Slinky's Frustration With Mr. Potato Head

by QUARIUSONIC06

Summary:

Slinky goes off on Mr. Potato Head for having Woody tossed off the moving truck
Or....
It seems like Slinky is going through a time and needs some space to collect his thoughts. It's important to give him the time he needs to process his emotions. As for Mr. Potato Head, it looks like he owes someone an apology......
Wanna take a guess?
........it's Slinky

Chapter 1: It Should've Been You

Summary:

Slinky says something to Mr. Potato Head, leaving the other toys shocked. The chapter title says it all.

"No, you don't understand! Buzz is out there!" Woody continued to yell as the other toys prepared to throw him out. He swung his arm and hit Mr. Potato Head, causing his parts to come off. "Toss him overboard!" Mr. Potato Head yelled as the Lifter toy, *What was his name...Loft...Rock?*, was ready to throw Woody out. "NO, DON'T THROW HIM OUT!" Slinky blurted out as the toys turned to him. "What if he is telling the truth? He could have thrown RC out to get Buzz on him!" Woody gazed at Slinky, thinking Slinky had lost all trust in him. "Come on, guys, would you really think Woody did all this for nothing?" He just gazed at the toys with his ears and tail down, who were glaring at him. "I agree with Slink. Woody would never do such a thing," Bo Peep said, trying to cheer the springy dog up. "Have you really been addicted to those stupid pills?" Mr. Potato Head said as he placed his hat on. "Woody THREW Buzz out the window, he threw RC on the road, AND HE MURDERED BUZZ!" Mr. Potato Head yelled in anger at both of them. "And you want him to stay! TOSS WOODY OVERBOARD!" "BUT!" Both Bo Peep and Slink yelled.

 

"NO, NO WAIT! AHH!" Woody was thrown out of the truck with the remote for RC. "NO!" Slink yelled as he ran to the edge of the truck. "GOOD RIDDANCE!" Mr. Potato Head yelled as some of the toys cheered while Woody came out of view. All the toys cheered as they high-fived each other; some toys danced around. Mr. Potato Head turned to Slinky. "You better be lucky we didn't throw you overboard," he said as he high-fived Hamm. Slink turned to Bo Peep in distress. She sighed. "At least you tried," Bo Peep said as she patted Slinky's head. He stayed close to Bo Peep as the other toys cheered in happiness, possibly without regret. But then something new washed over him: hatred. And it was directed right at Mr. Potato Head. He growled as his tail rattled with anger. Just who did Potato Head think he was? He began walking over to him. "Slinky?" Bo Peep questioned the wiener dog with concern, watching him leave.

 

"What is wrong with you?! There could have been a good reason he did that!" Slinky said, approaching Potato Head. "Oh yeah?! What could have possibly been a good reason for Woody to throw RC on the road?" Mr. Potato Head shot back. "I don't know! There are a lot of questionable things Woody has done, but there's always good intentions behind them," Slinky said, standing his ground.

 

"So you're telling me that Woody pushing Buzz out of the fucking window had good intentions?! WAKE UP, SLINKY!" Both of them were now in each other's faces. "WOODY IS A SELFISH MURDERER AND COULDN'T TAKE THAT BUZZ WAS ANDY'S NEW FAVORITE TOY!"

 

Out of anger, Slinky said something that left the rest of the toys silent. "I WISH HE WOULD'VE PUSHED YOU OUT OF THE WINDOW INSTEAD!" The rest of the toys who were watching gasped at Slinky's words. Bo Peep covered her mouth in shock. Slinky's anger vanished as quickly as it came. He looked down, ignoring the stares from the others. He just wanted to stick up for his best friend and prove him innocent. Slinky refused to believe Woody had malicious intentions for Buzz. No one had said anything for a long time, trying to process everything that had just happened and spiraled out of control so quickly. The silence broke as Lenny the Binoculars alerted the toys. "Guys! Guys! Woody's riding RC, and Buzz is with him!"

Notes:

Don’t you just loveeeeee angst?

Chapter 2: Not Good Enough

Summary:

Slinky attacks Mr. Potato Head after being provoked.

