Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Rolfe stood on his stage, make-up fixed and fur combed. He could hear the others on their stages, talking and laughing as they went through their set. Rolfe sighed, waiting impatiently for his next act coming up soon.

He was planning just to ignore them until something caught his attention.

“Yeah, me and Esmeralda are plannin’ on getting married, but she can’t decide what kinda dress she’s wantin’. So we’re still waiting to send anythin’ out about it.” Fatz laughed, beginning the next song on his organ.

Rolfe looked in their direction, despite being blocked by a wall. He pretended not to feel the sadness that panted in his chest from words he wished he’d have said. They didn’t matter much now anyways, any maybe they never did. That was beside the point anyways, Rolfe couldn’t do that to Esmeralda. Rolfe was a lot of things, but a homewrecker wasn’t one of them. He sighed, biting his lip to try and ignore the feeling, growing stronger in his stomach.

“Hey, what’s got you looking all stupid?” Earl asked, turning his head, to his best ability as he was stuck on Rolfe’s hand, to face the wolf.

“I have know idea what you mean, Earl. I’m just fine, thank you.” Rolfe said, voice cracking slightly as he turned Earl towards him more.

“You’re a horrible liar, man. Maybe try being honest for once.” Earl deadpanned, arms on his hips.

“Seriously, it’s not that big of a deal.” Rolfe sighed, rolling his eyes.

“Then why’re you crying?” Earl questioned, unibrow slanted in a mock eyebrow raise as he pointed at the wolf’s face.

“I am not-“ the wolf began, cutting himself off has he reached his non-Earl-covered hand to wipe under his eyes, realizing that they were indeed wet. “Whatever, it’s nothing that can be changed anyways.” He finished.

“Is it about Fatz getting married? Are you seriously still hung up on that monkey?” Earl questioned, squinting at Rolfe in an accusatory manner, as the wolf nodded weakly.

“You got two choices, dummy, either you:

A. Tell him and face whatever he has to say back

Or

B. Not tell him and feel sad about never telling him how you felt.”

“What exactly am I supposed to say, Earl? ‘Hey, Fatz, you know how you’re literally planning your wedding with the love of your life? Well, guess what? I’ve been madly in love with you for years, and I decided to tell you now despite you obviously being in love with Esmeralda, you know, your literal fiancée, because I’m a massive fucking dick! They don’t deserve that, Earl, Fatz doesn’t deserve it. So I’ll just be fine with pretending that it doesn’t hurt realizing I’ll never have a chance, that he’ll never be mine!” Rolfe barked, glaring at the puppet.

“Well, I hope you don’t mind airing that out to the world.” Earl said, looking away.

Rolfe followed his gaze, seeing a crowd of confused patrons staining back at him. Shit, was his mic on too?

He spared a quick glance over at the band, who seemed just as dumbstruck as the guests were.

Rolfe didn’t even bother to look at Fatz.

“Sorry, technical difficulty, folks!” He said quickly, putting on his showman voice as he motioned for his curtains to be shut.

He quickly stormed off his stage, bolting back to his dressing room and slamming the door behind him and pulling Earl from his hand. The wolf fumbled with his mic pack, biting back tears until he knew he was no longer able to be heard. He slunk into the floor, allowing himself to let go. Wrapping his arms around his knees, back to the wall and head in hands, he sobbed.

He messed up, said too much and now probably ruined his friendship with one of his only friends, if not the only friend the wolf had. He dig his claws into his fur, biting his lip as he tried to regain some control over his bawling.

“Gah, I’m pathetic.” He laughed, tears streaming down his face still. “Out here crying over a nearly married man.”

“Yeah, you kinda are.” Earl agreed, stumped against the wall beside him. “But I guess love isn’t something you can really control, is it?”

“No,” Rolfe sighed. “I wish I could, though.”

“That way you weren’t in love with your best friend?”

“Exactly.”

“You know they’re gonna come looking for you at intermission, right?”

“Yeah, I know.” He sighed, wiping his tears , black streaks appearing over the back of his hand. “I guess I ought to at least try to clean myself up.”

Rolfe stood, picking up Earl and sitting him on the nearby couch as he walked over to his mirror, grimacing at his messy face and fur.

“Gah, Rolfe, you’re a mess.” He told himself, picking up a comb. “Now, how are you gonna fix this?”

He heard knocking on his door, followed with a voice.

“Rolfe, you in there?” The voice, Fatz, asked.

Rolfe struggled, wiping his face at an attempt of not looking like he’d been sobbing over a guy he’s never been with.

