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wil-is-done · 1 year

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Warm Hearts

Summary: Life can be as cold as death, if not for the warmth of the people around you.

Word Count: 3.479

IMPORTANT NOTE: This is a repost.

The voices. First, she heard voices. Warm, gentle voices. Not angry. Not vengeful. Not miserable. Not hers.

“Did it work?”

“It has to.”

“Norman, be careful.”

“Shh! She’s- she’s stirring…”

The light. Next, she saw light. Warm, blinding light. Too bright, almost. Her first instinct was to flee. Flee to where she belonged.

“Norman, don’t-!”

The touch. On her cold, numb hands. So warm. So achingly warm. Reminding her of the past. Of sunny days with Mommy.

No. Can’t be.

Mommy?

Aggie opened her eyes.

A familiar face. A familiar smile. Not Mommy’s, but just as warm. Just as happy.

Norman sighed. Relieved.

“Welcome back, Aggie.”

Norman explained it all. Aggie understood some of it. Something happened because of a demon. The afterlife became a mess. The souls don’t know where to go. Some returned to earth, and turned bad. Or caused bad things. Sometimes by accident, sometimes not. Norman managed to save hers, somehow, and brought her back to life.

She’s alive again. She still couldn’t believe that. Norman said it’s okay. He’ll help her process. Him and his friends.

His friends. Norman has them now. Neil. Dipper. Mabel. Coraline. Wybie. Raz. Lili. The Mystery Kids. That’s what they called themselves. They deal with things like this. Things like her.

She didn’t like them.

Norman must’ve noticed. He pulled her aside when they got the chance.

“You don’t trust them,” he said. Not an accusation. He’s simply saying it. “I understand. They’ll understand, too. All I want to say is that they are different. They’ll prove themselves to you. I can promise you that.”

Aggie didn’t want to doubt Norman. But she couldn’t believe him either. “Prove themselves how?”

“In their own ways. Now, come on.” A gentle hand on her shoulder and a kind smile on his lips. Either felt like a dream. But this dream is real. “Let’s live.”

Neil really likes food. Sweet, salty, spicy, hot, cold; doesn’t matter. He likes to eat them, he likes to make them, he likes to share them. Today, he made something called a ‘pizza’. And he wanted Aggie to try it.

“I didn’t go too wild with it, since I know you’re still not used to food like this,” he reassured. “But this is going to blow your mind.”

Aggie frowned. It was red and yellow, and greasy, and carried a heavy scent. She had never seen anything like it before. It looked a little scary.

“Here,” he continued, “have a slice. Fresh from the oven.”

Aggie wanted to decline. But Norman’s words rang. Gingerly, she picked up the slice. She squeezed her eyes shut, opened her mouth, and bit down.

Her eyes flew open. It was an explosion of flavor. The warmth filled her mouth, and spread to the rest of her body. Never in her life did she imagine anything could taste like this. She liked it.

Neil saw. He grinned from ear to ear. He looked so happy, simply from sharing food that he liked.

“Did I win you over, or what!”

Aggie nodded, sheepish. She didn’t know why she felt embarrassed. “You’re very happy.”

“‘Course I am! Good food only gets better when you share it with people. Right?”

Aggie wouldn’t know. But if Neil said so, if he looked this happy, then it must be true.

Wybie is really good with technology. Really good at talking about them, too. Really bad at stopping, though.

All Aggie wanted to know was why a lot of people like to carry these shiny boxes around. That was ten minutes ago. Wybie paused to breathe exactly three times.

“And now we’re at the modern stage, where smartphones are a thing. These types of phones are even smaller than before, but the functionalities increased pretty much tenfold. Aside from calling and texting- oh! And because the internet is so prevalent, phones are pretty much obligated to be able to connect to it. And with that comes a whole host of…”

Strangely, Aggie couldn’t stop listening. His passion burned through. It felt real. Raw. She felt compelled, even though she didn’t understand a word he’s saying.

Suddenly, the stream of words from his lips slowed, until it trickled to a stop.

“I… uh…” He rubbed the back of his neck. His cheeks turned red. “I… went off again, didn’t I?”

Aggie gave him a small smile. He shouldn’t feel embarrassed. “It’s okay. I… enjoyed it.”

“You did?” Wybie looked confused, then suspicious. “You… you got what I was saying?”

“N-No, not quite.” A clipped chuckle left Aggie. “But I’m interested.”

Shunted several hundred years into the future, a lot of things in this new world scared Aggie. But hearing the way Wybie explained it, none of it sounded scary. It all suddenly sounded fascinating. He made it fascinating.

“I want to learn more,” she said, in earnest. “Just talk slower. A lot slower.”

Wybie laughed. She received an earnest look in return. “I’ll try.”

