Work Text:
“Mama! Mama!” Amelia calls out as she runs into her mother’s arms.
“Ooh, hi baby!” Fauna greets, almost falling back a bit from being rammed into while she was crouching down. “Did you have fun today?”
“Yap!” Amelia grins as Fauna stands up, taking Amelia’s hand so the two could start walking. “It was Wawa’s turn for show an’ tell today, and she was showbin off her libble cats she got-”
Fauna holds back a little chuckle at her daughter’s extraordinary way of pronunciation. “Really?”
“Ah-hup-” Amelia nods. “Hey, Mama, what if we got a pet!”
“Oh?” Fauna hums. “That’s an interesting thought. Are you thinking of anything specifically or-”
“A DOG!” Amelia shouts, bouncing along the sidewalks, trying to make it so she only stepped once in each tile. “CAN! WE! GET! A! DO-!”
She shouts, missing a step and almost falling over, saved by her mother who quickly lifted her up by the arm so she wouldn’t hit the concrete. “Ame, you need to be more careful-”
“Can we get a dog?!”
“Hey, first of all-”
“Please, please, pleaseeee!!!”
“If you fell down-”
“PLEASE!”
Fauna stares at Amelia, who comically shuts her mouth as she nods. “Yes, Mama, I’ll be’ll careful.”
Her mother sighs before continuing to lead the two home. “A pet is a big responsibility, Ame. I was thinking maybe we could start out simple with a fish first, and you can prove you can take care of it?”
“Whaaaa-” Amelia groans. “A fish ain’t a dog!”
“Well, if we get a dog, don’t we want to get a happy dog?”
“Huh? I mean, I guess…” The child mumbles, putting her finger on her chin to look like she’s thinking, a habit she’s gotten from her mother without understanding it entirely. “So a fish will make it happy?”
“Being well taken care of will make the dog happy,” Fauna explains. “And if you can prove you can take care of a fish to start, maybe I’ll look into us getting a dog.”
“REAL?!” Amelia shouts, tugging on her mother’s arm to run ahead. “Okay, fish time!!”
“Oh, we’re doing this now- okay!” Fauna grunts, trying to keep up with her hyper-energetic daughter.
“And now we have a fish,” Fauna sighs, folding clothes and preparing them for the display.
“That’s cute!” Mumei, her coworker, responds. “Did she name the fish yet?”
“Yeah. She named it Fish Gura.”
“Fish… Gura?”
“Gura is her best friend at school, she’s adorable, always dressed in this oversized blue shark hoodie.”
“So she named it after her because she likes sharks?”
“No,” The mother chuckles, “Ame named it after her because they both eat anything in front of them- ”
“Oh my gosh-” Mumei scoffs, using her hand to hide her smile. “Amelia’s kinda ruthless, huh?”
“Who’s Amelia?” Another voice speaks up, and Fauna looks behind her to see one of the newbies at the store. “Is she another coworker I haven’t met yet?”
“Oh!” Mumei perks up, turning around to gesture to the mother. “No, Amelia is Fauna’s daughter.”
“Fauna?” The newbie tilts her head. “I don’t think I’ve met you yet. I’m Kronii.”
“Kronii,” Fauna smiles, offering her hand for a little shake. “Nice to meet you. The job treating you well?”
“It’s paying me.” Kronii shrugs with a slight smile. “Bar is low.”
“Oh, hey! Actually, Kronii, can you shadow Fauna for the day? I know you were supposed to shadow me, but honestly, I’m kind of thinking about calling out early. These heels are not kind to me.”
“You okay?” Kronii asks.
“Do you need a bandaid, sweetheart?” Fauna steps forward. “I think I have one in my purse.”
“You’re so mother-” Mumei rolls her eyes playfully. “But it’s more so I have an excuse to go home.”
Kronii blinks. “You can do that?”
“I can,” The brunette pokes at Kronii’s shoulder. “ You can’t. Good try though.”
“I wasn’t gonna try anything!” Kronii defends herself, causing the two other women to laugh. “Jeez, I’m not that tired of working here yet.”