After the rescue, Slinky was pretty tired. He risked his life to try to get Woody and Buzz into the truck. Even though he failed at it, they still had managed a way to get on board with the rest of the toys. Slinky could still feel the anger at the pit of his stomach. He just hoped it wouldn't flare up again. They were at the new house, so everything should be okay, right?

 

"Think you're gettin' off easy, eh?" Mr. Potato Head said, glaring at Woody seeing his smile drop. Potato Head threw himself against the side of the box to tip it over, and its inhabitants unceremoniously toppled out all over the floor. When Potato Head spotted Buzz, he wasted no time reattaching one of his arms and ambling over to extend a greeting. Rex, Rocky, Snake... Most of them barely dared to shoot Woody a look before hurrying after their friend to greet Buzz as well. Woody thought Slinky was mad at him when he shot a glare at someone and couldn't tell who that look was for. Slinky maintained his composure and walked up to Woody and said hi. 

 

"Hey Slink, you okay?" Woody asked with concern. Slinky came up with a quick lie to hide his disdain from a certain potato. "Oh, um, yeah, just a bit tired. So much happened today. I'm sorry I wasn't able to help you guys."

 

"Hey, don't beat yourself up about it, you did the best you could," Woody said with a soft expression. Before Slinky could reply, Bo had thrown herself into Woody's arms to lock him in a crushing embrace, in front of everyone. He would have blushed madly, had he been physically capable, but after a few seconds he decided that, just this time, he did not care. Not about the odd way Buzz was smiling at them, or how Potato Head was still glaring from a distance, and not even about the fact that Andy and Mom might have heard Bo downstairs - well, they probably had not. No, right now, the only thing for him to do was to wrap his arms around her, too, and enjoy the presence of the one he had been longing for.

 

Bo. He had her back. He had tried his best - and failed spectacularly - not to think about her during the last few days, fearing she might have gotten crushed packed into the box with all the other toys. But, no, she was still there, and she was still his. Much sooner than he was happy with, though, the moment was over. As if she had sensed his discomfort about her open display of affection, she let go of him rather abruptly to look him up and down and even feel the front of his vest a bit as if that would tell her anything about his condition. 

 

"Are you okay? What did Sid do to you? What is that mark on your forehead, why is..."

 

"Bo," he cut her off, catching her wrists, in that gentle way she always required. "Bo, I'm fine. I'm sure the mark is gonna fade." At least he hoped so. The mark was gonna fade. And Andy seemed not to have noticed it yet; of that, he was pretty sure. She seemed to take his word for it, as she immediately turned around to Buzz. "What about you? Are you all right?"

 

Buzz gave a curious cross between a nod and half a bow. "I assure you, ma'am, that I am in excellent condition." She turned back around again, but now she would face neither of them; instead, she closed her eyes for a moment, and the tension visibly left her lean frame; what remained was only the regular stiffness of the porcelain she was made of. "You wouldn't believe how worried I was about you two. Oh, and Andy," she added, opening her eyes again, "he wouldn't stop talking about you, both of you! And he wouldn't stop clutching your accessories! It was heartbreaking to watch!" Woody gave a smile. "Thank you, Bo." Not that they had not found out about Andy's feelings themselves by now, but it was a good thing to be assured of hers. It felt great to have been missed. Now that Bo had provided such a counterpoint to Potato Head's hostility - and secretly, Woody suspected that she knew exactly what she was doing - the other toys seemed encouraged to come over and strike up a conversation. All of a sudden, Woody found himself surrounded by three, four, five others who all tried to talk to him at once.

 

But Potato Head, still standing a small distance away and by now unsurprisingly joined by Hamm, just crossed his arms. "So that's it, yes?" he called over rather loudly. "We're just gonna act as if nothing had happened, yes?"

 

"Oh, will you just let it go, Potato Head?" Bo snapped. "Buzz is right here, and he's been with Woody all along, just as Woody told us. What more do you want?"

 

Slinky's anger flared up again as he glared at Potato Head. He just didn't know when to quit, did he? Slinky really hoped Bo was right. 

