STONE [☕️]

Windmill Village.

It was a sweet little place, full of children and chatter and laughter. The market always had the most amazing fruit, and the bakeries' bread was to die for!

Vanilla had just finished her shopping trip, walking through the village with a smile, when she spotted a group of children surrounding a moustached man clad in pink and green. He was fixing a bunch of old toys for them with a smile, currently stitching up a teddy bear for a young girl that reminded her of Cream. She smiled softly. The people were so kind here! The man looked quite familiar, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

They made eye contact for a moment, and the man found himself blushing, flustered. Woah. She's pretty.

“Ah— Hello! I'm Mr. Tinker. Did you need something fixing, Ma'am? I can fix just about anything!” He offered awkwardly.

“I'll keep that in mind! I haven't got anything to repair today, but...” She trailed off, then hummed. “Oh! Actually, my phone has been running awful slow lately. I let my friend's co-worker play on it and it's not been right since...”

“Hm. Could be a virus. Mind if I take a look?” Mr. Tinker asked, and Vanilla nodded, reaching into her purse and bringing out her phone. She sat down beside him and unlocked the phone, before passing it over to him.

Mr. Tinker smiled at the home screen wallpaper of Vanilla and her daughter. “Cute kid.”

“Thanks! Her name's Cream.”

“She seems sweet. She really looks like you, y'know.”

“Hah, I get that a lot. It's tough being a single mom, but she's so good. Always so well-behaved, and she has the most incredible friends, too.”

Single... Mr. Tinker silently took note of that. He checked the phone history.

“Block game free download...” He murmured. “Uh... How old is your friend's co-worker, exactly?”

“Six.”

“... That checks out. Seems like he's tried to install a rip-off game and ended up giving the device a virus. No need to panic! I'll have it sorted in a jiffy.”

“Aw, thank you! That's so helpful of you!”

“Heh, no problem.”

They fell into a comfortable silence as Tinker worked on the phone, and after just a minute, it was already repaired.

“Incredible...” Vanilla murmured, before looking up at the man. “How much do I owe you?”

Mr. Tinker blushed. “I-I don't charge, Miss, really!”

“Can't I at least give a tip?” Vanilla tilted her head.

“No need, honestly. I don't need money!” Mr. Tinker insisted, then added shyly: “That smile was payment enough...”

Vanilla chuckled. “Charmer. Thank you, really.”

She rose to her feet, taking the phone back and putting it away. She was about to pick up her shopping bag, when Tinker reached down and lifted it for her, standing up.

“Such a gentleman!” Vanilla complimented, and he let out an adorably goofy giggle, clearly flattered.

Mr. Tinker began walking her out of the village, happily chatting away with her. He mentioned also being a single parent - well, in a way, he'd made a robot out of wood named Belle and she'd become quite the perfect daughter - and Vanilla told him how impressive she found his work.

“Y-Ya know, it'd be nice to see you again sometime soon! Feel free to stop by anytime! I'm always avaliable for anything, maybe we could go get a coffee or something?” Mr. Tinker offered.

“You askin' me out on a date, Mr. Tinker?” Vanilla teased, and he went completely red.

“N-No! Y-Yes? Uh... Maybe? What, um— What would you like it to be?” He stammered nervously.

Vanilla winked. “A date it is.”

And then she walked away, leaving the poor fool with a racing heart and a pathetic crush.

But he didn't let her go too far, before he spotted a pink and yellow bouquet in the market, very quickly purchasing it and running after her. “Wait! Before you go— Here!” He called out.

Vanilla stopped in her tracks, and turned to see him holding the flowers out, still burning bright red. She giggled, carefully taking them.

“Thank you. Would next Sunday be good for me to come by?”

“Next Sunday is perfect. See you then, Miss Vanilla!”