"You wouldn't be bothering me at all," Ash assured gently. "I'd be more than happy to make you something. He was glad the girl seemed to be doing better, but he wasn't going to push her yet. She'd obviously been through enough already.
"We can stay in the kitchen so no one bothers you, either. Then… You'll be able to decide what to do from there."
Laura hesitated for a minute, before starting to push herself up. "I… I guess so…" She shrugged a little, leaning up against the wall when she was on her feet. Even with the promise of food, and his friendliness, she was still nervous.
It was mostly to do with how different she found him to be. Though she knew that was rude to think, so she kept it to herself. "Thank you, sir…"
Ash nodded, standing as well. He moved the trash into the trash bin now.
"You're welcome," Ash said gently. He moved to open the door of the diner, standing to the side to let the girl pass him while he was as far from her as possible.
"Is there anything you'd like to eat?" He asked. He figured he could whip up something the girl actually liked.
Laura quickly made her way inside, stepping to the side so he could come in after her.
"No, sir. I don't really have a preference, as long as it's food. Anything sounds good to me." Picking at the edge of her shirt, she kept her gaze on the floor when she spoke. Her shoulders were still pretty tense, as she stood there listening to his footsteps when he came inside after her.
It was a habit she had gained over the last few years, having to memorize her aunt's footsteps in case she was coming in to 'talk' to her.
Ash stepped inside after the girl went in, letting the door close quietly behind him. His foot steps were very, very heavy, considering how much he weighed.
"Alright then," Ash said gently. He made his way to the kitchen, glancing back to make sure the girl was still okay. He came to the freezer, pulling out a bag of chicken nuggets. Just something quick, and from what he could tell popular with children.
"Would you like something to drink?" He asked. He set a few of the nuggets out on a tray, slipping them into the oven.
Laura nodded a little, picking her head up enough to glance around the room she stood in. It wasn't too different from what she was familiar with. But it felt more inviting. Carefully she walked into the kitchen after him, playing with her hair as she did.
"Yes please. Thank you, sir." Laura replied, standing there quite awkwardly. She wasn't sure what she was suppose to do. She didn't want to upset Mr. Ash, by seeming ungrateful. She really was grateful for this- but wasn't sure how to respond. This was all so strange, having an adult treat her like a real person.
It was hard to believe he actually meant his kind actions.
Ash nodded a little. He stepped to the refrigerator, going to pour the girl some chocolate milk. It was later, but Ash figured the girl could use something sweet. He handed it to her carefully, the cup small enough for her to handle.
He saw how awkward the girl was, just standing there, so he looked around, spotting one of the other children's stools and pulling it over quietly for the girl to sit on. It wasn't too tall, thankfully.
"Would you like to sit down?" He asked gently, still giving the girl some room.
Laura looked up at him, before glancing over to the stool. With the glass in her hand, she nodded a bit before climbing up on the stool. The she recognized the drink in her hands, smiling once again.
"Is this chocolate milk?" Laura asked in a soft tone, starting to sip the drink. It sure tasted like it, from what she could remember. It reminded her of the drink the police officer's had offered her right outside her house. Though the temperature was different.
Slowly she seemed to be warming up to the new place, her smile staying in place as she drank. "Mm… I wish I could have had this more often…"
"It's chocolate milk," Ash confirmed. He knelt down by the oven, checking on the nuggets. He looked up at her second statement, tail twitching a little.
"Well, how about this; any time you want chocolate milk, you can stop by here and you can have some. Sound good?" He gave the girl a gentle smile. He wanted her to feel safe.
"Wait, really? You mean it?" Laura asked softly, seeming quite surprised at the offer. She hadn't expected to get this much from him- and with the added promise of more in the future, was just as surprising.
Though she seemed quite delighted at the idea. The thought of getting this more often was definitely something she would keep in mind. Even if she felt like a bother for coming in, in the first place. But Mr. Ash really didn't seem to mind.
"I mean it." Ash looked at the nuggets again. They seemed to be done, so he pulled them out carefully with oven mitts he pulled from the hook on the wall. He set the tray down on top to cool. He pulled out a plate for the girl, and a spatula for the nuggets.
"How many would you like?" He asked, turning to the girl with a gentle smile. His tail flicked again, big and fluffy.
Laura squished her face a bit, shrugging. "Just a few. Five or six, something like that." She offered softly before going back to her milk. She was taking it slow, trying not to chug it all down. Mostly because she didn't want it to end.
"If that's alright, sir. Whatever you give me, is alright." She kept a smile up, watching his tail.
"It's alright. I made sure to make extra in case you wanted a lot. You'll have as much as you asked for, of course." Ash checked his how the nuggets were by hovering his hand over them. He nodded to himself. They were cool enough to eat, but not cold. He put six on the plate, bringing it over to the girl and offering it to her. He tail swayed from side to side.
