Up for another one? (Closed~)

"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.

Laura shifted her gaze off of him, starting to pick at the fabric of her shorts.
"I… I do want to stay here- but… I- I feel bad. I really don't deserve it." She insisted in a quiet tone, still avoiding eye contact. She couldn't make herself look up at him, considering how guilty it made her feel.
"I don't deserve getting to stay, or any of this. I didn't do anything for you."

"You don't have to do anything to earn kindness." Ash didn't make Laura look at him, staying sat on his heels with his hands in his lap.
"Everyone deserves it. You can still stay here, Laura. I'll never take that offer away. If you want to stay, then do."

"Do… do you really think I should stay?" Laura asked softly, barely glancing over to him.
She really didn't know what to do right now. Leaving wasn't a smart choice, but neither was staying. For an eight year-old, she seemed pretty smart about this. Though she was definitely over-thinking this.

"I really think you should stay," Ash said quietly. "And while you're here, we'll figure out the best way to continue from here. You're safe here, Laura." Ash looked at Laura with hope, wanting her to be safe.

Laura bit into the inside of her cheek, listening to his words intently. Her gaze flicked up and down his figure, noting how safe she felt with him around. After a couple of seconds of thought, she nodded just a bit.
"Alright… I-I'll stay." She told him softly, lifting her head up just a little.

"Okay then." Ash gave Laura a small, reassuring smile. "Let's go pick out a room then, okay?" He stood, letting Laura decide his she wanted to come with him, to hold his hand or follow beside or behind. Whatever she felt best with. His tail flicked.
"She's that sound good to you?"

"I really get my own room here?" Laura asked softly, sliding off the stool to follow after him. She kept her distance, but was still a lot closer than she had been. "Because I don't mind sleeping on a couch, or the floor with some blankets."
She didn't want to come off as ungrateful, but she also didn't want to sound needy.

"You really do," Ash said softly. "We have plenty of rooms for you to pick one from, with your own bed to sleep in. It's okay, Laura. Really, I promise." Ash looked back at her, leading hey into a hallway lined with doors. Each of them had a name plate, some blank and some with names, including Ash's.
"Pick a blank door," Ash said gently.

Laura glanced at all the empty doors, slowly making her way over to one of them. Gently she pushed on the door once she turned the handle, peering around the corner. She was still pretty hesitant despite her reassurance.
"Is… is this one alright, sir?" Laura asked him softly, looking back to him when she was in the doorway.

The bedroom was sparsely decorated, the essentials one needed to be comfortable. There was potential for more, though. Ash smiled softly.
"Yes, this room is perfectly good. Is this the room you want?" He stepped forward, pulling out a pen. He would write Laura's name on the blank label if she did.

Taking a few more steps into the room, she nodded just a little. She kept a smile on her face, glancing around the darker room.
“Yes sir, if you’re sure it’s alright.” Laura nodded a bit, slowly walking around the room. She seemed relaxed at the moment as she wandered. Gently she ran her hand over the sheets on the bed, noting how soft they felt.

Ash nodded, smiling softly as well. He wrote Laura's name on the label.
"It's officially your's now," he said, voice soft.
"Is there anything you need right now, anything at all?"

Laura glanced back over to him, before down at herself. She could probably go for a shower- but didn't want to ask. Not now at least.
"No, sir. Thank you very much, though." She smiled softly, climbing up on the bed. Kicking off her shoes, she sat on the bed criss-cross. Clearly she wasn't too intimidated by everything. Not now at least.
"I'll… I'll ask if I need anything."

Ash stayed in the doorway, nodding.
"Alright then. My room is just down the hall, and the bathroom is clearly marked." He smiled gently. "I'm going to go tell the lady who owns this place you're here now, and then I'm going to head to bed."

Laura looked over to him with a light smile. She nodded when he started talking to her, thinking about it for just a minute.
"Is… is she going to come up here?" Laura asked softly, her smile slowly dropping at the realization. Even if she was decently comfortable around Mr. Ash, didn't mean she would so easily relax around others.