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He knocked hesitantly on the front door, holding his breath. Even the wood held the chilly echo of freeze. Please open up. I really am not looking forward to freezing to death. I’m begging. He shifts his weight from foot to foot, snow squeaking underneath his shoes. The cold had bitten down to the marrow at this point, his joints stiff and nose red. No, he was not about to cry, thank you very much, it’s just the cold .
Wiping his nose on his shirtsleeve, he raised his arm to knock again, nearing desperation, but, thankfully, the door swung open. Unfortunately, that left him awkwardly poised mid-knock.
“Ah-” he stuttered, bringing his hand down in a timid wave. “Apologies, miss, but -”
“Oh, it’s you!” she says, visibly delighted, despite the circumstances. “Come in, please!”
She opens the door a crack wider to keep out the cold and lets him slip through. He had been here once already this morning, when he was bumbling around, scared and confused like a young fawn lost from its mother, but amidst his mild terror and dismay, it hadn’t struck him just how homely this… well, home was. It was very green, but just had enough counterbalance so that it wasn’t overpowering, with a thick, ornate rug spread across the hardwood flooring. A piano sat to his left, sitting regal and elegant. Stuffed bears were sat in multiple places across the room, with one being on the coffee table, one on a small tea table, and a giant one sitting comfortably catty-cornered between the tea table and the wall. A retro stereo played a simple, jaunty tune. Composed mainly of woodwinds… clarinet, piccolo…recorder, maybe? Pan flute, perhaps? It was difficult to distinguish because of the age of the tape.
Anyway, that really wasn’t important. What was important was how swiftly and efficiently he was being de-thawed. “You’re lucky you stopped by when you did, honey,” Maple said, “I’ve just made some tea, and there’s enough for two!” She takes him by the hand and, after having him swaddled in a nice, hand-crocheted blanket, leads him to a small kitchen.
“Thank you, miss,” he says after being sat down at a hearty wooden table, “You have no idea how close I was to kicking the bucket out there.”
Maple laughs, standing on her tiptoes to grab two ceramic mugs out of the cabinet. “I’m sure you were, honey. It looks positively horrid out there!” She fetches a kettle from the stove and fills the two mugs. “I’ve never been one for the cold, myself. Which is a bit ironic, I suppose, being that I’m a bear. Milk and sugar?”
“Yes, please. Two spoons of milk, three of sugar, if you don’t mind.”
“Alrighty.” She adds the respective additions and stirs them. “You know, I’ve recently had an air conditioning-slash-heater unit installed in my house, and let me tell you- it’s changed my outlook on winter! I can experience the delicate beauty of the ice and snow and all else out there in that wretched frost without ever leaving the temperate 75 degrees of my own home!” She sighs almost wistfully, bringing the mugs over to the table and sitting across from him. “What a world we live in, right?”
“Indeed, miss.” He blows the steam across the top of his mug, letting the ceramic warm his hands.
They sit in comfortable silence for a few minutes, sipping on their teas and letting their eyes wander.
Eventually, Maple pipes up.
“So, Mayor,” she begins, resting her elbows on the table, “What brings you to my home on a dark, dreary evening such as this one? And at this hour, too!” She turns to look at a clock hung on the wall. “Is it ten-thirty already? Goodness, I suppose time does fly sometimes.”
He makes a face, looking to the side pensively. This has the potential to go terribly wrong, he tells himself. You’ve only just arrived here, after all. Hell, you’re not even their real mayor!
“Well,” he begins. His fingers drum nervously on the side of his mug. “You know how I arrived in this town today… ”
“Yes?”
“Well… at the moment, I’m essentially homeless. Nook hasn’t issued me an actual, four-walled house yet, and he’s stuck me in a tent beside the river. Which I know is the best option for right now- Rome wasn’t built in a day, of course- but it’s not exactly ideal.”
Maple sets her mug down on the table.
“And I do know what I’m about to ask you is completely imposing on your privacy, and I do apologize greatly for it - it’s truly not my intention to come across in such a way, but I can’t help but ask you…” He takes a deep breath, pursing his lips, “Would it be too much of a hassle for me to stay at your house for the night? Just for tonight, I assure you, though if you could house me until I get my own, that would be truly saintly of you.”
Maple looks to be deep in thought. He panics silently. Christ.
Eventually, she finds her words. She reaches over the table to pat the top of his hand with her paw. “Of course you can stay, honey,” she says. “I have an open couch available, but if you find that to be too uncomfortable, you can sleep on the bed. I’ve found myself asleep on that couch too many times to count, so it really won’t be an issue.”
He sighs, relief washing over him like gentle sea foam. He takes a long drink from his mug, emptying it of the last remnants of tea."Thank you, miss. I'm certain if I slept out there tonight, I'd be frostbitten thrice-over by the time morning comes."
Maple giggles. "I don't doubt it, Mayor."
They both go about washing and drying their mugs, though Maple assured him she could handle cleaning a couple dishes by herself. Maple then leads him back to the living room, sitting him on the couch and situating him with blankets and pillows.
"It's important to be comfortable while you sleep," she insists, adding a third flower-stitched blanket on top of him. "If not, then you won't be properly rejuvenated!"
"Of course." He smiles, warmth blossoming just next to his heart. As hesitant as he is about the whole thing, it does feel nice to be fussed over, even if it is by some random bear lady whom he's just met. She has a distinct motherly charm to her. It's something he hasn't experienced in a very long while.
Maple finishes layering him with various bedclothes with a teddy-bear tucked just underneath his chin. He sighs in fond exasperation, explaining to her that he's an adult and doesn't really need one, but, yet again, she insists, telling him that its, 'a crucial aspect to sleeping," and that "if you don't have one you won't sleep a wink!" Eventually, he relents, and the bear is back within his confine of blankets.
"Alrighty then," Maple says, dusting off her hands and admiring her handiwork. "Everything seems to be in order!"
"Yep yep." He murmurs. He's essentially half-asleep.
"Lovely," she steps up to where he is swaddled on the couch and ruffles his hair, "Sleep well now, honey. Just yell if you need anything."
He hums some kind of response as she walks out of the room. The light turns off with a soft click.
Night passes without issue.