shhtickerbook - Tumblr blog

shhtickerbook · 8 days

Text

Iced Chocolate

chapter four

very quick messy sketch heh. chapter 4 is up under the cut and AO3 c:

chapter one

chapter two

chapter three

Noodle had been up at dawn as usual. Unlike the other staff of the washhouse who got to have an extra hour of rest before beginning a shift, she had to be up just before sunrise to start deliveries of the previous day’s laundry. Whilst they had been able to slip away unnoticed during the day, Noodle still had to upkeep her morning deliveries regardless. Unless they somehow managed to train Tiddles to go out make deliveries himself.

After drudging through the show with the now empty cart, she tiredly dragged it behind her and through the doors into the washhouse. Noodle was surprised to see only Larry and Lottie at work, her other three friends visibly missing. Lottie smiled kindly at her arrival, holding up a steaming mug.

“Noodle! I made your usual for you.”

She presented the mug, which was filled with a hot malt drink, perfect for coming back in from the cold. Lottie always made her a fresh cup of something hot when she returned from deliveries. Noodle warmed her hands against the mug before taking a deep swig. The girl surveyed the room again, frowning.

“Where is everybody? And how’s Willy-?”

She’d been fretting all night about him, still unable to believe just how stupid he was in the first place to walk across thin ice. Even with the assurance from Abacus the night before, she couldn’t help but worry. Lottie laid a hand on the girls shoulder reassuringly, interrupting her spiral.

“Abacus and Piper are upstairs with him, now don’t panic. But Mr Wonka is a bit poorly, the icy water must’ve shot his immune system pretty hard. He had quite a high fever.”

Lottie explained, sitting down to rest her arm over Noodle. Who seemed more concerned for her friend, draining the rest of the mug quickly before rising up. The idea of someone such as Willy Wonka being sick just seemed completely outrageous, he was just the kind of person you couldn’t imagine being frail and unwell.

“I’m gonna go see him-“

Larry looked over at Lottie, who had forgotten one important detail about the chocolatiers current state of mind. The telephonist catching up to the girl before she raced up the stairs. Noodle had been made aware of Willys headspace situation beforehand, but only really once briefly. At first she hadn’t exactly understood it, finding it a rather strange. But after a long talk with Abacus, he managed to wrap her head around the whole situation.

“Noodle wait- before you head up. Willy is feeling a little younger than usual. Yknow like how we explained?”

Noodle paused for a moment upon hearing it, but then shrugged her shoulders. Noodle hadn’t been with Willy that often when he was “small” as they said. But from the sounds of things, he was probably feeling pretty sick right now and likely needed the support.

“That’s Okay, don’t worry”

She smiled before turning on heel to ascend the staircase. Determined to check on her closest friend and brother figure.

With the help from Piper yet again, Willy had been successfully delivered back up to his room. The bed had been completely stripped of its soiled sheets and replaced with fresh white linen. Poking its head from underneath the sheet, sat the orange knitted beak of Chester. Willy quickly picking him up to hold close, his glass eyes pressing an imprint onto his cheek.

Although the bath certainly made him feel fresher, his head still felt as if it was stuffed with cotton wool. Standing up just made him feel woozy. When climbing back into the bed, he noticed that a towel had been tucked over the mattress tactfully. At first feeling mortified at what it’s presence clearly implied, but realistically it was probably for the best. The combination of the cool silk pyjamas and clean sheets felt heavenly when he lay back down, Abacus folding the blanket over him once settled.

“There we go lad, much more comfortable i’d say”

Willy dozily nodded, realising he was feeling much smaller now that he was tucked in. Outside the weather had become even fiercer, the blizzard building stronger. The thin glass pane of his window rattling from the wind, Abacus sighing at the poor stability of everything in this terrible excuse for accommodation. Maybe Wonka’s mad ideas of his dream store could truly happen, get them all out of this dreaded place.

