AO3 Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/64762915/chapters/166418863#workskin

Window Shopper Chapter 2

You made one, VERY critical mistake.
You’re not sure if she realized it, but when you lunged over the counter to calm her down, it didn’t look good.
If they pull up the CCTV footage, it’d be impossible to tell what you were doing with your hands.
Even if you’re acquitted of the little husky’s allegations, you put your hands on a customer regardless.
No matter what, you’d lose your job, and you do not have the means to lose a job right now.
For the moment, all you can do is try to calm her down.

“Y-you’re a nice girl, right? I know you are,” you tell Sakari. “You wouldn’t try to get me in trouble like that, right?”

Resolute, she refuses to back down, even if she does look a bit guilty at first.
“I’m not going to let her take you,” she declares.
You groan and try to plead with her one last time.

“It’s not a competition, kid. “

“Yeah, because I’m winning,” she gloats.

“Ah, fuckin’ hell…”

You groan even louder now, completely giving up.
She’s just a kid, right? How bad could playing a little pretend with her go?

“Fine. Fine. You win,” you grunt. “I’m your ‘boyfriend.’ Now what?”

Without missing a beat, she replies.
“You have to take me on a-a d-d-date…!”
She seems a little less sure about her decision now, her ears folding back in anxiety, even if her tail is still wagging slowly.

“Uhh, lemme think,” you say, trying to come up with a child-appropriate “date.”

Charles Entertainment Cheese’s house of fun and family fistfights comes to mind, but you are NOT about to put this kid in your car.
This is enough trouble as is. Pizza still comes to mind, though.
You give your boss a quick call.
“Hey Vi, is it cool if I take 45? OK, thanks,” you say as you hang up.
You stretch out your back as you get off the counter and beckon your young “date” along.

“You like pizza, kiddo?” you ask.

“Pizza!? Really?!” she shouts. “I never get to eat pizza, except at school!”

“Well, today’s your lucky day, I guess.”

1/9

She follows you like a baby chick, quietly giggling to herself with glee.
If she didn’t just blackmail you, it would admittedly be a bit cute.
Not like you’d ever admit that.
“Hehe… A fancy Italian dinner,” she mumbles.
You don’t really know what to say to that, so you just keep leading her on to the food court.
You walk up to the register and ask the girl what she wants.

“What're you getting kid?”

“Cheese pizza. I love cheese pizza,” she chirps.

“Alright, two slices of that, and pepperoni for me,” you tell the cashier.

She tells you your total, and as you’re paying, the little husky says the absolute worst thing she possibly could.
“Me and Anon are on a date right now!” she boasts.
Your mind races for a moment before you think of a way to play it off.

“Yep,” you say. “The young lady here looked pretty hungry, so I think it’s pizza time.”

The cat running the register smiles in response.
Luckily you’re on good terms with all the other mall employees.
“Aww, isn’t that sweet?” she comments before looking down at the pup. “Anon’s such a nice guy, huh?”
Sakari puffs up with pride before agreeing.
“Yeah!”
As the employee hands you your stack of pizza, she leans in to whisper something.
“Thanks, Anon,” she says. “She’s always here, but we can only do so much.”

“Yeah, of course,” you reply before turning to the puppy. “Well, let’s go find a table.”

“That one over there is my favorite,” she says, pointing to a secluded one in the corner.
That’s probably best for you, as well, since you’re going to try and have a serious discussion with her yet again.
It’d easily be misunderstood by any eavesdroppers, but it has to be done.
While things hopefully shouldn’t escalate any further, you shouldn’t take any chances by just waiting it out.
You’ll nip this in the bud, as gently yet firmly as possible.
As the two of you sit down, you decide that you’ll ease your way into it.
She’s really digging into the pizza for such a small dog.

2/9

“You like it?”

“Yeah, it’s so good!”
You can tell she wants to say something to you, but she’s too busy getting cheese all over her face to get a word out.
It’s pretty impressive to watch her scarf down the slices as big as her head.
Although she didn’t show it, she definitely was hungry.
The husky finishes well before you and decides to make some small talk.
“Thanks for the food, Anon,” she says. “This is the best date ever.”

