Taking out the Trash:

Summary: Lance still thinks that if he gave her the puppy eyes, Ash will fall back into his arms. But he wasn't counting on a well-dressed koala with some serious words for him. Maybe a black eye or two… (Sing 2016, Ash and Buster, father and daughter fic).

There it was, the theater. Where his living, breathing ticket to fame to resided. Ash Porcupine. He knew that if he asked nicely and put up a convincing act of redemption, Ask would fall back to his arms. His plan was perfect. He stepped inside the theater lobby and looked around. To his luck, behind the open doors, there was a stage. And on said stage, a pretty little porcupine. He licked his lips, smirked and stepped forward. But his view was blocked by a pair of the fluffiest ears he had ever seen.

Buster Moon smiled at him. "Oh, hello!" He closed the door behind him. Dang it. "You came to audition?"

"What?" Lance asked out of shock. "No, no. I came to see my girlfriend."

"Your girlfriend? Oh! I didn't know Meena had a boyfriend! I must congratulate her later."

Lance stared at the koala. "Meena, whoever that is, is not my girlfriend."

"Really? Pity, she's a nice girl with a lot of talent. Any boy will be lucky to have her." Buster wrote something on his pad and looked up at Lance. "Is your girlfriend auditioning today?"

"Um… no?" What was this dude's deal?

The koala stared at him. "Wait. It can't be Rosita. She's married with twenty five!"

"Twenty five years of marriage?" Lance asked.

"Twenty five piglets!"

Ouch. Lance couldn't stop but to think for a moment how that pig had managed to give birth to twenty five piggies. "No. My girlfriend is not a pig."

Buster put up a horrified face. "Please don't tell me is Mrs. Crawley! She might be my ancestor with her age!"

"What!?" Lance asked. He finally grew tired of this. "No, I'm looking for Ash!"

"Ash? What Ash?" Buster asked with an innocent look on his face.

Lance groaned. He tried to play civil, but this koala was plain stupid or else. "Ash the porcupine."

Buster seemed to think about it. "I don't know any 'Ash the porcupine'. I do know 'Ash the Amazing Rock star and Artist', though."

"Yeah, that one, whatever. I'm going to see her." Lance stepped forward, but the koala stepped on his way.

"Sorry, buddy. But I can't allow you in." He gave the rocker a smile. "Especially some dinclesplat like you."

"A dincle-what?"

Suddenly the koala gave him a murderous look. "I know who you are Lance. So don't even think about getting close to Ash again. She's doing way better than she ever has and you are not going to take advantage of that."

Two words. Bull. Shit. "Hey, buddy, if you have your eye on my girl—"

"She's no one's girl except her own. She only chooses to share herself a bit with the boy she loves—and no, that's not you. I meant someone who actually respects her and loves and listens to her opinions rather than shutting her up."

"Now just wait a second-!"

Buster interrupted. "First of all. She's a strong, independent girl who needs no one to give her the thumbs up to do things. Secondly, I'm not interested in her. I only look out for her and make sure some punk boy like you doesn't hurt one of the best performers I've seen. Thirdly, if I see you come back here or even as much as look at Ash that way—oh, yeah, buddy, I saw you, I also know that you keep following her every time she goes home—I'll call the police and put up charges of sexual harassment and, oh I don't know, I have a couple of friends in jail, gorillas actually and especially their boss, that might just give you a piece of their mind for messing with their boss's son's girlfriend." He gave a dark chuckle. "Boy, they will be pissed off…" Buster gave him a satisfied smile when he saw the porcupine tremble a bit. "You get one last chance, kid. Take it or leave it."

Lance snapped out of it. He was not going to be intimidated by some adorable koala that could pass up as a fuzzy wuzzy teddy bear! "That girl is mine! Mine! No one else! So you better back off, eucalyptus eater!"

Buster glared. "I'll take offence on that one. I like eucalyptus sandwiches!"

"I don't care! She's coming with me and she will do as I say!"

Buster stared and glared. He sighed and placed his writing pad on the table beside him and rolled up his sleeves. "I really didn't want to do this kid…"

Lance stared.

He curled his hand into a fist. "But you leave me no choice."

OOO

Buster entered the theater looking normal. Except he kept wincing and shaking his hand. "Hey, Buster!" Ash called up from the stage.

"Yes, Ash?"

"On my last date with Johnny, he suggested about performing my new song on the next show and I thought it was a good idea. Do you think I could?"

Buster smiled. "You, Ash, perform as many original songs as you like."

Ash smiled but later frowned when she noticed him shaking his hand to relieve some pain. "What happened to your hand?"

"Oh, this?" He smiled. "Something slammed into my fist while taking out the trash."

The next day, the dreadful porcupine returned, but this time, he barged in right in the middle of a group rehearsal when Lance ran towards the stage. Ash gasped. "Lance!?" Johnny took her hand; the gesture seemed to relax the porcupine.

Lance's right eye was completely shut and purple. "Ash! Baby! Please come back! I'm really sorry!"

Ash couldn't process what he just said; she was too focused on the state of his face. "What happened to you?" She asked out of shock.

He pointed at Buster's back. "He's what happened!"

The cast gasped and turned to see Buster. The koala wasn't wearing his blue suit jacket and he turned around his chair to stare at the beaten porcupine. He was also drinking some kind of smoothie with a greenish color. "I don't know what you're talking about, buddy." He kept drinking his smoothie.

Lance glared and stepped closer. "You did this to me!" He pointed at his face.

Buster seemed to think about it. "I don't think so. But I do remember that something slammed on my fist when I took out the trash yesterday." He gave him another innocent smile and continued to drink his smoothie. "But apparently, that trash is really stubborn and doesn't know what's best for itself." He signaled his smoothie. "This is eucalyptus, by the way."

Lance glanced at the cast and then at the koala. "You can't just—"

Buster held up a hand. "Trespassing of private property is illegal and I can add it to your crime list too." He smiled.

Lance was about to snap back but the koala beat him up to it. Buster dropped his ears in annoyance. "Unless you want me to pair up your other eye, I suggest you go before I call the police." And he drank his smoothie.

Lance's only other functioning eye widened. He will admit it now. He was absolutely, totally, terrified of a fuzzy koala. A koala! With fluffy ears! "Um…" He glanced at Ash and gulped. If that gorilla was her boyfriend, then he really did not want to keep this up. Much less with a koala with a killer right hook that could be downright intimidating when he wanted to. "Bye." He stormed off in terror. He was probably better off with Becky.

Buster smiled and turned to the cast. "What?"

"Dude…" Eddie commented. "I knew you worked out but I didn't know you were strong enough to mess up his face!" He laughed.

Buster shook his head. "I was just taking out the trash, Eddie." He glanced at Ash and smiled. She smiled back. "Someone had to."

Hi! Just clarify, I'm pretty sure Buster is around forty or something. Because, really. He can't be that young. Anyway, I always saw his relationship with Ash more fatherly instead of romantic and that's where I got my idea for this fic.