Coye 4.9 (Patreon)

Chapter 9 - Girl’s Got it Bad

By the time Coye had done his walk of shame back to the front desk, Tammy had manifested alongside Dorothy. The two looked to him as he approached, Dorothy tearing her attention from a stack of paperwork and smiling at the sight, while the aloof receptionist was her same old indifferent self as she always was.

"Sup, Killer," Tammy greeted him casually.

"Hey, Tammy," Coye replied equally so.

"No stutter that time," Tammy regarded. "Nice."

Coye smiled awkwardly and chose silence as a response. If he didn't, he was sure whatever he said next would've included a stutter and ruined the moment. A wise decision.

"There you are," Dorothy expressed. "Coye, are you feeling alright? You were in there for quite a while..."

"Y-Yeah," Coye stuttered. "No big deal, just a long day on the road."

"Of course, I understand…"

"He means to say that he just finished hanging out with Britni and co and needed a couple of minutes to... decompress." Tammy helpfully informed.

Coye looked at the receptionist and blushed while Dorothy's hand wavered and dropped her quill. She'd gotten used to the Baddest Bitches being absent and was enjoying this incident-free period the Guild was experiencing. As their Guild Mistress, she was relieved her adventurers were safe and sound, but it was only a matter of time until they stirred up some new trouble now that they had returned.

“O-Oh, dear…” she stammered.

"H-How did you even know that?" Coye asked.

"If you don't want me to find out, you should get bullied somewhere more private. I was on break in the records room. All of you just so happened to be viewable from the window."

'Let's be real, Tammy probably would've found out somehow anyway,' Shayla thought. Tammy seemed like the kind of girl who was down on all the Guild's drama.

"And you didn't help him or come tell me?" Dorothy frowned.

"I don't get paid enough to prevent things that would amuse me if I were to leave them alone," Tammy shrugged. "I took care of their quest completion for you, though."

Dorothy sighed, appreciating the little blessings in her life, such as Tammy doing her job when she was actually supposed to. "I must've just missed them..." she said, thankful of the fact. "This goes without saying, but... Coye? If you need me to, I can go and give those girls a stern talking to. Goddesses know how much good it will do, given the way they ignore me, but-"

"I'm fine," Coye smiled inappropriately as Shayla rolled her eyes. "Great, actually."

"Um, great?" Dorothy tilted her head.

"Oh, um, slip of the tongue. I-I meant it wasn't that bad. I think maybe they're softening up on me..." he mumbled.

Dorothy was anything but convinced, yet if Coye stressed things were fine, then she wasn't about to go doubting him. Things were hectic enough on their own without having to go and disturb Britni when she was likely drunk and celebrating her return as was custom.

"Well, if you insist," Dorothy gave the boy a tired smile. "Where's Byng? Is she alright?"

"Pretty sure he wouldn't all smiles if something happened to his green gal pal," Tammy suggested.

"Obviously," Dorothy shook her head. "Asking is just the polite thing to do. You, um, you remember what I told you, yes? The front desk needs to be a place of welcoming and-"

"Friendliness, hospitality, and warmth. I've read the stupid Code of Conduct, too, you know." Tammy sat back and then looked at Coye with her deadpan expression. "Can you believe she's suggesting I'm anything other than the most welcoming receptionist in the Realm?"

Her sarcasm got a smile out of Coye and even one from Dorothy. It was nice to see that the Guild Mistress had a sense of humor regarding Tammy's japes from time to time.

"Byng is fine. On our way back, we stopped by Suzette's house, and she stayed behind." Coye informed.

"I assumed as much," Dorothy breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm just glad to hear it. Otherwise, my imagination might've done its thing... in any case, thank goodness she's alright."

'I maintain we still don't know if she's 'alright.' Who knows what Suzette could be doing to her right about now?' Shayla implied.

Coye ignored her comments and took out his trophy bag, showing off his proof of kill to the Guild Mistress. "We took care of things. It didn't really go our way, but... hey, at least we got the main job done."