Mabel makes a lot of very strange art. Very, very strange, wonderful art. Like a life-sized three-headed duck made from kitchen condiments. Or a dragon-unicorn-mermaid hybrid drawn on a cat’s belly. And now she wanted Aggie to make one as well.

“M-Me?”

“Yes!” Mabel dumped her entire collection of art supplies in front of Aggie. The sight was dizzying. “Take your pick and just go wild, girl!”

Aggie bit her lip. Her mind raced. She reached for a brush, but stopped. She went for a crayon, but stopped again. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t think of anything like the wonderfully strange creations that Mabel made. Finally, she lowered her head in defeat.

“No. I can’t do it.”

Mabel frowned, and approached with gentle eyes. “Hey, hey, what’s wrong?”

“I can’t. I just can’t.” Aggie looked away. The embarrassment was too much.

“Okay. I’m no Norman, but I’m a dang good listener. What’s eating you?”

Aggie sighed. She was right. Mabel was a kind soul. And a persistent one.

“I- I can’t think of anything like the strange yet wonderful things that you made. Compared to you, what appears in my head is so… simple.”

Aggie heard Mabel gasp. “No, no, sweetie, you’re getting it all wrong!” Her hands were taken in by Mabel’s, and so did her gaze. “Art isn’t about following someone else. Art is about you!”

Their joined hands moved, slowly, to press gently against Aggie’s chest. “What you like, what you think, what you feel; that’s art.” Mabel stepped back with a flourish, gesturing towards the mountain of art supplies. “Now. Do some proper art, and make it yours.”

Aggie nodded. Without hesitation, she picked her tools - a pencil, and a sheet of paper. She started with a line, then another, and another, and more. Shapes began to form. A smile grew on her lips. The rush of excitement filled her chest. The world fell away, until her creation was finished.

A crude, lone, shady tree, standing on a hill, illuminated by a rising sun.

A moment passed before she remembered Mabel was watching her.

“Um. What do you think?”

Mabel hugged her. So warm and kind.

“Beautiful. And yours.”

Lili cares a lot about plants. She keeps a small, beautiful garden not far from the Shack. She’d spend a lot of time there, sometimes for hours and hours on end. Aggie managed to catch glimpses over time. Sometimes, Lili would be maintaining the plants, trimming them, watering them. Other times, she’d simply sit there, petting them, even talking to them. What would prompt Lili, of all people, to do such things?

Today, the garden was empty, with Lili nowhere in sight. Aggie’s curiosity got the better of her.

Before she knew it, she found herself in the center of the garden. It seemed… ordinary. Pretty, and warm, and quaint, but perfectly ordinary. She knelt by a small potted flower, a pretty blend of blue and white in color, cocking her head. Nothing about it seemed strange. Perhaps…

“Hello?”

“Hi.”

Ice ran down Aggie’s spine. She shot up her feet and spun around. Standing at the entrance was Lili, her expression blank, and scary. Really scary.

“Oh, I’m sorry! I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to-!”

“You did.”

Aggie’s mouth hung open, more excuses at the tip of her tongue, but in the end, she knew Lili was right. She clamped her mouth shut and stared at her shoes. “I… I deeply apologize.”

She heard a sigh from Lili. “You don’t have anything to apologize for,” Lili said. “I never said no one else is allowed in. The others just assumed that. Which is nice of them.”

Aggie relaxed. But that left the two standing in awkward silence. Lili made a noise, reaching for a watering can.

“Here.” Lili handed her the watering can. “The little guy behind you needs some water. Just a sprinkle is enough.”

Aggie nodded stiffly. She turned around, Lili doing the same, tending to her own corner of the garden. In the silence, not long after, Aggie heard soft mutters coming from behind her. A peek confirmed her suspicion. Lili’s speaking to the plants. Curiosity overtook her once again.

“Why do you do that?” The question froze Lili. When she turned, her eyes demanded an elaboration. “Petting them. Talking to them.”

The silence lingered. Aggie considered dropping the question, apologizing, then promptly leaving. But she never got the chance.

“Because they like it.”

Aggie didn’t expect an answer like that. “They do?”

Lili shrugged. “Of course. They’re alive too, aren’t they?” Her eyes drifted towards a blooming orchid, soft and warm, as she caressed one of its petals. “Don’t you like it when someone talks to you, and shows you they love you?”

Aggie stared in silence. She does. She really, truly does.

Her attention returned to the potted flower. She knelt down, sprinkling water like she was told, gently patted the bud with the tip of her finger.

“Hello there. Grow big and strong, okay?”

Sheepishly, she stole a peek behind her. Lili was watching her with a warm smile.

“He said, thank you. And he will.”

Dipper knows so much about so many things. It must be because he was rarely seen without a book in his hands. A part of Aggie was curious about those books. Sometimes, the desire to give them a read would strike her. But the books looked so thick, so intimidating. And seeing how attached Dipper was to them, Aggie doubted he would ever part with them.

