Gossip Hour

CW: One-sided Saltpep 😔

"Are you serious?! Really?!"

Pepper felt anger and irritation start to bubble up within her. Salt was going to ditch their shopping plans for OJ. Again.

"What? He's like... TOTALLY gonna say yes this time! Relax, it'll be fine! Cya!"

Pepper rolled her eyes as her BCFF left the room, off to go chase OJ for the millionth time... despite the fact he literally had a boyfriend now... why was she still so adamant on this?

She let out a quiet, annoyed groan, walking out of the room herself and heading off to the kitchen. It was getting so... so tiring, having to watch her run off to chase OJ like... like some dog.

When was she going to notice that OJ was never gonna be interested in her. When was she going to notice... that she already had someone who was willing to show her the love she so desperately craved...

Pepper shook those thoughts out of her head. There was no point in dwelling on what could be... if Salt hadn't woken up from her delusion already, there wasn't a very high chance she would now.

She poured herself a glass of water, about to head back to her room to cool off when she spotted...

Paper and Balloon, who were just... chatting in the lobby. She didn't know why, but Pepper was... intrigued. After all, with how giddy their expressions were, it was looking a little like... gossip.

Plus, Balloon wasn't the worst guy to talk to in the world - he was a good listener, and she liked the little time they'd spent together so far. And she was pretty good friends with Paper, even if he was technically the reason Salt would always whine about not being able to date OJ... So what was the harm, really?

She set her empty glass down on the counter, walking over to the pair with a bright smile on her face. Balloon perked up a little.

"Oh! Hey Pepper! Salt's not with you, is she?"

Pepper shook her head, sitting down beside them as she rolled her eyes.

"Nah, just me."

She didn't miss Paper breathing a silent sigh of relief. He wasn't on the best terms with her - and it was easy to see why.

"So whatcha guys talking about?"

"Oh, nothing much. Just... whatever comes to mind, really."

Paper nodded along, shrugging as he spoke.

"Yeah, me and Balloon are just catching up. Since OJ's busy today and all."

Pepper couldn't help but smirk a little at that, a teasing edge to her voice.

"Only because OJ's busy. What, got no time for your friends now sweetie?"

Balloon giggled a little at her joke, the smile on Paper's face being replaced by a frown in seconds.

"Oh shut it Pepp... you know my life doesn't revolve around him. I have time for friends too."

"Uh-huh... you literally cancelled on me last week because OJ so much as offered to go to the park with you. On the day we were supposed to go. I had to watch Frozen 2 with Nickel. NICKEL, PAPER! NICKEL!-"

Paper put his hands up in defence, a slight blush crawling onto his cheeks.

"HEY- that wasn't my fault! It was a park I'd been wanting to go to for a while!-"

Pepper couldn't help but snicker at their senseless bickering. She'd forgotten just how close they'd grown after Balloon got back from Season 3.

"It's fine, I know how important your relationship is and all. And I'm happy for you... just don't forget I exist next time, yeah?"

"Noted..."

When the silence had stretched on for a second or two longer, Pepper thought it'd be a good time to speak up.

"Are you planning on marrying him soon?"

"Wha- PEPPER!"

"Just saying, he'd probably say yes! You two already have like- a son, what's popping the question gonna do except bring you two closer?"

For a moment, Paper genuinely thought about it... should he ask? Pepper made a good point... what was the harm in trying...?

Still, he shook that idea out of his head.

"It's still too soon..."

"Hey- no rush. You guys are perfect for each other, you're bound to be happy no matter what happens."

Those words helped reassure Paper a little, nodding along to Pepper's support. He was glad to have a friend like her.

He hesitated for a moment before speaking again, being careful with his words so he wouldn't upset her.

"...What about you and Salt...?"

"Ugh, what about us..."

Pepper's expression soured in milliseconds, shrivelling up like a bitter raisin.

"She's still just so- so laser-focused on OJ all the damn time! And it's so obvious that he's like- not even interested in her, or whatever; he literally has you! It's so annoying..."

Paper nodded along sympathetically, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"I know how you feel... for the longest time, I thought there was no way OJ would ever like me back. But trust me girl, you're gonna get through this... it just takes time."

Pepper appreciated the gesture, her lips curling up into a small smile.

And then Balloon's eyes lit up. In the way that they both knew could only mean that he had an idea reminiscent of Fan's crazy fan fiction plots.

"Hey, why don't you confess on valentines? Then she'll have to at least consider your feelings, right?-"

"Balloon, no. No, honey, we're not doing this again."

She shot down the idea before he could even really get it off the ground, which he rolled his eyes at. It didn't really matter, though, it probably wouldn't have gone all that well anyway.

Just then, a certain object walked into the room. He looked completely out of it and extremely tired, dragging a kicking and screaming Salt behind him.

"I'm not dealing with this anymore, I'm going on break. Someone get her off of me..."

Pepper rose from the couch, taking Salt's other arm and walking her back to their room, waving everyone else goodbye as they left.

OJ then turned his attention back to Paper on the couch, who was still sitting next to Balloon, just as he'd been earlier.

"Hey, have you seen Cherries anywhere? He's not in his room, and I haven't seen him all day.

"Oh, I saw him with Cheesy earlier."

OJ looked a little surprised when Balloon was the one to reply, but thanked him nonetheless, heading to Cheesy's room. Paper was about to get up to follow him, but hesitated, his eyes flickering to the object next to him. Balloon simply nodded.

"Hey, I was joking about the whole 'see your friends more' thing. It was good chatting with you. I'll... see you soon, yeah?"

Paper wore a grateful grin, joining his boyfriend by the door.

"Yeah... cya, Balloon!"

Paper slid his hand into OJ's, heading up to Cheesy's room with him and knocking on the door.

"Hey, Cheesy? Is Cherries with you?"

There was audible shuffling behind the door, and both parents exchanged a confused glance.

And then the door swung open, revealing their son, seemingly hiding something behind his backs.

"Cherries? Everything o-"

Before they had a chance to say another word, all of their arms swung forward and the pair was met with a massive burst of glitter and confetti.

"SURPRISE! Happy Anniversary!"

They were both speechless for a few moments, not even bothering to wipe the confetti off their faces.

"Uhh... it's not our anniversary..."

"We know! We just wanted an excuse to explode confetti in your faces."

"Cheesy helped out!"

Even though OJ was a little pissed about the clean up they'd have to do... exhausted from a day of work, and irritated by the clingy Salt he'd just had to pry off of him...

...He couldn't help the way he laughed at Cherries' enthusiasm. Paper joined in, his laughs light and giddy with joy.

"C'mere you little rascal.."

The three shared a tight group hug, before pulling away from each other with content smiles on each of their faces.

"C'mon... who's up for some of my cupcakes, eh?"

Cherries' immediate excitement whenever Paper brought his baking up was something Paper could never get tired of, and the three skipped towards the kitchen with cheerful chuckles escaping their lips.

Their life here was... a lot. A bit of a mess, with drama and crazy stories floating around every second of every day.

But as long as they had each other... maybe everything would be alright.