Dorothy was eager as ever to hear the details of his adventure, so Coye gave her a brief recount. It went a lot smoother now that Byng wasn't here to interrupt him with exaggerations. Dorothy nodded a long while Tammy listened intently on the sidelines, fiddling with that strange cube of hers with all the buttons.

"That's too bad," Dorothy frowned but then reignited with passion as she took the Lindwurm's claw from him. "Luckily, Mrs. Lillis knew the risks. I'm sure I speak for both of us when I say all that matters to us is that you made it home safe and sound."

"Home, huh?" Coye thought aloud. He experienced a sentimental paying at the word, remembering this was his last night sleeping here.

The other girls in the room caught wind of his strange inflection, prompting Tammy to ask, "Something on your mind, Killer?"

Coye was taken aback. He didn't mean to sound so sad. Shayla figured that this might be difficult for him, so she patted him on the head and silently reassured the boy. 'It's all right, baby. You gotta rip the bandage off sometime. Go ahead. Tell them.'

Deep down, he knew that Shayla was right. There wouldn't be a better time to get it off his chest, so he spoke up. "Actually, yeah... I had something I needed to tell you, Dorothy."

"Oh," Dorothy said, looking around the room and blushing for some inexplicable reason. "Alright, then. What might that be?"

"Before that," Coye dug into his bag and pulled out a little something to soften the blow. He handed the shining Lindwurm scale and watched her eyes grow wide. "That's for you."

Tammy raised an eyebrow as Dorothy took the scale in her hand and stared at it with reverence. "You remembered!" She gasped. "Goodness, their scales are even prettier than all the bestiaries said they would be...!"

"Glad you think so," Coye said as he looked at his feet, adoring the warm sensation he felt in his heart. He wondered if it would be too forward if he started bringing her other monster parts from now on. It probably would, but the reaction he got from Dorothy made it severely tempting.

"Improper as my request might've been, I'm so glad I asked you for this... thank you, Coye. Thank you so much...!" Dorothy pocketed the scale for later inspection, thanking him profusely. "Now, what was it you wanted to tell me?"

Here it was, the hard part. Coye frowned at what he was about to say but steeled himself and got it done with. "I'm going to be moving out of the Guild tomorrow," Coye admitted. "I figured you should get a heads up before I take off."

There was a delay in Dorothy's reaction. She tilted her head, her glasses falling down her nose an inch or two. "S-Sorry, could you repeat that? I'm... not sure if I heard you correctly. It almost sounded like you said-"

"He's moving in with one of his fuck buddies, by the sound of it," Tammy stated.

Coye frowned and corrected her before Tammy went and got any funny ideas. "No, it's not like that... I was already thinking about getting my own place for the last couple of weeks, and I brought it up to Suzette the other day. Remember when she asked if it was okay to promise me that extra reward?"

"Y-Yes?" Dorothy nodded her head up and down weekly.

"Well, she has a little cabin outside of town the little over that way," Coye gestured with his finger to show the general direction, or at least where he assumed it was. "She's not doing anything with the place, so she decided to give it to me."

"That's... lovely. Wow, though. Tomorrow? That's very short notice. Are you sure she doesn't need time to prepare it for you? You could stay here until it's ready. I, um... well, I wouldn't want you to move into an empty house..." Dorothy laughed awkwardly.

"Actually, she, Byng, and I are all going to go over and clean it up in the morning. Suzette sounded pretty confident we could have it done by nightfall, so I'm not too worried about it."

"I... I see. Alright. I understand. You have an active love life outside the Guild these days, so... it only makes sense that you don't want to live here anymore. Even though I let you have that lock on your door, it's not like you can really get any privacy around here." Dorothy rationalized, forcing herself to fix her glasses and smile.

"Yeah," Coye nodded. "Really, that's the main reason. I kind of need somewhere that I can actually-"

"Fuck," Tammy finished his sentence for him.

"Well, yeah... more or less," he blushed. "But, hey. It doesn't sound like it'll be a long walk from here, and I'm still going to hang around the Guild a lot." Not only was the Guild his bank, but he couldn't see himself giving up his hobby of listening to the traveling bards anytime soon.

