day 8 - shopping
"Ahh, look how cute this is!" Mary squeaked, holding up a plush toy shaped like a baby seal. She spun around in the aisle of the store, reveling in the adorable toy.
"It is, but we hafta concentrate on getting the things Kido said—" Seto cautioned, and Mary's face fell. She turned the stuffed animal over in her hands, looking into its sewn-on beaded eyes.
"I guess…" she replied, giving it a sad squeeze as she prepared to put it back.
Seto's heart ached at the sight, and he sighed. "…Okay, okay, we'll get the seal," he gave in, motioning for her to put it in the cart. Mary immediately brightened and set the toy down in the mostly-empty basket.
"What's next?" she asked, ducking under his arm to stand on the bar between the back wheels, clutching the handle. It made it a little heavier and harder to push, but he'd rather have her here than off who knows where in the store.
"Uhhh, I think we're out of salt," he replied, fumbling in his pocket for the list. He didn't find it, and let go of the cart to check his other pockets. "Oops, I think we might have left the list at home," he said sheepishly. "We can remember it though, I think. Right, salt!" He pushed the cart a little further down the aisle.
They didn't get far, however, before Mary hopped off the cart again, skittering across the aisle, and he stopped again. "Seto, look!" This time she was showing him a box of pastries, with little icing swirls on top. "Can we get them? I'll share them with you!"
That was pretty generous of her, considering it was his paycheck they were going shopping with. But her eyes were shining with excitement, and he chuckled. "Sure," he replied. She deserved a reward for being brave enough to come out in public like this, right?
Ten minutes later, and the cart was filled with sweets, and lacked almost anything that they actually needed. But adding it up in his head as best as he was able, Seto figured they were nearing their budget.
"I think we're done," he said finally, as Mary put a box of meringues in the cart. She pouted.
"Already? Shopping with you is wayyy more fun than it is by myself…" She sounded genuinely put out, but Seto knew better than to fall for that.
"I'm glad you're having fun," he said cheerfully as he steered them over to the check out counters, "but remember that we gotta haul all this stuff back to the base too." Her face immediately fell, and he wished he could just give in to fix that as well— summon a car or a magic carpet or a horse-drawn carriage to make her smile. But that wasn't as simple a task.
At the check out counter, he found out he'd been right— they only just had enough money for their groceries. They paid, and when it came time to carry the bags home, Mary took a bag in either hand and Seto picked up the remaining four, worrying as he watched her struggle with her load.
They left the store and headed towards home. It wasn't long before Mary lagged behind, and Seto stopped, shifting the bags to one hand. "Lemme carry them," he offered, reaching for the bags.
"I'm fine," she protested, her face red from effort. He took her bags anyway.
"I can carry you too," he offered, seeing how exhausted she was, and she shifted from foot to foot, obviously reluctant to burden him further. "Here's a deal," he added, "you carry your seal and I'll carry you."
Mary brightened up and rummaged in the bags until she found the fluffy white toy, and then he crouched so she could climb onto his back. She clutched the seal in one hand and locked both arms around his neck, and he lifted her easily.
They headed home like that, and Mary fell asleep quickly, exhausted from their trip outdoors. She didn't even wake up when they got back to the base and Kido scolded them for not getting any of the things they needed.
Seto waited until Kido stopped shouting and then went to go tuck Mary in, impressed by the fact that she managed to hold onto the seal the entire time.
