love in a toy shop (gepetto x stromboli)

4

Geppetto Pov:
I sat at my kitchen table picking at the cream of wheat I made for myself. I heard distant rustling of sheets. Stromboli must be awake. I grabbed a bowl from the cabinet (he has bowls but not cups apparently.) I poured a separate bowl for the sleeping man. I grabbed a spoon out of the drawer, and placed the bowl at the spot next to me. I heard footsteps and quickly hurried to rearrange everything. I sat and acted like I wasn't anticipating him at all. When he walked in, his hair was messy and he looked like he was still half asleep. He saw me looking at him with a bowl of cream of wheat next to me.
   "What's all this?" He chuckled. I could feel my cheeks heat up. I started to think that this was stupid. Last night was a mistake. Why did I hug him? God i'm so stupid. I should've known he doesn't like me like that. For gods sake, he doesn't even like me, period. As I was overthinking, I didn't even notice he was trying to talk to me. He had sat down and began eating his cream of wheat. "How did you know this is my favorite breakfast food?" he mumbled with a full mouth. "oh, um... I didnt it's just all I have in the house,
  "Well, lucky me then," He said with a smirk. How did I end up here. With Stromboli of all people. I never even found out why he came to the shop anyways.
  "Hey, Strom?" I asked.  He gave me a confused glance before shoveling another spoonful of wheat into his mouth. "Yeah?" I thought about how I was going to say this without sounding really creepy. " This might be a weird question but, why did you come to the shop yesterday anyways?" I waited for a response, but he just sat there eating. I knew it was a dumb question. I don't even know why I try at this point. It's not like he was actually here for me. Since when has anyone ever come here for me. It's always, 'Geppetto, make me a toy,' or, 'Geppetto, why won't you let my child have it?' When was the last time someone cared about me. My head started to spiral and my vision started to blur. I was quickly pulled out of my trance by the sound of someone's voice.
    "I was here for a puppet. But, then I saw you on the floor and I knew I had to help you." My heart fluttered. Did he really just say that? I mean, of course he just wanted a puppet, but maybe it changed. He said he wanted to help me. A few months ago, he wanted nothing to do with me, so what changed? The man in front of me got up and put his bowl in the sink.
  "A million clocks in this place, and not a single one is correct," He laughed. I had to admit, I was good at making clocks, not reading them. "I don't know. I think it's around 10 am," I guessed based on the shadows coming through the window. I love astronomy. Rather than learn how to read a clock, I can just look at any shadow and get very close to accurate with my guesses. He raised his eyebrows looking very impressed. "How did you know that?" He asked. "It's just basic astronomy. Based on how big a shadow is, you can tell what time it is cause that's where the son is." I was expecting him to laugh at me, but he just smiled. I had never shared my love for astronomy with anyone before. For some reason I felt extra safe with him. Like I could tell him anything and it would all be ok.

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