#underrated pair

It was a peaceful night in Gardenview. With Halloween rapidly approaching, Toons were making costumes, decorating the museum, and preparing for the return of the Halloween Toons. Even if the museum shut down, there was life flowing within.

Scraps, a crafty kitty Toon, was busy helping Poppy and Flutter, since their attempt at decorating went south. Turns out mixing sparklers and paper jack-o-lanterns was not a good idea, and she needed to help them make safer ones.

This left her little brother, Goob, without a partner. He was supposed to make costumes with Scraps, but due to the very flammable problem, she couldn’t stick around. He didn’t blame her, he never blamed anyone. But he didn’t like doing crafts by himself, so he went looking for a new partner.

Thankfully, he wasn’t the only one without a friend to work with. Shelly, a main Toon, was going to make some welcome gifts for the Halloween Toons with her best friend, Tisha. However, the tissue box got caught up in cleaning up after the circus trio. Their idea of Halloween decorations were a little too… sticky.

Though Shelly was left alone, Goob didn’t let that remain the case for too long. He knew that she had a knack for sewing, as another friend of hers taught the ammonite to do so. As such, he asked for her help with costumes. Being the sweet, optimistic friend that she was, she happily agreed, and went with Goob to his room to get to work.

“Let’s see, Goob… Do you want a red patch on the chest, or a black one?”

Shelly was stitching on the finishing touches to Goob’s costume, as he added some little details to hers.

“A red one! A black one might be too scary, since we’re full of Ichor!” Goob commented.

“Good point. Red it is.” Shelly muttered, stitching a red patch on the chest of his costume.

“Alright, finished! C’mon, try it on!” Shelly gave the fluffy craft his finished costume, and watched him struggle to put it on. She chuckled.

“Do you want my help?”

“No!” Goob whined. “I can do it! It’s hard with my arms!”

“I can imagine.” The ammonite stifled a laugh.

Goob finally got the costume on. It was a little spooky, but still cute. It was a simple vampire costume, which fit his sharp teeth. He had a few accessories, like a cape, fingerless gloves, black and red leg warmers, and some makeup to make him look a bit more pale.

“You look great, Goob! Somehow you still look adorable, even when you try to be spooky.” Shelly giggled.

“I can’t disagree, I love it!” Goob exclaimed. “But Shelly… I gotta admit, I’m pretty hungry.”

Shelly, not picking up on his tone, nodded. “Me too. Maybe Sprout has some treats we can-“

“No, not like that.” Goob interrupted her. “I’m talking about you. You look pretty yummy right about now…” Goob’s tone shifted from as sinister as the fluffy craft could muster, to playful on a whim.

“Wait…what?” Shelly paused. “Goob, what do you mean?”

“Vampires are supposed to eat people, right?”

“Well, they only drink blood from the books I read…” Shelly started to back away.

“Exactly! There’s Ichor inside you, and I’m gonna get it!”

Shelly yelped. She could now sense his playfulness, and tried to make a run for it. But outrunning Goob was near impossible, especially with his stretchy arms.

“Come here, you!” Goob giggled, stretching his arms.

Shelly squeaked as she felt the craft’s nubbed claws grab and lightly squeeze her sides. They pulled her back to the waiting Toon, who promptly held her in his comfy arms.

“Thought you could run?” Goob taunted, putting on a fake Transylvanian accent. “I want to suck your Ichor!”

Shelly yelped again, feeling Goob’s sharp teeth on her neck. But instead of biting hard, he just did little nibbles on her neck, making her squeal with giggles.

“No! Goob, let me go!” She cried through her giggling. Goob merely giggled with her.

“No way! You’re so delicious, Shelly!” The fluffy craft chirped, using his nubby claws to tickle and poke around her sides and ribs, alongside the nibbles.

Shelly started squealing with louder laughter. Her ribs were so ticklish, and he knew that. Goob loved to tickle people, and be tickled right back. And Shelly? Who was she to deny that she wasn’t enjoying this herself?

Scraps had forgotten to warn Shelly about what happens when Goob puts on a costume. He tends to get into character, and pull off silly acting that would bring joy to Razzle and Dazzle.

Goob was thrilled to hear her laughing. Shelly was so sad lately, especially when Tisha had to leave to clean up after the circus trio. He wasn’t about to let her be sad, and he was determined to put a smile back on her adorable face. And what better way to do it than to play a part as a vampire to tickle her? The same costume she made?

“I’ll eat you, Shelly!” Goob sang, giggling at his own silliness. “You’re so yummy and sweet, Cosmo would be jealous!”

“Goob, please!” Shelly whined through her squeaky laughter. Though she wasn’t entirely begging for him to stop.

“What, please get the Ichor out of your tummy? Sure thing, Shelly!”

“No!” Shelly shrieked when she felt those claws go for her tummy. Not her worst spot, but Goob’s teasing made it so much worse.

Her squeals of laughter continued, like music to Goob’s ears. It was wonderful to hear her giggling rather than whimpering. Her joy was infectious, so his giggles combined with her’s in a melody of snickers and chortles.

However, if Goob knew one thing, it was when to give his dear friend a break. He pulled his claws back, and held her in a gentle hug.

“There we go, I’m full now.” Goob kept his character up a little longer. “No need to eat you any further.”

“Thanks, Goob.” Shelly let out a few more giggles, winding down from the game. Goob was too silly to be mad at.