[PRP Honesty] Till Me The Truth [PL/Butter Beer]

[Ruriska]

There was money missing from the till.

Pink Lemonade finished her count and stood frowning, the register open, tapping her hoof thoughtfully on the counter. Normally there was always a bit of a difference here and there, sometimes off by a few cents or dollars. Sometimes she took money to buy supplies and forgot to take it into account. Sometimes she gave a discount to regulars.

But this was different. This was a lot of money.

"Hmm," she hummed and then began the count again, slower this time, calculating the notes with an eagle-eye.

Nope, still down by $250.

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He hadn't batted an eye when he did it.

Butterbeer was contentedly tucked away in the back of the kitchen with the bills he had taken from the bar's till, separating them out by denomination while his imagination ran wild. Since he spent nearly all his time there trying to learn from his family who was always so supportive, there wouldn't be any sort of a problem if he borrowed some money for his brand new start-up business.

His mom had always encouraged him to dream big, and he knew it took money to make money... So a little donation to the foal's exciting idea wasn't a big deal at all, considering he just knew he would be able to pay them back ten-fold once his business got off the ground... Right?

For a moment, he caught himself wondering, then, why was he holed up in a not-so-visible place to count his "donated" cash? Was he doing something wrong? Nah, of course not. Pink Lemonade would understand if he told her. But, now wasn't the time to tell her. It should just be a surprise when he made the money back. Yeah. Of course.

His ears perked when he heard his mother sigh, deciding it was his cue to check on the mare. Carefully, he tucked the money away, waaay far back under the counter as far as he could reach, and then he shook himself once, trotting out to meet her, careful eyes darting between her and the till.

"Mom?" He blinked. "Are you almost done?" Nerves started to nip at his ankles, but he did his best to brush the growing feeling away.

@Ruriska 

[Ruriska]

"Almost," Pink Lemonade replied absently to her son.

Should she do a second count? No. She was rarely wrong about these things. They were simply down a large chunk of the day's earnings. So where had the money gone?

"BB," she began, her gaze still flicking between the till count on the screen and the money, "did you notice anything odd today? Did anyone take any money from the till?"

Not for a second did she suspect her son. Perhaps Fruit Punch had needed the money and forgotten to leave a note or Midnight Snack had needed it for a quick ingredient purchase. It was either that or someone had stolen it. A possibility she didn't like to consider.

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"Anything odd?" Butter Beer hummed, Nothing odd had happened with the till today, so far as he knew. Well, aside from him borrowing the money for his start-up. But that wasn't odd. That didn't count, right? He was gonna pay her back!

"Nothing weird that caught my eye." For a moment he glanced at the register's screen. Without counting the money himself, the total for today didn't betray a missing number, but those nerves from earlier started to twist again, this time in his stomach. He knew his stash of bills was what his mom was looking for, but he couldn't give it up now! He had to come up with something. "Uncle Fruit Punch was in here earlier, but I wasn't paying attention to him. I was busy mixing the juices in the fridge."

Uncle FP would take a fall for him... Wouldn't he? Ugh, the uncertainty would drive him crazy.

"Is it that important?" Butter beer placed a hoof on his mother's foreleg, a childish attempt to draw her attention away from the money and onto him. "You should just come taste what I came up with!"

@Ruriska

[Ruriska]

"Was he?" It was honestly strange for Fruit Punch not to tell her. He made weird decisions sometimes but when it came to business, he had always been responsible. But if someone was in a rush, it was easy to forget or perhaps the note got lost. It was only the amount that made her worried.  It wasn't just a lazy $50.

Pink Lemonade was startled out of her thoughts by the hoof on her leg and the question. She looked down at her son with the start of a disapproving frown. "Of course it's important! This is our livelihood. Money isn't everything but we worked hard to earn that. You can't just ignore when something is missing."

She took a deep breath and rather than get annoyed with her son, just shook her head. "I don't have time right now, Butter Beer. I need to get this sorted."

