I don't own Animal Crossing, or it's characters!
Warning: This is a sequel. If you haven't read another story of mine, Her Crystal Ball, then this may not make much sense, as this chapter picks up from the middle of the last chapter from HCB.
Chapter I: Introduction; Just Maybe
–
Saturday
Evening Hours
Carniven City
–
Tom examined the bustle of the city with amused eyes. Never before had he seen it so busy and alive with people; it seemed like each year they celebrated the fireworks festival, more and more animals showed up each time. Of course, he loved any festival in general, as they were usually the perfect times to make bells. Though it seemed he would be falling short on participation that year.
"That's what I get for blackmailing Labelle," he muttered to himself, chuckling in amusement. He thought over his recent deal with the porcupine – she would be working with him for the duration of the time that Gracie was remodeling the store, but he wondered how long that would really take. He should have asked her to pay him in return for helping her instead of just dragging her to the silly festival, but it was all the same. She wouldn't have been able to pay up much, anyways.
She needed the rent bells after all, and he wasn't that cold-hearted. Walking over towards the set of buildings that led to the stores connected with Katrina's fortune shop, he caught a glimpse of the black cat slipping outside for a breath of fresh air. From what he'd heard people saying, she'd been hiding out a lot of the day. A few animals would swear she was casting spells on people, whilst others just seemed to think she was sleeping.
Really, he didn't know why everyone got so worked up with gossip in the city. It was like being in an overcrowded women's society or something. Besides, he wasn't old enough to be interested in other people's lives, not even close.
Heaving a sigh, he pushed himself off the wall and padded over to where the back cat was leaning over the railing, her eyes evoking that of a troubled look. When he walked up, it washed away though, and she smiled, friendly as ever.
"Ah, Tom. Nice to see you here. What's up?" She straightened herself, crossing her arms against her chest curiously.
"Will you be running a stand tonight? You'll probably be getting a lot of business, if so..." She nodded, laughing under her breath, but held back a response; he knew she wasn't so much in it for the bells, as she was just interested in fortune telling to begin with.
"Are you not opening a shop?"
"No, I'll be accompanying Labelle for the entire night, due to our agreement the other day." Tom fidgeted with the same old tuxedo he usually wore when in his store, not bothering to explain to her what that agreement was. "I figured since I'll be stuck with Labelle for quite a while this fall, maybe winter too, I might as well spend some more time with her. Makes sense, to be able to trust the person I'll be putting in charge of my merchandise after all."
Katrina's face twisted into a nervous one, but she didn't comment. Everyone knew that Labelle was about as hard a worker as a flower was. "Just keep in mind you're the one that asked her," she muttered, sighing heavily. "Because your opinion will change."
"I doubt that... she's not that bad, is she?" When his question was met with silence, he nodded. "Right... I trust she'll get the hang of it though. After all, I've cracked harder lazy people." He briefly stole a glance at a blue-haired human girl, desperately trying to fight off a sparkler by stomping on it. His gaze switched to Labelle, whom was also in her company.
Katrina watched him, then smiled, looking away. "She'll be a challenge for you, Tom. But I think you'll get it..."
–
Tom left Katrina once she retreated back into her house, something about drawing, and approached the porcupine, whom was just leaving the company of Lyle. He recognized him as the otter that did insurance for most of the population in this area, but he didn't know much else. Said otter turned and glanced at him before making his way back over to calm Dr. Shrunk, whom was on the verge of falling on his stomach from laughing.
"Did something happen over here?" The raccoon looked down at Labelle, curiously. She glanced up at him and pointed at Navigale. The human was about ready to hit the laughing axolotl from the looks of it, but at least it was a familiar face for Tom, though not a very welcoming one at the moment. He partially was afraid she genuinely was going to hurt him. "That sums it up."
"Pretty much!" Labelle regained herself almost instantly, jumping up with that same goofy smile on her face she always had. He chuckled, shaking his head. Silence enveloped them for a little bit, until she broke it again. "Hey, Tom, about working at your shop for a while... you're going to walk me through it, right? I mean, Navigale told me that you do deliveries and stuff, but I don't know that town very well..."
"Don't worry, I'll take care of that. As long as you get the item to the buyer, you can spend as much time getting lost as you want. Just get used to it quickly." She seemed satisfied with that answer, but still relatively worried. Well, he supposed she would be. She did fall asleep for a few days in his shop after all, which gave him an idea of what kind of worker she was. Gracie was nice to let her keep her job at all. "Don't worry about it yet," he repeated. "Besides, I'm marking up the deal. Not only do you have to stay here with me during the festival, but you will also have to act pleasant, and not worried whatsoever."
"Says Mister Prim-n-Proper raccoon," she grumbled, huffing. He rolled his eyes at her childish remark, but nonetheless tugged on her arm gently.
"I promise I will go easy on you for the first few days, okay? As long as you don't attempt to use my cash register or fall asleep on the job, we'll go paw-in-paw."
