Popsi woos the librarian (eventually)
Aug. 20th, 2012 12:26 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
magicalondineTitle: Tea and Cake
Rating: G
Fandom: Harvest Moon: [More] Friends of Mineral Town
Pairing: Popuri/Mary
Genre: Fluff
Notes: Popuri thinks Mary could use a little time off from her librarian duties.
Done for prompt "favorite food" on![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
cottoncandy_bingo.
Popuri hadn’t been to many libraries, but she assumed that most of them were dusty and stinky. She never really cared much about books anyway, so why go somewhere to be cooped up with a bunch of them? Yet Mary seemed to enjoy spending her whole day there. The little librarian hardly even went out unless she went with her parents. Popuri thought that she needed to get her out of that stuffy library and get some fresh air.
But it wouldn’t do to just tell her that, she thought. Mary would get upset or embarrassed, because she really loved her books and her library. It would be kind of mean to say she should be doing more fun things, even if it was true…
Maybe she could just invite her out. Yeah, that would be a good idea. It was Summer 1st, and Popuri’s birthday was right around the corner – she could invite Mary to celebrate her birthday with a picnic. Satisfied by having come up with such a good idea, Popuri fell asleep that night thinking of what they could eat.
----------------------------
The next morning when Popuri arrived at the library, she was surprised to find that Mary wasn’t behind the reception desk. Instead, atop the desk there was a pile of books in a state of disarray, most of them looking old with tattered covers and pages falling out. Why would someone be checking out these old things? She wondered.
Mary was nowhere to be found on the ground floor, so Popuri headed upstairs. She was about to make it past the last few steps when a loud sneeze made her jump, nearly losing her footing. When she made it the rest of the way up the stairs and passed a few rows of books, she saw another pile of books scatted haphazardly on the floor, with a dark-haired girl sitting in the middle of them, loudly blowing her nose into a tissue.
“Mary, are you sick?” she asked, somewhat louder than intended. Mary jumped and, for some reason, tried to hide her used tissue behind her back. “Oh, uh, sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!”
“N-no, that’s alright,” Mary said quickly, standing up and brushing off the front of her long dress. The action caused a plume of dust to overwhelm her, and she sneezed even more loudly than before. The librarian reached for a few more tissues and blew her nose again, looking thoroughly embarrassed.
“I was organizing the books up here to make room for new ones, and, um, a lot of them were really dusty.” Popuri nodded gravely at this. I knew it. “I’m starting to think maybe I should have asked Gray for help, or something. There’s a lot of—“
“I’ll help!” Popuri chimed in, cutting her off so quickly Mary looked like she bit her tongue. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t want anyone else helping her friend out right now, instead of her. “I mean, if you want! What can I do?”
“Oh! In that case, thank you!” Despite being ambushed at a time when she was nearly overcome with allergies – or perhaps because of it – the librarian seemed genuinely relieved be offered some help. She adjusted her glasses and tucked her tissues into a pocket, motioning to a pile of books near her feet. “These are all going to be recycled, because they’re so old and torn up. Um, they’re really dusty, so be careful…”
Popuri wrinkled her nose. She wouldn’t like it, but for Mary, she’d at least give it a shot. Together, they began hauling the stacks of books downstairs, with frequent breaks for runny noses.
----------------------------
Overall, it didn’t take too much time to get all the recyclables downstairs and sorted into crates. But after all that, all Popuri really wanted was to take a vacuum cleaner and use the brush attachment on her dress, and she thought Mary looked like she could use it too. The other girl still hadn’t really stopped sniffling, which made her worry, but Mary assured her she was alright. At times like this when she was feeling yucky, Popuri’s mom would fix up some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, no matter what time of day it was. Popuri would like to give some to Mary, but of course there wasn’t a kitchen in the library. Would it be weird to ask her to take me over to her house so I can cook for her?
Pondering this, she sat with Mary at the reception desk while Mary sorted through some of the less tattered books. Sometimes she would pause and run her fingers over the pages, like she was absorbing the words with her hands. She seemed to be able to decide if the book was worth keeping or not very quickly, but for some books, she looked reluctant to let them go. I guess she really likes a lot of these books, even if they’re old, Popuri thought. Some of them had even been written by Mary’s father, she noticed.
They sat in relative silence for a while, long enough that when Popuri looked at the clock and realized it was 2PM, she was a little startled. No wonder she’d been dreaming of her mother’s cooking – it was past lunchtime! But she didn’t really want to leave Mary all alone just yet. It was kind of nice to sit here with her…
Both girls were surprised to hear a set of booming footsteps approach and the library door swing open none too gently, disturbing the peace. A muscular man so tall his hair nearly touched the top of the doorframe walked in. Popuri immediately recognized him as Zack, Mineral Town’s shipper and close friend of her family. She began to say something before Mary chimed in a second before her. “Zack! Thank you for comi—“
“Ah...” The man stopped in front of the desk, his face scrunched up in a strange expression. Popuri and Mary looked at him in confusion.
