Chapter 20

Chaun Patrick

"Ah! Toothiana! What a pleasure to have you here, it´s been too long!" said the sturdy man. He stood up quickly and beckoned her in just as the assistants made their way out, clutching new assignment folders. Bunny´s head jerked up to look at her when her name was mentioned, but he remained silently seated as she floated in to greet Chaun.

"Hi Chaun, it´s so nice to see you! Busy day?" she asked as she shook his warm hand.

"Very busy, just the way we like it!" he said. He wasn´t terribly short; about her same height.

"You know; this is the first time I´ve had so many Guardians in my office in one day. What fun it´s been! What brings you in today, my dear? More boxes, perhaps?"

Tooth let out a sigh.

"Yes, a few million replacement boxes. Pitch Black damaged quite a few of them just recently; did you hear?"

Chaun furrowed his brow in concern. "I did indeed. Nickolas told me just hours ago. Are you recovering alright?" his green-clad suit rustled as he pulled another chair close to his desk and beckoned her to sit.

"No need to worry, my fairies and I are fine. It´s just a few boxes that need to be replaced," she said, sitting down.

"Yes, it seems the Boogeyman did quite the number on all of you this time" said Chaun seriously. He was now sitting in his chair and motioning to Tooth and someone next to her.

Oh wait, Bunny´s here too!

Tooth turned to look at her friend, chiding herself for not having greeted him. He was still reading a stack of papers in his hand, but he glanced up and nodded once at her when he noticed her stare. Then he went promptly back to his reading.

I wonder if he´s still upset about what happened. . .

"I must admit, I´m surprised he was able to do such damage so quickly. It´s unnerving, even for someone who wasn´t directly involved. He must have been planning this for several decades. Ruined boxes, Mr. Bunnymund´s lost holiday, North´s broken leg, it´s all quite unexpected!"

"Oh, well North actually broke his leg after the battle, but he probably didn´t mention that part, did he?" laughed Tooth.

Chaun laughed loudly at this too. "No, he didn´t, sly dog! I´ll have to call him out for that next time we meet for drinks!"

Their laughter was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing their throat. Both turned to the only other occupant, who looked back with two unimpressed eyebrows.

"I hate to interrupt, but I am on a schedule."

Tooth blushed, realizing her bad manners. "Oh, I´m so sorry Bunny! I should have waited until you were finished. Just pretend I´m not here!"

Mr. Patrick put his business face back on, turned his attention to his client and apologized.

"Pardon me, Mr. Bunnymund. Your partners, especially Tooth and I, do get along to chatting quite easily. Is there anything else you would like to alter?"

"Yes. I want the equipment delivered before the end of the month; the window of delivery must be between 5 and 7, not 5 and 10; and I want it clear that if any of the products do not meet my standards, I will refuse them and I expect a full refund of equal or greater value if that is the case."

Mr. Patrick tapped his pen on his desk, shrugged, and made a note on his own stack of papers. "I´m sure we can manage that. Anything else?"

"Now that my side is settled, I want you to know what your price is."

"Well, considering the unexpected nature of your order. . . the rush. . . and the delivery. . ." said Mr. Patrick as he scribbled some things down on a separate paper, "20 liters," he said, looking up. "In quarterly payments, of course."

The left corner of Bunny´s lips curved upwards slowly.

"Not a chance. You know how high the demand is; I could get everything I need elsewhere and not pay more than 13,000 gold pieces. I´ll give you 1,000 milliliters, max."

That´s a lot of money, thought Tooth. And there´s a big difference between 1 and 20 liters. Liters of what?

"Milliliters, Mr. Bunnymund?"

"That is correct."

"I´ll admit, 20 is my wishful thinking, but to go down to 1 single liter is quite a drop."

Bunnymund´s posture didn´t waver in the least, making Tooth doubt that even an eyelid batted from behind his glasses.

"It is a 95% drop, in fact," he said simply.