“Yeah, where else would I be?” He responded, trying to sound like his usual, more asshole-y self.

“Can I come in?” Fatz asked.

“Sure, whatever.”

“Are you just gonna act like what happened on stage never happened? Why the hell would you say all that?“ He said, opening the door, annoyance evident on his face.

“You weren’t ever meant to hear it.” Rolfe said, biting his lip as he struggled to look Fatz in the eye.

“Yeah, well I heard. Along with the whole pizzeria!” He yelled, throwing his hands up in exasperation.

“I know, I’m sorry.” Rolfe said, turning back. “You need to go get ready for your next set.”

“No, you need to talk to me. Do you really feel like this?” Fatz argued.

“I don’t know, Fatz, maybe I just said I was in love with you for no reason.” Rolfe hissed, turning back around. “And just decided to look like a mess for shits and giggles.” He motioned to his face, comb still in his hand.

“Rolfe, I’m gettin’ married-“

“You think I don’t know that?”

“Let me finish-“

“No, you listen to me. I never wanted you to know because there wasn’t a reason for you to! Why would I ruin our friendship when there’s no chance of you ever liking me back?”

“Who says I wouldn’t have?” Fatz retorted.

“Simple, you love Esmeralda. You can’t wanna be with both of us. Besides, it doesn’t matter now anyways! You’re fucking engaged, Fatz!” Rolfe yelled, pointing at the gorilla.

Fatz sighed, sitting down on the couch.

“Why didn’t you tell me before, then?” Fatz asked, looking at the wolf.

“Would it have changed anything?” He replied, setting down the comb and facing him.

“I’m not sure, maybe?”

“Well, it doesn’t matter anyways. You are with Esmeralda.”

“Yeah, I am.”

“Can we just pretend I never said anything?” Rolfe asked, sighing and leaning against his desk.

“I don’t think I can forget this so easily.”

“Well, you have to. For both mine and Esmeralda’s sake.”

“Rolfe, I-“

“You should leave, or you’re gonna miss your queue. Go.”

“Rolfe”

“Fatz, I’m telling you as both your friend and manager, get your ass on stage before you say something you regret.”

He glared at the wolf, standing from the couch and walking to the door. “You mean like you spending years waiting to tell me-“

“Fucking leave.”

“Fine, I’m going. But this ain’t over, Rolfe.” He said, closing the door behind him.

“Like hell it is.” He muttered, turning back and continuing to fix his fur.

Later they’d pretend nothing was said, the words hanging between them like static as they preformed. Things would go back to how they were, it just will take a while. At least Rolfe hoped so.

Chapter Text

Fatz left like Rolfe asked, standing outside the door , hand still on the handle.

He was unsure of how he felt. Sure, he’s found the wolf attractive from time to time, his coffee brown eyes and soft grey fur were definitely pretty from an objective standpoint, but he also found himself admiring more than just his looks. He found himself seeing Rolfe’s mannerisms, such as how he fiddled with Earl’s seams and accessories while nervous or how he seemed to dislike eye contact with people, but did that mean he liked him?

Surely not, he liked Esmeralda! But, somehow he found himself still thinking of Rolfe when he was with her. He thought of Rolfe’s words from the stage again, the words repeating in his mind.

“I'll just be fine with pretending that it doesn't hurt, realizing I'll never have a chance, that he'll never be mine!"

He wondered how long Rolfe had felt like this. Had he been with Esmeralda when Rolfe realized? Is that why he never said anything? He wished the wolf would talk to him, that they could talk this over. Maybe it would help Fatz figure out why his heart was aching as he walked away.

He doesn’t understand why he feels the way he does, but for now he has to do his job.

Even while preforming, he still wonders if it was too late. Would he leave Esmeralda, the woman he’d been in love with for years, for the chance of being with Rolfe? Would the wolf even date him? He seemed very adamant about Fatz and Esmeralda being together, but maybe that was him not wanting to be seen as a homewrecker.

His hands stumbled over the keyboard, accidentally hitting the wrong key. No one said anything, probably thinking he was embarrassed or annoyed about what just transpired during Rolfe’s segment. Mitzi looked over at him, giving him a reassuring smile as she continued to sing.

Fatz mentally sighed. Man, he really needed to focus on the task at hand.

He wasn’t sure what he was to do, but that didn’t matter now.

He loved Esmeralda, but maybe he loved Rolfe more. He wasn’t sure, but for now he just needed to play his part.

Chapter Text

The band were finishing packing up after their show, everyone busy with packing up their instruments and props.

