Challenge: Hectic Life

Pairing(s): Danny x Erik

Summary: When Danny's little siblings suddenly appear on his doorstep one day he has more than a hand-full to worry about.

Ch.1: Delivery

The Trail, 2:30pm

Two pairs of small feet trotted down the well-worn trail, each leaving behind a find imprint of sopping wet leaves and snapped twigs. The taller of the pair, a girl with dark blonde hair, indigo eyes and a large backpack strapped over one shoulder, shaded her eyes from the sun to peer over a hill. "How much farther do you think it will be, Raposa?" she questioned to her partner, a boy with similar features standing at her shoulder.

"I don't…know… Ah, Perra, let's take a rest," he panted, trying to lean on his sister only for her to march forward yet again.

The girl sent him a weary look, "If you rest now, we'll never get there." Raposa opened his mouth to protest when she let out a loud cry, "Wait! I see it!"

"What village? I don't see anything," whined Raposa, squinting ahead. He silently dreaded having to walk to such a faraway place without even stopping to eat.

"I don't want to spend another night out in the woods," said the girl, fastening the bag against her back and quickening her pace. "And no, we're not stopping for lunch."

"B-but—sis!"

Trampoli, 4:40pm

Eggplant, Carrot, Spinach, Eggplant, Carrot…

So many choices, Erik mused, glancing from seed bag to seed bag. With a flip of his short brown hair, he fixed his eyes on the produce, well aware of the impatient woman behind the counter.

"Come on, Erik. Are you going to make up your mind or are we going to stand around all night?" asked Rosetta, albeit more playfully than with her other customers. He was a regular ever since she opened shop and very much appreciated his company.

Erik smiled, "I wouldn't mind being around you all night, dear." His arms folded together and he shifted from one leg to another. His engaging manner of movement claimed fame among the women of Trampoli.

Rosetta blushed deeply, almost unable to retort. Despite his unabated flirtatiousness, she didn't mind talking with Erik. Just then an idea hit her; oh, she knew just how to deal with this nuisance. The blonde leaned forward, placing her chin in the palms of her hands and grinning seductively, "Hmm, I might take you up on that offer."

Almost immediately the man stumbled backwards, as if struck by a raging Buffamoo. He blushed wildly, mouth gaping wide open, "I—Uhh, I can't—"

The woman sighed, retaining her composure, "You see, this is why you don't have a girlfriend."

"…I have plenty of g-girlfriends, what are you talking about…" the man stuttered, racking his brain for a better rejoinder. Luckily, he didn't have to bear the shame for long, for two little distractions barged straight through the door and right into his back.

"Ouch, mister! Who told you to stand right in front of the door?" an angry little voice cried from behind.

Erik stepped to the side, revealing two short tots, a girl and an even littler boy. They weren't familiar in the least but both looked right tired nonetheless. He leaned over with a gentle smile, "Are you two lost? Where are your parents, princess?"

The girl grimaced, "My name ain't Princess, it's Perra." Ignoring the former's laughter, she glanced about the store. "Does our big brother work here?"

Erik tilted his head, before giving Rosetta an accusing look, the woman promptly glaring right back at him.

Rosetta leaned over the counter to get a better look at them. "You two look familiar….You wouldn't happen to belong to…Danny, would you?"

Perra, her usually sour expression lit up. "You know Danny? So he works here?"

"Yes! He promised he would make the best grocery ever! He really did it!" exclaimed the young boy, swinging his hands together with his sister's.

The scene was almost too sweet to break up, but alas, someone had to do it. Erik looked to Rosetta, who only shook her head furiously as if to say she knew nothing. The brunette gulped, feeling beads of sweat slide down his forehead. "Well, children… Your brother does work in a store, but it isn't this one." The celebration ended abruptly as two pairs of round, questioning eyes directed themselves upward. Sighing, Erik pointed toward the door, "Let me take you to him."

