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josephstoontown · 7 years

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Eat at Joe’s, Chapter IV

Chapter IV of Eat at Joe's, a Joseph's ToonTown story.

So, I'd like to mention… this was a nightmare to convert from the… 100-some posts… of the RP? The writing was just fine… but. restructuring things so they had a flow… then, having to fight the page breaks… and, splitting the story several different ways… ay-yai-yai… But, hey. I got it, eventually. And, I was only 13 hours behind schedule the first time I posted this. Not… that anyone would really know, of course. But, hey…

Co-written with: shinkothetoongirl @ Tumblr Word count: 4,935 – Character count: 27,638 Originally written: April 5th - April 25th, 2016 Converted/revised: January 10th - January 12th, 2017 Re-split and revised on: August 14th, 2017

At the end of the day, some ideas… are best left in one's head.

Shinko the Toon Girl and related characters and properties created by and © her creator Tiana's Place, The Princess and the Frog, and related properties created by and © The Walt Disney Company

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“Hey, Shinko…”

Joseph quietly spoke up, his infernal brain not letting him stay cuddled up with her for too long. There was one question that wouldn’t leave his mind… one question that demanded to be asked. And so, he asked his question…

“Are you… in any position for this sort of thing?” He paused before clarifying, “Is everything in your life stable enough for an additional distraction like this, I mean? Relationships have a funny way of changing things in a person’s life…” He leaned back just enough to nuzzle her again, shivering slightly. “Because, um… if I… I mean… if we… um…” He slowly sat up, still keeping his hands on Shinko’s arms as he looked at her. She looked more than a little confused… but, his face could not have been much redder… “I’m really having a hard time putting two words together right now, aren’t I? Must be my nerves…” The ‘toon girl gave a slight giggle and a nod… At that point, Joseph took a slow, long breath and calmed himself before trying to speak again.

“Every part of me wants to give this a try, Shinko. But, as adults – and I almost hate to use that term, even though it fits so well… we need to stop and consider everything else… things that might get in the way or otherwise prevent things from working like we want. Like I said… stuff like this can change lives.” He gently took the ‘toon back into his arms, hugging her close. “And… I’d kick myself if everything went to the Void because of ‘wants’ over ‘needs…’” He paused… then he let his cheek brush against hers, another thought popping up. “You don’t have to decide now, by the way. I just wanted to… ya know… make sure you really thought about this instead of listening to your heart. Or… ya know… O-other things,” he whispered in an unsure tone, giving her a playful nose-bump to the shoulder.

There was another pause between the two before Shinko spoke up, speaking calm and clear, but with a sad smile on her face. “It doesn’t have to be anything super serious,” she commented. “I was thinking more like ‘affectionate friends’ than anything else. Besides, there is one huge problem I can see…” She glanced up at him, her smile fading ever-so-slightly… “At some point… I’m sure you’ll have to go back to your own world… That’s probably something that can’t be avoided. I mean, as cool as it would be for you to stay here… it’s probably not gonna happen.” The fox gave a blink… He was starting to feel bad he’d even brought the whole thing up. However, a giggle and a boop on the nose snapped him right back out of it and caused him to stare at her once more, his eyes crossing for that brief moment she’d poked him. “In the meantime, I don’t see why we can’t enjoy the moments we do have together! Make ‘em stuff that maybe you’ll actually remember this time, right?” she asked with a grin.

His ears perked at her response. Somehow, watching her be so chipper and playful after his dramatic display actually made him feel less bad about things… and more… silly. He suddenly found himself laughing on the inside. He should have known Shinko better than that… After all… she was always pretty darn sharp!

