Room and Board

((I got this idea while in the car haha, it seemed like a cute thing they could do, since he seems like a pretty sweet guy!))

"You have GOT to be kidding me..."

Velvet let out a frustrated snort as she stomped a hoof on the ground, glaring daggers at the unwitting stallion behind the desk, "I booked this room months ago...Why is the whole inn totally filled up?!" The stallion cleared his throat and prepared an apology, but before he could get it out the mare stuck her hoof to his mouth to silence him, "Save it," she sighed exasperatedly, "I'll just...Figure somethin' else out." She sighed and turned to leave, sitting on a bench just outside, "What am I gonna dooo..."

She needed a place to stay for Celestia's sake, this was the only inn in this town, and it was full?! She sighed despondently as she watched ponies pass by on the street, her ears perking when an idea struck her. Ponyville was supposed to be the most hospitable town in Equestria, right? She turned to dig around in her bag, reaching for a marker and a spare piece of paper, she levitated the two and began to write a clear sign.

"HELP! NEED PLACE TO STAY! WILL PAY!"

She looked it over and scrunched her muzzle, it sounded like she was homeless, she shrugged, figuring she could just explain her situation better to whomever stopped to offer assistance, she would only be here for a week at most, and she'd brought plenty of bits to pay for the room at the inn, she could just give it to them instead! This would work.

She sat back on the bench and set the sign up beside her, waving a hoof to attempt to flag down any ponies who might be able to help.

Bucky had been idly plucking out a few tunes on his guitar while sitting on a nearby bench when the pretty crimson mare had made her appearance. Since he really had nothing better to do and she probably hadn't noticed him anyway, he carefully set his guitar down onto the bench seat next to him and watched her. Simply out of curiosity, of course.

The blue stallion tilted his head to one side, squinting to read her sign better once she was finished with it. He swallowed hard as he digested the words, feeling an all too familiar tingle of nervousness in his wingtips. As much as he disliked socializing with mares, she needed help and he really needed bits. This mare looked too fancy to be homeless, so she was probably just staying in town for a few days and then leaving. He supposed he could deal with a mare for a couple days...

With a heavy sigh, the pegasus heaved himself to his hooves and ambled over to the unicorn, stopping a few feet in front of her. He lowered his head, letting his scruffy mane fall into his face as he gazed at her with a somewhat anxious expression. "You, uh..." he began shakily, clearing his throat. "You need a place to stay...right?"

Her hoof had stopped waving moments ago, nearly going numb after having it raised for several minutes. So far she had had no luck, everypony seemed to have some reason or another that they could not accommodate a house guest, and she really couldn't fault them for that. She wasn't put off in the least, really, the ponies who had turned her down had been all too polite to her when rejecting her request, so she couldn't possibly be upset with them.

It wasn't their fault the Inn keepers were scatterbrained as a hoard of parasprite.

She was about to pack up her things and move to another location when she saw a stallion approaching her. He looked so nervous, she smiled and waved gently to him, "Hello." Her ears perked and she smiled a little more, "Oh yes! I had a room being saved here and the Inn," She gestured to the building behind her, "But they claim that it never happened..." She lifted her shoulders and gave a good humored sigh, "So I am in a rather desperate situation, I'm afraid..." She smiled kindly at him, "I can fully pay for the trouble, I would much rather give my bits to a kind stranger than ponies who can't even keep their word." Her words were pointedly referring to the Inn keepers.

She slid from the bench and gave the stallion a friendly smile, "My name is Velveteen Lovelace, or Velvet, it's much quicker." She didn't seem put off at all by the stallions rather shy and anxious demeanor, though she kept her distance to give him his space, "What may I call you?"

He listened patiently to her story and desperately tried to be polite by looking at her as she spoke, but it was proving to be much harder than he thought. So he settled for looking at her part of the time and looking at the ground for the other part.

Bucky's ears flicked when he heard the part about getting paid. He oprned his mouth to protest, that he was doing this just to help another pony in need, when he remembered that he really did need those bits and quickly shut his mouth again.

"M-My name's...Bucky," he stammered, shifting his weight nervously from hoof to hoof. Hopefully she hadn't noticed his wings trembling but just to make sure, he squeezed them tighter against his sides.

Velvet couldn't help but notice just how nervous the poor stallion really looked, catching subtle ticks as they spoke. The tremble of his wings that he was trying to hide, his averting gazes, she wouldn't point these things out to him of course, but she could attempt to be a bit less boisterous for him.

