Work Text:
The train moved along the rails at a comforting speed as you watched the landscape pass by from the window. Finally, you had found yourself able to move into a new town far from the one that you had grown up in. It was a daunting task as much as it was exciting. The place was a bit far out from any major city, but you figured that would give it a certain rustic charm that could prove a pleasant change. Everything felt a little less frightening when you thought of it that way as well. Few other passengers had caught a ride on the train. Really, the car you sat in was mostly empty, barring an old, napping sow.
It was just you and the world.
Until, the door of the car slid open and a blue and white cat walked in and looked around before spotting you. His red eyes went wide as he waved at you and approached. You perhaps would have felt a bit nervous, but he seemed relatively normal, if not a tad too amicable. “Uh… Excuse me… Do you have a second?” he asked. You gave a nod in reply. He then asked you the date and time to which you gave an answer. His smile was stagnant as he nodded this time and seemingly corrected a wristwatch. Then, he glanced back up at you. “Do you mind if I sit across from you? I promise that I won't fall asleep and start drooling on you!”
With your permission, he down on the seat and glanced out the window for a moment. Then, his attention landed back on you. “Thanks again! It sure is nice meeting friendly folks on the train… You aren't some dangerous criminal, are you?” his lips curled back into a playful expression, “Just kidding!” You gave a slight laugh. It seemed that he really just wanted to talk to someone. The conversation continued with him giving you his name and asking for your own, asking about where you were going and why, and then where you were moving to. Though, his shock was plain on his face when you replied that you had no idea. At first, he tried to laugh it off as you messing with him, but he soon realised that you were not joking.
“WHAT?!” his voice actually raised in shock, “You can't just show up with no place to live-! Oh, duh! A friend of mine runs a shop there. Let me give him a ring and see if he has anything.” The cat gave another look at you as he got up and walked away to step outside the train car for a moment. You watched him pick up his cellphone and make a call out. Listening as best you could on the quiet train, you heard him speaking to someone. A name, Nook, stood out to you. You heard him mention your situation and name to the person on the other end of the line. Part of you did feel a bit worried about this being some kind of situation, but Rover had seemed genuine enough.
Soon, the call came to an end, and he returned to his seat across from you with a comforting smile. “Right, so my friend has some places. Dirt cheap, actually,” he reassured you, “Apparently, he was having some trouble renting him so he is willing to unload them at a loss.” His red eyes met yours. “You have money, right?” he tilted his head. You nodded, not really thinking much of the situation. “Then you'll be fine!” his smile became that amicable one again, “Oh, look!” His attention shifted to the window. “We're pulling in right now!”
Your heart raced as you saw the station's imminent approach. Soon, the train had come to a stop, and the cat waved a goodbye to you as you departed. The cool crisp air of autumn greeted you as the browning scenery of a small town met your eyes. You stepped down from the platform, wondering where you should go when you heard someone shout out. “Excuse me! Hey, hey! Hey, you there — Yes, you!” Your attention went in the direction of the voice, spotting a tanuki rushing over towards the station. He panted when he saw he had your attention and came to stop to regain his breath for a moment. You tilted your head. He rose up his head and asked your name, which you gave.
“Good, good! I just had a phone call about you, hm?” he let out a breath, “Whew, I'm glad I made it in time to meet your train. I'm afraid I'm not in the best shape of my life…” He shook his head. “But, I ramble. My name is Tom Nook. I, uh, run the store here in town.” A look over was given to you as he remarked on your interesting decision to move to a town before deciding on a place to move into, even giving a laugh at the absurdity of the thought to him. You finally supposed that it might not have been the best idea, admittedly. With that, he assured you that he had a few homes that were ready for someone to move into and had you follow him down a path to where four homes stood.
All were a quaint size, but it seemed that it was not irrational for the price it likely was to be. He offered you to peer into any of them to get a feel for whichever you liked. Taking him up on his offer, you headed inside the closest to your right. Nook warned you that the home would be quite “cosy” to which you opted to ignore. Inside, you were greeted by a small space with some dingy wallpaper and flooring. A tape deck sitting on the floor and a box with a journal on top of it sat in the far corners of the room. You let out a sigh. What was this? You supposed this is a bit of what you deserved for making a hasty decision with little forethought. Heading out, you found Nook waiting for you by the door.
