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Chapter Text

It was a swelteringly hot summer evening in Parappa Town. Everyone in town was either sticking close to a fan or eating plenty of cold sweets in order to withstand such fierce temperatures. So, in order to cool off from the heat, Parappa and his friends decided that it would be best for them to go and relax at Chop Chop Cafe. Since the rapper would have to work his shift there anyways.

When they arrived, Parappa quickly prepared drinks for them (with a special request of donuts from PJ) and even offered to pay for them, his treat.

Afterwards, the rapping dog put on his apron around his striped shirt and took the customers orders while the others were seated with their drinks. With PJ sleeping after eating his food as always.

“Man, it’s never been this hot before!” Katy complained as she drank her smoothie.

Matt nodded. “Tell me about it! At this rate we’ll never get to do anything.”

“Don’t say that, I’m sure there’s something we can do on a day like this,” Sunny said with a frown.

“Well, what do you suggest we do? Burn ourselves alive?” Paula said sarcastically as she rolled her eyes.

The flower was just about to respond to her sarcastic comment when a distractingly overly cheery noise in the background suddenly came to the group’s attention.

”W-what’s that sound?” Lammy asked as she looked around for the source.

“It’s coming from the tv,” Paula observed as she stared at the big screen hanging from above the menus. She turned towards Parappa and exclaimed impatiently. “Parappa, turn the sound up!”

“Okay, okay! No need to be bossy!”  he grumbled as he placed down his notebook and grabbed the remote to turn the sound up.

The gang began watching the tv with curiosity as the mayor, a cheerful yet dimwitted donkey called Humphrey, known for his dopey nature and annoyingly over the top happy attitude, appeared on the screen and began speaking.

“It’s with great honour that I officially announce that the highly anticipated Parappa Town summer festival will commence in one short week!” Mayor Humphrey exclaimed proudly to the reporter as he stood in front of the construction zone.

Well that’s not surprising. Parappa remembered all the tents and road detours that he had spotted while driving towards the cafe. They be setting up all kinds of things everywhere.

“And this year’s special rule will be quite a hunch!” the zany mayor continued, having his hooves around. “This year, it is required for all guests to choose a date to accompany them in order to attend. There’s going to be all kinds of goodies there, and I for one would definitely not want to miss out on them! Oh, what fun this rule is! Isn’t it marvellous?”

The mayor continued his absurd babble as the news reporter asked him more questions, but by this point the group of friends were too shocked by this news to listen.

”A date? Now that’s what I call interesting,” Ma-san said in her usual gibberish voice.

“I guess we better start thinking about who we’re going to go with fast if we want to be there,” Matt commented and the others nodded.

“So… who are you guys going to go with?” Sunny inquired.

Being the one to start the discussion, Matt answered first. “Honestly, I don’t know. I don’t really care who I’m with anyway.”

“Then you won’t mind if I with you?” Paula asked, surprising pretty much everyone, if not Matt the most. 

He blinked, shrugging. “Sure, If you want to.”

“Well that’s two of us covered. What about you, Lammy?” Paula asked the girl next to her.

Being lost in her thoughts up to this point, Lammy practically jumped in her seat. Her face reddened once she’d realized that all eyes were turned on her.

Even Parappa was looking at her curiously.

The guitarist quickly did a blink and you’ll miss it small, but longing glance at Katy before it seemed like the floor had now became the most interesting thing ever.

”I-I don’t really know yet,” she stammered, blurting out her words. She still avoided everyone’s eyes, especially Katy’s.

Although, Katy frowned as she quickly sensed Lammy’s unease. Which wasn’t really hard to tell since she was literally trembling in her seat.

Attempting to soothe her friend, she tenderly placed her hand on her shoulder. “That’s alright girl, in fact, I don’t really know who they’ll be either.”

With her voice being so reassuring, combined with the gentle touch on her shoulder, the lamb had instantly been put at ease and and stopped shaking.

However little did Katy know that her small but tender gesture only made her friend’s face redden even more. But luckily since she was hiding it quite well, the blue cat didn’t notice.

“So that covers you two. What about you Ma-san?” Sunny then asked.

”I have my ways,” was all that she said cheekily, making the others stare at her with puzzled expressions.

“Alright then…” Matt turned around. “What about PJ?”

At once, the gang all turned towards the bear, who was still sleeping heavily.

“I don’t think we really need to ask,” Katy chuckled. “He’ll definitely go with Sweety.”

“And we ALL know who you’re going to go with Sunny,” Paula teased, making sure to sound extra loud so a certain someone could hear. Everyone in the group started snickering slightly.

Sunny didn’t respond to her teasing. Even so, all it took was her blushing face to know that Paula’s words had affected her. It also didn’t stop her from briefly glancing back at Parappa. She was able to notice him gazing back at her longingly before they both shyly broke eye contact.

As they looked away, a red blush spread across Parappa cheeks. Wanting to hide his embarrassment, he pretended that he hadn’t heard Paula’s teasing by taking a customer’s order.

His feelings towards Sunny was nothing new. His heart sung a bittersweet symphony of anguish as he longed to be with her. To hear her beautiful voice. To see her sweet smile. To see her eyes dance with joy. To give her all the love, time and affection that she could ever dream of. He could go on forever if he really wanted too.

Alas, only one could only imagine how that would be like…

He’d wanted to confess his feelings for Sunny for quite awhile now, but he never knew when it was the right time and place.

Upon hearing the news from the mayor, he quickly garnered that the summer festival could finally be his big break. Yeah that’s what I’ll do!. I just need to find a way to ask her…”

”Hey, Parappa! You almost done working?” a voice, that being Matt’s, snapped him out of his thoughts.

The 16 year old rapper looked up at the clock. It read 5:55 pm, which meant that the shop was just about to close.

He turned back and nodded. “Why do you wanna know?”

”We’re going to head over to the beach to get out of this heat!” Katy exclaimed. “You coming with us?”

”Sure! Sounds fun!”

After they had finished all of their drinks, and had woken up PJ, the gang proceeded to hop in Parappa’s car head towards the beach. Unfortunately, as they neared their location, they were stopped by various road detours, from cones to barricades.

”Ah rats!” Paula cursed underneath her breath.

”W-We’ll never g-get to the beach at this point!”  Lammy exclaimed anxiously.

“Now this just won’t do!” Parappa groaned in irritation. He frowned thoughtfully for a moment, bringing up his hand to his chin. There must be a solution…

Once an idea had dawned upon him, he snapped his fingers and turned back towards his friends.

“You guys go on and head over to the beach,” he told them. “I’ll find somewhere to park the car.”

“Are you sure…?” Sunny interjected hesitantly, obviously not sounding so keen on the idea. “It would be more fun if all of us arrived at the same time.”

“It’s all good, Sunny! You guys just go ahead! I’ll catch up,” he insisted, trying his best to sound casual and ignore the burning sensation he felt on his face.

With that being said, only now did his friends get out of his car and enthusiastically started heading towards the smooth, sandy beach.

Parappa circled back and swerved the car around trying his best to find a good spot. After awhile, when he finally did find a good spot, he hurriedly climbed out, grabbed his umbrella, towel and swimming trunks. He made his way during the changing room. On his way there, he passed an alleyway, but payed it no attention until he heard a familiar voice catch his attention.

”No, no, no! Start all over! This has to be perfect!” 

The rapper screeched to a halt and turned his attention towards the commotion. Curiosity peaking his interest, he slowly walked towards the alleyway until he could slightly peer at the edge. Please don’t let that be who I think that is.

However, as he peeked around the corner, his eyes winded as his fears were confirmed.

It was in fact, Joe Chin.

Parappa gulped as he struggled to take in quite a sight. Joe Chin had a bunch of expensive riches. Gorgeous roses, freshly baked chocolates, loads upon loads of fancy jewelry, you named it, he had it. All tagged with the same name, Sunny Funny.

As realization hit him like a truck,  he felt his stomach began doing summersaults on itself. 

”Sorry boss,” one of his servants trying to hang up an ornament apologized. “This is harder than it looks, you know…”

”There’s no room for error in this wonderful proposal!” Joe Chin huffed impatiently. “Otherwise, there’s no way that Sunny would ever remotely consider accepting me as her date to the festival!”

Parappa felt an icy ripple along his spine as he heard the news. His surroundings became a buzz until he couldn’t even hear Joe Chin’s voice anymore. A tiny streak of jealousy strikes his heart before he swiftly found himself in the depths of heartbreak.

He’s… going to try to ask, Sunny? Parappa looked crestfallen, with his body being all droopy now. His worst fears had truly reared its ugly head. What chances do I have then? He’s got everything she could ever wish for.

He’s rich.

I have nothing.

He’s a real man.

And I’m just… me.

She’d never choose me over him.

Why would she ever consider being with someone like me? His thoughts were like needles jabbing at his skin. He fought back a whimper as his tail dropped.

Misery was written all over his face. Disheartened, he pulled his beanie over his eyes to wipe them as they shined with tears. He’s had that habit ever since he had received it as a little pup. He didn’t know why he’d always do this. There was just something about his beanie’s soft, cotton texture that he found to be oddly comforting.

He began heading towards the beach, in search of the spot where his friends were all the while a great pang gripped his heart, acting as a heavy burden.

If he was being honest, he didn’t really even want to stay around. All he wanted to do now was go back home. But he knew better than to abandon his friends.

The strong smell of seawater filled his nose as he walked on soft, pale sand. When he finally found them, he did his best to stay discreet, and it seemed to work as no one really payed him any attention. Parappa sighed and put his umbrella and towel on the ground. He lied down, looking blankly upwards.

“What I am going to do? I can’t believe… Not in this case,” he murmured to himself, unintentionally letting out little whimpers. Am I ever going to tell her how I really feel?

Parappa tried to stop fretting about this dilemma by listening to the gentle waves of the ocean, rolling down the beach. It reminded him of happy memories during his childhood and nostalgic trips with his family. The thoughts put him at ease, way more than he was prior. Although, he was still a little tense.

This means of distraction had failed because he was soon consumed by his anxious thoughts again. In result, the rapper failed to pick up on the oncoming footsteps towards him.

”Parappa… is everything okay?” he heard a soft, unmistakable voice laced with concern ask from his right side.

Parappa felt weight on his towel and guessed that she was sitting besides him. He lazily got back and didn’t even bother to try looking into her  gorgeous blue eyes. Even if it pained him slightly not to stare into her warm, mesmerizing gaze, one that he secretly hoped was only towards him.

”Everything’s fine,” he mumbled unconvincingly. Even Sunny could see that he had a lingering sadness in his eyes.

”Don’t you wanna swim with us?The water’s nice.”

He bristled. “No thanks.”

The flower’s eyes darkened with a mix of worry and confusion. What was going on with him? His eyes were so dull with sorrow. Her heart twisted, she felt his pain as if it was like her very own. This wasn’t the sweet, upbeat and positive Parappa that she knew.

”Aren’t you hot in that? You must be dying in this heat!”

Parappa shrugged, blinking. “Huh? Well… maybe. I don’t know, and I don’t really care.”

“Oh… okay…”

He didn’t need to look at her to tell that his coldness had hurt her feelings, and a part of him did become overwhelmed with guilt.

But how was that his fault? As far as he knew, Sunny would most likely choose Joe Chin over him in a heartbeat.