Dorothy gave it some thought before realizing Coye was right. For a moment there, she was almost afraid that he would somehow become a lesser part of her life, but now she understood that wasn't the case. The Guild Mistress eased up and fought back a large, inappropriate smile. She was so relieved that she didn't even question why it would matter to her so much if Coye really was around less often. "I suppose that's true enough," she laughed awkwardly to herself.

Shayla was suspicious of Dorothy's attitude change since she and Coye talked a few days back. Whenever she wasn't putting distance between them, Dorothy acted softer and noticeably more nervous around the boy than she ever used to be. Anyone who wasn't dense could see it, meaning Tammy was one of the first who noticed. In fact, the receptionist thought this was the beginning of a tender moment and that she would only be in the way. Lacking attention span but not sympathy, Tammy decided to bow out of the current scenario.

"Oh no," Tammy exclaimed unconvincingly. "I think I left something in the other room." She said, only to go on and pull the same trick she did earlier that day. She slunk off into the records room, closing the door behind her save for a crack small enough for her to continue spying on the developing workplace drama.

"O-Oh," Dorothy remarked with oblivious innocence. "Alright, then?"

Shayla approved of her fellow third wheel, and seeing how Tammy was trying to give the boy and his boss some space, it was only fair if she worked past her own issues and gave Coye a little push of her own. Just a small one.

'Got another tip for you, big guy. Press her on this. Ask her if everything is alright. She's taking this kind of weird, and you might be able to get something out of her if you're not too pushy.' Shayla advised.

Coye always appreciated Shayla's support, and he jumped on the chance to follow her feminine insight. He remembered what they were talking about in the bathroom and decided casual was the best approach. "Hey, Dorothy? Are you okay with this? You, uh, seem a little off."

Dorothy blinked a couple of times in rapid succession before adjusting her glasses and looking off to the side. That was pretty observant of him, she thought. Her smile became crooked, more nervous. "I don't know, actually. It's funny you should ask. I have been feeling a little strange lately... and I guess this just... caught me at the wrong time, maybe?" The Guild Mistress wondered aloud. "It's not that you're moving out. I'm happy for you, really, I am."

"Then what is it?" Coye leaned in over the counter, remembering to keep it casual.

Dorothy blushed at the show of familiarity but continued on. "Um... If I had to guess... I think it may be that I've never really considered there might be a day where I couldn't immediately come to you with a problem and know that you would take care of it for me? I... I rely on you more than anyone else here, even more than I do with any of our Gold-ranks. Honestly, I do it more than I should," she bit her lip and lowered her head. "But... it's hard not to. You're trustworthy, strong, and you get the job done no matter what it takes. Even when you're off duty, you're nice to me, telling me all the details about your quests and listening to me ramble about this and that... I think what it all comes down to is that these past two years, you've always been there for me, and I... I haven't always appreciated that."

Coye's heart pounded louder than it ever did in battle. Shayla's kindly decision to help him only led to the boy getting immensely worked up over Dorothy, even more so now that she was off-the-cuff and speaking from the heart. Even Coye recognized that there could have been romantic undertones in such a statement, whether that be intended or otherwise, it made 'keeping it casual' a nigh unclearable quest.

Still, he had to try.

"Didn't I just say I wouldn't be very far?" He casually tilted his head. "Hell, you could even visit me sometime. I-If you wanted, I mean..."

Shayla was shocked at his forwardness. She thought it might've been a bit too far, given how much of a wreck Dorothy seemed at the moment, but it turned out to be a good move.

Right at his suggestion, Dorothy almost dropped her glasses again. Her face reddened, and she began to noticeably sweat as if the room were swallowed by fire. She fixed her glasses and pulled on her collar, opening her mouth only to stutter a mishmash of words that Coye and Shayla had difficulty deciphering. Mixed in were 'improper conduct' and 'inappropriate,' that much was for sure.

After a few seconds, Dorothy must've become aware that she looked like a sweaty lunatic. She cleared her throat and pulled out a handkerchief from her pocket to at least partially help with the mess. "You should know by now that I... I can't exactly do that, Coye... but it isn't the distance I find so upsetting. It's more the principle of the matter? Maybe I'm just jealous you're moving on to bigger and better things while I'll still be here doing the same old, same old..." Then, after realizing how that sounded, she became apologetic. "Oh. Oh, no, I didn't mean... damn it, Dorothy... that must've sounded awfully petty of me, didn't it?"