Norman encouraged her to at least ask Dipper about it. So she did. She would never forget the way Dipper’s face instantly lit up.

The next morning, Aggie was accosted by Dipper right outside of her room. She found herself sat on a desk, staring at a blackboard, before she could process what was happening.

Dipper stood beside the blackboard. He started speaking. About grades, about textbooks, about courses. It all dissolved into incomprehensible noises. Aggie didn’t know he’s saying, but she knew what was happening. She remembered it all. From before.

Her attention focusing on everything but the lesson. The words on the blackboard not making sense. The sister screaming at her, even though she tried, she really tried, but nothing was getting through, and she could feel her eyes getting hot, and-

“Aggie?”

She gasped. The sister only ever called her Agatha. And the sister wasn’t here. Dipper was the speaker.

“Is everything okay? Do you need me to repeat something?” he asked, frowning.

Aggie blew a sigh. She should speak her mind more. She needed to tell the truth.

“I tried learning like this. Before.” She lowered her eyes to the fisted palms on her lap. “I was terrible at it.”

The silence was stifling, and mercifully short. “Okay,” he said. “Thank you for telling me.”

Aggie heard books closing. She heard the blackboard getting erased. But she never heard footsteps growing distant.

“If this curriculum doesn’t suit you, I can adjust it. If the method doesn’t suit you, I’ll change it. I’ll rebuild the entire system from the ground up if I have to.”

Aggie looked up. Dipper never left.

“You- you’d do all that for me?”

“The most important thing is that you want to learn.” Dipper smiled. “The absolute worst thing I can do is snuff out that light.”

Aggie opened her mouth. She should say something. But there was too many things to say.

“Well? You want to learn, don’t you?”

Aggie nodded, beaming until her cheeks hurt. “Yes.”

“Then I’ll be your teacher, every step of the way.”

Raz always knows how to have fun. No matter the place nor the time, he’d always find some joy in a situation. If not, then he’d simply make it himself. Often in ways Aggie never expected to be possible. Like now, for instance.

Norman said Aggie had to go somewhere so she can be registered for… something. Raz popped out of nowhere and asked if he could tag along. Norman was hesitant, but allowed him to come.

Halfway through the trip, rain began to pour. When they reached their destination - a drab, yet imposing, stark white building - they were soaked, and Aggie hated it. Norman told her and Raz to stay in the waiting room while he went ahead to sort things out.

The room was as drab and cold and boring as they come. The rhythmic patter of the rain against the window nearly lulled Aggie to sleep, if not for Raz suddenly speaking up.

“Who do you think is gonna win? My money’s on the top left one.”

Aggie shook her head. She followed Raz’s eyes, but all she could tell was that he was looking at the window. “What are you looking at?”

“Only the best race ever.” Raz glanced her way with a grin.

Aggie looked out the window again. All she saw was an empty, drenched street. “I don’t see anyone racing outside.”

“Not a people race.” Raz rolled his eyes, still wearing that playful grin. “A raindrop race!”

Aggie blinked.

“Rain… drop?”

“Yep. You pick a drop on the top of the window, and if your drop hits the bottom first, you win! Simplest thing in the world. It really works best with two or more players, though.” Raz waggled his eyebrows. “Whaddya say? Want a piece of the action?”

She supposed she had nothing else to do. “I’ll try it. You can pick any drop?”

“As long as it’s on the top. No cheating now.”

Her eyes scanned the window. One particular drop near the center drew her attention for some reason. “That one.”

“Alright!” Raz rubbed his hands together. “Let us see if you have chosen wisely.”

And the chosen raindrops were off. They were neck-and-neck off the start, gaining speed as more droplets were absorbed. The race was close, until halfway through, when Aggie’s drop began to veer left, letting Raz’s drop speed ahead. But that lead didn’t last long. Only inches away from the finish, Raz’s drop came to a dead stop. Aggie’s drop quickly closed in. Raz’s drop began to move again, but it was already too late. Within split seconds of each other, Aggie’s drop took the lead and crossed the finish line.

“Agh, second place! So close!” Raz groaned, and laughed. “Hey, you got a knack for this game.”

Aggie laughed too. What a ridiculous thing to have a knack for. “It’s just a guessing game.”

“Yeah, it’s kinda dumb, but it’s still fun!”

“That, I have to agree with.” Aggie nodded. She never expected it to be as fun as it was. The room felt warmer, somehow.

Raz has that glint in his eye. “Round two?”

“One more.”

And the second round was underway, with Aggie winning once more. The third round goes to Raz. The fourth round was a tie, but Raz swore his drop won by a split second. Fifth and sixth were Raz’s hot winning streak, but Aggie put a stop to that with the seventh round. The eight round was just heating up when Norman returned.

“Welp, looks like time’s up.”

“No! I was absolutely going to win that one!”