The Leprechaun steepled his fingers and narrowed his eyes.

"It is extremely valuable, I agree. . . But, doing business with me is less work and less time consuming for you. . . How about we meet halfway? 10 liters?"

"Halfway would be 9,500 milliliters, which is still more than the 1,000 I´m offering."

Mr. Patrick shifted in his seat, one hand now tapping at his lips.

"I know you´re a busy person, Mr. Bunnymund. I don´t want you to have to walk away from all the work we´ve done here. How about 8?"

Bunny raised his eyebrows and shook his head slowly. The slight smile was still in place.

I´ve never seen Chaun so jumpy before. He´s usually more than happy to walk away from a deal he doesn´t like, thought Tooth. And who knew Bunny was such a stickler for negotiation?

"6?"

Bunny shook his head again.

"You yourself told me how many of your customers request it every month, so there is no risk to you when it comes to making a profit, regardless of how many milliliters we agree upon. Compared to most of your clients, I am not asking you for much, and you and I both know you can make well over 13,000 gold pieces from 1,000 milliliters if you play your cards right. Just last month I sold 250 for 5,000 gold pieces, and that was without a haggle."

He raised an eyebrow.

"In light of the numbers, my offer is extremely generous. 1,000 milliliters Mr. Patrick, take it or leave it; I don't have all day."

Tooth could now hear Chaun´s foot tapping the ground as he drummed his fingers on the desk and stroked his neat moustache with the other hand.

Meanwhile, Bunny stretched his neck casually and checked his pocket watch, raising an eyebrow at the small metal hands.

"Tell you what, leave it at 1,000, and write up a contract saying I´ll sell only to you for the next two years."

Mr. Patrick froze.

Bunnymund continued nonchalantly.

"You´ll have the monopoly, and you can charge whatever you want for it until the contract is finished."

"Done!"

Bunnymund smiled, just a bit.

"Done," he said, standing to shake hands with the leprechaun.

"I think this is just the beginning of a very profitable arrangement for both of us," said Chaun.

Bunny merely raised an eyebrow and changed the subject.

"In light of this deal, I certainly hope not to receive any more calls from the little birdies of how anxious you are to meet me," he said smoothly.

Chaun chuckled as his new vendor turned to gather his things. His cheeks were turning red, matching his hair.

"You uh, wouldn´t by chance be able to give me the first payment today, would you Sir?"

Bunny pushed his watch back into his pocket.

"I could get it to you within a few hours. Meanwhile, you can make the contract and we´ll sign it when I come back."

Mr. Patrick smiled and rubbed his hands together. "That would be perfect. I´ll have the document finished within the hour!"

Bunny nodded to Tooth and said her name politely as he passed her and walked to the exit.

"Pleasure doing business with you, Mr. Patrick," he said as he closed the large door behind him.

"And with you, Mr. Bunnymund," answered Chaun, but the door had already clicked shut.

Tooth's wings began humming as she stared at the door and raised from her seat.

The Leprechaun let out a long exhale and looked at her.

"Well, that was certainly a rainbow ride," he said humorlessly.

"Chaun, I´ll be right back," she said as she wrenched the door open and zoomed after her friend.

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Guest: Well done, he was indeed there for business. Also, Hobby Lobby? I freaking love that place! What kinds of things do you like to draw? I´ve always wanted to be able to draw, but I haven´t put in enough practice (which is why I still haven´t finished the cover image that I had planned for this story). Hot Topic is pretty great, though I haven´t been in one in several years. Anyway, thanks for your reviews! It´s nice to know that someone is enjoying this story, so thank you for your reliable feedback.

What do you think?

1. What do you think Tooth is going to say/do, and do you think it´s a good idea?

2. Liters of what?

3. What do you think is Bunny´s opinion of Chaun? And the reverse?

4. Have you ever been in Tooth´s position before, where two of your friends from different areas of your life have just met each other? What happened?