I Don't Expect the Sun to Love Me Back

3: Scary Dog Privileges

Caboose laughs at another one of Janella's stories, making sure to stay out of the way so she's not holding up the line. She does her best to muffle her laughter since she believes it to be a little obnoxious, but a few giggles and snorts manage to escape. It appears that no one seems to mind, just smiling at the Princess's strange laugh.

"I can't believe you said that...!" Caboose wheezes, "And what did your girlfriend say??"

"She told me to sleep on the floor, obviously!" Janella laughs, moving her light purple hair from her face, "Oh, my God, but you should've seen the look on her face! Ah, it was definitely worth it, though!"

Caboose shakes her head, "At least she can handle a good prank."

"Are you a fan of pranks, Lady Caboose?"

"Ehhh. They're alright," Caboose shrugs, "As long as it's harmless and not messing with my emotions too much. Kinda lame, huh?"

The mermaid with light brown eyes grins, "Yeah, a little."

The human girl rolls her eyes, muttering a "yeah, whatever" as she goes back to stand in the line. The man who stands in front of her widens his eyes at this, gesturing for the Princess to go in front. She just smiles awkwardly, shaking her head lightly to not accidentally knock off her tiara.

"No, it–it's okay. Um, I'm capable of waiting like a normal person," She laughs to lighten the atmosphere.

This man, however, only looked at her as if she just called him a slur.

"N-No, absolutely not! The last thing I need is that–scary dog of yours to rip me a new one...!"

...Hah?

Caboose narrows her eyes at him, "My dog? I don't have a dog, first of all. Second of all... huh??"

The man looks around anxiously, looking for the nonexistent dog as if it will suddenly come into being. He gestures for the Princess to come a little closer; hesitantly, the Princess leans in a bit, tilting her head so her ear is facing him.

"That scary guy with the pink and black hair who never leaves your side!"

Caboose snorts aggressively and slaps a hand over her mouth. Never in her life did she need some random guy to tell her that Nao looked like a scary dog. Oh, she thinks he'll hate that one. She will tell him the next chance she gets.

"Lord Kazuki is not as scary as everyone thinks he is. He's just, um... he's a bit of a loner, sure, and he's very dedicated to his duties, but he's not scary," Caboose tries to reason.

"Princess." Oh, the man looks her dead in the eyes, "He. Is. Terrifying."

"Alright, that's just gonna feed his ego if you keep saying that. He's not here right now, but I just know he'll feel it in spirit."

"Exactly! He'll know! Somehow!"

The man, paling by the second, hurries to stand behind the Princess, not caring about the scene that has been made. He reaches towards the brunette intending to push her forward up the line, but upon realizing A: she is the Princess, AKA Off Limits™, and B: her entire back was exposed. The man didn't touch her, but he quickly jerked his hands away as if he did and the surface of her skin was scalding hot.

"I. Insist."

"Okay! Okay!" Caboose holds up her hands in surrender, her face heating up from embarrassment and slight irritation, "Holy shit, dude. Chill out, okay? It's gonna be alright, I swear..."

Caboose lowers her head and puts a hand up to poorly hide her face from all the stares. If this is how people will treat her just because of Nao's reputation alone, then she seriously needs to talk to him about it. While the girl does like the scary dog privileges from time to time, it's moments like these that make her wish that scary dog privilege didn't carry into situations like this. What makes this all worse is that Janella hasn't stopped laughing since the whole scene started.