“This is your only date ever, I’m guessing,” you reply.

“Yeah. I’m n-not good at talking to boys. Or girls.”

“I guess we’ll have to get you some practice, then.”

“OK.”

You wait for her to continue, but she simply smiles as she watches you eat the pizza, her tail thumping against the seat.
At least the awkward pauses don’t bother her at all.
Normally conversation isn’t too difficult for you, but the strangeness of the situation, and the girl, throws you off a bit.

“Soooo… Come here often?” you joke.

You should’ve known that it’d go over her head, but it did work as an icebreaker at least.
“Almost every day. This is my favorite place to sit, since people don’t bother me too much, and I get to smell all the good food smells.”
It’s becoming increasingly obvious that this girl has home problems, especially with how nonchalantly she treats it.

“I don’t know about the smell thing,” you say. “It is kind of nice when it’s quiet, though.”

“I can draw here without the other kids teasing me about my pictures.”

“Oh, yeah?”

She nods thoughtfully.
“I’m not very good at it, but I like drawing about nice things I want to happen in the future,” she says before she starts to squirm in her seat and avoid your gaze. “I-I made a picture of you and me…”
If you could see under her fur, you’re sure she’s blushing like mad.
“I left it in my b-backpack at home. I’ll show it to you later.”

“Yeah, looking forward to it…” you lie. “Why are you spending so much time here, though?”

3/9

That little incident may have been the first time you noticed her in the store, but you’ve caught glimpses of her in the mall before.
You just never really paid attention.
For a moment though, you worry that your question was a bit too personal, but thankfully she answers the question just as frankly as before.
“Dad has to work really hard and really long so we can keep the house after mom died,” she explains. “And Sesi’s school is really expensive.”

“Sesi?”

“That’s my older sister.”

“You guys have some very, uhh, UNIQUE names,” you comment.

“Mom was from Alaska. I don’t think she was very much native, but she liked the names. She always said huskies have to love the snow!”
That’s really stupid, but kind of cute at the same time. L
Sakari seems happy about it, her tail beating against the seat even harder.

“Your family sounds really nice.”

“They are. They’re the only ones who are nice to me, other than you,” she says. “A-and that’s why I l-l-love you…”
She got really quiet at the end there, but you managed to catch her little declaration of love.
It may be kind of cruel to follow up with a denial, but there’s no time like the present.

“Sakari, I’m sorry, but you really should find someone your own age,” you say.

She looks like she just took a gut punch as her eyes narrow.
“B-but I don’t like any other guys. Even if they were nicer to me,” she whimpers. “I’ve never liked anyone the way I like y-you.”

“I kno-”

“A-and I really will get you in trouble if you say no…”
You’re really trying to be gentle here and avoid really setting her off.

“C’mon, kid…” you plead. “Is that really what you should do to someone you love?”

“I-I don’t care…!” she sniffles. “Because I l-love you and I know y-you do too…”
There’s no point in arguing anymore, lest you piss her off and ensure incrimination.
You just let her calm down, dropping the subject for the moment.

4/9

“Sorry. I guess I’ll try to make things work. For now.”

“OK,” she says, wiping the tears from her eyes.

“How about we get you some ice cream or something?”

One ice cream run later, you finally start your journey back.
Sakari absentmindedly licks away at an ice cream cone as you walk back to the store, smearing it all over her muzzle.
“Do you know how much I l-like you?” she stutters.
Before you can even think of a response, she unleashes a verbal assault on you.
“I wanna kiss you again and again and again and AGAIN…” she says, starting to run out of breath.
“...and then after that is when I touch your penis. I know I really, really, REALLY like you because I want to see your penis. But you have to touch me-”
This girl has zero shame and is making absolutely no effort to speak any quieter.
You see a lady do a double-take, and you realize that you HAVE to shut her up now.

