alight. : a fireafy fic

Chapter Five

The rain outside was persistent Friday morning. It hasn't cleared up at all, and perhaps, it won't. Leafy didn't mind, however. She kind of liked the rain, as it made her feel revitalized. She was at home, wearing the orange hoodie she somehow couldn't bear to part with, playing with her new kitten.

"Smokey," she told him, smiling. "Yesterday, I told Book and Tree at work that I had become a new parent."

Smokey meowed and pawed at her hoodie strings. Leafy giggled.

"Then they asked me, 'When did you get pregnant!?' I had to correct them, and tell them that I had gotten a new cat." Leafy picked up a mouse toy and dragged it along the floor. Smokey went crazy and chased after it, claws extended, prepared to pounce.

Leafy grinned. If someone in this world loved her, it was Smokey. In the three days that they have known each other, he followed her everywhere, clearly wanting to be with her constantly. It was like they saved each other from loneliness. Smokey slept in the bed with Leafy, making nights less empty for the both of them. Whenever she felt particularly sad, Smokey knew, and would run himself along her leg, purring until she picked him up and held his tiny body.

Leafy dropped the mouse toy and watched Smokey scramble to grab it, giggling once more. She adjusted the hem of the orange hoodie and walked over to her couch to watch some TV. Smokey dropped his mouse toy and bounded after her, jumping onto the couch to be with her as she sat down.

Smokey looked at the couch and meowed. Once Leafy had taken a seat, he jumped onto her lap instead.

"I know," Leafy chuckled. "This couch is terribly uncomfortable. I meant to order a new one, but I may have ordered a cat tree for you instead." The girl shrugged and picked up her remote. "Oh well."

She flipped to a channel, a random one, just for ambience. Leafy looked at the clock. It was 7:22 am. She had work at 8.

She sighed and ran her fingers through Smokey's fur. "Smokey," she whispered playfully. "You've already gotten cat hair all over Firey's hoodie! I just washed this!"

Yes. She had washed the hoodie. Although it didn't smell like Firey anymore, it still brought her comfort, and she wasn't sure why. Leafy laughed under her breath at that thought.

"I've got to get ready for work," she announced to Smokey, who looked up at her and purred.

Leafy smiled, and glanced at the clock. 7:25. She had to get going now if she wanted to make it to the coffee shop before work today.

The green haired girl pulled off the hoodie, folded it up, and ritually put it back into the empty drawer. She grabbed some black leggings, a black tank top, and a mint green sweater to pull over it.

She rushed into her bathroom to brush her teeth and take a quick shower. By the time she got dressed, it was 7:40. Smokey sat outside the door and waited, scaring the shit out of Leafy when she opened the bathroom door.

"Geez, Smokey!" Leafy exclaimed as she picked up her blow dryer. "Hopefully I get to see Bubble today. Like you, she's one of my true friends."

Leafy was now certain that Bubble was one of the people who still cared about her. In fact, they had a lot in common. Both had a bunch of friends they lost one day. In the end, they had each other, and Leafy was glad to have two close friends who cared, instead of a large group of people who would turn their back on her. True friends were all that mattered.

Leafy pulled on her shoes, and grabbed her umbrella. Even though she enjoyed the rain and didn't mind getting wet, she had just blow dried her hair. Didn't want to let all that effort go to waste.

She gave Smokey a pat on the head before walking out the door. It was raining decently hard, but Leafy liked to watch how the raindrops splattered against the pavement. She smiled, and breathed in. The air felt so refreshing.

The coffee shop was on the same street as the library, but a little on the farther side, so she'd have to walk past the library first, get coffee, and walk back to the library. It wasn't a hindrance, though. Leafy loved the rain.

The girl smiled to herself and crossed the street in the direction of the coffee house. Upon entering, the smell of warm coffee clouded her senses in such a delightful way, she sighed. She closed her umbrella and shook the raindrops off.

"Good morning Leafy!" Bubble was smiling at her from behind the counter, iridescent eyes sparkling with joy and excitement. "Would you like your usual?"

Leafy nodded. "Yes, please!" Pen was in the back, pumping chocolate sauce into a cup. "Good morning Pen!"

Pen turned around, his blue eyes tired, but filled with happiness. "Oh, hello Leafy!"

Leafy smiled. "New job treating you well, hopefully?"

Pen nodded and poured hot coffee and cream into the cup. "I like it, man. Pay is good, but hours are a little weird. Also, kind of boring."

Leafy smiled sympathetically. "You're doing good Pen," she said. "I believe in you!"

Pen laughed and handed her the cup of coffee. "Well, my shift there begins, like, as soon as this one ends, so I really hope Match doesn't leave Bubble alone for too long."

Bubble smiled. "It's usually not much of a problem anyway." She pushed her light blue hair behind her ear and said to Leafy, "Don't be late for your shift, yourself. It's 7:51 right now."

Leafy nodded her head quickly. "I know! Don't worry about it, Bubble! Although the library is on the other side of the street, I can probably make it there in only 9 minutes."

Bubble giggled. "Then what are you still doing here? Go on, then!"

"Alright, alright!" Leafy waved her hand in dismissal. "I'll catch you guys later!"

She exited the coffee shop and opened her umbrella. She took a sip of warm coffee and turned to go to work.

Her green eyes met tired, amber ones.

Leafy blinked. There in front of her, staring her in the face, was a familiar, soaking wet security guard.

Firey looked like shit.

Leafy knew he hated the rain, but god, he looked like garbage. His wrinkled, wet uniform appeared to be haphazardly pulled on. He must have done something wild last night. She felt kind of bad for him. Did he forget his umbrella? Why didn't he take the bus?

Why was he wearing orange crocs...

She looked up at her umbrella, then looked back at Firey. He had this deer-caught-in-the-headlights look, and he wasn't moving. He's gonna be late for work, his shift also starts at 8.

Leafy smiled and shoved her umbrella into his hands. She didn't even look at his face to see his reaction. His expression didn't matter, what mattered was he got to work safely and at least, semi-dry. She easily walked through the wonderful rain towards the library, sipping her coffee happily.