Coye smiled knowingly. "I don't mind petty girls."

Shayla grumbled and bopped him lightly on the head.

"Is... that so?" Dorothy remarked. It flew entirely over her head that his statement could've been regarded as the single most flirtatious thing he had ever said to her up until that point. Dense as she was, they were perfect for each other.

"Yeah," Coye confirmed. He was filled with something that resembled courage. It helped that Dorothy was upset on some level he was moving out, making what he had to say next just a little bit easier to express. "But forget about that. Maybe I shouldn't say this, but…"

"Um, n-no, that's fine..." Dorothy muttered meekly, unintentionally leaning forward as if to hear him better or just to be that much closer. "Go on."

"Okay. You shouldn't feel guilty about depending on me. Everyone needs someone they can rely on, and if you're just now realizing that I'm that person for you, good. I was trying to be."

"O-Oh,"

"That's why you should forget those stupid codes of conduct and just knock on my door if there's ever anything you need. I'll always answer, and then you can come in and tell me what's wrong and what I can do to make it better, and it'll be as good as done. Sound good?" Somewhere along the way, Coye realized how embarrassing the things he was saying actually were and began to grow red in the face. Even so, he had an expression of conviction to stress how much he meant what he said. Not that it meant much, considering Dorothy had trouble looking at him straight on.

She was even redder than he was. Her breathing was heavy as she stared at the area to his left blankly for what must have felt like minutes. Dorothy searched for what she should do or say in the situation, but she'd never felt like this in her entire life. She'd had mental shutdowns before, but they were always out of stress. Not from... whatever this was. Even her knees were starting to get wobbly the more his passionate words lingered in her mind.

"Ah... I... ahaha... I..." Dorothy struggled to form a coherent sentence. She could not look Coye in the eyes, then backed away and covered it with even more nervous laughter. Thank the Goddess Above that Dorothy had a concerned onlooker just over her shoulder.

Before Coye even questioned her strange behavior, the door to the records room opened again and out walked Tammy, intending to deliver Dorothy from this awkward state. She stepped forward and then took the initiative, pressing the back of her hand against Dorothy's sweaty forehead. Exaggerating how bad it was, Tammy clicked her tongue and shook her head.

"W-What? Tammy?" Dorothy idly asked once her employee's presence registered. "What are you..."

"Sorry, Boss. Looks like you're getting a fever." Tammy looked to Coye and craned her neck at the door to the cafeteria. "You should probably scram and go grab some food. I'll take care of this."

"I don't understand..." Dorothy mumbled as Tammy lifted up the bar to the front desk and led her towards the door to the lounge. Her confusion didn't stop her from following along. Instead, it helped to have someone make this decision for her.

"Trust me, I figured that out," Tammy joked.

Coye gave them room to pass, but he looked on with concern. "Um, do you need any help? I could go get Eschal, or-"

"You've given enough help for one day, Killer," she told him as they left him behind.

Now alone with the Pixie inside his hat, Coye felt like he'd done something wrong. His words seemingly didn't have the intended effect. He thought they would reassure Dorothy and bring a smile to her face, not overload her mental capacity. It seemed like no matter how much he learned about girls, they would remain just as mysterious as ever. It didn't cross his mind that Dorothy was just as naive and innocent as he used to be and that if their roles were reversed and she'd said something of similar emotional weight to the Coye of two weeks ago, he would've had a near identical response.

"Do you think she's okay?" Coye asked his hat.

'Beats me,' Shayla lied. She'd done enough kindness for one day and considered her duty done. If he didn't grasp what had just happened, she wasn't going to spell it out for him. As for what she did know, she would keep that to herself. 'But if you want my opinion, I think you should take Tammy's advice and get dinner already. I'm hungry as hell up here!'

"Okay," Coye laughed, then headed towards the cafeteria while remaining blissfully unaware of the emotional wreck he'd made of his beloved Guild Mistress.