 

"No," Buzz cut in quietly, and immediately, everyone else fell silent. Slinky's attention went back to Woody and Buzz. Slinky thought to himself, 'Was he about to tell what really happened?' "I believe it is very important to talk this through."

 

It was arguable if it was Potato Head's place to dwell on the incident, but if anyone did have that right, it was Buzz. And as if he was not aware of everyone's eyes now on him, he slowly moved forward, approaching Woody so matter-of-factly that even Bo moved out of the way without argument. And it was not long until Buzz was standing right in front of him. There was no eye contact, but that felt even worse than being stared at could possibly have done. Woody felt pure apprehension creep up inside of him. They had not exactly talked about that. With Buzz basically admitting that the space ranger thing was nothing but idiocy on his part, and especially with the way they had interacted these last few days, Woody had not expected to actually have a conversation about that topic. Had Buzz even forgiven him for what he had done? In fact, now that he thought about it, should Buzz forgive him for what he had done?

 

But before Woody could act on his ridiculously belated horror at his own actions, Buzz had turned around, and instead of talking to him, he was facing the other toys. No, actually, he was sort of half-facing Woody, still, as if to make it a point that he was talking to the group as a whole. His very presence seemed to command attention, and Woody was helpless against the unanticipated bout of admiration for the talent. And against the jealousy. He felt surprisingly wistful at the realization that all signs seemed to point to Buzz being the new leader now. But Woody knew - as painful as it was to admit it to himself - that he had cost himself that position. He had attacked one of Andy's toys. He had placed his own need before their duty of being there for their kid. Was there anything worse he could have done, especially as their leader? How could he actually have hoped for things to go back to the way they had been?

 

Drawing a breath, Buzz now locked eyes with Potato Head. "Would you please elaborate on why you are being hostile toward Woody?"

 

What? Woody was completely stumped at the question, or maybe even just the wording. And so was Potato Head, he could see that. Was the answer not obvious? "Well, he pushed you out of the window because Andy played with you more," Hamm pointed out helpfully, and his mild tone clashed horribly with the bitter accusation in his statement. "To be honest, I'm a bit surprised you're not being hostile toward him."

 

"Me, too," Woody muttered before he could stop himself, and was a bit startled to catch the ghost of a smile passing over Buzz's face at the words. But the others had definitely caught it, too. Almost in unison, they had all started staring, so confused about how well he and Buzz were suddenly getting along that it was almost palpable.

 

Buzz crossed his arms. "While that is true, he also brought me back to you, back to Andy. I thought that was enough to settle the matter, for everyone. If you did not want him back, then why did you reach out to us in the first place?"

 

Woody frowned. In all honesty, the only reason he had brought Buzz along was because he had known that showing up in Andy's room without him would have been suicide, and that was a lot less selfless than Buzz made it sound. 

 

"I was reaching out to you," Potato Head snarled.

 

"That's a lie!" Slinky said firmly, catching everyone's attention. "You weren't reaching out at all! I was the one who risked my life to get them into the truck. Need I remind you that you were the one yelling to toss Woody overboard?"

 

"Shut it, Slinky! Don't start with me again!" Potato Head said, now standing in front of him. "Again?" Woody thought as he watched them argue. Well, it did make sense considering Slinky was the one who truly believed he was telling the truth. But it really surprised him to see Slinky enraged. He was never one to get angry with any toy, always happy-going and in good spirits. This was new and even unsettling to him and the other toys.

 

"Like I said, you wanted Woody off the moving truck. Not to mention you taunted me right afterwards and showed no remorse! And when him and Buzz needed help, you didn't do anything! None of you did!" Slinky said, pointing an accusing paw towards the other toys, who flinched. "I went as far as stretching myself beyond my limits to get them on board with the rest of us that it hurt! It hurt so bad!"

 

The whole room fell silent as they processed Slinky's words, but it was quickly broken when Mr. Potato Head started clapping. "Come on, guys, let's give good ole Slinky a round of applause for doing something he failed at! Maybe give him an ice pack, too! You think you deserve a gold medal, dog face?"

