Perfectly Happy

1 - Almost Perfect Day

Espresso pulls on his cape and boots, adjusts his glasses, then walks outside. He enjoys the fresh air every morning, and leaves early enough that there aren't too many cookies up yet.

Unfortunately, one of the ones who is awake is- "Good morning Espresso!" -Madeleine...

Espresso mumbles "Hi" as he walks past him. "Why does he wait for me every single day? It's annoying!"

Madeleine starts to follow, "Espresso, why do you ignore me?"

Espresso shoves his hands in his pockets, speeding up. Madeleine runs so he's in front of Espresso.

He tries to be somewhat intimidating, but he's almost a whole head shorter than the coffee mage, so it doesn't really work. "Espresso, stop ignoring me."

"I don't wish to speak with you right now. Can you please move out of my way?"

"But why do you ignore me every single morning? All you do is say 'hi' and walk away."

Espresso puts a hand on Madeleine's shoulder, gently moving him to the side, "Can you just accept that I do not want your company, Madeleine?"

He gasps, "You don't? Impossible!"

Espresso lets out a deep sigh. "Will you finally get it through your thick skull that not everyone likes you?"

Madeleine runs in front of him, looking determined, "I will be your friend, Espresso!"

Espresso walks around him, "Don't you have a patrol to do?"

Madeleine catches up, but stays next to Espresso, "Well, you walk around most of the kingdom, so I thought it would be smart to do my patrol while walking with you. That means we can talk more!" He smiles.

Espresso rolls his eyes, "You're just going to talk about yourself, aren't you?"

"That is an excellent idea!"

"Wait no- Forget I said anything!"

But it's too late. He's already boasting about saving some cookies and Espresso is no longer listening to him.

Somewhere along the way, Espresso gets some sugarcoated donuts, which he eats while continuing his walk. "Is Madeleine still telling stories about himself? HE IS! Will he ever shut up?!"

Madeleine is smiling, "And once I had slain the beast, the village thanked me and held a feast in my honor! As they all do, haha! Then, there was another time, still on my travels, where I heard cookies yelling for help. Being the gracious knight that I am, I- mPH?!"

Espresso shoves a donut in Madeleine's mouth to make him shut up.

He stares at Espresso, taking a bite of the donut before asking with his mouth full, "Why did you do that?"

"You wouldn't stop talking."

"Well, thank you for the donut, my friend!"

"We are not friends."

He hums happily while eating the rest of the donut. Espresso looks ahead, "Oh good! My house! Finally I can escape this dreadful interaction!"