happilyeverbeginning | Keeping Warm During a Snowstorm

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Keeping Warm During a Snowstorm - Antoine & Bunnie

Panic might as well have been Antoine's middle name. Once fear settled in his head, it was hard to think rationally. It had started out so simply - Knothole was due for a hard snowstorm, and the princess had ordered everyone to stay home. That was fine and good, and the snow had built, and as Antoine had been about to make himself a warm snack he had touched the metal stove. He had shivered - metal was extra chilly during the winter, he noticed.

Then it struck him like lightning - how was Bunnie going to handle this?! Half of her body was metallic! What if she was writhing in agony right this very second? She was his best friend - with definitely something extra growing underneath the surface - and she was suffering endless agony! TO ARMS!

That would explain why he was out in the snow and the storm, relentlessly digging away towards Bunnie's small house, a hefty backpack so full of blankets that it was ready to explode at the seams on his back, and a load of hastily chopped firewood hung over his shoulder. By now his own tail was ready to freeze off, but he refused to stop until he was at her door.

"HANG ON, MON CHERE!"

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Truth be told, the winter months were more physically strenuous to endure. Not only was it as cold as a rattsnake's stare outside, not only was it difficult to stay outside for long periods of time without her metal parts becoming searing cold, but her body constantly ached from the weather. Every morning she would groan and rub her sore shoulder before reluctantly curling further into her blankets.

Hearing that a snowstorm was upon the village was both a blessing and a curse at the same time; on one hand, she could stay curled up in bed as long as she wanted to, on the other hand, she was gonna have to find a way to stay extra warm or risk the biting cold.

So it was building a fire that finally coaxed Bunnie out of her bed on that particular frosty morning. She wasted no time slipping on a pink robe, matching pink slippers and ignoring the giant curlers that were still tucked in her hair from the previous evening. Why fix herself up if the company wasn't coming over?

Bunnie stretched her aching arm out and made a noise. "Ah'm too young to feel this old." She complained as she made her way to the fireplace.

...But she didn't quite miss that odd noise coming from the outside. Was someone trying to shovel?

At last! He made it to the door! His arms were hurting and the snow was sticking to his fur and he was freezing cold, BUT HE MADE IT! He triumphantly kicked the door open, announcing himself as a gust of chilly wind accompanied him.

"DO NOT FEAR, ANTOINE D'COOLETTE EEZ HERE!" And bringing snowy footprints with him. He looked a mess, with his nose a little runny and his body clearly shivering intensely. He looked around the front area, trying to locate his friend. "Do not tell me she has collapsed from ze awful agony!"

Bunnie had made herself a small fire and was in the middle of pouring herself some hot tea before the suspicious noise from outside burst through her door. Given she wasn’t expecting company; she hadn’t bothered with the civilities like tying her robe shut. She let out a yelp and instinctually pulled her robe tighter over her chest. She wasn’t expecting company so she ...she..!

The breeze did not help.

“ANTOINE D’COOLETTE! What in lands sake has gotten INTO you?!” She said in a fit of shock and, well, anger! She fixed her robe and tied the belt as tight as she could and stomped over. “You should know better than to go ‘round kickin’ in ladies doors like that!” Oh, she was splittin’ hairs over decking him! ...But she settled for grabbing his ear and yanking him into the corner of the room. “Now stand an' think ‘bout what you gone did until Ah make myself decent! If I see you peekin', Ah'm gonna wollup you!”

She would ask what in the world he was doing there in a minute.

This... was not exactly how he thought he'd be welcomed.

"OW - I thought you were - OW - I was just trying to - OW - Do you have to be using ze metal hand?!" Some gratitude! Here he comes, risking life and limb, and she's snapping at him about decency! What about decency? She looked plenty decent, she - and that's when he noticed the cute, loose-fitting robe she was wearing.

Being male, his eyes instinctively went downward.

Being Antoine, thankfully, he quickly slapped an arm to his eyes. "I didn't see anything!" he frantically lied. "I would ever dare peep, I am a gentleman!"

"Gentleman don't go 'round kickin' doors in!" She said with a nearly audible pout.

She quickly retreated to her room and spent some time removing the curlers from her hair, braiding her hair into a tight bun, and putting on the thickest and longest pink sweater that she could find. There was no point in putting on leggings or pants; it wasn't like they would help warm her up any.

Bunnie practically threw her robe on the floor in frustration. She put so much time and effort into looking perfect around Antoine, and he had to see her like that! She looked like such a dumpy mess, just thinking about it brought a tear to her eye.

After a sniff, she blinked back any tears and proceeded back to the main room. "Now what were you stompin' in here for?"

