#I changed the design of the bear from the written description because I’m lazy to draw that every single time

[aghostnamedcalamity]

If this hasn't already been asked, what is Benjamin's favorite toy? If he plays pretend, what kind of stories does he gravitate towards?

His favorite toy is his stuffed bear named Mookie! Most of his play-pretends revolve around playing doctor, especially after Mordecai bought him a Little Family Doctor kit.

Here’s a little snippet of the fanfiction where Mordecai purchased Benji his stuffed bear! For context, Benji was just recovering from the flu and Mordecai visited an A&P store that were getting popular around this time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The black cat swiftly made his way through the vehicles passing by and came up to the large promotional signage decorating the store, gingerly pushing the doors open and entering.

As a first impression, he was unimpressed. It really wasn’t much different than the stores he was used to albeit a bit larger and whole lot whiter. He could only hope the hype was more in reference to the product available than anything else. It was, in fact, rather strange to see articles of clothing being promoted alongside dry food products.

Mordecai made his way to the counter as he continued to look about himself. The young attendee was a bright, yellow-haired girl wearing puffy sleeves and an apron with the company logo embroidered in the corner.

“Good morning, sir!” she greeted cheerfully with a large smile. “Welcome to A&P - the modern way to shop and the sure way to save! What can I get for you today?”

Mordecai stared dumbfounded at the girl, not quite sure whether he liked receiving a greeting as part of a promotional slogan or not.

“I’d like some tea,” he finally responded. “Earl Grey herbal. What brand do you carry?”

“What brands do you prefer?” the girl said. “We cater to your personal needs!”

“Twinings,” responded Mordecai, feeling himself becoming mildly agitated at the excessive joyfulness of the attendee.

“You’ve got it, sir! I’ll have it ready for you at the cash register,” the young lady said as she turned and weaved through the endless rows of shelves and boxes behind the counter.

Mordecai shook his head lightly as he watched with displeasure. As a second impression, he was still unimpressed. And, frankly, verging on developing outright dislike for the establishment.

As he waited with his arms crossed at the register, he let his eyes wander around the array of items displayed for customer viewing behind the counter and on the wall. At the window, a variety of toys sat and dangled, beckoning children to drag their unsuspecting parents into the store.

There was a stuffed bear with brass button eyes propped on a stand, staring out into the passing crowds on the street. He had brown fur and wore a bright yellow hat and raincoat with feet just a little too large for the rest of his body. Mordecai stared at the toy, pondering why a bear would need a hat and raincoat. And if he did need a hat and raincoat, why wouldn’t he need rain boots?

The black cat thought he recalled Benjamin going on about something regarding a bear that had a coat of some sort. He wasn’t entirely sure. Usually he’d just zone out when his son was being particularly talkative or passionate about some hyperfixation. But he did remember him ranting about someone wearing a coat and making funny voices on the radio.

“Do you like our new Mookie bear?”

He almost startled as the same attendee from before interrupted his focus. She had in her hand a tin of tea that she set in front of him on the counter.

“Mookie?” Mordecai questioned in confusion.

“Oh yes!” she continued and quickly grabbed the bear from where he was propped up. She brought it back to the counter and extended it out in front of Mordecai. “This is Mookie! He’s very popular right now. He’s got his own talk hour on the radio. The kids love him!”

Mordecai slowly reached up and grabbed the bear that was being offered to him. He held it in both hands as he stared at the layers of clothing it was wearing. Under the raincoat, the bear wore navy pin-stripped pants with a white collared shirt and bowtie. He was a very well-dressed bear, Mordecai noted.

“Toys are on sale today!” the young lady edged on in a sweet, encouraging voice.

“How much is it?” he asked.

“This little guy retails for $1.50 regularly, but today you can take him home for just $1.30!”

Mordecai grimaced. “That’s a bit steep for a stuffed bear, don’t you think?”

She shook her head in response. “Not for the most popular toy of the year. I’ll tell you what. If you decide to take him right now I’ll give you a discount from my manager! You can have him for $1.20.”

The black cat squinted at the bear as he pondered whether he really wanted the thing in his home. The bear looked nice enough, he supposed. The quality felt decent in his paws. He was also a quiet toy, which was something Mordecai continuously found himself on the search for. No shaking or rattling or whistling involved. Nothing to encourage his already-too-loud child to get over-excited with. He sighed dejectedly.

“Fine,” he said, handing the bear back to the attendee. “Just add it in with the tea.”

The girl quietly but excitedly clapped her paws together with a big smile before grabbing the bear.

“Wonderful!” she said, returning the bear to his place in the window. “I’ll be just one second, let me grab one from the back.”

Mordecai contemplated for a second and wondered whether he’d just been brainwashed or not. Would this constitute a brainwash? He shook his head in response to himself. He was fairly certain he was smart enough to avoid falling into up-charging schemes. The bear was nice enough, he justified himself. Benjamin would enjoy it.

He’d just grabbed the tin of tea that’d been sitting on the counter to inspect it when the young attendee popped back in holding an elaborately ribboned and wrapped gift box. She placed it on the counter in front of Mordecai where the tea had sat.

The dark furred feline stared at the present in confusion. He pointed at it and turned to look at the girl.

“What exactly is that?”

“It’s your Mookie bear!” the girl responded, beginning to add the costs onto the cash register.

“Yes, but why is it wrapped? I didn’t ask for it to be wrapped.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, sir!” the girl said. “I assumed it was for a child. Was it for you?”

Mordecai furrowed his eyebrows at the girl. “No, it’s not for me. I just don’t need it wrapped!”

“I see,” the young woman responded, placing one finger on her cheek. “Well, sir, I could always…unwrap it for you, I suppose. It’s standard company procedure to wrap toys and clothes I’m afraid. However, I should warn you that the cost of the wrapping is already included in the cost of the product and I unfortunately won’t be able to deduct that. Would you like me to unwrap it for you, anyways,?”

Mordecai sighed in despair, officially deciding he no longer cared for this store and would possibly never purchase anything here again.

“Just tell me what I owe,” he submitted, pulling out his wallet to try and get this transaction over with so he could leave already.

He felt ridiculous lugging the present around the rest of the walk home. It wasn’t a particularly large box, but it was so needlessly bright. Any chances of inconspicuousness vanished as it contrasted vividly against the darkness of the rest of himself. He grumbled in discontent as he made it home. It didn’t help that, thanks to the crowds of people alive and bustling at this hour, he felt the need to take an extra long detour to his home to ensure no one was watching him and this stupid clown box.

The black cat felt the exhaustion in every part of himself as he hung his house key on the hook by the door. He frowned at the box in his arm before tossing it on the couch dismissively and beginning the process of hanging his outwear