Rolfe sat on the edge of his stage, busying himself with fixing a small tear that appeared in Earl’s seams during his performance when Fatz walked over to the wolf.

“Can we talk?”

The words hit Rolfe like a brick, as he hadn’t really talked to Fatz since the ‘incident’ as he had been mentally referring to it.

“Sure.” He said, trying to keep any sort of nerves out of his voice as he stood.

The pair walked to Fatz’s dressing room, hoping for privacy from the rest of the band.

“What’s up?” Rolfe asked, trying to break the tension.

“Rolfe, you know as good as I do what this is about.”

He stayed silent as Fatz continued.

“I know this is awkward to talk about, but we need to. I know how you feel, but I cant love you back.”

“Yeah, no shit.” Rolfe snorted, pretending he couldn’t feel the tears stinging at his eyes. He knew this all along, so why did he feel like crying?

“You’re literally getting married, Fatz. You don’t have to explain to me that you don’t feel the same, it’s kinda obvious.”

“About that, even with everything that has happened, I still want you there. Esmeralda doesn’t know, so it won’t be weird between y’all.”

“Of course, I want to be there.” Rolfe said, arms crossed over his chest. “I want to support you and Esmeralda.”

“Good.” Fatz replied, glancing around awkwardly.

“So, is that all?”

“Yeah, you can go now.”

Rolfe turned, making his way to the door to leave.

“Rolfe?” Fatz said, looking at him again.

“I’m sorry, that I can’t-“

“Fatz, it’s fine. I should be the one apologizing.”

“For what.”

“For telling you that I love you.” He said softly, turning and walking out the door.

Fatz stood there, staring at the spot where the wolf once stood.

If he didn’t feel anything for Rolfe, why did he feel his stomach sink?

He turned back around, deciding he should pack up and head home for the night.

{idk how to do a scene break, bear with me plz}

Fatz sat at his dining room table, papers coating the surface as he sifted through the papers. He told Rolfe a while back he’d help him with some of the paperwork he was doing. The wolf seemed thankful, carefully handing him some of the papers that he would be able to do, most of them being dates that needed double-checked or signed off on. His eyes caught on Rolfe’s careful handwriting, noting that one of the dates were incorrect and needed changed out. He stared at it for a moment, his word from earlier that day playing in his mind.

“What 'cha doin’, good-lookin’?” A voice said, a hand gently meeting his on the table-top.

He looked up, looking at his fiancée.

“Nothing much, just getting some paperwork done.” He said, wrapping his hand around hers as his other removed his glasses from his face.

“Didn’t realize you did any paperwork.” She joked, leaning down to steal a kiss.

“I normally don’t, just tryin’ to help Rolfe out is all.” He replied, leaning his head up towards her.

She scrunched her face at the wolf’s name. “The mediocre comedian? Why does he have any paperwork to do, did the decide to do illegal shit again?”

“No, he’s our manager. And he’s not mediocre, he’s actually pretty decent.”

“Whatever,” she snorted “didn’t realize I hurt your work wife’s feelings.”

His eyes widened at the comment. “He’s not my work anything.” He said quickly before clearing his throat. “He’s just got lots of work currently on top of trying to work on his shows. Just trying to help him is all.”

“Okay, that wasn’t suspicious at all.” She laughed. “I’d be worried if Rolfe was a woman.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He asked, turning to face Esmeralda.

“Well, the way you responded when I talked about him, I’d be afraid of you cheating, but I’m not because you’re straight.” She said casually, sitting beside him.

“Oh.” Is all he said back.

“Anyways, I finally found the perfect dress for the wedding! So we can finally set a date!” She said excitedly, looking at her lover.

“So, you got a date in mind?” He said, moving the papers out of her way.

“Yeah, I was thinking next month at this really pretty church.” She said, pulling her phone out, showing Fatz photos of the place.

“I think that’s perfect, baby, whatever you want.” He responded, gently grasping her hand once again.

She smiled as she kissed him once again as Fatz found himself wondering why he still felt that pit in his stomach, growing stronger the longer he had his hands on her.

Must be the pre-wedding jitters.

Chapter Text

Rolfe sat in his dressing room, staring at himself in the mirror as he tried to keep from crying. It wasn’t working, but he still was trying.

He laid his head on the smooth surface, pushing hair products and makeup out of his way.

“Why am I like this?” He sighed, still holding that stupid wedding invitation.

Was he going to go? Obviously.

Was he gonna try to be happy for the couple? Of course!

Was he still gonna cry about it? Seems so.