He confirmed that it was the one you liked and proclaimed the home to be yours at your second agreement. The tape deck was even provided to you for free. Though, you did hear him mumble under his breath about it not selling in his shop. Assurance about the lack of furniture being a you problem was made clear and a simple explanation about getting some ideas on how to decorate by visiting your neighbours was given. Then, finally, the chatter ended, “And… That brings your closing costs to 19,800 bells!” He nodded. You felt yourself grow a bit nervous. Reaching into your pocket, you offered what you had inside.
At first, he accepted the bag with little worry, but when he opened it, sweat began to pour from him. “That is not nearly enough!” he fretted, “This must be a joke, yes? You cannot only have 1000 bells! You know what happens to those who don't have money, don't you? They can't buy a house!” For a moment, he seemed deep in thought before shaking his head. “... You still need a place to stay, don't you? Hmm… A thorny situation. Yes. Rather thorny…” You felt yourself panicking internally. Really, what had you been thinking? His lidded eyes glanced at you as you shrunk into yourself. “… Then here's what we'll do! You can work part-time at my shop to pay off the rest! Yes, that's acceptable.” You perked up a bit. An agreement was made for you to settle in for a moment then to meet him at his shop to discuss things further.
Thus, you truly began your life in your new town.
Nook proved to be a bit of an ass as a boss, handing you a uniform and giving you some basic tasks to do. One of which had you planting flowers and saplings… To only be paid 80 bells. Deliveries were another one, but they were not so bad. Through your work, you ended up meeting plenty of your neighbours and finding yourself with some budding friendships. Of course, just when you felt decidedly comfortable to keep working away at your newfound debt at the job, Nook informed you that he had nothing left for you to do. You wanted to stand a-gasp at the shopkeeper, but he informed you that you had a good idea now of how to get out there on your own to pay it off.
Though, you supposed it was not so hard. Finding assorted things to sell to Nook and slowly chipping away at the bill was manageable. Various neighbours also dumped items off on you for doing odd jobs that you often sold when you felt uninterested in it. Not to mention capturing fish and bugs — Granted, you still frequently ended up giving the first one of whatever you caught to the museum curator. That poor owl often jumping away as you stood directly in front of him. Fossils were also fun, though having to mail them off made the excitement rise and fall. It had not been long until the autumn days shifted into the first snow of the season.
Winter had come, and you found yourself approaching Nook's shop. The small shack of a shop had changed into something more of a convenience store due to the increased needs of the town, supposedly. As you approached, something made you stop in your tracks. Two little tanuki were playing just outside of the shop, rolling up a snow ball together. You could not recall having seen them before. Did Nook have children? He certainly had not mentioned it. Perhaps they were visiting relatives? But, was this not his home town? Sable of the Able Sisters had certainly told you it was. The two seemed to catch sight of you and lose interest in their snow ball. Running up to you, they both stood up at with big, round eyes. The resemblance was certainly uncanny.
“Hello, hello,” the two spoke in sync, catching you off-guard, “Can you help us… us?” One of the two trailed just behind at the end. You blinked. Well, maybe getting a new axe could wait. Nodding, you helped them roll the snow ball on top of another to make a snowman. A few decorations were added to dress it up as they cheered happily at the sight. You felt a bit strange gazing at the two kids. They glanced back at you. “Thank you… you!” their voices were so genuine and sweet. You could not help but smile in return and reassure them it was no problem. They continued to play around the snowman as you slipped away into the store, seeing the tanuki lazing behind his register for a moment.
Maybe it was a slow day. He instantly perked up at seeing you, switching into his customer service mode. You obtained the axe that you were after but stopped as you were heading out of the store. A question about the two kids outside hung in the air. He was shocked for a moment before letting his guard drop. “… Those two? They are my apprentices, hm?” he replied simply. You blinked. What did… that even mean? Apprentices? He sighed. “No, they are not my children,” he said simply, “… Sometimes I just need extra hands when working.” For some reason, you doubted that. But, there was no need to protest his words, so you nodded. Whatever he wanted to call it, you supposed. Heading out, you waved by to the kids who waved back at you.
