Interactive Tour

Astro thanked his friend as they left him in front of the building, waving them off before turning around, tripping over his own feet and falling to the pavement, brushing himself off after getting up, and walking towards the entrance. Opening the door, he instantly tripped again and had to catch himself with his hands to prevent his face from meeting the floor.

“Oh dear, are you okay?”

Looking up, Astro saw a kind-looking doll with fluffy light brown hair with a concerned look on his face and could acutely feel the exact moment his thoughts stopped because ‘kind-looking brown haired man wearing shorts” was the epitome of his type and- oh the pretty person was holding a hand out to him. Ok. Astro took the hand and let himself be pulled up from the floor as he reset his brain and remembered he’d been asked a question.

“Oh, yeah, I’m fine. Just have poor balance, and doorways seem to just be cursed”

“Oh, that’s no good. Do you need anything to help you while you’re here?”

As Astro was about to deny needing any help, he realised that his hand was still being held, and considered the opportunity he could grasp at that moment (like the hand still gently curled over his).

“Well, it’s nice to just have someone there to catch me if I fall, or hold my hand to help me keep balance, but I’m sure I’ll be fine without it, I don’t want to trouble anyone, you know? Also, I’m here for a studio tour? One of my friends got one, but couldn’t make it, so they asked if I wanted to come instead, and it seemed like a nice day out. I’m not exactly a fashionista or anything-” understatement, he just throws together whatever is most comfortable while also being kind of presentable, maybe he should have dressed nicer for this- “but I’ve got a sweater from Cottontail Couture and it’s probably the softest thing I own. My imps commandeered it for themselves though so I don’t get to wear it much”

The man- Astro should really ask his name, but also if this is The Famous Person that he’s meant to recognise he’d probably die of embarrassment- laughed and moved to the desk, not letting go of Astro’s hand. “Well it’s nice your imps like the sweater so much! What’s your name, then? I’ll need to note down that you’re here instead of your friend”

Astro had the feeling that the soft brunette in front of him was in fact the Famous Person™ that the studio belonged to, and easily told the very attractive, probably famous person his name and waited for him to write down whatever it was he was writing before being gently tugged along to start the tour.

Peter- Astro finally learned his name from some memos he’d seen lying on a desk- was beautiful as he shared his designs and several work in progresses with Astro, leading him around the studio passionately explaining his creative process for the pieces he pointed out, Astro listening intently since he knew very little about Cottontail Couture and the Vellure Modeling Agency so wanted to know as many details as possible to prove he was listening, even if his mind kept wandering off without his consent. During a period of Astro spacing out because he’d heard Peter mention the rainy season which reminded him of clouds which reminded him of pillows which reminded him of his couch which reminded him he needed to get it fixed after Comet and Cosmic had a fight on it, which reminded him that he had imp training for Comet with Hutch tomorrow and so on, his gaze drifted off to the corner where he spotted a cute plushie. The stitch marks were visible, so it seemed to be handmade.

“Did you make that?”

Ah shit, he only noticed Peter was still talking after he finished asking. Now he felt like shit for being rude.

“Sorry, I just… noticed the plush in the corner? I didn’t mean to interrupt”

His guide looked to where he was pointing, seeing the plush sitting partially hidden behind a group of mannequins. Peter seemed embarrassed, rubbing the back of his neck with a bashful expression.

“Ah, that? Yeah, I used to be obsessed with plushies as a kid, so they were the first things I made- I gave them away to all of the other children, but they weren’t very good, haha… most of them have probably thrown them away by now”

“I don’t know about that, I still have the plushy I had as a kid. I was a single kid that spent a bunch of time in bed though, so Space Hop was really my only usual company besides my demon. If I knew another bun made Space Hop, I’d want to meet them. I bet at least one of the kids really appreciated it, if not all of them”

“Thank you, I appreciate that. I still make them occasionally”

“Oh? That seems fun, could you teach me?”

