[Diligence 2] - Charlie - Special Delivery

It’s been a few weeks since Dove asked Charlie to help out in the Embassy’s gardens. From what Primrose has said, it seems like Charlie is keeping his word… kinda. Every few days, Primrose has something new to complain about in regards to the gluttony bun’s behavior. Sure, Charlie may be great with the plants, but his manners are horrible! And he keeps talking back! And he threw dirt at me one time! And so on, and so forth. Dove can’t help but be somewhat amused by the complaints, things that seem so menial yet Primrose is so vocal about. On the subject of Charlie, Primrose said something about asking him to perform the monthly tea delivery… which should be happening any moment now!

The knock at the door comes sometime in the early afternoon. Jackal isn’t home right now, so Dove sets down their current project and wanders over to answer the door. As expected, they are greeted by the familiarly grumpy face of Charlie. While no longer in his gardening gear, his clothes are still peppered with dirt stains, his hair tossed up into a lazy bun. He carries with him a beautifully-woven and pristine basket decorated with ribbons and lace - a sharp contrast from the rest of his messy appearance.

“Ding-dong, Dovey!” Charlie chirps in a sing-songy tone. “Got some uhhhh leaves, fresh from the garden. Just what the doctor ordered or somethin’”

“Oh, hey Charlie! Come in, come in!” Dove waves for Charlie to enter. He hesitates at first, not wanting to track mud into the tidy home, but does so after some urging from Dove. Just to be safe, he does his damn best to wipe his hooves off on the welcome mat.

“I’m glad you made it, I’m almost completely out of tea! Not to mention it’s been kinda lonely without Jackal here, so the company is appreciated!” Dove smiles, leading Charlie over to a little dining area. “Sit!”

Charlie obliges. He doesn’t have much of a choice, it seems. Dove appears to be determined on having him hang out for a little while… Not that he minds, frankly. Dove is certainly better company than some of the other folks here. Although if he knew this was gonna happen, he would have brought something to share. Not alcohol, Dove can’t drink that. Maybe some raw grapes instead? They can eat those, right? Oh, or maybe he could have brought some weed! Jackal would have probably appreciated that. Dove on the other hand… Charlie isn’t too sure about them. They don’t seem like much of a smoker, but he can’t say for sure.

Can cherubuns smoke weed?

Charlie doesn’t have time to ponder that any further, as Dove sets a tray of assorted snacks on the table.

“I don’t have much, sorry. We haven’t gone shopping yet this week.” Dove chuckles sheepishly.

Not much???? Charlie looks over the sweets and pastries in front of him. This is basically a full meal for him! He glances at Dove for approval before diving into the assortment of sweets. Holy shit. They had to be some kind of bougie rich people snacks, they tasted unlike anything he’d ever had before!

“Hwher didjoo git fees???” Charlie asks around a mouthful of some sort of chocolate cookie.

“Well, most of them are fron the grocery store, but I made those cookies myself!” Dove giggles. “I’m glad you like them, I don’t bake as often as I’d like to, but it’s a lot of fun!”

“YU MAFD ‘EM??” His eyes widened. He tries to say something else, but ends up choking on a bite of the cookie, almost hacking up a lung in the process. Dove lets out a startled ‘eep!’ and  thwacks Charlie on the back as hard as they can, helping dislodge the food. They pass him a glass of water, which Charlie begrudgingly accepts.

Curse his hubris.

“Are you okay?” Dove all but forces Charlie to drink the water, making him cough again.

“Cut it out, I’m fine! I’m not a baby!” He snaps, swatting away Dove’s hands. The look on their face immediately makes him regret his response. “Sorry, sorry, thank you for helping me… eeh, they’re really good, s’ all. I got excited.” Dove takes a relieved breath and smiles.

“Maybe be a bit more careful, okay?”

“Yeah, whatever.” Charlie is already reaching for another cookie. Despite how delicious they are, he can feel Dove’s gaze lingering on him and he makes an effort to eat a bit slower. Seemingly satisfied, Dove ducks into the kitchen with the basket of tea leaves. Charlie watches with intrigue as they go about their business. The kitchen is organized to a degree Charlie could never fathom keeping steady. From the few words he can pick out on assorted jars and bags, the cabinet Dove is loading the tea into seems like a spot for spices. Tea isn’t really a spice in his opinion, but hey this isn’t his house. He watches Dove stock the bags of tea leaves, keeping one of them on the counter. Before he can ask why, he is given his (admittedly obvious) answer, as Dove begins filling up a kettle with water. They meticulously measure out two servings of tea, placing the leaves into weird little strainer things, and placing the weird little strainer things into two mugs. 

It is then that Charlie realizes he’s never actually seen someone make tea before.

The kettle whistles after another few minutes, in which time Charlie had consumed all of the chocolate chunk cookies on the tray. Dove pours the hot water into the mugs, letting the tea steep for a few minutes, before disposing of the now damp leaves. They set one of the mugs in front of Charlie with a slight smile.

“It’s the least I can do as thanks.”

Charlie must admit, he’s curious about what Embassy tea will taste like. It shouldn’t hurt him, right? It’s not ambrosia after all. Doesn’t seem like the worst way to go anyways… He takes a tentative sip.

This is the sweetest, most fragrant, absolutely fucking delicious boiled leaf water he has ever tasted.