Page 335 of Bride of Choice

“You, uh, you can call me whichever you like,” I added into the silence that dragged out.

Peekaboo didn’t care to comment or grunt, just steal peeks at me as his expression swung from curious to annoyed, and back right around to pissed at me like I’d peed in his Cheerios.

Wrapping a pelt around me, my gaze darted around. “Where’s the bathroom?”

Buu glanced up at me sharply when I stood. His large body tensed, all four sets of arms flexing. I could have sworn he’d only had three before? Man, were my blurry eyeballs taking me on a trip.

Standing abruptly, he gestured for me to go forward, barking which way I should go as he led me around. He kept a safe distance from me as he escorted through the cave catacombs. I had no idea how I was going to remember my way back down here but I’d get lost before I’d ask Mr. Short And Distant With Me for help back to that other cave room again.

“I think I can take it from here,” I lied.

My begrudging tour guide left me with a short, parting grumble.

Everything was pretty self-explanatory from there and I wasn’t so far gone I didn’t recall my first lesson in cave evacuating. Clay commode top, a water source close by, lumpy looking odd ball of… soap? near a bowl of ready to use water, soap berry things, and a cloth to dry my hands. My leaf toilet paper educational training was burned into my brain. A giant furry blur miming wiping his ass, waiting until I did the same to let that shit go—kinda hard to forget. No surprises for me here.

Business taken care off, heading into the hall, expecting to be taking the mission back to Buu’s cave room solo, no sooner had I stepped out, I ran right into him.

Grunting on impact, I groaned as I flopped back and my tailbone took the brunt of my fall.

Buu let out a noise that sounded like all the air in his body had left him.

Clutching my ass cheeks, I rolled to my side with a grimace. “Oh my god, I think I broke my butt!”

Buu dropped down next to me and grabbed one of my ass cheeks as if to give my claim a check.

“My tailbone, not my fat ass!” I corrected as I swatted his hand away.

The hurt look on his face as he curled his hand to his chest as if I’d given it a full force swat, was killing me more than my aching ass bone.

“What the heck is going on?” I demanded to know, fighting the grimace threatening to break free. Because that’s who I am, Bulldozer Joanie, not even remotely subtle.

Grumpy Boo just stared down at me, blinking rapidly while his gaze darted from my butt to my face. His visible confusion would have been oddly endearing if I wasn’t so frustrated. “Joalee thinks break butts bones,” he grunted out. His worried stare had me doing a double take.

“Not with me. I know what’s wrong with my stupid butt. I meant with you,” I muttered, rolling to my hands and feet to slowly push to my feet. Ugh. I was gonna be feelin’ that one for a while. Owie. Ouchie. Ow.

“Buu butt bones not broken. Buu no fall,” he grumbled, as if my line of questioning was ridiculous.

“No! Not with your ass! With you! You’ve been acting odd since I woke up!” I didn’t mean to snap at him and regretted it instantly but the words were already out of my mouth before I could decide not to say them, and his reaction was immediate.

The hurt that flashed across his face, there and gone just as fast, was undeniable.

“No thing wrong with Buu!” he practically bellowed at me. “No thing wrong!”

Huffing and puffing, he snarled, stomped his foot, and then whirled around and stormed away from me. Watching him disappear around a corner, his fur standing on end, hell bent on getting the feck away from me, I gaped at his retreating back.

“I- I don’t think anything’s wrong with you,” I called after him. “I meant what’s wrong that you’re acting so strangely towards me!”

Left to find my way back on my own, by the time I’d managed to stumble my way towards anything I recognized, the day had gone, I was a thousand percent sure, I was hungry, tired, my butt ached something fierce, and fuck me I had to pee again.

That snowy entrance to the cave, all caved in with snow, was the first thing with any familiarity I spied. I knew I was in the right spot because the wet spot we’d made was still there, frozen to the cave floor.

My nose crinkled and I made a face as I limped past it.

Leaning against a wall, I scrubbed my hands down my face. It was cold in here, more so than the rest of this place, but I’d be damned if I was going to hobble down the hall so Buu could glare at me from across the pelts, just for a bit of warmth. I’d rather freeze to death.

Clutching the pelt wrapped around me, I sank to the floor, curling my legs up to wrap them in it as well, and rested my head against hard cave wall.

The more I thought of what might have put him off with me, the more my mind kept going back to the other night.

---