“Ah?” they echoed.
“Ah… AAACHOOOOO!”
That sneeze was, fortunately, caught just in time by Zack’s arm, but the sheer force of it seemed to rattle the reception desk. Or maybe that was just because Mary jumped up from her seat and frantically began gathering fistfuls of tissue.
“Oh goodness, I’m so sorry! Are you alright? Here, take these—“
Zack accepted the tissues and blew his nose in a fashion that reminded Popuri of an elephant. When he finished taking care of his nose, his expression seemed quite sheepish. “Hey, sorry about that. Wow, it’s dusty in here, isn’t it? Haha!”
“Y-yes! Sorry, it’s all these books,” Mary explained, pointing to the crates on her desk. “They’re the ones I asked you to take away for me. Popuri helped me sort them.”
Popuri shook his (clean) hand when it was extended to her, not quite matching the crushing grip, but at least trying. “Hi, Zack! Will you be okay with these?”
“Oh, this’ll be no problem! I carry things way heavier than this all the time. Uh, unless you mean the dust.” Zack scratched his head. “That might be kind of bad. But don’t worry, Mary, I’ve got it under control. You want these thrown away, right?”
“Recycled, yes,” Mary clarified, adjusting her glasses. It seemed to be a habit of hers. “Thank you, Zack. It’s a great help.”
“Not a problem! Oh, and here, your order finally came in.” All this time, Popuri had been wondering about the package he had been shifting from arm to arm, but finally he handed it to Mary. It wasn’t very large; just a cardboard box with a printed label that Popuri couldn’t make out from where she was standing. She leaned forward to try to get a look, but Mary quickly accepted it and tucked it into the cubby under her desk.
“Ah, thank you again. I was worried it would take too long.” Mary seemed to be blushing while she fumbled for her wallet and handed over a few bills and coins. “This should be the right amount, I think.”
“Yep!” Zack pocketed the money and shook Mary’s hand – a bit more gently than he did for Popuri. He then turned to the other girl and affectionately patted her head. With minimal effort, he stacked the two heavy crates of books and tucked them under his arm. “Nice to see you two! Well, I’m off for now!”
“Bye-bye!” they both called, waving to his back out of habit. Mary closed the door behind him more softly than Zack would have done, immediately restoring a sense of calm to the library as soon as the door was shut.
Rating: G
Fandom: Harvest Moon: [More] Friends of Mineral Town
Pairing: Popuri/Mary
Genre: Fluff
Notes: Popuri thinks Mary could use a little time off from her librarian duties.
Done for prompt "favorite food" on
cottoncandy_bingo.Popuri hadn’t been to many libraries, but she assumed that most of them were dusty and stinky. She never really cared much about books anyway, so why go somewhere to be cooped up with a bunch of them? Yet Mary seemed to enjoy spending her whole day there. The little librarian hardly even went out unless she went with her parents. Popuri thought that she needed to get her out of that stuffy library and get some fresh air.
But it wouldn’t do to just tell her that, she thought. Mary would get upset or embarrassed, because she really loved her books and her library. It would be kind of mean to say she should be doing more fun things, even if it was true…
Maybe she could just invite her out. Yeah, that would be a good idea. It was Summer 1st, and Popuri’s birthday was right around the corner – she could invite Mary to celebrate her birthday with a picnic. Satisfied by having come up with such a good idea, Popuri fell asleep that night thinking of what they could eat.
----------------------------
The next morning when Popuri arrived at the library, she was surprised to find that Mary wasn’t behind the reception desk. Instead, atop the desk there was a pile of books in a state of disarray, most of them looking old with tattered covers and pages falling out. Why would someone be checking out these old things? She wondered.
Mary was nowhere to be found on the ground floor, so Popuri headed upstairs. She was about to make it past the last few steps when a loud sneeze made her jump, nearly losing her footing. When she made it the rest of the way up the stairs and passed a few rows of books, she saw another pile of books scatted haphazardly on the floor, with a dark-haired girl sitting in the middle of them, loudly blowing her nose into a tissue.
“Mary, are you sick?” she asked, somewhat louder than intended. Mary jumped and, for some reason, tried to hide her used tissue behind her back. “Oh, uh, sorry! I didn’t mean to scare you!”
“N-no, that’s alright,” Mary said quickly, standing up and brushing off the front of her long dress. The action caused a plume of dust to overwhelm her, and she sneezed even more loudly than before. The librarian reached for a few more tissues and blew her nose again, looking thoroughly embarrassed.
