Fluttershy wants you to hug a bunny (far_too_shy) wrote in valarlogs, @ 2013-09-07 16:31:00 |
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Entry tags: | !complete, !partner thread, fluttershy, roy harper (red arrow) |
Who: Fluttershy, Roy Harper
What: A chance meeting at a park
When: This weekend!
Where: A rabbit-and-animal friendly park.
Ratings/Warnings: PG just in case, but this probably just gonna be adorable.
Status: Complete!
It was the perfect day for being out and about, Fluttershy decided. Just cool enough for her bunny, Fidget, to be comfortable and not overheat. She had some college reading to do already, too, and she thought doing it out at one of her favorite parks would be better than being stuck inside all day.
So she packed up a makeshift lunch and treat bag, grabbed Fidget, and headed out. It was still a bit early in the day when she got there, and she was able to claim a really nice bench by a shady tree. She set up camp there, hooking Fidget onto a very long leash, and pulled out a book.
The perfect weather was also one of the reasons that Roy and Lian were at the park despite the fact that Roy had, had a late night at the station, working on the current open case. The same one that he had complained about a week or so earlier on Valarnet. Roy was extremely dedicated to his job and took every case seriously. Once he’d gotten home, he’d relieved the babysitter, the one he’d got from the agency, because he hadn’t wanted to make Candy stay so late, then got a couple hours of sleep before getting up to spend the day with his daughter. Sometimes juggling work and fatherhood as well as his own life was difficult, but he’d been doing it now for eight years, so he wasn’t about to stop now.
They had been tossing a frisbee back and forth when Lian stopped, letting the frisbee go behind her as she stared at something behind Roy. “Hey! Short stuff! What’re you staring at?” He glanced over his shoulder then, seeing the pink haired woman and the bunny on a leash near her bench. Roy had heard you could put bunnies on leashes, but he’d never actually seen one before.
Glancing back at his daughter, it was clear that Lian had lost interest in the frisbee and was transfixed on the rabbit. She obviously wanted to go see it, so Roy motioned for her to join him then they walked towards the woman on the bench, “‘Scuse me. Is your rabbit friendly?”
The book Fluttershy had in her hands seemed to be a chemistry textbook, and the relief that washed over her face when Roy approached her was somewhat obvious. Chemistry wasn't the most interesting topic to read up about, and she was glad for the break.
She smiled shyly up at him and nodded her head, "Oh yes, Fidget is very friendly. He's been handled from a young age and is perfectly well behaved, I trained him myself. I used to have a pet shop..."
Roy didn’t miss the relieved look that crossed the woman’s face and he smirked as she set the book down and started talking about the rabbit, “Is it okay if my daughter pets him? We were throwing the frisbee around and then she got distracted by your bunny.”
“Can I?” Lian asked, clearly trying to hold herself back from just going for it and petting the rabbit before she was given permission. Roy had brought Lian up to respect other people and their things.
Fluttershy's more nervous smile widened into a genuinely warm one, and she nodded her head at the child, "But you've got to learn how to pet the bunny the right way... why don't you pick him up, gently now, and bring him over here. I'll show you how, and then you can pet him as much as you want."
She smiled up at Roy, too, and nodded her head at him approvingly. She really appreciated when children were well behaved.
A smile crossed Lian's lips as she went to pick up the rabbit, lifting it gently into her arms and brought him over to the bench where she placed him down next to Fluttershy. All the while, Roy stood, arms crossed, a smile upon his own lips as he watched. His parents had a cat, so Lian had grown up around an animal, which was one reason he'd been thinking of getting her a kitten or something.
"If you sit down, you can put him on your lap, like this," Fluttershy said, in her usual soft spoken voice. She demonstrated by picking Fidget up and putting him gently on her own lap, then reached her hand up and extended out a finger.
She held it out a bit so that Lian could see, then started lightly running the finger over the top of the bunny's head, down his back, then scritched at his ears a bit, "Like this, see?"
Lian watched the way Fluttershy picked up the rabbit and pet it before she mimicked the way the pink haired woman had pet him. "How difficult are they to take care of?" Roy asked as he watched from where he was leaning against the other end of the bench now.
Fluttershy watched Lian for a few seconds to make sure both child and rabbit were comfortable, then turned her attention to Roy, "OH, not very difficult at all. Rabbits are some of the easiest pets. If you get one that's litter trained, it's as simple as changing out food and water and a small litter box. Fidget roams free around my house, I've never had any problems since he was trained."
