16

A day had passed since the finding of Red Rackham's treasure. The amount had been split evenly between their group, so they all had what they needed. Tintin and Juliet were able to pay their rent in advance (Which wasn't entirely uncommon with Tintin) and Juliet put the rest of it away into a savings account, should she ever need it. Tintin did the same, putting the money towards his travel funds, which always seemed to be used no matter what he did. Juliet decided that she would start making her own travel funds as well, and while the amount she had received from the treasure had been incredibly generous, she continued to work both of her jobs to accumulate more money. Tintin suggested she could quit one, so she could have more time to relax and he could have more time to get to know her, but she decided against it, saying she needed both jobs for personal reasons. Tintin left it at that, thinking that he didn't really have any business asking her why, although he very much wanted to know.

The clue they had found at the bottom of the globe had given them the coordinates to somewhere in the ocean. The captain decided to use his share to commission a crew on a new boat that would take them out to sea to get whatever it was his ancestor had left for them to find, so they wouldn't be seeing much of him for the next week, maybe longer. They were both excited about the trip and couldn't wait.

Until then, though, they would both continue on through their days. Juliet had every intention to relax during this time, preparing for their journey. The next day, she went out with her favorite blue skirt tucked under her arm, still ripped and tattered from her adventure. Tintin joined her, telling her that they would go out for lunch together after she dropped it off. She had a seamstress friend in town that could take a look at it and repair it, or at the very least, turn it into something else Juliet could wear.

"So, where do you plan on taking me?" She asked Tintin as they walked.

"I'm not sure." He replied honestly, "I was thinking we could look around whatever's nearby and just pick from there."

"Sounds like a simple idea." Juliet said with a smile.

"Perhaps it is." Tintin said, "But have you ever tried one of the restaurants around that part of town?"

Juliet shook her head, "Not really, no."

"Then it should be something new for both of us." Tintin said, holding out his arm for her to take, which she did with a smile.

"You're such a gentleman." She said, "I would have thought that after so many adventures, you would have become a tough sort of person."

"Who says I'm not?" Tintin asked, "I'm plenty tough." He puffed out his chest and Juliet giggled.

"Well, you certainly don't look like it." She said.

"In my defense, neither do you." Tintin said, "And you seemed to handle yourself well enough."

"Yes, until we got into the water." She shuddered at the memory of it.

Tintin paused for a moment, thinking. Juliet didn't really notice his silence as they came to their destination: a quaint shop that seemed to specialize in women's clothing, if the dresses in the display window were anything to go by. Juliet walked in, a small bell at the front door jingling happily as it was pushed by the door.

Only two women were inside, one who looked to be a little bit older than Juliet who had light blonde hair and bright blue eyes, and another who was significantly older than the both of them with silvery hair pulled back into a simple bun, and the same pair of bright blue eyes as the younger woman. The younger one smiled as she saw Juliet coming in and abandoned her spot behind a counter to come over and embrace her.

"Juliet, it's been ages!" She said happily when Juliet returned her embrace.

"It really feels that way, doesn't it?" Juliet said as she pulled back, "But, I'm not here to catch up. I have a job for you." Juliet held out the skirt she had kept tucked under her arm and her friend took it, unfolding it and grimacing as she saw how tattered it was.

"What in the world have you done with my clothes?!" She exclaimed in distress as she held out the skirt, "It's ruined!"

Juliet shrugged sheepishly, "Yes, it's been through a lot recently. I was hoping you could fix it?"

"Fix it?!" The girl repeated, "How?! There's less fabric to work with than before, and more than a few holes in it! What did you do?! Throw it to a swarm of piranha?!"

"Actually I got shot at by a plane when I was stranded out in the middle of the ocean." Juliet replied with a smirk.

Her friend let out a groan, "Oh, of all the times to make a joke…" She muttered, shaking her head. She sighed as she folded the clothing over her arm, "I'll see what I can do. I think we might still have the fabrics we used to make this lying around here somewhere. If we don't, I'll just change the design."

"Thanks, Agnes." Juliet said.

"Don't thank me until you've paid me." Agnes replied. She turned around to where the older woman was, "Did you hear all of that, Granny?"

"Yes, I did." The older woman replied, she waved her hand to Agnes, "Bring it here, let me see the damage." She turned and was about to do as the older woman asked when she caught Tintin out of the corner of her eye. "And what can we do for you, young man?"

"Oh, I'm not here for anything…" Tintin said, waving her off politely.

"He's just here with me, Mrs. Dubois." Juliet said.

Agnes glanced at Tintin and she smiled at Juliet knowingly, "Oh? Is he a friend of yours, Jules?"

"Don't start." Juliet said in a warning tone, "Yes, he's a friend of mine," She leaned in closer and whispered, "And yes, we have done what you're thinking of."

Agnes squealed in laughter, "Juliet! You scandalous little thing!"

"Not that thing!" Juliet squealed, smacking her friend's shoulder. "You blonde girls have such filthy minds!"