And that sour thought alone didn’t make him mad…

It only made him terribly sad.

Feeling tears threatening to spill once more, he pulled his orange beanie over his eyes. His face contorted as though she was struggling not to cry. He lied back down on the towel on his left side, his back facing Sunny.

”Why don’t you just go swim with the others and leave me alone!” he barked in an unintentionally harsher tone than he had intended. Perhaps only because of his heightened emotional distress.

The kind flower was, of course, taken aback by his unexpectedly harsh tone and was also evidently  hurt. After a couple of heartbeats that felt like it went on forever, Parappa felt her weight lift up from the towel. Good. Now this terrible day will go by a lot faster.

The rapping dog continued lying on his towel for what he assumed was a couple of minutes as he was trapped in his thoughts once again.

Suddenly, he was pulled out from his head as a sweet and pungent smell hit his nose. Its warm aroma was fresh and heavy with sugar, which meant that Parappa quickly identified the food as a pastry. It seemed to also be accompanied by a tangy strawberry jam. Whatever it was, it smelt delicious, heavenly even, and made his mouth water.

The corners of his lips tugged into a dreamy smile in an instant and his tail started wagging uncontrollably. Parappa quickly sat up and removed his beanie from his eyes. He was greeted with the delightful sight of a plate of ten freshly baked pink cookies filled with strawberry jam.

Despite his excitement, he stopped himself from immediately munching down on them as he recognized the artistry of the cookies. He looked up and finally came face to face with Sunny. This time, he looked at her with deepened interest.

Much to his surprise, he could see amusement pained across her face, as well as fondness. And also something else he couldn’t quite understand…

”It looks like you still have a sweet tooth don’t you, Parappa?” she giggled, finding his childish excitement to be endearing.

”Maybe…” Parappa answered, trying to act as if he didn’t want to devour the cookies.

”You can eat them, you know,” Sunny told sincerely, smiling at him adoringly. “I made them for you.”

Upon hearing that, his face brightened up. He immediately dived in and started taking big bites out of the strawberry flavoured cookies. He could hardly contain his happiness as he bit down, the juicy strawberry sweetness was an explosion of flavour that made him tingle with contentment.

Though he was so lost in his eating that he forgot how quite a messy eater he was…

”I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist sweets. They’re your one and only weakness,” she smiled, unbothered by his messiness and instead pleased that she had somewhat rekindled his old lovable self. Plus, him loving her food was always a treat for her.

Just then, Parappa finally realized that he was eating in an undignified manner and immediately stopped.

Not that he had much of a choice since he had already finished the plate.

He felt hot with embarrassment, even hotter than the blistering heat of the sun. His mother had always scolded him from being a slob since he was young.

He might have gotten a little bit carried away because of how much joy the sweets had brought him…

But how could he be eating that way in front of Sunny?

“I’m such an idiot!” he mentally scolded himself before glancing at the girl of his dreams and saying, “Sorry…”

“It’s okay,” Sunny assured before she suddenly became shy as a light, pinkish blush made its way to her face. “I’m just happy that you liked it. I’ve never seen you eat anything I’ve made that quickly before.”

Parappa beamed and his heart began talking instead of his head. “That’s because they were so delicious! I always look forward to any pastries that you cook! You have a real gift for making even the simplest ingredients taste amazing! You’re also really getting better at cooking. Nowadays, I don’t think I could ever pass on anything that you make.

Unless they’re noodles,” he added with a small chuckle.

Unbeknownst to him, his words had smitten Sunny. The small blush on her face had spread like wildfire after hearing such authenticity from his complements. She felt like her feet barely touched the ground, and this emotion certainly did reflect in her eyes.

“Do you feel better now?” she hummed, her voice softened considerably.

Parappa grinned. “Much better, thanks to you.”

The change in both her expression and voice had not gone unnoticed by the other teenager, whose brown eyes softened as he regarded her with the same stare.  He felt the pitter patter of his heart echo throughout his body as the two stared at each other. Their gazes danced with each other as they admired the other, blue and brown.

At that moment, Parappa felt his worries completely melt away. His doubts, his fears, none of that mattered now. It was just him and Sunny, together.

Since as long as he could remember, whenever he felt upset, Sunny was there for him. Always supporting him, always there to help him face his hardships. Making his world, a little more… sunny. And for that, he has always been grateful for her. Naturally, he eventually developed feelings for her.

And how couldn’t he? 

She made him feel like he was the most extraordinary guy in the whole world. Even if he always thought otherwise because of his insecurities.

She made him feel… special.

Fuzzy with happiness, his shoulders slouched as a quiet contentment spread through him.  His tail also thumped softly against the towel.

He was almost sure that Sunny could sense these feelings too, despite his doubts. Almost as if they were kindled spirits. As much as he really didn’t want to ruin their moment, it had set his dim spirit ablaze, and there was a burning question that he just absolutely needed to ask her.

“Hey, um, Sunny?” he finally asked with a flustered face. “I need to ask you something…”

There was a spark of interest in her eyes. “What is it?”

” I um, w-well…” Parappa‘s tone wavered. He swallowed and looked away, his heart thrumming in his chest like crazy. “I-I was wondering… w-w-would you… would you be my da—“

”Hey Sunny, you gotta see this! Ma-Sam just caught a huge shark!” Katy’s loud voice interrupted him.

”In a minute!” Sunny shouted back before turning her attention back to him. “What were you trying to say, Parappa?”

Parappa sighed, slouching. “N-nothing important… Don’t keep them waiting. I’ll tell you later.”

The flower looked disappointed. It looked like what he had to say was extremely important. Nonetheless, after that Parappa gave her a little smile in reassurance, she smiled back at him. And as she was about to head back towards the others, she turned back and embraced him in a hug.

Being caught off guard, Parappa hugged her back, his head swirling around with positive emotions. His fur heated up at the pleasant contact. As she let go of him and waved goodbye, Parappa had a half lidded stare. He looked soft eyed, and gazed at her dreamily as she walked away. 

Alright, there’s no turning back now. I gotta believe. How am I going to ask Sunny to be my date?  If Joe Chin’s gonna go big and do some fancy stuff, then I oughta do something really special too.

But how can I do that?

He began thinking and brainstorming ideas for awhile. Maybe I could ask for help…? For this? No, that just sounds ridiculous… right?

As he kept thinking about this seemingly crazy idea, his gaze drifted towards the others and something caught his attention. Particularly, Katy and Lammy.

“Did you see the shark Ma-san caught, Lammy? It was huge!” Katy gushed gleefully.

“Y-yeah, I-I bet that I-I could have never caught something like that.”

Katy gave Lammy a playful nudge. “Of course you could silly. You just don’t want everyone else to know how awesome you are.”

”Shucks… y-you’re just saying that,” the timid lamb stammered.

“Nope, this here is the honest truth!” she exclaimed with a silly smile.

“I guess I-I should’ve known that. You’re just too lovable to say something that you don’t mean,” Lammy said with an almost unnoticeable hint of adoration in her tone.

“Aww, Lammy!” the blue feline was unable to control her purring.“You’re such a sweetheart!”

Being swept off her feet by her words, she couldn’t help it as she affectionately stared nuzzling Lammy’s neck before making her way up to her cheek. All the while purring uncontrollably.

Unsurprisingly, Parappa was baffled. But he was mostly amused as he witnessed Lammy’s entire face turned red. And when she melted into her touch with a dopey smile he chuckled.Well look at that… She likes her.

As he watched them closely, he noticed Katy’s tail swaying from side to side as she nuzzled her, almost giving off the impression that she was pleased with herself.

The teen wasn’t an expert when it came to these kind of things, though if he knew any better, he was actually starting to think that she was enjoying this as much as Lammy was…

Those two really would be good for each other.

That is until he remembered how shy Lammy was. Without the proper encouragement, he knew that she’d never have enough courage to ask her to be her date to the dance, considering how he had previously observed her reaction when she was asked about who she wanted to go with.

It reminded him of what he was going through. They were both stuck in the same situations. Maybe this idea of his wasn’t so far fetched after all…

Taking note of this, Parappa decided to set his plan into motion. So, he waited until Katy had begun walking away. Once she was out of an earshot and that Lammy was alone, he walked over to his dazed friend.

“I think she’s gone now,” he announced teasingly, snapping Lammy out of her trance.

The guitarist jumped and turned around. “W-what are you talking about?”

“I saw the way that you were acting with Katy back there,” the rapping dog explained with a smile, glancing at her knowingly. “You like her, don’t you?”

Lammy‘s eyes widened, she looked to ground and started shuffling her feet around. There was no point in denying it now. She had already blown her cover.

Her eyes flickered to Katy and away again. “Y-yes… I like her. A lot…” 

“Thought so,” he grinned, his eyes glowed with earnestness. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone.”

Lammy let out a sigh of relief. The last thing she wanted was for Parappa to start spreading the news. “T-thank goodness…”

“Something also tells me that maybe you wanna ask her out to the dance,” he guessed, although the answer was fairly obvious.

Lammy’s eyes darkened with anxiety. “Yeah, b-but there’s no way that’s ever going to happen…”

“I know what you mean,” Parappa said with a gloomy sigh. “I want to ask Sunny out, but right now, I’m not sure if I can.

That’s why I’m here,” he continued, a little more optimistically, “I think we can both be the solutions to our problems.”

“W-What do you mean?” she asked, looking at her friend curiously.

“I mean, maybe there’s a way we can both help each other out?”

Chapter Text

“Are you sure this is a good i-idea?”

It had been two days since Parappa had offered his help regarding the summer festival. Lammy had been a little hesitant at first, but after thinking about it for awhile, she had eventually accepted his offer. Not that she had many other options to help out with this problem anyway.

Even though Parappa was the sort of guy who came up with… unique solutions, she knew that he genuinely wanted to help her out. She’d known him for long enough to be aware of that.

Additionally, it helped that she viewed the rapper as a little brother. One who, despite had a tendency of goofing off and acting immature at times, always had good intentions. Not to mention what was at stake for her. With the full intention of asking out her bandmate to the festival as ‘more than friends’, losing her friendship with her was the last thing that she wanted. Katy meant so much to her, after all. She was so considerate, outgoing and bubbly.

On the flip side, Lammy was ditzy, awkward, clumsy and utterly paled in comparison. Just thinking about the differences was enough to fill her mind with apprehension.

“Yeah, trust me!” Parappa’s cheerful response snapped Lammy out of her thoughts. She turned her attention back to him as he carefully climbed down the other side of the metallic fence.

”I saw it on Tv! This Professor makes inventions to help you deal with anything!

It’ll make you confident in no time!” he explained as he nonchalantly walked around the numerous caution signs, heading towards the entrance.

”If you say so,” the nineteen year old mumbled, sounding skeptical.

And so, the two approached the entrance of a sleek, metallic building, which looked like some sort of giant, futuristic cube from up close. It even hurt to look at. Most likely because the sun’s rays were reflecting off of it on this afternoon.

Once at the front, out of curiosity, Parappa poked the green door, making it slowly creek open and reveal a dimly lit room inside. The high pitched, somewhat ominous squeaking sound sent a shiver down the guitarist’s spine. And as a result, she began trembling.

The rapper’s eyes lit up. “Great! It’s unlocked! Let’s go in!”

