Chapter Text
Yakko had been feeling conflicted lately.
He had taken to pacing around on the tower balcony, usually at sunset. His scratching post had helped relax him a little, but Yakko had still felt a need to move.
He was starting to realize that he really, really liked Max…
Probably to the point where he was more than a best friend.
More like a special someone.
If he was honest with himself, Yakko had begun to realize how much Max really meant to him well before this. When a hotel mix up had resulted in him thinking that Max looked rather handsome, and the two boys had needed to share a bed on account of the room having only one.
And it made sense, really, seeing as aside from his brother; Max was the only guy around which he felt utterly safe. And who had his absolute trust; an admirable feat all on its own.
If he was honest with himself, Yakko had gradually started to feel more attracted to Max over the course of the last few years. But after he’d revealed his darkest secret and worst fears to Max, the feelings had only gotten stronger.
And…he simply liked being around Max.
A lot.
Moreover, he’d started to find small things about the other toon hopelessly endearing.
Little things.
Like how untamed his hair was, how subtly toned Max’s arms were from his extreme sports career. His smile and laugh; a laugh that for some insane reason, he seemed insecure about. When as far as Yakko was concerned, it was perfect. Absolutely amazing, and he loved hearing it.
There were few who could match wits with him, but Max was one of those few. And he was thoughtful, supportive, he listened, and Yakko knew his friend would protect him without a second thought.
And this knowledge made him feel warm.
All of it pointed to…
Love. The romantic kind.
Logically, Yakko knew there wasn’t any real risk in confessing to him.
Max was the kind of person who was very open about how he felt. He had outright mentioned that he was bi many times, with a completely straight face and utter confidence. Like the subject matter was something as casual as what the weather was like that day.
That alone meant Max could - theoretically - be open to entering a relationship with him.
Yakko really shouldn’t have been afraid to make his feelings known, when there was no reason for it.
And yet, he was.
Was it a fear of rejection? Fear that if Max didn’t feel the same way, he’d ruin a friendship he’d highly treasured for nearly thirty years? Or due to his unidentifiable reluctance to…
What’s the term people like to use nowadays? Coming out?
He was self-aware enough to know he was bi too, and had been from his earliest years. Even when he and his siblings had lived with their animator and father, Lon, in the thirties. Before a tragic accident had killed Lon, and he and his siblings had been forced to live with their first director. Who had proceeded to abuse them, then had ordered them to be locked up for years.
Despite the suffering he had endured, however, Yakko had found that his preferences hadn’t changed.
What had changed was that ever since, he'd had trust issues in regards to other guys.
With a few very rare exceptions, among them; Max.
Of course, this all led back to his larger problem. Which was that…
That people expected their romantic partners to be physically close with them.
But while part of Yakko did want that; the other part whispered that it was too risky, that he could get hurt.
With his past, Yakko wasn’t sure he was capable of being intimate in any capacity.
Which would hardly be fair to Max…
Even if the intimacy in question as simple as kissing…sharing a bed…gentle touches…being swept up in his arms -
Arms that he had been daydreaming about.
Yakko heard a door open, just before a voice floated down to him.
“What are you doin,’ Yakko?”
Yakko abruptly stopped pacing and looked up, snapped out of his worried daze. Wakko was staring down at him from the tower door.
“Ah…just thinking.”
I’m in deep for sure, the question is…what will I do about it?
Wakko frowned as Yakko jumped halfway up onto the metal stairs to the door with catlike ease, then walked up the last few.
“About what?” He asked, as Yakko stepped back inside.
Do I say something?
Maybe he would. His sibs knew everything about his old secret now.
And they were still here, proving Yakko’s greatest fear invalid.
And, the same went for Max.
He was brought back to his internal debate. A debate that for some reason, had Yakko drawing a blank when it came to putting it into words.
A rare and unwelcome occurrence, to be sure, he thought.
“Oh, I was just thinking about the meaning of life,” Yakko brushed his tail against Wakko’s arm as he passed. A gesture of brotherly affection, but one that was more reflective of his animal side.
Yakko had a habit of overanalyzing things sometimes, he knew that. It seemed to come with the territory, an inherent trait tied to his wit and intelligence.
He was probably overanalyzing what he should do with these feelings towards Max, too.
