happilyeverbeginning | adorafluff - antoine & bunnie

Bunnie sighed.

With things being the way they had been lately, money was hard to come by. Businesses around the city had been closing in droves in light of the new rush that forced folks to pack up and head out west in search of their fortune. She'd heard them whisper 'gold' as they hurried out of the city. Now it was just a few stragglers that wandered through the dusty town on the way to seek their own fortunes.

Even working in a tavern--that served necessary things like food and water--was still running on fumes.

Bunnie stood with both elbows on the counter as she boredly looked out at the swinging double doors to the tavern entrance. As usual, she wore a disgustingly hot pink-and-white frilly dress with her hair in pink ribbons. "Ah wish it would go ahead an' rain.." She muttered to herself.

Her eyes snapped up as she heard the doors at the front of the tavern swing open. Ah, a familiar customer! "Antoine. Howdy." She stood up straight and grabbed an empty glass to wipe with the corner of her dress. "What'll it be?"

A long time ago, Antoine would have wanted a woman of high class and nobility. But as he looked upon Bunnie in her ridiculous outfit in a dirty tavern, she couldn't have been more beautiful in his eyes. He cleared his throat, fumbling with the box in his hands.

"Bonjour, mademoiselle." He took his time walking inside, the flor creaking underneath him. "I am hoping I am not interrupting you? I was hoping, you see, to have a... moment of privacy...?"

'Madam-mo-zelle'. Bunnie's nose wrinkled at the name. When he'd first called him that, she had reached up and slapped him. 'Madams' in a tavern were the kind to do 'favors' in exchange for money. She only relented in being angry once he'd explained that it wasn't a derogatory term.

It had become a little more commonplace now that she understood that he was just from a foreign land.

"All right..." She said hesitantly as she sat the glass down on the bar counter and instead picked up a wooden bucket from the floor beside her. "Ah need to fetch some water from the well out back. Why don'tcha come with me?"

That bruise had lasted for days, and the memory for much longer. He'd nearly lost a tooth - he'd never known any woman that strong! It was rather impressive, and once he stopped being angry at her in turn, he was impressed.

"Very well." he agreed, and walked with her, thumbing the box in his hand. How did he even begin? "I know you are a woman who does not care for most material possessions...And you should be knowing zis ees not coming with any expectations!" Now he couldn't look at her, cheeks reddening, becoming embarrassed.

"You are... even free to reject it, should you wish..." Although it would wound him far more than the slap to the face.

She was wondering if she would have to do that again considering how he was acting. If other men gave anything to her, they would come out and hand it to her unceremoniously. The explanation made it seem awkward, to say the least. It made it sound like he wanted something.

Bunnie gave him a sidelong glance and the confusion must have been written all over her face. "Antoine, you ain't makin' a lack of sense. Free to reject..what?"

No better time than the present for a present. Nerves wracking, sweat in is fur, he suddenly thrusted his hands out, offering the box to her without another word.

Inside was a beautiful emerald necklace, almost like a choker, light glimmering from the sun. No doubt it had cost a fortune, and Antoine winced, one eye closed, the other watching Bunnie's reaction.

Bunnie had just sat the bucket down and put her hand on the level to start pumping. It would be a pain in the neck getting water out since they didn't have anything to prime it with, but it couldn't be helped.

Before she started that, she looked curiously at the little box. "Antoine?" The question was implied, but she took it and about dropped it as soon as her eyes caught a glimpse of its shining green and silver surface of the necklace. The necklace was something she'd only dreamt of wearing; the green matched her eyes perfectly, and the intricate silver design was beautiful without being gaudy. Oh, he must've seen her staring at it in the window on her way to work every morning...

"Oh mah stars.." Bunnie gasped, clasping her free hand over her mouth. She could feel her cheeks flush red. "It's..it's...." She hushed her voice in case there was anyone listening in. "Antoine, this is too much. It musta cost you a small fortune."

Relief flooded Antoine's face, and he began to smile, seeing the clear happiness in Bunnie's expression. It was worth every single penny. A part of him wondered if he could convince her to put it on now, but that would be asking too much. He still held the gift out, wanting her to take it.

"I wanted you to have eet." He said honestly, eyes locked on hers. "I felt...I felt I could not rest until I gave it to you. I know eet seems like a lot, but...you deserve to have it. Eef I could, I would buy you ze moon and give eet to you on a silver platter. Would you command eet, I would do anything you ask of me. Zere...Zere ees no greater fortune zan your happiness."

'This might as well be the moon!' She thought, gawking.

