Private Finished I Don't Snooze But Still Lose

Sometimes Mukuchi wished he could hum. It always seemed to be a relaxing thing to do while working or reading or doing other leisurely activities, or at least so Mukuchi had observed from media and from real life examples. Mukuchi could repeat songs and melodies inside his head, but humming was impossible. Sometimes it made him feel almost sad, most of his mouthless life Mukuchi had wished to try things like eating, or singing, or doing anything that a person with a mouth could do. But such was life, you always wanted what you couldn't have. So, Mukuchi did the next best thing.
He put the soundtrack of Doctor Who playing from the speakers around his store as he took inventory.

It wasn't just what Briar had said that had gotten Mukuchi to do inventory, he had intended to do it anyway. But Mukuchi had to admit that as he circled and listed items first in the storage and then in the store that he took an extra careful look at his merchandise. Mukuchi had encountered magical items before, but they usually just...stopped being magical the moment he got close. It was a shame, but yet again, such was life. Mukuchi negated magic whether he wanted to or not.
Mukuchi stopped in front of an old dresser, he had estimated it was from the Victorian era based on the make and the quality of the wood when he had restored it. Mukuchi tapped the pen he was using to mark the items against his chin, covered by a mask like always. Yet again the slight paranoia was nagging at the back of Mukuchi's head, what if there was something to this dresser he hadn't noticed? Mukuchi deemed it was better to be safe than sorry and opened the dresser. It was a big item, so Mukuchi had to basically crawl inside it to check it thoroughly.

Mukuchi had his entire upper body inside the dresser, only hips and legs showing outside of it, when he heard the store door open. Mukuchi froze, from where the dresser was situated the first thing the customer would see was Mukuchi basically inside the closet. He quickly withdrew himself, hitting his head on a shelf as he did, and turned to face the door. Mukuchi's face was slightly blackened, his version of a blush since his blood was black.

Mukuchi was, in all honesty, surprised to see Briar. He hadn't expected the man to come by his store this soon, Mukuchi had been prepared that Briar would wait for two days and just like that forget the existence of Mukuchi's store all-together. That was what usually happened. But Mukuchi hadn't thought that Briar's promise had been just lip service, it had been pretty clear that this person was genuine. Mukuchi could usually tell things like that.

But none of that changed the fact that Briar had seen Mukuchi in a rather embarrassing position. Mukuchi wanted to cover his face with his hand, but even if he knew Briar the man was still a customer. That wouldn't do.
As an answer to Briar's question Mukuchi quickly shook his head, the dresser he had been checking was among the last items on the inventory.
Mukuchi reached for his pocket and his phone, but he realized he had left it at the back. Mukuchi automatically lifted his hands, but quickly realized Briar wouldn't understand his signing. Mukuchi looked around and remembered that he was holding a clipboard and a pen. Mukuchi turned around the paper on his clipboard, the backside was blank, and wrote on it. Mukuchi walked over to Briar and showed what he had written, and the corners of his eyes crinkled like he was smiling.

"Welcome, thank you for coming. You're not interrupting, I was just finishing inventory. Thankfully I didn't find anyone sleeping in my merchandise."
Mukuchi added the last bit as an impulse, remembering their conversation from yesterday. Mukuchi supposed he was happy that he met someone new who still remembered him after their initial meeting. That usually didn't happen and many meetings were left fleeting, which sometimes made Mukuchi feel lonely.
Mukuchi wrote some more as a last addition.
"Feel free to look around, and ask me if you need help."

Mukuchi let Briar go on his way, the man walked with purpose as he went to look at a side table. Mukuchi still remembered restoring said side table. It was from the early 1800s, most probably Turkish in origin. Mukuchi had picked it up while visiting a friend who had been dying about 60 or so years ago.
Mukuchi realized he had frozen in place, immersed in memories, and shook it off. He needed to check the last two items so he could join and possibly help Briar. Mukuchi hurried on his way, listing the old wooden globe and grandfather clock, being much less careful in checking them this time around. He was conscious about wanting to finish as quickly as possible.

