[PRP] Soft Spots for the Socially Awkward (Truths/Creme)

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The morning shift of Cloud Nine was slow. Achingly slow. Usually, that was how Banana Creme liked things. She would work in the back kitchen when customers were few in number, working on new ways to decorate her macarons and cupcakes... And okay, maybe she was eating left over meringues that she hadn't delivered, but no one needed to know that. She liked those times when her two older siblings and her brother-in-law and their family friend were working for the restaurant, and she had no responsibilities but to herself. Today, however, was not one of those stress-free, working-at-her-own-pace days.

Today, Banana Creme was covering for her older brother Fruit Punch, who was currently nursing a hangover from a night out with his current fling. At least this one was seeming to work out a little better than all the rest... So she could forgive him this once for asking her to take his shift for the morning. Slumping over from the back of the bar, she let out a long sigh, tugging the sides of her pink and blue knit-cap down further on her head, gazing straight ahead over the barstools to the front of the store and the host stand, where her sister Pink Lemonade was not. It was her turn to spend her morning with the kids, and... Well, the restaurant was in enough care with Midnight Snack, Sunny Delight, and Banana Creme all working together on their slowest day of the week.

Still, Creme was just about dying to head back to the kitchen to make her sweets. Sitting around doing nothing was killing the creative spirit she had woken up with this morning...

"...Ugh... FP really owes me for this one..."  

[Kitomyx]

Entering Cloud Nine for the first time, Hard Truths was intrigued by how many different things were going on within the same facility. He took his time looking around, trying to figure out what made this place's bakery different from Sweet Bread's, when he noticed a bored-looking mare with a knit cap groaning to herself. The unicorn casually walked over, feeling somewhat sorry for the green-eyed Earth phony.

"Funny. Usually people say that when they're doing a big favor for someone," he remarked on the comment he'd overheard. "This seems like just the opposite. Would you rather be doing whatever this 'FP' is doing instead of being here?"

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((SO sorry it took so long. XP Been busy and kinda lacking in inspiration. Also, Happy Holidays and Merry Chirstmas Eve if you celebrate it!))

 

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Too absorbed in her own grumbling irritation, Banana Creme hadn't noticed when the bearded stallion had moved near her, actually jumping a bit out of surprise when he spoke. s**t. Was she really being loud enough to hear? And when the hell did he get in the restaurant? Straightening herself up quickly with a flush of embarrassment blooming on her face, the mare cleared her throat trying to save face in front of this stranger.

"Ah... Uhm..." She trailed off, averting her eyes to the sink below the counter where she stood. "N-No... I'm just... Covering a shift. For, um. For my brother... He's the bartender here... I would much rather um. ...Be uh, back in the kitchen..." That was okay to admit that to a customer, right? ...Crap. "But uh... Did you want something to drink..? I could get you some tea, or lemonade, or any kind of juice... Or uh. I could brew some coffee for you, if you'd prefer..?"

Kitomyx

((You're fine! I've been suffering from some writer's block as well hahaha. orz))

 

[Kitomyx]

Chuckling deeply, the unicorn smirked. On one hoof, he knew it wasn't exactly nice to eavesdrop, but on another, he wasn't the nicest phony around. Besides, this was her job! She should have been paying better attention, even if she was covering for someone. And regardless, it wasn't as though he'd overheard her on purpose.

Her blush and obviously flustered reaction to his presence softened him, however, and he felt somewhat regretful he'd startled her. Fillies and mares were generally less careless and more sensitive than colts and stallions were, he reminded himself. Best not to tease her more than he already had. At least not until he got to know her a little better.

"Relax; I won't bite," he told her gruffly. Was it just him, or had she completely changed her demeanor from a few seconds prior? He'd assumed she was more of a sarcastic, hard-headed sort like Shrill with the comment she'd made to herself. Truths supposed that's what he got for jumping to conclusions too early. His slight regret for startling her only grew. But then, what was she really like? Perhaps she was just anxious now because he was a customer.

