Azure & Charlie: Shorts! Follow story

"Is this thing on?” said a boy, with a sweet voice.

“It was supposed to.” replied, with a snort, another, with a deeper and more serious voice, still a teenager.

A young deer dressed in a pink hoodie and light blue jeans sat on a light gray sofa, which leaned against a white-painted wall. Beside him, quite at ease, with his legs more open and arms accommodated by the seat, was a white bird dressed in a black, blue and white hoodie. In his dark and not too long beak, a subtle smile soon appeared.

The boy in pink curled up on the furniture with his reserved and correct posture: legs together and hands on his thighs. Trying to contain laughter, with his dull face, he turned his head for a single moment to look in his rommate’s direction, who just answered him with a look back. Charlie laughed, a bit ashamed, before starting to speak towards the camera that was recording them for almost a full minute:

“Okay, okay! Fine. Yeah .. Uh- Hi, my name is Charlie..”

“Azure Jetlock.” said the bird shortly afterwards, raising one of his hands a bit, which resembled small white wings decorated with a beautiful shade of blue.

“And today we wanted to show you our apartment! ... Right?”

“Hm-hm..” Azure replied, with a nod. With his eyes closed, his movements were always smooth and thoughtful.

Charlie hesitated for a moment, but decided to take the camera in his hands so that he could record with it. He approached the device and picked it up, making the images shake for a split-second before a sudden cut.

The deer went on to film the living room in first person while walking. Predominantly white from the walls to the floor, in addition to the sofa, there was also a wooden rack, where comic books, manga and even video games, lined up on the shelves, were organized. On the wall above it, was the television.

"This is our living room..." said Charlie's voice, as the boy spun the camera around the room.

It was possible to see the small white coffee table, which could be used from the sofa. Under it, a comfortable foot mat. In the background, a balcony.

Suddenly, the deer moved quickly, shoving the camera over Azure's face, who reacted in shock:

“Hey!”

“Oh my God! There's a birdie sitting on my couch!” said Charlie, holding his laughter behind the camera.

“Don‘t do that, Pete.. C’mon, knock it off..” giving in to laughter, Azure couldn’t hide the smile at the corner of his beak that was gradually forming.

Charlie Peters was able to record the moment when he gave his partner a kiss, very spontaneous and affectionate, with a lovely smile on his face, having the pleasure of spending his time with such precious moments.

And once again, another cut.

“Here’s the balcony...” said the deer, appearing in the corner of the video, still holding the camera aloft, so that those watching could see the view of the city as well. He made a panorama for a while, accompanied by the urban noises that were captured in the audio.

And then, a sequence of cuts.

“Our bathroom...!” he showed Azure brushing his teeth in front of the mirror. The bird, this time dressed in a short-sleeved black shirt and black sweatpants, made a gesture with one hand, non-understanding.

“The kitchen!” Charlie pointed the camera at the kitchen, which was practically joined to the living room, while his companion took a can of soda from the refrigerator. In Azure’s gesture, he seemed to toast to the ‘amateur cameraman’:

“Cheers...” agreed Azure, snorting slightly through his nostrils.

"And finally, our room..!" filming, Charlie exhibited the double bed in all its messy glory. There were cabinets and a dresser beside the bed for a lamp. "That we still have to clean up!"

Both then returned to the living room, sitting on the sofa once more:

“Wow, I didn't knew it was so easy to make an apartment tour like this!” the deer was clearly surprised.

“Who'd guess, right...?” replied without much ceremony, the bird.

There was a moment of peaceful silence between the two. Smiling calmly, quite satisfied, Azure and Charlie were in peace for a moment.

But it didn't last long.

"DING-DONG!"

Charlie's ears reacted: they moved fast, getting up and going towards the sound coming from the entrance door. Taken by surprise, he got confused. Azure's eyes widened, also visibly lost. They looked at each other, quickly. The deer, then, asked in a whisper:

“Did you call someone?”

“No... “promptly, the bird answered.

“Huh!” Charlie shrugged; did not know how to react. He looked towards the door, at the end of the short corridor that led to the flat's living room.

The boy dressed in pink couldn't take it. He stood up, moved by his curiosity and suspicion. As he walked to the door, he asked while he couldn't see through the peephole yet:

"Who is it??"

No reply.

Charlie didn't hesitate and peeked into the entrance to find out who the visitor was. Then, suddenly, a huge gasp could be herd, very loudly. He couldn't believe his eyes.

He opened the door:

“MOM?!”

"Hi son!!" Standing in front of Charlie, was a doe dressed in all her grace in a light pink tea-blouse and sandals, complemented by a white skirt down to her thighs. She had softly wavy brown hair, which reached up to her neck. Her eyes, also brown, in lighter shades, seemed to smile on their own. They shone at all times with their characteristic, kind, energetic glow. She was very thin and tall, at the height of her son, very sweet. A really adorable figure; Grace Frambossa Deerly.

She waved, raising her hand to Charlie, with a happy smile on her face. Her high-pitched, voice echoed in the hall outside. Charlie's mother carried her shoulder bag with the colors of her shirt and shoes, with a cute white ribbon attached to it.

The young deer could not remove his funny and panicked look from his green eyes. Looking at her from top to bottom and vice versa, he could only shrug and stretch his arms:

"Mom, what are you doing here ?!"

"I came to visit you ~!" she replied, readily. "Hi, Azure!" She waved excitedly.

"Wassup, Mrs. Deerly ..!" the bird, having recently risen from the sofa, stretched. He gave her a 'hangloose' sign back, not caring at all.

