Archive of Our Own ^beta

Today was a good day. A very, very good day in fact and Martin was barely able to sleep the night before and ended up waking up at sunrise. But could you blame him? A few weeks ago, Martin had visited the local ranch to talk shop about buying some chickens from Daisy, the owner. She had a plethora of chickens and roosters she was willing to hand off the Martin for a small fee and the guarantee that they’ll have a proper coop to live in courtesy of Georgie. They even discussed the possibility of buying some goats and sheep later on if he did well with the chickens.

While Martin was there, he excitedly noticed a few cows she had roaming around in her fenced off front yard. Amongst the goats, sheep, and several regular black and white cows were a few adorably fluffy highland cows (good cows!) which surprised Martin since they’re not known to produce much milk. But Daisy explained that she mostly used them for their fur which she sells off to some small fiber making businesses out of town, then offhandedly mentioned that the female one was pregnant and due to have her calf any day now.

And that day has come! Or, well, it came last week. And Daisy had invited Martin to meet the newest addition to her ranch while they talked about the proper etiquette for chicken raising. He was so excited! For both learning about chickens and seeing the new calf… but mainly seeing the new calf.

Martin picked up the pace as he walked the path south of his farm down to the local forest, or more specifically Daisy's ranch which resided just on the edge of the forest. He wondered how soft the calf’s fur was going to be. Probably super soft and fluffy if he was going by the look of the mama’s fur. Her fur was so long and well kept and even though he didn’t get to pet her last time he visited, Martin could just tell by looking that it’d be like touching a cloud.

As Martin walked down the path and got lost in his thoughts of wonderfully good cows, the grassy patches of lands that lined the path slowly gave way to spirallingly tall trees and soon he was able to see the old wooden fencing of Daisy’s ranch. Maybe he could fix it up for her and get a discount on chicken feed.

With an excited squeal, Martin nearly sprinted the rest of the way, gave a wave to the few animals grazing in the yard, and made his way inside. The ranch was divided up into sections, the main room was where Daisy did most of her business, selling animals and supplies from behind a counter in the back of the room. Off to the left was her and her partner Basira’s living quarters which consisted of, from what Martin could see, a kitchen and a doorway in the back which was probably their bedroom. And to the right of the main room was a door that led to the inside animal enclosure where the chickens were normally kept along with the other animals when winter came around.

“Martin, there you are,” Daisy greeted from her usual spot behind the counter, “Took you long enough. For a minute I thought you’d gotten lost and I’d have to hunt you down.”

“Sorry about that. I was actually going as fast as I could, I’m really excited to see the new calf. I got the pictures you sent me and they look like such a good cow.” Martin laughed as he leant against the countertop.

“Well I’m sure she and her mum will be happy to see you, too. But before we go see them, some safety tips: Be super careful around them, the mum is very protective of her calf so at the first sign of her getting defensive, back off immediately. And even though the calf was just born, she’s still big enough to topple you over if you aren’t paying attention. You’re allowed to pet both of them, just let them sniff your hand first and let them come to you. They’re sort of like dogs in the sense that they'll let you know if they’re okay with being pet. Try to always stay either to the front of them or to the side, they might get scared if you touch them while they can’t see you. I’ve been kicked a few times before because I did that and it is not great. And if you have any questions or anything else, I’ll be right there with you.”

Martin’s eyes were the size of dinner plates as he listened, making sure to pay attention and retain all of this new information he was presented with. He had to be sure he wouldn’t forget anything in all his excitement. “Okay, I think I got it.”

“Alright then,” Daisy walked out from behind the counter and walked over to the door that led to the animals, motioning for Martin to follow, “Come on. They’re right this way.”

Surprisingly, Daisy was right and the animals were quite literally just behind the door. There were brown and white chickens roosting in nests that lined the back wall, goats and sheep resting and roaming around the open, straw covered room and in the very back was one of the highland cows snacking on a bale of hay while her tiny calf was nursing on her.

“This is the absolute best day of my life,” Martin whispered as he watched the animals from afar.

Beside him, Daisy chuckled and began to wade through the small sea of livestock. “You know you’re more than welcome to visit any time. I mean, as long as it’s during business hours. And I have to be here to supervise you in case anything happens.”

Martin nodded enthusiastically and followed Daisy until they were a few feet from the pair of cows. “They’re so cute, Daisy! Such good cows. Do they have names?”

Daisy shrugged, picking up a chicken that had started pecking at her trouser leg, “Eh, I don’t really do names. If you name an animal you get attached, and I’m constantly buying and selling these animals for business so it’s best for me to not get too attached. But Basira’s been calling the dad and mum Mister and Madam and then there’s this other cow that we call Mister Blobby because it is… not the cutest… and it’s also kinda creepy. So if you wanna name the baby go ahead.”

As if today couldn’t get any better! “Really? Are you sure? A name is such an important thing and I wouldn’t want to take that away from you even though you just said you don’t really do names. B-but at the same time I would be honored to name her… again if you’re completely okay with it that is.”