“Good,” Fauna hands over a box of hangers. “You get to help me after all.”
“Just say the word, ma’am.” The newbie smiles, happily following after Fauna, if it weren’t for the sudden tug on her shoulder. “Mumei-”
Mumei yanks on her more to bring her down to a height where she can whisper into her ear. “Fauna’s not that much older than us, just so you know.”
“Okay…? Does she not like being called ma’am or-”
“She’s single, too.”
Kronii stares for a moment, before her cheeks start growing red. “Why are you telling me this?!”
Laughing, the brunette lets go of her and gives her a little push towards Fauna’s direction. “Her kid’s adorable, too, by the way!”
“Wh-?!”
“Mama?” Amelia calls out from the couch, her eyes glued to the fish tank on the end table.
“Yes, sweetheart?” Fauna responds from the kitchen, where she was washing the dishes.
“Do you think Fish Gura likes me?”
Grabbing a small towel after turning off the sink, Fauna steps out of the kitchen area to approach her daughter. “Of course, what makes you think she doesn’t?”
“What if I’m not a good owner?” The child asks quietly, pulling up her legs to hug them. “What if amnials don’t like me?”
Fauna smiles softly, ruffling Amelia’s hair a bit. “Animals love you, my little princess.” She pulls her closer to kiss the top of her head, letting her daughter eventually fall into her lap to play with the fabrics of her long skirt.
“How would you know?”
“Because,” Fauna lowers her voice, gently brushing Amelia’s hair. “I know you. You’re very kind and caring, and there’s nothing you can’t accomplish when you put your heart to it.”
“So?” Amelia turns her face, burying it in Fauna’s lap to muffle herself. “That doesn’t matter…”
“Then what does, sweetheart?”
“Talking to them.”
Fauna pauses, stifling a little scoff as Amelia sits up.
“Don’t laugh!”
“I’m not!”
Tiny hands grab her cheeks to squish them. “You are!”
“Okash- Yesh, I am.” She takes Amelia’s hands to wrap her own around them. “But it’s because you’re being silly .”
“No, I’m not.” Amelia huffs as she flops back onto Fauna’s lap, this time facing upwards at her mom. “Not being able to talk to amnials is a very serious issue in our society.”
Fauna almost laughs again at her daughter’s sudden serious vocabulary and tone. “And how’d you think of that?’
“Movies.”
“Well,” Brushing Amelia’s bangs aside, the mother leans down to kiss her daughter’s forehead once more. “Movies aren’t always real, y’know?”
“Ah, boo-hoo, that’s what they always say.”
“Uh-huh. Well, maybe you can learn to talk to animals.”
The kid suddenly sits up, almost hitting Fauna in the face if it weren’t for her quickly moving back. “I can?!”
“Not entirely, it’s not like you can speak the same language as them, but maybe you can learn to understand how they communicate?”
“How?!” Amelia grabs her mom’s arm to start shaking it. “Mama, tell me!”
“I don’t know how! But we can always read about it, at the library-”
“UGHH-”
“She complained the entire way there,” Fauna explains, pulling out her phone as she steps closer to Kronii. “But as soon as we got there, she was completely engrossed in it.”
Letting Kronii look over her shoulder, she shows off photos of her daughter either sitting on the ground or laying on her stomach as she reads books, surrounded by other books.
“Wow.” Kronii mumbles. “Your daughter’s pretty smart, huh?”
“More than me.” Fauna chuckles, shaking her head as she scrolls through more photos. “She’s just amazing, I don’t know where she gets it from.”
“I think I have an idea.”
Fauna pauses, looking up at Kronii and noticing how suddenly close they were.
“Ah-” Fauna mumbles, her face turning a little red as she steps back. “Sorry, I didn’t realize I had gotten so close.”
“It’s alright, I, um, I liked seeing the photos.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah. She’s adorable, really.” Kronii smiles sheepishly, looking off to the side as she scratches her neck. “Like um, probably gets it from… you…”
Forget a little red, Fauna’s face turns into a full blown tomato.
