Shopping Together

“A-Ah, so tiny, cute!” Shadowy Servant stuttered as he pulled at his clothing, trying to make himself look presentable. Silver Lining couldn’t help but smile and pat him on the shoulder, causing him to smile shyly in return, as they entered the tiny store that was actually a lot bigger on the inside. Huh, wonder how they did that?

“Welcome, welcome! I am Ophiucus, but you may call me Serp!” the shopkeeper called out, eyeing the two with a calm expression, “Come in and take a look around! I’m sure to have what you desire~”

“A-Ah, yes, Master Serp!” Shadowy called out. Serp blinked before laughing.

“Master? Interesting. In any case, go ahead and browse my wares!” With a nod, both of the Dropzillas entered the place, Shadowy pulling out a long list.

“Alright, school books, these…pencils, erasers, notebooks, ah, let’s see…highlighters, binders, paper, pens, sweets- Ah, sweets. Nan…” Shadowy let out a sigh as he rattled off the rest of the list. “…All there, got it?” Silver nodded and went to find the items, with the albino Dropzilla following after her. The school supplies section was not that hard to find, but there were a large variety of stuff due to the different studies that those at Droppuniversity studied. It was…actually quite overwhelming. Giving each other a glance before nodding, they split up, trying to find the books needed. The books were the main priority, though the other supplies would be easier to find. It was just easier to get it over with. Shadowy traced each spine of each book, unsure as to why but finding the fact comforting. He glanced over at Silver to see she was studying the books, occasionally pulling one out and- reading it? Huh. He wished he could read big words. With a smile, he went back to looking at the covers, occasionally pulling out the needed book.

He reached over to pull out one such book, only to accidentally take a hand. Silver Lining’s hand. They both blushed as they glanced at each other in surprise before grinning shyly. “Ah, after you,” he said graciously with a low bow. She curtsied in response before taking the book out, still blushing and shaking a bit. He looked up to see it and got a bit worried. “You’re shaking, scared? Ill?” he asked as he walked over to her and put a hand on her forehead. She shook her head and pointed to her throat, opening her mouth in a laugh. “Ah! Laugh! I see, right, mute,” he murmured as he looked down again shyly, blushing harder in embarrassment, “So sorry, Master Silver…” She shook her head and lightly hugged him, causing him to smile happily. “Thank you…back to books?” With a nod, they hurried back to finding the necessary books needed for everyone to go to Droppuniversity. When they were finished, they moved onto the other school supplies, eager to find everything. That went rather quickly which left the various sweets for Nan. Silver quickly pulled Shadowy to the sweets section, laughing silently at the large amount of sweets and treats there were for Dropzillas.

She turned to look at Shadowy, but then her smile faltered. He was having that far away gaze again, just staring at the sweets blankly as his stomach growled audibly. “…Sweet things…so much…ah…hungry…” he murmured before grimacing, “Why always hungry? Why always begging? Don’t like, do not…hate…” She bit her lip before hugging him. He snapped out of it and smiled sadly. “Ah, love. So nice, sweet, so sweet, mmm…” He sighed as he hugged back. “Sorry, worried?” She made a motion with her hand, shaking it back and forth, to indicate she was a little worried. “Sorry, bitter…not sweet. Yuck. Disgusting, right…?” She shook her head and continued to hug, bringing him to her chest. He let out a draconic and growly purr as he snuggled into her chest. “…Thank you, again. So warm…” She eventually let go and he sighed, putting on a smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Shop, for sweets? Now?” The girl nodded and they proceeded to grab as many sweets as they could. Silver grabbed some of the sweets she knew Shadowy would like, saltwater taffy, just for him, without telling him. Once they got everything, they went back with their load and dumped it on the counter. Serp’s eyes were glimmering as he scanned all the items in place.

“And your total comes to…” he chirped as the register rang everything up, “…132 candies! Do you have enough?” Shadowy immediately pulled out the purse that the Queen’s servant had given them and pulled out candy after candy, making sure to count until it was the right amount. He paused when Silver came up with her own purse.

“A-Ah, no need, I must-!” She pulled out the saltwater taffies and his eyes lit up. “S-S-Salty! But, not part of- oh, you pay?”

“Oooh, nice taste! That’ll be 6 candies, your total coming down to 126 for the rest! Is that fair?” The young man jolted at his words and nodded vigorously as they both paid. Everything was put into neat little bags as they finished the transaction, Serp eyeing the candies happily. “Good! Have a great day you two! By the way, you make a nice couple~” Silver immediately blushed while Shadowy stared blankly at the shopkeeper.

“…What’s a couple?” he asked.

“Well- Hey!” Silver immediately grabbed Shadowy and all his bags, pulling him away from the shopkeeper while blushing furiously. She gave him an incredulous look as she wrote a question mark in the air, wondering how he didn’t know what a couple was. He blinked before looking a little forlorn.

“…Is it wrong to not know…? Wish I did…” He sighed as he shifted all the bags he was holding, only to pause as Silver adjusted his grip and moved some more bags onto her. “Ah, I can-!” She shook her head and rushed ahead, causing him to yelp. “W-Wait!” They ran all the way back to the palace, a full day of shopping having gone well.