"What? So you're saying you'll be nice to me? What if your nephews get jealous, then? They'd want special treatment too!" She giggled. Tom blinked a few times, surprised. Special treatment? Is that was it really was? He just wanted to make sure she got settled in before pushing her around... then again, he hadn't cut Navigale slack at all. How odd...
"Let's just look around before it gets too dark. I'd actually like to have time to watch the fireworks... provided you don't fall asleep on me, that is," he muttered, shaking his head. Silly thoughts. Labelle responded to that with a pout. It was really amusing to him how mature and serious she could be one minute, then the next it was like she was a little kid again. Then there were times when she was tired, and she'd seem serene, when she'd fall asleep in his shop, completely undisturbed... He briefly got annoyed at himself for even noticing these things. Then again, that was part of being friends, right? Noticing the other person...
"Okay, I do not fall asleep during everything, you know!"
He stared at her, surfing back to his earlier thoughts of her coming in to his shop. He didn't know what warranted the visits, but regardless, a lot of skipping work at GracieGrace's had occurred on her part, all replaced with sleeping on his desk. "Could've fooled me." He tried not to laugh at her sulking as they continued along. His nephews were going to love this girl, he just knew it. He side-glanced at her, smiling. Yeah, he knew it.
–
Night Hours
–
Tom glared at the stuffed teddy bear Labelle held up to her, hugging it as if for dear life. "So many bells just for that? That's all you want from here?" She nodded happily, not verbally answering him for she was too busy cooing at the object. He groaned. "Honestly, you remind me of a little girl sometimes, Labelle..."
"So that's basically saying you think I'm cute, right?" He almost tripped over his own feet, barely catching himself before he fell forward. Labelle's eyes widened, then she sighed. "I-I was kidding! Geez, calm down, Tom... Sometimes YOU remind me of a little boy."
He looked annoyed at first, then his expression was replaced with a calm smile. "Okay, okay, point taken. It was your own fault."
"I-It was not-!" She cut off, jumping as a loud whistle shot off into the air, followed by a loud boom. Practically latching onto Tom's arm, he had to side step to avoid her quills, sighing in relief when they missed him by less than an inch.
"It's just the fireworks. I guess we didn't notice the time, huh? We've been walking around that long?" He rubbed his eyes, watching as color after color began to explode in the sky. Labelle froze beside him, staring up as well. They were still back towards where GracieGrace was, not exactly up close to them, but they were still bright and noticeable, nonetheless. He stood there watching them calmly, keeping track of how many went off.
Once he got his feel of counting, he looked down at the porcupine, whom had forgotten to unlatch herself from him, and sighed. He really didn't get how their sudden friendship had formed, to tell the truth. Out of nowhere, she began to hang out with him at his shop, and now somehow they were at the festival together like they'd been best friends since they first met. He had been fully convinced she found him weird...
He glanced down at the teddy bear again. It'd been a long time since he'd bought a gift for anyone, aside from the tuxedos for his nephews. He didn't know whether to mourn over the lost bells or feel good that she was having a nice time, despite the suddenness of the situation.
Perhaps he'd been too pushy, telling her to come with him in order to get a temporary job at Nook's. He could have just come on his own to sell stuff. That probably would have been more beneficial.
"Labelle?" He drew her attention away from the fireworks, and she noticed she still had ahold of his arm. Letting out a nervous laugh, she released him and took a step to the side, awkwardly staring at air. "When would you like to start work?"
She stared at him, then smiled, clasping her paws together. "Immediately! You promised me you'd let me start immediately. Besides, I have a rent payment to make this month, so without GracieGrace there for my pay checks, you better get me in there fast."
He smiled back at her and turned his attention to the fireworks once more, whilst she continued to examine him. "Then you start tomorrow at ten. My shop is on the farthest east side of Karnia. Don't be late." He heard her giggle contently, and the sound made his ear twitch.
Maybe, just maybe, he wouldn't regret hiring her as much as he thought he would.
As always, the first chapter is nothing special. Just filling you in on what happened between them during the last chapter of Her Crystal Ball. No fluff yet, I'm sorry. Gotta build it up! But we have no love triangle to get in the way this time. xD Fluff will make more appearances because of that. ...Love me some fluff.~
If you are a return reader of mine, welcome back. If not, and you feel lost, do yourself a favor and go find all the Labelle/Tom sections in some chapters of HCB. I swear, they will clear so much of this chapter up. xD They're short and easy to read, promise!
Sorry for the uneventful first chapter. As per usual with all my stories, 'tis not until the second chapter when things start getting on track. I don't know if it's cause the number one just hates me or what, but... :"D
Yay for this wonderful crack-pairing that I thought of randomly while writing HCB! Now they get their own story... and thus, we're back at the beginning, ladies and gentlemen. x)
-Matron of Madness.