“Oh.” Fauna looks away as well, covering her mouth with her phone and trying not to scream.
“Sorry,” Kronii mumbles, glancing at Fauna. “Is that- is that stepping over a line?”
“No, I just, um…” Fauna pulls her phone up a little more, desperately trying to hide her face. “I didn’t think… anyone would um- y’know… call me that.” Especially you- She almost adds, but bites her tongue instead, trying not to explode on the spot.
“Well, may- maybe more people should! Or something- Ack- sorry, I don’t know what I’m saying. I just-” Kronii groans, running a hand through her hair before gesturing to Fauna, desperately trying to change the topic. “So! Ame likes dogs, right?”
“Right!” Fauna responds, almost too eagerly. “Yeah, I got her a fish in the first place so she could, y’know, prove she’s responsible.”
“Yeah? Is she?”
“Definitely,” Fauna sighs. “She’s been learning how to tell time, so I let her draw on a clock with a marker for Fish o’ Clock .”
“That’s smart of you.”
“That’s the thing! She came up with it!” Fauna grins, unashamed of how proud she is of her daughter. “Gosh, I might have a picture of that, too-” She mumbles, opening her phone once more.
“You take pictures of everything, huh?”
“Yeah. I even have screenshots of dogs that Ame might like- oh, here’s one actually!” Fauna smiles, showing Kronii her phone of a big dog.
“Oh, that looks like my dog.” Kronii hums, unintentionally taking Fauna aback.
“You have a dog?”
“Yeah. You wanna see her?” The taller woman asks, patting her back pocket to prepare herself to grab her phone.
“Sure! When?”
Kronii blinks. “Huh?”
“Oh!” Fauna almost smacks her mouth with her phone. “Sorry! I thought you meant- ah- sorry, I don’t know why I’m like this-” She flusters, looking away as her face begins to blush again.
“Did you… wanna meet her instead…?” Kronii tilts her head. “She’s really friendly.”
Fauna gulps, glancing to Kronii out of the corner of her eye. “Can I…?”
“Sure. You already know my schedule,” Kronii chuckles. “Just let me know ahead of time and um, maybe you can… come to my place…? It can be when Ame’s at school and uh, we can have lunch or something, since I owe you?”
“What?” Fauna scoffs, lowering her phone as well as her guard. “What do I owe you for?”
“You gave me lunch like- this whole week. Do you seriously think I’m not gonna pay you back for that?”
“Well, I didn’t want you to buy food when I already had some! Plus, it’s not like it was intentional or anything, the stupid food place next door kept putting meat in my orders- I’m just glad it didn’t go to waste.”
“Yeah, now I get to use it as an opportunity to invite you on a date-” Kronii’s eyes widen immediately as she realizes she said it aloud.
“What-”
“What? Nothing. I just- let me know if- I mean, you don’t have to! If you- I can still, buy you lunch anytime! No uh, no ropes tied- no, wait, no… no ties? What’s the- No strings attached!” She suddenly snaps her fingers. “That one! No strings attached.”
Fauna starts to cover her face once more as she looks away.
“No, it’s fine… Um, I’ll let you know when I can go to your place.”
“Like… just to hang or-”
“Like a date?”
Kronii grins stupidly. “Yeah! Yeah, for sure! We can- Yeah!!”
“Great.” Fauna smiles shyly, offering Kronii maybe the cutest face she’s ever seen in her life. “It’s a date.”
From a few feet away, two coworkers peek from behind a shelf.
“I told you I was right.” Mumei scoffs through a whisper. “They’re cute together!”
“Right. I have no idea how you clocked that.” Bae grumbles.
“Easy, I’m just better-”
“I put that idea in your head!”
“You did?” Mumei blinks as she turns to look at Bae. “Oh. I guess I forgot.”
“Mumei…”
“Ame…” Fauna whispers as she sits on the side of the bed.
“Mama…” Amelia mumbles, weakly turning onto her back. “S’ hot…”
“Your little towel fell off,” Her mother explains, “I ran it under cold water again, but try not to let it fall, okay?”