Antoine, meanwhile, wasn't exactly thinking she was messy or dumpy. Instead, one thing had become very clear - puberty had hit Bunnie like a truck. When did the cute little girl with ribbons on her ears turn into a curvy woman? He was definitely going to be carrying that image with him for a while.

When Bunnie returned to the room, Antoine kept his arm over his eyes, waiting for permission to lower it and open them. "I was seeing ze snow and I was realizing how much pain you might be een, due to your arm and legs! So I came to bring you warmth! I brought over every last blanket een my household, and enough firewood to last all day and all night! All so you would not be een any cold and een any pain!" He valiantly gestured with one free arm.

"... Although I am now realizing zat perhaps you are not een any cold or pain."

"..." Bunnie made a face. No one else had even thought about that; usually, she had to be the one to bring up that the cold caused her pain. .....Huh.

"Actually, It hurts like heck to be movin' around when it's cold like this." Bunnie rolled her shoulder back and forth. "Metal ain't meant to be up against your skin in this cold, ya know?"

She plopped back on the seat where she had been drinking tea and finally cocked her head up indignantly "If you wanna help keep the place warm, Ah would appreciate the help. As long as you done learned your lesson 'bout kickin' my door in!"

"I thought eet was an emergency." He huffed, still keeping his arm in front of his eyes. "... But, I apologize for abusing your door and not knocking."

A longer pause. "... Am I allowed to be looking now? Eef I am going to be setting up a proper fire, vision would be very useful."

"Emergency." She giggled. "You're so dramatic, Antoine." she gave a flirty wave of her hand like his words were just so funny. "It ain't like me bein' cold is the end of the world."

Bunnie glanced in Antoine's direction, glanced briefly at his hindquarters, then pursed her lips. "But ah think you'd learned your lesson. You can git." She paused before adding. "And I wouldn't mind your help, if'n you're offering."

With a little sigh of relief, Antoine lowered his arm. As expected, Bunnie was still gorgeous, just in a different way. But this was not a time for flirting or romance! This was time to help a friend! ... She probably didn't even think of him as someone who could be a romantic partner anyway, especially given his awful entrance just now. But that's fine! Just fine!

After clearing his throat, he set down his things and began to unpack. "As I was saying, I have brought many blankets. I wasn't sure if your skin was sensitive to any certain fabrics, so I made sure to grab all different kinds." He pulls out 6, maybe 10 blankets. "And ze firewood eez already chopped, eet just needs to be lit. But I insist you are not lifting a finger, I shall be taking care of everything!" He finishes with a small sneeze. He was still partially snow-covered, after all.

Ten? What possible reason could there be to bring TEN different blankets? In case the previous 9 had somethin' wrong with 'em? She gave a reluctant smile, "How 'bout you get the fire goin' a bit higher," Her fire was a little on the pathetic side, "And Ah'll make you some hot tea. Must be freezin' after walkin' all the way here."

She didn't assume he had dug the entire way.

Of course he dug the entire way because extra is Antoine's middle name.

"Tres bon!" Very good, he said, picking up the firewood and heading to the fireplace. He knelt down, carefully setting down the blocks of wood and picking up the nearby poker. A good fire needed to be tended to and kept alive, almost like a pet. "We shall have a roaring flame within minutes!"

Bunnie hurried back behind the counter to get the hot water ready. She sat out two glasses, the box of tea, and began pouring the water into one mug as she glanced over toward the fireplace. “Ah can’t wait. There’s nothing like sittin’ by a hot fire this time of year.”

It was so nice having someone who cared so much. She found herself staring with an unintentional smile on her face.. until she heard water drip on the floor. “Ah, shoot.”

Antoine's ears flicked up, and he paused in his work, trying to glance over. "Eez everything all right over zere? ... I could make us tea instead! I could make us a whole meal! You really don't have to do anything!" If she is in pain, she shouldn't be moving! She should be sitting down with her feet up while Antoine tended to her.

Well, she certainly wasn't going to go on and admit that she was admiring him from afar and had just gotten herself distracted so, "It's fine." She hurriedly reached for a towel. "A meal would be great but everythin's closed, so ah can't order somethin' decent." She sat the cloth on the counter and took to pouring tea the right way. "Ah can't cook worth a hill of beans."

"Ah, but I can cook much more zan beans!" Satisfied with the fire for now, Antoine stood up, a hand to his chest. "Any chef worth his salt can turn any ingredients eento a gourmet meal!" He began to strut for the kitchen. "Come come, you sit and be making yourself comfortable. Consider me your willing servant for ze day! A snow servant!" He laughed, thinking this joke funny.

