All Shantae rights go to Wayforward and Matt Bozon.

Shantae – 19

Sky – 20

Risky Boots – 25

Rottytops – 19

Bolo – 18

Hello people of the interwebz! It is I, Tommycats, with a new fic! Let me explain my Modern AU a little bit.

The ages, as listed at the top, have been made up by me just to keep some relevance to their young looking age.

Risky is meant to be portrayed as a kinder person, but still snappy and fiery when she gets provoked. Besides this, I've attempted to keep her as close to her character as possible. She's not inherently evil this time. Sorry for those expecting a supermassive Tinkertub to run through the city with Shantae trying to stop her with her magic pow—

No magic here, buddy. Nothing considered supernatural.

Lastly, I chose a pet store because, hey, pets are cool and all that.

I mean, I could tell you more buuuttt…

I'll let the fic do that for me, hm?

"That'll be twenty seven gems. Would you like a receipt?"

The purplette behind the counter recited her lines with a smile, bagging the supplies and making sure to return the correct amount of change. She waved goodbye to the customer, eagerly awaiting the next one.

Shantae loved working at the pet store. Not only that, it was Sky's pet store, who had dreamt of opening one up since her first year at school. When the older girl finally graduated from university two years ago and pursued her dream, Shantae was delighted when her best friend asked if she would like to work for her.

Sky often worked alongside Shantae, happily serving customers and tending to all the animals in the store. She had always hated seeing animals in small enclosures, so Sky had gone the extra mile and given each group of animals a large area to play, sleep, and generally laze around in. Shantae had always joked with Sky about the shop pretty much being a zoo at that point, and sometimes it was hard not to see why. It was also no surprise the blonde had gone with a bird themed name for her store – she absolutely adored birds, and even kept a pet Macaw, named Wrench, who was adorned with purple and blue feathers and was happiest when with his owner.

It had been two years since Shantae had first been hired, and since then she had also graduated from high school. She planned to go to university, but wasn't sure what she wanted to choose for a future career, so she settled on helping Sky with the shop in a more full-time sense. The blonde always made sure she paid her friend right, but it was never really about the pay for Shantae – spending time around so many cute animals and her best friend was enough of a payment for her, but Sky wouldn't hear it.

"I don't care what you say, Shantae, I'm not going to not pay you. You're my best friend and a passionate worker; you deserve it. Plus I don't want to break the law."

Shantae giggled at the memory, remembering why Sky was her best friend. The blonde was always looking out for the younger girl as if she was her older sister, and sometimes, Shantae felt like she was. Without her, the teen didn't know where she would be today, and she made sure to thank Sky for nearly everything.

Shantae wasn't the only friend of Sky's who worked at her store. Their childhood friend Bolo was often around to help with the more physically demanding jobs, such as cleaning animal pens or moving stock or deliveries to their rightful places. Currently, Bolo was on holiday, so it was up to the two girls to do all the work. Not that they minded – they loved their jobs, and lifting heavy boxes or cleaning pens was just part of it.

While there were no customers, the purplette turned around to have a drink from her bottle, noticing Sky dragging out a sack from the storeroom. Shantae quickly took a swig and moved over to help her friend.

"Where's this one going?" She asked as she picked up the other side of the rough bag. Sky looked at her with a thankful expression, some of her hair falling out of her trademark hood and over her face.

"Reptile section. Turtles. Sand on one side being dragged into water every time they leave it. Need to even out," the blonde replied. Shantae noticed Sky's very direct and general speech, which was quite unlike her. She took another, closer look at the older girl, noticing her face flushed and sweat on her brow, along with laboured breathing. Shantae set her side of the sack down and coaxed Sky's hands off of her own side, earning a puzzled look.

"What are you doing?"

"Go rest, Sky, you look exhausted."

"I'm fine, if we do this-"

"I've been serving customers all day while you've been tending to all the animals. You need to take a break."

"But-"

"Sky, please," Shantae pleaded. Even if you don't want to 'be lazy,' just serve customers instead. I don't want you doing any of the heavy work for the rest of the day," she finished sternly.

Sky looked at Shantae with a frown on her face and her arms crossed. After a few moments, she relaxed.

"Fine," she huffed, "but only because it's an hour to closing time."

This satisfied Shantae, who watched Sky to make sure she would stay behind the counter. The poor girl was truly exhausted. It was rare for her to have her hair not impeccable and contained mostly within her hood. Now, there were strands of it over her face, not to mention how red and tired she looked. Shantae made a mental note to get back to the counter as quickly as possible to relieve any workload Sky would get.

She began to drag the sack by herself, taking care not to step on her own hair. Working her way around enclosures and shelving, she smiled to herself at how large the store was. It never ceased to amaze her how Sky managed to find a place with such a large floor space, and also how the she managed to make everything work so well. Even after two years, each time she explored the shop to tend to animals or restock shelves, Shantae always felt like she was discovering a new section of the store every time.