"Only because you redheads give us such naughty things to think about!" Agnes replied with a wink as she left the damaged skirt with her grandmother. She turned to Tintin, "So, what's your name?"

"I'm Tintin, it's nice to meet you." He said, giving her a polite smile.

"Tintin… that name sounds so familiar…" Agnes murmured.

"He writes for the paper." Agnes's grandmother said before Tintin could say anything, "He's a journalist. He wrote that story about that stolen scepter."

"Oh! That Tintin!" Agnes said, her eyes growing wide, "It's so nice to meet you! I'm a big fan." She quickly walked over to Tintin to shake his hand, doing a subtle hair flip in the process. "I didn't know you and Juliet were acquainted! How long have you known each other?"

"Agnes." Juliet said in a warning tone. "What did I just tell you?"

"Oh… Oh, right." She turned to Juliet with a sheepish grin, "Sorry."

"Filthy minds." Juliet said, shaking her head. She went over by Tintin's side, locking her arm with his, much to his surprise, "You've had your share of gentleman callers, Agnes and that's fine. But this one is mine, you can't have him."

Tintin blushed from her words, but didn't say anything as Agnes sighed.

"Oh, fine." She replied. She suddenly snaps her fingers, "That reminds me, how's the night shift going?"

Juliet stiffened a little bit, and she cleared her throat in her discomfort, "It's… going well." She pointedly glanced at Tintin, and Agnes caught the message.

"I thought you worked the day shift at the library?" Tintin asked, looking over at her.

"I do." Juliet said, sliding her arm from Tintin's, "Agnes is talking about my other job."

"Oh." Now that Tintin thought about it, he wasn't really sure what Juliet's second job was. He was fairly certain she hadn't mentioned it before.

"By the way, your boss called." Agnes said, "He gave us a new project. Do you want to see it?"

"Sure." Agnes led Juliet to another part of the shop that was blocked from Tintin's view. He looked over at Agnes's grandmother, who had started work on mending Juliet's skirt, using her hands to move the needle and thread to mend the holes.

"It's not often Juliet brings guests to our store." She commented, not looking up from her work. "And even less often that it's a young man such as yourself."

"Have you known Juliet for very long?" Tintin asked.

"I've known her father for some years." The elderly woman replied, "And I've known Juliet since that time. Her father would come in here and have her try on different dresses. She really hated it."

"Really?" Tintin's eyes widened in surprise, "Seems like she really enjoys wearing dresses."

"Yes, but when she was a child, she was quite the little tomboy." Mrs. Dubois said, "Ran around in little overalls, hair was always a tangled mess." She smiled fondly at the memory of it, "She and Agnes would always get along. Unless mud was involved somehow. Agnes despised getting dirty, and Juliet just loved it."

"They were childhood friends?"

"I suppose so. Although they didn't consider themselves children." She looked up at Tintin, "They were at that age when they thought they were ready to take on the world." Tintin grinned, imagining a young, childish Juliet in a pair of dirty overalls, her arms akimbo and a proud expression on her face. Mrs. Dubois turned her attention back to the skirt, "Oh, that seems like such a short time ago…" Her hands moved slowly, but fluidly as she moved the needle through the different patches in the skirt.

"So, does Agnes work with Juliet?" Tintin asked.

"Not really." Mrs. Dubois said, "Her employer chose our little shop for all his works by coincidence, but it all works out in the end."

"And what sort of works does he commission?" Tintin asked.

"I wouldn't know." The elderly woman replied, "Agnes works on the more complicated outfits these days. Her hands are faster than these." She held up a wrinkled hand to Tintin and gave him a small humorous smile before returning to the skirt.

Tintin looked up when he heard footsteps and heard the muffled sound of Juliet's voice, "…Think it would really look better with some sort of teal fabric."

"I thought that, too, but it's too blue-ish for them, don't you think?" The two girls reappeared around the corner.

"Well, what about some sort of darker green?" Juliet asked.

"I think we've got some Islamic green fabric hiding somewhere in the back." Agnes said, "Remember? I made that one little over-the-shoulder dress with it."

"Oh! I love that color!" Juliet said happily, "That would be wonderful!"

"Then I'll add that onto it." Agnes replied with a grin, "It should be finished by the end of the week, depending on how much work we get."

"I look forward to the finished product." Juliet said, smiling at her friend, "And thank you for taking care of my skirt."

"No, no." Agnes said, "Don't thank me until you've paid me. That's when it'll be perfect."

Juliet laughed, "Of course, of course. I'll see you another time."

"See you!" Agnes headed back around the corner and Juliet turned to Mrs. Dubois.

"How much will it cost me, do you think?" Juliet asked.

"No more than our usual fee." Mrs. Dubois replied.

"Wonderful." Juliet turned to Tintin, locking her arm with his and smiling at him. "Shall we get going?"

