if it isn't the mailman himself, Eddie Dear!" Howdy confidently smiled, standing up to greet Eddie with a handshake. "Why howdy, Howdy!" Eddie chuckled, shaking his hand. Howdy laughed along with Eddie, taking his other hand and tapping his shoulder. "Come on, take a seat." Howdy replied, sitting back on the couch as Eddie followed in suit; sitting next to him.
The two made casual talk about how each of their work was coming along before they were interrupted by a knock at the door. "I got it!" Poppy called from the dining room, rushing towards the door and answering it. Poppy greeted whoever was at the door before letting them inside. Poppy led them into the living room where they were finally in view.
"Frank and Sally? Well, I wasn't expecting you two to be here, much less Frank." Howdy chuckled, leaning back in his seat. Frank let out a sigh before turning to Poppy and whispered close. "I'm sorry Poppy. Sally just.. insisted on being here once I mentioned it. There was no changing her mind." Frank shook their head. "Oh it's fine dearest. The more the merrier!" She nervously chuckled. She then turned to face the rest of the group. "Dinner will be ready soon! I just have to make some... adjustments." She announced awkwardly before returning to the dining room.
Frank and Sally took their respective seats; Sally joined Eddie and Howdy on the couch while Frank decided on sitting across from them in a chair. "So!" Sally confidently continued, "Who would like to hear about my new script for my next, absolutely grand, play?!" She hopped up from her seat, hands on her hips. Frank let out an irritated groan, "Sally, you already told me about it on our way here..." They placed their head in their hands.
"Well who wouldn't want to hear the greatest script of all time once more? So! For my next play it's going to be about...."
Sally continued to reenact her whole play with overly exaggerated gestures, jumping around the whole living room while Eddie and Howdy watch with some interest; Meanwhile, Frank being forced to sit through this exaggerated reenactment once more.
Mid-way through Sally's spiel she was interrupted by Poppy's voice. "Dinner is ready!" She cooed, peaking her head through the archway into the living room from the dinning room as she waved them to come in. The group collectively got up from their seats and followed Poppy into the dinning room.
In front of them was a large table laid out with a plethora of food. "Wow! You really outdid yourself Poppy. Thank you for making all this food for us." Howdy spoke with gratitude, Frank and Eddie nodding in agreement. "It's so dramatic and fantastic looking! Might as well be perfect for the stage!" Sally chimed in, practically beaming with awe. Poppy sheepishly glanced away, not expecting the floods of compliments from her fellow neighbors. "Oh please, sit down and eat whatever you'd like."
[Time skip]
TW starts here so this is your last warning!
After everyone was finished and cleaned the table, Sally had to depart because of her plans she had tomorrow. The others waved her goodbye; after the door closed, Frank let out a deep sigh. "I need a drink. Poppy, do you have any wine perhaps?" They looked up at her with an exhausted gaze.
"In fact, I believe I do. Would you two like anything to drink?" Poppy said, referring to Eddie and Howdy. "Sure! I'll have a beer." Eddie chimed; Howdy cut in, "I can help you if you'd like." Poppy nodded her head in acceptance of Howdy's offer before walking off, Howdy following behind her.
"Long day?" Eddie questioned, turning to Frank. The grey puppet simply nodded their head before deciding to give a response. "Yeah, I had a lot of gardening work to do. Julie sure didn't make it any easier." They gave a lighthearted chuckle.
"I see. She can be a bundle of energy sometimes." Eddie replied, chuckling along. Their conversation came to a pause before Howdy popped back into the living room with several drinks in hand, passing them to the others. Poppy followed in soon after with a wineglass in hand (or is it wing?).
"Usually I would have a drink with Barnaby but this is nice, a change of pace." Howdy said, sitting back onto the couch and took a sip of his drink. Frank nodded their head, the rest of them sitting down again.
Some small conversation started before Frank turned to look at Eddie, crossing their legs. "You know Eddie, I'm glad you came over. I've seen you running around the neighborhood, looking so stressed and overworked, I'm just glad you have an opportunity to relax for once." They gave a smirk, swirling their drink in hand.