 

Slinky then snapped, feeling his whole chest on fire. He ran towards Potato Head like a bull, and the next thing you knew, Potato Head's pieces went flying in different directions, hitting the other toys. Rex shrieked, nearly getting hit with one of the arms that flew off.

 

"Woah, woah! Take it easy there, Slink," Woody said, trying to calm the growling dog down. Woody didn't think things would escalate this far. Slinky snatched himself out of Woody's grip and crouched, lowering his body as he growled in Woody's direction, tail rattling with aggression. It was safe to say most of the toys were scared. Everyone stood frozen, not knowing what to do. Woody threw his hands up in surrender, not wanting to upset Slinky even more.

 

Slinky's mind flooded with thoughts. He felt like he was drowning. He couldn't see. He couldn't hear. Why? Why was this happening? How did things get out of hand so quickly? Was he overreacting? He didn't know. He just wanted to do the right thing, to make sure Woody was okay and he was safe. Not to mention, to get Buzz back on board too. Everything just seemed to fall apart as he remembered his paws slipping from Woody's grip. They were here and safe now, so... Why was he feeling this way? Mr. Potato Head's words slipped into his head:

 

"Come on, guys, let's give good ole Slinky a round of applause for doing something he failed at!"

 

"I'm no good for them...," Slinky thought as his face softened. Even when Woody said he did his best, he didn't feel like he did. "I'm not good enough," he said, not realizing he said it out loud. The rattling of his tail stopped, and the growling subsided as it became quiet. The fire in his chest burned out and was replaced with... sadness?... embarrassment?... guilt? All of the above? He wasn't so sure anymore. But he knew this feeling all too well. He hated having to feel it again. But here he was. Slinky shuffled his front paws a bit as he frowned.

 

"Slink?" Woody called his name in the softest tone the toys have ever heard. Everyone was relieved to see him calm down. But what they didn't expect to hear afterward was the quiet whimpering coming from the dog. Slinky didn't dare look at them as he held his head down. He knew toys couldn't cry real tears. But he had to let his emotions out somehow. His whimpering grew a bit louder. He had to get away. "I- I'm sorry." Slinky turned around and ran out of Andy's room door, ignoring the toy's protests. "Hey, where's he going?" Hamm called out. "Come back!" Bo Peep said, being as loud as she could. "Slinky, wait!" Woody said, wondering if he should go after him or not. "Poor little guy," Buzz felt sympathy for him. He heard what Slinky said about not being good enough.

 

"That's it," Woody made up his mind and started walking until someone put a hand on his shoulder. "Perhaps we should give him some space to gather his thoughts for now. And besides, I don't think you're the one who needs to go and apologize," Buzz said as Woody turned to face him. Wait, who needed to apologize?

 

"CAN SOMEONE HELP ME FIND MY PARTS!?"

 

Oh... right... Mr. Potato Head...

Notes:

Okayyyy so this chapter was instructed better as you guys can see. What do you think will happen next?

Chapter 3: When It Ain't Right It's All Wrong

Summary:

Welp, Potato Head is in for a scolding…

Everyone glared at Mr. Potato Head as he attached his nose and mustache. He looked up at them, "What are y'all staring at?!" he said with a slightly aggressive tone. "Potato Head, you need to go and apologize to Slinky," Woody said with a hand on his hips. Potato Head stared at Woody like he had three heads. He expected him to elaborate. But when there were no words said after that, he quickly shot back, "Apologize? You want me to apologize?! For what?! Slinky has been bickering with me since I had you thrown off the truck! And besides, I'm sure he'll get over it and go back to being his happy self," Potato Head said, waving him off. "Dude, you literally made him cry. And Slinky's never cried before," Hamm said, stepping up. "Yeah, as long as I've known Slinky, I've never seen him break down like that," Rex said nervously twiddling with his fingers.

 

Mr. Potato Head stared at them wide-eyed. That pent-up anger he had just a second ago vanished into thin air. Even his face fell at the thought of making Slinky cry, making anyone cry for that matter. "I made him cry? No, no, there's no way."