Well, he was until he heard a knock on the door.

Rolfe wiped his eyes, smudging tears along his cheeks. He looked at his reflection one more time. He still looked like a mess, but better than before.

After all, he could always blame it on something in his eye or allergies.

Yeah, no one’s believing that.

….

Whatever it’s fine.

He opened the door, seeing the band was standing out there.

Well, almost the whole band.

There stood Mitzi, Beach Bear, Dook, and Billy Bob.

“Rolfe! Are you okay?” The mouse squeaked, hands twitching as if she wanted to reach for him.

“I’m alright.” He replied, glancing at the others. “What’s going on?”

“Well, we all got the invite too, Rolfe. We just wanted to check and make sure you were fine.” Dook said, glancing at the others. “You know, since..”

Rolfe sighed, leaning against the doorframe. “Y’all wanna come in or…?” He asked, opening the door wider.

The group entered the room, sitting on either the couch or floor. Rolfe joined Mitzi and Dook on the couch.

“So, how you holdin’ up?” Beach Bear asked, breaking the silence from his spot on the ground.

“Again, I’m fine. I knew this was coming.” Rolfe replied, leaning on the armrest.

They had been keeping an eye on him since the whole thing started, wether that was Beach and Dook inviting him to play video games (which he enjoyed despite sucking at it) or Mitzi sitting with him after set practice.

He was thankful, but felt bad for making them worry about him so much.

“Well, if you need to talk about anything, we’re here.” Billy Bob chimed in.

“Or if you wanna just get high and-“

“Beach Bear, don’t even finish your sentence. Getting high will fix nothin’!” Dook interrupted the polar bear.

“Yeah, but it’s great to take your mind off of stuff.” He said, shrugging his shoulders.

“I think I’m good, Beach.” Rolfe replied, remembering the last time he’d tried the polar bear’s plan. He literally ended up faceplanting atleast five times and laughed like an idiot the entire time. (And ate a large amount of chicken nuggets, but no one needs to know that)

“Your loss.” Beach Bear joked.

“Anyways, you wanna come hang out with us after practice? We are gonna go get some burgers and shakes!” Mitzi asked, clearly excited about her plans.

“Sure, I don’t got anything I’m doing after.”

Mitzi seemed happy with his reply, turning to check the time on her phone.

“Well, we gotta get to the stage, otherwise Fatz will be furious!” She exclaimed, jumping up from her seat. “We’ll talk more after, right?” She asked the wolf.

“Sounds good, I need to get my stuff ready myself anyways.” He agreed as everyone quickly made their way out the door.

Rolfe chose to ignore the pit in his stomach, tired of feeling sad. He decided he’d be happy for him, even if he felt like crying.

[uhh scene break still don’t know how to do that lol]

Fatz stood on stage, finishing up cleaning and shining his organ. After all, pretty soon he’d be leaving for a while for his honeymoon.

Those words didn’t set right in his mind.

It was true, he’d be taking a break from the band for a moment. But, he didn’t understand why that gave him a feeling of dread.

This wasn’t his first time taking a break, actually everyone had done so before. These feelings made no sense to the gorilla.

…

Maybe it wasn’t leaving the band that was making this feeling?

But, what else could it be?

He turned in time to see the rest of the band walking out onto the stage, each preparing their instruments and props. He caught himself glancing at the closed curtains, trying to peek through the dark fabric for a certain wolf.

No way, this had nothing to do with him.

Right?

He found himself thinking of Rolfe more and more as the wedding became closer.

Well, he wasn’t exactly thinking of just Rolfe in his entirety either.

He thought of his dorky smile whenever he’d make a joke that wasn’t actually very funny, or how he curled his tail around Fatz when he was showing him some video on the couch.

He forgot what the video was about, it was years ago after all.

But he didn’t forget how he felt in that moment as Rolfe’s body was pressed close to him. So close, he swears he could feel the wolf’s heart beating against him.

Fats remembered how his own heart raced, thinking about how soft Rolfe’s fur was and how pretty his eyes were, brown like coffee. His eyes and drifted to his lips, wondering how they’d feel against his.

Huh, strange.

Wait.

No.

God, please no.

He can’t feel like this.

He stumbled as he sat down infront of his organ, mind racing for a different explanation.

Maybe it’s the stress.

Yes.

It’s just some pre-wedding jitters.

Definitely not being in love with Rolfe.

Never.

He’d never.

Yeah, it’s just the nerves.

Or atleast Fatz told himself that as practice began, his fingers flying over the keys as he struggled to focus.