"Your brother, huh? That's nice of you." He raised his brows at her comment about where she preferred to be. "Oh? Why in the kitchen?" Not that that was really his business, but once again, his curiosity and blunt directness stomped all over any hint of an urge to be polite or tactful.

"Mm...a cup of coffee would be nice, thanks. Just plain black, if you would. I'm not fond of sweet things." He seated himself at the counter and regarded the mare more closely. Had he seen her around Phonyland before? Perhaps when he had been younger? No, he was sure he would have recognized those fancy stripes. "So you and your brother run this place, is that it?"

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((Aw, I'm sorry! I hope you manage to break through it soon! If you haven't already, hehe. Also, congrats on your new phony! X3 Can't wait to see what you do with him!))

 

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She had to calm herself in order to brew the coffee right, so taking a slow breath, she exhaled, ready to answer his questions. It was unusual for someone to be so curious about her... That was more of her siblings' job to entice the customers with their interesting personalities. Having more confidence with her back turned to the bearded stallion, she spoke, her tail swishing quietly to keep her balance. "Ah... My brother and older sister own this place, but my brother-in-law and sister-in-law both work in the kitchen, too." The mare nodded over in the direction of the breakfast nook where Sunny Delight was serving a plate to one of the only customers in the restaurant, a sweet smile on her face. "That's my sister-in-law, Sunny Delight. She's the one that makes the best breakfasts around here... And my brother-in-law, Midnight Snack is the main chef around here. He's always in the kitchen trying to cook up something new..."

But ah, that left only her to be explained now, didn't it..? "....I uh..." Turning around, she slid the cup of coffee over to the red phony, her eyes averting to the closed lid of the sliced lemons tray on the bar, not particularly enjoying talking about herself all that much. But the stallion had seemed genuinely interested... So... "I make... I make pastries and baked goods. I sell my stuff here for desserts, but I also run an online delivery business... Out of the, uh... The kitchen..." She frowned, fiddling with the stirring straws in order to keep herself busy while talking.

"Coffee's on the house, by the way. ...I was slacking off, so you had to be patient with me and my complaints. ...Sorry."

Kitomyx

((I'm all good now! And yeah omfg I'm so excited to have Butter Beer now. ; u wink )

 

[Kitomyx]

"Hm. Quite the family affair, it sounds like," Truths replied. "Not sure I know any of the phonies here, though, including this Sunny Delight or Midnight Snack." He paused. "Well, perhaps I might have talked to the latter once when I was a colt. It was brief, though." The unicorn leaned his head on a hoof and pointed out, "I don't think you mentioned your name, though."

His gaze briefly diverted from the pale mare to the cup of coffee she slid over to him. He took a sip as he returned his gaze to the shy-seeming phony. "Do you, now?" he murmured thoughtfully. "That's innovative. Good for you; thinking outside the box. Or restaurant, as it were." Truths glanced at the stirring straws the mare was playing with.

"Thank you. Still, though, you more than made up for it by humoring an eavesdropping phony by answering his nosy questions, so at the very least, I owe you for that. I'd complain too if I was left with as little to do as you seem to be. Time is valuable and too precious to spend doing things you regret. To sacrifice yours for family - now that's something I admire." The unicorn took a sip before speaking again.

"Now, I have another question for you." he said after a while in a calm, gentle voice. "Do I make you nervous? Or are you usually this shy around strangers?"

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((Glad to hear it! ^_^))

 

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Glancing up momentarily to see that the unicorn had enjoyed the taste of his coffee (not that there was any real way to mess up black coffee, sans burning it), she relaxed a little, knowing that the other was satisfied with his drink, at least. When asked about her name, she blinked, a little surprised that he would actually want to know, but she reached up to tuck back a lock of her dual-coloured hair, finally having the courage enough to look the stallion in the eye. "I, uh... My name's, um, Banana Creme..." Leaning against the other side of the counter to actually engage herself in the conversation, now that she wasn't thrown off her entire game, and no one else was coming into the restaurant.