”Parappa, I-I don’t think we should do this,” Lammy fretted, getting goosebumps all over.

W-w-we should turn back,” she urged, wobbling as she took a couple of steps back.

”Oh c’mon, Lammy! We already climbed a fence!” Parappa pointed out, looking past her. “You have to be committed by now!”

Turning around, Lammy followed his gaze, trying not to think too much about all the caution signs regarding private property and the electric fence that they had turned off prior to climbing. Much to her dismay, he had a point. They had already trespassed. Someone must’ve seen them by now. It would be foolish to turn back at this point.

When she didn’t answer, the rapper continued. “Don’t worry, we’ll be fine! You’ll see!”

Still trembling, the lamb gulped, finding it hard to feel reassured. Fear fluttered in her stomach. This place was giving her the creeps.

Regardless, as her mind screamed flight over fight, she summoned every ounce of her will to push it away, helped by the fact that she wasn’t alone. She steadily turned around and cautiously followed him inside. I have a bad feeling about this.

As they entered, the two friends scanned the room. The walls were painted with nothing silver, giving off a futuristic vibe. It was almost uncanny given how transparent and smooth it looked. There was a spiral staircase leading to an upper floor and there were no windows, only many pale green lamps hanging on the sides of the walls, illuminating the room.

Furthermore, there were computers everywhere and countless amounts of wires plugged into the walls.

However the observations would stop there as the two plucky trespassers were quickly stopped in their tracks.

”Who goes there?” a raspy, feminine voice demanded, making them jump.

At once, they jerked their heads up in the direction of the sound, which was coming from upstairs.

Once the stranger started descending the spiral staircase, they were able to see her more clearly. She was an albino rat with messy white fur and tired, bloodshot red eyes. She had a while lab coat with an endless amount of notes with little scribbles stuffing her pockets, green goggles on her head and black pants.

Quickly entering a state of shyness, Lammy opted to avoid the stranger’s gaze whilst shuffling her feet around. 

Meanwhile Parappa looked unfazed, instead having a bright smile on his face as he waved. “Hi there! I’m Parappa, and this is my friend, Lammy!”

”Well, I am Professor Radishes, Parappa Town’s greatest inventor!” she introduced in an over the top manner.

And how, may I ask, did you two get past my impenetrable defence mechanism?” she inquired, glaring at the intruders.

Parappa was puzzled for a moment before he finally knew what she meant. “Ohhhh, you’re talking about the electric fence back there?” he asked to which she nodded. “I turned it off.”

”Curses, I knew that I shouldn’t have put an off button there,” she muttered underneath her breath, attempting to hide her mild surprise. “Why have you interrupted me in the middle of my brilliant inventing?”

”We need your help with something,” Parappa explained, giving Lammy a small, encouraging nudge.

The lamb jolted back into reality, not expecting the attention to be placed onto her. She made eye contact with the pompous rat and hesitated for quite some time before finally opening her mouth, preparing to say something.

Before she could say anything however, Professor Radishes interrupted her. “No! Whatever it is, I will not waste my time with your foolish flights of fancy! I have better things to do than to help with you imbeciles!”

Lammy’s eyes widened and she swiftly snapped her mouth shut. A mix of hurt, shock and slight anger rippled throughout her. She didn’t even hear me out!

”What..?” Parappa interjected with wide eyes. “But your ad said you could help anyone with their problems!”

”Well you didn’t hear me including ‘freeloaders’ and ‘trespassers’ on it, did you?” the rat hissed impatiently. “Now begone! I have some work to do.”

Parappa and Lammy exchanged glances as the professor turned back around to tinker with another invention.

Overwhelmed with gloom, Lammy sighed, her head hanging low. “I told you that w-we should’ve turned back. L-Let’s just go…”

At her words, Parappa stiffened, eyes blazing with determination. “No way! Don’t think like that, Lammy! It’s too early to give up!

Would Katy ever give up on you?” he questioned bluntly, knowing that it would prompt a reaction from her.

This time it was Lammy’s turn to stiffen. “Not on your l-life!”

”Then you can’t give up on her,” Parappa encouraged with a smile, satisfied with her answer.

Despite still being skeptical, the lamb nodded and let his words soothe her. She focused her thoughts back onto Katy, the mere thought of her making her heart accelerate and swell with affection within seconds. She concentrated on how much she wanted to be with her and how much she yearned for it, as if it was something that she couldn’t live without. To tell her how she really felt, and that maybe…

Their hearts would sing the same tune. 

Oh, who am I kidding? This is me I’m talking about. But… some cautious optimism couldn’t hurt once in awhile, right? Even if it’s pointless in the grand scheme of things.

”Alright, I think I have an idea,” Parappa whispered. “But you have to follow my lead.”

Although she still felt nervous about this, Lammy nodded, wanting to put on a brave face for once. Her sheer determination, along with the thought of Katy lingering heavily in her mind was able to temporarily repel her anxiety. “L-lead the way, Parappa.” 

Parappa turned around and called out: “Hey, Professor!” 

”What do you two want now?” she inquired irritably as she turned around, her patience running thin.

“What if we did something that would benefit the both of us?”

The white rat’s red eyes gleamed with interest. “And what exactly do you have in mind?”

Parappa cleared his throat, looking up at Lammy for support.

”W-what if w-w-we agreed to be your test subjects t-to an experiment that can h-help us out w-with our problem?” she suggested on the fly, shrinking underneath the professor’s gaze.

Professor Radishes scratched her chin, squinting her eyes. “Hmmm… you drive a hard bargain. Fine, I accept. But, I must warn you that your safety is not guaranteed.”

”T-That’s okay as long as you’re h-helping us,” Lammy informed even though she totally wasn’t okay with that. 

“Alright, simpletons, what might the problem be? Since you two insist on pestering me so much.”

As Professor Radishes and Parappa both turned towards Lammy’s direction, leaving her in the spotlight once again, a large, red blush quickly spreads across her face.

“O-oh, um, w-w-well…” she started playing with her fingers. “The f-f-festival is c-coming up and…”

Putting two and two together, Professor Radishes smirked. “Ah, I see… The old helpless romantic, eh? No need to say anything else, I already know exactly what you need. Follow me.”

As the two friends followed her, Lammy still felt flustered. Had it really been that easy to identify her problems? I’m not that obvious, am I?

The inventor opened a door in the back and led them into another room. Along with the same futuristic aesthetic from before, this time there were two chairs in the middle of the room along with some weird looking helmets that had wires plugged into them that led to a computer.

“Now, allow me to explain how this works. It’s really not that complicated. All you need to do is sit on those chairs and put those helmets on your heads in order to be connected to my glorious machine! My computer will do the rest.”

”What does it do?” Parappa asked.

”It’ll send your minds into a virtual reality,” she explained with big hand gestures. “Allowing you to enter Lammy’s mind. Presumingly, her memories too.”

”Like a video game?” Parappa and Lammy both asked with excitement, their eyes shining as they started at the machine.

The lab rat’s red eyes twitched. “If you wish to foolishly dismiss my invention, then I suppose you can say that.”

Too excited to notice her sarcasm, the two wasted no time sitting on their respective chairs before putting on their helmets that were wired to the machine.

“I must warn you, that you won’t have much time,” Professor Radishes informed as she booted up her computer. “An untested machine can only run for so long. So whatever you need to do, which I assume involves Lammy getting over a particular fear, you must do it quickly.”

Parappa nodded confidently. Though Lammy nodded more hesitantly.

Prof Radishes put on her green goggles and smiled. “Here we go!”

A blinding flash illuminated the room as the machine started. The fabrics of reality split and started twisting and turning as the duo were transported into the guitarist’s mind.

Once the environment had reconstructed itself to suit Lammy’s mind, they were able to touch solid ground and observe their surroundings. Lammy’s mind was messy and disorganized, with all sorts of objects floating in her head. With scribbled music notes flying in the sky as birds, to walking clocks sluggishly wondering in her mind to even her favourite stuffed animal acting as a building.

Lammy couldn’t help but feel self conscious. Especially with Parappa being here. At least this explains some things…

Suddenly, a floating mirror drifted close to her, breaking her from her tain of thought. Curious, she couldn’t help but take a peak.

However, instead of being greeted by her own reflection…

Rammy appeared.

“AHH!” The guitarist squeaked fearfully, stumbling back and almost falling in the process. Her outburst caught Parappa’s attention.

”What’s wrong?” he asked, his tone laced with worry.

”Nothing!” Lammy answered quickly, struggling to get over her scare.

Parappa went back to admiring the new sights. “So this is what your mind looks like… Groovy!

Man, I wonder what mine looks like..?”

Then, his pupils dilated and his tail started wagging as he looked up at his friend. “Do you think that Sunny would be there?”

”Knowing you, definitely,” she responded with a smile.

Although, after taking a moment to scan her surroundings, her smile faded. “But I’m not sure if this is going to help us.”

”This will definitely help us! Now that we’re in your mind you can face your biggest fear. And if you can do that, you’ll be able to do anything!” Then, he added with a sheepish smile. “At least, that’s what my mom always tells me.”

Lammy didn’t really like the sound of that. It was enough to make her fidget a bit. Face my biggest fear? As if that’ll happen.

“Parappa, I dont know if I can do this…”

”…No pressure or anything… but you kinda… have to do it… today,” he said with a sense of guilt.

“Why..?”

Her friend nervously scratched the back of his head. “Because I maybe… sorta… called Katy earlier and said that you wanted to tell her something at the park later.”

“Why would you do that!?” raw panic consumed voice as her eyes widened. Dread crushed the remainder of courage that she had left. There’s no way that I’ll be ready by then!

Parappa averted his gaze. “Well… I figured that you weren’t going to be confident enough to do it on your own… so I thought I’d give you a little push.

I was actually planning on telling you once this was over,” he explained sincerely, guilt painting his face as he met her gaze. “I’m sorry. I won’t do it again, I promise!”

Whereas his actions had not been appreciated, at least he had good intentions behind them.

Although impulsive, his heart had been in the right place.

Unable to stay angry for long periods of time, Lammy calmed down and accepted his apology. I guess this is what comes with accepting his help.

But this period of tranquility would soon leave and be replaced anxiousness as she was reminded of the challenge ahead. What was the point of any of this? Things would never work out. No matter what she did, there would always be someone better. Someone more confident. Someone much more deserving of Katy’s affection and attention than her.

And even if thought it pained her to no end to think about it, at least it would lessen the impact of the inevitable. There was no way that Katy would even remotely want to be with her in that way. Heartbroken, her mind changed, darkening to reflect her gloomy mood, making Parappa frown.

”What’s the point? She doesn’t even like me the way that I like her,“ she muttered underneath her breath with haunched shoulders and dangling arms, yet Parappa was still able to hear her.

He was taken aback. “How do you even know that’s the case?”

Lammy bristled. “I just do!”

“Oh really? Did you ask Katy?” Parappa inquired with persistence.

“Well, no, but—“

“Then how do you know?”

“Because I’ve already went through something like this!” Lammy replied hotly with a hint of sadness in her tone.

Once her heightened emotions started simmering down, she added more sombrely. “Why would she want to be with me anyway? I’m shy, anxious, awkward…”

“That’s not an excuse for you to hide your feelings!” Parappa countered with conviction.

Lammy, if you don’t tell her how you feel, sooner or later, you’ll regret it for the rest of your life!”