She smiled and nodded, "It's very nice to meet you, Bucky. Thank you again for your very kind offer, I know having a house guest is never entirely easy." She shuffled her hoof a bit and looked a little sheepish, "But I most definitely appreciate it." She turned and trotted to the bench where her bag was packed, sliding it over her back and turning back to him, "Lead the way, Bucky." She couldn't help but note how handsome he was, all nervousness aside, it'd be nice to get to know him more, maybe she could bring him out of his shell.

Goodness gracious, she was pretty.

The pegasus watched her as she got her stuff, taking in all the little details he noticed about her. Her shiny mane, the gentle curling tail, her gleaming pink eyes, the purple scarf...
He swallowed carefully once she returned, offering a tiny nervous half-smile to be polite before mumbling something about leaving his guitar. He ruffled his wings a little, walking rather swiftly back to the bench where he had been sitting. Bucky carefully pulled the instrument strap over his head and shouldered the guitar onto his back, pausing just a moment to let out a slow sigh. Time to go start a new adventure. With a mare. That would be living with him.

The blue stallion turned his head to look back at her, pawing the ground carefully with one hoof.
"Here, uh..." he began, puffing a lock of his mane out of his face. "My place isn't too far, you can...you can follow me."

Is he watching me? I can't tell.

The thought made her a bit more bashful than normal as she busied herself adjusting her bag on her back, she had packed fairly light for the trip, most of what she needed to work was being provided by the studio she'd come here to work at. It was a lovely bonus that not many places had offered so far, having the materials supplied cut the travel costs considerably.

She perked her ears when he mumbled something about his guitar, looking greatly interested when he went to fetch it. A musician, huh? She was immediately impressed, being an avid music lover, but unable to carry a tune on an instrument, she admired ponies who could do that, "You play guitar? That's SO cool! I love listening to ponies playing guitar, so mellow and relaxing." She would spend hours sometimes just milling around the parks in Canterlot where ponies would come to perform, it helped fuel her muse.

She couldn't help but admire his smile when he looked so shy, as much as she hated being the cause of such nerves, he was a very handsome young stallion. She would make sure she didn't overstep any boundaries, for sure, but she hoped she could draw him out a little bit more, so he didn't seem so nervous around her.

When he spoke she nodded enthusiastically, following after him, eyeing his guitar as they walked, "Are you self taught? Music is so hard to read, even harder to remember. So I admire anyone who can do such things!" She would have to try and get him to play for her at some point, as she'd really love to hear it.

(OOC: Sorry for the late response! :/ )

Her enthusiastic comment drew another tiny smile out of him, but this time it was genuine. It seemed she had struck the right nerve; talking about his musicianship never failed to make him more comfortable in a conversation.

He shook his wings out a little as he walked; holding them tightly against his body like he had been doing was making them cramp. "Uh, yeah..." he began, then stopped to clear his throat. "Well, kind of...My dad taught me at first, how to, uh, how to play, I mean, and I taught myself the rest. I guess I taught myself how to sing, too..."

Letting out a light snort as she continued, he raised his head a little, glancing over at her. "It's not too hard to read music, I guess, you just gotta work at it a lot." Bucky paused again, this time to tilt his head thoughtfully to one side. "Uh, if you want, I could...I could play for you..." The offer was hesitant but had a tinge of hopefulness to it, he must have been wanting to impress her or something.

Velvet could sense the tense atmosphere loosen a bit, which she was greatly pleased for, she wanted to make him feel more at ease with having her around so that she could get to know him better. She listened with interest as the walked, breaking her gaze now and then to watch where they were going.

"Wow, you're mostly self taught then? It's always really nice to have family who can share your interests." She was thinking of her own family, who always seemed interested in her career choices, they couldn't design or make clothing like she could, but they always stayed aware of what was trendy. She looked over to him as he talked about knowing how to sing, "Ooooh you are a stallion of many talents then! I love music so much, it always gets me right here," She put a hoof to her heart and chuckled, "but that may just be me being sappy." Some songs made her eyes well up no matter what.

She giggled and gave him a very gentle, playful nudge, "Well! Maybe you can show me some tricks to it? I'd love to learn!" Her eyes lit up when he mentioned playing for her, nodding with vigor at the offer, "Oh YES! I mean.." She blushed at her eager outburst and grinned, "I would be absolutely honored to hear you play, Bucky." She gave him a genuine smile, glad to see him warming up enough to share such a thing with her.