Winter was starting to arrive in Hope Hollow. The winds had started to chill a month ago, but now with October in the past, the very first snow had started in earnest, dusting the tops of the little cottages with a thin blanket which by December would grow into a solid sheet. Torque Wrench took a small moment to enjoy the sight before adjusting her scarf and making her way to Hotel Hope.
She had hardly lifted a hoof to the door when it opened in front of her when it opened, leaving her staring awkwardly at Petunia Petals with her hoof raised partway through the air. “Oh, Torque, there you are!!” she said, beaming and stepping aside to let Torque in. “I was wonderin’ whether you’d make it what with the snow.”
Torque gratefully stepped inside and took off her coat. “Ah, it ain’t too bad yet,” she said. “Just a powder, y’know? I’ll start worryin’ when it’s more than an inch.” She gave a polite smile to Petunia before continuing. “Now, you said you had a job for me?”
“Right, right!!” Petunia said, hastily, flushing slightly. “Er, one of the bookshelves collapsed earlier; I was hopin’ you could get it put back together.”
Torque hefted her toolbox up onto her back. “I’ll see what I can do,” she said. “But if the wood’s rotting you might need a new one.”
Petunia led the way back towards the library. “Well, if it comes to that, I’d be perfectly happy to pay for ya to make it!!” She chirped.
As they came into the large library, it was immediately obvious which shelf Petunia had been talking about; up on the second floor, the bare spot on the wall stood out like a sore thumb in the lavishly maintained library. Torque took her leave from Petunia to inspect the damage; Petunia watched her anxiously as she did an examination.
Torque frowned a little as she inspected the boards. “Well, the good news is that I can fix it. Most of the wood’s fine.”
“Oh thank goodness,” Petunia said. “But what’s the bad news?”
“Well, the shelves are cracked. I can still fix ‘em, but they’re gonna need a glue up and I don’t know how long that’ll take. I’ll see what I can do today but I might just have to come back another day to put it together.”
“Oh, is that all?” Petunia said, laughing. “That’s no problem at all, I’d love to have you over again.”
“Well, I’ll do my best not to waste your time,” Torque said patiently. “Let me see what I can get done tonight.”
Petunia gave her a small smile. “Of course,” she said. “I’ll be right here if ya need anything!! Don’t hesitate to ask!!”
Torque Wrench nodded absentmindedly, opening her bag and pulling out a handful of tools– screwdrivers, clamps, and a well loved container of wood glue– and got to work.
There honestly wasn’t that much to do; she took a look at the cracked shelves, giving them a closer examination, before carefully working the glue into the cracks with a brush, then clamping the pieces together from multiple sides and laying them out on a table.
By the time she was finished, the sun had set and the snow had grown thicker; Torque could see a thick layer on the windows from the library. As she moved to get up, Petunia peeked her head into the library, carrying a platter with a couple mugs on it.
“Hot chocolate?” Petunia asked, offering the platter to Torque. “I thought you might be thirsty.”
Torque took the mug gratefully, blowing on it before taking a sip. “Thanks, Petunia,” she said. “I’m just about done here, and then I’ll be out of your hair.”
“Oh, you don’t have to go so soon!” she said hastily. “It’s still snowing out there, surely you can stick around for a little bit.”
Torque raised an eyebrow. “... Is there something you wanna tell me, Tunie?”
“What do ya mean, Torque?” she said, avoiding her gaze. “I’m just worried about the snow–”
“It’s not just that, Tunie, and you know it,” Torque interrupted. “You’ve been having me come over here damn near every week now. First it was the beds–”
“I mean we were gettin’ so many visitors after Princess Twi–”
“Then the roof, and repainting.”
“Well now that we could see color again it was clear–”
“And now this bookshelf. And you won’t even let me go out in some light powder? What are you making excuses for?”
“Well– um– Well, I…” Petunia stammered for a moment, but she paused and she took a deep breath before continuing, looking down and scuffing her hooves on the floor. “I just wanted to spend some more time with you, y’know? You’re so strong and good at repairing things, and I just… I guess I started to develop a crush.” Her face was bright red as she said this, and she was looking down at her hooves.
Torque paused, seemingly taken aback. Petunia looked at her anxiously. Finally, she broke out into a laugh. It started as a low chuckle, before growing into full grown guffaws. “Well why didn’t you say so, Tunie?!” she said with a smile.
Petunia’s mouth gaped open for a moment, before turning into a flustered smile. “Well, I… I guess I got into my head, y’know? You never seemed really interested in a relationship, so I assumed…”
Torque smiled. “I’ll admit that I wasn’t really thinkin’ of it, but…” she got very close to Petunia, her smile growing even bigger. “Now that you’ve asked, you’re looking pretty cute.” Petunia’s face grew even redder, and she let out a laugh. “Now how bout we chat about this over cocoa, like adults?”
Petunia let out a breath that she didn’t know she was holding and gifted Torque with a goofy grin. “Y’know, Torque, I think I can do that,” she said, giving her a brief kiss on the cheek before heading back towards the atrium. Torque Wrench blinked, chuckled, and followed behind her.