Heart of Patchwork

Chapter 7: A Cupcake Filled With Nails

Meanwhile, back at her house, Kitsune stood in the kitchen, gathering the ingredients to make a sandwich. She softly hummed to herself before pausing. She could swear she heard a car park outside. At first, she was just going to write it off as her par- I mean- as Lily and Norman had come home, but she doubted that. Lily didn't get off until 6:00 p.m., and her and Norman typically came home together. It was only 12:00 p.m- so far too early for either of them to come home right now.

"Something isn't right here..." She whispered, freezing up as she heard someone tried to turn the doorknob. She hid by one of the counters, covering her mouth. She could faintly make out the sound of someone breaking into the house.

After a minute, she heard the person enter the house. Her heart was racing, unsure of what to do. Then she looked over at the counter she left her knife. 'I'll use that if I absolutely have to.' She nodded to herself, realizing she was wearing her scarf and socks. If she ran, they wouldn't be able to hear her. 'Right then, I know what to do now...' She thought, taking a deep breath.

'I have to subdue them... Then call the police...'

Pocketing the knife, she gently loosened her scarf. Quietly sneaking behind the person, who didn't seem to notice her, only looked around the room. She presumed he was looking for stuff to steal. But of course, she wasn't about to let that happen. With a glint of fearlessness in her eyes, she silently charged forth- now holding her crimson scarf in one hand which fluttered about behind her.

Before the burglar could even look, he was caught off guard as the young woman jumped up- throwing her scarf around his neck and grabbing it with her other hand. "W-What the-!" The guy croaked out before Kitsune dragged him to the floor. She wrapped her legs around him tightly, keeping him in place as she continued pull the scarf tighter.

"If you keep thrashing like that, you're only gonna pass out faster. Trust me, I know how the human body works. Just give up." She stated. If Lily and Norman saw her now, they'd probably believe that this was Kitsune's true self.

The man continued to struggle, not wanting to give in to what he perceived as a young woman. But of course, his stubbornness ultimately led to him to passing out. Kitsune checked his pulse, being absolutely certain that he'd be ok. With a nod, she looked for something to wrap around him. Better safe than sorry, right?

After a bit of searching in the garage, she came back with Christmas lights. It was rather unorthodox, but hey- better than nothing. Taking her scarf away from the man, she tied his arms to his torso. Once she was certain he was secure, she phoned the police.

Now she just had to wait.

---

Not too long after that, Chris had come up to the house. He became anxious when he realized the police car was outside- one of the officers talking to Kitsune, and another was escorting what he assumed to be an intruder to the cop car. He felt his blood run cold, picking up the pace. He only slowed down a little when he heard the officer talk.

"Good job, kid. You remained perfectly calm. An as funny as it was to see the guy tied up in Christmas lights, call us FIRST just in case of a next time, alright?" He asked. Kitsune giggled a little. "Y-Yes, sir. I will." She responded. "Alrighty then, we'll get this guy to the station. Have a good day, miss Peteal."  The officer bid her farewell before leaving.

Before Kitsune could walk back into the house, she heard Chris call her name. She turned her head, noticing Chris speed-walking over to her. "Oh, h-hi Chris! How are-" "Are you ok? Why were the police here? Did that person break in?" He cut her off, examining what little skin was visible for any injuries.

"I-I'm fine, Chris! Don't worry! I-I handled it just fine!" Kitsune smiled, slightly flustered at how worried he seemed.

"See, I-I was in the kitchen when he came in. S-Since I had a knife nearby and my scarf, I figured I could just subdue him. H-He didn't have a weapon, so it was surprisingly easy. Then I tied him up with Christmas lights and called the cops. He's actually pretty easy compared to the other guys I've had to fight off." She explained, shrugging at the end.

"What..." Chris paused, the weight of her last sentence hitting him harder than a bag of hammers to the foot. "What do you MEAN 'compared to the other guys you had to fight off'?!" He asked.

Kitsune noticed how worked up he was getting and quickly tried to calm him down. "I-It's ok, Chris! It's fine, really! You g-gotta understand, I lived in an abandoned house! I had to sneak out at night to get food- I had to be able t-to defend myself! Since I'm so thin and small, I'm actually really fast! S-So it's easier to- ah-" She was cut off, freezing as Chris grabbed her wrist and pulled her into his arms.

Kitsune stood there wide-eyed, face flushed red from the sudden close contact. Her face was right against chest- which was fairly firm. Not muscular, just firm. His thin arms tightly wrapped around her, one on her waist and the other rested on her back as his palm rested on the back of her head. "C... Chris...?" She squeaked, gently hugging him back.

After a moment he pulled back, tilting her chin up and keeping direct eye contact with her. His eyes were serious, but they also held concern. "Never EVER put yourself in a dangerous situation like this again, do you understand?" He asked, voice completely stern. It was kind of scary hearing him speak to her this way.

"I... I won't. I promise... I'm sorry if I scared you, I-I panicked..." Kitsune responded, lifting up her hand and placing it near his shoulder. "It's true I'm used to fighting when I absolutely have to... B-But if it upsets you, or makes you worry, then I'll stop...' She stated.

Chris was silent before sighing, moving her bangs out of her face. "It's fine, dear... I was just worried... I apologize if I startled you- I noticed you seemed quite tense when I hugged you..." He looked away- and as he did, Kitsune could swear that she saw a bit of redness on his cheeks. "Speaking of, I'm sorry for that too... I didn't intend to make you uncomfortable." He added.

"Oh, no, no, no! It's fine!! To be honest, I honestly didn't mind. I only froze b-because I'm not fully used to affection yet!" Kitsune explained. Chris stared at her, processing. When he really thought about it, it made sense. She'd always seem surprised whenever he ruffled her hair, touched her shoulder, or patted her head. "Huh, I see..." He said, giving a ghost of a smile.

"I suppose we both have that in common, now don't we, darling?"

Kitsune giggled a little, while at the same time feeling empathy for him. Granted, she never took him as the affectionate type, but to hear that he wasn't used to physical affection made her feel bad. It was nice to have someone who understood what that was like. "Yeah, I guess so... Anyways, would you like to come in? I'm making lunch." She asked.

"You know what? Sure. So long as it's not any trouble." Chris responded as he followed her to the house. "Oh, of course not! I wouldn't have offered if it was, afterall. Besides, I like having you around." Kitsune casually stated, not realizing she wasn't stuttering anymore.

As they walked in, the redhead pointed to the couch. "You can have a seat on the couch. I'll be back with lunch in a second." She stated, before walking into the kitchen. With a nod, Chris did as she instructed and sat down. As he waited for Kitsune to walk back out with the food, he had finally accepted what he knew was true at this point.

There was no point denying it anymore- he was in love with her.