Distrust CH3: Forgiving
Distrust is my original fanfiction for the Don't Hug Me I'm Scared series, based loosely upon the plot of the lost Sundance pilot. Originally uploaded to Archive of Our Own in April 2022, this work is still ongoing. All chapters that have been made here will be posted shortly, and new ones will as well.
The next morning was very different than the usual ones, at least for Clayhill. The happy-go lucky town usually had sunny, bright mornings; with the citizens beginning their day with a positive mindset. Dark, almost black, clouds loomed over the city as rain poured down from the sky. Thunder was heard in the distance, a warning for a big storm to come. Stirring from his dreamless sleep, Harry opened his eyes to the dim grey-ish blue light pouring in from his window. He heard the rain hit the roof of their funny house, and he sat himself up. He yawned, the hairs on his head slowly receding back and pushing forth as he did. He took a moment to wipe the tears from his eyes and reached over to his nightstand to turn on the small little red lamp. With a pull of the cord, a warm yellow light filled the room. As soon as his eyes adjusted to it, he got up and stretched. He threw on the plush robe that Robin gifted him for his birthday and headed out of his room.
Walking through the hallway, he regretted not bringing a light with him. It was super early in the morning, and the house was practically void of all light. Still, he trekked on, heading to Doi's room to check on him. The little boy was practically afraid of everything, including relatively normal things like the moon or carpet or ground beef. He couldn't necessarily blame him, because he was afraid of owls. Opening the door to his room, Harry could see that he was (thankfully) sleeping peacefully. He was curled up in his blanket surrounded by all his plush toys and sucking his thumb as his swirling nightlight lit up his room. Harry briefly smiled, before slowly and quietly shutting the door. Making his way down the rest of the hallway, Harry brought himself to Robin's door. Opening it, he was glad to see that the bird was sleeping, yet in a different position than he always did. Robin always slept in a fetal position, which, in Harry's own opinion, was the most comfortable for him. However, he was sleeping on his stomach with his arm slumped over the edge of his bed. This automatically meant that Robin was stressed, but fortunately not to the point of molting. Harry sighed, closing the door quietly. It always worried him when Robin was stressed, the little duck practically crackled under pressure. Not to mention that molting meant that he was to the point of a breakdown. But Harry reminded himself that he wasn't molting, and that he would talk to him at breakfast and (hopefully) clear up any stress for him.
Stepping off the stairs, Harry clicked on the living room lamp. With light in the room, he made his way to the front door. Peeking out the said door, he could see that the streets were slick and wet from the rain. He could also see Big Ian walking down the street delivering mail. Big Ian lived just down the street from them and was the local paperboy before he got promoted to a mailman position a few months back. Harry thought he was a nice guy, and he always delivered the newspaper in good condition. Today, he was off his usual bike and walking in the cold rain in a raincoat. When Ian arrived at the door, Harry opened it and quickly took their mail. "Thank you." Harry said, as Ian simply nodded and walked back to his paper route. Harry shuffled through the mail, finding their usual bills and postcards from the dentist. That reminded him that Doi still needed to get his teeth checked. Harry set them down on the table and opened the plastic wrapping to the newspaper. Seeing the headline, he sighed.
Mayor Pigface STILL MISSING. Replacement plans to make 'Some changes.'
Robin awoke not too long in the morning, lifting himself up from his odd position on his bed. He stretched his limbs, as they were slightly irritated and numb. He looked out his window to see that the rain was still going from the night before, and he sighed. He sluggishly walked to his wardrobe and grabbed his usual clothes. He directed his eyes away from the long scar adorning his abdomen, trying to ignore it. Luckily, it had faded since they had arrived in Clayhill, but he could still hear that horrid song in his mind every time he saw it. He simply buttoned his coat and walked towards his calendar to mark the date for the day. Scanning with his eyes, he found the date and marked it with an X. Looking again, he found that yesterday wasn't even marked. He leaned to mark it when he felt a pit of dread in his stomach. He stood idle for a moment, and then suddenly remembered.
Doi's BIRTHDAY was yesterday.
Robin whispered a "Oh...no...", placing his hand on his head. He couldn't believe that he forgot Doi's birthday, and even forgot to remind Harry about it as well. He dragged his hand down his face as he groaned, knowing that Doi was most likely crushed by this. He let out a deep sigh as he marked the calendar, and simply walked to his door.
He exited his room and made his way down the stairs, seeing Harry making breakfast. He sucked in a breath before letting it out and headed towards him. Harry noticed him approaching and greeted him with a "Good morning." Robin replied with the same statement and sat down at the kitchen table. "Dreadful morning, isn't it?" Harry said, trying to make small talk as he finished up the eggs for himself and Robin. Robin was silent for a second, before noticing that Harry had spoken. "Huh? Oh. Yes, yes, very dreadful."