Slowly, you found yourself spotting more and more of the little tanuki - Timmy and Tommy as they had introduced themselves. It seemed that they were truly apprentices of the older tanuki, referring to him solely as Mr. Nook. They claimed to be learning how to run a store from him, but you listened to plenty of stories from both that seemed to paint a more familial situation at play. Maybe it was simply some cultural thing that you did not understand, so you simply kept it to yourself. The two were occasionally pulled away from their studies for a break from their dear mentor, which led to you often playing with them between your tasks. They had watched in excitement as you reeled in fish from the river or caught a few bugs to show them. Sometimes, you even unconsciously ended up gifting them something that you obtained, watching their eyes light up brightly at it.
Whatever odd home situation they had, they were truly just kids. Though, it had become a bit more frequent you brought them back to the store after your hang-outs with them. Nook simply watched as you walked them to the door, mostly giving a nod or a polite thank you for watching over them. You had taken to just shrugging. Really, you did not mind. It was a nice way pass around a less eventful day. Though, Nook seemed to soften up a bit towards you, ending the awkward retail worker-landlord relationship that you had.
Entering his store, you sighed as you looked over the furniture selections he had that day. Nothing to suit what theme you had begun to decorate your home with. He caught your sigh and tilted his head. “Do you want something in particular?” You shook your head. It just seemed hard to decide these days. “... I'd be willing to order ahead for you if you did,” his voice was a bit quieter, as if this were some secret, “I do appreciate your patronage… And help.” You glanced at him. That last past had barely been audible. Help… Did he feel as if he owed you a bit for hanging out with the twins? You wondered. Smiling at him, you simply shook your head. It was something that you could only pick out when you looked at it. And, well, having an excuse to pop by the store for a visit was never a bad thing. The boys certainly liked to pop out from the connected family living unit to see you.
“Well, if you ever do, the offer remains up in the air,” Nook nodded. Then, you heard your name shouted as two fluffy forms rushed towards you. They dragged you away towards the door to have you play hide and seek with them outside.
As you went, a small smile crossed Nook's usually unreadable countenance.
Somehow, you ended up in a strange market tent that had come to town. A neighbour had told you the supposedly super secret password to get in, and you ended up having to instantly dump 3000 bells just to shop. Though, you found yourself a bit suspicious of the owner. The fox was up-front with a penchant for calling you cousin. Supposedly, you were getting a discount on account of being “like family.” Granted, you recognised one of the items he had on display as one that you had seen in Nook's shop. The price, however, was a fair bit higher. As much as you wanted to believe the tanuki would cut you a deal, you doubted it. While that should have truly deterred you from purchasing anything, you felt drawn in by the painting for sale.
Really, seeing the Mona Lisa should have been your first red flag, but you still purchased it. The fox assured you that you would not regret it as you stepped out of the tent with your purchase. Knowing that Blathers would simply love an addition for the art section of the museum, you brought it in to him. However, you stomach soon dropped as he recoiled in shock. “Upon a closer look, I must inform you that this is a vile, shameless forgery!” he looked offended that you would even offer him such a thing as he handed it back to you. However, when he saw your expression, he became a bit more sympathetic. Shaking his head, he lightly chided you for buying from such a shady seller and reassured you that it could happen to anyone.
With that, you found yourself trailing towards the dump to toss the fake. Though, you caught a familiar figure as you dropped the item to be taken away. Nook stood there, seemingly offloading a few boxes from his stocking. He blinked at you, having noticed your gloomy state. “What happened, hm?” his voice was gentle. You felt your frustration come rushing out as you ranted to the tanuki about what had happened. He nodded at your words before letting out a sigh. “I see… That does sound about right,” he patted your shoulder reassuringly, “There, there. Foxes should never be trusted, yes, yes. Let this be a hard lesson learnt.” You sighed again. His eyes darted away for a moment.
“Why don't you join the boys and I for dinner,” Nook offered, “It might be a nice change of pace, hm? They have been asking for you today, anyways.”
You felt a bit better at the thought of seeing the twins. At least, they were too cute to let you keep stewing in your frustration. The tanuki led you away to his store for a nice evening in with the strange family.