“Really?” Wakko had followed him further inside, en route to their kitchen, his tail starting to wag. “Did you find it?”
Trying to put his thoughts to rest - if temporarily - Yakko shrugged and spun on his heel, leaning back against the kitchen counter. “Well…no. But it doesn’t hurt to try. Anyway, enough of my attempts at philosophy. It’s your turn to make a dinner request, little bro…”
////////////////////////////////////////////
Wakko watched Yakko, who was in turn watching a simmering spaghetti pot. He had donned his lavender kitchen apron.
Wakko had turned on the TV for the sake of having something to watch. Yakko’s phone seemed to be playing some sort of historical documentary. The two devices mingled to create a comfortable level of background noise.
Spaghetti was one of the first things Yakko had ever learned to make, and it was easily Wakko’s favorite.
Luckily for Wakko, Yakko actually enjoyed cooking; despite not being one to stuff himself with food like his brother. Which meant that he didn’t mind making something with as much pre-prep as spaghetti.
His snout crinkling in thought, Wakko rolled over. He went from bracing his chin on the arm of the couch to laying his head on it, staring at Yakko and the kitchen upside down.
Yakko was quietly singing to himself now. He lifted the lid of the pot and peered inside.
Wakko had always been good at noticing things about people.
For instance, he had noticed plenty of small signs that Yakko didn’t just like women. That he liked men too, despite his fear of intimacy.
Wakko had also noticed that the energy between his brother and Max Goof had started to shift lately.
On the surface, the two acted much as they always had; as close friends who had known each other for nearly three decades.
But Wakko was becoming sure that stronger feelings were brewing between Yakko and Max. Something more than friendship.
Wakko sat up and shrugged, turning his attention to the TV. He snatched up one of his rawhide chews from the couch and started to gnaw on it, taking his time.
It’ll work itself out…sooner or later.
//////////////////////////////////////
Company lines didn’t influence nearly as much of a toon’s personal life nowadays. Still, there was a sort of ‘Romeo and Juliet’ aspect when it came to toons associated with different studios dating; even though it didn’t actually matter anymore. And hadn’t for a good many decades now.
But Dot was a sucker for the forbidden love trope, especially given her two guilty pleasures.
Namely, cheesy romance novels and sappy rom-coms.
This led to her chatting about theoretical relationships over the phone with Webby, one of her newer friends.
"I think your brother would be cute with Max.”
“Which one?” Dot had absently put her phone on speaker, given the clattering from the kitchen; and because Wakko had now put on a monster movie. “I have two of them.”
“Yakko, duh -”
Glass broke in the kitchen. Both Dot and Wakko jumped and stared at Yakko; a broken spice bottle was laying at his feet.
The three of them awkwardly stared at each other for a few moments.
“Uh.”
Yakko looked away from them, then coughed into his fist, staring down at the broken bottle.
“What was that?” Dot asked, not at all sure what had just happened.
“Nothing,” Yakko visibly bit his lip and knelt, gingerly sweeping the broken glass into a pile with the side of his hand. “Nothing…I probably still had grease on my hands from the meatballs. Drat,” he muttered regretfully. “I liked this set.”
Being their resident cook, just about everything related to cooking technically belonged to Yakko. Spice bottles in particular tended to be one of his favorite items; items which he preferred to have in matching sets.
“We’ll get you a new set for Christmas,” Dot offered, still a little confused by what had just happened.
“Ah-hu,” Yakko sounded vaguely distracted, even as he moved to get something to sweep up the glass and spilled spice with. “Sure…”
////////////////////////////////////////
Yakko continued to be obviously distracted the rest of the evening, resulting in both his younger siblings staring at him as they ate dinner that night.
“Yakko,” Dot finally said. “Hey!”
She snapped her fingers, startling Yakko into sitting bolt upright. “Earth to Yakko?”
“Huh?” Yakko shook his head. “What?”
“What’s up with you?” Dot demanded. “I don't think you've actually been paying attention to anything we’re saying. And you’ve been staring at the wall instead of us.”
Yakko looked at her blankly, before his eyes flitted to the wall again.
“Uhhh…it’s nothing, just. Your phone call -”
“Huh?” Dot huffed. “What about my phone call?”