"It seems like a lot because it is a lot, Antoine. Ah..." She shut the lid of the box closed, only to open it again moments later as if she were expecting it to vanish into thin air. She looked even more befuddled as she opened the lid to reveal that the necklace, in fact, hadn't moved.

"How did you even come up with the money for this? An' why didn't you spend that on gettin' outta here yourself? You coulda bought a horse with this. Or a wagon. Or--" She shook her head and looked at him, a smile on her face as she shut the box again. "Ah can't accept this. It's plum too much for a girl like me. Not to mention all of what it could get you." She held out the box so he could take it back.

Of course she wanted it.. but...

Edited 2017-04-25 23:52 (UTC)

"Please." Antoine quietly insisted, taking Bunnie's hands so they'd cup around the box, and he gently pushed it back into her chest, pulling back afterwards. "Nothing I say will satisfy you... so... just do what will satisfy me. Eet ees for you, your enjoyment."

A small smile, shy and still nervous, yet happy all the same. He didn't want to get out of there, or a horse, or a wagon, or anything else Bunnie assumed he wanted. No, he wanted to stay there with her, and be the source of her smiles. "Eet ees perfect for a girl like you. A beautiful necklace, for a beautiful girl."

"Wh.." She looked at him, then down to his hands. "Ah..why..." She must have been flushing redder than the sunset at his words. Her face certainly felt hot. "...Ah..uh.. don't quite recall the last time a man drove me to bein' speechless."

Antoine hadn't meant to stay this long - in fact, the original plan was to shove it into her box and then run home and hide. But how could he possibly pull away now? "I don't know how every man een town doesn't line up at your door." Now he had completely lost control of what he was saying. "Your beauty, your strength, your kindness... You are the true treasure of zis town."

"Oh, believe me." She bristled. "They all see somethin', and Ah wish they wouldn't see it." There were certain disadvantages to being a server in a bar that mostly catered to men, after all. They did line up for one reason.

Bunnie leaned in and gave Antoine a peck on the tip of his cute nose. "But no matter how many of 'em line up, you're the only one that gets an invite inside."

Maybe Antoine would have said something like protecting her, or ushering those men out, or anything else ridiculously noble, but that tiny little kiss was enough to turn his brain to complete and utter mush. You'd think he'd never been kissed before! (Of course he hadn't, but she didn't need to know that.)

"Uh." That's all he could manage to get out, his yellow cheeks now turning a dark crimson, and getting redder by the second. On instinct he grabbed his tail to make sure it wasn't wagging. "Uhhh." It took a few more attempts to kick his brain into working. "Th-th-thank you?"

"Oh, good." She gave a little chuckle. "Glad Ah'm not the only one who got all sorts of tongue-tied." It made her feel better that she wasn't alone in the endeavour!

"Now," She slipped the necklace out of its box. "Why don't you help me put this on? See how it looks." How she'd daydreamed of putting on this very necklace...

Help her put it on? That seemed a smidgen intimate and personal... Antoine had assumed this was the sort of thing a girl does when she's alone. But who's he to tell her now, especially when she looks at him like that?

"Ah, um, w-well! Eef you are insisting. I may need to... brush your hair aside. Ees zat all right?" In other words, making absolutely positively sure he had permission to touch her if need be. He didn't want slap number two.

"Just hold this." She gave the box to him and tended to her own hair. She took the ponytail in her hair, twisted in, and wrapped it around to mold it into a tight bun. Bunnie then reached down the front of her dress, pulled out a hair pin, and got pinned her hair in place. "There we go." She turned her back to him. "If you'd be so kind."

... Where had she been keeping that pin? NO DON'T LOOK IN THAT DIRECTION - Antoine cleared his throat, trying to get his mind on track. He was just putting on jewelry for a friend. A friend he definitely had romantic feelings for. No need to get flustered...or more so than he was already. Could he get more flustered?

"A-hem. Zis will not take but a moment." After lifting the delicately jewelry in his fingers, the box under his armpit, he ever so slowly let it rest on Bunnie's collarbone. It took one or two little clicks to keep it in place, and he pulled back. "... Eef only I had a mirror. You must see how stunning you look."

She patted the necklace as it was laced around her and clasped tightly in the back. There was no need for a mirror, she felt more regal, beautiful, and a smidge more confident.

"It might sound foolish, but ah think ah daydreamed enough to have a good idea."

Antoine managed to relax, her sheer enjoyment of the gift giving him more happiness than he could ever ask for. "A diamond in the desert." He complimented, unable to stop smiling. "A true princess among peasants."

