Blood and Snow

Chapter Thirty-Five

"I'm telling you, Baron, it's like she's trying to get us together!"

"Probably because she is."

Belle was back in her room, laying down on the bed. Baron was in there with her, talking to her casually (or as casual as he can get). Belle was telling him about Happy's latest scheme to have her and Mason bond. Baron was mostly all ears, but he would comment every now and then. "I know. It's just... I don't think I want to get any closer to him than I already am. What if I accidentally say or do something that makes him hate me all over again?" She said with a frown. Baron tilted his head, "So you do like him?"

Belle sighed at herself. "I don't even know the answer to that..." she told him quietly. Baron shook his head. "Look, if Happy keeps trying, just ask her to stop. Knowing her she'll pretend she didn't hear you even though you asked thirty times, but it never hurts to try." He said plainly. The door opened quickly, recealinv Happy on the other side with a crazy smile. "Talking shit about me like I can't hear you?" She joked. Belle smiled at Happy. "Hey, Happy. What brings you here?"

"I wanted to know how it went!" Happy told her. Baron took this as his signal to leave the room. He walked out the door, quietly closing it behind him. Happy waited to make sure he was gone, then turned back to Belle. "So, how'd it go?" Happy asked, "Did he like the cookies?"

"He said he did, but I don't believe him." Belle told her with a small smile. Happy's draw dropped. "Hold up! Are you saying that he actually ate the sugar cookies?!" She asked, surprised. Belle's smile widened a bit. "Not all of them. Mason ate two, but let me have the other four." She said. "Oh..." Happy's surprise deflated a little, "... But still! He actually ate some of the cookies! That's unheard of! What did you do to make him eat them?"

Belle shrugged, "I'm not sure. I guess he just wanted to see if they were good or not."

Happy sighed like she agreed with Belle, but she secretly- and accurately- thought that it was something else. "I swear, you're the only one that he actually does super nice things for now." The green-haired girl said with a smirk, sitting down on Belle's bed. Belle shook her head, "That's impossible. He does nice things for you guys all the time, doesn't he?"

"Well yeah, but he does them for you, too!" Happy pointed out, "Think about it! The privileges, the books, the invitation to last night's party, letting you out of your room- the list goes on!"

"Maybe, but it could be just because I do what I'm told and answer his questions... for the most part..." Belle reasoned. Happy put her hands on her hips, "You can't deny it forever."

Belle grinned defiantly, "Oh, I most certainly can. There's plenty of reasons why."

"But there's plenty more reasons why you can't."

"How can you be so sure about that?" Belle asked. Happy smiled, "I just can."

Belle shook her head after a moment of silence. "I don't know how you convinced yourself of this, but whatever it was scares me." The bluenette said. "Well, it all started when he gave you that first book to borrow." Happy informed her, "By the way, where'd it go?"

Belle gestured to a stack of books next to the bed, with the one Happy was asking about sitting on top. Happy blinked at them, then smirked. "Sooooooo... you sure he doesn't like you?" She asked. Belle looked confused on why she kept asking, then mentally facepalmed when she realized why. "I'm sure. He's letting me read those books as an apology for giving me another panic attack a couple of days ago." She said calmly. Happy's smirk turned back into a grin, "So he apologized too?"

"Goodness gracious, Haps, why do you constantly insist on the impossible?" Belle asked. Happy grinned, "Because the impossible can always become possible, and I know exactly how to make that happen!"

Belle shook her head with a smile. "You're crazy." She said. "I know. That's why you and I are friends! You're my voice of reason!" Happy responded cheerfully. "Well, I guess I'm not much of a voice then, huh?" Belle giggled, then she and Happy shared a good laugh. "Even though you can't stop me from doing crazy stuff, you're still more reasonable than I am." Happy gladly pointed out. Belle nodded, "Very true."

Belle's smile turned into a gradual frown. "What's wrong?..." Happy asked worriedly. Belle shook her head. "I was just thinking about Lillian, is all. This is the first Christmas in a long while that we haven't celebrated together... I hope she's doing okay." The lawyer admitted. Happy smiled reassuringly and leaned over, patting Belle's shoulder. "It's okay. I'm sure Lillian's fine. You said that she's a tough cookie, right?" Happy said. Belle nodded, "Yeah, Lil's pretty strong."

Happy tried ruffling Belle's head like a father would to mess with his kid, "Besides, she's definitely a lot healthier than we'll be!"

"What?" Belle asked. Happy giggled, "We're gonna munch on all the sugar cookies tonight!"

Belle looked at Happy ridiculously. "All of them? Didn't you and Sierra make five batches?" She asked, startled. Happy nodded, "Yep! We're giving ourselves diabetes tonight!"

The green-haired girl giggled again. Belle shook her head at Happy, but still smiled. "Well, I might as well join you since I can't stop you." She said. "Yay!" Happy pumped her fists in the air. She jumped off the bed and grabbed Belle's wrists, pulling her to her feet. "Let's go!" Happy practically dragged her out the door, racing down the hallway with her, leaving a confused Baron standing a few meters away front the guest room. "What're they running for?" He asked the cold air.