Though, admittedly, you did not learn your lesson and kept shopping from the fox. Redd did seem to have some legitimate paintings, after all. That, and, well, you did find him a bit funny to see in action.
Another upgrade to the store had come, giving the shopkeeper shorter hours. Though, there had been an unfortunate incident where you had needed something late at night after the store closed. Needless to say, no matter how close you had become to the tanuki, he was not happy to open his doors at two in the morning to you. Still, he sold you the shovel you needed, albeit at a price hike. As you headed out to return to your plans, you heard him scold you for being up and out so late.
The next day, he had insisted that you needed to work on your sleeping schedule, lest you cause him to worry about what you were doing in the middle of the night with a dire need for a shovel. Apparently planting some new fruit trees was not a reassuring answer. He did appear to be over it, however. Especially when the twins popped out and dragged you into the home unit to show you some new show they were into. He simply could only roll his eyes in reply. Your visits to the store had mostly become social ones, but he never had the heart to complain. Your presence had become an expected thing, in truth. It would feel odd for both of you if you had shown up less.
It was during one of these visits, that you found yourself sitting with him during a slow period in the store. His customer service front had been entirely dropped around you. The landlord half had completely vanished with your last payment on your loan, too. Really, you had just become two people. Perhaps, well, you were friends. That was not something either of you spoke aloud, but it was something understood. You watched his “apprentices” and often ended up sharing meals with them nowadays. There even had been a few times you slept over. Though, those were extremely uncommon even still. Toy Day had been spent with the tanuki, having enjoyed watching just how happy the twins become at the gifts you got for them. New Years had also been spent over…
Your head somehow ended up on Nook's shoulder as you remained lost in thought. He did not react nor did he attempt to move you. The two of you just sat like that for a moment. Snow had begun to pile up outside again. You knew he would likely be on his feet to clear a path if it became too much, but for now, he was unmoving. Your eyes felt heavy. Though, you startled awake when a customer entered the store, and Nook got up to greet and tend to them. You found yourself missing his warmth.
During his time off, you both found yourselves at the Roost. You sat at table together, simply enjoying the ambience of the café while a musician played at the stage. Nook seemed entranced by the dog. You giggled at his clear interest. This brought his attention back to you. He blinked. “… What?” he questioned. Your reply made him appear bashful. He scratched the back of his head while his fluffy tail stood on alert. “Ah, well, I'm quite a fan of him, yes, yes,” Nook admitted, “It's very fortunate he was playing during this time…” You nodded. He had another sip of his coffee and stared at you. “… I genuinely wish to thank you for watching over the twins so often,” he started. You reassured him that it was nothing, but he shook his head.
“Ah, no, see, I am finally able to upgrade my store once more, hm?” he explained. You listened in. It was unsurprising. People even came from out of town to shop there, but everyone in town certainly did. His store really was a centrepiece of the local economy. “I plan on having Timmy and Tommy tend to the second story,” his words shocked you, “… I wish to do more hands-on training with them. I cannot have my apprentices under-trained.” You wanted to roll your eyes. Really, the twins had basically been begging to help more. Though, it did make you sad that there would be less time to spend with them. Nook caught on to that quickly.
“… You are still free to join us at any time,” he reminded you, “They would be far too sad if you stopped showing up.” You let out a relieved breath. His hand grasped your own. “… And, I, too, quite enjoy your company.” Your cheeks burned at his words. His attention drifted back to the musician while your heart raced in your chest.
It was natural change that followed.
Really, it had already been basically what you two shared even it was unspoken. The twins had been put to bed in their room while you sat with Tom in the family room. His arm was around your shoulders as you both watched some old show that he had insisted was good. You rested your head on his shoulder once more. A few times, you had dozed off. Eventually, you heard the television cut off. “Ready for bed?” he asked. You nodded and let him lead you to his room. Somehow, you both had just settled into a routine. Nothing needed to established aloud as it was simply understood. You nuzzled into him as the cover came over you both. His arm secured you into place. Soon, you were drifting off again. A gentle kiss was pecked to your head. A declaration of your feelings was said sleepily.
“I love you, too,” was Tom's reply as you both finally gave in to sleep.