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Wincing at even the flash of the look on his mother's face, Butter Beer instantly knew what he had done was wrong. Even if he was just borrowing from the till to invest in his future livelihood, it really wasn't worth seeing his mother stress out over something she would never figure out if he never told her. Of course he knew how important money was-- But more than that, he knew what it meant to his mom. What hard work it truly represented for her.

Backing up just a step, he bit his lower lip, earnestly debating on whether or not he should tell Pink Lemonade. The cons were severely outweighing the pros at the moment. Not only would he be losing the money for his investment, he would be losing forward momentum with the execution of his ideas, he'd have to admit to his loving mother that her own son had practically stolen from her (she definitely wouldn't be hearing the excuse of a little investment for high returns), and to top it all off, he would be in trouble... Big time.

Still, as he watched Pink Lemonade refocus her attention back on the till, he swallowed, making the dizzying walk back to the kitchen, back to the counter he had been sitting beside, and back to the stretched arm position under the cabinets where he hoofed at the hidden notes. Sliding them out from their concealed position, he grimaced, bringing them back to where he had been standing just previously at PL's hip. Wordlessly, he reached out with a hoof, hesitating only for a moment before he wordlessly tapped his mother's foreleg again, bracing himself for whatever the worst could be. Shame washed over him as he presented the missing cash, unable to look the mare in the eye, let alone in her general direction.

@Ruriska

[Ruriska]

"BB," Pink Lemonade sighed again when he nudged her, not yet having looked away from her work. "I don't have time to... oh." As she spoke, she had finally turned her head and seen the lost money being offered to her by a very guilty son. And oh, how she could see the guilt on his face, the regret that forced his gaze downwards.

Her first instinct was anger and frustration, a sudden scurry of thoughts. But she hadn't been a mother this long and raised two children to adulthood to lose her cool that fast. Butter Beer wasn't going to learn any lessons and grow up to be a respectable Old Enough if she lost her temper.

There could be any number of reasons why he had the money and as they stood in complete silence, she considered them. Her primary worry was that someone had put him up to it. Someone unscrupulous had blackmailed or promised him something. Or maybe he'd gotten into a bad habit that she hadn't noticed. Perhaps this was her failing?

But first, she needed to confirm, even if his demeanour made the answer very clear, he needed to say the words.

"Butter Beer, did you take the money from the till?"

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Pink Lemonade's silence was absolutely agonizing. What must his mother think of him, admitting his guilt over borrowing (no, call it what it is: stealing) the $250 from their family business. He still couldn't lift his head to her, bracing himself for angry words or the sentencing to punishment... But what hurt most of all was the thought of losing trust with Pink Lemonade. That, he wouldn't be able to stand.

Instead of any of his fears coming to fruition, however, PL's voice was even, and he had to glance upward just to make sure he wasn't mishearing his mother's tone. The notes burned in his hoof, and he just wanted to get rid of them-- put them back in the till so badly, but he knew he had to answer the mare's question first. Disappointingly to himself, the little voice in the back of his head told him to lie again, blame it on someone else, be the poor victim that someone else had duped into stealing.

But no. He couldn't lie to his mom again. Butter Beer had to come clean.

"...Yes, Mom. I took the money." It wasn't too much more than a mutter, but he placed the stack of cash on the counter and looked down to his hooves again, to guilty to move from his spot.

@Ruriska

[Ruriska]

She did not touch the money that he had placed before her but instead immediately asked another, now more important question:

"Why?"

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And of course she would have to ask the why. After being so confident that no one would mind earlier, Butter Beer shifted on his hooves and began to speak.

"I was... I was borrowing the money for a plan I had. I was going to invest in a really small storefront so I could start my business and be successful like you. I swear it was going to work! I already know that I could make the money back ten-fold, so I didn't think anyone would miss a, um... Small investment... for a profitable venture..."

Ah. He was starting to hear how ridiculous that sounded when he spoke it aloud. He definitely didn't mean to sound so stupid, but he meant what he said with all of his heart. He knew his plan would work, and he really would pay his mom back as soon as he could. But maybe that didn't justify taking from the register without asking.

