Together At Last

Chapter 24

After a short 30 minute ride, X arrived at the mall. He took in a deep breath, calming himself and the anticipation running through his veins.

X wasn't the best with crowded places, they were often noisy and pushy and loud.

Briefly, X recalled a memory from the earliest days of his childhood.

-

'X was holding his mother's hand, walking around the mall with her, when something shiny caught his eye. It was a glittery green dinosaur, sitting in a case behind some glass. X let go of his mother's hand, staring at it.

A sudden push behind him made him realize his mother was gone, and that he was left alone in the noisy crowd.

X yelped as an older kid ran past him, tripping him in the process. He skinned his knees, tears pooling up in his eyes.

Suddenly, someone tapped on his shoulder.

X looked around to see a boy with blue hair and clothes staring at him with a peculiar expression. The boy helped X to his tiny feet, silently taking his hand and leading him away from the spot. X didn't protest; he'd just lost his mother, so any help was welcome.

They walked quite a while in X's opinion, eventually getting to a less crowded part of the mall. The mysterious boy sped up a bit, and X stumbled to keep up, almost falling over a couple times.

Eventually, the boy stopped at a lady's feet, looking up at her and tugging on her dress. The lady looked down, saw X, and gasped.

"Four! Did you drag this poor little child away from his mother?" the woman questioned. "Four" shook his head, pointing to X's knees.

"He lost his mommy and fell. I don't know where his mommy is. Can you help us, Ma?" Four responded plainly. Four's mother nodded absentmindedly, picking up the shorter yellow kid.

"We need to find your mom, lil' fella! Do you know her name?" X thought hard about that question.

"Uhm- her name is Mommy...I dunno..." X timidly responded. The woman nodded, hoisting the yellow child onto her shoulders.

"Let's make a pit stop to grab Two, then to find your Mom. Come on Four!" The woman held out a hand for Four, wrapping her other one around her head, to keep X secure. Then, they set out to find X's mom.'

-

X sighed, pushing the memory back into his subconscious. That was a long time ago. Four's mother wasn't alive anymore, and his was...well...

He didn't like to think about his mother.

X sighed, hoisting a tote back over his shoulder with little effort. He was here for a couple small items and groceries. That was all.

He walked into the mall, taking in the large crowds and bright lights with a nervous air. He slowly walked through the crowd, swerving through people to get to the shop he was aiming for.

He entered the quieter subsection of the giant building, sighing with relief as he grabbed a small shopping cart. A couple groceries, that was all. Nothing much.

-

X walked towards the checkout aisle, pushing his cart along. He stopped in front of a lively-looking cashier, smiling politely as he placed his groceries on the conveyor belt.

The cashier squinted at him before making a noise of realization, to which X gave them a confused, questioned glance.

"Ah- that must've been rude of me, I apologize! You're the patient on the news- X, right?" The cashier spoke. X nodded, laughing nervously.

"Yeah, that's me." X not-so-discreetly studies the cashier, looking him up and down as his eyes widen. "Wait a minute- are you the doctor I woke up to?" The cashier nodded, smiling.

"My name's Three- I'm happy to see you recovered. Or, mostly did." Three chuckles, glancing at X's cast while scanning his items. X just nods.

"So-uh, nice weather? I'm not much of a talker, so I apologize in advance." Three says sheepishly. X giggles.

"The weather is quite nice today. And it's fine, I understand." X leans on the counter, being cautious of Three's personal space. "So, if it's not a personal question, why are you a doctor and a cashier? I'm a bit curious." Three hums, glancing at the monitor in front of them before returning their gaze to X.

"I'm a nurse, actually. And on nice Saturdays like this, I have a weekend, but silly me can't even sit down unstimulated." Three rolls his eyes playfully. "It's a whole thing."

X nods. "That's nice. I'm a lawyer, but I get Saturdays and Sundays off so...here we are!" Three gives a noise of acknowledgement in response.

"Your total is...$47.96! Would you like a receipt?" Three asks in a stereotypical customer service voice. X smiles.

"I'll take the receipt. It was nice meeting you Three!" X waves as he starts to leave. Three says nothing, but the flammette waves back with a warm smile.

X makes his way to the furniture shop down the hall, smiling and humming.

Maybe he'd see Three again someday.

----------------------------------------------------

yoo

new character alert!!

(hint hint, Three's gonna be important later >:})

mwahahahha

I'm so evil 

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