“Are you sure? I don’t know if it’ll actually be fun, and you came here for an exclusive tour and all, I don’t want to waste your time”

“Hey Peter, aren’t you the big name designer personally endorsed by, like, one of the most famous buns in Burrowgatory? Just listening to you has been fun, and besides, I’m the one who asked, so if I end up not liking it it’s my fault! It’s still up to you, obviously, but I want to know about your passions”

Astro quickly realised that what he said could be seen as kinda creepy to someone in the public eye, so he quickly rushed to reassure Peter that he wasn’t a stalker- “I mean, like, not as in a stalking a famous person kind of way, I actually didn’t realise who you were when I walked in here since I’ve never read a fashion magazine in my life, and wow that sounds ignorant, but I do just mean that I’d like to learn and you seem like a good person to ask since you’ve been super nice this whole time and sewing is like, your whole thing and I’m really just embarrassing myself here since you don’t need a stranger to tell you that you’re great, you literally own a whole clothing label”

Astro cut off his own rambling to cover his face with his hand, the other still held in Peter’s as they actually hadn’t let go through the tour, Peter always catching him when he stumbled or tripped on a stray piece of equipment. He was surprised to hear Peter laugh, the other agreeing to teach him how to make plushies, leading the odd-eyed bun through picking out the fabric, thread and buttons for the plush and letting him choose from a couple patterns to cut out the shapes.

Astro managed to stab himself with the needle twice during the process, which was definitely annoying, but Peter had shown surprise at how easily Astro had managed to thread the needle, only needing a single try to get the thread through the small hole, so Astro had that ego boost to get him through the mildly frustrating experience of getting a sharp poke to his fingers.

The two of them kept up a mild chatter while sewing, mainly discussing their childhoods, both getting to be surprised by each other’s highly different experiences being raised by different demons. The plush Astro had decided to make was a Phloof, as it seemed far simpler than the other options, being basically a fluffy ball with a tail and horns. It still took a bit since it turned out sewing through a very fluffy fabric by hand got fiddly, but it was relaxing, especially with the socialising.

“By the way, have you ever considered a cane? It could help you balance when you don’t have someone who’s hand you want to hold the whole time”

The knowing look on Peter’s face had Astro unable to keep eye contact. “I, haha, what? I mean, uh, no? Do you think I should? I thought it could be inconvenient to other buns. Or look stupid”

“I don’t think it would look stupid. And why would having a cane be inconvenient to others? It’s your balance, not theirs”

“Fair point, I guess. I’ll look into it”

By the end of the tour, Astro had managed to get a knowledge of the fashion world, a plushie, a new number in his phone and another mildly embarrassing memory as he had been so excited when he finished his plush that he’d accidentally smacked Peter in the face when trying to hold it out for him to look at, luckily getting a laugh from the blue-eyed bun since he’d apparently done the same to Murmur when the demon had leaned down to look at a freshly sewn plush at the same time the baby bun had deigned to rush forward to show it. Which sounded absolutely adorable.

Astro spent the car ride back to his home looking up as much as he could about the Vellure Modeling Agency and Velveteen, having gotten curious during the tour. He could admit that the model was definitely talented, even if he still didn’t understand some bun’s obsessions with the slender celebrity. Never being seen in bun form was a little unusual, but he related since he’d been told by his friends that it was weird that he spent so little time in his bun form, but he just found his doll form easier to balance in, besides also just looking better. Why would he stay in such a short, inconvenient form when he could damn well decide what he looked like and reach tall shelves. And also wear comfortable clothing while he was at it, which reminded him to actually take a proper look through the Cotton Couture site to see about getting himself another sweater that hopefully won’t get stolen by his imps this time. With his sock drawer having been thoroughly emptied by the little critters in Meteor’s quest of stealing them all, the mischievous bastards had taken to stealing the rest of his clothing too, which made it difficult to get dressed in the morning. Maybe he should actually get another wardrobe’s worth of clothing along with the sweater while he was already at it.