Throughout her work shift, (f/n) found herself unable to rid her mind of that occurrence. Various expressions would run across her face, and such things didn't go unnoticed by her coworker, Tiona. (F/n)'s coworker attempted to get an answer out of the (h/c)-haired girl, but she wasn't successful. The (e/c)-eyed girl would just push her coworker's inquiries aside and proceed with helping customers.

Presently, though, (f/n) was leaning on the checkout counter with her chin in the palms of her hands. There were no customers in the shop, so she had some time to get her thoughts straight. Moreover, Tiona had already left over an hour ago, and there was only thirty minutes left until the store closed. Regardless, she was rather irritated by Edgar's earlier action. What had possessed him to do that? He could've just told her there was coffee on her lips, and she would've wiped it off herself. Instead, he wiped it off in an affectionate manner. Seriously, it was embarrassing.

Sliding her face down in her hands before allowing her fingers to run through her (h/c) locks, she mentally cursed in frustration. When she heard the bell on the door ring, though, she immediately composed herself and glanced over in that direction. She expected a customer to walk in, but it was Edgar instead. Why was he in the store early?

"Edgar, what are you doing here?"

"Hmm? I have something to work on later, so I decided to come in early," he replied, as he closed the door and walked behind the counter.

The male grabbed the list and began his usual routine. He didn't speak anymore, which (f/n) found now unnerving. How could he act so composed after what he did in the coffee shop? Granted, it wasn't that huge of a thing, but it was still enough to cause her to blush. She wasn't used to such contact, and what made it worse was that she enjoyed it. His fingers gliding lightly over her lips produced a wonderful sensation, and she could feel heat taking over her cheeks just thinking about it.

When she heard the bell on the door ring again, she did her best to rid her cheeks of the color, as a customer walked into the store. She welcomed the young woman, who returned the greeting and headed off towards the toy swords. The customer took only about fifteen minutes and came over to the checkout counter with a toy sword, painted in silver and gold, in hand. After (f/n) completed the transaction, the woman left, and (f/n) went to check off the item on the list, since it was a habit now. This wasn't possible at the time, however, due to Edgar having the list.

Frowning at this, she asked him if he had checked it off, and he nodded in reply. Thus, she was left to wait the next fifteen minutes in uncomfortable silence. She tried to come up with conversation topics in her head, but she found she had already asked Edgar the basic questions. Why was it so hard to think of something? Well, she knew the reason, but she wanted to purge her mind of the thoughts. When at last it was ten in the evening, she headed over to the door and turned the sign. Now, she went to her regular task of restocking.

During this interval of time, she found herself glancing every now and then back at Edgar. He was still checking the list and writing the items down. Knowing that she was thinking too much on the matter, she turned her focus back onto the stuffed dinosaur in her hands. The soft cotton and blue fabric of the stegosaurus greeted her fingers, as its small plush face seemed to smile at her warmly. Its darker blue spines were soft as well and only added to the dinosaur's adorable nature.

Her attention, however, shifted over to her dark pink leather wrist watch. So far, Edgar had been in the store for nearly an hour. There was no way his job should've taken that long. Deciding to take one last glance at him, she saw that he no longer had the list in his hands. Instead, he wasn't behind the counter anymore. Rather, he was leaning against it with his arms crossed over his chest. An amused gleam swirled in his visible emerald green eye.

"Something the matter, (f/n)?"

"What?! No, you're just taking awhile. I thought you needed to get something done later."

"It was canceled, so I thought I would stay longer. Didn't you hear me take that call earlier?"

"Well, no, I guess I was just absorbed in restocking," she responded with slight nervousness in her voice.

"Is that so?" he asked with skepticism in his voice. Granted, he was quite glad that he was causing her so much trouble. He didn't expect his decision in the coffee shop to have such sway over her. What a marvelous result.

She huffed out a little in response before she found her grip on the dinosaur increasing slightly. How was he able to mess with her mind so much; she had only known him for a little over a week. Why was she in such inner conflict? Figuring that the only way out of this would be direct confrontation, she turned on her heel and stepped a little closer to him.

"What are you doing? First you walk me home last night, and you proceed to pull that stunt in the coffee shop. What's your motive behind your actions?"

"I was merely being considerate. Did you want coffee to remain on your lips? Did you not appreciate me walking you home last night? I'll apologize if that's the case, (f/n)."

"I hardly doubt you did those things just out of consideration, Edgar."

"Are you calling me a liar, (f/n)?" he asked with a tinge of sadness in his voice. Of course, he was faking the emotion, but she didn't know that. Likewise, he made sure to say her name in a softer tone, so as to put more gravity into it. Judging by her current expression of slight regret, he could tell that it produced the intended outcome.

"No, I guess I'm just overreacting. Forget I said anything," she uttered before turning back around and setting the dinosaur on the shelf. Puzzlement taking its toll on her, she figured that she was pushing things out of proportions; she was probably over-analyzing his actions. "I'll just grab my bag and go, since I'm done restocking for the night."

As she went to sign out on the time sheet and grab her purse, she heard Edgar say, "I'm still fine with walking you home, though, if you want."

In truth she did like having company on the way home. It did provide extra comfort in knowing that she wasn't by herself. Answering with a brief "okay", she completed the tasks she had in mind beforehand. After doing so, she headed to the front of the store with him, as he opened the door for her. He locked the door behind them and proceeded to walk by her side.

"Why do you like toys, (f/n)?" Edgar inquired, breaking the silence of the night air.

Caught off guard a little by the question, (f/n) didn't answer immediately. She knew the reason, but it was hard to explain. Since he worked in the toy store as well, perhaps he could understand. "Well, they're usually bright and colorful. Some aren't, but I still find those precious as well. They just seem to add a wonderful quality of joy to life. I feel like they're not just for children, but for anyone who is willing to open their heart to them. I feel that they'll remain loyal to their caretaker for eternity, as long as they're appreciated for their worth and purpose: their purpose being to fill one with innocent joy. I don't know if that sounds weird, though."

"It doesn't," Edgar answered with a small smile on his lips. In fact he considered it a perfect response. As she spoke it, he could feel his heartstrings being tugged on. His beautiful muse knew just how to string them, and he didn't expect anything less from her. He just desired for her to voice her thoughts aloud and hear them come from her otherworldly lips.

An audible sigh of relief came from her, and he couldn't help but glance over at her. Her head was bent slightly downwards, letting her (h/c) strands fall slightly in front of her face. Moreover, her eyelids were closed slightly, giving her gaze a soft appearance. To add to this, her lips were parted just a little bit. This drew attention to their natural color, which added grace and beauty to her overall countenance. Amazing, she was simply amazing. Truly, he wanted to reach out and pull her into his arms right then and there. He wished to grasp her splendor and keep it all to himself. When they had reached her apartment complex, though, he sadly had to say goodbye to her. Still, he could pull one last move, and it would be entertaining to see her reaction.

Stopping his movement, he kept his green gaze on her and questioned, "(F/n), did you enjoy my fingers against your lips?"

Feeling as though every light in the world had been turned on her, (f/n) froze and peered over at him. She was just beginning to get past that incident, yet here he was bringing it up again. Didn't he say he did that just out of consideration? His question, now, didn't support that claim in the slightest. How was she supposed to answer that? Yes, she liked it, but she felt it awkward to just admit it to him.

"I... I ... well," she stuttered out, heat rising to her cheeks.

Frankly, he didn't need to hear her answer. Her current behavior gave it away. A smirk painted his lips, as he muttered, "Good," and began to walk away. Things were going splendidly.