"Oh, stop. You silver-tongued devil." She said with a giggle and a playful wave. "People are gonna start thinkin' I own the town dressin' like this." So fancy and expensive-looking... Hopefully, no one got the smart idea to try and rob her for it.

"I cannot be helping it!" Antoine meant it, a hand on his heart. "When I am seeing you so happy, millions of verses of poetry flow through my head! I'd sing your praises from ze rooftop, eef you so allowed!"

"You." Bunnie mused. "A poet." She could hardly believe such a thing. Most who passed through the little country town were gunslingers, privateers, adventurers, or hunters, not poets. And if they were they certainly wouldn't admit to it. "Somehow Ah find that hard to believe."

Well now. Didn't that put a nice little damper on this romantic rendezvous? Antoine's ears began to flatten.

"...What ees so hard to be believing? I am very educated! I am very wise een ze ways of artistry! I can quite easily become a poet."

"Cuz Ah ain't never heard you recite a poem before, silly." She giggled girlishly. Why did he look so distraught over her little remark? Most men would be glad not to be compared to some poet.

Was that a challenge? No, but Antoine took it as one anyway. He cleared his throat.

"I dream of old summer days,
Of blue skies and orange haze,
But no sweeter dream could zere be,
Zan being here, you with me."

What was the poem about? Oh, she didn't rightly are! Bunnie gave a soft and sophisticated clap of her hands. "Givin' me fancy jewelry and reading me poetry?" Bunnie put a hand to the side of her face, "Ah feel like Ah should be lookin' over a fancy castle balcony wearin' a ballgown."

Antoine had been trying to express his heart's desire in verse, but he supposed this was good enough. "...I could take you away." He suddenly said. "Away from all of this. So you could find a real castle balcony, with real dresses, with everything you deserve."

She had to restrain a laugh and focus it into a breathless chortle. Oh, what a foolish little sweet thing. He meant well, but that sounded like another one of those fancy poems. "Antoine, real castles don't exist out here." She waved out to the nearby dusty roads. "It's all wilderness. With big ol' creatures wandering the woods and more than its fair share of trees."

"But zey do, Bunnie." Antoine persisted, touching her arm, being genuine through and through. "A much better life ees out zere! Zere's nothing for you here but dirt and grime and uncultured swine. I can take you away! Let me take you away!"

"Wh--how?" She asked out of sheer reactionary curiosity. It seemed so preposterous to get out of the dusty little town. She'd been there so long and it didn't seem like anything would ever change.

"I didn't always live here," Antoine pointed out. "I could take you back to my land, as my wi-"

As his what.

Oh boy. This whole day hadn't gone as he planned, and this was the biggest change of all. He froze, cheeks getting the reddest they had been so far. What was he thinking?! Did he actually suggest that she leave this town via marriage? TO HIM?!

"Wiiii... Wiiihhhh..." He shook, unable to get the word out.

That certainly got a sharp eyebrow-raise from Bunnie. What? Did he mean to say wife?! Did he.

She felt her blood rise straight to her cheeks as she turned the word over in her mind - and once more for the meaning of that word - and all the implications that it held.

She paused for a long moment, then Bunnie finally placed a hand on his to try and calm him down from his obviously stumbling courage to do..whatever it was he wanted to do. "Your home? And are there castles like that where you live?" She supplied half-jokingly.

Antoine internally thanked her for not asking what he meant - even though it was pretty clear - after all, they'd not gone on one date, they'd not confessed their feelings... Hell, he wasn't entirely sure if she felt the same way he did.

Oh great, now he was thinking about that possibility. Not that it would have completely surprised him if it was true - JUST ANSWER HER DAMN QUESTION ALREADY.

"Ah." He cleared his throat, trying to get back into action. "Mansions." he managed to blurt out. "Zat ees... what we are having. I come from a noble family, a rich one... I... I left to try and find my own worth, instead of depending on my family's." It hadn't exactly worked.

It was a long moment before he spoke, and Bunnie half wondered if Antoine his mind completely shut down from the comment he'd nearly let slip. Luckily, the tension fled from the air when he managed to speak again. She countered playfully, "No castles there either, then. Makes me wonder how you'd keep good on your word to find me one." A pause. "Though Ah can barely imagine leavin' this place. Ah've been here so long, it doesn't seem like anything else exists outside of these dusty roads and empty buildings."

"I would build you one, eef you asked eet of me." The words alone could've seemed flowery and mushy, but his tone was serious. "...I would take you away from here eef you wanted it." His fingers moved to touch the necklace, resting there for half a moment, as if proof of this. "Eef you asked me to leave and never see you again, I would do eet, even though eet would destroy me."

