Chapter 6 of the DM!memoirs au, (trigger free) and edited with the help of @flowerbloom-arts !
Fuzzy was the first to wake up in the morning, as she was used to waking up rather early. She rubbed her eyes and stretched, she opened the lid of the can you get some light in and she noticed Joxter wasn’t in there so she got out of the can to see if he was anywhere around. She left her basket behind in the can because she felt as though it was safe there, which was a first for her. When she went to look for Joxter she made sure to look up at the trees and lo and behold she spotted him sleeping in one.
“How hasn’t he fallen down at all...?” She wondered “Joxter? Are you alright up there?” she squeaked.
Joxter woke up and started rubbing his eyes “Ughhh five more minutes...“ he mumbled.
“How do you manage to sleep up there so easily?”
“I just do.“ yawned the Joxter, he then started to climb down the tree because once someone has waken him up in the morning it was hard for him to fall back asleep so easily.
“I’m so sorry that I disturbed your sleep! I just wanted to make sure you were okay up there-!”
“Just fine. What about you? How did you sleep?”
“Rather cozy, actually! Best sleep I’ve had in a while.” said the Fuzzy contently.
“Good, because we both have a long day ahead.”
“We do? Sorry, pardon me- I mean, you do too? Besides me trying to find a job, what do you have in mind?”
“Well, I was thinking instead of you trying to find a job today I could show you how to forage and other things properly. If I’m being honest that’s how I survive out here most days, so it’ll be good for you to learn it.”
“I suppose you're right, so... where should we start?”
“First let's get something we can hold our findings in. I tend to use my hat for that. But you might need a second basket since your current basket is filled with your collection already, you can go grab something from the tin that might work.”
“Ok then!” said the Fuzzy sort of excited for this little 'adventure', she went back into the tin to look for something that could be of use, then she saw a beat up pot on Joxter's side of the can and she thought it would be perfect. She got out of the can with the pot in paw “Is this alright? I found it on your side-“
Joxter went wide-eyed and yanked it from Fuzzy unexpectedly “Don't you dare touch this ever again!”
Fuzzy was surprised and startled, she looks as though she shrank a little “S-sorry- did I do something wrong...?”
Joxter realized he scared her and sighed, holding the pot to his chest “I’m... I'm sorry it’s just... this pot is off limits. I should have said that nicer...” he said as he felt guilt rush over him.
“It’s okay... it’s just... what's so special about the pot anyhow...?”
“It was my friend's... he used to wear it on his head like a hat all the time, he was a total dork but I think it suited him well... I promise this is one of the only things that are off limits.“
“Ah, I think I understand now- I’m still very sorry.” replied the Fuzzy with her ears going down guiltily.
“I know, I know, I really should stop having such an attachment to such... trivial things... I should start letting go some time...”
“Joxter it’s only understandable that you're... upset about this in particular- I’ll go find something else, alright?”
“... Fuzzy- wait-!“ said the Joxter suddenly in a serious tone.
“Yes...?” replied the Fuzzy sheepishly
“YOU JUST CALLED ME JOXTER!” He said excitedly “YOU FINALLY CALLED ME JOXTER INSTEAD OF JOXSIR OR SIR! THIS IS CAUSE FOR CELEBRATION!” He was joking around and twirled twice acting a bit silly.
Fuzzy was startled at first but it turned into a giggle, she was happy to see his mood change to a happy one “You startled me for a moment! I thought you were being cross, but it’s good to see you so happy about this!“
Joxter went back over to the tin to put the old pot back in and took out a big bowl that could work for Fuzzy's findings.
“Here, this should work for carrying what we'll forage instead!“
“Oh perfect! Now what’s the next step?”
“Well the next step is helping you differentiate certain plants and foods,” he answered as they walked along the forest until they made it to an area with some berry bushes.
“Now look closely at these two plants; what differences do you see?” Joxter said to the Fuzzy as he pointed her to the berries.
Fuzzy took a close look and said “I’m not quite sure...? They both look very similar with the color and all...”