"In the end, family is all you can really count on, and... I'm lucky to have such a good one." Sighs a little, glancing over her shoulder as Midnight Snack exited the kitchen to deliver his own meal to one of his customers. "A really good one." Turning her gaze back toward the red stallion when he spoke about her demeanor, she blushed again, frowning a bit from mild embarrassment. Nervous? Did he make her nervous? Well, he'd surprised her, that's for sure, and she had problems talking to anyone who wasn't her family, but...

"Ah, uh... No... You're fine. It's not you. I like your temperament." Oh. That was awkward. But oh well. Creme was awkward in herself, wasn't she? "I just... Don't tend to make the best first impressions with others, so I... Kinda prefer to, um, stay out of the way."

Kitomyx

 

[Kitomyx]

"Banana Creme," Hard Truths repeated, nodding. "A pleasant name for a pleasant mare." He was glad she had managed to persuade herself to look him in the eye. The stallion had really begun to worry that he shouldn't have bothered her at all.

Smiling slightly at Banana Creme's spoken gratitude towards her family and then at her adorable blushing, the unicorn decided he really liked this mare. It was a rare phony who knew what they had, he thought, and an even rarer one who seemed so humble about it.

"My temperament?" he asked with a slight tilt of his head, clearly amused. "Well I'll admit I've never heard that before, but in the case you're being honest, I thank you. Perhaps that's only because you've just gotten to know me, however." He drank some more of his coffee, listening to Banana's reasoning.

"First impressions, hmm? Overrated stuff, I should think. If anyone chooses to judge based on first impressions and continues to let that judgement stand unchanged despite whatever happens afterword, I'd call that pretty narrow-minded. We can't learn all the facets of one's personality in one go, after all, and so many put up false pretenses that I'd say it's pure folly to make assumptions solely based on a first meeting." Not that he could picture what kind of first impressions Banana Creme could make that she would be ashamed of.

"Take me, for example," Truths continued. "You complimented my temperament, but most others I know find me to be irritable, argumentative, stubborn, and difficult to get along with. I can be rather nasty around others, I'm afraid." There was a mischievous glint in his eye that suggested he wasn't 'afraid' at all - that he was actually proud of being a force to be reckoned with when push came to shove. "But why would I have any reason to show that side of myself to such a nice phony like you?"

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Banana Creme liked the way the unicorn was explaining himself. It resonated deeply with her, almost to the point where she was close to exclaiming things enthusiastically because someone got her. Usually only her mom could do that. But she restrained herself, instead, just nodding along in agreement. "Others don't tend to look past the surface, and I can come off as irritated, judgmental, a-ah, and someone even called me stuck-up once just because I didn't want to talk to them, and I told them as much," the mare sighed, looking the bearded stallion over with inquisitive eyes, biting her lower lip in mild concentration. "I guess you just need someone right to show up for you to be able to get past the exterior harshness, y'know..?" It was so true that she hardly noticed how horribly embarrassing that entire phrase was, and before she really knew it, she was gushing to him without a second thought.

"You say that others don't always like being around you because you're 'frustrating', or something like that. I can't see why that would be true at all. And even if it were true, all the words you used to describe yourself would just be traits of someone who is confident in their convictions and stands by their word! Like a steadfast teacher, you know? And that's impressive. I've seen so many others just cave to someone else's opinions and lose their own in the process... And they're weak for it. Ah, n-not that being inherently weak is a bad thing, you know..? The world needs gentle hearts to contrast the ones who aren't so easy to handle," She paused in her unexpected speech to grab the pot of coffee and top the red stallion off before she continued.

"But all I'm saying is that if someone judges you right off the bat for being 'argumentative' or whatever, they just don't know anything about how the world works! They just can't handle the truth...!" Falling quiet again, it seemed to suddenly hit her just how much she'd been rambling to this phony whose name she didn't even know... And her cheeks lit up like they were on fire, suddenly returning to her skittish self.

"Oh, god, I'm so sorry... I just started rambling, a-and I didn't even.... I... I don't even know your name..!" Well that was embarrassing.

