y’all im playing bugsnax again for the first time in a while and omg the journalist can be so outrageous sometimes… like wydm “filbo said you have a wife. where is she?” who starts a conversation like that lol?
My part of the Bugsnax Secret Santa! I had a lot of fun writing this and I really hope you can enjoy it.
Summary:
Love is a chemical reaction that Floofty never familiarized themselves with. They're lucky that there's a certain grumpus that's more than happy to help with their experiment.
Note: This is my gift for @violight-ghost as a part of the Bugsnax Secret Santa on Tumblr!
I was incredibly lucky (and happy) to write for one of my favorite ships ^^ I really do hope that you can enjoy this fic and have a very happy holiday!
Love was a foreign concept to Floofty Fizzlebean. They thought themselves immune, saw it as a foolish chemical reaction that simply followed intense friendship.
Well, perhaps they came to that conclusion after watching their brother fawn over that muscular dunce. They still laugh at it to this day.
Or, at least they did.
They find themselves with a bit of a predicament. The whole.. love ordeal. They found themselves falling for another grumpus they met while on Snaktooth.
Gramble Gigglefunny.
How it came about, Floofty couldn't tell you. Perhaps it was the way Gramble cared so deeply for grumpkind and the bugsnax- even after knowing their true nature. Or perhaps it was one fascinating he was to them. He was simply enchanting.
They shook their head, bringing a paw to their forehead and rubbing it into their fur. They couldn't let such foolish thoughts plague them.
But even so, they could allow themselves this one indulgence.
It ended up leading them to visit one of the only couples they could easily access.
Their brother and their meathead.
Making their way to the house wasn't an issue, most of the survivors ended up living close to each other. It was Filbo's idea and in the end, they were glad for it.
Either way, they bring themselves to knock on the door.
There's shuffling from the other side of the door, two set of paws are on the floor. Chandlo is the one to open the door, nearly tearing it from the hinges.
"Floof-dawg!" He cheers, a big smile making it's way across his face, "What brings you to casa-de-lo today?"
Floofty can see their brother in the background, they can see him poke his head out from one of the other rooms and smile as he sees them.
"I simply came to visit my brother and.. I suppose you as well." They say after a few moments. They're smiling, they can feel it, and for a moment it does surprise them.
"Woah, big deal," Chandlo moves aside to let the purple grumpus in, "Please, come on in! I'm sure Snorpy's in the living room."
Sure enough, Snorpington is in the living room. He's watching Grump Peaks, though Floofty is graced with the show being paused and their brother turning to them.
"Hello Floofty."
"Snorpington."
It lasts a moment before Floofty moves and sits down on the couch beside Snorpy. Their relationship is still in the earlier phases of being repaired, but progress is certainly progress.
"I need your help," Floofty says after gathering their courage.
"What plagues you?" It's a genuine question, Floofty can tell. Snorpy's dropped most suspicions about them by now.
"I'm experiencing.. feelings for a grumpus."
Floofty can hear a glass drop from the kitchen. Of course Chandlo is listening to them.
Snorpy immediately sits up a little more, paws already slightly shaking in a form of stimming. Floofty doesn't judge, they have their own stims as well.
"Who is it?"
"... Gramble."
There's another sound of shattering glass, this one gets Snorpy's attention.
"My love, please stop breaking our glassware!"
"Sorry dawg!"
"Ahem.. I apologize for Chandlo's behavior, please, continue."
"Right," Floofty crosses their leg over the prosthetic one and breathes, "I feel like I've cracked the mystery behind life when I think about Gramble. I want to dissect him- but not in the literal sense.. a metaphorical kind of dissect where he is not killed. I.. love him, Snorpington."
Snorpy puts his paws together for a moment as he takes a moment to think. He nods slowly, leaving Floofty in a state of miniature despair.
"You love him.. do you plan on telling him?"
"Of course I do."
Snorpy coughs out a few sputtered 'ohs' and 'hms' immediately after, his own face flushing through the fur. He looks at them, eyes wider now.
"That soon?!"
"Snorpington, I am aware of my feelings. I am not going to dance around in some meaningless charade like you have for the past few years." Floofty deadpans, crossing their arms as they stand up, "I came for advice, do you have any?"
Snorpy thinks hard for a moment as Chandlo enters the room. He raises his paw and grins.
