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It was late afternoon by the time Andy's mom called him out for a proper shower. The boy had been covered with sweat and grime, a result of playing all day with his toys. Today was not particularly common, however. Usually, Andy has his roster of toys all to himself—however, on this particular day, Andy had a friend over.
It's not the first time it happened and Woody certainly thinks it won't be the last. But he sure hopes that these little get-togethers are sparse and few. Because when another kid is around, him and the other toys get to experience the rough tossing around and borderline misuse of their frail bodies. Andy is often careful and quite methodic whenever playing with his own toys, but other kids don't usually share the same care.
Not to say that the friends Andy usually brings over are rude or violent—but they are definitely not all that careful. Thankfully, none of them ever got hurt from such get-togethers.
Andy whines like he usually does, holding onto Woody and Buzz a little tighter than usual. Perhaps jealous or apprehensive of letting his friend take them for a spin. But, ever the mature and polite boy he's always been, Andy sets them onto his bed near his friend. Woody could hear the sigh, then a quiet, “I'll be right back, Paul.”
And with that, Andy walks away, replying to his mother like the respectful boy he is. Woody could smile from so much pride—then again, he's always smiling when being still.
As Andy's figure is gone, Paul, the newly acquainted friend from school, feels quite bold to get a hold of Woody and Buzz. The two toys definitely uneasy, but trusting Andy's choice for friendship. Paul takes a good look at both and, in return, the toys take a good look at. him. The boy has his cheeks all red from so much running, the same sweat and dirt that Andy had accumulated over the day. But he looked… different.
“You saved me sheriff,” said Paul, forcing his voice to go down an octave—or as low as a small child could ever get. His little hand holding Buzz suddenly makes the astronaut toy move, implying that the one talking is Buzz. “I thought you hated me.”
Woody mindlessly recalls the role-playing that both he and Buzz underwent throughout the day. Something about a cowboy sheriff—him—and a rival from space—Buzz. Which wasn't too far off. Although Woody would beg to differ on his character's questionable sense of morality—of which his character seemed to have none.
Of course, Buzz had to get the good-guy narrative while he was defaulted into being the jerk. At least he wasn't the villain. No. That was left for Mr. Piggy, as usual.
“Shut up, Buzz,” Paul's hand moved Woody like a professional puppeteer. “I… was only doing my job. I couldn't see you die—I mean!”
Woody almost raised an eyebrow at that. Why was his character suddenly acting that way? Perhaps it was because Paul was the one playing him. But there was a shift. Something different. In a way, it reminded him of how Bo was often played as whenever she was a villain-like character. A woman that was evil, suddenly taking the good guy's side because she has fallen in love—
Wait.
“Don't want to see me die, huh?” Paul's voice, somehow, portrayed the exact thing that Woody had in mind. A teasing nudge—dare he say flirtatious—that made Woody almost move and widen his eyes in shock.
There's no way.
“What? Can't—can't a sheriff be worried over a fellow man's health?” Paul stuttered, making Woody look away, as if embarrassed. Flustered. Swooned by Buzz.
“Sure you can…” Paul takes a pause. Woody can see the boy hesitated, biting his lip as if afraid to proceed. He looked almost sad. But, after seconds of encouraging himself, Paul looked defiant. Like challenging something. Woody didn't know what, though. “...sugar.”
Woody definitely regrets being in this position. He wonders what Buzz is even thinking of this whole situation. But, frankly, he would much rather not be face to face with the other. And it is just Paul's timing to make Woody turn to look directly at Buzz. Somehow awfully close to each other. Perhaps inches away. Too close for his taste.
Oh, god.
“S-sugar?!” Paul's voice raises in pitch. Woody would find it offending, if he weren't too concentrated on trying to ignore everything that was happening. “Who are you calling—”
Paul closes his eyes for a second, before pushing both toys together. The boy looks rather guilty—as if committing a sin. He doesn't want to look and he doesn't want to make the situation longer. He shoves Woody against Buzz, the toys colliding and making a quiet twack in return. Paul keeps his eyes closed, until he quietly opens an eye—slowly peering into this sacred sin he's just committed. And he looked… exhilarated. Happy, but reserved. A small moment for himself. As if understanding he enjoys this—understanding he's different and that's okay.
And the scene should be quite emotional—given what Woody just witnessed, he's certain Paul isn't that interested in girls. Throughout their whole playing, Paul never once tried to push Buzz onto any of the female leads. Always pushing the astronaut against Woody in a sense. So, it made sense how this mere action of shoving two male toys against each other seemed to make the other boy so happy. However, now…
Woody can't even think properly. It's only due to his years of experience that he keeps himself perfectly still. But, Jesus, Buzz is right against him and he can feel the other—relatively inexperienced when it comes to being a toy—moving his lips ever so slightly. It's certainly not because Buzz wants to make the scene realistic. If Woody is guessing correctly, it is probably because of the shock.
Sure, yes. Both of them had been “forced” to “kiss” other toys. But not like this. Not in such a secretive way. Woody doesn't mind being paired with other male toys, but Andy has certainly never shown any interest in it. So, he can't help but be shocked.
It's after a couple of minutes of this—with Paul bashing their faces together, changing positions slightly and making awful noises with his mouth—that they hear Andy's mom at the door. And Paul drops both toys like he's been burned.
“C'mon, kiddo, your mom is waiting for you,” Andy's mom says, beckoning Paul out. The boy looks embarrassed, but it goes unnoticed. Soon enough he's out of the room, following Andy's mom out.
It's only after they hear the front door of the house opening up that they finally breathe. And, Jesus, they are all tangled up together, with Buzz on top of Woody, pinning him down to Andy's bed. And they are so close—
“...Woody, I'm—”
“Shut up,” he shushed the other off. “Don't make a fuss!” He whispers in return. “Now, please. Can we just… move on? The kid wanted to play. That's all.”
Buzz, evidently sturdy and heavier, slowly gets himself up. His hands almost brushing along Woody's torso—a bit too low for his taste, but neither comment on it. Soon they are both on their feet, neither looking at each other. Woody is still quite shocked, but somewhat more understanding of the situation. Buzz on the other hand…
The astronaut looked flustered—which isn't uncommon, considering he's always flustered whenever he's paired romantically with any toy. But this time it looks a bit different. Buzz looks almost shy, sparing quick glances here and there, trying to gauge Woody's reaction. Alas, Woody kept most of his own embarrassment away—not wanting to lose his cool and look awfully affected by a kiss.
“C'mon, big guy. Let's get moving,” Woody couldn't care less if Andy found it weird that they weren't on his bed anymore. If anything, he's hoping Andy assumes that Paul put the toys away as a courtesy.
“But, Woody—”
“I don't wanna hear it!”
“Woody, we just—”
“Nope,” he pushes the astronaut into the toys’ chest. “You sleep here tonight, right? You'd do that for your pal, no?”
Buzz looks like he wants to ask a million questions. But eventually he relents, nodding at Woody. Which he counted as a win. As soon as the chest was closed, with a very flustered Buzz inside, Woody opened his mouth and silently screamed. He feels his face heating up, while his brain betrays him by pushing the memory of their kiss for Woody to recall.
That night, Andy ends up sleeping with Woody alone, since the boy was too tired to look for his other toy. Woody is quite content with the outcome, happy to be alone with Andy and not have to deal with the puppy-eyes that Buzz seemed to be throwing at him.
Buzz and his stupid cute face.