"Do you want anything to dip them in?" He smiled again, still giving the girl her space, even while giving her the food.
She seemed very cautious to Ash. Always making sure what she was doing was okay, making sure Ash wasn't getting upset. She must have come from an abusive home. She had said she had run away from the police… Perhaps they had found out about the situation?
Laura smiled softly, reaching over and setting the glass aside. Taking the plate, she set it in her lap before starting to pick up the nuggets.
"No thank you, sir. This is fine." She told him lightly, biting into her food. She kept quiet for a couple of minutes while she ate, just happy to keep to herself. It was actually a decently calming and peaceful quiet; not the quiet she was familiar with.
There were nights she wouldn't sleep due to anxiously awaiting someone to come up to her room. Someone coming to hurt her, or yell at her. But right now she wasn't worried. If he was planning on yelling at her, or hurting her, she assumed he would have done so when he had found her.
"Okay then." Ash took a step back. He set about cleaning up, starting to hum again softly, like he had when he was taking the trash out. It was quiet; it was so quiet, it was as if it wasn't happening at all. Ash did that a lot; hum so quietly no one else could hear. It was a sound just for himself.
When he was finished, he silently pulled his own stool over, sitting down. His tail flicked from side to side, brushing against his seat.
Laura glanced over to him, continuing to eat. Eventually she stopped, dropping her brows as she thought. She hadn't even introduced herself had she? Meaning he still didn't know her name. With everything going on, she hadn't even thought twice about it.
But she was worried it was a little too late for introductions. Even if she felt bad for not haven given him that simple courtesy.
Weighing her options, she decided she'd rather go for awkward than rude. "Um… I- I don't think I told you my name… I'm Laura."
Ash looked up when the girl spoke, giving her a small smile of assurance.
"Well, Ms. Laura, it's nice to officially meet you." He didn't seem to mind she had just now told him her name. He knew she had must have been through a lot, and Ash hadn't seemed very trustworthy earlier.
"Are you feeling better now?"
"A little, yeah." Laura nodded a bit, finishing off what she had left. With a cleared plate, she slid off the stool to head over to the sink. "Thank you again, sir. Do you need me to do something in return?"
In her mind, she pretty sure that he probably wanted something from her. But she didn't want to let that sink in too deeply. It was nice to just be treated this way, without expecting anything in return. Though she felt bad accepting this from him; all of her thoughts were so conflicting, and confusing. She wasn't sure what to do by now.
"You don't need to do anything. I just want to make sure you're okay." Ash gave Laura a small smile.
"But there is something we need to talk about. Where do you plan to go from here? Do you have anywhere to stay?" Ash got off of his chair, motioning for Laura to give him the plate she wanted to put in the sink. He could do it for her.
Laura glanced over to him, hesitating before handing the plate to him. When asked the question, she shook her head a bit before going and sitting back down.
"I don't have any where to go… my parents died a couple years ago, and I was staying with my aunt. She was the only family I had left." She replied simply, sitting criss-cross on the stool. Laura knew that wasn't much information, and she wanted to keep it that way.
Ash accepted the plates with a soft smile. He rinsed off the plate, wiping it with a wash cloth before setting it in a rack to dry. He turned to her as she spoke, nodding a little.
"I see…" This girl really had been through a lot. He put his hand on his chin, thinking to himself.
"Then we'll have to figure out a place you could stay, even if it's just temporary." He was hesitate to say his next piece, but it felt like the right thing to do, and he really wanted to help Laura.
"Would you be okay with staying here? You don't have to if you don't want to, but I want to give you the option."
"Wait- really?" Laura asked in surprise once more, her eyes wide. The longer she let it settle, the more she felt she had to deny it.
"I- I couldn't, sir. I can't ask that much of you… I've already asked too much by the food. I don't want to intrude on you any more. It isn't right…" She seemed pretty sure she was going to bug him, even by the idea of accepting the offer.
She wouldn't- she couldn't ask him if she really could stay. It was taking it too far by this point. This was beyond what she was able to accept. In her mind, she didn't even deserve it.
"It is right," Ash said gently. He knelt down, eye level with Laura now.
"You wouldn't be intruding, it's not asking too much. The woman who owns this place, she'd be so happy to give you your own room, and to let you stay as long as you need to. I want to make sure you're safe."
"But… but sir…" Laura tried to protest, giving him a look of conflict.
The idea of staying here, didn't sound so bad. But thinking she'd be here all the time, getting in his way, didn't sound great. And the fact that he was practically a stranger wasn't helping. He had been so nice to her- but she knew from the past, things could very quickly turn on her.
"I- I really can't, sir. I'm more trouble than I'm worth."
"No one is more trouble than they're worth," Ash said softly. "But if you're truly don't want to stay, then… We'll figure something else out. I'm not going to force you to stay here." His tail flicked a little as he tried to think of somewhere safe for Laura to stay.