Willy smacked his lips for a moment, realising how thirsty he felt. His sore throat still left that foul taste in his mouth, and he was eager to get rid of it. Although in the time it had taken for him to be delivered back up into the room, his headspace had slipped even smaller. The words he wanted to say were there, but it felt as if they were far away, too distant to try and verbalise them.

So instead he weakly pointed towards the sink in his room, grunting a little bit to get attention.

“Hm? What’s the matter?”

Abacus queried, watching in mild amusement as the boy pointed towards the basin. Willy making a grabbing motion with his hands, miming holding something. Thankfully Abacus quickly connected the dots of his request.

“Oh you’re thirsty, of course”

The man got up to fill up a glass, before offering it to the boy. Yet again similarly to the night before, Willys hold on the glass was shaky as best. Willy held it in both hands as he took a sip, but with his quivering grasp the water spilled down the sides and onto his chest. The cold water feeling very uncomfortable as he very nearly dropped it all over himself.

“Oh dear, allow me”

So once more Abacus reached out to hold the cup in place, whilst Willy eagerly gulped down the liquid. Although it didn’t taste very good, as it had quite a strong metallic aftertaste to it. The accountant couldn’t help but chuckle at his expression as he drained the glass.

“I think we’re going to have to consider some alternatives to this lad, certainly a bit too wobbly for a glass just yet”

He spoke fondly, Willy feeling a little embarrassed. He wasn’t wrong though, all his motor functions seemed to be playing against him at the moment. So he just shrugged with a mumble, lying back into the bed once satisfied. Abacus gently laid a hand to his forehead to check his temperature, which was still pretty warm. Wonka certainly seemed very quiet, Abacus noticing how he was choosing to gesture and mumble rather than speak. As he was the person whom Willy was most often regressed around, Abacus had taken many a mental note on his different mannerisms depending on just how little he was feeling.

The combination of illness seemed to slip him even younger it seemed, as this was the first time he’d gone so nonverbal.

“Still a little hot, I may nip down into town and pick up some medicine if it doesn’t come down soon.”

Willy frowned at the idea, highly doubting the idea that this medicine would taste very good. A knock then arrived at the door, Willy lifting his head up from the pillow in interest, before thumping it back down in exhaustion.

“Hey it’s just me, can I come in?”

It was Noodle, her voice sounding kind but concerned. She’s bumped into Piper on the way up, who had filled her in on how crappy he was feeling right now. On the other side of the door, Abacus turned to Willy to check on him.

“Is that alright?”

Willy thought for a moment, he knew that Noodle was aware of his headspace now. But there still was that mild anxiety, Noodle was like his little sister. He kept her safe, looked out for her. He wasn’t sure if it was okay for that role to swap over, especially when she relied on him.

But after a long conversation with Abacus and himself, she assured him that it was okay. She wanted to be there for him. So Willy gave Abacus the nod, who called out to her.

“Come on in Noodle.”

The door creaked open and Noodle stepped inside, smiling fondly when seeing Willy tucked inside the bed. It was funny how his tall lanky frame managed to look so tiny in that bed. Willy tried to sit up straight in bed, although it made his head throb again. He tucked his stuffed toucan under the sheet self consciously, poor Chester giving a silent imaginary squawk of indignity.

Even though he felt dreadfully small, there was still that anxious part of him that wanted to seem big for Noodles sake. The girl in question just scoffed at his weak attempt to seem fine when it was extremely evident he wasn’t, perching on the end of his bed with a grin.

“Willy, you don’t need to pretend. I know you’re a baby right now”

Even Abacus couldn’t hold back a chuckle at the blunt comment, before attempting to cover it up with a very fake sounding cough. Willy looked up in complete outrage, scowling at them both rather adorably.

“Nuh a baby..”

He mumbled, still struggling with his words. But Noodles comment had pulled him from his silence, who just laughed in response. Finding his face truly priceless.

“Really? Coulda fooled me.”