At the same time, Tammy had just opened the door to Dorothy's bedroom on the third floor. She had to be led by the wrist. Otherwise, she would've just stood there, dazed and empty-headed. A little grossed out by the state of the room, Tammy cracked the nearest window to cover up the stale smell of dusty pages, ink, and opened bags of half-eaten snack food.

Eventually, realization sunk in. "Wait... What am I doing in my room...?" Dorothy removed her glasses momentarily and rubbed her eyes to ensure this wasn't another sleep-deprived hallucination.

"I brought you up here because I think you need a rest, Boss," Tammy said.

"But... I always need a rest?" Dorothy argued.

"True, this time you're actually going to get one."

"Oh," Dorothy tilted her head. "That sounds nice... b-but... what about the Guild? We don't close for another few hours, and there's still paperwork I have to finish off. Forms need to be filled, quests sent to HQ, and other quests that need to be-"

Tammy felt an indescribable pain over what she was about to say. It hurt, and it hurt a lot. "You don't need to worry about any of that. I'll... I'll take care of it." She winced.

"Wait..." Dorothy laughed. Now she knew for sure that this was a hallucination. "You really mean it?"

"Just this once," Tammy mumbled. "I don't plan on making this a habit, so... like, make the most of my heroic sacrifice and maybe just chill out for a while. Sort out your thoughts? I don't know. It's whatever to me." The cold receptionist shrugged while trying to maintain her trademark indifference.

Dorothy felt butterflies in her stomach at the thought of a night off. Did those actually exist? She used to have them back when she was only an Assistant Guild Mistress, but that had been so long ago she almost forgot about the concept entirely.

"Tammy...?"

"Please, don't," Tammy made a frazzled face and frowned. "I'm not good at this sort of thing, so please don't go making it into a moment. This is my good deed for the month, so if you need anything else... call one of the maids." She mumbled before closing the door behind her on her way out, assuring things didn't get more embarrassing between them.

Just like that, Dorothy found herself alone in her bedroom. There were few differences between it and her office. Somewhere around here, there was supposedly a bed hidden beneath a mountain of bestiaries and monster plushies, a bed she seldom slept on even now that the smell on the third floor had been cleared up.

Most nights were spent working, and when Dorothy could no longer work, she collapsed on the spot and made a bed out wherever she landed. This typically meant her office desk, but it wasn't limited to that, and there were occasions when she'd been found dozing on the floor or sleeping on the reception desk. There just wasn't time to go all the way up to her bedroom. There was never time to do anything, least of all to sort out her thoughts and feelings.

The poor young woman began the arduous task of picking up a fraction of the mess on her bed, at least enough to properly lay down. Many of the books tempted her as she gazed at their illustrated covers. So many well-drawn monsters, yet there was never time to appreciate them. She hobbled back and forth to her bookshelves, haggardly shelving one after another. Dorothy also had to get creative and find impromptu bookmarks for many of the half-opened tomes so that she wouldn't have to bend the corner of the pages. Sometimes she used a quill pen that was laid out. Other times she made do with a sock or whatever little clothing she could find. It would be fine. She'd buy more bookmarks eventually if she remembered and had time to do so.

Once enough of her mattress had been uncovered, Dorothy locked the door and sighed. Everything hit her at once, and she suddenly felt that Tammy was right. There was nothing she could use more than a good nap. She brought herself to her personal bathroom to disrobe and stuff her clothing into the hamper, only to get a better look at how dirty and stained her uniform was. Dorothy blushed when she remembered how people must've seen her like this. People like the beautiful Suzette Lillis. If that wasn't bad enough, she snuck in a side glance at the mirror and frowned at what she saw.

"Oh, Gods..." she whined, looking away from the evidence of her sedentary life. Beneath her white dress shirt, past the swell of her large breasts, was an increasing amount of pudge. It was only a matter of time until she would need to find some baggier clothes. She'd felt her bras getting tighter recently, too, but pretended it was all in her head to maintain a level of sanity.