“Sure you are.” Raz scoffed.

Aggie stuck her tongue out in retaliation. “You’re just jealous I’m so much better at this than you.”

They fixed the other with death glares, before immediately collapsing into a mess of giggles.

“Tiebreaker when you get back?”

“Absolutely.”

Coraline made being brave look so easy. When Aggie’s temper got the better of her, she faced her without so much as a flinch. When Aggie lost control, she was the first to jump into the fray. The others have nothing but praise when it comes to Coraline’s bravery. They each have their own tale to share of how fearless she is.

Coraline wouldn’t be paralyzed at the thought of stepping onto a stage. Unlike Aggie.

The time ticked closer. The opening speech would conclude soon, and she would be ushered on stage. Cold sweat ran down her neck like a downpour. Her skirt was a rumpled mess because she was clutching it so hard.

“Hey.”

Aggie shrieked like a banshee. Coraline blinked, but was kind enough to wear a smile.

“You look peachy.”

Aggie sighed, tension loosening. She tried to smooth out her dress, to limited success. “I might need a costume change if this continues.”

Coraline stepped up next to her. She looked stunning in her suit. “You do know you can just stand there, right?” she asked. “You don’t have to talk if you don’t want to. Raz got that part covered.”

“I know. I keep telling myself that. It doesn’t soothe me in the slightest.”

Coraline hummed, thinking, studying Aggie. “If it’s really too much for you, I can call it off.”

“No! This event is important. The worlds need to know the lost souls aren’t dangerous. I just…” Aggie paused, shyly stealing a glance in Coraline’s direction. “I wish I can be fearless, like you.”

Aggie didn’t expect silence, followed by a long, drawn out sigh. “Oh, boy,” Coraline groaned. “Got that from the others, didja?”

She did, so she simply nodded.

Another sigh. “Do me a favor and put that thought in the trash where it belongs.”

Aggie made a shocked, choked noise. Coraline must have heard.

“Surprised? This is worse than I thought.” Coraline stared ahead. For a moment, her seasoned mind took her elsewhere. “Fear is important. If I really am fearless, none of us would be alive right now.”

Aggie turned to look at Coraline. Really look at Coraline. Nothing about how she walked, how she talked, how she carried herself suggested she ever knew fear.

“You get scared?”

“Only all the time.”

Coraline met Aggie’s gaze, and Aggie could see it now. The burden. The exhaustion. The fire, still burning, still warm, despite what she’s been through.

“Listen. Being brave doesn’t mean you aren’t scared. Being brave means you are scared, really scared, badly scared, and you do what you have to do anyway.”

Aggie looked ahead, at the stage. The speech had just concluded. The crowd broke into polite applause. They would soon be called upon. She could feel Coraline glancing her way.

“What’s the final verdict?”

Aggie smoothed her dress, thinned her lips, and stood a bit taller.

“I will do it.”

The rest of the night proceeded smoothly. The Mystery Kids’ presentation was met with a warm reception. Aggie even managed to find the courage to speak a few words, thanks to Coraline. She still needed to sit down afterwards, though.

She didn’t have much time for herself. Her words piqued people’s interest, and they approached her. They complimented her dress, lovingly designed by Mabel. They complimented the flower tucked neatly in her hair, expertly chosen by Lili. The conversation continued, with Aggie trying her best to follow, until the topic of the supernatural reared its head. Everything she learned from Dipper flowed forth. They made their farewells looking rather impressed.

When her stomach rumbled, Neil was by her side, ready to point her towards the best dish in the buffet. When it’s time for pictures, she snagged a few pictures herself with her phone, thanks to Wybie teaching her how. When the party naturally slowed, she entertained herself with watching the aquarium, making up silly conversations between the fishes with Raz.

The event came to its eventual conclusion. It was time to return home.

As Aggie, and the Mystery Kids, exited the building, Norman approached her with her coat. For once, Aggie declined.

Norman tilted his head. “I thought you don’t like the cold.”

Aggie casted her gaze at the people around her. At Neil, Wybie, Mabel, Lili, Dipper, Raz, and Coraline. Each and every one, a kind soul. A warm soul, with warm eyes, warm smiles, and warm hearts.

“I have all the warmth that I need.”

This fic was commissioned by @/rarsonic, who wanted some fluffy Aggie interactions with the rest of the MK. This gave me way more trouble than I thought it would. It’s been a long, long while since I wrote anything with Aggie in it. I think the rustiness definitely showed. I also went way, way overboard than what was asked of me, but honestly, I don’t mind at all. I needed the practice, so let’s call this one on the house.

Anyway, thanks for reading, and I hope you liked it.

#mystery kids #paranorman #coraline #gravity falls #psychonauts #agatha prenderghast #norman babcock #neil downe #coraline jones #wybie lovat #dipper pines #mabel pines #razputin aquato #lili zanotto

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