croissant happy hour

[herr_bookman]

"...but still will keep"--and here a pause--"a bower quiet for us, and a sleep," Autor recites. "Full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.*"

The boy pats Bar, bidding her a goodnight before he hops over the counter. He takes a few moments to take secret things out of his sylladex and to review his list. Then he writes a message on the blackboard in neat, flowing script:

Croissants with Surprise Fillings
All Vegetarian
Unfilled Also Available
He sets his blue, twenty-sided die on the counter, and waits for the first customer.

*Endymion: Book I, by John Keats

Comments

[herr_bookman]

Autor winces as her words strike true, again and again. "He was right," the boy says, counting off the times he dips her tea ball. "I chased right after him. It... His leaving me alone was a reward, for acting in a manner that was pleasing. He was giving me space."

He nudges her tea towards her, furrowing his brow. He still can't meet her eye. "I'm... I'm sorry, Rae."

[sunbaked_baker]

She doesn't take the tea. Not yet.

"Reward? What, like positive reinforcement? Like giving a treat after teaching a dog to sit? If... if he's hoping to train you to not just tolerate his company but seek him out, you did exactly what he wanted, Autor."

[herr_bookman]

Autor doesn't wince at this--he flinches. He exhales noisily and rests his closed fists on the bar top. "Ugh. That's appalling," he says, wrinkling his nose. "I don't want to seek him out. I don't want to learn from him. I don't want anything to do with him at all."

He says, though he knows his actions over the past few weeks leave much to be desired.

[sunbaked_baker]

"'Learn from him'?" Rae echoes, picking up her tea. "What does he expect you to learn from him?"

"For that matter, what does he expect you to want to learn from him?"

[herr_bookman]

"I have no idea," Autor says, knowing that if he thought about it for just a moment, he probably could figure it out. He turns to prepare his own tea ball--ginger-lime for him.

"Dr. Lecter wants me to be more like him--to poke people and watch what happens," he muses, almost to himself. "He wants me to learn--no, refine--my ability to do that. He says he can... see me as an equal someday."

And Autor can't say that wasn't tempting.

[sunbaked_baker]

"To be more like a cannibalistic murderer? To be equal to a serial killer who makes people believe they're paranoid, and... makes them doubt themselves and their friends? How tempting, I don't think. Ugh," she says, flat and faintly disgusted with the idea.

"So he wants you poking people to see what happens?" Rae murmurs, sipping her tea to give her hands something to do. It is delicious, and does some good. At least it helps her stay calm. "That sounds a bit like how you were when you had just started coming here, back when we first met. A long time ago, now."

A tiny smile turns up the corner of her mouth, as she remembers. "We were making croissants then, too, you remember?"

At last, Sunshine takes that first bite of her croissant, her smile growing as she chews. It's warm and spicy-sweet with the spiced yam, flaky and buttery on the outside as a good croissant must be. She swallows, satisfied, and though her smile lingers in fondness for her friend, her gaze is serious. "You've come a long way since then, Autor, and not just in your baking skills. You've grown as a person, well past what he wants you to be."

"It'd be a terrible waste, to let him hijack your story like that."

[herr_bookman]

Autor watches avidly as she takes the first bite, storing her face away in his memory to play back later. His smile is brief and unsure, his confidence shaken. She must've been reading his mind. "I remember. I poked at you, testing you. I was mean," he says, turning away slightly. "But we did make croissants."

He pours a steaming hot cup of water, and dips his tea ball into it. "And it would be a shame. A great shame," he says, and then whispers, wide-eyed, "Can you imagine if he'd gotten to me first, Rae? If he was my teacher instead of you?"

[sunbaked_baker]

"No, I can't," she admits, searching his face with her gaze. "I don't know that person, and I don't know that I'd want to. I'm glad I don't."

"I want you to be like you, Autor, not like him. My friend, who's clever and sweet and kind, who mocks bad movies and is amazingly awesome at alliteration, who knows when tea is needed, who helps his friends when they're hurting, who finds ancient recipes for legendary burn ointments, and loves stories and finding out new things. And who shushes people in the library when they need shushing, even if the books in question deserved to be laughed at."

"But I worry that he'll continue to try and capitalize on your curiosity, and influence you to believe that you are like him, in the way he influenced you to believe you were paranoid, and tried to influence me to believe the same. You mustn't... seek him out."

[herr_bookman]

Autor dips his head during her praise, staring at his shoes. Color steals across his face, tinting his cheeks a dusky rose. He indulges in his tea, wetting his throat before he speaks again, though his voice still comes out as a warm, whispered croak. "You sure know how to complement me, Rae. Thank you."

But he nods. "You are right, though, in that he'll try to capitalize on my curiosity. I won't seek him out, I promise," he says, running his thumb across the rim of his cup. "I admit he has a hold on me. I was thinking about him the other day, and I think... No, I know that I sort of... I kind of think of him as a father figure." The boy glances at his knuckles. "He's what I'm used to."

[sunbaked_baker]

Impulsively, Rae reaches out to touch the back of his hand, her fingers warmed from mug of tea. "But you deserve so much better, Autor. Better than either of them."

[herr_bookman]

Autor jumps, surprised by her quick movement. He turns his hand and grips her fingers tight. "Yeah," he starts, unsure where he's going with that. "Yes. Neither of them can control me, no matter what their presence in my life. Thanks. Thanks, Rae."

He swallows, and withdraws his hand to retreat to his tea. "I don't know what I'd do without you, you know that?"

[sunbaked_baker]

"Likewise," she assures him, smiling slightly. Rae squeezes his hand, reassuringly, but she can still feel Dr. Lecter's attention like a weight upon her back. This won't do.

"Hey, come with me a moment?" she says, leaving what little is left of her tea and croissant on the bar and stepping towards the kitchen doorway.

[herr_bookman]

"Sure, but I--" he starts, about to say that he can't leave the bar for a second time, but then a kiss-marked napkin pops up. Autor reads it, and nods.

"All right," he says, hopping over the bar again and following. He takes her hand, and squeezes her palm.

[sunbaked_baker]

Rae waits until they are out of sight of the rest of the bar room, the kitchen door having closed behind them, before she envelops Autor in a massive hug.

"I wouldn't know what to do without you, either," she says, chin resting on his shoulder. "I don't want you hurt."

[herr_bookman]

The hug surprises him, but more surprising is how much he sorely needs it. He enfolds her in his arms firm but gently, and rubs her back.

"Thank you, Rae," he whispers, clinging to her. "I wouldn't want you hurt either. Stay with me?"

[sunbaked_baker]

"You know I will," she answers.