//------------------------------// // Part 1 - Chapter 5: Breakfast // Story: Office Love // by Flutterpriest //------------------------------// You wake up before your alarm goes off and you notice Fluttershy has snuggled up into your chest. Over the last few weeks, you established she moves while she sleeps. You would normally push her away from you, but her body is so warm next to yours. You could easily fall back asleep. It's just so comfortable. With a sigh, you look up at the headrest of your bed. It has been just over two weeks since you let Fluttershy into your apartment and let Mulberry take your couch. For the most part, Mulberry's been quiet and distant, barely talking at all. You and Fluttershy have done your best to respect her boundaries and only speak when it feels right. However, it's now or never. You can't let Mulberry just stay here forever. The idea of your date with Autumn weighs heavy on you as you look down at the peaceful pegasus. You've put the date off for so long. A part of it has been so Flutters didn't find out... but at the same time... These two weeks have been peaceful. You've seen a side of Fluttershy you didn't even realize existed. Plus, you have a guest in the next room. That would make spending time alone with a date a little bit awkward. You will need every second to get your morning routine done today. It's still dark out, so it must be pretty early. Heading to the bathroom, you close the door slowly and turn on the light. Silencing your alarm before it goes off, you check for messages. Nothing. Not that you expected anything. You know that Autumn isn't a night-owl. You've been nearly non-stop texting Autumn. Getting to know her and learning more about her for your date coming up soon has been your prime objective. In fact, tomorrow's the rescheduled date. You'd be lying to say you weren't excited, but you weren't sure how to tell Fluttershy. Not about the date, but rather to get out of your apartment. Same for Mulberry. Quickly performing your morning routine, you check the clock to get a gauge of how much time you have this morning. 6:30 AM. Two hours until you have to be at work. Hmm. All you gotta do is grab some clothes and you are ready to get outta here. They are in your bedroom closet though. Plus, there are your guests. They are going to need to get ready in the bathroom. Both have jobs to run to, now that Mulberry finally decided to go back to work. Maybe Mulberry would prefer to use her own bathroom? It might ease her into the idea of going back to her apartment. You will have to give her the option. Or, rather, persuade her to that option. Wrapping yourself in a towel, you crack the door open to grab your work clothes. The beam of light shatters through the room and lands on Shy's closed eyes. Lightly, she flinches and rolls over. You smile at her adorable nature. There's no way you would wake her up early. Grabbing your clothes, you head back into the bathroom where your dirty clothes from yesterday still sit in a heap on the floor. You try your hardest to search for your normal tie for work, but it seems to have mysteriously disappeared. With a heavy sigh, you resign yourself to your standby. Today the red tie will have to do. Looking yourself over in the mirror, you examine your face closely. "Hey." You point to your reflection. "You." With a coy smile, you give yourself the signature eyebrow. Mares love the eyebrow. "You look fucking awesome." Heading back to your closet, you grab your tie and head out to the living room. Mulberry rests peacefully on the couch. Her face's swelling has died down a lot over the last two weeks, but it still looks tender. What these mares deserve is a nice breakfast. Heading into your spotless kitchen, you set the cups of tea in the sink. That can always be dealt with later. Opening up the cabinets, you search for something you were keeping around for a rainy day. Not here. Or here. Maybe above the fridge. There it is! Pancake mix. A little milk and the pre-made mix form a perfect batter in the bowl. You turn on a few smaller lights to avoid waking up Mulberry. Her blanket fell off while she slept. She shivers on your sofa. Instinctively, you grab it and wrap it around her. "Thanks Anon." She looks up at you with a smile that could span galaxies. If only you could read her mind. However, right now her eyes were saying 'Thank you.' That's enough for you. She closes her eyes and snuggles back into your pillow. Time to get that meal started. You head out into the kitchen and get out a small frying pan. It may be small, but it's the biggest you had. Pouring out the first medium-sized pancake, you find yourself checking your phone again. Nothing. Damn. You shouldn't be this excited for a text message. Calm down Anon. If it happens... it happens. Flipping the