In a sense, every time Shantae left the shop, she was still exploring. Both she and Sky had moved to from their beachside home of Scuttle Town to a small suburb of the main city further inland to complete their studies. They flatted together, and though Shantae was paying half of the rent, technically Sky was paying for everything considering she was also the one who paid Shantae in the first place. The two were inseparable, being around each other during the down time at home, the workplace, and even on the weekends where they would go out and explore more of the city together.

Smoothing out the rest of the sand, the purplette began thinking where they should visit this weekend. Though it was only Tuesday, Shantae liked to plan ahead. Waving goodbye to a few of the turtles, she made her way back to the counter, only to be distracted by a lilac-haired woman browsing the aquatic section. While she really didn't want to intrude and seem pushy, Shantae felt rather attracted to this woman for some strange reason. After a bit of hesitance, she decided to go up to her anyway.

"Hi! Need any help?"

The woman turned towards Shantae, revealing her crimson eyes and mature face. At first glance, the teen could already tell that this woman was far older than her, maybe by seven or eight years. Her flowing hair was nearly as long as Shantae's, but the latter kept hers in a high ponytail, while the former let hers flow freely down her back. Even though the woman had a rather intimidating atmosphere, Shantae put on her warmest smile. Can't judge a book by its cover, after all.

The woman smirked a little, sending Shantae's stomach doing flips. Internally, Shantae panicked. Why was she feeling like this? She had never felt this way towards anyone before. What did this random woman have that nobody else did?

"You're rather short, aren't you?"

The voice snapped Shantae out of her stupor, crossing her arms and looking away, all feelings for this woman instantly dropped.

"You do not know how many times I hear that a day. I get it. I'm short. Whatever. Do you need help or not?" She growled out the end of her sentence. Nothing annoyed her more than her height being pointed out, and she had no qualms in showing it. Only Sky or Bolo were allowed to tease her in such a way.

The woman laughed, though it sounded partially like a cackle, and Shantae's stomach began flipping again. Clearly the insult was only a temporary stop to… whatever she was feeling. Either way, the purplette narrowed her eyes a bit. Laughing at her height? How dare she?

"Sorry, that wasn't the best thing to say now, was it? I usually say what's on my mind without thinking first. Though I won't take it back. You are short. Anyway," the woman continued, just in time to stop Shantae giving this lilac-haired… tower a piece of her mind. "I have a few squids at my home and I was just browsing the fish to see if there were any that could live in peace with them. The last fish… well, let's just say they didn't understand why you don't attack a squid."

Shantae stared at the woman in disbelief.

"Squids?"

"Yes, red ones with purple spots. I have seven. I call the biggest one the Squid Baron, and at least three of the others are his next of kin," the woman explained, flashing a grin.

"Riiiight…" Shantae said, ignoring the butterflies in her stomach. "And you're looking for fish that can live peacefully with a family of squids?"

"Correct."

"Well, I don't know about squids, but we do have some shy fish that don't attack at all. Bad thing is that they stop functioning if they're put with a bully fish, which is just a fish species that takes advantage of shy fish. What I'm trying to say is they should be fine with your... squids as long as they don't get pushy with them." Shantae finished her quick explanation, hoping that the woman would understand. Instead, she was given a raised eyebrow.

"You really can't believe that I own squids, do you?" the woman asked.

"No, no, it's not that," Shantae said, waving her hands in front of her in denial. "I've just never really come across someone who's kept squids outside of the aquarium. In all honesty, I'm not a hundred percent sure if what I'm saying is right, it's just a guess. Sorry."

Shantae hung her head in shame, kicking herself internally for not knowing more about animals, though squids were quite specific. To her surprise, a hand was soon on her shoulder, and she shot her head up to be met with another smirk from the woman. Did she ever smile or grin normally?

"It's fine. You can't know everything. There's no harm in trying though, so show me the fish," she said, taking her hand off of Shantae's shoulder, who found herself missing the contact more than she should.

"Uh… we're sold out," the purplette grinned sheepishly, pressing her fingers together in habit. The woman looked rather unimpressed with this.

"Seriously? I thought this shop stocked everything needed for pet owners of any kind, at any time."

"Well we do usually, but the more exotic the animal, the longer they take to restock. We sold out a fortnight ago due to some fish collector, but we should be receiving more on Thursday if you're willing to come back in. We're actually getting a massive load of stock on Thursday, so you might want to come around this time of day again since we'll probably be tending to everything for most of it." Shantae hoped the woman would say yes, just so she could see her again. She had no idea why she wanted to see her again. She just did.

"I suppose that will have to do," the older woman sighed. "Am I able to reserve some?"

