Work Text:
Neku was out on a walk when it happened, like many good stories start. He was strolling through the streets of Shibuya for no particular reason, when he caught something red in the corner of his eye. Backing up, he saw it in full definition: a small, fuzzy red worm. Upon closer inspection, it wasn’t a real worm, but rather a toy, one of those worm-on-a-string things that he’d seen online in memes. Except it didn’t actually have a string. So it was more of a worm-off-a-string.
At first, Neku simply smiled and walked off, content to leave it on the sidewalk. But something kept nagging at him from the back of his mind. What if it rained? What if someone stepped on it? What if-
The poor worm didn’t deserve any of that. It needed a nice warm home with loving people watching over it. It wouldn’t hurt to take it home. After all, it was just a toy. Neku turned back, and upon finding the worm, tucked it into his pocket, where it would be safe.
On the walk home, Neku realized he should probably give the worm a name. Hmm, what would fit- Red, Wormy, Wormsechtire Sauce… Wally! Wally the worm. He liked that. Neku pulled Wally out to see if they liked the name, and he swore he saw them nod. But toys can’t nod. Surely he was just seeing things.
Neku wandered back to the apartment he shared with his boyfriend, Beat, petting Wally the whole way. He couldn’t wait to show Beat their new child, because at this point Neku was so dedicated to this little worm, he mentally signed their adoption papers, and was willing to convince Beat to do the same.
He nearly kicked the front door off its hinges as he ran to show off his new friend.
“Hey, Neku, ‘chu look awful excited, somethin’ happen?” A very puzzled Beat stared at the now panting Neku, wondering what would get him in such a flurry.
“Man, you have to see this!” Neku pulled Wally out from his pocket in all their glory. “Ta da! Our new child!”
“Uh… sure? I mean, it’s cute, but ain’t it a bit weird to adopt a toy?”
“That was a joke, Beat.” But was it a joke though? “I found it on the sidewalk, thought it was cute, and brought it back. Think of it more as a mascot, I guess.”
“That’s cool man. But ah, what ‘xactly is it?
“It’s a worm-on-a-string. It’s kinda a meme right now, you might have seen them online.”
“Oh yeah, I remember now! But, that little guy doesn’t have a string. Does it still count?”
“I guess? I don’t know. I found them like this.”
“Huh. Wonder if tha’s a sign of anythin’. Maybe it has free will now!”
“Ha, we’ll see. For now, let’s get you comfortable, shall we?”
“Uh, Neku, you seriously talkin’ to that thing?”
“...Maybe.”
With that, Neku ran off to find a nice spot for Wally to call home. He was somewhat afraid that this little worm could drive his relationship with Beat apart, but those fears were shot out the window when Beat walked in the room and started swooning at the little lad. He must have fallen under its spell as well.
Over the next few weeks, Beat and Neku lived their shared chaotic lives, all while ‘taking care’ of a fake fuzzy worm. Although, that notion seemed less and less ironic over time. Neku swore he noticed food disappearing under Wally’s nose, but he just wrote it off as Beat messing with him. He also began to feel like Wally’s bed was getting too small for them, despite being the right size just a few days earlier. But toy worms didn’t grow, did they?
Beat must have noticed as well, as one day he addressed his concerns directly. “Hey Neku, it just me, or is little wormy here gettn’ bigger? I don’t remember them bein’ bigger than my hand.”
“No, I don’t remember that either. Maybe you were right, and they are more alive than we think. Isn’t that right, Wally?”
Both boys were stunned to watch the small worm seemingly nod its head in agreement.
If there was any doubt that Wally was more than they seemed, it was all washed away within the next few weeks. They frequently went missing, only to turn up somewhere super random, often near food, said food slowly disappearing from the kitchen, and Wally definitely getting bigger, so big that they had to fashion a new bed for them out of a pillow. The most damning evidence, however, was the pink underside and small red horn-like protrusions they developed.
Nonetheless, Beat and Neku continued to care for their growing child like the good parents they were. Wally was becoming less of a worm and more of a snake. Although, Neku couldn’t shake the feeling that Wally was looking more and more familiar by the day, he just wasn’t sure how.
That was, until he found himself in a large, dark room, a hurt Beat kneeling next to him, and a fully grown Wally looming above, ready to strike-
“Hey, Neku? You okay?” A concerned, but not hurt, Beat was shaking him. “You were staring at the wall for forever, man. Somethin’ wrong?”
Neku stared down at Wally, who was curled in his lap. “Do you remember, back in the UG, right before Josh-”
“Shh, I know what you talkin’ about.” Neku hadn’t even realized he’d been tearing up. “It’s Shades, right? How Wally looks a lot like him? The snake form, anyways. A worm lookin’ like a person would be pretty weird.”
“Yeah, I didn’t even fully realize it before. Just now though, I saw us, back in the UG, but it was Wally instead of Megumi. Maybe this is some sort of reincarnation?”
“I dunno, seems like somethin Prissy Kid would do. There’s something we can do to test that, though!” Beat picked up Wally and shouted in its face. “Yo Shades, you in there!? Stop buggin’ Neku! That’s mean!”
Wally hissed and squirmed, like those words hit a chord. “Uh, Beat, I would put them down if I were you.”
Beat barely had any time to follow Neku’s advice before Wally lunged at him, much like the snake they resembled, and may have been. Grabbing them by the tail, Beat slung them over his shoulder, the other hand over its mouth to make sure it didn’t bite.
“Shades or not, this lil’ guy’s dangerous. I say we go an’ give Prissy Kid a gift, shall we?”
Neku really didn’t want to get rid of something he had grown so fond of, but that was outweighed by the sheer need to distance himself from that snake. The less connections to the UG, the better. Plus, it would annoy Joshua. “I agree. Hang on, let me write a note. Wouldn’t want to leave him without an explanation, would we?”
And with that, the two boys set out for the Shibuya sewers, carrying a fuzzy snake with a note that read: “It was a pleasure raising Wally, but they’re your problem now. They like belly rubs and food. Oh, and while you’re at it, get them some sunglasses, will you? Gotta complete the look.” Just a perfectly normal afternoon stroll, no supernatural shenanigans going on at all.
After dumping off Wally with their new owner, Neku and Beat walked back to their apartment. Neku tried to stay strong, it wasn’t that big a deal, but the second they got back and Beat turned away to do something else, he ran to their bedroom, curled up on the bed, and broke. He rarely got this emotional, but Wally had come to be much more than just a fuzzy worm to him, and losing them was brutal, especially like that- How could something so innocent turn into something that brought back so many bad memories? That may have been the worst part. All Neku wanted to do was forget about the worst parts of the UG- namely, most of the final day, giant murder snake included. Thus, Neku simply sat there and cried, as if his tears would take everything he wanted to forget with them.
“Hey, Neku? You okay in here? Oh.” Beat came in and sat next to Neku, wrapping one arm around his shoulder. “I get it, it’s hard. I miss them too. I’ve never been the best at words, but I do have a shoulder to cry on, that gotta count for somethn’, right?”
“Thanks, Beat. That’s all I need.” The two boys proceeded to hold each other, each providing the warmth to slowly but surely begin to fill the whole Wally ripped in both their hearts.