It's Sweeter When It's Free

Astro made his way through Burrowgatory, occasionally glancing down at the map he had to make sure he was going the correct way. Many would assume that he knows his way through Burrowgatory at this point, seeing as he’s spent years exploring it already, but unfortunately his poor sense of direction makes Astro somewhat poor at finding his way anywhere without some sort of guide. Usually he’d ask a friend to come along with him, but he’s been trying to be more independent lately, so he decided that in the worst case scenario he could just ask a stranger for directions. His schedule was clear for the day, so he had nothing to be late to. The only thing he had in his plans was to get to Dan’s Dango and purchase some sweet treats for himself and Meteor, the Uniqor currently bouncing around him as he once again paused as he realised he had absolutely no clue where he currently was.

He sighed, then took a deep breath, holding it for a while until he let it out to mutter curses under his breath. “Fuck it. Hello! Random person!” Astro made his way towards the nearest bun, who looked somewhat startled at his sudden approach. “Which way is Dan’s Dango, and if it’s more than two turns can you guide me there?”
The other only nodded, gesturing for him to follow, so he did, as he didn’t exactly have anything to lose at the moment even if he was led in the wrong direction for whatever reason. Meteor had hidden in his pocket the moment he approached another person, so he kept most of his focus on remembering to not just shove his hand in there instead of really paying attention to his surroundings, which thinking about it, the way he focused on anything except the path is probably why he never knew how to get to places. He doesn’t really know how he’d go about changing that though, and Meteor is more important than something silly like directions, so Astro doesn’t bother putting any more thought into that.

He abruptly stopped when his guide gently grabbed his arm, and zoned in to find that he was now in front of the place he wanted to be.
“Oh, thanks. Appreciate it”
Waving goodbye to the poor sap who’s day he might’ve potentially derailed, Astro made his way into the store and was met with who he assumed was Dan, as although they’d never met, The guy carefully placing dango on one of the product display shelves definitely looked like a Dan, so he went over to chat.

“Woah, this all looks tasty! Are you the Dan this dango belongs to?”

Who he assumed was Dan looked over at Astro like his presence was an inconvenience. Since the freckled bun was plenty used to that look, he continued on talking. Flattery gets you everywhere, so maybe this guy would like him a little more with compliments?

“I heard you’ve got the best mochi available! I haven’t had any in a while so figured I’d go to the most recommended place there is. You got a secret technique or something for all my friends to look at me like a maniac when I told them I hadn’t tried any of your mochi?”

The man let out a grunt, but deigned to respond this time.

“The secret is hard work and effort”

“Oh, with those muscles I’m sure you’ve put in plenty. I’ve never tried making mochi myself, don’t exactly have the tools, but I’ve always been curious about the process!”

Astro continued to talk Dan’s ear off as the man finished placing the product on the shelf, as in all fairness Astro was genuinely curious about the creation process alongside simply praising the man for his own gain. He could tell it was working from the slight redness to Dan’s cheeks as he went behind the counter, Astro taking his time looking through the various treats available and deciding two sticks of dango and a pack of the seasonal mochi, occasionally having to gently stop his Uniqor from getting at the currently unpaid for products.

Handing over his carats, Astro was actually surprised when the white-haired bun spoke again.

“I could show you how to make mochi, if you want. In my workshop”

It caught him off guard enough to actually make him pause, but he was still quick to respond.

“I would love that!”

Heading out from the main store floor, Astro’s recently purchased treats carefully packaged in his hand, the star-patterned bun spent time working with a mallet and mortar beside Dan, the more experienced of them guiding the younger through the process that was somehow both easier and harder than Astro had expected. He’d thought pounding the mochi would be more straining on his arms, but having used the cocktail shaker as a bartender had definitely made him more tolerant towards repetitive arm motions.
He still couldn’t make nearly as many as Dan would be able to, but hey, he managed to make a decent batch, and they even were only mildly lumpy! Dan had told him it was impressive for a first try, and he could keep the mochi he'd worked to make, so Astro decided to take the praise at face value and walked out from the workspace plenty pleased, promising that he’ll definitely come by again for both the mochi and Dan's company.

On his way home, Astro got out the sticks of dango he'd managed to swipe while Dan had his back turned leading him towards the workshop, happily munching at the delicious food. He had no doubt the ones he bought would also taste great, but free things were always just a touch sweeter with the satisfaction that came from gaining something without having to give anything towards it. He even shared some with Meteor! He was just so generous today.

He even managed to get home at a decent time since he only got lost once and didn’t have to ask for directions! Perfect day, really.