Harry turned the stove off and placed the plates onto the table before sitting down. The room had an air of awkwardness surrounding it, Robin shifted uncomfortably in his chair. Harry simply blinked and said, "Something's wrong, isn't it?"
The green duck sighed. "How did you guess?" Harry took a sip of the coffee he made and looked at him. "I know you, Robin. I know how you sleep, wake up, eat. I know when you're worried or upset about something, I can see it in your face. We've lived together for years, after all." Robin groaned and stared at the tablecloth, because his shaggy roommate was right. "C'mon, talk to me. Whatever it is, we can fix it." Harry said, trying to reassure him, even through his monotone voice. Robin looked up at him, his eyes glinting with shame. "Do you promise you won't by upset with me?" Harry nodded and took another sip. "Doi's birthday was yesterday...and we forgot." Harry sucked in a breath and set his cup down, muttering "Damn, I knew Doi was acting strange yesterday. I think he was even wearing the birthday buckles on his shoes."
Harry exhaled through his nose as he looked back up to Robin. "What do we do? How can we possibly fix this?" Robin said, holding his head in his hand. "We just own up to it and apologize, Robin. We'll throw a small party for today to make up for yesterday." Harry sat up and walked behind the green duck, looking down at him. "We'll make a cake, get some banners and such, and get him some gifts. Everything is going to be alright."
Robin smiled as he sighed, Harry always knew what to say to make him feel better about things. He was always calm through the most horrible of situations. Harry was Robin's lifeline, someone to always rely on when things were the worst. Harry moved out from behind him and turned to the exit of the kitchen.
"C'mon, let's go tell him. I don't want him to think we don't care." Robin moved his chair out and got up as he followed Harry upstairs.
Doi was already awake in his room, doing a puzzle on his rug. "Doi?" Robin asked, carefully opening Doi's door. Both men peeked inside the room, causing the boy to lift his head up. "Hey guys." Doi greeted, his voice soft. Harry sat down on Doi's bed as Robin pulled up one of his small chairs. "We need to talk, buddy." Harry said, his voice still in his monotone state, but with a hint of concern.
"Did I do something bad?" Doi asked, his face immediately gaining a worried expression. "No. Not at all, this is about something me and Robin did." Harry said, bending down to meet his eyes. Robin's hands sat on his legs as he gulped, looking to Harry to begin.
"Doi, we're so, so sorry we forgot about your birthday." The duck said, his eyes filled with sadness. "It's okay." Doi said, looking at them. "That's nice of you to say, but it wasn't fair of us to just forget. We're going to make up for it today, okay?" Harry said, giving a smile to Doi.
"Really?" The boy asked, looking up to the two men. "Of course. We're going to get you some cake, and some streamers, and two presents just for you!" Robin said, also smiling. Doi gave a big smile before standing up and walking over to Robin. It took him a moment before wrapping his arms around the duck, Robin freezing for a moment before returning the hug. Harry got up and joined the hug, smiling as the three of them embraced.
"I love you guys." Doi said, all of them still hugging. "We love you too, buddy." Harry said. Suddenly, the phone downstairs rang. "I'll get it." Harry broke the hug and turned out the door, heading down the stairs and to the phone. Soon, the ringing silenced, and Harry shrugged his shoulders and turned away until it began ringing again. He picked it up, greeting it with a "Hello?"
Raspy, low and slow breathing immediately came through the line, filling Harry's stomach with a pit of dread. The breathing continued as Harry's expression contorted into extreme worry. "H-Hello?" His voice began to lose its monotone state. The breathing immediately stopped only for a hoarse voice to ask, "Where is my son...?"
Harry's eyes opened wide as he spoke into the phone with a hushed voice. "Don't call here ever again. Don't you ever call here. Ever. Again!" Harry slammed the phone back on the receiver, breathing heavily as Robin was coming down the stairs. "Who was that?" Robin said, walking towards him. Harry tried to control his breathing as the duck approached him. "Harry?" Robin reached a hand to him.
Harry turned around and exhaled. "Just a telemarketer. Nothing to worry about."
"Are you sure?" Robin asked, as Harry nodded. "Go get the cake, I'll put the streamers up for the party." Robin turned to the coat rack and put on his red raincoat as he slipped on some rainboots.
"I should be back by noon, be sure to check on Doi, okay?" Robin said as he opened the door and headed out into the rainy day. Harry sat down, holding his head in his hands.
"It's going to be okay." He told himself. "Don't let him get to you, you just have to keep going." He sighed as he got up and pulled some yellow streamers out of a box, beginning to hang them up as the rain outside continued to pour down.