"Sure! I'll just need your name," Shantae said cheerily, taking out a small notepad from her pocket.

"Risky Boots." Shantae nearly dropped the notepad. Did she hear that right?

"Risky Boots? Really?"

Risky leaned in menacingly.

"Are you making fun of my name?" She growled, not unlike the way Shantae did a few minutes earlier.

"Of course not! And you made fun of my height earlier anyway, so we'd be even!" The younger purplette shot back, placing her hands on her hips. Risky smirked again, standing up straight and beginning to walk around the teen.

"Very well, I believe you," she said nonchalantly, and Shantae was inclined to think it was sarcasm. "I shall see you on Thursday."

"Sure thing! If I'm not at the counter, I'll be taking care of one of the enclosures. Or restocking. Or in the storeroom. Or in the toilet. Maybe the staff room."

"Alright. See you then, Shantae," Risky waved, strutting out of the shop,

"Wha-?" How did she know her n—ah.

The nametag would probably explain it.

Of course Shantae would forget she wore a nametag on her shirt. Now that Risky Boots wasn't in front of her, the purplette could focus a little bit on why she felt so weird when talking to her. Nobody had made her feel like that before, but she could tell it was something big. Maybe Sky would know, though it could be a little embarrassing to tell her. After all, she was Shantae's best friend for a reason. She would never judg—wait.

Sky!

Shantae spun around and quickly made her way to the counter, cursing herself for leaving her exhausted friend alone while she spoke to a customer for too long.

Rounding the corner of the last shelf, Shantae saw Sky about to give a customer a piece of her mind. Kicking into action, she speedily ran over to the counter, skidding to a halt and clamping her hand over Sky's mouth before she could utter another word.

"Sky, why don't you go and grab a drink?" The purplette asked, placing Sky's empty bird-themed bottle in her hands and pushing her away. Though she had posed it as a question, Shantae wasn't giving the blonde much of a choice in the matter.

"But-"

"Ah-bup-bup-bup, no words, off you go," Shantae interrupted, pointing at the staffroom door. Sky sighed, glared at her, then stomped off towards the room. Shantae then turned to face the customer that Sky had been about to berate.

She had short, brown hair, which was a little messy, a yellow headband, and some red-rimmed glasses. She wore what appeared to be a white school top which exposed a little of her midriff, along with a green skirt and dark stockings, though both were short enough to show off some of her legs. She had a regretful look on her face, and her crimson eyes showed worry.

Wait, crimson eyes again? Were Risky and this girl related?

Either way, Shantae put on her best smile and greeted the customer as best as she could.

"Sorry about that! She's had a really rough day today. How can I help?"

"No, that was definitely my fault," the girl said, shaking her head. "I shouldn't have flirted with her. I do that too much apparently."

"Oh. Well, that's alright, I guess? Usually Sky is fine with a little bit of flirting. That being said, she usually gets it from guys, sooo…"

"Easy to see why…" The girl trailed off, leading Shantae to think that there was something more to this flirting. Did this girl take it a little too far, or was Sky just really tired? "Anyway, I'm here for some hamster feed, and there was none of the brand he likes left on the shelf."

Shantae nodded, asking the girl which brand she usually bought, then headed out to the storeroom to get the desired amount. Pulling the little bags from their box, she returned to the counter with a smile, taking the gems given and giving out the correct amount of change.

"Thanks," the girl smiled, "and could let your friend know I'm sorry?"

"No worries, and I'll be sure to let her know! I hope we see you again soon!" Shantae said cheerily, waving goodbye to the girl, who waved back with a grin.

Noticing that it was now only fifteen minutes to closing time, she went around the store, letting any lingering people know that the store was soon to shut down for the night. Shantae then went on her rounds, checking that each enclosure was secure and that no animals would be able to get out in any way. She didn't want a repeat of the costly hermit crab versus snail war. A whole seven gems had been lost that day because of the shell Shantae had to replace. Though she was secretly hoping that it had been an intense battle, security cameras showed that both animals had stayed inside their shells for the entire 'fight,' the hermit shell broken from falling out of the enclosure.

When the clock struck 5PM, Shantae looked around to make sure nobody was still in the store, though her short stature meant she had to jump to see around, and after checking at least four times, she began to drag down the shutters at the storefront. After that was done, she took most of the gems from the register and put them into a handy partitioned bag, leaving a little to be used as change the next day. Noticing the unusual absence of Sky during closing time, Shantae headed into the staffroom to find the blonde asleep in a chair, her head resting on folded arms. The purplette smiled to herself, finding the scene rather cute. Maybe she should take a picture…

Putting the phone away, she gently shook her friend awake, telling her it was time to go home. Sky stretched, still clearly tired, asking if Shantae could drive tonight. The shorter girl agreed, pulling Sky up from the chair and into a hug. Sky weakly returned the gesture, before both girls headed to Sky's car.