Joxter then pointed out “This one has serrated leaves and this one has smooth edges, the one with the serrated leaves are poisonous but the smooth leafed ones are good, but if you can’t tell by the leaves there’s also another way to tell;” he picked one berry off of each plant.
“What’s the second way?” asked the Fuzzy curiously.
“This!” Joxter then squeezed the berries in each paw.
"Poisonous ones will stain your paws even after you wash them but the good ones will clean right off!“
“Oh I see! But... how are you going to wash your paws now? There’s no stream near by-“
Joxter looked down at his paws “oh- you're right.“ he said light-heartedly.
Fuzzy smiled a bit and took a handkerchief out of her pocket “Here, you can use this to wipe your paws off as best you can!”
“Why thank you!“ replied the Joxter.
He tipped his hat before taking the handkerchief and wiping his paws, he then passed it back to her, took off his hat and started to pick some berries.
“So... what are these berries called?” Fuzzy asked.
Joxter shrugged “I have no clue.”
“Who taught you these things, then?”
“I taught myself naturally through trial and error, I suppose.”
“Oh dear, that sounds awful! You must have gotten sick so many times!“
“Just a couple of times but I’m fine,” he picked the good berries and Fuzzy did the same. After a while, they've collected a good amount of berries and Joxter stopped “I think that’s good for now, got to leave some for other creatures of course, and there’s a crab apple tree not too far from here.”
“A crab apple tree?” echoed the Fuzzy.
“Crab apples are like small apples that are more sour but edible nonetheless, I like them and in the early spring they're so tiny you can just chew on them and spit out the core once the flavor is gone.“
“Oh how interesting- except for the spitting part... that sounds sort of... well, icky.“
“My bad, that was a bit gross to mention,“ Joxter replied. Fuzzy started to eat some of the berries she picked earlier as they walked together, enjoying the nature around them.
They eventually found the crab apple tree, it wasn’t too tall of a tree, it was rather small and so were the apples hanging on it, Joxter picked one of the apples and tossed it to Fuzzy “Here, try one.” he said, and so she did
She tasted it for a moment before sticking her tounge out because of how tart it was compared to the sweet berries she had few minutes prior, Joxter chuckled a bit “Well, it isn’t for everyone, I guess!“
“It’s so sour...!“ she mumbled.
“Hahah! Oh, also the last thing I can teach you about today is probably fishing.“
“Fishing?” replied the Fuzzy “Do you have a fishing rod at all?”
“I don’t like to use fishing rods, I prefer to use my claws. Or a net too, but I don’t have the net with me, so I’ll be teaching you how to fish with your paws!”
Fuzzy looked surprised and worried “Oh but I’ll be awful at it, I know it!”
“Not unless you try it!“ replied the Joxter giving her a little pat on the back “How about this: you sit by the stream and watch how I do it, and if you feel like you want to try it say the word and I’ll help you, alright?”
Fuzzy smiled and nodded. Joxter put the rest of the berries that were in her bowl into his hat because he was planning on using the bowl she had to put the fish in before going to the nearest river.
Frankly, it seemed like he wanted to impress her, he rolled up his pant legs and his jacket sleeves as well as he glared to see into the water. Fuzzy sat there watching and eating more berries. Joxter attempted to catch a fish, he messed up on the first few tries until he finally caught one! The one he caught was quite a fighter so it flipped around trying to get away from him, Fuzzy smiled and cheered him on “Great job Joxter! It’s a big one too!”
Joxter was going to try and break the fish's neck with his paws to get it to stop moving but it was too slippery to break so he bit into it instead to stop it, Joxter held it in his mouth and gave Fuzzy a thumbs up as the fish stopped its motion slowly. Fuzzy was grossed out and terrified by seeing the poor fish die in front of her like that, Joxter went over to her and saw the fear on her face.
“What’s wrong?” muffled the Joxter with the fish still in his mouth.