"WHAT?! 'Hi, Azure...'" after the fright, Charlie felt completely lost, discrediting even the way his mother treated the bird. "Mom, you can't just come here without calling or warning!"

"Yes, I can, I'm your mother!" Grace said, already making her bouncy steps of happiness in the apartment. She came with energy towards Azure, to embrace him, with more screams of pure enthusiasm.

Charlie, unbelieving, slapped his hand on his forehead, with his jaw dropped.

With the door closed, the young deer walked over to sit with his mother and his roommate, shyly. Grace sat down, feeling at home without losing her graceful demeanor. She smiled, following the boys with her eyes:

"So, how are you guys doing? Everything ok? I heard you did some renovations around here!"

"Yeah... Yeah, that's right, we sure did..!!" all embarrassed, with a forced smile and pink cheeks, Charlie responded, clenching his teeth together.

"The living room looks great, dear! Did you choose the rug yourself?? I loved it~!!" Grace squeezed Charlie's cheeks, very happy and speaking in her usual high pitch.

"Yeeahh...!! It was me !!" dying of shame, the son replied, his voice all stuck.

"How beautiful, my love~! Ah! Honey, could you make mommy some coffee? After all, aren't you the Calmatto barista in the house!?" Grace's tone of voice became more shrill the further she went on in her sentence, forming a funny smile, she turned to look at Azure, as if telling a joke. Laughing out loud after a wheeze, still elegant, she was having fun, for sure.

Azure, with a constant smile on his beak and his eyes relaxed, was unconcerned. He didn't react much, leaving Grace to laugh alone.

"Yeah.. Cool, coffee ...!" burning inside with the purest embarrassment, Charlie stood up, almost robotized. He walked in dragged steps to the kitchen, where there were the necessary tools to make a good coffee.

He could still hear the laughter of his mother who chatted with Azure. Charlie still had his blush preserved on his freckled cheeks. Trying to calm down, he took the water and the coffee powder to make it. With his current job at a local coffee shop, Calmatto Café, the deer had gained some experience in the business.

With the coffee ready and hot, the deer dressed in pink, even before heading back to the living room, could hear, in the background, a very lively music beginning to play, along with more laughter from the doe. Surprised, he opened his eyes wide, quickly turning his head in the sound's direction, to watch the scene:

Grace danced with Azure in the living room to the sound of some 90s rock music. She spun and twirled with the bird, having fun with him. Charlie's roommate followed Grace's dance moves as he could. the deer was once again gaping, paralyzed. It was fortunate that the cup and saucer did not fall out of his hand.

Upon realizing his son standing there, the doe happily called him:

"Come, son~!! Come dance with us~!"

Charlie was ready to pass out.

He decided to leave the coffee on top of the coffee table in the living room, before being pulled by Grace by the arm. The mother took her son to dance with her this time. It didn't take long for Grace to notice the camera aside the coffee cup:

"Oh! What's that?" leaving Charlie aside just for a moment, she picked up the camera and handed it over to Azure. "Hey, Azure, could you film us for a bit? Come on, Charlie!"

"WHAT??" super embarrassed, the boy felt like hiding in a box. "Nooo! Don't do that, no!" almost tearful, Charlie couldn't stop his mother from taking him to dance again.

Azure filmed, he didn't even bother. His smile at the corner of his beak was intact.

After the recordings, still gathered in the living room, Grace drank the coffee while the bird fiddled with his cell phone:

" Oh dear, Charlie! Your coffee is great! You must be the customers' favorite!" she said.

"Mom..."

"Don't know about the costumers. But he's my favorite, for sure." interrupted, Azure.

"AZURE .. !!" Charlie collapsed in his own lap, hiding his face with tensed hands.

"Ah, of course! Admit it, I raised him very well, didn't I?" said the doe, poking the bird's arm with her elbow. She couldn't resist, laughing.

Charlie grunted with embarrassment.

Some time passed, and Grace hadn't left the apartment yet. It was possible to hear her, coming from the kitchen, at a certain moment:

“Yoohoo~! Dear~!"

"Yes mom ... ??" sighing, Charlie walked to where he was called, being caught by another surprise:

"Azure and I decided we're going to make a pie, but as it seems, you guys have no cinnamon at all! Would you mind going out to get it for us~?"

Grace was adorably dressed in a kitchen apron, with the ingredients on the counter and everything. In the background, with his hands in his hoodie's pockets, Azure Jetlock dressed the same.

"YOU AND AZURE ??!" Charlie couldn't contain his comic panicking.

The afternoon passed,

The night settled in,

And finally, the time had come:

"Thank you so much for having me today, dear~! And Charlie, make sure to call me more often!!" Grace waved sweetly at them, already inside the elevator.

Charlie, down the hall, could be found in a fetal position.

Azure, holding the door, kept his carefree and relaxed tone:

“Leave it to us, Mrs. Deerly, we will...”

"It's just 'Grace' for you!" she replied, scolding him with a confident smile. Bye bye, boys~!

The elevator went down as Azure let the door close.

“Charlie, don’t forget to change your underwear everyday!!” Grace’s voice could be heard fading out as the elevator got lower.

Azure let out a sigh, looking back at his rommate before returning to the flat with him.

Back inside, once again at the couch, Charlie, feeling helpless, had his hands to his face, completely overcome with shame; defeated.

Azure sat by his side, bringing the deer closer to his torso, letting Charlie’s head resting gently onto his chest. With his usual smirk, the bird said:

“Believe me, she already made you go through worse.”

Charlie grunted in embarrassment, blushing a little harder.