Getting in, Shantae gave Sky the bag of gems, adjusting the seat so she could see the road and reach the wheel properly.

"Shorty," Sky teased tiredly, earning a poked-out tongue from her shorter friend. It reminded Shantae of Risky's words earlier, and she began to feel light in a good away again.

"Before you fall asleep again, that girl wanted me to tell you she's sorry," Shantae said as she backed out of the car park. Sky furrowed her brow, fluttering her eyes closed.

"Whatever."

The younger girl looked at the blonde quizzically. Sky wasn't usually curt. She supposed she would have to ask Sky what it was all about once she woke up again, even if that was tomorrow.

Instead, she focused on driving them home. The two shared a little rented house at the top of a hill about twenty minutes from Sky's pet store. It had two bedrooms with connecting bathrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. A small balcony overlooked the countryside behind the house, reminding the girls of their non-ocean views from home. They had nice neighbours, a nice house, a great job, and each other. It was almost the perfect life as far as they were concerned.

Shantae dreaded the day that Sky would find a boyfriend and ask her to leave the house, or leave the house herself. Of course, she would still work with her friend, until one day she found her own soulmate, and maybe a better job, which in turn would eventually whittle down them seeing each other until they eventually stopped being a part of each other's lives…

The purplette shook her head from those thoughts. She would always be a part of Sky's life, and Sky would always be a part of hers. There was no reason to think pessimistically.

Pulling up to the driveway, Shantae opened the garage and parked the car inside. She gently shook the sleeping Sky awake again, guiding her towards her room before gently closing the door and collapsing onto the couch. Not feeling like cooking dinner tonight, she called up her favourite restaurant and put in an order for two bento boxes to be delivered, adding a note to just knock on the door so the doorbell didn't wake up Sky.

While she waited for the delivery, Shantae turned on some TV at a low volume, but wasn't focused on it anyway. She was thinking about her conversation with Risky. Or, more specifically, how she had been feeling during it.

Shantae had never taken an interest in anyone before, other than Sky and Bolo once or twice during her lowest times. She didn't have a set preference like most people seemed to have by her age, but she had never found it important anyway. Now, however, she felt like her attraction was a little more than curiosity. The way her stomach flipped and the butterflies had a ball proved that. Shantae didn't want to say she had fallen in love at first sight, but she was considering that it was a possibility. Her real question was; what set Risky apart from everyone else?

A gentle knocking on the door told her that her food had arrived, and the teen rushed to get the gems needed to pay for it. Thanking the delivery boy and adding a tip, she put the boxes on the kitchen bench and went to check on her friend.

Sure enough, Sky was still sleeping. Shantae silently moved up to her and began to remove her hood, knowing how much Sky hated sleeping in it. She also knew that it was a privilege to see the older girl's blonde locks. Shantae knew why Sky preferred to keep the majority of her hair hidden, and that she trusted only a few people seeing her without the hood. The purplette managed to get the article off, folding it up neatly and placing it at the end of the bed. She also knew that Sky disliked sleeping in any clothes that weren't her pajamas, but Shantae wasn't about to strip her best friend. Sky would have to deal with it.

Leaving the room again, the teen suddenly realized she would have to feed Wrench. She groaned, having to enter Sky's room once more and risk waking her up. Grabbing a fistful of mixed seeds, she dumped the contents in Wrench's bowl, putting a finger to her lips as if the bird could understand her wishes. With that finally out of the way, and with the hope that Wrench wouldn't wake his owner up, Shantae was finally able to leave the room for good and let the girl sleep.

Grabbing a box and throwing the other one in the fridge for the blonde to eat whenever she woke, Shantae plopped down once again on the couch, stuffing her face with food while still thinking about Risky. She was clearly much, much older than the short teen that was Shantae, so surely a similarly-aged person would be more suitable for the purplette to have a crush on, if this was a crush at all. Additionally, she was so rude! The first thing that came out of her mouth was the pointing out of Shantae's short stature, as well as no effort to take back that comment. From what little Shantae knew of her, and what she could guess about her, she became aware that Risky seemed to be the complete opposite of her.

And she began to realise that that was the reason she was so attracted to her.

A new story is born! Hope you enjoyed so far!

I've wanted to a modern AU Shantae fic for a while so I thought I might as well do it now while it's fresh in my head, and plan to update once a fortnight, even through uni. I'll see how well that works out.

Hopefully I have the characters' personalities correct. It's been a hot minute since I've played any of the games so I might need to go back and refresh myself with 5's release of a replay of HGH.

Anyway, it's early and I can't think of anything else to say except MHW:IB is very good and distracting and the reason why this is uploaded on the last day of January instead of mid-Jan like I had planned.

Criticism, reviews, and faves/follows are welcome and appreciated!

Until next time,

-Tommycats