Dorothy removed her glasses and set them to the side, rubbed her forehead, wishing she had the willpower to cut out all the occasional stress eating. Usually, RealMonster cards were enough to get her through the day, but things had been different as of late. What could she do about it, though? Exercise? She laughed at the idea of penciling it in.

A curious thought emerged, and it brought her attention back to the mirror. She looked at her wide hips and the growing layer of 'padding' on her backside, then hefted her breasts to feel their size. When Dorothy actually thought about it, Mrs. Lillis was not precisely what one would call skinny. Beautiful, unquestionably. But thin? Not in the slightest. Byng also had a noticeable tummy, not to mention a disproportionately fat behind.

Maybe Coye liked this kind of body? As long as it didn't get any worse, maybe Dorothy could keep herself in his strike zone. The thought comforted her until it didn't.

Why in all the Endless Hells was potentially being attractive to Coye comforting in the first place?!

Dorothy frazzled her hair like she was trying to tear it out. The frustration was setting in again. Thinking about Coye was seemingly the cause of all of her(non-work-related) troubles, and she knew only that understanding was just out of her grasp. She shook her head and continued disrobing until she was nude, then donned a dark green nightgown and a fuzzy pair of slippers as she emerged from her restroom.

On the way to her bed, she looked at a bag of salted beef jerky she had lying out. It was unopened. Fresh. She looked around her room as if trying to scope out anyone secretly watching, then mouthed silently to herself, "Fuck it," as she snatched the snack and threw herself onto her mattress like a slob.

The bag was gone in mere minutes, and she'd found a second laying on her nightstand that shared the same fate. She didn't even care. It was just lovely to lay down like this and snack. Although tempted to find a third, her willpower somehow proved strong enough to resist. Dorothy wasn't mentally sufficient to try reading one of her books, and a bath wasn't an option, either. Even though her bedroom had the rare luxury of possessing a state-of-the-art ArcTech bathtub, she rarely used it. Not since the time she almost drowned after falling asleep in it.

Her only other option was to sort out her emotions like Tammy suggested, but between that and sleep, sleep was a lot less scary. In the back of her mind, it hurt Dorothy how her first night off in who knows how long would be wasted on dreamless sleep. Still, it was nothing compared to the relief she felt upon cuddling the largest monster plushie in her collection- a giant, blue, squishy King Slime- and closing her eyes.

Coye was waiting for her as if tattooed to the back of her eyelids.

Dorothy's eyes shot open. She sat up, shoved her face into her plushie, and screamed louder than she'd ever done before. As a weak-willed person, her loudest scream wasn't very loud. Soon enough, the screams turned into embarrassed sobbing. Why wouldn't this stop? How could she make it stop? She tried to calm herself through heavy breathing. This all started as soon as Coye began calling her by her first name. It was like that made the relationship between them fundamentally change in a way she wasn't aware of. It wasn't like she could ask him to stop doing it now, either.

Dorothy had worked at the Cransmere Adventurer's Guild for five years, two as an assistant and three as its Guild Mistress. She'd worked with many adventurers, many of whom gave her a stress headache, but she never expected Coye would be the source of her largest one in her wildest dreams.

She collapsed back onto the bed and stared at her ceiling. Since she couldn't beat her subconscious fascination with Coye, she leaned into it and thought of him. She hoped his new home was better than here. No one wanted to live in the Guild dorms longer than they had to. Dorothy knew that. No matter how much he admitted to liking petty girls, she knew it was terrible to go on wishing he would stay... and yet, she couldn't help how she felt.

Whatever it was that she felt, she felt it, and was starting to come to terms with the fact that she would likely continue to feel this way so long as he was around. That made Dorothy smile and remember his promise.

She lifted her King Slime plushie above her head, staring at it. "What do you think would happen if I went to his room, knocked on his door, and told him I had a problem?" She asked her silent friend. "How do you think he would solve it?"

It didn't answer, but she closed her eyes and smiled regardless.

"You're silly," she laughed sleepily to herself, punctuating her speech with a long yawn. "There's no way he'd do that..."

As she faded out of consciousness, Dorothy pondered on whether or not this was what they meant when they said you never know how much you'll miss something until it's gone.