"We shall." Tintin said, starting to lead her out of the shop. Over his shoulder, he called, "It was a pleasure meeting you both!"

"Goodbye, Tintin!" Agnes hollered from her workplace, while Mrs. Dubois simply gave a simple wave goodbye.

The door closed behind them and the pair walked down the street to look for where they would have their lunch. It didn't take them very long to decide on a quaint café that was just at the end of the sidewalk. The service was quick and they ordered their food with their drinks. When their menus were taken, the two of them started to chat. Tintin started asking Juliet all kinds of questions about her; what kind of books she enjoys, her favorite kind of music, what dreams or hopes she had for the future, etcetera. Juliet had laughed at some of his questions, but she answered them all honestly. She enjoyed reading mystery novels as well as books that held historical information about the Renaissance (Which was apparently her favorite period of history), or any sort of classical literature. She enjoyed listening to jazz and swing music because she liked to dance to them. She had no idea what she was planning for the future, but she did want to someday settle down and start a family – but not anytime soon.

She started asking the same questions of Tintin, and he jokingly replied that he was so busy going off on adventures, it was rare that he got personal moments to himself to do that sort of thing. She had laughed, and he told her that he honestly enjoyed all of the adventures he was a part of, even if they sometimes interfered with his daily life.

"Why is it you never learned to swim?" Tintin asked.

Juliet shrugged, "I don't know. It just didn't really seem like something I needed to learn."

"Well, if we're to go on future adventures together, you should learn." Tintin said, "I could teach you, if you like."

"That's sweet of you to offer, Tintin," Juliet began, "But I don't think we'll end up in another stranded situation like before."

"You never know." He replied, "I think there's a coastline about two miles from the docks. We could practice in the shallows there."

"I suppose…" Juliet trailed off, not really showing any interest in the subject, so she changed it, "Do you know how the crew hunt is going?"

"Not so well, I think." Tintin said, "The captain said he didn't really get any men who were interested in sailing out with him, but it was only the first day. We just need to give it a little time."

Juliet nodded, "That's good. Hopefully we'll have a ship and crew in no time."

The couple soon finished their meal, and after they spent another two hours at the café talking, they got up and started heading back to their apartment building. They still talked the whole way. It was mostly about finding out more about each other, but there was still the idle chit-chat as well. The trip back wasn't long, and they separated at the hallway that was in between their two rooms.

Once inside, Tintin greeted Snowy and filled up his food bowl before going over to his typewriter and starting to create something of an outline for the events of the adventure thus far, so he could have something to guide him when he wrote up the article. He worked on it for a few hours, carefully adding little notes and details to different events. He had to rewrite a few of them, as he wasn't sure the public would be as interested in his moments with Juliet as he was, so he had to take them out. After a while (He wasn't sure how long – he didn't keep a clock in his office) Snowy started whining and Tintin looked up. When Snowy saw that he had his master's attention, he dashed to the front door, jumping up, trying to get his paws to the doorknob.

"Alright, Snowy. You want to go outside?" Tintin called as he got up, hearing the affirmative bark from the little terrier as he did. Tintin pulled on his coat, grabbing a toy ball so that once Snowy had relieved himself, they could both play together for a little while. As he opened the door, he saw someone heading down the stairs just by his door.

It was a woman, and a rather beautiful one at that. Her hair had been pulled up into an elegant bun, with a lock of red hair hanging just to one side, framing her face. She was wearing ruby red lipstick, and mascara had been used on her eyes to make the emerald color really stand out. Most of her clothes were hidden underneath a trench coat, but there was a light green skirt that went down to her ankles that stuck out from underneath, and he was sure she was wearing a beautiful dress.

His eyes widened when he realized just who this woman was.

"Juliet?"

She jumped and turned around and he got a better look at the make-up she was wearing. She gave him a small smile and a nod, "Good evening, Tintin."

"Where are you going?" Tintin asked.

"To work." Juliet replied, starting to make her way down the stairs again, "I should get going, I have a cab waiting…"

"You go to work dressed like that?" Tintin asked, following her. "You look like you're about to attend Cinderella's ball."

"It's just part of dress code. I need to get going, though. I'll see you another time, alright? Goodbye." She said quickly, waving off anything else he had to say as she briskly walked-almost ran-out the door into a waiting taxi.

Tintin made it outside just as the taxi drove off to another part of town. He frowned as he watched it leave, wondering just what it was that Juliet did that she had to dress in such a way for work. Snowy's whine caught his attention and he looked back to see the little terrier had already started making his way down the sidewalk. Tintin sighed as he followed behind his dog, thinking that he would have time to figure out Juliet's job at another time.

There we go! The end! Of this story. Yes, there will be a sequel, and I'm planning to make it the first Tintin story I made (Kissing Killer for those of you that don't know) but I plan on SERIOUSLY changing up a few things. It really went by too fast, and I think there should be more added to it. If any of you have any ideas of what should go into it, I'd love to hear it. :)