“HAHA!” you force out a laugh. “That sounds like something we absolutely should not talk about right now!”

“I’ll tell you a lot about it later!”
You try to rush her along by grabbing her free hand, but the comedy of errors only snowballs further.
She stumbles a bit, and a large glob of soft serve splatters her “RAWR!” shirt.
“Oh no!”

“Ah, hell,” you curse. “C’mere…”

Luckily, you’re not too far from a bathroom, an employee one tucked away in a discreet alleyway.
You open up the door and tell her to try to get her shirt as clean as possible.

“I’ll wait outside for you,” you tell her.

She’s surprisingly quick to rinse off her shirt, and the results are honestly worse than just the ice cream itself.
Sticking the shirt under the hand dryer was the worst possible thing she could do.
Just a minute ago, she was loudly talking about your cock, and now, her awful shirt has a splatter of a dried white stain dribbling down her chest.
Even better, you get to lead her out of a well-hidden nook like nothing is off about the scene.

5/9

You almost want God to strike you down just to end your suffering.
“Thanks, Anon,” she says, oblivious. “Even if our date got a bit messed up, it was really fun!”

“That’s putting it lightly…” you groan.

“I have to show you something,” she says, and you get a little closer.
“Come here.”
She beckons for you to crouch down, so you do.
Without any warning, she whips her head forward, a jolt shooting up your jaw as enamel meets enamel.

“Ah!” you wince, grimacing.

Sakari looks a bit dazed, too, but she leaps on the opportunity.
Stubborn as ever, she grabs you by the cheeks and tries to force her tongue in your mouth.

“Mmf!” you grunt.

The little pup keeps poking at your lips with her little canine tongue, still cold from the ice cream.
Your mouth is being showered in wet little puppy kisses.
Thankfully her breath is nice and sweet.
Despite her best efforts, you don’t give in and finally put an end to it when you grab her under the arms.
She’s completely helpless as you lift her up, banishing the frisky husky to air jail.
Surprisingly, she doesn’t fight back, simply dangling in your arms before stating the obvious.
“Mah teef hurt.”

“Maybe they wouldn’t hurt if you didn’t slam your face into me!” you yell.

“OK.”

Your patience is really getting tested.
Is it kind of your fault for falling for her trick so easily, but you’re still a bit pissed.
Even if she only got away with what was essentially a peck, it’s still much too far.
You place her back on her paws and wipe the pup’s slobber off of your mouth.
Huh, this ice cream is pretty good.
That momentary distraction isn’t enough to stop you from telling her off.

“Look, no more forcing kisses on me or whatever, OK?” you say sternly.

“OK.” she replies.

“I’ll kiss you better next time.”

“That’s- UUURGH…!” you groan, exasperated beyond belief.

You bury your face in your hands, the pup not even reacting a bit.

6/9

“It’s time for me to go home now,” she says abruptly.

“Yes, please, please, PLEASE go home,” you beg. “And don’t tell anyone about this. Or anything that happened.”

“I won’t,” she promises. “Bye, Anon. I l-love you.”

“Yeah, I know…”

With a pep in her step, she trots off.
Good to see she enjoyed herself, at least.

Finally freed from today’s nightmare, you drag yourself back into Spencer’s a few minutes late.
You must look like hell from the way Violet reacts.
“Jeez, dude, what happened to you?” she asks.

“It’s a long story,” you say.

“You’re full of long stories recently,” she says. “C’mon, spill the deets!”
You’re going to have to omit many, many things, but sharing just a bit can’t hurt, can it?

“So, that kid from earlier,” you explain. “I threw her a twenty yesterday to go play around the mall yesterday and buzz off.”

Violet cutely puts her hand on her cheek and coos.
“Aww, aren’t you sweet, Anon.”

“Well, my good deed for the day got me a not-so-secret admirer. She’s one of the latchkey kids you’re talking about, and it seems she spends most of the time alone in the food court.”

She nods sadly.
“That’s got to be even rougher without some company.”