As if unaffected by his words, Lammy simply stared at him. “If you’re so sure about that, then why help me at all?

Why don’t you just go see Sunny?”

Now that caught him off guard. His face quickly went from surprised, to sad, to emotionless.

”That’s… for different reasons,” he told seriously, the light in his eyes dimmed to a flicker into obscurity, shocking Lammy.

If even Parappa can’t believe, what does that mean for me?

”What are even the odds that she likes me back in that way?” she went on, half out of wanting to prove her point, half out of curiosity.

Parappa’s demeanour quickly became upbeat again as he grinned. “Pretty high, actually. From what I saw back at the beach, she seemed to like you a lot.

You know,  when—“

“I know what you’re talking about!“ Lammy interrupted, getting flustered. “Does that even mean anything? Katy’s always been touchy-feely?”

Parappa put on a funny thinking face. “Hmm, well… how often does she do that with you?”

At first, Lammy was confused. Where was he going with this? It didn’t seem all that relevant. I haven’t really been paying attention.

Nonetheless, her heartbeat quickened as she remembered every time she had been either nuzzled or hugged by her band mate for an extensive period of time, which, now that she thought of it, seemed to happen almost every time they’d see each other. Butterflies started fluttering in her stomach as relished in the thought of being held in Katy’s arms again. Being so close that she could feel the soothing rumble of her purring echoing throughout her throat, making her worries melt away. And how her touch seemed to set her fur on fire.

Upon thinking about it for this long, her brain became all mushy. Happiness danced through her thoughts, making her gaze became half lidded and dreamy. A lovesick expression had already begun forming on her face as she continued remembering being held and nuzzled so tenderly for what felt like days on end.

How safe she felt…

How content she was…

How she never wanted it to end…

Parappa waved a hand in front of her dazed face. ”Earth to Lammy? Are you there?” 

”Yes?” she bleated, blinking as she snapped back into reality. “Enough times for me to lose count. But I still don’t get your point.”

Parappa smiled teasingly and tilted his head. “Does she do that to anyone else, or just you?”

Lammy didn’t answer at once. Once again, she never gave it much thought, but now that it was being brought up, she realized that Katy never did anything like this to anyone else. As far she knew, Katy didn’t go out of her way to nuzzle Ma-san, Sunny, Parappa, Pj or anyone else in their friend group. It was as if it was only reserved for her. It didn’t take a genius to know there was a pattern going on around here, and the lamb started blushing as a result.

Judging by her reaction, Parappa’s smiled widened, knowing the answer already. “I think I’ve made my point, so let’s keep going! I’m sure we’ll find something in no time!”

Without protest this time, Lammy followed after the rapper. It didn’t take long for them to spot a silhouette of a small building nearby. As they finally walked close enough towards it, they were finally able to tell that it was a small house with a blue roof, yellow bricks and two windows.

Suddenly, Lammy eyes winded and she stopped, frozen with fear.

”What’s that?” Parappa inquired, noticing her frightened reaction.

“It’s… it’s my old house…”

”Okay… why are so scared of it then?” his tone softened. “Did something happen?”

Lammy tensed, eyes still glued to the house. “I guess you can say that…”

Within seconds she started shaking and breathing heavily. Terror, along with waves of sadness washed over her, pulling her under. She tried closing her eyes and desperately shook her head in order to make the uneasiness go away, but her efforts were to no avail as memories of her troublesome past flashed throughout her mind, toying with her emotions. With her head spiralling out of control with anxiety, Lammy hurriedly took some steps back before sinking to the floor in defeat, sitting down.

Shortly afterwards, Parappa sat down next to her, concern lingering in his expression. Being naturally caring, he tendered started rubbing her back in circles in an effort to soothe her.

”Lammy, take a deep breath,” he instructed patiently and waited as his friend slowly but surely stopped hyperventilating.

He let her take a few more deep breaths just to be sure that she had completely calmed down before asking: “What happened?” 

His question prompted Lammy to open her eyes. However, she didn’t meet his gaze, choosing instead to stare at the ground, holding her legs close to her.

“Well… when I was little… my mom basically… pressured me into being something I wasn’t,” she explained shakily, her voice barely above a whisper. “My dad wasn’t really around. He… died when I was little.

And… and… and then…” Lammy’s breathing became ragged.

”What happened after?” Parappa prodded, gently encouraging her to continue.

“When… I came out…” she paused for a moment, her eyes glistened with unleashed tears that she quickly blinked away. “She… didn’t take it so well… And that goes for everyone else in my family. After… after I was kicked out five years ago… my mom… never tried to keep in touch with me.

It’s like… I never existed…” Lammy finished, her eyes dull and lifeless.

“I see…” Parappa whispered sympathetically, heart aching for his friend. No one deserved to be put through that. To be exiled from their own home and be thrust into the rough and tumble life of the streets. Especially when that person was someone as sweet and gentle as Lammy. “I’m sorry that you had to go through that.”

Though his words had been heard and appreciated, a haunted, hollow look still glazed over her eyes. “I’m just a burden to everyone…” she muttered dejectedly.

Alarm flashed in Parappa’s eyes. “That’s ridiculous! You’re perfect just the way you are! You’re Lammy! An amazing guitarist part of a super groovy band, an even better songwriter and one of my best buddies! 

And if your family can’t see that, then they’re the problem!” he exclaimed with a fierce amount of loyalty and persistence that only he could ever pull off.

”I know that you can do this, Lammy! You can settle the score and face your fear once and all!

And you wanna know why? Because I believe in you!” he cheered in a howl, his voice booming.

As his words of encouragement echoed throughout her mind, Lammy was touched. The rapper always had a way with words and boosting up peoples morale in times of need, which was nothing short but incredible. His dedication towards his friends really had no limits. A friend in need was a friend indeed.

Suddenly, an intense rush of determination, one that she had never felt before, swept Lammy off of her feet, blocking out her usual wimpiness. If Parappa believes in me, then I should be able to believe in myself! Taking a deep breath, she slowly got up to her feet, Parappa’s pep talk giving her a resurgence in energy.

“Okay, I’m going to do this,” she said with newfound confidence.

”Do you want me to come with you?” Parappa offered kindly, about to get up.

Lammy shook her head. “This is something I need to do on my own.”

Parappa nodded in understanding, smiling. “Good luck, Lammy! Don’t let anything hold you back!”

Nodding, Lammy turned around and slowly walked towards the door. It was a daunting task as her terror mounted with every step, until her fingers had finally curled around the metallic surface of the doorknob. Feeling her heart beating like crazy, she closed her eyes and did her best to ease her worries. I can do this. She proceeded to open the door and rush inside before quickly closing it behind her.

Once she had fully opened her eyes again, the lamb was immediately hit with a mix of nostalgia and sadness. Her eyes began to wonder around, taking her time to observe the familiar layout and furniture of her former home.

Despite looking a little dark and gloomy, Professor Radishes’s machine had perfectly recreated the setting. From every nook and cranny. Just like I remember it…

As bittersweet images of happier childhood memories began to arise, Lammy forced herself to stop observing and focus on the task at hand. With apprehension taking ahold of her, she slowly drifted her gaze to the living room.

All of a sudden, she froze, feet glued to the floor.

She wasn’t alone.

Someone all too familiar, an older white ewe with wrinkles, fluffy pink wool (A/N: like Lammy’s beta design) and glasses was sitting on the couch. 

Not this memory…

As their eyes met, Lammy wasn’t given a warm welcome. Her mother’s eyes were as cold as ice, and she had her arms crossed.

“Lammy,” she said sternly, scowling.

”Hey, mom…”  Lammy replied hesitantly, unsure if it was a greeting or not.

”Don’t try to act as if I didn’t know now! Can’t you just get over it?”  her mother snapped with a considerably louder volume than before, making her daughter take a couple of steps back.

Lammy flinched, hurt clouding her features. Due this being a memory, she knew what her mom was talking about.

“It… it doesn’t work like that,” she mumbled feebly, stuffing her hands in her pockets and looking down at her own feet.

But the older ewe ignored her and continued her rant. “And to think that I’ve been trying to straighten you up for years. What an embarrassment,” she muttered, letting out an exasperated sigh.

Even though her words stung, Lammy still stayed quiet. A stifling wave of fear and déjà vu swept over her, rendering her powerless to stand up for herself. She slightly swayed on her feet as she stood. 

“As long as you live under my house, you live under my rules,” Lammy’s mother informed, her stare hardening.

Now, you can either correct yourself or live on your own.”

The lamb’s eyes started watering, her heart feeling like it was being squeezed by a cold, metal fist. She was well aware that this was only a memory, but her words hurt as harshly as she had remembered. Those five years since the fallout with her mother, since she had been disowned, Lammy had never been the same. Becoming extremely afraid of rejection, feeling like she was unlovable, and hiding her feelings deep inside, even to her own detriment. Why does it always have to be a choice? 

”You’re making me choose..?” she bleated, even though she already knew the answer.

”Of course I am. I can’t have a daughter who believes in such things,” her mother snorted unsympathetically. “Lammy, I’m only doing what’s best for you.

Now, will you please cease this nonsense once and for all?”

Nonsense? Lammy trembled, taken aback by her hurtful comments. Tears prickled her eyes like shards of glass. Was she really that repulsed by her being a lesbian?

In an attempt to find comfort, Lammy thoughts immediately wondered back towards Katy. After all, she had been her secret admirer for years. All the way back to when she was still a teenager and had started developing newfound somewhat confusing feelings at the time towards her friend. Which was what partially made her come out in the first place. Not to mention how Katy’s unwavering support and care after she had been kicked out of the house only intensified the strange new feeling.

Her mind drifted back to how much happier she was now. How this was the happiest that she had felt in years. She had everything that she could possibly ever want. A home, a great gig and irreplaceable friends. Heck, she’d even accepted that she was deeply in love she with Katy and cherished the warm and intense feelings of adoration that made her feel as light as a feather.





Love… 

Love was such a wonderful emotion.

She didn’t want to hide it. 

Actually, she refused to give it up.

She didn’t all those years ago.

Why would she now?

As the gears started turning in Lammy’s head, she realized something. 

She chose…

She chose to refuse.

I could’ve just done what my mom told me, but I didn’t. I guess… I’m much braver then I give myself credit for.

As her realizations grew, Lammy felt dizzy with excitement. Joy spread throughout her like a warm light and tears of happiness steamed down her face. She couldn’t remember the last time that she had felt so sure of herself like right now.

I’m in love and there’s nothing wrong about that. I’m not going to be pressured into thinking otherwise. Katy’s just so caring and confident and ambitious , and… and anyone would be lucky to be her girlfriend. I know I would. She makes me feel so happy and safe. And she’s always there for me, even when I tell her that she doesn’t have to worry so much about me.

I… I want to be with her!

I want to tell her how much she means to me!

Even if she might not feel the same way…

I still want to tell her that I love her!

I’m not going to let fear control me forever.

Her heart fluttered with approval. The guitarist had many flaws, but one thing that could never be taken away from her once her mind was dead set on something, was her determination. As she stared at the floor, Lammy frowned, her gaze hardening.

”No.”

“…What was that?” her mom’s tone was dangerously low.

”I said no,” she repeated firmly, feeling her heart race.

That’s the only thing I can’t do.”