Struttingnow. "Ain't no servant like snow servant." She said in lack of something better to say, and she immediately scolded herself for how corny that must have sounded. If only she could say somethin' cute!

Bunnie sighed in spite of herself and went to sit down on her couch. She sat with her legs folded underneath her in an effort to warm herself up. Not that she had much feeling in her toes, but the sooner she warmed up one half, the other half would warm up too.

"Cookin' is a mighty rare skill to find in a guy."

"All D'Coolette men are taught how to cook from an early age." It was part boasting, part fact, as he began to rummage through her cupboards. "You never know when you're een ze battlefield, lost, stranded, unable to tell when you will see another person again... You must be ready to make a meal out of your surroundings! ... And for eet to taste good."

He clicked his teeth. There wasn't much, but he could work with it. "We shall be having a heart broth of soup."

"That sounds great." A hearty soup for a hearty cold! Though.. she wasn't exactly sure what all that soup entailed.

Bunnie looked in his direction. "So they were settin' you up to fight long 'fore you could even go campin'?" At least, that was how it sounded. Why else would anyone be on a battlefield and have that to consider.

Noise clattered in the kitchen as Antoine prepared his work. "Yes, yes! Why, I knew how to hold a sword before I knew how to walk." Okay, he was exaggerating, but he was pretty proud of his family too. "Every generation of D'Coolettes must be ready for battle! We are a line of servitude towards ze people!:

"Given a sharp knife to a kid? That's.." She didn't want to get accusatory towards his customs. It just seemed a little much for her own taste. "Sounds like your family is dedicated to what they do. Cookin', sword fightin'," She giggled as she looked over at him. "Bein' charmin'."

Now that gave him pause, with a tiny of blush to his cheeks. He hadn't really expected a compliment, even though he was praising himself constantly. He shifted around, a weird smile on his face, before finding words.

"I, uh... well... zat ees... A-hem." He clears his throat. "T'ank you."

Did..did that overstep her boundaries? Did she say something out of line? Bunnie put a worried hand to her chin and guffawed--somewhat nervously, somewhat to break the tension. Oh, forget it! If they wanted to talk about overstepping boundaries then she could point out that he kicked in the door when she was barely dressed.

"C'mon, now." Bunnie said with a wave of her hand. "You look like you've never taken a compliment in your life."

"O-Of course not!" Antoine flustered, trying to push himself back into cooking. "Mama and Papa complimented me constantly!" Just them. Only them. Which might explain some things.

Now his hands flew, chopping and cooking and boiling and stirring. "I am very much used to compliments!"

Maybe it was just girls that he didn't get compliments from? But Bunnie certainly didn't say that out loud. She didn't want to head down that path and bait him into saying anything about her.

"Okay.." She arched an eyebrow and clutched the blanket closer to her chest. "Ah rarely have anyone over, so it like ah'm gettin' spoiled having someone come over and do all these things for me."

Now it was Antoine's turn to be curious and confused. Her? Lonely? Whatever for?

"What about your friends? Ze princess, Sonic, Rotor, all of zem... surely zey must come see you." If they didn't, they were going to get a stern talking-to.

"What? They're my friends, o'course, but they don't come here." She gave a laugh. "Ah don't think Sonic's able to sit long enough to pay attention, much less a visit; and Ah always go to Sally-girls place when we get together, She's got all the nicest stuff for me to do her hair over there; Rotor's got his workshop that we always need parts from..." Bunnie put a hand on the side of her face. "Ain't no need for anyone to come here. It's not a bad thing. Ah just never end up havin' anyone here."

He supposed she had her points... but... still... it didn't sit right with him. Homes were supposed to full of memories with loved ones. Couldn't one of them take a few minutes to chat at her place? Doesn't it get lonely knowing no one ever comes to you? Doesn't it upset you that you have to make the effort?

... Or maybe Antoine's projecting.

"... Eet shouldn't take a snowstorm for me to come see my friend. Zis, I vow - from now on, I shall make a much greater effort to come visit!"

"Aw, shucks, ain't no point in makin' such a big deal 'bout it. Ah don't mind going to see other folks." She waved off. "Maybe ah can visit you sometime. Don't think Ah've ever been over to see your place."

At this, Antoine whipped around, suddenly full of vigor. "Yes, you should! I will make sure my home eez een tippy-toppy shape for your arrival! Even though eet ees not my ancestral home, I am quite proud of eet!"

She gave a giggle. "Woah, there.Let's make sure we save that for when it's warm enough that ah can step outside again." No need to get ahead of themselves. "Besides. ..Ah wouldn't mind havin' you over again sometime." Bunnie quickly added. "And you wouldn't even have to cook nothin'."