“I-I’ve never seen someone kill a fish with their teeth like that-“
“Oh.“ mumbled the Joxter before taking the fish out of his mouth “Guessing it’s a bad thing then? I really should have brought a pocket knife with me or something- a lady shouldn’t have had to see that.“ he proceeded to put the fish in the bowl.
Fuzzy fidgeted with her paws “Oh no it’s alright, you did what you had to! It was rather impressive how you caught it like that, though.”
“Do you want to catch one too? I promise you won’t have to kill it like I did, I’ll do that part if you like.”
“Hmmm... Well... no, not yet. I think I need to watch a bit longer.”
"Alright, suit yourself.“ replied the Joxter.
“Oh but since you're catching fish I promise I’ll make dinner for us later! It’ll be nice!”
“Really? Well then! Is that your way of asking me out on a dinner date then?” he joked as he got back into the water.
Fuzzy stammered and her face went red “N-no! Excuse me, sorry, It’s just to show my gratitude, is all.”
Joxter chuckled light-heartedly “I’m kidding! I know that! Trust me, you can get much better than me.“ he then tried to grab another fish but this time it bounced out of his paws and smacked him in the face causing him to stumble backwards.
“J-Joxter?!” Said the fuzzy worriedly, she quickly went into the water trying to hold her skirt as she helped the wet Joxter up “Oh goodness I’m so sorry, I distracted you! Are you okay?” she asked.
“I must be fine since an angel just helped me up-“ said the Joxter in a smartass teasing tone, Fuzzy's face went bright red and she let go of his paw.
“I’m just happy you're okay! But... do you really think I look like an Angel...?” she asked sheepishly, flustered.
“Well- I-“ stammered Joxter not thinking she would take it seriously, he was suddenly cut off when Fuzzy accidently stepped on a fish that swam by causing her to stumble and fall into the water aswell and Joxter quickly helped her up.
“I-I’m ok I think... Oh goodness my only dress is all wet and gross now- what am I to do?” She said worriedly, holding up her dress.
“Well, we could simply sit here try to catch fish and have fun for once. Just dumb fun splashing eachother!” he said as he splashed her a tiny bit with his foot.
The Fuzzy didn't reply. She seemed a bit upset thinking about this little slip up of her's. Rather embarassed aswell, Joxter felt bad and went closer to her “Hey, I’m sorry- it’s alright! I’m sure we can figure something out and I’ll set up a fire back near the tin so you can dry off-“ he tried to reassure her then a little smirk started to cross her face and before joxter knew it she splashed him.
“Fuzzy!” He said rather surprised at the turn of events and the two playfully splashed eachother and laughed on about it. After they stopped, Joxter tried to teach Fuzzy how to fish. At first, she was scared to touch the slimy creatures but eventually she got the hang of it, though she kept dropping them every time she picked one up, Joxter helped her catch them again before they got away and they managed to catch about 3 more fish on top of the first one Joxter caught. Joxter got out of the water and gave Fuzzy a paw to help her out aswell, she was still smiling even if she was shivering from her wet clothes.
“Well today was fun, wouldn't you say?” said the joxter trying to squeeze out the extra water from the ends of his wet clothing. He was rather happy, he was the happiest he’s ever been, in fact.
“T-Today was amazing!” stuttered the Fuzzy through chattering teeth.
“Here, let’s get back to the tin so I can set up a fire for you, I don’t want you to catch a cold.”
“T-thank you- I really wish I brought an extra dress or two with me when I left home...“
Joxter helped her out of the water and just... felt warm, strangely, despite the slight wind hitting his wet clothes and skin he felt warm and light like freshly baked bread, or rather on the inside like he had butterfly’s in his stomach.
“You don’t have anything dry to wear?” asked the Joxter.
“N-no... but I’ll be fine!” said the Fuzzy, trying not to cause a fuss.
“Once I get the fire started you can just rest and try to warm up, there's something I have to do first- I’ll be back soon after.”
The Fuzzy raised an eyebrow but agreed to it nonetheless, they got back to there area in the woods and Joxter helped fuzzy set up a fire before leaving to run the errand.