“I don’t know how I ever forgot you, Shinko… and…” �� The fox leaned in with a grin on his face and tail wagging. “You’re right. About everything. So, that being said…” His grin widened… “I think being ‘affectionate friends’ can be arranged…”

Suddenly, he gave her a little lick on the nose, making Shinko giggle again! He then blinked, staring for a moment as something caught his attention. “W-wait a minute… that wasn’t there before, was it?” Joseph slid his arm out from behind her and reached one hand up. One of her eyes closed as his fuzzy digit gently booped her… nose…? “On your smaller design, I mean. I’m… pretty sure this didn’t just appear in the last five minutes… did it?” Though he was kidding again, he once again sounded unsure of himself. “Well, it actually came around during the late stages of when I was smaller,” she explained as he leaned back. “Huh… I guess I really did miss that, then.” The girl giggled again as she added, “I still don’t have ears though.” Joseph perked. “No ears…?” He reached up to the side of her head with his left hand, gently running his fingers through the almost-static hair on her right side, causing her to squirm. “But how do you heeaaar…?” he playfully asked, being mindful of the volume of his voice as he leaned inward and nuzzled his way through the hair on her left. She giggled a bit, her eyes shutting as his hand and nose seemed to tickle the side of her head. Her shoulders shrugged a little after… but, it wasn’t in response to his question. It seemed like she was preemptively keeping him from going near her neck… though, he didn’t notice. After calming down from the slight tickling sensations, she managed to open an eye to look back at him.

“I listen with my heart,” she replied, smiling back at him. The fox’s ears flicked at her reply and he slipped back enough to look at her. The blush from before returned to his face as he happily admired her. “That…” he quietly said with a pause before smiling. “Was so corny… but ridiculously sweet…” She grinned at hearing him say that. Whatever she could do or say to make him smile always made it worth it. It was part of her nature as a ‘toon to try and make people smile, anyhow! However, her eyes widened and she started to blush again as Joseph’s hands slid up, gently cupping her cheeks. He leaned in a second later, cutely pressing his nose to hers and looking into her eyes with his own half-closed and full of fondness. His own blush had found its way back to the surface, too…

“Why are you so darn adorable, Shinko?” he asked the ‘toon girl with a purr to his voice. “It’s a frustratingly irresistible trait…” “I don’t know…” She shut her eyes and giggled a bit. “I thought all my adorableness left when I grew up.” Her eyes opened again, a fond smile on her face as she looked to her friend… “It’s nice to know someone still thinks I’m cute, though. Or, maybe that just shows how kind you are…” “Trust me, Shinko…” he whispered as he drew a little closer. “If I was just ‘being kind…’” For a moment, the fox seemed to hesitate in his actions… as if unsure of himself once again. A second later, he closed his eyes, took a breath through his nose… leaned in close, and… did something.

There was a moment of confusion for the young ‘toon. At first, she didn’t really seem to know what was going on. However, it didn’t take her long to realize what Joseph was doing… However, she wasn’t exactly sure how to react to it…

After a moment, the fox leaned back just enough to watch her face, his own still bright red under the fur and eyes fluttering open. “Th… then I probably w-wouldn’t be taking this so slowly…” he said with a nervous smile, his ears somewhere between folded and perked. He really did seem to be airing on the side of caution with Shinko, despite her not once telling him “no” the entire day… Was he that unsure of himself? Or… did he just care about her happiness that much?

“A… aa…” The fox gave a blink, his ears flicking as he heard Shinko make an odd noise. As he watched Shinko react… his own eyes opened wide. Akin to watching a thermometer rise in temperature, her skin slowly became redder-and-redder and her expression slowly displayed more-and-more surprise and shock. “Aaaaa-aaaaa-aaaahh!!!” Such was her sound of growing realization that Joseph had just kissed her where her mouth was. The sounds never got too high that she would be considered screaming. However, she couldn’t seem to stop herself from making the sound. As a result, she quickly pulled a pillow out from her hammerspace and turned away to muffle her face with the pillow while her sound of shock continued. Joseph’s his ears perked and his fur bristled while the girl as she did her best imitation of a tea kettle, both in sight and in sound. A lot of emotions hit Joseph all at once then. Concern… confusion… surprise… even a little bit of nervous amusement tucked away in the corner of his mind. But, for the most-part, he seemed stuck on surprise. And… that surprise caused him to lean back, albeit just a little… and, caused his mind to race! I broke her, I broke her–!! he thought to himself. Holy crap…! What did I do…?! Is she gonna… how do I… that… I… this… a-aah…! Of all the reactions he could have foreseen… Shinko utterly breaking was not one of them! Clearly, she was a ‘toon that had never been kissed on the lips, before.