It was true; Rosetta's store far outshined any other store in Trampoli—the only other store in Trampoli. Erik led them directly next door to the shady, bland looking building with barrels of something foul. They must have seen far too many rainy days, Erik grimaced. He did shop here every once in a while, if only to keep that helpless owner alive. "Here," he swept his arm across its breadth, "is your brother's very own store."

Perra and Raposa let out a collective sigh, as if they'd been expecting this the entire time. The girl's eyes turned fiery, "Alright, where Is he?" She marched right in, not surprised in the least to find the shelves nearly barren and the floor perfectly un-swept. In fact, everything could do with more than a little dusting.

"Big brother?" called the boy, Raposa, inching toward the stairs.

Erik felt a little sorry for them. He opened began to open his mouth and offer some consolation when a thunderous pounding alerted them to a presence upstairs. In no time a tall, thin blonde man appeared, racing down the stairs with all the grace of a drunken Wooly. His deep indigo eyes were wild with a tone to match, "What are you two doing here?"

The farmer nearly stumbled backwards at the sudden outburst. He'd never seen Danny get this angry.

His tirade didn't last long. Before long the two sprites were under his apron scowling and bickering. The voices got louder and louder until the brunette finally couldn't take it. Gently, he grabbed the kids by the shoulder and yanked them away from their bewildered brother. "Please, stop fighting and tell me what's going on."

Danny took a minute to calm his nerves before pulling a severely crumpled sheet of paper from his back pocket. He waved it over his head, "I got a letter from pops asking if you came here! How could you leave without saying a word?"

"We did! We wrote you a letter!" countered Perra, looking as though she were backed into a corner.

"Not me—Pops!" Danny clenched his teeth trying to refrain from yelling. When the kids began to tear up, he knew he couldn't continue. Sighing in defeat, he shoved the letter back into his pocket, resigning to sending his folks good word the next morning. "I don't have much room, but you can put your things upstairs."

The kids went from bleak to joyful in a matter of seconds, racing to the top of the stairs despite having been disappointed with their brother only minutes earlier.

Erik couldn't help but watch the whole scene from the corner with a hand over his mouth.

"What are you laughing at," groaned Danny, not really wanting a reply.

The brunette moved his hand away while trying his best not to chuckle. "I didn't know you had a brother and sister," he said.

Danny scratched his neck, not knowing whether to feel happy or embarrassed. Opting to avoid the awkwardness altogether, he hopped behind the dusty counter, leaning with his back toward his friend. "Yeah, big surprise, isn't it? You going to buy something? I have to close shop soon."

'Why is everyone so impatient?' Erik wondered, figuring he may as well since he'd come to the trouble of bringing over the lost tots. If only the selection weren't so poor… "Give me three carrot seeds," he muttered, not even bothering to check the quality. The blonde shopkeeper carelessly tossed the bags across the counter, sending the seeds almost scattering onto the floor. Erik Collected them with mock apprehension. "You can at least pretend not to hate me."

Danny appeared bored as ever, not through any fault of the farmer. He stared at Erik pointedly, throwing out a feeble attempt at a conversation. "So you're an only child?"

Erik fell silent, not quite sure how to answer the question. He gathered the seeds and piled them atop one arm, scanning his mind for any sort of reply. It wasn't often that he talked about his family life.

Noticing the silence, Danny sighed, "Nevermind. I'm closing up!"

"Take care," said Erik pleasantly, making for the door when a strong hand gripped his arm. His entire body froze over with an alien anxiety.

"Hey, thanks for bring them over here," said Danny, genuinely smiling.

Erik nodded his head, not looking behind him, "I didn't mind. They're good kids."

Danny stared at his back with puzzlement as the brunette quickly ducked out of the store. He shook his head, locking the door before heading upstairs to harass his siblings.

Afterword

That's it for tonight. This story is part of a challenge between CloudKitsune17 and myself where we each picked a specific pairing for the other to write, and we must write one chapter per day for a week; meaning this story will be exactly 7 chapter long and will be updated every day until it is complete! However, I'm not posting it in its entirety here: you can find it at our website PKcute, which you can find on my bio. =)