Riding high on the wave of love, along with a sudden burst of moxie, Lammy met and held her mother’s eyes without flinching.

For a couple of moments, the room grew quiet. I wouldn’t give up what I feel for Katy. Not for anyone or anything. And I’m not going to be ashamed of it.

“Don’t ask me to change, mom. Because I can’t,” she stated firmly, her voice quivering as if she was going to cry.

You don’t get to decide how I feel. No matter how much you try.”

Her mother looked appalled at what she had heard, face clouded with a mixture of disapproval, fury and disappointment.

“Do you even realize what you’re doing?

If you stick with this decision, you’ll never be allowed to set foot in this house again,” she threatened, glaring at her daughter with such raw, unmasked, hatred that burned into her soul. 

But Lammy didn’t even look mad. No, anger and grudges was something that had faded away from her a long, long time ago. A time where this scene had played out much differently. Where she had been too meek to truly express her feelings.

Instead, sorrow pulsed through her veins with every beat of her heart. She knew what was going to happen. Her mother would completely cut her out of her life from then to the present day. As much as she wished for this outcome to be different, one where she was accepted and loved for who she was by her own family, she knew that this wasn’t the case. Maybe in some other reality the outcome would’ve been different, but not in this one.

And all that Lammy could really do was accept that and move on. Harbouring grudges wouldn’t do her any good. And fuelling hate wouldn’t help either.

That’s just how things are sometimes. But it’s not all bad. At least I have friends now who like me for who I am. Even if most of them don’t know that I’m a lesbian.

Overwhelmed with emotion, more  tears rolled down her cheek. “Then at least I’d be happy. Because there’s no one I'd rather be than me.”

Then, as a quiet feeling of inner peace graced her, her mother’s silhouette started fading away.

However, she shivered as she caught one last glimpse of the hatred in her eyes before she had fully dissolved for good. When she was finally gone, Lammy let out a breath that she hadn’t realized that she was holding. She looked around as the world around her slowly started fading away.

With the fabrics of reality splitting anew, she let herself get consumed by the darkness.

The next thing Lammy knew, as her eyes adjusted to the environment once more, she was already back into Professor Radishes dimly lit laboratory. A combination of fatigue, excitement and happiness lingered in head, her mind still fuzzy from the confrontation with her mother. She took her time to take her helmet off and slowly got on her feet.

”Took you long enough!” the albino rat spat as she hurriedly clicked a bunch of buttons, finally allowing the machine to turn off. Sparks flew and smoke followed suit as it shut down.

My machine was on the brink of overheating! Consider yourselves lucky that we didn’t all go kablooey!” 

”S-sorrY!” Lammy spluttered abruptly as she was suddenly tackled into a hug from the side, making her stumble a bit.

”Way to go, Lammy! I knew that you could do it!” Parappa exclaimed energetically as he pulled back.

Then, wonder filled his gaze. “Was it tough? Did you get to say what you wanted? What did you say? Was it good? I wanna know!” he yapped excitedly, bombarding her with questions.

Fondness flickered in Lammy’s eyes. Well this is a good change of pace. “I-I’ll tell you all about it l-later. I-I still gotta go the park, remember?”

”Right, right,” he agreed, though he still looked rather curious.

“Well I’ll say,” Professor Radishes chimed in. “Must’ve been quite an adventure you had back there.

Did you manage to find what you were looking for?” 

As Lammy thought about the question, a rare dose of tranquility spread throughout her. She had confronted and settled the root of her emotional baggage regarding her fear of rejection and a heavy weight had finally been lifted off of her shoulders. She savoured the feeling of contentment, it was as though her heart was singing. The lamb knew what she needed to do.

It was now or never.

Even if there was the possibility that Katy didn’t feel the same way, she’d still respect her choice regardless.

Unlike her mother, she knew that Katy wouldn’t shun her because of her feelings towards her, which was one of the many things that she appreciated about her. Who knows, maybe they’d still be able to stay friends? Whatever the outcome of it may be, one thing was certain:

She’d take telling Katy how she truly felt over hiding her feelings forever any day of the week.

Feeling carefree and relaxed, she couldn’t help but smile from ear to ear. “Yes, I-I did.”

In fact, she’d never felt any stronger.

Chapter Text

Wind blew into Lammy’s face as she desperately bolted towards the park, dodging the few cars and pedestrians alike that were present as she ran through the streets of Parappa Town. The afternoon had already settled down, allowing the sunset to set the scenery. Its dazzling orange rays sparkled from beyond the horizon, gracing the town with a tranquil atmosphere.

Even with that, anxiousness had already started bubbling up in her chest anew, putting a dent in her excitement. 

Regardless, it didn’t take too much time for the guitarist to reach her destination. Because the blurred silhouette of a very familiar cat had started coming into view. Anticipation and apprehension hung on the edge of a cliff in her mind, and her heart was beating like a drum, making her gulp. It’s now or never.

However, due to the adrenaline rush taking over her entire body, it got the best of her. Instead of stopping immediately, Lammy ran past Katy, but not by that much, surprising and causing the latter to spin in a cartoonish fashion, unable to stop before finally sliding to a halt, luckily before she collided with the park’s water fountain.

After taking a breather to repel the dizziness from the adrenaline rush, Lammy summons every ounce of courage in her body, barely manages not to chicken out at the last second and turns around to meet Katy’s eyes.

Her breath hitched as their gazes met and held. With the help from the shade of the trees leaves, the sunset dapped her bandmate’s blue shirt with a star and red and white-striped long-legged pants in beautiful orange rays. The sunset also illuminated her gaze. Her eyes were as sparkling as the stars in the sky and they were as warm and tender as she had remembered. Oh, how she longed to only exist within the warmth of her gaze. She wanted nothing more than to bask in it forever. It made her brain melt into a puddle just by thinking about it.

However, concern also lingered in Katy’s eyes, but Lammy was too love-struck at the moment to notice. Katy looked heavenly, breathtaking, elegant, exquisite, it would take her a lifetime to describe everything she loved about her appearance wise. To put it simply, she was as beautiful as a rose on full bloom. Entranced, she couldn’t bring herself to look away nor say anything, as if put under a spell. 

Nonetheless, Lammy was brought back to earth once she realized that Katy had said something.

She blinked a couple of times. “H-Huh?”

”Are you okay?” 

”Y-Yeah… I-I-I’m g-g-g-good!” Lammy’s voice cracked at the end.

Katy wasn’t fully convinced, but didn’t push it any further. “So… you wanted to tell me something?” she asked, gazing at her more curiously than worriedly now.

The lamb stuffed her hands her pockets, smiling nervously. “Y-Y-Y-Y-Yes, a-ac-actually.”

Suddenly, she averted their eyes, feeling her face blazing and her mind swirling with so many thoughts. C’mon Lammy, get a grip on yourself, this isn’t anything new. And I’m supposed to be confident now. So why am I stuttering so much? Why am I still nervous? Do I still think that…

Not wanting to finish her train of thought, she focused her attention on her own feet instead, swaying back and forth. “K-K-Katy… I…”

Then, she started sweating as anxious thoughts spread throughout her mind like a virus. In an attempt to push it away, she started playing with her fingers to no avail. Dread twisted her gut. What if she says no? What if she doesn’t want to be friends anymore? What if she never wants to see me again?

“I-I-I-I-I w-w-was w-w-won-wondering…” she barely managed to utter the sentence out since she was stuttering excessively, which was very unusual of her. She even started shaking, and it didn’t go unnoticed by a certain feline.

“Lammy…?” her bandmate prompted, her voice laced with concern.

Even though the guitarist couldn’t see her, she could perfectly picture in her mind her bandmate’s gentle yet worried expression, which didn’t help her with her current situation.

How would she live with herself if she were to lose her? Someone she cared about and admired?

No, I shouldn’t be worrying about that. Whatever Katy says, I’ll respect her decision. I can’t ignore my feelings forever. They’re there for a reason. I know that fear is apart of me. But I can’t let it control me.

For the first time in a long time, with all her might, Lammy was able to take a stand and push the anxious thoughts away. Now was the time to act, not fret about the future. Slowly but surely, she got ahold of herself and relaxed, causing her shaking to fade away. She then took a deep breath, ready to finish her question.

Despite this, with her case of the jitters still being present, Lammy still refused to meet Katy’s eyes as she quickly mumbled out her question.

Katy frowned and took a step forwards. “What was that?”

Feeling like her heart was about to burst, the lamb made their gazes meet again and blurted out her question in a coherent way at last.

”Do you want to be my date for the festival!?”

Katy didn’t answer immediately. However, Lammy hadn’t missed how her eyes had flickered with a mix of surprise and something else that she couldn’t quite identify. Was she imagining it?

But before she could be sure of herself, it had already left.

At once, fear fluttered in Lammy’s stomach. Katy’s expression was blank now, not revealing anything in one way or the other.

“As… friends? Or…” she drifted off, keeping her tone even and curious. Lammy could’ve sworn that she sounded hopeful.

“N-No… m-m-m-more than that…” Lammy clarified hesitantly before looking back at her own feet, unable to look into her eyes once again, as if ashamed.

Silence and tension split the air. Seconds swiftly rolled by, which felt like hours for Lammy. Time was mocking her. Tormenting her. With her heart beating like crazy, she held her breath and tensed, finding herself waiting for the inevitable rejection. Here it comes…

“I’d love to be your date!” 

That caused her to snap her head up. Her eyes widened, utterly flabbergasted with joy. It was almost more happiness than she could take. Which was only amplified as Lammy got caught off guard by the adoration that resided in Katy’s gaze which mirrored her own and seemed to be what was being suppressed.  She could see it better now. It was as clear as daylight. Her feelings had been reciprocated. There was no mistaking it either. Katy was even purring.

”You do?” Lammy asked, smiling uncontrollably, unable to hide the happiness in her voice. It felt like she was on cloud nine.

“W-Why?“ she went on in disbelief, slouching. Was she even worthy of being her date? “I-I’m so shy and awkward all the time.” What’s there to like about that?

Katy grinned. “That’s something I like about you, silly! And there’s so many other great things about you! I don’t think you’ve noticed, but you’re easy to talk to. You always know what to say when I’m having a tough time, you’re always so honest. I always feel safe to confide in you, and I’m grateful that I can trust you with important things. You make sure that I’m not overworking and take care of me. I love all of those things about you! It’s what makes you a big sweetheart,” she gushed, her voice laced with fondness which made Lammy feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 

There’s nothing I would change about you,” she finished adoringly, taking a couple of steps closer.

Lammy’s heart fluttered, not only from their close proximity but also because she wasn’t use to getting gushed about by someone. She really sees me like that?

She felt compelled to return her affections. “That’s only because I-I feel happy w-whenever I-I’m w-with you. Oh, and your voice is very soothing, it comforts me w-whenever I-I hear it. I-I love how creative your mind is and I-I really admire your ambition and your drive. And you always get everyone to l-listen to w-what you have to say, it’s really inspiring!

Honestly, you make everything l-look so easy. You’re everything I-I’d strive to be,” she confessed bashfully, her cheeks tinted with red. She had a smile that was as warm as the summer sun.

“Oh, Lammy…” Katy whispered affectionately, bringing up her right hand to caress her cheek. “You have no idea how happy you make me feel when you say sweet things like that.”

