Heart of Patchwork

Chapter 5: First Day On the Job

The next morning, Kitsune was walking her way back to the antique shop. Every now and then, she dusted her dress off- wanting to make sure she looked absolutely perfect. She didn't have a lot to work with, but she chose the fanciest dress she had. It definitely wasn't as formal as Chris's suit, but it would have to do. Besides, it was still pretty.

It was white. The sleeves were short, and they were on the poofy side. The dress went down to her knees. A black bow was on the front, at the bottom of the collar. A black ribbon wrapped around her waist and tied behind her back. The look was completed with gray stockings and black boots.

Within fifteen minutes, she found herself in front of the familiar antique shop. She peeked through one of the windows, noticing Chris sitting at the counter in the back. He didn't seem to notice her, instead he was focused on the book he seemed to have brought with him. Pulling away from the window, Kitsune took a deep breath- holding her hand in front of the door. Slowly, she gripped onto the handle and pulled it open before stepping inside.

The bell above the door alerted Chris to her presence. He looked up, giving a small smile when he saw the young redhead. "Ah, there you are. I was just wondering when you'd get here." He greeted, getting up from his seat and walking over to her. "Did you get here alright? You didn't run into any problems, yes?" He asked.

Kitsune smiled back, nodding. "Y-Yeah, I got here ok. I gotta say though, I'm a little nervous. What with it being my first day and all." She remarked, sheepishly rubbing the back of her neck.

"That's quite alright. I'll walk you through everything and if you ever need any help, I'm more than happy to help you." Chris told her. Kitsune smiled up at him at first, but soon a more concerned expression came across her face. Chris very quickly noticed.

"I don't know if I like that look on your face... Are you alright?" He asked. Kitsune hesitated a little, not sure as to how to phrase what was on her mind. "U-Umm... So... Hypothetically, if I did... s-something wrong, say, like, accidentally drop something... You're not g-going to yell at me, right?" She asked, gripping her dress.

Chris stared at her, both shocked and somewhat mortified. That was... worrying. "Oh, no, of course not! Heavens, I would never!" He responded, his concern only growing when Kitsune sighed in relief. "O-Ok good..." She whispered.

"Kitsune, are you... Are you ok? Or, sorry, let me rephrase that... Were you yelled at for mistakes before?" Chris asked. Kitsune was silent, only nodding. "Oh, dear..." The taller male moved his hand, gently brushing her bangs out of her face.

"Listen... I don't know what you've been through, and I'm not going to ask- not today. But just know that I wouldn't yell at you- especially over a silly little mistake." He told her. Kitsune smiled softly. "O-Ok... Thanks..." She whispered.

"No trouble at all, darling." Chris withdrew his hand. "Anyways, come on. I'll show you what needs to be done." He said, Kitsune excitedly nodding.

Time to work.

---

A few hours later in the day, Kitsune was sweeping around the shop. She hummed softly, perfectly content with herself. Chris was looking for something in the back, so she was in the main part of the shop by herself. She started singing softly, thinking Chris couldn't hear her.

But of course, he could- albeit faintly. "Ahh, the whirlwinds become stronger, so the blue sky is laughing a bit. Yes, during the listless early morning-" And so the song went on. He was honestly rather astounded. He had never expected her to enjoy singing. It was honestly rather beautiful.

Within minutes, the song had ended. Much too soon for his liking, but he wasn't about to complain. "Lovely song. I didn't know you knew how to sing." He complimented, making the young redhead squeal as she jumped.

"Y-You heard that?" She asked. "Indeed I did.  And I have to say, your voice is beautiful. Had I known you could sing like that, I would've asked to hear it sooner." Chris remarked, sitting down at the counter. He smirked a little as Kitsune whined out of embarrassment, lightly bumping her head against the broom in her hands. Her arms were positioned so that Chris couldn't see her reddened face.

The taller male snickered to himself. "Goodness, you're adorable." He commented. Kitsune huffed, pouting as she sat down beside him. "You really like t-teasing me, don't you?" She asked. "Oh, absolutely." Chris responded.

Before Kitsune got a chance to counter, a lady walked into the store. The redhead looked up. The woman seemed to be rather fair- average height, beautiful brunette hair, almond eyes. Her dress was purple with white sleeves. "Hello, Miss Michelle. I take it you're here to pick up the order?" Chris asked.

'I guess she's a previous client.' Kitsune assumed, saying nothing. "That's correct, thanks." The woman, Michelle, responded before looking over at Kitsune. The redhead froze a little as the brunette gave her a more dead eyed expression. "And... Who is this? I didn't think you had an assistant." She asked.

Chris noticed her change in attitude and very quickly tried to deescalate the situation. "This is Kitsune. She's going to be working with me from now on. If there's an issue with that, well..." He paused, giving Michelle a cold, narrow-eyed look. "I'm afraid that's your issue, not ours. She offered to work with me, and I accepted." He explained.

He stood up. "Come along, Kitsune. Let's get Michelle her vase so she can be on her way." He stated. "R-Right, coming." Kitsune nodded, getting out of her seat and following him to one of the backrooms.

"I apologize for Michelle's behavior. She thinks she's being subtle about it, but it's very easy to tell she has a bit of a thing for me. I've been trying to make it clear that I'm not interested, but it's obviously not working. So if she says anything that's meant to hurt you, don't worry about it." Chris informed her, reaching up to grab a glass, blue vase.

"A-Alright. Thanks for taking me with you- I don't think I could take her looking at me like that much longer." She stated. "Oh, I could tell. I also have a feeling that if I left you there by yourself, she definitely would've said less than nice things. And because of that, why don't you stay back here until she leaves? I'll handle it from here." Chris said.

Kitsune paused before she gave a small nod. "O-Ok, thanks Chris." She agreed. With a nod of affirmation, Chris walked back to the brunette. Kitsune smiled to herself as she waited for him to come back.

All in all, fairly good first day of work in her book.