 

"Uhhh, yeah, you did," Lenny the Binoculars said, eyeing him. Mr. Potato Head thought for a long moment. He rubbed his face as the toys watched him, waiting for a response. "Ok. Fine. I'll apologize. But we're still not done with the conversation!" Potato Head said, pointing at Woody.

 

Woody flinched at that, then Buzz stepped in. "Woody did not mean to push me out of the window, you know," Buzz now stated, and Woody was amazed that he had even caught that little detail. "It was an accident."

 

"He tried to get you out of the way so that he could be Andy's favorite again!" Potato Head argued irritably, to the fervent nodding of Hamm next to him. When did Hamm get beside him? Weird...

 

Buzz seemed persistent. "He did mean to push me behind the desk - which is bad," he added, sending a pointed look over his shoulder that made Woody cringe, and then turned back, "but I would have been found when Andy's room was emptied out, at the latest, and Woody knew that. So it was nowhere near as unforgivable as you make it out to be."

 

Actually, Woody had hoped at that moment that Buzz would be stuck there for all eternity, but his friend seemed to believe what he was saying, so Woody was not going to contradict this version of events. Maybe he should.

 

"So how come you ended up outside the house?" Potato Head cut in, crossing his arms.

 

Woody grimaced. That was a good question. "It was an accident!" Buzz insisted. "Neither one of us was to blame, or maybe we both were. Still, the outcome was not malicious intent on Woody's part, and you know that, Potato Head." It was obvious that Potato Head was not convinced, but he did not get a chance to argue.

 

"Um, Captain Buzz," Rex piped up timidly, "you seem... seem different somehow."

 

Buzz dumbly blinking at Rex was a sight for sore eyes. At least until Woody realized that the other toys were still used to Buzz treating them all like bizarre aliens he had encountered on his travels. They had not witnessed the internal transformation, so how were they supposed to know?

 

A moment later, Buzz seemed to have understood the same thing. "Oh... oh, yes. That. Well... um..." "We're not gonna force you to explain, Buzz," Bo cut in, firm but gentle. Just "Buzz." Not "Captain Buzz." Now they did know.

 

Buzz seemed abashed for a moment. After getting rid of an attitude like that, it had to be mortifying to be reminded of it. But as was to be expected, he quickly cleared his throat and moved on. "Anyway, whatever malice there was, Woody made up for in saving my life. Sid strapped me to that rocket to blow me up, and it was only because of Woody's selfless interference that I am here today."

 

Ah. Now he had actually used the word. But even that was not true, Woody knew. If Buzz had managed to get rid of the rocket with his wings while they were chasing the truck, what would have stopped him from doing it the first time? "So as far as I'm concerned," Buzz went on, "Woody is still our leader and you should show him some respect."

 

Woody whipped his head around to stare at him. Surely, Buzz could not have meant that, right? "The only reason I am alive," Buzz stressed one more time, still fixing the other toys, "was because he put himself in harm's way to keep Sid from destroying me."

 

Even while he was still in shock over what Buzz had just said, Woody could not help but note that he had favored "destroying" over "murdering." Being a toy actually seemed to be something he was unconsciously aware of by now. "Well, I'm with you, Woody!" Rex declared, which was abrupt but very much anticipated. "I knew it couldn't have happened the way we thought it did!"

 

Mr. Potato Head had a blank expression on his face. One after the other, they piped up with small declarations of support, until it was just him and Hamm who were left.

 

The two shared a look, and then Hamm gave a small shrug. "If Buzz isn't holding grudges, then who are we to argue?" With that, he left Potato Head behind to come over. "We missed ya, Woodster," he offered, and that, from someone who had openly opposed him, felt tenfold more heartwarming to Woody than the admissions from the toys who had secretly still been his friends anyway.

 

The lack of support for his position seemed to have registered with Potato Head by now. "Well, fine," he finally snapped, throwing up his arms. "But if you do that again, don't expect us to be so accommodating!" "Warning taken," Woody promised. "But seriously, make sure to apologize to Slinky."