Slowly but surely, the noise Shinko was making seemed to die down the longer she kept the pillow in front of her face. As the same time, Joseph’s face relaxed little-by-little and he leaned forward, just staring. For a while, she laid there against the arm of the couch, not moving. No new key frames updated and no sounds were made. And, that… made the fox perked his ears and lean in a little closer… Suddenly, she let out a gasp as her frame updated to one of removing her face from the pillow, sitting back up straight as she took a deep breath. Finally, she glanced back to him, blinking twice as she noticed him practically tumble off the couch in surprise. She wore a neutral expression on her face, then… as if she was still deciding on what she thought about what had just happened… and, briefly… if she’d wanted to do that again.

“I know you already said you were taking it slow… but…” She managed to put on a smile and shut her eyes happily before asking… “Do you think we could take it slower-still?”

The fox gave a blink. He’d just calmed down from the start he’d given her, panting and feeling anxious from her neutral look… He had started to relax when he saw her smile… but, as she made her request… “Ah… uh… o-oh.” Those were the first noises out of his mouth. After a moment, though, he returned the smile and replied with something a little more coherent… but, a fair bit more nervy, as well.

“A little too much all at once? Heh, I understand. I mean, you’re probably still getting used to that body and I just kinda popped in outta nowhere… and, I’m sure this is all new to you, besides! I mean, I’m sure you’ve seen and read about things like that and been curious and stuff but if you’re not ready then you’re not ready! We– we can definitely– I mean I can definitely slow it down a bit! Absolutely! Eh heh heh… heh…”

Though he sounded cheerful enough and even wore a convincing smile, his body language did nothing to hide his disappointment. His tail had gone limp and ears hung low. The quickened pace of his voice was probably a dead giveaway, as well. She may not have said “no” to what he had done… but, as far as he’d felt then, she may as well have. As Shinko opened her eyes moments later, her smile turned much more sad, being immediately greeted by how disappointed he looked. Thoughts entered her head, then… She certainly didn’t want to leave him upset. The ‘toon in her refused to let that be the emotion that lingered. And so, she put on a patient smile and decided to comfort him.

“It won’t be so bad…” she offered. “You know what I think would be okay? Stuff like this…” Joseph’s ears perked as he was kissed on the nose. A moment later, she sat back and tilted her head. “And… maybe even a little of this.” He then blinked his golden eyes at Shinko, tilting his own head as she leaned in again, kissing his cheek before sitting back and giggling again. “That’d be okay… right?”

“Baffled” would be an appropriate term for the look on the fox’s face as Shinko asked her question. It wasn’t like he was going to say “no” to her… especially not when she was the one who was being affectionate. But, for some reason… “Guess Kris isn’t the only one who can read me like an open book…” He sighed, offering a smile of his own as the redhead gave him a curious look.