"... Zat would be nice." Antoine smiled, his tail swishing back and forth a little. "Yes... I am seeing no reason why not."

He cleared his throat. "I-I am almost finished! Zis soup shall warm you inside and out!"

Bunnie clasped her hands together. "Oh, ah can't wait. This cold is just the pits." She sighed and clutched the blanket closer to her. "It's lucky we don't have any kinda mission right now where we have to go out in the snow. "

"Perhaps even ze mad doctor cannot stand such a cold winter." Within minutes, he walked out holding a tray of soup, silverware, a cup of tea, and even a napkin folded all fancy. Extra is Antoine's middle name. "Proving, once again, we are far superior."

"Let's not get too ahead of ourselves. We can brag once he's gone for good." Though her practical sensibilities quickly vanished once she saw just how spoiled she was going to be with her meal. Bunnie squealed with delight. "Oh my, it feels like Ah'm in my own personal fancy restaurant." And the 'fancy' kinds of restaurants were her favorite!

Antoine set the tray before her, and then took a sweeping bow, overly proud as always. "Zen consider me your waiter, your servant, your... whatever you are wanting! Not zat I am doubting your meal will need anything at all. But don't just be taking my word for it... eat up! Your body will be needing ze warmth and strength!"

Heh heh! Bunnie couldn't help but smile. Oh, she felt like a princess with all the pampering. Though... it would be a shame to give him the impression that she just wanted service whenever he was around. Antoine was a sweet guy.

She lifted the spoon, "We can settle on..friend, if you don't mind."

Antoine chuckled. "Friend eet eez. Please be enjoying." With a friendly salute, he headed back to the fire, wanting to keep it alive.

Bunnie gave a smile as Antoine turned his backside to her again. She took a gratuitous glance but decided staring was none too ladylike and averted her gaze happily to her food.

She took her spoon and finally took a spoonful of food. "Mmm." Her usually droopy ear perked straight up. "You made this with what Ah had here? his must be some kinda magic."

Antoine was still oblivious that any part of him was being admired, his eyes solely on the fire. "Perhaps on another one of our grand visits, I can be showing you how I made eet. Eet eez hardly so difficult."

"Ah would like that a lot." Though she suspected she would be doing less 'cooking' and more of 'watching a master at work'. She smirked. "Ah'll have to buy mahself a nice apron if we're going to have a cooking lesson." She supposed that Antoine wouldn't risk his masculinity enough to wear one of them himself. Aprons were always ruffly and pretty!

And once again, Antoine defied her expectations. "You can be borrowing mine, until we find you a proper one. Light colors highlight stains, and you want plenty of pockets to carry your necessary supplies so you're not constantly walking back and forth een ze kitchen." He stands up a little straighter, proud. "Mine cost me a good coin, so you know eet eez quality."

It might've come out more flat than she liked, but she couldn't help but balk at the works. "Y-you got an apron?" And he admitted to it?

Bunnie gawked. She gawked hard. He cooked, he was considerate, pampering even, and he wasn't afraid to admit he owned something as non-masculine as a cooking apron.

...What kind of strange dream of a man was this guy?

Antoine merely blinked at her question. Why, who wouldn't wear an apron to cook? What, did they want to get their clothes and/or fur all messy? It's not like he'd go about wearing it in public on the street.

"Yeah... so what?" The way she put it made it sound embarrassing. "Eef you don't want eet, you don't have to take eet..."

Bunnie felt her face heat up much to her own dismay. She sighed, resining to stirring the soup with a spoon. "It's just that... You're full of surprises, Antoine. Ah never thought you'd be the kind to like these kinda things and be so carin'." With a deep breath, she regained her composure. "It's nice to get to know my friends better is all."

Antoine's body gives him away before his face does - his ears perk up quite happily, and his tail swishes. He's oblivious to both of these, and tries to play it off like she's not being super adorable and he doesn't care about all those genuine compliments and it does not please him beyond words to have someone calling him a friend.

"Ah... well, of course!" He tries to play it cool, tossing a hand up, wagwagwagwag. "We are very good friends, after all. I would tell you my life history, you need only ask. But perhaps, for once, we have heard enough about me. I would enjoy learning more about my friend."

She gave a little laugh, trying to hide the smile with the back of her palm as she did so. "Ah'd say we have the time." She patted the space on the couch beside her. "Think we might be snowed in here for a while."

Antoine sat next to her, all smiles. "Yes... and, honestly, I wouldn't mind eet eef stayed around a while."

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Keeping Warm During a Snowstorm - Antoine & Bunnie

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