FSE

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Gently, Shen straightened up as he cradled the delicate puppet in his arms; this gift had been unlike any he'd ever gotten in his life, and it warmed his heart that Randall had been so thoughtful. Many people didn't really give any time of day to Shen and his interest in puppets, but Randall had always been curious about it - so this gift meant more than Shen could ever imagine. As he looked down at the jointed puppet, a smile spread on Shen's face; though he remained blissfully unaware that this was Randall, he believed this was as close as he could get to his beloved companion for the time being. And, maybe the next time he saw him, they could become something more.

Randall had been enjoying every minute of Shen's warm embrace ever since he had been dropped off; while Samara had been a tad deceptive, at the end of the day she had done what she promised. And thus, here he was; feeling love from his crush more than he ever thought he would in a single day. He still couldn't move his body, as he was limited to whatever Shen made him do - whether it be dance or pretend to walk. It didn't really matter, though; Randall was more than happy to let Shen do as he pleased with him. Whatever made him happy, of course - and puppets were Shen's passion, so Randall knew he'd be in good hands regardless of what happened.

Shen shifted positions where he was curled up in the bed, having been cuddling with Randall for a while; and figured playing with him a little more wouldn't hurt. With a grin, the dragon held Randall out, beginning to move his limbs from side to side to imitate a walking motion across the bed. If Randall could've smiled, he certainly would've; but it seemed Shen had it covered. He pressed a small mechanism on Randall's back, which allowed his jointed jaw to pop open, imitating a smile as he walked the puppet along back and forth playfully.

"Gosh, I can't get over how beautiful you are. So intricate, so detailed; and to think, you move so fluidly. It's almost like you're real." Shen chuckled softly, tail swishing happily behind him on the bed as he gave Randall a little twirl in a makeshift dance.

Randall found himself amused at the irony of it all; if only Shen really knew. But, in a way, he figured this was a good thing; he felt closer to Shen now more than ever. He was content living this new life if it meant that he could spend his days with his crush. As Shen played with Randall, making him dance, walk, and sway, Randall had no choice but to allow it; though of course, he didn't mind at all. It still felt strange, though; he was still adjusting to being stuck in place, minus Shen's movements. Each limb, though moving smoothly when touched, felt stiff to Randall - he couldn't even move a finger, let alone his tail. Each little shift of his body encouraged the soft click of his joints brushing against eachother, from the bend of a knee to the flick of a wrist and the slight rustle of his hand-sewn clothes.

Strange, yet equally fascinating - it was a feeling Randall couldn't quite describe as anything but stunning.

After a few minutes of playing with Randall, Shen thought for a moment; it was fun with just Randall, but he began to realize he had more puppets at his disposal. An excited grin crossed his face as he straightened up; if he was going to play for a while anyway, why not introduce this puppet to a few of the other ones he had in the room?

Humming softly, Shen swung his legs over the side of the bed then stood up and moved away, tail thumping softly on the floor. He held Randall gently in his arms, holding the puppet with absolute care; he didn't want to break or ruin it by any means - this was a special gift, and he intended on treating it as such. As the dragon made his way to one of the shelves in the room, Randall found himself with a remarkable view of Shen's collection; the entire room was lined from top to bottom with shelves of puppets. Each one was different, all unique - of varying species, but all of them were similar in that they had jointed limbs and bodies.

Curiously, Randall watched as Shen pulled one down - this puppet appeared to be modeled after a tiger. He moved it to the bed behind him, then grabbed another; the next with the appearance of a blue jay. After setting it next to the tiger on the bed, Shen turned back one last time, plucking a third puppet - this time, it was lynx. Bringing the third back to the others he had laid out, Shen finally set Randall down momentarily behind them.

"These will be your new friends; you'll fit perfectly on their shelf when I can display you." Shen chuckled softly, lifting the tiger up.

It was dressed in a leather jacket with gold earrings, and blue jeans; it had orange fur with black stripes, but the tail was a vibrant gold that matched with the earrings.

"This is Tyler; I got him at an antique shop in the next town over." Shen gently lifted the tiger puppet's arm, making the puppet wave at Randall.

He grabbed onto the blue jay, which wore a dazzling dark blue dress. Each blue and white feather looked like it was hand-crafted.

"This is Jasmine; I got her at the mall we went to a few weekends ago, you might remember her." Shen added with a smile; it felt nice to just be himself, speaking to the puppets as if they could understand him. Randall did remember this puppet; the tiger was unfamiliar, but he recalled the day he and Shen had hung out some time ago, and had seen him get so excited over finding this puppet in a shop at the mall.

Shen waved Jasmine's wing gently, then set her down to grab the last puppet; the lynx. It had dark gray fur, but had teal markings streaked throughout it, and wore a suit and tie. Much like the tiger, Randall didn't recognize this one; but it was just as impressive as all the others.

"And this is Quinn; I got him custom made from one of my friends. All of them will be your shelfmates." Shen smiled, making the lynx wave too before he positioned each of them into sitting positions against the bed frame.

Only then did Shen move around the opposite side, tapping at his phone on the bedside table to turn on some punk rock music that began to ring out through the room. Randall recognized it as an instrumental to one of their songs. Grabbing Randall gently and propping him up into a stand, Shen grinned as he spoke, his tone leaning into more a theatrical one to amp it up - it was fun to play like this, and it was one of his favorite pastimes with his puppets.

"Now that you've been introduced to everyone, it's time to put on a show for them! Everyone, put your paws - and wings - together for Randall! He's the best singer in town, but he's got more than just his voice for you today. Show them your moves, Randall. You can do it."

Shen began to maneuver the puppet around in a dance routine; careful but precise with each shift and movement of the joints and limbs on Randall's little body, and often pressed the back mechanism to move his mouth as if he was singing. It reminded him of some of their gigs; Randall was the lead singer, but knew a few dance moves to get the crowd roaring.

To match the tunes coming from the phone, Shen controlled Randall in an energetic routine - a bouncy dance with some liberties due to the limits of the puppet, but the dragon had practiced so many times - it wasn't all that difficult for him anyway. Randall remained silent, but was overjoyed; he couldn't exactly show it, but he was ecstatic that Shen was having so much fun. It was cute when he was nerding out over his puppets, and now was no different; but this time, he was able to be the source of that joy, and it made it all the more meaningful to Randall as his little body swayed and shifted to the beat of the music. He was putting on quite a "show" for the other puppets, who sat in their characteristic positions against the bed frame; Quinn was upright and looked "professional", Tyler was a little more slouched over, and Jasmine sat with one leg over the other.

Meanwhile, Randall was dancing and "singing" for them - with little spins and twirls, sways and bounces, and intricate movements that only the most skilled puppeteers like Shen could perform. Practice makes perfect, after all; and even Randall was impressed with how smoothly and easily Shen was controlling him in the dance. This went on for a few minutes, until finally, Shen swept Randall's little body down in a dramatic bow and a swing of his arm.

"Give it up for Randall, everyone!"

Reaching over to the other puppets with his free hand, Shen made each of them "clap" with their little paws and feathers by moving their wrist joints. Only then did he lean over and stop the music, before scooping Randall back up in his arms with an overjoyed smile on his face. He hugged the puppet tight, and Randall felt that delightful warmth once again; the kindness, the care, and the warm embrace of his crush.

It was perfect in every way.

"You did amazing out there, Randall!"

Randall couldn't ask for more.

"I always knew you were my little star."