Heart of Patchwork

Chapter 3: The Man at the Door

The next afternoon, Kitsune sat on the couch with Norman as they watched a mystery crime show together. Lily watched them from the kitchen, finding entertainment in how excited they got when their various theories were correct. She fought back the urge to laugh as Kitsune cheered. "See, I TOLD you Adam was the culprit! I told you!"

Norman snickered, ruffling her hair. "Yeah, yeah, you told me." He admitted. It was fun, seeing this side of her come out. He was glad that she had started to open up this quickly. It was a lot easier to see this side when she was doing something she enjoyed.

Lily hummed to herself, making some chocolate oatmeal cookies. Placing the little scoops of cookie dough onto the cooking sheet aligned with tinfoil, she paused as she heard a knock on the front door. "I'll get it!" She called, walking into the entryway.

Norman paused the movie as him and Kitsune watched Lily walk into the entrance hallway- one was expectant, and the other was curious. "Chris is here." Norman informed the redhead. "O-Oh, yay!" Kitsune chirped, albeit rather nervous. She always got super shy when it came to meeting new people.

Lily was heard opening the door. "Hi, Chris! Come on in!" She greeted. A smooth and deeper voice replied to her. "Hello, Lily. Thank you." Soon enough, Lily and who Kitsune had known to be Chris walked in.

And right then, Kitsune's anxiousness skyrocketed.

Compared to her, the man was quite tall. Six feet, if she had to guess. His pure white skin was flawless, and his white hair was neat and looked to be quite fluffy. Black eyeliner was delicately applied over his beautiful silver eyes. His waist seemed to be twisted completely around, but he didn't seem to be in any pain. His outfit was rather fancy for everyday attire- a black vest with a gray collar covered a majority of his white dress shirt. A black tie was also concealed from the vest. The suit-like appearance was completed with his dark gray dress pants and black dress shoes.

Needless to say, Kitsune was somewhat intimidated.

"Hey Chris." Norman greeted the taller male, raising a hand. "Hello, Norman... Who's that beside you?" Chris asked, eyes looking over at Kitsune.

Norman patted the redhead as he stood up, pulling her to her feet. "This is Kitsune. Lily and I took her in yesterday. She's kinda shy, but she's nice." He stated before gently nudging Kitsune closer to Chris.

"C'mon, Kit, introduce yourself." He gently pushed. Nervously, Kitsune held her hand out for Chris to shake it. "N-Nice to meet you, Chris.. N-Norman and L-Lily told me a-about you." She said.

Chris smiled a little, taking her slightly smaller hand in his and giving it a shake. "It's a pleasure to meet you, Kitsune. I do hope I'm not intimidating you too much." He stated.

"Y-You can tell?" Kitsune asked. "Your voice and rigid posture gave it away." Chris remarked, before holding her hand up a little higher. "I do look forward to getting to know you more, dear." He added, giving a small kiss to the top of her hand.

Kitsune's brain absolutely misfired, her face going a bright red. She tried to say something, but all that came out was incomprehensible stuttering. The taller male chuckled a bit. She was cute.

"Alright, Chris, calm down with the charm. You're gonna make her faint." Norman stated, guiding Kitsune back to the couch. "I apologize, I couldn't resist. Anyways..." Chris dug into his vest pocket and pulls two things out.

"Here. I figured you and Lily would like these." He said, handing the unknown objects to Norman. Looking down, Norman realizing they were two pins. One of which was a lily, the other was a moth. "I got a shipment for the antique shop earlier and the week, and I found these. I thought you two would want them." He explained.

"Aww, thanks Chris! That's sweet of you!" Lily chirped. Kitsune perked up a little. "A-Antique shop?" She repeated.

"Ah, yes. You see, I own an antique shop. I take it you have an interest in that type of thing?" Chris explained before asking. Kitsune excitedly nodded. "I-I've always wanted to go in one." She stated.

"Well in that case, would you like to see the one I work in?" Chris asked. Kitsune fidgeted with her fingers. "I-If it's ok with Norman and Lily, and I'm not a bother..." She said, silently glancing at Norman and Lily as though she were a little girl asking her parents' permission to play with a puppy.

"Sure thing!" "Fine by me." Lily and Norman said in turn. "Don't worry about being a bother, either. I most certainly wouldn't mind the company." Chris stated, giving a gentle smile.

"O-Ok then! I'll go!" Kitsune chirped, straightening out her black sundress. "Then let's go." Chris said, before glancing at Norman. "Don't worry, I'll have her back by eight." He joked, as him and Kitsune left the house. Kitsune smiled to herself.

They were going to get along- that of which she was sure.