“Martin, I am more than okay with you naming a cow that I wasn’t even intending on naming in the first place. I mean, if you don’t want to name her that’s completely fine too-”

“No! I, uh, *ahem* Oh, well, if you put it that way,” Martin smiled as the calf pulled away from her mother and moo'd quietly. “Aww, hey there, little one. What should your name be?”

The calf tilted her head and carefully ambled her way over to where Martin and Daisy stood, much to Martin’s excitement. He watched as she first sniffed at Daisy’s feet then rammed her head against Daisy’s leg. “Oi! None of that!” Daisy said, gingerly pushing the curious cow back. “You gotta teach them not to push you around while they’re still young or else they’ll just keep on doing it. And you don’t want a fully grown cow that thinks it’s okay to headbutt you. So don’t be afraid to push her away if she starts doing that.”

“Got it,” Martin replied, reaching down and burying his fingers into the soft caramel fur of the little calf. Ohhh it was like touching a cloud! A warm cloud that had been floating in the late summer sky, perfectly warmed by the golden setting sun. Maybe he could name her after a type of cloud? Oh! What was the word cloud in Gaelic? It started with an S right? Or he could possibly derive a name from the warm color of her fur? Maybe he could just watch her for a bit and learn what her mannerisms are. He didn’t have to come up with a name right now, did he?

“Um, Martin?”

“What?” Daisy’s voice pulled Martin out of his thoughts and he lifted his head up to see her poorly concealed smirk.

Daisy snickered and cast her eyes down to the floor, “She’s nibbling at your shoelaces, mate.”

Martin instinctively tugged his foot away but was met with resistance as the baby cow tugged back. “Oh no no no no, sweetie, don’t do that!” Carefully he bent down and pulled on his shoelace until the calf relented, instead choosing to sniff at his hands. “Awww, I think she likes me, Daisy!”

“Looks like it. Well, I’m going to go check the chickens for eggs so shout if you need anything.”

“Alright! Now let’s get acquainted with one another, shall we? My name’s Martin and you… are going to get a proper name… eventually.”

Today was what Jon secretly deemed 'Critique Day' in the library which meant that it was the day Elias came in and gave his very pointed opinion of Jon’s work in the library. Not like he didn’t do that basically every day, but what made Critique Day different was that Elias stayed for much, much longer than he did other days. It was now nearing hour three of this blasted visit and Jon was nearing the end of his rope.

“As I said before, I amend you on the progress of your… makeshift museum.” Elias mused as he circled around the podiums containing old artefacts uncovered by one M.K. Blackwood. “You’ve really started to fill up the place, but I feel as if you need to put more effort into the information presented here. For example: this old war medallion. You’ve written a small summary of who found it, where it was found, and which war it was from but you need to add context. Include more about the war and why the soldier who once possessed this earned it. What rank the soldier might’ve been in and such. In order to properly learn about an item you must know the full picture. Another example is right here-”

Jon absolutely could not care less. Nobody even read the small pieces of paper taped to the podiums and tables. They’d usually come in, ooh and ahh at the artefacts and gemstones, take a few pictures, then leave. And though he’d wish visitors would appreciate the showcases more, it was still nice to have more people coming to the library. Plus sometimes he’d be able to rope some visitors into checking out a book or two while they were there.

As Elias’ voice droned on about ‘proper museum etiquette‘ as he worded it, Jon slyly pulled out their phone to distract themself, surprised to see quite a few texts from Daisy.

Alice ‘Daisy’ Tonner: Hey, that Martin guy you constantly text me about is coming to the ranch later if you want to skip work and come too.
Alice ‘Daisy’ Tonner: Okay, since it's been half an hour with no reply I'm guessing you're not coming but just letting you know that he’s here now and he wants to name the new calf. Making it a bigger deal than it needs to be if you ask me.
Alice ‘Daisy’ Tonner: He keeps calling them ‘good cows’, do you know what that’s about?
Alice ‘Daisy’ Tonner: Okay, I backed away so I could do some work with the chickens but he looks absolutely smitten. Do you want me to take some pictures for you or something?

Jon’s heart raced as he read the texts and thought about Martin falling head over heels for the adorable little baby highland cow. In the many talks they’ve had together, Martin had once gone on a whole tangent about how they were his favorite animal ever, excitedly explaining all the information he learned about them during rabbit hole research and constantly calling them good cows.

Their fingers couldn’t move fast enough as they typed out a reply while Elias had his back turned, focusing on a small piece of cubic zirconia displayed on a low shelf and assessing how to better the small exhibit.

Jonathan Sims: Daisy, if you send me pictures of Martin with the baby highland cow I’ll clear all of the library debts you’ve accumulated.
Jonathan Sims: I’m being completely serious.

Daisy couldn’t help but bark out a laugh at how Jon was able to convey his usual serious tone over text and replied back with a thumbs up emoji. “God, he has taken quite a shine to this guy, hasn't he? Heh.” Martin might've come here to learn more about chicken care but it was starting to look like the whole visit was slowly turning into him fawning over a cow. Oh well, there was always next time. Plus Daisy would be able to pay of her debt to Jon with pictures of his crush.