pancake, you set three plates on the table with some utensils and napkins. Returning to your stove, you pull off a picture perfect pancake and set it on a separate plate. Pouring out one more, you see Fluttershy slowly make her way into the kitchen, rubbing her tired eyes. Her hair is a mess and covering most of her face. "A-am I... dreaming," She asks sleepily. You chuckle out loud, and turn to her with a spatula in hand. You strike a pose and put on a playful tone. "What? Never seen a guy cook before?" Fluttershy giggles and does a wide stretch. Her majestic wings nearly fill your kitchen. "Is there anything I can do to help?" "Yeah! Maybe pour everyone some drinks? I got juice in the fridge." "Alright." She answers happily. With a spring in her step and humming a happy tune to herself, she pulls some cranberry juice out of the fridge. You get out a few cups for her and she takes them as well. Pulling off another perfect cake, you prep for your third. She puts the cups on the table and begins to fill each of them up. "It sure smells good." "Haha. Thanks. I'm a little rusty. I don't get to cook for myself too often. Too busy, ya know?" That, and you badly needed to get more cereal at the store, having two mares around has vastly depleted your resources. "Yeah... I know. It was so hard to study for the job and take care of my critter friends at the same time... I guess I didn't really take care of myself too much..." Fluttershy agrees, finishing the table. How in the world are you going to tell her about tomorrow's date? "Hey, do you think you could wake up Mulberry? I think I've just about got breakfast ready for you two." "Oh. Yes I can do that." Fluttershy leaves the room towards the living room. Taking off the third cake, you get a fourth one poured. Quickly you put some butter on the table and warm up some syrup. Fluttershy and Mulberry enter the kitchen slowly. They make their way over to the table, Mulberry's hair could really use a good brushing. On the other hand, they do look really homey. You've kinda got used to waking up with a mare every morning. The feeling was something you couldn't really describe. It was definitely a feeling you wanted to keep having. Pulling off the fourth cake, you bring the pancakes over to the girls and put two on both of their plates. Mulberry looks up in surprise, just realizing that it was breakfast time. "This looks delicious Anon." "Eat up while it's all still warm girls." Each take their turns preparing their meal while you return to creating yours. "So Mulberry, where do you work?" You ask, trying to make conversation. Normally you and Fluttershy just kept to yourselves and let Mulberry have her space. The last few weeks were hard on her and she would spend her time looking out the window at the busy city outside. You would sit by her and pat her on the back occasionally, but she mostly wanted to be alone. Yet, today, she seemed different. She seemed... back to normal. Her bruise around her eye was mostly gone now. "Oh." *gulp* "Uhm. I'm a teacher at one of the nearby private schools. I teach the fifth graders..." She touches her hoof to her face and winces a little. "Do you think I should call for a substitute again today?" "Well... I hate to say it, but I think it might be a good idea." She nods. "The children will want to know... I need to be in my bright and chipper mood for them. They deserve that." She cuts herself another bite and gulps it down as if this were the first time she's eaten in weeks. It basically was. "Actually, I was going to say so that you can relax a little bit. You just said the other day that you work yourself to death. Maybe you need a little R&R." She laughs a little bit. "R&R isn't something you really get as a teacher. You really have to give a little of yourself to them every day. Almost be like a mother to them at times." She smiles to herself. "Some of them are hard to work with sometimes... but each are their own little angel... in their own way." You pull off another pancake. Fluttershy has been listening to her intently. "I just love children. How many do you teach?" Fluttershy asks. "Just a little group of twelve... a few of them are orphans from the nearby home though. I really feel for the little ones. They really don't have anyone else to go to. Sometimes I'll make them little sandwiches and hide them in their cubbyholes when it's lunch time so that they have something to eat." "... Wow, I wish I had teachers like you when I was growing up." You add. She sighs. “Yeah. It's common to hear that. Not all of my peers share the same... dedication to the children as I do." "Well they should.” You add, flipping another pancake. “So, what's on your agenda for today?" She thinks to herself. "Well there is some grading I could catch up on. There was this one book I needed