Kitomyx

 

[Kitomyx]

The stallion laughed in spite of himself when he heard of Banana Creme's experiences with other phonies. "'Stuck-up' simply because you told them the truth? Would they have preferred you lied? I really don't think most phonies think enough. That's why I don't bother changing my attitude." he crossed one hoof over the other comfortably atop the counter.

He chuckled at the mare's biting of her lip. "Well, to be honest, I can't imagine how anyone might believe you come off as irritable or judgmental either," Truths answered, "But again, that would be assuming I took you at face value." He raised his brows, surprised at the mare's appraisal of his described traits, and was quiet for a time as he watched her and listen to her speak.

Hard Truths nodded slowly when she mentioned gentle hearts, thinking solemnly about a certain unicorn mare he knew who ran her bakery all by herself despite her large family. She and Banana Creme would get along well, Truths thought. Both were considerate and kind, but not so carefree or happy-go-lucky that they didn't understand there was more to the world and life than met the eye. Both seemed to know what they had and cherished it while staying humble and hard-working.

The unicorn thanked the Earth mare softly as she refilled his coffee and took another sip as he listened further. By the time she was done, he was looking at her with an entirely different expression - from simple amusement to actually finding himself impressed, and that didn't happen very often.

"Quite right," he agreed, smiling thinly once more, but this time for a different reason. "'Can't handle the truth'..." he repeated quietly. "Couldn't have said it better myself. As it happens, my name is Hard Truths. Please don't be sorry; I was the one who approached you first." He dipped his head apologetically. "Normally I don't make a point of caring if I'm rude, but you've been so polite and I at least owe you an introduction after ambushing you like I did."

"Regarding what you said, I don't consider it to be rambling at all. 'Rambling' is unnecessarily lengthy, confused, and inconsequential, whereas I didn't find your words to be any of those things. In fact, I'm grateful you shared them with me. It's nice to know another phony who shares my sentiments."

He waved a hoof dismissively. "If they're going to be shallow about it, they don't deserve to know any other side of us. They'd probably drown in bewilderment if they even attempted to fathom whatever depth phonies like us have. Shallow minds should stay in shallow waters and keep to their own kind. They're probably better off that way." His grin hinted at a playful wickedness. "Unless they want to be chewed up by those of us who lurk in the deep. You know that saying? 'Still waters...'?" Hard Truths drank some more of his coffee, sighing in satisfaction as he finished off the last of it.

"Regarding who or what kind of person it would take to see past one's exterior, I think you're right. But there are those who can accept your whole self for who you are, flaws and all, and then there are those who will love you for them. The former make good friends, but it's the latter that end up making the best life partners, I should think." He shrugged, hoping the warmth in his face at what he'd just said wasn't visible as a blush. As a vermilion phony, he liked to think it wasn't that easy to tell.

Truths met Banana Creme's gaze. "You're an insightful one. Don't let anyone rob you of that or intimidate it out of you. It can be tough sometimes, dealing with those shallow minds, but when you find those that can swim to your depths, it's worth it. It's like you said - it's good to have gentle hearts to contrast the more steadfast ones, but one can be gentle without allowing themselves to be trodden all over."

"Heh, I used to believe I'd end up old and alone due to my beliefs and corresponding behavior, certain no one would ever bother to see beyond the surface, but I'm not so worried about that anymore. In my experience, there are more phonies who are willing to look past one exterior than I ever would have guessed. You just have to know how to recognize them when they cross your path, because sometimes they're hiding behind an exterior of their own." He winked. "Like a shy-seeming mare with a profound mind, a creative will, and a strong heart."

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((GAHHH Words cannot express how sorry I am I took so long. gonk I/Truths just wanted to make sure Banana Creme had a proper response to such a good conversation and it took longer to come up with than I thought because Truths was being so picky about how he wanted to word things. Also I'd been overseas for most of February for my cousin's wedding, so i deeply apologize. ^_^; I hope you can forgive me!))