“In all seriousness, Shinko? I did mean what I said just now. Every word of it. I think part of my disappointment comes from the fact I’m misreading you. I mean, I have no doubt that you might be interested in a casual-friendly, affectionate kinda relationship with me.” He paused, a look of realization coming over him. “W… wow. That sounded egotistical, didn’t it?” Shinko giggled with a faint smirk and he chuckled a little before he continued. “But, what I mean is that I have absolutely no reason to doubt what you said and still believe it. However… my idea of ‘affectionate’ and your idea may be, ah… a little different? Although…” Joseph stopped again, bringing a hand to his muzzle, a thoughtful look on his face. “No, no… I think you’re a pretty good judge of character… so, that kiss was probably no surprise. I mean, I didn’t just telegraph that thing. I sky-wrote it in glow-in-the-dark smoke! But, when it actually happened… Hmm…” “Hey, don’t hurt your head over it okay?” she replied, trying to get him to calm down a little. “Not to mention, a lot has happened today…” The fox watched as Shinko slowly stood up. “So, I’ll tell you what: I’ll order in some pizza, we can have some dinner, and then we can both get some well-earned rest and figure out what to do tomorrow, okay? Just… try to relax. And, have fun.” “Well… I mean, I thought we’d pretty much decided.” His ears flicked as his stomach suddenly growled. “But… pizza does sound pretty good. Meaty pizza, a movie, and thou.” She nodded at his suggestion and took out an old-fashioned, red-cabled phone receiver from her hammerspace, placing it to the side of her head. As she called and ordered the pizza, Joseph stretched and leaned back against the couch, resting his head against the cushion and closing his eyes. All things considered, she was right… They’d reunited and reintroduced themselves to each other… hung out… then, a lot of things happened all-at-once, while they were at her place… and, all within the span of under twelve hours! It really had been one heck of a day with no real opportunity to… “Relax…” he murmured. “Yeah… That’s what I need to do. Just kinda… chill out. Let my mind wander a little.” As he started to relax, his ears flicked. One eye opened and he glanced at the ‘toon girl. He could feel his cheeks beginning to warm and tail start to wag again as he watched her. “To other topics, I mean” he chuckled, keeping his voice low. He then jokingly suggested to himself, “Maybe a cold shower would help, too…”

After a brief conversation, Shinko tossed her phone over her shoulder, effectively making it recoil back behind her and disappear into hammerspace. She then turned toward her friend, smiling as she saw him relaxing. “That pizza place is really good on their service,” she said with a soft, reassuring smile. “Why… you’ll know they’re here before they even get to the door!” The fox’s ears perked and he sat up, blinking at the odd commendation. “Wait, what?” He chuckled. “How does that work?” “Oh, you’ll know…” she replied with a slight grin.

Just as she spoke, they could hear a bunch of commotion going on outside… the kind of commotion that Joseph hadn’t heard too frequently in his life. Upon hearing what sounded like a car crashing into something, he leaped up and started for the nearest window. Sure enough… a car had crashed and even flipped somewhat, causing both the pizza and its driver to be sent flying up into the air! “What in the–?!” But, before he could finish his thought, his ears caught another noise… one of crash-after-crash getting louder and closer. Confused and alerted, he looked to Shinko, blinking in complete disbelieve as she took a few steps toward the door and casually waved him over. Not sure of what else to do, he walked over… and, almost immediately, he heard the doorbell. Shinko looked back at Joseph with a giggle and opened the door. Shinko seemed excited, for some reason… However, what Joseph saw on the other side of the door didn’t really tell him why. Or… maybe, it did? On the other side, the fox could see… a pizza guy… the same one he’d seen rocket into the air, before! If that wasn’t enough, he was hanging by the edge of his jacket from a sharp end of an opening that led to the floor above, the pizza box safely suspended in his hands!

“That’ll be $15, miss…” he groggily told her. With another small giggle, Shinko handed him a $20 before taking the pizza. “Keep the change,” she told him, closing the door with a big smile on her face. When she turned back to Joseph, she politely asked, “So, ready to eat?” Once again, the fox’s ears perked and his fur bristled. The comedic sight of the pizza delivery guy hanging there was enough to give him a start… but, the way he’d half-casually conducted business made Joseph all the more baffled. Even after Shinko had exchanged her money for the pizza, the fox had to look at her with his head tilted… After another moment, though, he crossed his arms and gave a smirk. “I am…” he said, answering her question, “but, you didn’t tell me the pizza came with a live stunt show! What a…” He paused, running through adjectives in his head. After failing to find an appropriate one, he decided to finish his thought with the word, “surprise!” Shinko giggled a bit at that, grabbing a paper plate and napkin from her hammerspace and placing it on the counter along with the pizza. She then opened the box, showing him that, despite everything, the pizza was completely undamaged by the stunt.