“Okay…” Amelia wearily opens her eyes. “Sorry…”
“It’s okay, sweetheart, it’s just a little fever, you don’t need to apologize, but do you understand why you got sick?”
“Cos I went out in the rain widout a coat?”
“Mhm. Next time, tell me if you wanna do that, and I’ll help you get ready, okay?”
“Okay… I just… I thought Fish Gura might like to try the rainwater.”
Fauna’s heart drops. “Wait, what? You took Fish Gura with you?”
“Ya. I pudder into a libble cup, and we went oudside.” Amelia deliriously mutters.
“Did you… leave her outside…?”
Kronii groans as she leans forward on the counter.
“What’s wrong?” Bae scoffs. “Miss your girlfriend?”
“Yes.” Kronii blatantly answers, no regard for much else. “I thought she was coming in today…”
“She called out,” Mumei explains from the other side of the store since it was still quiet. “Said Ame was sick, I think.”
“Shit- really?” Kronii stands up, grabbing her phone. “Is Ame okay?”
“Not sure, Fauna seemed really distressed when she called me.”
“That’s how kids are,” Bae shrugs, “they can’t really take care of themselves.”
Mumei steps into an aisle to raise an eyebrow at their coworker. “Bae, I don’t know if you know this, but that’s kind of the whole point of kids-”
Fauna <3
Me: everything okay? mumei said you called out because ame’s sick.
Fauna: I was just about to text you
Fauna: Do you think you can bring medicine after your shift? Or whenever possible
Fauna: I’m really sorry, I can’t leave Ame right now
Me: don’t be sorry, i’ll be over asap.
Fauna: Thank you
“Hey,” Kronii calls out, looking up from her phone and interrupting the other two arguing over whatever nonsense this time. “Can I take my break now? It’s a pretty slow day and-”
“Gonna go see your girlfriend?” Bae interrupts with a sly grin.
“Yeah, actually.” Kronii nervously fiddles with her phone. “She asked me if I could bring medicine after my shift because she can’t leave Ame right now, so-”
“Oh, go then!” Mumei shoos her off. “Just come back soon.”
“Let me know if you guys need anything else,” Bae adds as Kronii takes off her apron to hand to Mumei before she walks out. “I wouldn’t mind leaving-”
Mumei smacks her back with Kronii’s apron. “You’re not going anywhere.”
“What?! But it’s sooo boring today! Plus-”
Kronii rolls her eyes as she rushes out of the store.
“Oh, get an umbrella!” Mumei tries to shout after her. “I think it’s gonna rain again!”
“I’m… here…” She mumbles as she texts Fauna, standing in front of the door, letting her wet umbrella lean on the wall. “Got… medicine-”
The front door opens suddenly (scaring the shit out of Kronii), revealing a disheveled Fauna. “I was hoping it was your car I heard.”
“Yeah, is it fine if I parked in your driveway, cause-” She grunts quietly as Fauna suddenly hugs her. Instinctually, Kronii’s arms wrap around the mother, rubbing her back as comfortingly as she can.
“Thank you…”
“Oh, the medicine, right-”
“For coming too.”
Kronii pauses, letting Fauna rest her chin on her shoulder. Her eyebrows furrow as she hugs Fauna a bit tighter. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah, just-” Fauna lets out a heavy breath. “Ame’s sick, and she found out she accidentally killed Fish Gura-”
“Damn…” Kronii mumbles.
“So she’s been crying nonstop and I just- all I can do is hold her, but she’s so fragile and I just- I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“Your best?” Kronii offers another gentle rub on her back. “Honestly, a hug does wonders."
Fauna’s eyes widen before softening as she melts into the embrace. “Yeah… I guess so…”
“That and medicine probably.” Kronii grins, tapping the bag against Fauna’s thigh as the two slowly separate. “Here.”
“Thank you,” Fauna chuckles as she takes the bag. “Really, this means a lot to me. I’ll um, I’ll pay you back.”
“No need.” Kronii shakes her head.