Yakko caught a glimpse of Wakko, who was staring at Dot with a baffled expression on his face. Meanwhile, all Yakko seemed to be able to do was scratch the dinner table with his now-unsheathed claws. He released a long sigh, catching Dot staring at him even more intensely.
No time like the present, eh?
“Well…” Yakko shifted in the chair, the reluctance still there. “I might have a bit of a crush. Maybe, more than a crush? So. Your phone call might have reminded me -”
“Why would my phone call have reminded you of a crush?” Dot sounded genuinely confused.
Both her and Yakko looked Wakko’s way when he made a startled noise, muffled through the food in his mouth.
He swallowed it in one giant gulp, his baffled expression still intact.
“You really don’t -” he stuttered. “You really haven’t figured it out?”
“Figured what out?” Dot said blankly.
“He’s in love with Max,” Wakko said bluntly.
Yakko’s eyes widened, and he bit back a stunned gasp.
It’s been that obvious to him?
“Max? Really?” Dot’s confused expression remained intact. “But, you’ve never been into guys?”
“Not…openly,” Yakko awkwardly answered, suddenly finding himself in the spotlight he had been bracing for; but which had somehow taken him by surprise anyway.
“Wait. Are you bi?” Dot asked, clearly surprised.
“Yeah,” Yakko stated, a little relieved that she’d given him the perfect reveal.
“Hold up,” Dot glanced at Wakko, confusion giving way to amazement; but largely taking this revelation in stride. “How did you notice this before me?”
“You’re kinda awful at pickin’ up on stuff like this, Dot,” Wakko muttered, now licking the last traces of his huge meal from his plate.
“I am not,” Dot huffed.
Yakko raised a brow at her. “Oh? Doth think the lady protests too much -”
Dot scowled at him, crossing her arms.
“Enough about that,” she snapped. “Why didn’t you ever tell us you were bi?”
Yakko sat back, scrambling for an answer. Then he shrugged.
“I don’t know.”
“Yakko,” Dot sighed.
“Really, I don’t,” Yakko replied, fully meaning it.
Wakko finished licking his plate, canting his head at him. “Um…maybe give it your best guess?”
Wrinkling his snout in thought, Yakko did just that. Dot and Wakko both watched him, clearly anticipating his answer.
After a few moments, he thought he’d hit on a possible reason.
“The 1930’s weren’t exactly a…accepting time,” he muttered, drilling a singular claw further into the table. “I guess I got used to the idea that I had to toe the line of what was considered - socially acceptable back then. And, I guess I never stopped?”
His siblings exchanged glances and shrugged, apparently deciding this answer was good enough.
“Then, I’ve only got one more question,” Dot had gotten to her feet, standing on the chair in order to lean further over the table. Yakko wasn’t entirely sure he liked the excited glint in her eyes. “When are you planning to confess your love?”
“Confess?” Yakko just barely kept his voice from peaking into a higher register. “To Max? Er…”
Maybe three years from now…or ten? Twenty?
“You’ve got to confess,” Dot insisted, face aglow with anticipation. “You guys would be so cute together!”
Wakko sniggered at the embarrassed look that briefly appeared on Yakko’s face. “It’s…not really as simple as that.”
“It isn’t?” Dot queried. “Why?”
Wakko was studying his brother intently, looking as though he was trying to solve some kind of puzzle.
“I…” Yakko said slowly; deciding to omit the more complicated reason he was reluctant to confess. “Maybe I’m a little scared that he won’t feel the same way, and I’ll ruin our friendship.”
And Max’s friendship was incredibly important to Yakko.
“You guys already know basically everything about each other,” Dot crossed her arms, rolling her eyes. “You might as well be boyfriends already.”
“And you’ll never know if he likes you back unless you ask,” Wakko supplied.
“I guess not,” Yakko was finding the wall interesting again. “But, enough about me -”
“Oh no,” Dot interjected. “Now that I know you like guys too, I want to know if there’s any actors you’ve secretly found hot over the years.”
Yakko sighed dramatically. “What is this, an interrogation?”
“Pretty much,” Dot confirmed, sitting back down and propping her chin on her clasped hands. She smiled, a twinkle in her eyes. “So, start talking.”
///////////////////////////////////////
He spent the hours till bedtime indulging his sister’s request.
And not just to Dot’s amusement. Yakko quickly began to enjoy sharing his past celebrity crushes on men.