Joxter decided it would be best to ask Mymble if she had any extra dresses or something that Fuzzy could wear for the time being, he decided that along the way he should maybe see if anyone was careless enough to leave any clothes hanging out in the open that he could 'borrow'.
He walked to Mymble's house and knocked on the door, taking a few cautious steps back from it this time since he didn’t want to be trampled by the stampede of kids again. This time mymble just opened the door looking rather tired.
Joxter was surprised none of her kids followed her out “Hey Mymble, where're the kiddos?”
“Taking a nap for once.“ she said rather happily in a shushed tone “Why are you wet? Did you try taking a bath with your clothes on?”
“I fell into a stream while fishing, I was wondering if you had any extra dry dresses you would be willing to let me borrow.”
“Never took you as the cross-dressing type but sure!” joked the Mymble.
“No no, it’s for a friend of mine who fell into the river with me-“
“A friend?” asked the Mymble, surprised.
“I know what you're thinking-“
“Oh how wonderful! Listen Joxter, I don’t care if you have more than one partner, I would be a hypocrite if I didn’t let you, you should bring her- or him... them? Anyways, do bring them over some time!”
“Now hold on, more than one partner? Mymble we aren’t partners, and I just said Fuzzy's just a friend! She isn’t my partner-!“
“Oh so her name is Fuzzy? How nice! And you're right, we aren’t dating, we’re parents!” said the Mymble cheerfully as she stepped outside the house.
“Wait, what?!” replied the Joxter, going wide eyed.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you, dear! I’m pregnant and I know it’s yours since you're the only man I’ve seen in months now, and I’m thrilled! I feel like... you’ve been the only one to stay around this long and we have a connection... I think this is the last kid I plan on having, atleast for a while.“
“Mymble, please stop for a moment- if this is a joke you have to stop-“
“Joxter, it’s not a joke... you're not happy..?”
“N-no! Yes? I don’t know! This is so sudden! I didn’t even consider us dating!”
“You didn’t? But we spent so much time together!”
“I know and now I feel awful!”
“... Jox...” sighed the Mymble.
“Mymble, I’m sorry I just... I’ll be here for you and the kid of course! It’s just... gosh this is a lot...so this is why Moomin thought you and I where settling down, eh...?“
“Joxter, I love you, you know that right...?”
“I know and that’s why I feel awful about all of this! I... I love you to it’s just... I’m not ready to love or be loved, not right now atleast... I don’t think... At least I didn’t think so until recently- and I’m just... just barely starting to consider dating again! And I’m certainly I’m not prepared to be a father! I’ll be awful at it!”
“I’ve seen how you are with my kids, you're wonderful with them! They absolutely adore you! I know it’ll be hard but you’ll be a good father-“
“But Mymble the kids are just... so smothering it’s so much for me! I like my space!”
“I know you do! You won’t have to stay here everyday you know! I’m not expecting to keep you tied down, especially since you have your other girlfriend-!”
“MYmBle she's NOT MY GIRLFRIEND-“ he said defensively.
“If she wasn’t you wouldn't be throwing a fit like this-“ she tried to say lightheartedly as she hugged him close for a moment despite him being damp with river water “It’s alright to be like this you know.“
“Confused, worried, in love, with more than one person at once, it’s just polyamory- and I’m fine with it and as long as the girl you like is ok with it then there’s no problem, you’ll be able to split your time with me and her if you’d like you know, we could come up with something!” she said positively.
“IM nOt-...” Joxter then quickly went quiet and had a look on his face, the sort of look of pure thought and confliction “I... I'm still in denial about all of this...” he mumbled.
“Understandable.“ replied the mymble “You have time to think about all of this, alright darling? For now let me lend you those dresses for the lady friend of yours. Fuzzy, was it?”
“Yeah, it’s Fuzzy.” Joxter continued mumbling.
"Well, if you ever decide to bring Fuzzy over and explain what you want to her, make sure she knows I'd welcome her with open arms and share you with her!“ she said joyfully before going inside and retrieving a few dresses.
