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starboardsquiggly · 1 year

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Angel in a Sunhat 🌻

Up the country side was the small house surrounded by sunflowers. It was creek country, where Billy and Sunshine Shoepack had been reared. If you asked them they’d remember splashing in the creek, running through the flowers, playing in the mud of the sun showers. It was their country. The place they could be themselves and it was here that Billy still stayed and Sunshine loved.

When Boomer had told he and Ten Cents that Captain Star had been transferred up river he… well he was devastated, and he figured that this sadness came from his friend leaving, he’d be sad if any of the Stars left for an indefinite about of time, he had been upset when he had made the decision to leave Billy and his home up stream for a better opportunity but this time something was different.

Friday came and the Stars headed to the Bridge Café, Grampus in toe with ten cents, Hercules and Lillie, who’d just reunited after a long month at sea. Through supper he watched the couple hand holding, peppering kisses and complimenting one another. Sunshine’s stomach crochet in knots. It was like a longing and a sadness.

He excused himself from the long table the waitresses had compiled in the middle of the café for the fleet and went to the balcony for a smoke.

He drew in a breath and stared up at the stars, somewhere he hoped someone was starring back.

“You doing alright?” Grampus had followed him out, requesting a draw from his cigarette, he obliged. “Yeah mate, just missing home I think.” Sunshine said pulling his jacket closer.

“I get it, my time with the navy gave me a chance to see how men are affected by the loss of the place of familiarity. I still feel that here when I’m with all of you. Though I love the chance I’ve been given with Captain Star I’m still jealous most of the Starfleet and hell the Zeds are stationed in a place called home.”

Sunshine puffed. “I ain’t jealous.”

“No? Not even with Hercules and Lillie sitting on each others laps?” He laughed but the smaller Switcher captain pulled his hat over his head and was silent.

“Sunshine?” He put a hand on the small of his back.

“S’it’s nothin’.” Sunshine whistled.

“You’re sure?” The two were quite. Sunshine realized in this moment that he wasn’t in a place of familiarity. The crushing reality that he’d so recently faced came rushing back to him that he made a promise to continue and explore his chances in Bigg City but the city didn’t have flowers, it didn’t have a creek to swim in, very rarely did the rainbows peak through the clouds after a sun-shower. He was standing in a bigger ocean and not a river at all.

When Boomer had been here, he dulled the pain of homesickness, he had grown fond of him and took him to the shops in town to browse for a uniform when they had tried implementing him into the fleet. Although it had been for nothing, he had taken Boomer to a farmers market and showed him the honeycrisp apples sold by a vendor who came down from the river every Sunday.

As they munched they walked past a flower shop that caught Boomer’s eye instantaneously. He needed the Sunflowers in the window, Sunshine didn’t understand why but as they waved goodbye to Boomer at the dock Boomer had given him a flower to remember him by, he tucked it into the strap of his cap. He still had it.

“Grampus, I’m taking the train upriver tomorrow morning, I’ll be back before Monday but I- I need to leave right now. Can you tell the others?”

“Aye Sunshine, but wuh-.” Sunshine wetly laughed and hugged him.

“There’s someone I need to see… thank you.”

Grampus returned the hug tighter then Sunshine. “Go get him, Sunny.” He whispered.

🌻🌻🌻

He was tending to the flowers on the veranda inside the lodge, dazingly staring at the Petunias, Forget-Me-Nots and Poppies that fluttered in the wind. The day was quaint and bright, his manager had given him the weekend shift and he was glad, friday’s hum of celebration left a sweet taste of cherry wine on his tongue and despite him working diligently through the night incase of late check-ins he could feel a ginger harmony fall over him. The tenants still slept peacefully into the morning and his work was done.

Now he simply waited for the morning shift workers to clock in and he’d be on his way, free to sleep, do his own house chores to the sights of the mountains around him and be alone…

It wasn’t so bad though, he chased the sauntering thought away, he had his coworkers company during the evening even if they worked on opposite floors and he had the trees! The trees that uh… could be great company!