“I was organizing the books up here to make room for new ones, and, um, a lot of them were really dusty.” Popuri nodded gravely at this. I knew it. “I’m starting to think maybe I should have asked Gray for help, or something. There’s a lot of—“
“I’ll help!” Popuri chimed in, cutting her off so quickly Mary looked like she bit her tongue. She didn’t know why, but she didn’t want anyone else helping her friend out right now, instead of her. “I mean, if you want! What can I do?”
“Oh! In that case, thank you!” Despite being ambushed at a time when she was nearly overcome with allergies – or perhaps because of it – the librarian seemed genuinely relieved be offered some help. She adjusted her glasses and tucked her tissues into a pocket, motioning to a pile of books near her feet. “These are all going to be recycled, because they’re so old and torn up. Um, they’re really dusty, so be careful…”
Popuri wrinkled her nose. She wouldn’t like it, but for Mary, she’d at least give it a shot. Together, they began hauling the stacks of books downstairs, with frequent breaks for runny noses.
----------------------------
Overall, it didn’t take too much time to get all the recyclables downstairs and sorted into crates. But after all that, all Popuri really wanted was to take a vacuum cleaner and use the brush attachment on her dress, and she thought Mary looked like she could use it too. The other girl still hadn’t really stopped sniffling, which made her worry, but Mary assured her she was alright. At times like this when she was feeling yucky, Popuri’s mom would fix up some tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches, no matter what time of day it was. Popuri would like to give some to Mary, but of course there wasn’t a kitchen in the library. Would it be weird to ask her to take me over to her house so I can cook for her?
Pondering this, she sat with Mary at the reception desk while Mary sorted through some of the less tattered books. Sometimes she would pause and run her fingers over the pages, like she was absorbing the words with her hands. She seemed to be able to decide if the book was worth keeping or not very quickly, but for some books, she looked reluctant to let them go. I guess she really likes a lot of these books, even if they’re old, Popuri thought. Some of them had even been written by Mary’s father, she noticed.
They sat in relative silence for a while, long enough that when Popuri looked at the clock and realized it was 2PM, she was a little startled. No wonder she’d been dreaming of her mother’s cooking – it was past lunchtime! But she didn’t really want to leave Mary all alone just yet. It was kind of nice to sit here with her…
Both girls were surprised to hear a set of booming footsteps approach and the library door swing open none too gently, disturbing the peace. A muscular man so tall his hair nearly touched the top of the doorframe walked in. Popuri immediately recognized him as Zack, Mineral Town’s shipper and close friend of her family. She began to say something before Mary chimed in a second before her. “Zack! Thank you for comi—“
“Ah...” The man stopped in front of the desk, his face scrunched up in a strange expression. Popuri and Mary looked at him in confusion.
“Ah?” they echoed.
“Ah… AAACHOOOOO!”
That sneeze was, fortunately, caught just in time by Zack’s arm, but the sheer force of it seemed to rattle the reception desk. Or maybe that was just because Mary jumped up from her seat and frantically began gathering fistfuls of tissue.
“Oh goodness, I’m so sorry! Are you alright? Here, take these—“
Zack accepted the tissues and blew his nose in a fashion that reminded Popuri of an elephant. When he finished taking care of his nose, his expression seemed quite sheepish. “Hey, sorry about that. Wow, it’s dusty in here, isn’t it? Haha!”
“Y-yes! Sorry, it’s all these books,” Mary explained, pointing to the crates on her desk. “They’re the ones I asked you to take away for me. Popuri helped me sort them.”
Popuri shook his (clean) hand when it was extended to her, not quite matching the crushing grip, but at least trying. “Hi, Zack! Will you be okay with these?”
“Oh, this’ll be no problem! I carry things way heavier than this all the time. Uh, unless you mean the dust.” Zack scratched his head. “That might be kind of bad. But don’t worry, Mary, I’ve got it under control. You want these thrown away, right?”
“Recycled, yes,” Mary clarified, adjusting her glasses. It seemed to be a habit of hers. “Thank you, Zack. It’s a great help.”
“Not a problem! Oh, and here, your order finally came in.” All this time, Popuri had been wondering about the package he had been shifting from arm to arm, but finally he handed it to Mary. It wasn’t very large; just a cardboard box with a printed label that Popuri couldn’t make out from where she was standing. She leaned forward to try to get a look, but Mary quickly accepted it and tucked it into the cubby under her desk.
“Ah, thank you again. I was worried it would take too long.” Mary seemed to be blushing while she fumbled for her wallet and handed over a few bills and coins. “This should be the right amount, I think.”
“Yep!” Zack pocketed the money and shook Mary’s hand – a bit more gently than he did for Popuri. He then turned to the other girl and affectionately patted her head. With minimal effort, he stacked the two heavy crates of books and tucked them under his arm. “Nice to see you two! Well, I’m off for now!”
“Bye-bye!” they both called, waving to his back out of habit. Mary closed the door behind him more softly than Zack would have done, immediately restoring a sense of calm to the library as soon as the door was shut.