Eddie felt his cheeks flush, or was it the alcohol...? "I'm glad to be here too." He responded with a soft smile. Why did they look so alluring in this moment? The way they sat with such sassiness, the way they swirled their drink, that seductive gaze that seemingly stared straight into his soul with the sly smirk...
[A few drinks later]
Eddie, Howdy, and Poppy managed to stay sober but Frank seemingly got more tipsy than the others did. "Oh feathers! It's quite late.. time flies by!" Poppy squawked as she looked at the clock on her wall. "I'll volunteer to take Frank home." Eddie rose up, glancing at the intoxicated puppet who was a giggling mess. "Thanks Eddie. I'll make sure to save some medication for them for you to pick up tomorrow morning." Howdy stated, giving a gracious nod before departing.
"And of course if you need anything Mr. Dear, don't be afraid to ask!" Poppy chirped. Eddie nodded his head, "Thanks again!" He replied, assisting Frank to their feet before stumbling out of the house. "Stay safe!" He could hear Poppy calling out to them before shutting the door.
"I can totally *hic* walk by myself.. you know!" Frank spewed. Clearly they couldn't with how wobbly each step they took was. "Come on Frank, I got to get you home safely." Eddie said, wrapping Frank's limp arm over his shoulder. He could feel Frank's drunken gaze staring at him with confusion.
"I didn't know you had two *hic* heaadss? Heheheh! They look sooOoOoo handsome." Frank giggled historically. Luckily the dark lighting hid his flushed face. Frank leaned in close to Eddie's face. "I'm tempted to *hic* kisss theemmm~"
Frank Frankly's POV:
My mind was hazed by the alcohol, I kept staring at Eddie's perfect features. How everything was seemingly made with absolute perfection, there was no other puppet more gorgeous than him. He was all I could think about in my drunken state, how sweet the feeling would be if only his lips were pressed against mine.
They do say that the truth comes out when you're drunk...
Narrator/no one's POV:
Eddie pulled away, he could smell the alcohol in their breath. "Frank no- You're drunk." He protested. "Hmph. You're no funn..." Frank pouted, turning away.
Once they reached the door of Frank's house, Eddie opened the surprisingly unlocked door and walked inside with Frank still practically draped over his shoulder. He sighed, setting Frank on their couch and leaned down to take off their shoes for them.
"Eddie," Frank paused, following Eddie with their gaze as they watched him place their shoes on the shoe rack. "I love you." They sputtered out, giving a sly smirk.
Eddie paused, turning around to look at Frank. He stared into their eyes, only to be met with a playfully seductive pair of eyes laced with drunken love looking back at him. Frank giggled at how flustered Eddie got when they spoke those three enchanting words. In their inebriated mind they enjoyed watching how he reacted to their sweet, drunken confession.
Eddie's breath swallowed, trying to comprehend what he heard. His heart sank a little when he reminded himself that Frank was still intoxicated and wasn't in their right state of mind. He lost a little bit of hope, a hope that Frank and him could possibly be more than friends; but it just seemed to be Frank playing with his emotions for their own entertainment.. they couldn't possibly mean it, right?
He gave a deep sigh, walking over to Frank as he shook his head. He picked them up and walked them towards their bedroom, Frank cradled in his arms. Eddie opened the door to their bedroom and placed Frank in their bed, tucking them under the covers.
Eddie was about to leave their bedside when he felt a hand grabbing his arm. He paused, hearing Frank's voice from behind him. "Are you leaving me?" They spoke softly, a shocking change in demeanor to how playful they were earlier.
He took a moment to think through his thoughts carefully before turning to face them. "No, I'm not leaving you Frank." He sighed, sitting on the edge of Frank's bed. Frank let go of his arm once they were reassured, snuggling up under the covers.
Eddie waited until he was sure Frank was asleep to return back to his house, making sure that Frank's door was locked before he left.
(Total word count: 2065)
EEEEEEK! I'm so excited to have this chapter out for y'all! It was super fun to write and to be honest I just let my fingers type this out with little to no plan at all and I ended up loving it!!! I really hope you all enjoy this chapter as well. I would also like to thank you all for the support and 1k+ reads, it really helped me get my motivation back!-TiKi <3