His chest hurt.

“Boomer, you all clued up, up here?”

Alice popped her head over the railing of the stairs. He’d be lying if he didn’t admit the lodge wasn’t astounding. He would talk about it for hours to the town people when he wasn’t at home or work. It really consumed his life since Ten Cents and Sunshine…

“There’s someone here for you when you’re all ready. He says he’s looking for a Captain Harry? I told him we don’t have a Captain Harry staying with us, but he insisted he’d be here. Then I remembered your last name - are you Captain Harry by chance?” She could almost talk as much as him given the chance. He blinked.

“Yeah, I mean I used to be. Who is it?”

She sat next to him on the sofa under the window. “A Billy Shoepack, he works on the river around town, you hear of him?” Before he could answer he was off the couch, halfway down the grand staircase.

“Ah!” He stumbled his way back up. “I’m off the clock now, give the morning shift staff my condolences, cheers!” And flew down the rest of the stairs with his spindly legs.

When he arrived at the front desk a man he’d never seen before, covered in soot and plasters from head to wheelchair (if you could believe that) made conversation with the front desk staff Dolan Deckard. He and Boomer had started at the cottage around the same time, he opted for the day shift but something told Boomer he still failed to get his 12 hours at night. He was often hostile towards guests and spoke with a drawn out tone. He was currently having none of what Billy Shoepack had to give.

“Sir if you have no reservation then you can’t be here, end of story.”

“But I’m here for a Harry? Does he work here, is he here? That’s all I need to know.”

“And I can’t tell you that either. That would be a violation of privacy!” Dolan expressed. The color was filling his face.

Boomer decided it be best if he stepped in before Dolan exploded, he had heard Billy had a tendency to do that. “Ah- can I be of help?”

“Thank god Boomer, please explain to this heathen we are not serving to outsiders who look like.” He motioned, “that.”

Billy snapped, “what’s wrong with the way I look?!”

He stepped into the middle. “I’ll escort him out Dolan. You have some other guests who need tending to and oh we wouldn’t want to make a scene.” Dolan adjusted his tie and flattened his hair.

“No Mr Harry, no we would not.” He sniffed and called the next customer.

Billy Shoepack wheeled himself away from the front desk, following Boomer out the front door.

“Sorry about him. He’s never like that, actually no, he is like that a lot of the time…” Billy scanned Boomer, looking for something?

“You're Captain Harry?” He blurted.

“I- yes, I am-was?? Why does that matter?”

Billy shot a hand out, his posture changing entirely, with a smile so large it threatened to fall from his face.

“I’m Billy Shoepack! You must of heard something of me once or twice, I’m popular ‘round these parts. But I’m actually here because my cousin sent me as his wing man.”

“Wing man?”

“That’s right! He’s got a right old thing for you! Asked me to come and get you my self.”

“Well, whose your cousin?” Billy faltered at his question.

“Now see here!! I ain’t no snitch! He’s entrusted me with a sacred duty and I want to make sure I don’t yuk it up, I can’t just go around telling people who their secret admirers are ‘specially since I’m related to him, my cousin and all.”

Boomer tried to recall any acquaintances he may have made in the past month since he’d been up river. Dolan, Alice, Barry (his manager), Billy now, supposedly. But no one else that he could think of off the top of his head.

He wished Sunshine was here to help him through this debacle, he helped so much with getting him through his jinx, he never gave up on him despite all the terrible things that came along with being his friend.

Boomer stopped at the stairs disturbing his train of thought. “How did you get up here in your chair?”

“Climbed it like this-“ he rolled his wheel chair and bounced down every step. “But backwards and a little slower. You guys should invest in a ramp, is not very accessible, and you’ll have vets returning from war looking for a quite place to holiday.”

Fair enough, Boomer thought.