“Uh, Daisy?” Martin’s frantic call was drowned out by the loud distraught sounds of the cows and she looked up to see the baby calf with her head stuck in the gate that led out to the yard. “I’m so sorry! She wandered away and while I was petting the mum she got her head stuck a-and- wh-what do we do?”

Daisy assessed the situation before her and sighed, pushing herself off the wall and making a beeline to the mum. “I’ll try to calm her down, you get the baby unstuck.”

“But wait, how do I do that?!”

“Calm down, it’s easy, I’ve had to do it plenty of times before. Stupid goats never seem to learn. Just put your hands on the sides of her head then gently twist and pull,” Daisy instructed as she distracted the mum with some sliced up apples she had stored in her pockets, “Don’t go too fast, you might frighten her and make things worse. And remember to keep in her line of sight so she doesn’t freak out on you.”

“R-right, on it!” Martin looked down at the distressed calf and moved to her side, crouching down and doing as Daisy told him. “Hey there, girl. It’s alright, you’re alright. Just going to get in here and… help you out, okay?”

The calf huffed and squealed in response, trying desperately to free herself from the fence with no results. With cautious hands, Martin grabbed the calf’s head, tilting it until it was parallel with the bars of the wooden gate, and slowly pulled. The mum whined and tried to get to her calf but was held back by Daisy who whispered calming words and stroked her head in response. After a few agonizing seconds, Martin tugged the calf free and she instantly sprinted to her mom seeking comfort after the rather traumatic event.

“Great job, Blackwood,” Daisy praised, slapping a firm hand on Martin’s shoulder, “You’re a pro cow handler already.”

“O-oh, thanks. That was,” Martin gulped and straightened his back, “That was intense.”

“Yeah, handling animals can be like that. You gotta use tough love a lot of the time but you did well.”

“Heh heh, yeah. Thanks, Daisy.” But he’ll probably stick to chickens first then work his way up to a cow. At least he now knew that he could deal with bigger animals to some degree.

A small moo and the feeling of something soft and warm rubbing up against his leg caught Martin’s attention and he looked down to see the calf enthusiastically nuzzling up against his leg. It took an embarrassingly long amount time for his brain to process what was happening but once it finally caught up, Martin cooed and bent down. “Oh, are you thanking me for getting you out? You’re very welcome.” The calf moo’d once more and walked forward, straight into Martin’s open arms. “Oh my gosh, you are the absolute sweetest little thing. Aren’t you? Daisy! Daisy look, she likes cuddles!”

Daisy smiled and leaned against the mother cow’s side, pulling out her phone and nodding along. “Why don’t you try and pick her up since she seems comfortable enough with you.”

“O-oh? Is that alright? How- how do I-?”

“One arm under her neck, the other under her rear, then lift with your legs.”

Martin nodded and once again did what he was told, smiling broadly as the calf let herself be swept off her feet.

“There you go! Now smile.”

Alice ‘Daisy’ Tonner: Hey, Sims
Alice ‘Daisy’ Tonner: image.jpg
Alice ‘Daisy’ Tonner: Here you go. Don’t forget about our agreement :P

“Now, I hope you’ll listen to my advice about how to get this place into better shape. I’m sure more people will come and visit if you do so- Jon, are you even paying attention?”

“Wha-?” Jon nearly dropped their phone at Elias’ voice. “Oh, um *ahem*. Yes, of course, Elias. I’ll be sure to do everything you’ve suggested so far,” they lied.

“Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me I must get going. Have a nice rest of your day.”

Jon forced a smile until he heard the chime of the bell indicating that Elias had left. Letting out a breath he didn’t even realize he was holding, Jon held up his phone again and looked at the photo in infatuation.

It was a simple picture, Martin was wearing his usual long sleeve work shirt paired with some denim dungarees, grinning ear to ear while he was holding on tight to the currently unnamed baby calf sticking her tongue out. And Jon wouldn’t be lying if they said they’d be able to stare at this image for hours on end because oh god this was the absolute most adorable thing they’ve ever laid their eyes on. And that wasn’t an exaggeration. Well… it was tied with any and all pictures of the Admiral. But it was a very close tie.

Jonathan Sims: Daisy.
Jonathan Sims: I owe you my life.
Jonathan Sims: However, you still owe me for your library bills. So keep them coming.

Alice ‘Daisy’ Tonner: Don’t worry. Plenty more where that came from.
Alice ‘Daisy’ Tonner: I think he wants to name the calf Butterscotch lol
Alice ‘Daisy’ Tonner: Don’t tell Martin this but I think I’ll sell her to him when she’s grown enough. He’s pretty good at handling her so far so I'm sure he'll take good care of her.

A fast rush of warmth flooded into Jon’s whole body and they beamed. Martin would be absolutely thrilled to hear this and Jon would be more than happy to listen to him be thrilled. For the rest of the day, Jon aimlessly wandered around the library, ignoring Elias’ earlier words and eagerly awaiting for more photos of Martin’s time with Butterscotch.