Antoine gulped but kept going. "As my friend... As my... w-w-w...wife... As... whatever you would have me. All you need do ees ask."

There it was, that word. She instinctively put both hands to her mouth in disbelief that he'd actually been able to get the words out. That he meant them.

Did he just...

Her eyes shined with the utter disbelief of it. 'Breathe. Go on and breathe.' Bunnie had to remind herself in spite of it all.

"Ah..." She breathed in just as she reminded herself. "Well, this.." She put a hand on her necklace. "Ah was gettin' plum tired of this town anyway." She laughed uneasily.

Antoine's eyes widened at her response. There was no way to misinterpret that, even with his bad self-confidence.

He took a breath as well, and then his body reacted - he grabbed her by the arm, and then pulled her into his chest, holding her tight. Not the right thing for a proper gentleman to do, but this was a day of exceptions and rule breaking. It felt wonderful to hold her - it felt right. As if his body had only existed to hold her. As if his arms could never have a greater purpose.

Bunnie may have squeaked at the gesture, though she didn't mind in the least at being squeezed tightly and found herself smiling. It felt amazing to be so valued - Treasured, even - like there was a warmth in her chest that enveloped her completely.

"Ah.. might have to start packin'." She said with a laugh. "Looks like that disty ol' bar is gonna be another one of those empty buildings."

"Een a little while." Antoine mumbled, not willing to let her go just yet. He wasn't sure when he could release her, not when her body was so warm and her hair smelled so good. Every ounce of anxiety and nervousness had vanished - having her love gave him more self-confidence than any treasure could. If time could freeze right then and there... he'd want little else.

"Een a little while." he repeated, burying his face into her golden locks.

'But we got so much to do.' Was the first thought that crossed her mind. Already, her mind was forming a frantic list of things they had to get accomplish before they would be able to leave the modest little dustbowl for somewhere else. Somewhere better.

But given his determination to hold her, well, she could hold off on that for a 'little while'.

Bunnie hugged him tight and picked him right up off the ground as she gave him a squeeze. "Oh, Ah feel like Ah'm gonna burst. It's so excitin'!"

Wait where did the ground go - Antoine blinked a bit, startled, and he had to look down for half a second. Yep, that was happening. Weirder still - there went his tail, wagging, and his face flushed. She was so strong! So amazingly strong! Why in the world hadn't any other man scooped her up after seeing such a feat? He wasn't even sure if he wanted to be put down right away.

He swallowed with a little clear of his throat. "I-I am very excited too... I had no idea you could be, so, uh, excitable!"

Bunnie peeked at the ground, realizing at once that she'd plum picked him off the ground. All the same, she didn't make it a point to put him down. "Ah wouldn't call this bein' excitable." She closed her eyes. "Everything in mah life is about to change. It's excitin'." She breathed out. "And scary, too. Leavin' everything Ah know behind for somethin' Ah don't know."

If she didn't plan to put him down, then Antoine certainly wasn't going to make her. Why would he? She was so amazing! So impressive! He landed the girl of a lifetime! Why she could carry him off into the sunset and he wouldn't complain.

... Unless someone saw. Then he might complain a little.

"Zat ees how I felt when I first left my home." Antoine agreed. "I was scared, and nervous, and unsure of my future... but I kept going. Because I knew something out zere was waiting for me...and look. I found eet."

It might've been different for him. He had a sword and a family to go back to while she didn't have anything to return to. Once she left there was no turning back for her. Ever.

Bunnie sat Antoine back to the ground, suddenly aware that she had been holding him aloft the entire time.

"Flatterer." She muttered sweetly. "And what did you do when you weren't sure that you were headin' in the right direction?"

With his feet firmly back on the ground again, Antoine loosened his hold on Bunnie so they could properly face each other. "I kept going anyway." He admitted, cupping her warm cheek in one hand. "I was afraid to go back... afraid of what laid ahead... But doing nothing would get be nowhere. So I walked on. I figured... what ees not killing me ees making be stronger, no?"

"Ahm glad it didn't come to that," Bunnie admitted, clasping a palm over where her palm lay against her face. "And glad that I know such a brave Mobian."

Antoine smiled, pressing his forehead to hers, closing his eyes. "I have only realized what bravery ees, when I met you. Eet ees thanks to you zat I can truly see myself...and accept myself. You make me feel whole."

adorafluff - antoine & bunnie - presents

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