Perfectly Happy

2 - Tired

*+*The Next Day*+*

Once again, Madeleine is waiting for Espresso. Right on time.

Madeleine does his signature smile, "Good morning, Espresso!"

Espresso stares at him, "Hi... Stop smiling like that, it's annoying."

Madeleine glances around, but there's still some cookies wandering the streets despite how early it is. Madeleine chuckles, "But my smile is so nice to look at. Everyone enjoys it. Why should I stop just for you?"

Espresso starts walking. He groans, "You said you wanted to be friends, yes?"

Madeleine follows, "Yes! Of course!"

"Stop smiling like that, then."

"But we are in public."

Espresso turns to him, "So? What, are you worried your reputation will be tarnished if you're seen without a smile?"

Madeleine laughs, a hint of nervousness present, "No, it's not that. It's just the fact that I want to be welcoming to everyone!"

Espresso scoffs, rolling his eyes and continuing his walk. "Seriously, why can't he stop smiling like that? My cheeks hurt just looking at it."

Madeleine has a slight bounce to his step, "I defeated cake monsters that were attacking the kingdom yesterday! There were others there too, but I was the first one there. Then we had a picnic. You should've gone, it was amazing!"

Espresso tunes him out.

Madeleine continues rambling, until he looks up and sees that Espresso isn't listening. He looks around, and realizes they're in a part of the kingdom where no cookies are awake this early.

Madeleine lets out a relieved sigh, no longer smiling, "I enjoy talking to you, Espresso." He watches for a reaction, but Espresso is still focused on the path ahead of them.

Madeleine pulls on the edge of his sleeve, "Would it be safe to talk about it in front of him? He never pays attention to my rambling, so he'd probably tune this out too. He didn't even notice I stopped smiling. I'd better be careful though, in case he zones in again."

Madeleine looks up at Espresso, "You're the only person who's asked me to stop smiling in.. I don't know how long. It's.. nice. Not having to smile in front of someone."

Espresso blinks, then stops, "You- You stopped smiling."

Madeleine glances to the side, then smiles sheepishly, "No..?"

Espresso crosses his arms, "You just admitted it was nice to not smile."

Madeleine looks at the ground, "You were listening?"

"You stopped talking for a minute and the silence snapped me back to reality."

Madeleine isn't smiling anymore, "Oh..."

He pulls on his sleeves again, "Apologies-"

"Why are you apologizing? Go back to not talking."