to take back to the library too... I suppose I could see what's on television." "What kind of book?" You ask. Mulberry turns in her seat to focus on the conversation. "It was a really wonderful read. This little romance novel by the name of One-Way Ticket. I rented it out for a week, but it was so good I finished it in a night! Have you ever heard of it?" A little bit of shock grabs at you. "Yeah, I was going to pick it up myself." You answer. “Someone recommended it to me.” This grabs Fluttershy's attention, but you pass off your words as if they were no big deal. "Oh! Then you will have to read it then. I guarantee you won't be able to put it down once you do. It's in my apartment. Maybe you can grab it before we go to work?" "Sure! Sounds good to me. How did you hear about it?" You ask curiously. "Oh. Well, I go to the library to get extra books for some of the students who don't have them or can't afford them. The librarian suggested it to me... Oh what was her name... Winter? Fall? Hmmm... I can't remember but it was something like that. She's so nice. Always seems a little sad though." Oh man. Quick. Change the subject. "So, uh. How are those pancakes tasting girls?" Fluttershy promptly responds with a smile. "They are really really good! I can't remember the last time I've had pancakes." Mulberry agrees. "Me too. They are marvelous Anon." "Got enough? I got plenty more over here." You reply, showing the fresh stack of warm cakes. "N-no.. it's fine." Fluttershy declines, rubbing her full tummy. "No, really. I'm fine." Mulberry also declines, half expecting you to insist anyway. Their stomachs growl from across the room. "W-well... M-maybe just one more." Fluttershy adds. "Me too please!" Mulberry adds, her attempt to be polite fading. You chuckle to yourself as they bring their plates back over. "Sure thing." These pancakes were for you, but who cares? The girls were too damn cute not to give up your breakfast. You begin to pour yourself another pancake. "So what is it that you do for a living Anon?" Mulberry asks. "Oh, nothing special. I'm just an accountant for a company here in town. Number crunching and the like." "For you to afford a place like this, it must not pay too badly." The mare remarks while munching on her second helping. "It's good enough for me. I really like my team. Everyone on the team knows their stuff and takes their work seriously. That is... until we get out of the office anyway." "Oh?" "Yeah! You know the phrase... Work hard, play hard! One time Brand and I went out to get a drink after work and I woke up at his place with a few teeth knocked out and the worst headache ever! I still don't remember much. He'll never let it down though." "Sounds like it was a night to remember." "If only I remembered it." You joke. Everyone chuckles a little bit. "I'm jealous. I rarely get to go out as a teacher... and even when I was with somepony..." She trails off and becomes silent, staring at her juice. No, no, no. No sad Berrys in this apartment. "Yeah, but being an accountant isn't the most fulfilling of work. Basically, we're just crunching numbers all day. And may Celestia help you if you forget to carry a decimal point. It's amazing how you forget the basic stuff sometimes." Mulberry chuckles. "Maybe you should have paid more attention in school then." "Hey, I paid attention during class... Usually while staring at my text book... While I was asleep. Okay, so maybe you have a point." Both Fluttershy and Mulberry laugh. "Hey! Now don't make me have to wake you up at work mister!" Fluttershy jokes. Mulberry looks curiously at Fluttershy. "You two work together?" You playfully stick your tongue out at Fluttershy and make a humming noise. Unable to keep up the joke, you laugh to yourself. "Yeah actually. She just started the other week." You lean over the stove to Mulberry and place your hand up to your mouth. "Don't tell her I said this, but she's doing awesome!" you say in your best fake-whisper. Fluttershy blushes, but Mulberry looks confused. "But... I thought most companies don't approve of in-office relationships." Fluttershy looks at you with anticipation of your answer. Your throat goes dry and you ponder your words carefully. You and Fluttershy are not a thing. By any means. However, you know that's what she would want more than anything else in the world... In fact, that's why she moved here. "Well. Office romances aren't allowed... you are right. As a new manager I have to enforce that. Fluttershy is probably one of the closest friends I have. I mean she left everything from home to just come here and be around for me. She didn't even have a place to stay when she got here... so I let her stay for a while." Look to her with a smile and a nod. "I trust her." Fluttershy smiles, but a little disappointment still