“That guy’s really good with slapstick!” she commented. “His squash-and-stretch is always on-point! I know it’s not much… but, I always figure that, when he delivers pizza, he deserves something extra simply for being one of the most classically comedic ‘toons I know!” She took out another paper plate and napkin and handed it to Joseph. As the fox accepted the plate and napkin, he started to wonder just what else Shinko might be hiding in the invisible space just out of his sight… but, he didn’t ask, thinking it would be rude to ask, and instead looked to the hot, delicious-looking pizza. “By the way, did you want something to drink? Pretty sure I got some soda in the fridge. Or, if you want, I have water, milk, apple juice, and pink lemonade.” His ears perked again as she got to the end of the list of choices. “Pink lemonade?” he repeated. “I haven’t had that in a long while… Yeah… why not? Set me up with a nice glass of pink lemonade, please!” “Coming right up!” she replied with a smile, walking over to her fridge. She then retrieved two glasses from the actual cabinets and poured some pink lemonade with ice for them both.

“Ya know,” he said as he helped himself to a couple of slices of pizza, “I’m really really glad nothing I’ve eaten today has had a face – like, an actual face.” Shinko returned with a giggle, placing one of the glasses of drink near him and the other on the counter closer to herself before she went about grabbing a slice for herself. He took a moment to thank her before continuing his thought. “I was a little worried at the diner that, whatever Woody had ordered, would be staring at me like those buildings or the sun… In fact, I was going to ask that walrus fella if they served ‘normal’ food there. But, honestly? There’s been no need. At least, not so far!” “This is normal food, silly,” she said with a giggle and a smile. “It’s your food that’s odd! Photo-realistic hamburgers and fried eggs without faces? How weird!”

Joseph rolled his eyes, causing her to giggle again. A moment later, Shinko settled-in and took a sip of her lemonade. The fox took a bite of his pizza slice, in the meantime, his tail wagging and a big grin on his face as a trail of stringy cheese stretched from the slice to his mouth. It took him a minute to eat it but the look on his face seemed to say it was well worth the effort. “Man…” Joseph started after finishing the bite, “ToonTown’s been 2-for-2 on food since I got here. This pizza is really good!” After taking another reasonably sized bite of his first slice, he set the pizza and plate down and reached for the lemonade. “By the way… did you know that pizza guy personally? Or, is he just a regular you see a lot or something? You seemed keen to mention his comedic credentials,” he said with a grin before taking a drink. That made Shinko giggle all the more before she answered.

“Well, when I first moved in, I didn’t exactly have a lot of cash, so I ended up eating pizza most nights. As it turns out, he’s the one that comes to my door every time! He doesn’t always do the same routine, of course… but, really, I’d like to think he might’ve been an extra in some cartoon, somewhere. His potential seems too big to simply be a forgotten character.” She gave a nostalgic sigh before shaking her head. “Anyways, he seems like a good guy. And, he’s basically the reason I’ve almost become a regular customer for that place. They have my address memorized by now and everything!” With her thought finished, she finally started to dig into her own slice of pizza. Her smile never left her face as she tasted the delicious baked good.

“Huh. That’s pretty cool…” Joseph hummed, looking at the ice in his drink for a moment. “You know… I like it when you talk about ‘toon history, cartoon physics, and things like that. I’m not sure why… but, you make it seem really interesting!” Joseph took another sip of his lemonade, contently humming as he did. “Plus… I love the way the topic makes your pretty, blue eyes light up. They really accent the radiant smile you get on your cute li’l face.” “Ah–” Her eyes widened a bit as her face turned red in embarrassment. Joseph just offered a grin to the ‘toon girl. He really could not help himself…

“C-come on, now… that’s too many compliments in one day,” giving a little wave. “Anyways, it’s not like I’m knowledgeable or anything. It’s just… well…” She paused… then shook her head. “Never mind. I really don’t want to talk about the past.” The fox’s head tilted, one ear cocked and the other lowered as she said that. Though he’d noted a sudden shift in her mood, again, he decided to leave it be, for once, simply giving her a nod and letting his ears return to a neutral position. He then returned to his pizza, starting on the second slice while Shinko plated another for herself.

