Little Ms Berry

Juniper Moreau || Donkey-skin || 22 || Cleaner and Busgirl

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

quillantheelder:

“Okay…” he trailed off, frowning still at the way she was avoiding looking at him.  He had thought they were finally making progress with their friendship, but now she couldn’t even look at him.  “Well, I won’t make you stay, obviously.  I hope to see you and Ashes again soon.  I wouldn’t want the toys and food I plan on getting for her to go unused.”

“They - they won’t.” She still had a job to do after all. She’d find a way around it. Perhaps by coming in extremely early. Or perhaps very late. She took one last quick glimpse at him and felt her heart sing for a moment, before she began to make her exit.

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

quillantheelder:

Rian’s smile dropped a bit, his eyes widening at her words.  “Oh, um, okay.  Did I do something wrong?”

“No. I just-” She shook her head and averted her gaze. She didn’t want to look at him. Not right now. It made her chest feel uneasy. “No.”

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

quillantheelder:

“She does,” he agreed, smiling over at the sight of them.  “You deserve the best too, you know.”

She let out a quiet noncommittal squeak, the blush continuing to pump on her cheeks. “I- I need to- to go.”

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

quillantheelder:

“I’ll have to run out and get a bag for the office.  That and the castle of course.  Only the best for Ashes,” he declared, nodding certainly.

She stooped down and picked up her furry friend, offering a little scratch that she leaned her head into. “She deserves it,” she muttered quietly.

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

quillantheelder:

“You have a lovely smile,” he told her, his own softening before his attention returned to the cat she had brought in.  “What sort of treats does she like?  If I want her to like me, I better have something I can bribe her with,” he joked.

She felt the blush flood her cheeks, her head stooping ever lower and her gaze returning firmly to the cat, in hopes she could pretend she’d never heard it. “She just - she... you know... the ones in the cat aisle. I think the packet - it - it might be pink.”

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

quillantheelder:

“Well I wouldn’t dream of being scary around you.  Clearly I’m not very good at it either,” he pointed out, his grin remaining firmly planted on his lips.

She laughed, lips pressed softly together, and shook her head.

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

quillantheelder:

The giggle was like music to his ears, and even though he couldn’t see the smile, the knowledge that he had elicited a smile drew one of his own.  “I’ll have to work on that.  I can’t have anyone undermining me when it comes to the precious cat I want to be able to roam free in this office.”

She let out a warm sigh and shook her head slightly. “I- I think i prefer you... not scary.”

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

quillantheelder:

“No?” he asked, unable to stop the chuckle that followed.  He turned to her and put on his most intimidating face, even adding in some growling.  “How was that?”

She let out a soft giggle and shook her head, hiding it so only the floor could see her smile. “Hm. Still not- not scary.”

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

stan-the-wo-man:

“I’m not going to push you. You do you. But I’d like to see the real you. I bet she’s fun.”

“This is the real me... now.”

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

quillantheelder:

“Well, if it’s in my office, I don’t know who could object.  I do have some pull being on the town council, after all,” he pointed out, shooting a wink her way.  “And anyone who objects will have me to deal with.  I can be very intimidating when I need to be.”

She shook her head. “I- I don’t think I can believe that...” She replied softly. He didn’t have the face of a man that could intimidate a bunny. At least, not that she saw.

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

stan-the-wo-man:

“Still, I think I prefer this over hiding anyday. It’s shit having to monitor yourself every minute of the day.” 

“I just- I think it’s-it’s safest... for me.”

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

quillantheelder:

He could tell she didn’t quite believe him, and that was okay.  Rian had no intention of abandoning her, especially now that he knew who she truly was.  He felt a bit of shame knowing that she had gone through so much back home and he hadn’t even thought to try to protect her.  He wasn’t going to make that mistake again.  “You know, maybe we should get one of those cat castles in here.  For Ashes to play on.  What do you think?”

Her face lit up at the idea. “Do you really- really think we could? They’d allow it?” She asked in a hopeful, almost excited voice. She wasn’t sure who ‘they’ was, but it encompassed anyone higher on the scale than him or, rather, anyone who might be offended by the idea.

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

stan-the-wo-man:

“Yeah. I’m hardly the poster child for being yourself. It didn’t get me anything good.”

She let out a quiet, non-committal hum.

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

stan-the-wo-man:

“I started sleeping with men and dressing like a woman.” Stan said, shrugging, “That wasn’t really the done thing in France at the time.”

“Oh. I- I guess that’s... a change.”

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

quillantheelder:

Rian’s heart fell at her words, his hand reaching over and easing into hers before squeezing gently.  “Hey, you are not broken.  You might feel that way, but if you were truly broken, you would not have the capacity to love Ashes, or to keep pushing forward each day.  You are far stronger than you think you are, but I can see it.  You don’t need to be fixed.  You just need to remember what makes you great, and I will happily remind you until you do.”

She met his eye for a moment, returning his squeeze. She didn’t believe him. But she didn’t want to protest too much. It was nice that he was trying. It made her feel fuzzy. Not that she could remember what the real her was supposed to be like, even if she wanted to. She’d been running for so long, she’d almost forgotten who she was before she’d left.

She let out a non-committal hum and her eyes stroked her cat’s back.

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

stan-the-wo-man:

“I know the feeling. Believe it or not I had friends before.”

“What happened to them?”

[hiding-for-a-lifetime]

quillantheelder:

“Interesting…  And what makes you say that?” he asked, quirking an eyebrow.  “Because from what I know about you, all that I know about you, I cannot find anything that would deem you unworthy of being liked.”

“Because I’m- I’m...” She brushed her eyes along the grain of the floor. “Broken. And... I don’t think it’s something you can fix.”