shines through. "Oh... I see." Mulberry nods. You grab your own breakfast and sit down at the table with the mares. "So what was Ponyville like?" She asks the two of you. "It was small, but quaint. It's the sorta town where everypony knows everypony else. Very friendly." You answer. "That must have been nice." She remarks. "So where were you originally from Mulberry? Have you always been in Manehattan?" Fluttershy asks. Mulberry swallows a mouthful of food and puts her utensils on her empty plate. You must be a really great cook, because it was practically licked clean. It looks like Fluttershy is all done as well. "I've always lived in Manehattan. My family was one of those wealthy families that always wore the nice clothes and other special things. I really didn't like it too much myself, so when I went out with friends I tried to hide my extensive vocabulary and sometimes my manners. My parents hated when I wanted to be a teacher because it wouldn't make enough money. I decided a long time ago that I don't need money to be happy." Looks like there is about 1 hour and 20 minutes before work "Well girls, looks like it's getting closer to that time. Fluttershy, do you want to use the master bathroom to get ready?" She nods to you. "That's fine. I'll get started so we can leave together." She takes her dirtied utensils and places them in the sink, then flutters off to your bedroom. "Do you want to use the main bathroom again?” You ask Berry. It was a bit of a leading question, because it inferred that you didn't want her to use it. However, her answer must not have detected it, because it came of her own will. "Actually... I'm thinking I should try to go back to my apartment." She answered. "That's good! Baby steps." You answered, more relieved than anything else. One down, One to go. "I just... don't want to go alone." 'Of course.' Your thought to yourself. The reply came out of your mouth like a reflex. "I'll go with you." She looks up to you with a weak smile. "Thanks Anon.” You down the rest of your breakfast and put the rest of the dirty dishes in the sink. Those can be handled later. You open the door for Mulberry and it doesn't look like anyone is in the hall. She calmly moves to her apartment door and takes a deep breath, examining the door handle. Mulberry looks back to you, and you nod to her. Slowly she puts her key in the lock and opens the door. She walks in as if something were going to jump out at her at any second. You walk over to the door and stand in the doorway. The timid earth pony looks all over the scene, deep in thought. She looks to the doorway and sees you standing there. You give her an encouraging smile. She points to a spot on the floor. "It all happened right here. The police must have cleaned it up a little bit..." Walking in towards her, she continues to just look around the room. Kneeling down next to her, draws her attention to you. "You gonna be alright, Berry?" She blushes a little at the nickname. "Y-yeah. I think so." "I want you to have my number. Just to be safe. If there is anything you need, I'm only a phone call away." You calmly tell her. "Sure. Sounds good." She goes and gets a pad and pencil for you. You write your number down for her. "What's your number? That way I can know it's you." You ask. Getting out your phone, you add the number that she gives you. "There's one last thing." You add. You reach into your pocket and pull out your keys. Which one of these was the spare. Hmmm... This one. Fluttershy still has one too... Man, that's good to remember. You only got three keys. "Take this. This is to my place. If you ever need to get out, or somewhere safe to be. Just go into my place. Call the authorities or whatever needs to be done. Let me know too." She holds the key in her hoof. "Anon... this is too much." She says, trying to hand it back to you. You push her hoof back to her. "Don't worry about it, Berry. Just promise you won't walk in on me while I'm taking a shower and it's all good." She giggles and blushes a little bit. Mulberry looks up to your tie. "Oh! Your tie is crooked. Here... let me." She reaches up and readjusts your tie for you. "There." You look down at her a little surprised. You stand up and strike a pose. “How's it look?” She blushes. “Better.” A moment of silence passes as she looks up at you and you back down at her. You haven't seen her smile like this... almost ever. It's refreshing. She shakes her head and looks away. "Well you are a manager and I assumed you would like to know if your tie was off." She coughs and begins to straighten a few of the items in her apartment. You know, Berry is kinda cute too. A part of your stomach bursts into butterflies and the nagging thought of a text on your phone, or the mare in your apartment isn't quite as prevalent when she's around.