Oh Nookie~

Chapter 4- I Solemnly Swear to you Nookie

"Hey Mr. Nook it's going to be alright," Redd tried to be friendly, "I think you just need a break, okay? Here, you can take one now and sit with me. It's been so long since we've had a regular conversation, and I missed you so much."

"That's," Tom seemed to snap, stiffening up and regaining his deadly glare, "No way in hell I'll fall for your tricks again! God, why do I waste my time on you! You turn my coworkers against me and then my nephews. Why not the whole world next? I can't stand you, you know that? I'm leaving Redd, maybe you should too!"

"Nookie wait I-!" Redd realized he couldn't win. He knew his former business partner was right, "Of course Mr. Nook." Tom began to walk away, but Redd wasn't done, "For what it's worth, I missed you, every single day after that night."

Tom didn't respond. He was afraid he'd give in, to the twisting feeling building in his gut. Was it guilt? Sorrow? Yearning for the past? No, he and Redd were no longer friends. He just kept walking back to the resident services building.

The walk back felt like eternity, and being alone didn't help. Every step only made his stomach churn. He wasn't ready to admit that he wanted to go back to Redd, to believe things could have been the same as when he first entered the city. But he knew better. He's seen what Redd can do and doesn't want it to happen again.

"Hey Mr. Nook!" Isabelle called as her boss entered the building, "So, how'd it go-"

"I'd fire you if you weren't the most important person on this team," Tom glared at her, sliding her bowl of now room temperature raman across the table, "I don't think I've ever had a plan go that awry."

"Oh no," Isabelle gasped, fully expecting her and Ran's plan to have worked, "What happened?"

"What happened, Isabelle?" Tom could have laughed, "You tricked me into being in the same room as that...horrid kitsune! You didn't ask how I'd even feel about it! Pulling me away from work only to find out, he was with my boys! He could have hurt them. I should have bit him while I had the chance, now I can't make it up to the boys. This trip set me back."

"Not neccessarily," Isabelle said, putting the completed files that once belong to Tom in a filing cabinet, "I wish I could have made more impact, but I thinned the pile while you were gone!"

"Just," Tom Nook rubbed the bridge of his snout. too exhausted to reprimand her, "Take a break Isabelle. You're too young to overwork yourself."

"So are you," Isabelle said, putting on a pair of reading glasses while she pulled out a book, "In case you haven't noticed, you aren't exactly an old old man."

"Well I'm no youngster," Tom Nook shook his head.

"Thomas Nook, have some self respect!" Isabelle glared up at him, "You do know that if you claim that you're old, what do you think that makes me?"

Tom sighed, "Fine, I guess I'm not THAT old then," Tom gave in, "But work still calls."

Tom was used to the sounds of the keyboard clacking and scribbling on paper filling the room, but it didn't make the stream of paperwork seem any smaller or less exhausting. In fact, it seemed to only grow.

"I'm going out," Isabelle loudly announced, receiving several text notifications on her Nookphone, "I will be back! My papers are done!" She exited quickly. Tom had no complaints, the day had been droning on and he needed something to stop him from falling asleep.

Tom kept clicking, until he noticed several silhouettes pass by the windows. He thought nothing of it, and went back to work.

Little did he know, this was the conversation taking place right outside of his building: