Growth

<Are you home right now?> 

<Yes darling, is everything alright?> 

<Yeah, I’m fine. Can I come over in an hour or so?> 

<Of course, Ari. I’ll see you soon.>

Ari slid his phone back into his pocket, and looked at the two Sweetinea watching him expectantly. “Okay, okay, c’mon then.” Silent other than the excited fluttering of wings, Sweetpea settled herself between Ari’s horns while Emelia crawled into the bag Ari hoisted over his shoulder. He looked back at the other imps scattered around his room, then pointed at Miira. “You’re in charge like usual.” Then he left his room, closing the door behind him and heading down the stairs. “I’ll be back later,” he called to his roommate, waiting for the returning acknowledgement before finally leaving the house. 

The air was warm, and a gentle breeze ruffled his hair. Ari checked his phone to confirm the address of his destination, and decided that it was close enough to walk, considering how nice the weather was. 

But before he could start his journey, Ari had a detour to make. 

As he headed closer and closer to the familiar sweets shop, his Sweetinea left their chosen spots and began flitting about his head. This was the real reason they came along; Ari didn’t do it very often, so every time he treated them to cheap candies the Sweetinea acted like it was the best day of their lives. 

“Okay ladies, if you don’t behave, you don’t get anything.” He scolded them lightheartedly, not opening the front door to the shop until the imps settled - if treating his body like a racetrack could be considered settling. At least they weren’t flying around like they were going to attack any passersby. 

Ari smiled at the bun behind the counter of the candy store, gesturing in mock-resignation at the two Sweetinea practically shaking in anticipation. The shop owner laughed in response, quickly showing Ari where he could pick up the heart-shaped candies that all Sweetinea loved so much. He made his purchase in record time, barely making it out of the shop before Sweetpea tried to divebomb the bag he was holding. Ari was able to catch her, halting her path of destruction - a moment of distraction that Emelia took advantage of as she crawled up Ari’s arm to the bag in his hand and began nibbling.

Ari laughed at his imps’ antics, barely managing to give them each a candy before they succeeded in their attempts to make him spill everything. Ari continued his journey, pulling out heart after heart to feed the sweet-toothed ‘sisters’ as he made his way to where he’d been planning to go all morning. 

This flower shop was one of the smaller ones in this part of Burrowgatory, which is why Ari picked it. Was he shopping for a Matentines gift? Yes. Did he want to deal with other buns shopping for Matentines gifts? Not particularly. 

The florist was very helpful. Ari told them a few ideas he had for what emotions he wanted to get across, and they were quick to recommend flowers that not only conveyed what he was looking for, but they also looked good when bundled together. Ari made his purchases, then tucked the bouquet carefully into his shoulder bag alongside the more skittish Sweetinea, and called for an Ubun to take him to his final destination. 

Ari arrived about five minutes before his estimated time. He headed up the stairs to the now-familiar home, knocking on the door before shifting his bag slightly so his carefully curated surprise was more hidden. 

Sebastian opened the door right away, looking as fancy and put-together as he always did. “Ari, hello.” He looked Ari up and down, furrowing his brow slightly. “Are you sure everything is okay? I was worried.” 

“Everything’s fine, Seb. Can I come in?” Before Sebastian could answer, Sweetpea shot into the house, landing on the winged cloak hanging near the door and burrowing into its folds. Sebastian smiled, shaking his head affectionately before stepping aside and holding the door open for Ari to enter the house. 

“I brought you something.” 

“Oh?” 

Ari pulled his shoulder bag around, gently shooing Emelia - who took Sweetpea’s spot in his hair - and pulling out the wrapped bouquet. He handed it to Sebastian, and waited in silence for the other bun to open his gift.

“You got me flowers?” 

“Last time I was here, I noticed this vase was pretty much always empty.” He gestured at the vase in question, on a small table in the front hallway. It was blue and gold and just as beautiful as the rest of Sebastian’s possessions, but almost never held anything at all. “So I thought I would bring you something to make your entry feel a little less lonely.” 

Sebastian was looking at the flowers, noting the star-shaped yellow flowers, smaller pink blossoms, and cloudlike splashes of red, all surrounded by tiny white flowers on thin stalks. “They’re lovely, Ari. Let’s get them in some water right away.” 

Ari carefully picked up the vase and followed Sebastian to the kitchen, where the Greed bun filled it with lukewarm water and carefully arranged the bouquet inside. 

“Oh, here,” Ari pulled a small index card from his pocket, pink and yellow with the florist’s logo on the side. “I wrote down the meanings.” The note itself looked a little silly; Ari had long since adjusted his handwriting to compliment how flamboyant he acted at work, so it was quite loopy and feminine. Regardless, he held it out to Sebastian. 

The other bun reached up to adjust his glasses before taking the notecard and holding it with the same reverence as if it was Mercy’s holy scripture. “Yellow lilies, to symbolize gratitude and friendship. Geraniums to celebrate accidental encounters,” he smiled affectionately at Ari, causing a soft blush to warm his cheeks as he thought about the blind date that had brought them together. “Camellia blossoms for wealth and elegance, and Baby’s Breath as a thanks for support given.” Sebastian gently placed the card beside the vase, chuckling softly as Sweetpea immediately flew over and made herself comfortable on it. 

“It’s beautiful, darling. Both the bouquet itself and the thought you put into it.” He leaned down, pressing a gentle kiss to Ari’s lips. “And you even went out of your way to bring it to me.” 

“It’s no big deal, really. You get me stuff all the time, I just wanted to do something nice for you.” Ari reached up to take Emelia into his hands before she could climb from his head onto Sebastian’s. “And I had to get these two out of the house.” He nodded, gracefully overlooking Ari’s obvious emotional redirection. It was still a bad habit of his, but Ari found it getting easier and easier to push that instinct aside every time he was with Sebastian.

“Well, you came all this way, would you like to join me for lunch?” Sebastian’s Gargowl came gliding into the room, as silent as his name, and landed on Sebastian’s offered arm. Sweetpea abandoned her makeshift paper nest and landed beside him, crawling onto him with no reaction from the Gargowl. 

“I’d love to. I can’t stay too long though, I work tonight.” 

“Of course, darling. I’ll get you back with more than enough time left.” Sebastian kindly shooed the imps from his arm, then turned towards the fridge to begin preparing their lunch. Emelia lept off of Ari’s hands, following Silence and Sweetpea as they began some sort of game.

Ari, knowing he had no immediate kitchen skills to offer, took the vase and its card from the counter and went back into the front entry to put them in their rightful place. He paused for a moment, absent-mindedly fluffing the flowers as he thought about how comfortable Sebastian made him. So comfortable, in fact, that Ari’s most timid imp had trusted him immediately on her first time here, just from the way he and Sebastian acted together. 

“Ari?” 

“Coming ~” Ari shook himself out of his thoughts, and went to see what Sebastian needed. The two chatted easily as they prepared a simple - for Sebastian’s standards - lunch, and time flew to the point when Ari had to leave in order to prepare for his shift. Sebastian called him a car, thanked him again for the flowers, and gave him a gentle kiss as he bundled the Sweetinea into his arms. They made plans to meet up again for a proper date soon, and Ari found himself with a soft smile stuck on his face for the entire car ride home.