Willy frowned at her teasing before giving her a small smile, it was relieving that she still treated him like usual. One thing he was worried about with Noodle knowing, was if it changed the way she saw him, treated him awkwardly or acted unnaturally. But it was clear she was still the same old snarky teenager he loved.

Abacus decided to take the opportunity to get up, deciding to allow the two some quality time whilst he attempted to sneak into town to pick up some things. Not before gently stroking back Willys damp curls tenderly.

“I best head out and pick you up some medicine young man, but I trust Noodle to keep you in check. I don’t suppose that Benz may come check up soon too.”

Willy nodded, only feeling a little apprehensive. Abacus had been caring for him all morning and him leaving did make him feel a little anxious. But when Noodle reached out and squeezed his hand, he couldn’t feel any safer.

“I’m usually the one keeping him out of trouble regardless Abacus, if it weren’t for me he’d be inside a tigers belly right now- or frozen in the bottom of that lake”

She pointed out knowingly, eyebrow raised cheekily, Wonkas cheeks burning scarlet. Nearly got eaten by a tiger actually. The accountant closed the door gently behind him as he left, knowing that Noodle would keep a good eye on him. Noodle scooted further up the bed, lifting a hand to feel his forehead. Abacus wasn’t wrong, he certainly had a temperature.

“You’re such an idiot y’know, you’re lucky you got away with just a bad fever. If you weren’t careful you could’ve added to the number of skeletons at the bottom of that lake.”

She wriggled her fingers in a spooky way, Willys eyes widening in alarm. Noodle having momentarily forgotten that he was feeling younger than usual. Probably not the best time to make jokes in that manner, backtracking her statement.

“Hey but uh- you’re okay! I was just joking about the skeletons- I think. You’re just lucky you had your sis Noodle looking after ya, as always.”

The word slipped from her mouth without realising, although the pair shared an obvious sibling-like connection with eachother. Neither of them had verbalised it yet, until of course that very moment. Noodle felt her cheeks burning, panicking incase she’d overstepped. Yet Willys eyes shone like stars at the sentence, weakly reaching out to hold her hand with a small grin.

“Sister…”

He mumbled , squeezing her hand in his. Noodle met his eyes and smiled too, there was something different about him like this. Even through his obvious illness, his eyes sparkled with a childlike optimism, innocence. For the first time she really understood and saw the younger headspace he was in.

“Yeah, but more like big sister i think at the moment. Figures though, how many times have I saved your butt now?”

She chuckled, wondering what on earth would’ve happened to the poor chocolatier if she hadn’t met him. She noticed how his eyelids were beginning to flutter, the boy yawning as he rubbed his eyes sleepily. He’d only been awake a few hours but was somehow just as exhausted as when he spent all day out in town selling chocolate.

“You need some sleep.”

She firmly stated, Willy feeling too weak to argue on the matter. Noodle pulled the blanket further up his frame, finding the small knitted Toucan sprawled out and tangled in the mattress.

“Cant forget this lil guy.”

She manipulated his floppy wings up and down to mimic flight as she handed him over. Willy accepting the little bird and tucking him under his chin like always did, breathing in his faint cocoa scent. As noodle lifted the blanket to tuck it over his shoulder, he turned over before she could fold it, holding it open.

“Stay?”

He looked up with the most manipulative puppy dog eyes, mot wanting to be alone right now. Especially with how little he was feeling. Noodle chuffed in amusement, biting her lip as she considered it. She’d been up since dawn and was in-fact feeling pretty beat herself.

In defeat with a shrug and a chuckle, she began to unlace her boots. Willy managing one of his signature grins, soon enough he felt Noodle join him under the sheets in the small single bed. But somehow they managed to fit inside comfortably, Noodle linking her free hand with his once tucked underneath the sheets. Both holding onto eachother for warmth in the chilly room.

Cuddled up beside her brother, Noodle couldn’t quite remember the last time she felt so safe, as did Willy. Both pseudosiblings embracing close before they soon both fell fast asleep in each other’s hold.

29 notes · View notes