She smiled a bit, her tone growing warmer now that they were on a subject she loved, "They like treats, of course, and you can really go crazy with leashes and beds and cage decorations for them, but the basics aren't too expensive. Fidget loves his yogurt treats, and I give him my left over salad. It's something you could probably teach her to do, but that won't take up much of your spare time when she forgets."
Roy listened as Lian continued petting Fidget, “My parents have a cat, which she basically grew up around, so this is the first time in eight years that she hasn’t been around an animal and we just moved here, so I was thinking of getting her a pet.” Roy had asked Lian what kind of pet she’d want if he decided to get one, but given the choice, the decision was a difficult one for an eight year old apparently, “We just haven’t decided on what animal. Just something that isn’t too high maintenance since I’m not home during the day during the week while she’s at school.”
"Well, rodents and bunnies always make good starter pets, and I prefer them for the 'first pet' category because they require so little upkeep. Unless they're really sick, vet visits aren't really necessary - though I take mine yearly anyway - and they don't need a lot of work. You can get away with changing their litter pan once a week."
Fluttershy tucked some hair behind her ear, taking in the situation, "Cats do require more visits to the vet. Shots, operations... and there's more to worry about. They're better for when she's older. Of course, there's also fish, but you can't pet or hold a fish, so that might be an issue. And cleaning their tanks can get very annoying."
“Daddy, I’ve decided. I want a rabbit.” Lian said, glancing over at him as she continued petting the bunny the way Fluttershy had shown her.
Roy smiled, moving around the bench to sit down beside Lian as he watched her then glanced over at Fluttershy, “Anywhere you’d recommend for getting a rabbit from? And is it true what they say about two rabbits? Do they really multiply abnormally fast?” He smirked.
Explaining about how rabbits worked was a conversation Fluttershy wasn't sure she was supposed to have in front of this man's child. She ducked her head a bit, blushing, but nodded her head, "It is true, but of course... only in certain circumstances. It happened to me last year, actually. I used to own a pet store, you see, and I bred all the animals for sale there myself. I had ... an overabundance of bunnies. It took forever to find good homes for all of them."
She raised both of her eyebrows, and waved one of her hands in the air, "Not that you'd need to worry about it if you get two girl bunnies, of course! Uhm... I do know a great place to get them. This breeder trains them from really young, which is exactly what you want."
Roy hadn’t yet had the birds and the bees talk with Lian and hoped that he wouldn’t have to for a long time, but he was fairly certain that she wasn’t paying either of them the least bit of attention and instead was focused solely on the rabbit. “I’d appreciate it if you could give me their number. From the looks of it, she’s not going to want anything other than a bunny now.” When they got home, they were going to have to have a talk about the responsibilities of having a pet before Roy actually made any calls.
"I'd be very happy to give it to you. Uhm... do you have a phone or... I can write it on a piece of paper also, but I don't mind putting it into your phone for you either," Fluttershy offered, nervously.
Roy didn’t think that he had to worry about the girl running off with his phone, so he pulled it out of his pocket, unlocked it then handed it over to her, “By the way, my name is Roy Harper and this is Lian.” He’d realized that he’d never actually introduced himself.
"It's really nice to meet you, Roy, and Lian. I'm Minerva Lawrence, but... most people just call me Fluttershy. It's... a nickname of mine, you see," She replied, flashing a grin up at Roy quickly before turning her attention back to the phone.
She entered in the contact for him, then handed it back to him and turned her attention back to Lian, "Taking care of bunnies can be some work sometimes, but I think you know that the love they give you back is worth it! And I know you'll take good care of any bunny you take home with you, Lian."
Roy’s brows rose slightly as she introduced herself. He’d never met anyone who wasn’t an eighty year old woman who was named Minerva. That wound up reminding him of the conversation he’d had about names with Darcy when they’d met, “It’s nice to meet you too, Fluttershy. I’m glad we didn’t bother you.”
Lian smiled at her, “Thanks for letting me pet your bunny. Hopefully daddy will let me get one too.” She ran her finger over Fidget’s head a few more times, wanting to get in as many pets as she could before they had to leave.
"Oh you're quite welcome," Fluttershy replied, then turned her attention back to Roy, "Oh you weren't bothering me at all. I was very happy for the company. I should... probably go, now, and get back to my homework, though. If that's okay with you, anyway."
“Not a problem. Thanks for taking the time to talk to us,” Smiling, Roy got to his feet as Lian picked up the rabbit from her lap and placed him back down in the grass as she got up. She said goodbye to Fluttershy and Roy led them back towards where they’d left their things, thinking back over the information Fluttershy had given him.