Openly doing so felt rather liberating.
And in a way, it did help him relax. But even so, Yakko found himself ticking down the seconds until his two siblings went to bed. Because he wanted to take a walk.
Yakko wasn’t sure where the urge came from. All he did know was that for some reason, it felt like a proper walk could help him think.
After he was fairly certain his two siblings were asleep, Yakko left the tower. He swiftly made his way to the nearest park.
Ten minutes wasn’t a long journey at all; especially when he’d spent the entire day generally relaxing, and had energy to spare.
It was a convenient hangout, a place that the Warners often frequented. With each other, with their castmates when they wanted to catch up.
And with their friends.
Yakko huffed, beginning to wander along one of the paths. He withdrew his phone and started flipping through his photos.
He’d never quite realized how many photos of Max he had.
“Just take the risk,” he muttered under his breath. “Dot’s right, we do know each other…really well. He’s not going to ditch me if the feeling isn’t mutual.”
Yakko knew that.
He was sure of it.
Mostly...
Before he knew it, Yakko was starting to softly sing under his breath.
“Midnight, not a sound from the pavement…”
Over the years, he had often thought about this particular song. About how it could be interpreted as the singer wanting something.
Desperately so.
But having trouble gathering the courage to do it; unless pushed to a breaking point.
As easy as it was to poke fun at Cats - and the Warners had done so at least once in their old show - Yakko privately had a soft spot for this particular song. As the more he’d thought about it, the more some aspects of it felt applicable to himself.
In many ways.
One of those ways being the self-destructive manner in which he had tried to cope with his old abuse trauma, how he’d convinced himself that he wasn’t worth helping. How he’d been too afraid to tell his siblings that he was hurt; to seek their support.
Yakko kept going, wandering through the park, flipping his phone around in one hand.
“Has the moon lost her memory? She is smiling alone…”
Admittedly, Yakko wasn’t alone. Especially with the continued support from his sibs.
And from Max.
But still, the part of him that wanted a deeper connection - the kind a lover could give him - that part felt alone.
That part wanted Max to be more than his best friend.
“In the lamplight…” he kicked at leaves littering the sidewalk, continuing to softly and quietly sing. “The withered leaves collect at my feet…”
Yakko drifted off the path, instinctively following an old trail without realizing it.
“Memory,” he hummed, “All alone in the moonlight, I can dream of the old days…”
The old days. Those first years of his life, when he had been so innocent.
So naive.
Yakko blinked, realizing he’d ended up in a small plaza at the edge of the park’s huge, elaborate fountain.
The plaza had changed a great deal over the last several decades. Even so, Yakko felt he could see ghostly impressions of Lon, and himself and his siblings. Playing, looking out over the fountain, laughing together.
Yakko folded his arms, bracing them on the guardrail that hadn’t been there in the 1930’s. He swished his long tail contemplatively, staring into the water.
“When the dawn comes,” he sang, “tonight will be a memory too…”
Yakko rapped his fingers on the gaurdrail, looking at the ripples in the fountain without actually seeing them.
"And a new day will begin.”
He could make that new day something special. If he just gathered his courage, and finally reached for what he wanted.
With a breathy sigh, Yakko turned away from the water and braced his back against the rail. He fully unlocked the phone.
There were no new messages from his siblings, a little to Yakko’s relief. It meant they’d both hopefully gone to sleep, not noticing that he’d slipped out.
He spent some time staring at Max’s number. Then he proceeded to text him, asking to meet up at some point tomorrow.
His heart thrilled slightly when he got an almost immediate response from his friend.
Yakko stuck the phone back in his pants pocket, pushing away from the rail. Then he began to meander back through the park, starting to head home.
Dot’s words from earlier echoed in his head.
She wasn’t wrong. Nearly thirty years of friendship meant he and Max were already extremely close. And had been minutely drifting closer over time. He was practically part of the Warner's tiny family already.
Maybe it makes sense for this to be the next step…
After returning to the tower, Yakko took his nightly shower, then sleepily donned pajama pants and got into his bed. He stroked the stuffed cat he kept by his pillow - a precious memento, all he had left of his father - before settling onto his side.
Closing his eyes, Yakko’s tired brain ended up going over every interaction he and Max had ever had; as he drifted into the realms of sleep.
The result was that he had very good dreams that night.