 

"Alright, alright, I'm on it!" Mr. Potato Head said, walking away. He had to admit, he was a bit nervous. He knew how hard Slinky went to defend Woody, but no one really believed him. Not even he himself believed him.

 

Slinky was a bit hard to read sometimes. Not really knowing how he's feeling unless he voices his opinion on something or someone. Or unless his tail wagged. So seeing him get so worked up was surprising. But Potato Head, knowing him and his big mouth would not back down. "Too bad it got me in trouble," he mumbled. He had to make things right between him and Slinky. Just the thought of that friendly and lovable dog hating him felt wrong. So, so wrong.

Notes:

Next up is the apology!

Chapter 4: You've Got A Friend In Me

Summary:

Mr. Potato Head apologizes to Slinky! This is the final chapter. Hope you enjoyed the story🐶🥔

Mr. Potato Head walked out of the room, already catching Slinky in the corner of his eye. He was sitting under a corner table, which was placed by a window. Potato Head hoped that Andy and Mom weren't around. He couldn't risk getting them caught.

 

So he would have to approach this matter in a sincere way. If not, this apology could blow up in his face. He slowly started approaching him, not wanting to startle him. Slinky's ears perked up as he carefully looked at his surroundings. He then spotted Potato Head walking up to him. He bit back a growl and sighed. He really didn't feel like arguing again.

 

Potato Head sensed his irritation and stopped. Okay, this was a bit awkward. He didn't want to overstep his boundaries, so he stayed put. Anxiety crept inside him as he tried to figure out what to say. ‘Come on! Say something!’ His mind screamed at him.

 

"I just- I- I don't understand."

 

A voice broke Mr. Potato Head out of his thoughts as his head snapped over to look at Slinky, whose tone of voice sounded desperate. "You have no idea how scared I was when I couldn't hold on anymore...I thought I failed them...Andy..."

 

"Slinky," Potato Head said softly, his face etched in concern.

 

"And you belittled me, why?" Slinky said, now looking up at him.

 

Potato Head looked away. He couldn't bear to look at the hurt expression he was receiving. Potato Head's eyes were downcast, trying to find an answer. But he couldn't. He knew he had no good reason for doing what he did.

 

He didn't realize how hurtful his words were until he looked back at Slinky. If he had a heart, it would be aching. "I have no excuses for how I made you feel today. I was wrong. And I'm so sorry for making you feel worthless. As a matter of fact, you are far from worthless."

 

Slinky's hurt expression, now gone, softened as he took in Potato Head's words. He hoped he was being serious. He couldn't help but ask, "you really mean it?" Slinky pressed with hopeful eyes.

 

"Of course, Slink! You bring so much value and positivity to those around you. That slip-up you made on the moving truck doesn't define who you are. Everyone makes mistakes. Even me," Potato Head said with a warm smile, noticing Slinky's wagging tail.

 

"So again, I want to reiterate my sincere apology for making you feel less of yourself. You are the bravest and most loyal dog we could ever ask for."

 

Slinky couldn't help but lean against him. Mr. Potato Head didn't seem to mind as he scratched behind Slinky's ears, earning a satisfied grunt. The atmosphere that was once filled with tension was now filled with reassurance.

 

Potato Head was glad to have his friend back. Slinky stepped back a little and looked at him with sad eyes. "I'm sorry for knocking your parts off. I hope the others aren't mad at me."

 

"Hey, don't worry about it. I was out of line, and I totally deserved it. They were all pissed off at me."

 

"So, they aren't mad at me?" Slinky asked innocently, tilting his head. It was too adorable, almost causing Potato Head to go "aww."

 

But he kept his composure. "Of course not! Say, how about you and me play checkers?"

 

Slinky's grin returned, and his tail started wagging again. "You're on! I call dibs on red!" Slinky said, running to the room. Mr. Potato Head chuckled and went after him. Everything was perfect. Exactly how it should be.

Notes:

*plays the you got a friend in me song🎶*

Notes:

Don’t you just loveeeeee angst?