“Anyways…” she said, keeping his attention, “I think I’ll be going to bed, now. Feel free to help yourself to whatever and I hope you get a good night’s sleep.” “Wh– um… sure…” He scratched the back of his head as she kept a friendly smile on her face. “And, thanks for letting me hang out with you today. I… I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me, Shinko. I really do.” He gave her a warm smile, wagging his tail again. “Plain-and-simple, you’re a darn good friend and a darn good person. You get a good night’s sleep as well, ya hear?” “Sure.” She nodded, keeping her small, friendly smile. “Goodnight, Joseph.” With that, she headed into her room and closing the door. As soon as she was out of sight, however, she leaned against the door, giving a light, somewhat exhausted sigh.

What a goofy guy… she thought. It certainly will be interesting to have him as a temporary roommate… For a split-second, she wondered about something… But, as quickly as a thought entered her head, it left.

It should be fine… I can trust him. Plus, it will be nice to have some semi-regular company. I just hope… She turned her head toward the door, her smile giving way to a concerned frown, one last thought making its way to the surface. I just hope… he’s not upset with me…

With that thought escaping her head, the ‘toon girl decided to go about her business, finishing her pizza and busying herself until she was tired enough to rest for the night. She really was tired… and, it wasn’t like there was any reason to stay up. Right? –––––

It was midnight as Joseph sat on the nicely-drawn couch of his friend’s apartment. He’d finally finished watching the animated movie he was supposed to watch with her and, though he’d enjoyed it, he couldn’t retain much about it. He’d let his mind wander in the middle of the movie and, since then, a scene from earlier that evening had been playing in his mind.

He could remember feeling the rise in her temperature… seeing the brightening coloration of her skin… He could recall the noise she made… and, how she seemed so dismissive of him and what he’d done, afterward… Joseph hugged his legs to his chest, resting his head on his knees and curling his tail to one side.

Why did you do that? he asked himself. Why did you have to go and kiss her for? You were having a good time just being friendly and affectionate and you had to go and… and… do that! She obviously didn’t like it, with as quickly as she changed the subject… and, worse still, you made her feel bad because of her reaction! What sort of friend does that? No wonder she ran off to her room so quickly… His eyes closed and his ears remained folded back as his train of thought continued.

What’s the matter with you, Joseph? She spends the day with you… invites you into her home… and, you go and try to make-out with her? You just barely reunited with her… but, you’re already hitting on her? Why…? I thought you weren’t looking for that sort of thing after Kris dumped you? Why are you falling back into old habits, like that…? He growled at himself for a moment… then, he relaxed.

She… she seemed interested, though… At– at least until you… you took it too far. Yeah, you took it too far. Too much, too fast, too soon! Joseph shook his head and whimpered. As mature as she’s always been, she’s still a young, naive thing, in some respects, Joseph… You knew this would happen but you pushed it, anyway! What’s wrong with you?! You even said it yourself: Your idea of ‘affection’ and hers are probably leagues apart! I mean, it was probably her first time being kissed like that and–

The fox’s ears perked, his eyes opening wide at his own realization…

“Oh, Trinity Above… I… I stole her first kiss. I stole her first kiss…”

Under other circumstances, being able to make such a claim might have been something that would fill the fox with joy… maybe even pride. But, given how she’d reacted… You’re the lowest of the low, Joseph Lithius… he berated himself, head lowering again. You don’t deserve a friend like her.

Joseph looked to the side of the couch, eyeing his backpack. I should leave… But… I don’t want to worry her… But, I also don’t want to stay and make things awkward, again… He gave a whine, digging his dull claws into his denim jeans, his eyes tearing up in frustration. Gods… I… what do I do…? Where would I even go…? He couldn’t answer those questions, himself… but, maybe, he thought… maybe someone else could.

After finding something to write with, Joseph wrote a note for Shinko on the top of the pizza box and left it somewhere she could find it. He then grabbed his backpack and walked to the door.

“I’m sorry for tonight, Shinko,” he quietly said as he opened it. “I’m not sure if I can ever repair the damage I caused… but, I can at least do this much.”

With that, he locked the door, silently closing it behind him, and hit the road.

#fiction #Eat at Joe's #original characters #shinkothetoongirl #Shinko #Essence of Ragnarok #Joseph Lithius #romance #drama

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