“No, really! Do you want a drink or anything to eat? I think I can quickly cook something if you wanna step inside-”
“Ah, I can’t…” Kronii scratches the back of her head. “I’m actually on break right now, so I gotta get back to the store before Mumei gets mad at me for leaving completely.”
“Oh! I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to keep you or anything-”
“It’s fine. I wanted to come.” Kronii cuts in.
“Then let me at least pay for your next meal or something-”
“Don’t worry about me,” Kronii steps a little closer, grabbing her umbrella from the wall. “Worry about Ame, that’s how you can pay me back.”
Fauna bites her lip.
“Can I at least give you something?”
“Depends on what-”
Fauna suddenly steps forward, cutting Kronii’s words off with a kiss. In response, Kronii’s eyes widen, the umbrella falling out of her hands out of shock, but slowly, she melts into it, using her now free hands to hold Fauna by the waist. The two melt into it, one kiss turning into two, then three, and almost four if it weren’t for Fauna breaking off.
She gives a small chuckle at Kronii craning her neck forward, trying to reach for just one more that Fauna eventually gives through a small peck. “There. I hope that’s fine.”
Kronii’s eyes widen, almost visible hearts swirling in them. “That’s- God, that’s so much more than fine, Fauna.”
“Good.” Fauna grins, giving her one more peck. “Now go, before Mumei starts spamming you with texts.”
“Oh, too late, my phone’s been buzzing in my pocket this entire time.”
Fauna laughs, leaning down to pick Kronii’s umbrella up before handing it to her, though their hands linger for a moment.
“Um,” Fauna mumbles, letting her hand stay for a bit. “Do you think… Maybe you’d like to meet Ame soon?”
“Of course. If she’s up for it.”
“Okay, good,” The mother grins. “Because I have a small idea.”
“Which is…?”
“I’ll tell you some other time, when she’s feeling better, and maybe also when we get another fish-” She cuts herself off with a small laugh. “Plus, if you stay here any longer, Mumei might kill you.”
The taller woman groans. “I hate when you’re right.”
“No, you don’t.”
Kronii scoffs, shaking her head with a soft smile. “Yeah, no I don’t. One more for the road?”
Fauna rolls her eyes before grabbing Kronii by the collar and pulling her in for another kiss.
“Are we really getting a dog?!” Amelia bounces, almost ripping Fauna’s arm off as they head towards the park.
“Well, you did take pretty good care of Fish Gura, and you’re doing even better with Fish Gura 2, so I thought you might like to meet a dog.”
“Oh, right! I forgot about that!”
“Well, either way, are you ready?” Fauna hums, smiling a little as she sees a figure in the distance by the playground.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah!!” Amelia grins. “Is it a big dog? Or a little puppy??”
“Do you have a preference?”
“Big dog!!” She stretches her arms as much as she can. “For extra hugs!”
Her mother almost melts at the adorable image. “Well, lucky for you-” She looks up and waves over to someone in the distance, Amelia barely able to contain herself. “Kronii!”
“A Kronii dog!” Amelia shouts. “I’ve never heard of that breed-”
“Hey, Fauna!” A woman approaches instead with a smile, as she leans in to kiss Fauna’s cheek, not noticing the way the small child below them glares at first, completely distraught. “Oh, is this-”
“That ain’t no dawg.” Amelia blurts out, almost in disgust.
“Ah,” Fauna lightly laughs, intertwining her arm with the not-dog woman. Undog, if you will. “Ame, this is Kronii. She’s um, well, we’ve been going out for a little bit, and I thought you might like to meet her.”
“Betrayal.” Amelia mumbles, glaring at the taller woman. “Pure and udder betrayal.”
Kronii scratches the back of her neck. “Uh, sorry…?” She looks to Fauna to whisper in her ear. “Does she… not like you dating or…?”
“Sorry,” Fauna mumbles. “I think she was expecting you to be the dog.”
“Oh, right.” Kronii smiles again before crouching down to look at Amelia, who steps away in revulsion. “Ame, I heard you like dogs.”
Amelia’s glare softens as she crosses her arms. “Who wants ta know?”