🌻🌻🌻

What was he doing? He can’t do this, what if this is uncalled for? They only just met, but his heart beat out of his chest standing in Billy’s living room just thinking about him. Sunshine wasn’t a charmer, he barely had any relationships when he lived up river to begin with, even in school he’d have girl friends but had never been on a date with any of them, didn’t feel like he needed to. What made him think a boy, no a man, would want him in this way at all?

He couldn’t flatten his already flattened hair enough

The door clicked and Sunshine nearly jumped from his skin.

“Hello?” A woman’s voice. Aunty Hilda walked through the door. “Sun…shine?” She remembered his name.

This wasn’t about that now.

The bag of groceries she held fell to the counter in a rush, she enveloped him in the tightest bear hug she could muster, she worked as a log-rider so it was very strong. “What the hell are you doing back so early? It’s the middle of April! I thought we weren’t due for a visit until summer!” His face betrayed him. “What Sunny? Tell me what’s wrong.” He held his hand.

“I uh… I met someone Aunty. He came into the harbor a stray tug, Captain Star let him work with the Starfleet for a bit but it didn’t last, he wasn’t very good at anything he did in the harbor.” He was rambling, he hated to ramble, get to the point Sunshine.

She listened attentively. “Captain Star found a place here up river for him to work. It’s been a month Aunty, I can’t stop thinking about him.” He was sobbing, shaking, his hold on the sunflower cracked the stem, she gently took the flower and placed it on the table.

“Oh, honey…” he leaned on her. This was awful, he wasn’t a school boy anymore, he could handle his emotions on his own, why did he break when he came home. “This is heartbreak Sunny. I’m not sure what happened when you first met him but this boy must have captured your heart regardless of if you knew it or not, letting him go must have hurt so bad, didn’t it?” He nodded into her shoulder. “You came back for him didn’t you? And I’m guessing you had Billy go and fetch him, aye?”

He froze, pulled back. “How did you know?”

“Boy, the two of you have been tag teaming since you could trot. Drove the neighbors nuts with your antics, stealin’ the honeycrisps out of the orchard just a day before the harvest. Billy would do anything for you and more. What’s his name Sunshine?”

He hadn’t said it out loud since the day they left him on the dock, a giant lodge towering over he and Ten Cents’ Switchers, it was cheesy but given the chance he’d describe the halo that glowed around the lodge around Boomer had made him look just like an angel, the sunflower was a gift from god. An angel in a sunhat.

“Boomer.”

“Hi, Sunshine.”

What a caring voice came from the open door way into the living room. He held his hat to his chest, the morning sun halo’d him once more. Billy gave him a thumbs up from the window. He hesitantly stepped forward.

“You’re back already.”

“I can explain.”

“I think your cousin told me everything on the way over.” He chuckled.

Sunshine closed up. “I’m sorry.”

“For what? You did nothing wrong Sunny.”

“Why are you laughing?” Sunshine peeked over his hand, “why are you crying?!”

“Oh man were really bad at this.” Boomer wiped at his cheek. He looked so sore and withdrawn. Sunshine stepped and stepped and he ran, crashing into Boomer who held steady as he would, he was big and strong and someone who could hold him up, Sunshine needed someone to hold him up.

He kissed him,

Not a small peck, nor an aggressively needy smooch but a perfect, sloppy beautiful yearning kiss. He was beautiful. Sunshine buzzed with so much anticipation.

“You kissed me.”

“I did.” Boomer spotted the sunflower on the table. It travelled and wilted, separated from the other flowers but still shone as if it had never left the warmth of Sunday.

Sunshine must have cared for it until the very end. “You're Just like a Honeybee.”

“Like a…” he was astounded and laughed so hard he snorted.

#This is Tugs #This is Tugs au #Tugs Sunshine #Tugs Boomer #Tugs boomer x sunshine #tugs billy shoepack #tugs oc #tugs Grampus #tugs Lillie lightship #Tugs Ten Cents #this is tugs fanfiction #my writing #Tugs Hercules #my au #🌻#🌻🌻

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