"Maybe you should just like.. be straight forward with it? Go up to him and be like, 'Dawg, I'm in love with you.'" Chandlo suggests, leaning against the back of the couch as he finishes.
"But is that /too/ direct?" Snorpy worries from his spot on the sofa, watching his sibling with a sense of concern.
"No, for once Chandlo is right," Floofty is cut off by a 'woop' from Chandlo, but continues shortly after, "I should be direct. I'll have to leave to his house at once."
Snorpy is able to sputter out a few goodbyes and good lucks, thankful that Chandlo does the talking for him. He's the one to walk Floofty out and give a little more advice, and for once Floofty is surprised on how knowledgeable Chandlo could be.
Floofty has to take the bus to get to Gramble's house. He, along with Wambus and Triffany, chose to live outside of the town. It's certainly not a hassle to get there, but it does make visits a bit more surprising.
As the purple grumpus gets closer to the ranch houses, they can feel their heart contract. They're familiar with momentary anxiety and they have had the experience described to them many times over.
They shut their eyes and take a deep breath.
It pains them, for a moment, as they can imagine a future with the grumpus. They were entirely different, yet at the same time it would make for something interesting. Floofty craved it, like a mad man. They could see themselves moving to the ranch, despite the impractical nature of it. They could see themselves aging alongside Gramble. Perhaps even a grumpling-
They have to stop themselves and remember their stop. The walk off the bus is nearly humiliating for no good reason.
The bus stop is only a stone's throw from the houses.
They take their time, hesitating as they reach Gramble's mail box. It's painted pink with blue accents, reminiscent of one of the old toy houses they owned in childhood.
Looking down the driveway, the house reminds them more of it. There's a labor or love that Gramble's put into it and it makes Floofty's heart swell. They couldn't believe this was about to happen.
They speed up to make it to the porch in a timely fashion and take a few moments to hype themselves up. As they go to knock, the door opens.
"Floofty? What a surprise! What brings ya here?"
They look down, eyes softening as they finally let out the breath they weren't even aware they were holding.
"We need to talk."
"Oh? W-well, uhm.. sure! Come on in," he moves aside, watching them enter his house and move to the small living room.
The duo sit down on the small couch and before Gramble can even get a word out, Floofty speaks.
"I'm in love with you."
"What?"
"I'm in love-"
"No," Gramble cuts them off, "I.. I heard you, Floofty.."
Floofty sits there, waiting for the rejection, but it never comes. Instead, they're met with a small pink paw placed over their own.
Gramble smiles.
And Floofty tears up, thankful their goggles cover their eyes.
"I feel similar. I don't know if I'd say love just yet, but.. maybe, if you would like to..?" Gramble pulls his paw away and smiles, a little shy as he finishes, "We can try."
"Yes, please. I'd.. like that a lot," Floofty doesn't have to second guess any thoughts.
They take things slow, of course, neither of them are the most experienced in positive relationships.
There are milestones. Things are rocky at first. Floofty's emotional constipation takes quite sometime to overcome but Gramble isn't one to give up. Floofty finds that they love that about him- there's many things that they love about each other.
It takes a few months for them to finalize their relationship- or, at least for them to label it. They don't tell their friends, though Snorpy and Chandlo are already aware of it.
The rest of the survivors- their friends, Floofty thinks to themselves in a warm correction- figure it out at the two year anniversary of escaping Snaktooth.
Filbo and Buddy threw the yearly party and, as per usual, Floofty was one of the last to show up. Though, this time, they showed up with a plus one.
Paw in paw with Gramble, Floofty walks into the apartment for the party.
They're greeted warmly, though they hear the clatter of plastic on the ground as Chandlo drops his cup. It was somewhat humorous to Floofty, enough to draw a laugh from them.
"Oh! Floofty, you're in a good mood," Filbo says with a big smile.
"Yes, I certainly am," Floofty agrees with the mayor, squeezing Gramble's paw a little more before letting it go. The shorter grumpus has them lean down for a quick kiss before leaving to speak with his own friends.
"Oh? When did that happen?" Filbo's eyebrows shoot up at that and Floofty just sighs, happy and unbothered.
"A few months ago.. I was lucky enough to have Gramble agree to be my boyfriend."
Floofty Fizzlebean never experienced love. Up until they truly met Gramble Gigglefunny, that is.