@Ruriska

[Ruriska]

With his explanation, Pink Lemonade could now settle on a suitable emotion: disappointment. It turned down her mouth and filled her gaze as she slowly shook her head back and forth.

"Oh Butter Beer. I thought we'd taught you better than that." For him to not only steal but from his family was a shot to the heart. "Money can't be borrowed without asking. I have no doubt in your ability to start a successful business but not by stealing."

She shook her head again and then finally picked up the money. She didn't bother to count it but instead carefully placed it aside with the rest. "I thought... I thought I'd taught you the value of earning your own money. Is the pocket money you get from helping the business not enough? You wanted the easy way? Life doesn't work that way."

Pink Lemonade sighed. "If you'd shown me a business plan and asked, your father and I would have considered making an investment but now you've shown me how immature you still are. I'm very disappointed in you."

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So it was true that no punishment could come close to the weight of the disappointment from a parent.

Butter Beer's eyes watered with the guilt of that heavy gaze from Pink Lemonade, his heart dropping into a deep pit in his stomach. He'd done so wrong this time, in one fell swoop, he'd disappointed his mother deeply, cut into their trust, been reminded of life lessons that had been drilled into him (he knew them so well, so why did he..?), and to top it all off, he'd ruined his chance at starting his business in the near future.

Bearing the words from his mother that struck him so deeply, he stiffened, blinking away his tears before he spoke up after making sure PL was finished.

"...I'm sorry." He murmured, finding that keeping his voice steady was harder than he had thought it would be. "I will never, ever do that again, Mom. I will never take money from anybody that I haven't earned with my own hooves. Not a single cent." And he would steel that into his heart, determined for the rest of the future to make his fortune with his own blood, sweat, and tears. No borrowing. No gifts. It had to be all his own doing.

Still not meeting Pink Lemonade's gaze, he huffed in order to try and even his own breathing to calm himself down. "I'll sit and wait for you by the back door, unless there's something you need me to help with."

@Ruriska

[Ruriska]

Despite how disappointing Pink Lemonade found his actions, she could see how regretful he was and could sense that this wasn't going to be an action he repeated. Usually she was the stern one, when compared to the much more relaxed Midnight Snack, but when promised he would never ever do it again, on the verge of tears and informed her he would wait for her at the back door, her heart trembled.

There would be other repercussions, some extra chores here and there, but Pink Lemonade knew that her son was a good boy despite what he'd done and she couldn't stand to see him hurting. "Oh Butter Beer," she sighed, leaving the till to turn to him.

"We all make mistakes," she said, as she went to put her arms around him, engulfing him in a loving hug. "I know you won't do it again and I'm proud of you for being honest. You did a bad thing but you told me the truth when it mattered. It's how we come back from our bad decisions that really shapes us and you've done well."

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Butter Beer hadn't been expecting a hug, let alone such a strong one.

His eyes watered again instantly at her warm words, and this time he couldn't stop them from trailing down his cheeks, despite how determined he was not to cry. Hugging Pink Lemonade as tight as he could to return the gesture, he nestled his head to her chest and sniffled. Her loving embrace was severely welcome, as he thought he'd really done something to ruin his relationship with his mother for a long time.

It turns out, admitting your wrongs and apologizing sincerely really did a lot to soothe the initial disappointment he had brought upon himself. Butter Beer knew he had to remember this lesson, and remember it well. Not that he ever planned on disappointing his mom ever again, so long as he lived.

"I really am sorry..." he sighed to Pink Lemonade, pulling away just slightly so that he could finally look at her again. "I promise, I'm gonna do everything to make you proud, Mom. I won't ever let you down again." BB offered a little smile despite his sniffling, wanting to make sure that Pink Lemonade could see that he was going to be fine. In an hour or so, at least. "And I promise to be honest with everything. You'll never have to worry about something like this happening again."

@Ruriska