Mukuchi had just walked up to the register and slipped the inventory list in-between some files and bills when Briar called out. Mukuchi stood up from the crouch he'd been in and hurried over to Briar, this time equipped with his phone and his reliable text to speech app.
"I have some stories about every item."
Mukuchi typed and let the app do the speaking for him, while he looked at the dresser with soft eyes. It took Mukuchi few moments to write down his story, but Mukuchi was a very adept typer.
"I found this dresser in an abandoned old manor in the middle of the woods, in Poland. The design is reminiscent of rococo, but it's too simplistic to really be called that. I think the designer had their own purpose when making the dresser, because look here."
When the text got to that point Mukuchi pointed one long-nailed finger at a rose carved in the wood, and then pressed two of the petals at the same time. The rose popped out, revealing a small secret locker just big enough to fit a spatula, or maybe a knife.
"The maker's customer had secrets. I found this dresser in the furthest corner of the estate, in a small bedroom. I think this was the dresser of a child, and this locker was for storing a dagger in case the child needed to be protected. The manor had signs of struggle, and this locker was empty when I found it, so I think the dagger was of use."
That was when the app finally went silent, and while the speech had been going on Mukuchi had gestured at different parts of the dresser and his gestures had otherwise been rather lively, compared to his usually subtle demeanour. Mukuchi got like this whenever he was excited about history and mysteries and puzzles. Though when the speech ended Mukuchi realized he might've steered away from what Briar actually wanted to know and his cheeks got slightly grey again, as he blushed in embarrassment and looked down at his phone, typing something again.

"Although this was made for a child the dresser still has a lot of storage space, and when I restored it I found close to no structural damage so it's sturdy and will last a long time."
Yes, customers wanted to hear practical knowledge like this. Not everyone was as excited and willing to hear about history and Mukuchi's theories.

Thankfully Briar didn't seem to mind that Mukuchi had gone on a tangent there for a moment. Instead Mukuchi got praised, which didn't really help with the small blush already on Mukuchi's face. He didn't really know how to accept compliments and praise, he always felt awkward about it. But, as was polite, he typed on his phone and the app repeated
"Thank you. History is close to my heart."
The corners of Mukuchi's eyes wrinkled again, as if smiling. Mukuchi didn't have the facial muscles that usually surrounded the mouth, so he couldn't truly smile, but Mukuchi had learned to make his eyes imitate the eyes of someone who was smiling. At this point it was a habit that came as naturally as a smile would for someone with a mouth.

Briar seemed taken with the dresser, which made Mukuchi feel happy. This dresser had been with him for a long time, it was wonderful that it found a good home. And Mukuchi was sure that Briar would make good use of the dresser.
But the dresser was also rather expensive, Mukuchi wasn't sure if a student could afford it. But then again Mukuchi didn't know about Briar's financial situation, who was he to make judgements.
After a little consideration Mukuchi typed on his phone and the app repeated
"It's 250 dollars."
Actually it was closer to 500, maybe more, but Mukuchi felt like giving Briar a discount. Not just because he was a student, but also because this was Mukuchi's way of saying a quiet, indirect thank you. For coming so soon and remembering him. Mukuchi had a feeling he'd feel especially sad if someone as thoughtful as Briar forgot about him.

Mukuchi made sure not to peek into Briar's wallet when the man pulled it out, that would've been beyond impolite. Instead Mukuchi subtly reached to the side of the dresser Briar couldn't see and took off the price tag with the number 550 written on it. No need for Briar to know that Mukuchi had taken 300 dollars off the price, Mukuchi didn't want him to feel bad or obligated to him.
Even if that feeling of obligation might be what kept Briar remembering him.

Thankfully Mukuchi's discount wasn't in vain and Briar could afford the dresser. Mukuchi smiled with his eyes again, Briar seemed to happy to be able to buy the dresser. Mukuchi wondered if this was the man's first larger purchase for his dorm room, or maybe he just really liked antiques. The latter option made Mukuchi feel irrationally happy, it was a nice thought that Briar might share an interest with him.
"Wonderful. Then please come over here."
Mukuchi typed and as the app repeated the words he walked over to the cash register. The machine Mukuchi used as a register was also antique, and he opened it by cranking a small handle at the side of the machine.
"Will you be paying with cash? And would you like to transport the dresser yourself, or should I arrange transportation for you?"
Normally the transportation would cost a little extra, but Mukuchi wasn't going to mention that. It could just be an extension of the discount if Briar needed help transporting the dresser.