Joxter was still in disbelief and thought to himself “I’m going to be a father... I'M GOING TO BE A FATHER! SHIT, I'M GOING TO BE A FATHER? For heaven's sake this is all too much! I love mymble but- I think I have a thing for Fuzzy to- you think? No you know you do! You haven’t felt this way for a long time! You felt that weird flutter in your stomach all over again earlier! Just like... how you used to be with Muddler... she makes you feel just like he used to- you're already attached to her! Is it only because she reminds you of Muddler or is it because you do sincerely like her company? Why are you debating this! Of course you like her company! Even if she reminded you of Muddler in the very beginning that’s not the only reason you like her now! She’s kind and thoughtful and gentle and she’s such great company once she’s gotten out of her shell a bit! What if she’s not ok with this whole polyamory thing...? Does this mean Mymble and I are official? God I wish I had at least made it 'official' in a more romantic way- what was I thinking!” His thought was cut off by Mymble putting a paw on his shoulder.
“Here Jox, some dry dresses! Just take your time to process this all, the baby won’t be born for another 7 or 6 months anyway so you have time to think about what You want to do. Just keep me in the loop, alright?” Mymble said gently.
Joxter gulped for a moment and gave a nod “Thank you Mymble...”
“Anytime dear.“ she gave him a kiss on the forhead and Joxter gently hugged her and stood on the tips of his toes to give her a kiss on the cheek.
“I’ll... think about it...“
Joxter then slowly walked home with the dresses in hand... muddled and baffled by it all, he then saw some dry clothes hanging on a wire outside of someone's home, the clothes in question were a dark blue jacket and some brown pants. He took them and booked it out of there back to the can, when he got there Fuzzy was humming a gentle tune while she cooked some fish over the fire in a frying pan.
Joxter looked at her and his cheeks went red with the thought of his feelings towards her being apparent coming to mind.
“Oh wonderful! Dinner almost ready!“ her dress was still damp but not drenched like before.
“I got a dress for you to wear while yours dries.“
“Oh! Thank you Joxter! But where did you get it?”
“Uhm... a friend of mine let me borrow them once she heard the situation- they might be a bit big on you, though.”
“And by 'borrow' you mean steal...?”
“Oh no no! But the jacket and pants for myself here I did steal-“
“Oh goodness-“ said fuzzy as she thought of the idea of stealing though she didn’t say much more about it since who was she to judge? Then she took one of the red dresses. “Well I’m going into the tin to get changed, thank you again for this!“
"You're welcome.“ replied Joxter with a faint smile. The Fuzzy then went to do what she said she would and joxter sat there by the fire to warm up a bit.
Meanwhile, Fuzzy slipped off her damp dress and put on the dry one, in the privacy of the tin can she was starting to gush to herself over Joxter and how silly and layed back he is, by how sweet he is! To her he was perfect- though his smell and the way he dressed could be improved, it wasn’t to bad and she didn’t mind those flaws! she was certain she had found true love and was hyped, but she was worried her feelings would make things weird so she decided to wait it out the best she could.
She got out of the can in the red dress that was a few sizes too big on her but it was cozy at least. She retrieved two plates and some silverware from the can before bringing it back to the fire so she could serve herself and Joxter the dinner of fish she had had been roasting, she noticed Joxter was lost in thought and interrupted him.
“Sorry, but uhm... would you like me to make you a plate...?”
“Hm-“ said Joxter suddenly snapping out of thought “Oh sure! Thank you! Did you really cook all this yourself?”
“Indeed I did! And I made some fresh berry juice as well with some sugar, water and honey.”
Joxter smiled “how resourceful. Hold on a moment as I go get changed too.“ he took the dry clothes he had for himself and went to the can to change.
“A bit uncomfortable, but it’ll have to do until my clothes dry.“ he said as he came back to the fire and sat down.
Fuzzy looked over to him and smiled “You look rather dashing in that shade of blue...”
“You really think so...?” replied the Joxter.
“Indeed.” answered the Fuzzy before starting to eat.
And things where going wonderful.
But wonderful things don’t always stay wonderful.