“From what she says, the other kids can’t appreciate her… Uniqueness that much. She’s pretty hard off, too, so I treated her to some ‘za and tried to let her down gently.”

The possum winces and hisses in sympathy.
“Anon, treating a young girl with a crush to dinner isn’t gonna make her like you less…”

“Yeah, I learned that the hard way,” you sigh. “Expect a lot more visits from her in the future.”

“We’ll see if I can win her over,” she says with a wink.

“Good luck with that. She sees you as competition, or something.”

“So I’ve got competition, too?” she says. “Just kidding!”
She’s obviously just joking about the fact a kid sees her as her rival in love.
What you’re unsure of, however, is if her “joke” was a subtle hint that you have a chance.
You can only hope that’s the case.

7/9

“Maybe you can talk to her girl-to-girl and get her to calm down a little bit.”

“I’ll try, but huskies are stubborn,” she says, before covering her mouth. “Ah, sorry. You didn’t hear that. I just grew up with one, and she’s…”

“Your secret is safe with me,” you reply, lifting your hand like you were taking an oath.
“I’m gonna have to agree, with the way Sakari is.”

Your boss looks dumbfounded for a second, her mouth hanging open.
A few moments pass before she can gather her thoughts.
“Wait, did you say Sakari?” she asks. “I only know of one Sakari. Does she have a sister?”

“Yeah, she said her name was… Sussy, or something?”

She busts out laughing, doubling over.
“Ha ha ha…” she struggles to catch her breath. “That’s why Sakari is dressed like that!”

“Do you know them or something?”

“Yeah, Sesi was my best friend since elementary school,” she explains.
“Sakari probably doesn’t remember it, but I used to help Sesi watch her until I went to High School!”

“Small world, isn’t it?” you reply.

“Sure is… I have to say, it’s funny seeing little Sakari dressed up in Sesi’s old scene fits,” she says, amused.
“I never grew out of black, but the Goth look is timeless.”

“It keeps us in business, at least,” you agree.

“You probably haven’t seen a scene kid in a while, but which do you think is better?” she asks. “Goth or scene?”
She’s obviously fishing for compliments.

“I like black, too,” you tell her. “It really accentuates the fur color on some girls. Nice contrast.”

Violet also fits that description, but it’s just innocuous enough a statement that it’s harmless.
“Don’t tell me you’re the type that wants a ‘big-titty goth GF?’” she teases, leaning forward and giving you a peek of her cleavage.

“I’m not obsessed, or anything, but I certainly wouldn’t mind in the slightest,” you say.

“All you have to do is ask,” she replies.
“I’m sure there’s more than a few floating around somewhere.”

8/9

“I guess I should just nut-up and go for it sometime.”

“I’m sure things would be a lot more exciting if you did,” she says with a smirk.
“But anyways, you should have seen me and Sesi together. A moody, angsty goth kid next to a walking rainbow.”

“Quite the odd couple,” you say.
“To say the least. She was always a pipsqueak like her sister, while I sprouted up young,” she says.

“Maybe I can find some pictures sometime…”

“You sure you want to give me blackmail material like that?” you joke.

“Hey, I’ve always been a beautiful dark beauty,” she replies. “Sesi’s all MUNDANE now, though.”
She reminisces for a moment before her good mood falls a bit.
“I really should give Sesi a call. I didn’t know the family was still doing so rough…”
Violet looks a little guilty, and you put your hand on her shoulder in support.

“I’m sure she’ll really appreciate that, Vi,” you assure her. “Maybe you’ll be able to get through to Sakari, too.”

She brightens up a bit, shooting you a smile.
“I just have to turn up the charm,” she says. “Anyways, you wanna get a head start so we can close up on time?”

“Sounds good to me, Vi,” you reply.

You start sweeping up all the dust and dirt all the hooligans tracked inside.
You’re happy that you’ve seen a little more of Violet’s soft side, but you’re still uneasy.

Little Sakari is going to be a headache, maybe for both of you.

9/9