Feeling as light as a feather, the lamb melted into Katy’s touch, gently leaning into the palm of her hand as her thumb stroked her cheek, cherishing the loving gesture. Her body loosened up as a result. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt so relaxed.

Katy’s words rang in her mind. You have no idea how happy you make me feel when you say sweet things like that. She knew what the implication was and she felt the same way. And if that was the case…

”Katy, do you w-wanna…” she started dreamily with half lidded eyes, unable to focus on anything else than how soothing her caressing touch felt. “Do you w-wanna be…”

”Your girlfriend?” Katy guessed, smiling, making Lammy nod sleepily. “I’d love to.”

”Cool,” she replied with a dopey smile, feeling like she was getting lulled to sleep by her now girlfriend’s voice. She had a voice that was as soothing as a lullaby.

Amused by her answer and the goofy face that she was making, Katy giggled. Fondness glowed in her eyes. The feline was quite proud of herself. Knowing how anxious Lammy could be at times, she definitely deserved to relax once in awhile. And there was a sense of pride that came with knowing that she was the only one that could ever make her feel like this.

Once again, Lammy tilted her head, leaning into her caresses, her breathing deepening until it was nothing more than a series of long, contented sighs. The guitarist shivered and her eyes had closed at last, as if she couldn’t help herself. Her arms hung down as her worries melted away. Savouring the moment, a part of her wished that it would go on forever. Katy’s touch felt so comforting. So Safe… Yeah, safe… Safe…

“Safe…” 

Suddenly, Katy stopped.

Lammy stiffened and opened her eyes only to see Katy’s eyebrows raised. Did I say that out loud?

“I really make you feel that way?” she asked with a fond look,  pleasantly surprised.

“Yeah…” Lammy drawled lazily, in a mellow way. “You feel so warm… It feels…really… relaxing…”

In response, Katy brought up her left hand and cupped her face, gazing at her lovingly. A warm shiver slid down her spine like a snake. Her hands felt so soft, as soft as a cloud. Lammy’s gaze softened as she returned the loving stare with a sweet smile.

Warmth filled her girlfriend’s eyes. “You’re cute, you know that?” she asked, gently caressing her cheeks with her thumbs.

Lammy blushed and shyly shook her head in response, which Katy found to be absolutely adorable. She really was too pure for this world. The look that Lammy was giving her was driving her crazy. It just made her wanna…

Then, she inched closer all the way until her face hovered close to her, just inches away from her lips. Lammy’s eyes widened and her heart began beating wildly. She could feel butterflies swarming around in her stomach. There was barley any space left between them. They were so close that she could feel the warmth of her breath tickling her lips. Wait, is she going to…?

“I wanna…” Katy’s eyes flickered from her eyes, to her lips, to her eyes again. “Kiss you.

Can I kiss you?” she asked huskily, eyes sparkling with love.

Numb with anticipation, the lamb nodded, unable to find the strength to speak. Katy’s half lidded gaze lingered on Lammy for a couple of heartbeats.

Then, she leaned forwards, her eyes closing as their lips gently brushed.

Upon the contact of her girlfriend’s warm and soft lips against her own, Lammy felt like she had been zapped by lightning. It was so intense that she squeezed her eyes shut. It sent a current running through her body, causing her heart to race and her ears to flap wildly in a cartoonish manner. The fact that she could feel and hear the vibrations of Katy’s purring as they kissed only added to her pleasure in knowing that her partner was enjoying it too. Warmth slowly engulfed her entire face, making it turn beet red. Her head was dizzy with love and it felt like she was floating on air. It was almost too much for her to handle.

The change in her own behaviour had caught her off guard, considering that she had been so relaxed a moment ago.

And her flustered behaviour didn’t cease, even when Katy had gently pulled away and let go of her face.

“Whoa,” Katy breathed dreamily as she opened her eyes before she noticed Lammy’s state. Her face was flushed, her gaze was clouded and she was trembling.

Lammy, are you okay…?”

The guitarist didn’t answer, too busy swooning and being overwhelmed as her mind whirled with all sorts of emotions. She’d unearthed a greater joy than any she’d ever known. Her whole body was tingling from excitement.

However…

It was too much.

She felt lightheaded.

It was all too much.

The world started spinning.

It was all too much to handle. 

She couldn’t calm down.

Surrendering to bliss, Lammy fainted.

Some minutes later, Lammy stirred awake. Even though her vision was blurry, she could still tell that she was in her bedroom, in her apartment. She could even tell that there was someone sitting on a chair next to her.

”Lammy, you’re finally awake!” said person’s familiar voice exclaimed happily from the side. “I was so worried about you!”

The guitarist groaned and sluggishly attempted to sit up on her bed with much difficulty.

Seeing her struggle, Parappa quickly intervened. “Easy now, let me help you,” he insisted, gently helping her sit up straight.

”Parappa..?” Lammy croaked, her memory fuzzy. “W-What happened..?”

”Katy kissed you and you fainted,” he explained, making her blush.

Lammy blinked. “I-I did…? Actually, I-I’m not surprised…

W-Wait… how do you know that? W-Were you spying on us?” she questioned, eyes narrowed with suspicion.

”Listen, what I was or wasn’t doing doesn’t matter,” Parappa sounded embarrassed and quickly changed the subject.

In case you were wondering, it was really hard to get Katy to leave,” he went on, immediately getting Lammy’s attention. “She didn’t want to go until she made sure that you were okay. So, I swore that I wouldn’t leave until you were absolutely, 100% okay and that you were in good hands. The special armed forces training really came in handy for knowing what to do!”

Lammy felt happiness consume her from head to toe. She was worried about me that much? That really does sound like Katy.

Parappa snapped his fingers in front of her face. “Lammy, focus!”

She shook her head, pushing away her thoughts. “R-Right, sorry. You w-were saying?”

“I said, I’m happy for you two, but it’s your turn to help me now,” he repeated, tail wagging with anticipation. “Got any ideas?”

Lammy thought about for awhile. Parappa usually was the one who came up with the ideas, no matter how ridiculous and frivolous they were, not her.

“I-I’m pretty stumped on ideas right now,” Parappa’s tail became droopy. “But I-I think w-we should go ask Master Onion. He might know w-what to do.”

The rapper’s face brightened. “Good idea, Lammy!”

The two friends made their way towards Chop Chop Cafe. With the sunset finally transitioning into the dark, neon lights illuminated the bustling streets of Parappa Town. The dull town was now bursting with colour. Plus, the cool night air was a welcoming change from the scorching sun. As they arrived, they had luckily made it just before closing time.

Busting the door open, Parappa shouted, “Hey, Master Onion!”

From behind the counter, upon seeing his students, Master Onion smiled. “Parappa? Lammy? What can I do for you two?” 

”W-We need your help!”

“You’re the wisest guy we know and I really need your advice on something!” the rapper begged as he scrambled onto the bar chair.

Master Onion had a knowing look. “Let me guess… Is it about Sunny?” 

 “Y-yeah!” he stammered, blushing. “How did you know?”

”Every time you say that you need my ‘advice on something’ that’s always the case,” the onion explained, chuckling.

What is it this time?” he inquired which prompted the teenager to think about it. Well, I definitely gotta change something about myself. I can’t be acting like a baby like last time because Sunny didn’t like that. At least that’ll even things out since Joe Chin isn’t like me at all, which works to his advantage. Actually, I’m pretty sure that he’s better than me in every single way.

That means I gotta be better than him.

He’s a manly guy. 

And manly guys are tough, right?

So how do you toughen up…?

Hmmm…

By fighting…?”

…

Worth a shot…

”Okay, remember when I went to your dojo to learn karate and be a hero like Joe Chin?” Parappa recapped quickly.

Master Onion nodded, barely managing to understand him.“That was only a year ago.”

”Is there anyway that there’s a dojo or some fighting thingy like that but more…” he paused, trying to find the right word. “Advanced?”

The sensei frowned. “Humph, well… I suppose there is one thing like that. When I used to train in the army with General Potter, there was this infamous course called The Lion’s Den. Most who tried to complete it were beat up and left with lots of battle scars.

Only the bravest most tolerant soldiers were able to complete it. And those who did were hailed as the best of the best.”

Despite what he had said, the canine’s eyes twinkled. “So, you’re saying if I do that course—“

”Assuming that you don’t get beat up,” Lammy muttered sarcastically.

Parappa ignored her. “I’ll be…” Manly is what he was thinking, but he couldn’t say that. “Cool?”

”According to the army, yes,” Parappa had stars in his eyes. “But this isn’t like my dojo, Parappa. You learn how to attack rather than self defence.

That being said, I would not recommend it. It wasn’t a very pleasant experience,” he muttered, crossing his arms.

But the rapper had only heard the first part of his explanation before tuning out the rest, daydreaming about getting Sunny’s approval. His tail wagged with excitement. This is exactly what I need!

”Should I go there, then?”

”Well, you should—“

”Go there?”

”No, I mean—“

”It’s a bad idea?”

”What I’m trying to say is—“

”I should try anyway?”

”Just—“

”Go? I’ll go right now!”

Without waiting another second, Parappa hopped out of his chair. However, he didn’t get far before Lammy intercepted him by grabbing him by his shirt.

“Parappa, stop b-being impatient for two seconds and listen! she urged, dragging him back into his seat.

”But he told me that I could go!” he countered, unable to sit still as he fidgeted in his seat.

Lammy and Master Onion exchanged exasperated looks. It was hard to keep up with his high levels of energy, let alone find someone who could match it.

“I did not say that,” the onion grumbled at Parappa’s impatience. “You’re just saying what you want to hear.

Why are you doing this, Parappa?”

”Doing what?” Parappa answered innocently, pretending to be clueless. 

”Why do you want to change yourself so much? This isn’t very like you,” he pressed with concern, sounding fatherly, as if he was talking to his own son. 

Disheartened, Parappa ducked away. “Because…” he lowered his voice. “I want Sunny to like me.”

”Don’t change who you are just to impress her. Just be yourself,” the sensei advised firmly.

If anything, I think Sunny likes you just the way you are,” he pointed out. He certainly didn’t miss the way that her eyes lit up when he was around whenever they would hang out as a group in the cafe. Or how she would occasionally sneak glances his way. They had been spending a lot of time together as of late too.

The onion never brought it up, but he was thoroughly surprised at how often he would notice the pair of friends without the rest of the gang. Whether he was taking a stroll around the town or going shopping, they were constantly hanging out with each other, as though they were inseparable. By now, it had happened so frequently that he couldn’t remember every single instance.

Although, one instance that did come to mind was at the beach. While taking his usual evening stroll around the block, the onion had stumbled upon a very content and chilled Parappa laid down on his back on the sand next to Sunny, blissfully listening to her play the ukulele, even humming and singing along with her. The flower girl, who was sitting next to him, had a look that was nothing less than enamoured as she sang the song and played the sweet melody to him without a care in the world, pleased that he was liking it. If the sensei didn’t know any better, he was under the impression that his student was being serenaded by her.

Nonetheless, it was clear that they enjoyed each other’s company.

Wouldn’t someone have to like you in order to willingly spend that much time with you? The answer was pretty obvious here.

He really didn’t understand how Parappa was a romantic individual yet so oblivious at the same time.

Then again, picking up on subtlety wasn’t the teen’s strong suit.