“Well,” Kronii looks off to the side, sticking her fingers in her mouth to give a sharp whistle before turning her attention back to the kid. “I thought you might like to meet mine.”
Amelia raises an eyebrow, turning her head to the side to see a large dog sprinting up to them. Her excitement gets the better of her, as she completely freezes into place, watching the dog slow down before coming to a stop, sitting and staring at Kronii as she drops a tennis ball at her feet.
“Amelia, this is-”
“PUPPY!” Amelia shrieks, bouncing all around the dog. “CAN I PET THE DOG, MAMA?!”
“Lower your voice first, Ame,” Fauna whispers kindly as she kneels down next to Kronii. “But if it’s alright with Kronii-”
“Go nuts.”
Amelia grins as she throws her arms around the dog, her brain on the brink of exploding with happiness. “Puppy!” Amelia shouts again, albeit quieter this time.
“Her name’s Timemutt.” She explains, before casting a glance towards Fauna. “Long story.”
“Which you still haven’t told me yet.”
“ Long story.” Kronii emphasizes before letting herself fall back to completely sit on the grass. “Sit?”
“Oh, sure, let me just-” Fauna reaches back to help herself down gently, but suddenly arms scoop her up and set her in Kronii’s lap. “Ah-”
“She’s a labrador retriever,” Kronii explains, completely skipping over what just happened as she wraps her arms around Fauna’s waist. “Know what that means, Ame?”
“Um…” Amelia lifts her face up from where she was rubbing it into the dog’s fur. “Lab… she was raised in a lab?”
“No, it means she’s really good at playing fetch.” Kronii feels around for the tennis ball that Timemutt dropped earlier, showing it to Amelia, who reaches her hands out. “Throw it as far as you can, and she’ll bring it back.”
“Really??” Amelia stares at the tennis ball before looking off at the grass field in the distance. Her eyes land on a pole in the far distance, maybe a hundred miles away or so (for her tiny legs at least), but still, she takes a deep breath and readies herself to throw…
And throws the ball a couple of feet away before it bounces pathetically into the dirt.
She stares at the dog, who stares back at her.
“You have to say fetch-” Kronii quickly whispers.
“Fetch?” Amelia repeats, and the dog kicks off, sprinting the few feet only to bring the tennis ball back quickly, dropping it at Amelia’s feet. “OOOOHOHHOHOH-”
Picking up the ball once more and ignoring the slobber, she tries throwing it again, this time going a little further out as she turns to Kronii and Fauna. “Can we keep her?!”
“Ame,” Fauna cuts in. “She’s Kronii’s dog. I just thought you might like to meet her-”
“Sure.” Kronii answers instead, causing Fauna’s brain to stop working for a moment as she processes.
“Wh- Kronii!”
“But, you can’t keep her completely.” She explains, hugging Fauna a little tighter. “But I’ll let you see her more often if you don’t mind me dating your mom.”
Amelia stares at her, looking her up and down but then changing her glance to Timemutt dropping the ball at her feet.
“Hm,” Amelia puts her finger on her chin once more as she picks up the tennis ball to inspect it before throwing it once more. “Fetch!”
“Is that her answer…?” Kronii whispers, causing Fauna to laugh quietly.
“Just wait.”
As the dog speeds off, Amelia turns back to them with a nod, coming to a conclusion.
“Ya, I guess we could keep you for a libble bit.”
“Thank you.” Kronii smiles, kissing Fauna’s shoulder before patting her thigh, signaling that she was gonna stand up. “In return, I’ll show more tricks Timemutt knows.”
“THERE’S MORE?!” Amelia screams once again before grabbing Kronii’s arm. “Well, whattaya waiting for?!”
“Ah, wait-” Kronii turns to look at Fauna, who gives a small peck to her lips.
“Good luck.”
“What’s that supposed to mean- Gwak?! Ame, how are you so strong?!?!”
“LET’S GO, LET’S GO, LET’S GO!!”
Fauna grins as she watches the two run off, holding a hand over her heart as Kronii unknowingly takes up a new spot, right next to her daughter.
(And also maybe Kronii’s adorable dog.)
