a mix of 1, 7, and 20 ( for the hug meme ) if that's alright 👀 ( for abe :] )
Send a number, get a hug! (Accepting!)
1: a hug with a forehead kiss 7: a hug where one muse picks the other up 20: an overjoyed hug
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No warnings! It's just a little long.
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The Midnight Rolling was abuzz with activity. The regular patrons were dancing in full swing, the popular band was playing some well-known tunes, and all was right in the world... Except for one little thing.
Wilford sat by the bar, nursing a large glass of water. He didn't feel like anything fancy. The rainbow straw that slowly stirred the liquid did nothing to lift his mood. Even his moustache was droopier than usual.
Abe had been assigned to a top-secret job that had him out of town. It had been fine for the first few days, but it had been nearly a month! A month!
(Wilford had been marking the days off on a calendar so he knew he didn't fall out of time.)
Keeping track of the days only made the loneliness more apparent. He missed Abe more than he could than he could possibly say. The days were slow and boring. What happened to the fun of checking in on Abe, or taking him out to practice roller skating? What about the many cups of coffee he had made out of habit, only to realise too late that there wasn't anyone around to drink it. He wanted to hear Abe talk in-depth about his latest case, or his experiences in clown college, or even express disappointment in a cheesy joke.
Wilford was just a rainbow splattered on a white sheet of paper without Abe. The picture couldn't be complete without him, not anymore.
The staff behind the bar had noticed their manager was down in the dumps and had taken to gradually decorating his glass. The entire rim had bright paper umbrellas poking out of it, and some spare ribbon was tied around it. It didn't solve the problem, but it did bring a smile to Wilford's face. He was certainly a grateful man for being surrounded by such nice people.
"Excuse me, sir?" One of the barkeepers tapped him on the shoulder, pulling him out of his daze. "There looks to be a little trouble by the front door." Wilford turned and squinted in that general direction. He didn't see anything beyond the familiar door-shaped blur. But he trusted his team, and he pulled himself onto his feet with a half-hearted shrug. A hand blindly reached for his glass, only to discover it had disappeared. Huh. Weird. No matter. It was better to trudge over, check the problem, and then return to his seat. Easy-peasy.
"Hey. This is a quiet place. Best not ta have sorta problems startin' out here." It was a familiar warning he gave to potential trouble-makers, but it was far more lackluster than usual. He stepped outside, only to receive a light punch in the arm.
"What can I say? I've got a terrible, trouble-making influence." There, hidden just to the right of the main entrance, looking a little beat-up, was Abe. There was a sly grin on his face that only lasted a few seconds before he was suddenly plucked off his feet.
"Abe!! Yer back! Ya actually came back!!" The madman held him close, mindful not to squeeze Abe too tightly - one never knew what injuries lay hiding. After a moment, the hug loosened as Wilford lowered Abe back to the ground. "Ya... Came back. I would've thought y'd love th' chance ta leave..."
"Leave?" Abe repeated with a hint of a frown.
"Yeah. Ya always said this place would've turned yer hair grey if ya hadn't lost it already. Somewhere new an' excitin'... Wasn't that whatcha wanted?"
Abe gestured for Wilford to crouch down. When he did, Abe placed a kiss on Wilford's forehead. "It's in my nature to be stressed. My cases are serious stuff. It doesn't mean I'm going to up and leave when I'm asked to help with something out of town. Besides," another kiss to the forehead was given for good measure, "I can't really be happy in a new place when everything I've grown to care about is here, can I?"
It might have been a corny phrase, but it was the perfect response. A goofy grin was quick to plaster itself on Wilford's face before he kissed the detective and yanked him back inside.
And, just like the rainbow needing the blue sky to be complete, the overly-decorated glass of water was accompanied by a tumbler of whiskey when they arrived at the bar.