It was kinda ironic.

”I-I second on that,” Lammy added with a playful nudge. “She totally likes you. Don’t try to b-be someone you’re not, Parappa.”

Even though it was a heartening piece of advice, Parappa was still comparing himself to Joe Chin. He couldn’t think of single reason why Sunny would ever prefer being with him over the better option. He was a total goofball, not very manly and wasn’t nearly as wealthy as Joe Chin was. And that got him to wonder…

What did he have that Joe Chin didn’t?

Obviously, he didn’t find any answers right away.

”I doubt it,” he muttered, crestfallen, pulling his beanie over his eyes.

I’m just me and there’s nothing special about that.”

“Parappa…” Lammy started worriedly, pitying him. She of all people knew how it felt like better then anyone else. And it was heart-wrenching to see the usually chipper and optimistic rapper hit rock-bottom.

Master Onion sighed, sharing Lammy’s concerns. “For all of the advice that I can give you, I can’t force you to change your mind. Only you can do that.

If this is what you truly want to do, then do it. You’ll figure it out one way or another,” he told, making Parappa lift up his beanie. Slowly, excitement filled his gaze once again and it was back to the same old Parappa again.

”Got it! Thanks for the help, teacher!” the rapper exclaimed happily as he hopped out of his chair, taking note of his advice. “I better be on my way now.”

”W-Wait, you’re still going to go there?” Lammy said in disbelief.

Parappa nodded enthusiastically. “I’ll go scope things out!”

Suddenly, alarm took over Master Onion’s expression. “Parappa, before you go, I need to inform you that you’ll need to fight in order to—“

It was already too late by this point. Parappa had dashed out of the cafe.

”Enter…”

Lammy’s eyes widened. ”F-F-Fight to enter!? W-Why didn’t you tell him that sooner!?”

”Well I would have if he wasn’t so impatient,” he muttered with annoyance, shaking his head. Parappa sure was over enthusiastic at times. He worried about it sometimes.

I’m sure he’ll be fine,” he assured, sounding calmer now.

”H-How d-do you know that!?”

“It’s hard to beat someone who never gives up,” he told wisely, having great faith in his student.

But just in case… you should go with him to make sure that he’s okay.”

Chapter Text

Inside of a military building, Parappa found himself sitting alone at a table with his tray of food in a cafeteria. He still remember how much it hurt when the other, much more bigger cadets had cast strange looks at him as he entered, and changed tables as he sat down.

Since only challengers could enter The Lions Den, after telling Lammy that he would be okay and that he would promise to call her if anything went wrong, he told the Instructor, Lt. Moosetracks that he would take the test in order to enter.

“Excellent!” the lieutenant had exclaimed. “Your test will begin in twenty hundred hours! Until then, you can eat in the cafeteria with the others.”

Parappa glanced over at a clock and noted the time; 6:20pm.

He promptly turned back towards his lunch, which was a bowl of soba noodles because of course it was. It was only because of his hunger that he was able to momentarily push away his disgust towards noodles.  Desperate times calls for desperate measures.

He grimaced as he took a bite of the dish using his fork. The saltiness was nauseating, and he struggled to swallow.

Yuck, noodles! Why couldn’t it be anything else? If only it was cookies… or peanut butter… or peanut butter cookies! His mouth started to water. Man, I could sure go for that right now. 

All of a sudden, the doors of the entrance bursts open, snapping him out of his daze. The commotion caused everyone to whip their heads around.

“Scram!” yelled a bulldog wearing a yellow shirt with a red zero, blue pants and brown shoes.

“Yeah!” his buddy, a brown jackrabbit wearing a green beanie covering his eyes, a green hoodie and brown sneakers and pants agreed.

Of course they had to be here. How could he forget his bullies, Cruncher and Mooch? For as long as he could remember, they had always been pushing his buttons.

As they scanned the room, Parappa winced, dread twisting his gut. Please don’t notice… Please don’t notice…

But it was too late. Cruncher had already spotted him and signalled Mooch to follow him. He tensed. Not good. They were harsher on him when he was alone.

“Well, well, what do we have here...?” Cruncher started with a smirk as he approached, and nudged Parappa from his left side. “The little town hero enjoying his munchies, right?”

“Let me see!” Mooch snickers as he purposefully knocks over his plate off of the table from his right side. “Oops! I slipped!” 

Irked, Parappa sighed heavily. “What are you two doing here?” 

“Aren’t you happy to see us?” Mooch asked in a fake hurt tone. “And I thought we were your friends.”

“You guys always stole or tricked me into giving you my lunch money,” he recounted whilst frowning. A trace of anger was present in his tone.

“That’s because you’re as dumb as rocks!” the jackrabbit jeered, poking his head in a degrading manner.

“And you’re a weakling,” Cruncher added with a powerful shove, making the rapper slide on the bench a bit.

That struck a nerve. “You two take advantage of me when I’m alone!” Parappa growled, bristling.

A snaggletooth was a visible as Mooch smirked, satisfied that they had gotten a rise out of him. “I know right! It’s hilarious how you keep falling for our tricks!

Oh Parappa, can I please borrow some of your money? My mom didn’t give me some again~”  The bullies and other cadets nearby snickered at him.

Feeling a surge of annoyance, he glared at them. “That was years ago! I’m not like that anymore! I’m here now, and I’ve got plenty of moxie!”

Cruncher scoffed and crossed his arms. “I’ll be the judge of that. If you really have any guts, we’ll settle this in a fight on the field for your test.”

The other cadets gasped and Parappa audibly gulped.

“That’s right, I’m gonna be your opponent. You think you can handle that, punk?” the bulldog challenged taking a step forward and raising his fist, as if he dared him to say otherwise.

The familiar action caused Parappa’s eyes to widen with fear. He cowered beneath him, anticipating to be punched.

“Of-Of course!”

“Take a look at this fellas! The itty-bitty puppy’s scared!” Mooch ridiculed using baby talk, causing the cadets to erupt into laughter this time.

The teen felt hot with embarrassment. “Am not!” he denied crossly, though his shaking betrayed his words.

Sure, Cruncher was much bigger than him.

And stronger.

And could definitely beat him to a pulp.

But he wasn’t scared.

Definitely not…

Wanting to feel more confident, he got up on the table in a defensive karate stance. Cruncher and Mooch exchanged puzzled glances before looking back up at him.

“What the heck is that?” the bulldog asked, bewildered.

“It’s karate! I learned it a year ago to deal with you two and I’ve been practicing, so don’t underestimate me! I-I can totally beat you in a fight, Cruncher!” he exclaimed defiantly, making his bully roll his eyes.

“Sure you can,” he sneered, glaring at him with pure hatred, making his stomach churn. For a second, Parappa could’ve sworn that he saw something flicker within his eyes. Was it… jealousy?

“Between you and me, I don’t get why that flower girl has the hots for such a puny punk like you.”

“…” Parappa was too flustered to make a comment. He’s just messing with me, like always, he rationalized. 

Cruncher went on. “I mean how pathetic and desperate does she have to be to pursue a good-for-nothing chump?”

In a matter of seconds, fury consumed Parappa, like a blazing fire that wanted to burn him from the inside out.

His expression darkened. “You can insult me all you want, but leave Sunny out of this,” he warned,  his voice boarding on an intimidating snarl. It was like he had become a different person. “I won’t let anyone talk about her that way.”

“Are you threatening me?”

“Looks like it.”

Cruncher huffed and turned away. “Whatever. I’m starving, Mooch. Let’s go get something to eat,” he said as he started to walk towards the canteen. “Leave that punk with his food and let him daydream about beating me.”

“Yeah! Keep daydreaming, taekwondork!” Mooch called out as he went over to join his buddy. 

For a moment, Parappa’s gaze lingered on them as the walked away and he clenched his fists. Insult her again and see what happens…

In spite of his anger, he knew it would not last. Parappa didn’t resent any of his bullies, no matter how many times they had hurt him in the past. He was the type of guy that always saw the good in everyone. Which was equally admirable and foolish.

Gradually, like a wave along the seashore, he let his anger drift away and mellowed out. Then, he sat on the table, slouching. 

Was he irritated? Yes.

But if he was being honest…

He didn’t care what they thought of him.

Or anyone else for that matter.

The only thing he cared about was what Sunny thought of him.

And she couldn’t possibly like someone that she had called a baby.

So, obviously, he had to toughen up.

At least, that’s what he thought.

However, no matter how much he disliked Crusher, fighting him out of anything else but defence made him feel uneasy. He didn’t fancy the idea of attacking someone like a crazed brute. It went against his principles. Contrary to popular belief, Parappa had standards. 

If this is what it means to be a real man then…  I don’t think that I wanna be that after all. 

Just then, he remembered what Master Onion had said earlier; Why do you want to do this? 

Parappa frowned. Master Onion’s right. Why do I wanna do this?

Sure, it’s because I wanna impress Sunny, but there’s gotta be more to it than that. Hmmm, I never really thought about it that much before. Or at all. I need to get to the bottom of this.

For the first time ever, he sat still. He closed his eyes and tuned out his surroundings as he started going through his memories, the good and the bad. He hardly noticed the other cadets getting up to leave, dead set on finding the root of his goal.

Nearly an hour had passed, and he was sure that he would never get an answer…

Until he finally realizes something.

He was without a doubt…

Very…

Very…

Insecure about himself.

But he couldn’t help it.

After years of bullying…

Torment…

And insults…

He started to believe the lies.

That he wasn’t good enough…

That he wasn’t manly enough.

Oh no… I let them get to me.

I get it now. That’s why I’m acting like this. I guess… I shouldn’t have tried to ignore it for so long. Well, I’ll definitely try to work on it from now on. But now that I’ve got everything figured out, what do I do? Do I still wanna change? 

The response came to him immediately. Nah, I like who I am, manly or not. I’m not perfect, but I don’t need to be. I’ll never be like Joe Chin, and that’s okay. I should stop comparing myself to him. 

And so, a weight lifted off his shoulders. Free from his burden at last, a sudden feeling of happiness surprised him. His tail started wagging and he found himself smiling. Before he knew it, he was the same old carefree Parappa again.

He found it funny that despite always encouraging others, he’d never had a pep talk with himself before. Clearly, that was all that he needed to finally come to terms with his insecurities.

Yeah! I’m cool in my own groovy way! 

Nonetheless, for Sunny’s sake, he’d still try to improve. He’d do his best. And if his best wasn’t good enough at least he would’ve given everything he’s got, without sacrificing who he is.

Parappa Rappa was a lot of things.

But he wasn’t a quitter.

With his valiant spirit returning, he sprang to his feet. I  gotta try to fight. I might not like it, but it’s worth trying!

Then, he frowned. He didn’t know anything about being on the offensive.

But how can I do that..?

Suddenly, a light bulb went off in his head. Yeah, I know…

I gotta believe!

Chapter Text

“So you wanna be a good fighter, don’t y’a boyo?” the lieutenant asks from behind his desk.

Parappa had gone to Lt. Moosetrack’s office in the hopes of finding a solution to his problem and was currently seated in his office. Dozens of commemorative certificates and photographs, including some of the moose’s relatives, Instructor Mooselini and Moosesha, which the rapper recognized, hung on the mint green walls.

He sure wasn’t a minimalist.

“That’s right!” he exclaims, momentarily distracted by the gentle breeze coming from the mini fan on the desk as it cooled him off.

The lieutenant hums, puffing his pipe. “And what for?”

Now, he could say that he doesn’t want to be beaten to a pulp by Cruncher, but Parappa doubts that he’ll help him if he says that, so instead he says:

“Well… I have this friend, and I really want her to like me. So that’s why I wanna learn how to fight! And I’ve always wanted to fight!” he winces when his voice cracks at the end as he struggles to get the words out, like if it’s poison. Which would make sense given that he’s a bit of a pacifist. “And you’re the best guy for the job! So whaddya say? Will you help me?” 

“Moosetracks will do no such thing,” he says without skipping a beat, frowning.

Parappa’s eyes widen. “Why not!?”

“Moosetracks senses hesitation within you. Your heart is unsure of which direction to go, like a leaf falling down from a tree. And everyone knows that ladies…” Moosetracks slams his fist. “LADIES HATE INDECISIVE MEN!”

Parappa jumps in his chair. “Wha—”

“And,” he continues calmly, leaving Parappa shaken and confused. “You lack something that cannot be taught.”

“Whaddaya mean?”

“Hardcore isn’t your style, boyo. Your spirit is solid, like a rock, unmoving against the raging rapids of your foolishness trying to push you astray.”

“Uh… what makes you say that?” Parappa asks cluelessly, not understanding what the heck Moosetracks was talking about.

“Moosetracks saw your confrontation with Cruncher. He thinks that you demonstrated cowardice and lack the conviction and the willingness to fight.”

“Hey, I’m not a coward! My parents just raised me not to punch people in order to solve my problems!” 

The moose narrows his eyes. “Moosetracks finds excuses to be dishonest. He thinks that Parappa doesn’t know what he wants.”

“I do know what I want, teacher! Please, Cap’n Moosetracks, I’m begging you! You gotta give me a chance! I gotta learn to be hardcore and stuff! It's…” he trails off, his head hanging low as his stomach twists with despair and desperation. “It’s the only way that Sunny’s gonna like me…”

There was no way around it. He simply wasn’t strong enough. Always being a target, a laughingstock, a punching bag. It festered emotions within him that he had sworn he would repress forever.

Even though now he had enough strength to finally fight back against the negative perception that he’s had about himself for a long time, years and years of insults didn’t go away overnight. Parappa's mind wandered over to his oldest and deepest memories.

                    ***

Parappa yips as he’s thrown against a locker, pain surges across his back upon contact. A massive headache flares up as his right eye stings and burns, blurring his vision and making it difficult to see the countless faces of his classmates surrounding him in a circle. As his vision clears a little, he realizes that the crowd has caged him in, blocking any chances to flee. 

Their wild gazes bore into him and Parappa looks at them pleadingly.

However, instead of helping him, they ignore him and cheer Cruncher on, practically salivating at his predicament. His heart sinks as he realizes that they aren’t going to help him.

If only PJ wasn’t absent today…

“C’mon, punk, fight me!” Cruncher roars, looming over the frightened fifth grader. “You did it last time, didn’t ya?” 

He shakes his head, puzzled by Cruncher’s words. “I-I don’t fight,” he stammers, pressing into the lockers. 

His bully huffs. “Quit being a loser! Get up and fight! That’s what real boys do! You’re acting like a… a sissy!”

“Yeah, a sissy!” Mooch jeers, causing the crowd to join in.

“Sissy! Sissy!” they chant, erupting into laughter as they point at him.

Shame burns him from head to toe. He wants nothing more than to turn into dust and become one with the ground as they mock him. They were right. 

What kind of weakling was he?

“That’s a nice black eye you’ve got there,” Cruncher mocks, reeling in his first. “How about I give you another one?”

Whimpering, Parappa closes his eyes, steeling himself for the punch.

“Leave him alone!” a voice among the crowd rang out, causing everyone to stop.

Parappa sluggishly opens his eyes as a flower girl, with a red and blue horizontal-striped dress and dark green shoes pushes her way through the crowd of students into the middle.

“Cut it out! Can’t you see that you’re hurting him?” she pleads, gazing at Parappa worriedly. He turns away, suddenly feeling self conscious.

“So? I’m just whipping this punk into shape. You got here just in time, Sunny,” Parappa flinches as Cruncher turns back to him. “Because I’m about to finish the fight.”

Before he could even process it, he’s pulled up to his feet by his hand and ushered behind Sunny by the girl herself. Parappa looks down at their hands, intertwined together.

“You’re just using that as an excuse to pick on him!” She turns towards the crowd. “How can all of you just sit there and encourage him? I don’t know how anyone can be so heartless. What do you have to say for yourselves?”

The crowd of fourth graders averts their gazes from her. Parappa can’t tell whether they were truly ashamed of themselves or whether they didn’t have the guts to speak up against Sunny.

When she’s met with silence, she turns back to the bully. “What did he do to deserve this? What did he ever do to you?” 

The bulldog rolls his eyes. “I don’t have time for this! Move out of my way!”

Parappa tenses and starts shaking like a leaf, expecting her to save her own skin and let him be fed to the wolves.

Sensing his shaking, the flower girl turns to him and smiles, squeezing his hand in silent reassurance. Parappa feels his heart skip a beat at the action and stops shaking at once.

“I won’t let you hurt him again,” Sunny says firmly as she turns back towards him.

The crowd of students exchange glances, muttering amongst themselves. In a fit of rage, Cruncher glares daggers at Parappa, making him gulp. 

“Humph, whatever,” he growls, turning around. “Side with the loser for all I care. Let’s get out of here guys.”

Cruncher and his friends push through the crowd and sink back into the hallway. Disappointed by the anticlimactic outcome, the other students scatter and leave the scene. 

 Embarrassed beyond belief, Parappa lets go of Sunny’s hand (which he had only now realized that he was still holding) and covers his face with his beanie. 

Maybe if he couldn’t see her, she would forget that he was here and leave. 

“Hey… are you okay?“

Rats. That never works…

Parappa slowly pulls his beanie up and is met with a worried Sunny. He simply blinks and stares at her, as if he’s waiting for something.

Sunny frowns. “What is it?”

“Aren’t you gonna make fun of me too?”

Parappa’s straightforwardness baffles her. “Why would I do that?” 

“Because everyone else is doing it.”

“Well, I’m not cruel like them. And you still haven’t answered me.”

Parappa’s mind goes blank. “Huh?”

“I asked you if you were okay, silly,” she reminds him, giggling. “Do you need to go to the nurse’s office?”

“Oh, uh, no. I don’t think so,” he says, hoping that he sounds convincing.

 In reality, his headache was killing him and his right eye stung like crazy, but he really didn’t want her to worry about him, of all things. There were much more important things to worry about.

Still, Parappa was touched by her concerns regarding him.

“If you say so,” Sunny didn’t sound like she was convinced but drops it anyway. Suddenly her eyes twinkle with curiosity. “You’re Parappa, right?” 

He nods, tension dropping from his shoulders as he increasingly becomes more comfortable with her presence. 

Her face brightens. “I knew it! You’re hard to miss with that beanie. The  impression you did of Mr. Simon the other day was hilarious! I’ve always wanted to talk to you, but I thought you wouldn’t want to talk to me because not everyone likes popular kids, and you don't want to talk to people that you don’t like, right? That’s why first impressions…” she continues babbling on with excitement.

Something akin to fondness warms Parappa’s gaze. Before he knew it, he was smiling. It was hard not when she spoke to him so effortlessly, as if they had always been friends. 

Finally realizing that she was getting ahead of herself, Sunny stops babbling.

“Oh, sorry, I’m rambling,” she apologizes with a sheepish smile. “My dad always says that I ramble. He says that it’s not proper, whatever that means.

You know what, now that we’re here, let’s start over!” she exclaims, extending her hand, changing the subject faster than Papa Parappa changes through tv channels. “I’m Sunny Funny!” 

Parappa holds her hand only to be effortlessly lifted from the he and swung up and down into the air by an enthusiastic Sunny in a blink of an eye.

“What’s your name?”

“Pa—”

“Cool! Where are you from?”

“I’m—”

“Really? What’s it like there?”

“Sun—ny!”

“Wow! That place must be great!”

“Sunny!”

“Yea? Oh, whoops!” she stammers in realization, her face flushing.

She stops the handshake motion and sets him down before letting go, causing him to stumble on his feet. 

“Sorry about that! I can get carried away at times…”

“It’s all good,” the pup reassures her once his head stops spinning. “If it makes you feel any better, you’ve got a good grip.”

Delighted, she beams, her embarrassment already forgotten, much to Parappa’s amusement. 

“Thanks! My dad always makes me do military training exercises so that I can fight against bad guys!”

Parappa chuckles, a wide grin spreading across his face. He was smiling so much that his face was actually starting to hurt.

He had to admit that she was quite endearing. Sunny’s funny, he observed, which only causes his grin to widen if that was even possible.

Yet, there was one thing that he still couldn’t wrap his head around.

Even though he had never been in the same class as her prior to this point, he was well aware that she was extremely popular among their peers. And now that he was actually talking to her, he could definitely see why.

But why would she help such a loser like him? 

He shakes his head. “I don’t get it. Why did you help me?”

“Because no one deserves to be bullied like that,” she replies earnestly, though the way that she’s practically vibrating with excitement tells Parappa that there’s something more to it. 

He’s proven right when she leans over and blurts out, “I really want to hang out with you, Parappa! I think you’re the coolest!” 

He leans back, his eyes widening.

Did he hear that right? 

Out of all the people in the school, she thought that he was the coolest?

He found that hard to believe. 

Was she for real? 

No. Of course she wasn’t being for real. 

She’s only saying that because she wants to make me feel better, he reasoned, which dampened his mood a little.

“You think… I’m cool?” he couldn’t help but ask in disbelief, pointing to himself. “As in, me…?”

She nods, her blue eyes shone like stars, mesmerizing him with their sparkle. 

“You want to sit next to me at lunchtime?”

Parappa snaps out of his brief trance and gawks at her. “What..? You want ‘the sissy’ to sit next to you?”

“Uh huh!”

“But everyone’s gonna hate you if you do that!”

“I don’t care what they think. And if they’re going to treat you like that, then I don’t want to hang out with them,” she says with a warm smile.

                     ***

The memory stung the teenager. It reminded him of how pathetic he actually was. Parappa was crestfallen, sporting a kicked puppy look. 

Sunny had obviously only said those things because she felt bad for him and didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

What kind of person couldn’t stand up to themselves?

He was a loser.

Time had done nothing to change that.

Once a loser, always a loser.

And losers didn’t deserve good things.

“Moosetracks takes pity on you,” the captain’s gentle voice brings him back to earth. Parappa looks up at him, surprised. “You remind Moosetracks of him when he was your age. Therefore, against his better judgment, Moosetracks will help you.”

Parappa beams, relieved. “Awesome—but how? I’m too much of a coward to fight. You said so yourself.”

Of course, an easy solution to this problem would be if Parappa willed himself to fight in such a barbaric manner.

But as much as he loves Sunny, no amount of convincing would ever make him resort to using violence as a weapon, and his teacher knew that.

Moosetracks grins, eyes gleaming. “Not if you’ve convinced yourself that you’re not actually the one fighting.”