[Gift] A Skeletal Bun's Bouquet of Undying Love

Matentines… This was the first year that Azrael had put any actual thought into the holiday. Usually, he made sure to get his work done - keep the fighters healthy and satisfied - and sought to indulge his own heat in all his other waking hours.. But this year there was someone very special on his mind. A very loving flora PrideBun had weaseled their way into his heart, and he wanted to let them know just how special they were to him even if he didn’t have the words he wanted. So he found himself wandering the many flower shops of Burrowgatory. 

But instead of seeking out their premade bouquets with meanings written on their tags, the skeletal SlothDoll decided to trust his oldest hyperfixation to guide him. Az was determined to build his own custom bouquet for them instead. 

The first shop that he stepped into was extremely small; but he hoped that with its hole-in-the-wall appearance, he might find more niche flowers that other shops wouldn’t be selling. And he was correct. Immediately the clovers and their flowers caught his eye reminding him of his special bun. But there had to be more to the flowers he added to this bouquet than “it reminded me of you”. So he scoured his internal flower meaning dictionary for their meaning. 

Clover Flowers are closely linked to memory. They make a request of the receiver: never forget those you love, and please think of me.

He smiled softly, one of his glass fingers running over a four leafed clover’s leaves. Perfect. He picked up a few dozen of the flowers and the single four leafed clover he had pet earlier before searching the shop further. There were many little seen flowers, many with meanings he would never apply to his love - there’s always a need for heartbroken bouquets around this time as well after all.. And each time he gave the smallest smile as those flowers brought past lovers or unrequited loves to mind before he banished those thoughts into the deepest vaults of his mind. It was in the back of the store that he found his next blooms: mallow bunches. He tapped his glass fingers together as he recited to himself their meaning

Bunches of mallow tell a tale of being consumed by love. They are only to be given by a Succubun so swallowed by the feeling that they cannot be parted from the person without pain. Use with extreme care.

Humming to himself, Az pondered if he was ready to be stripped that bare. But it was barely a moment until he realized that we was. He’d already taken the care needed to decide, no one else had awakened the need to craft a bouquet of his truest feelings before… Which means he was already consumed just the way the mallow whispered about. Picking a few bunches of the beautiful purple flowers, he thought of how pretty Kuchinashi would look with one of those bunches tucked into their hair. He considered filling the bouquet with them, but that seemed perhaps unwise, no need to scream his desperation for them to love him as deeply as he loved them to the ceiling of Burrowgatory’s caves just yet until he knew it was returned…

He kept searching the store; but nothing else was catching his eye. Sighing he began to arrange the flowers carefully in his hand contemplating them. They weren’t enough; but they were a start. Looking up as he reached the counter, he found perfection greeting him. The soft and tiny white blooms of queen-anne’s-lace met his eyes. He felt like the air left his lungs and he couldn’t breathe for a moment. 

Queen-Anne’s-Lace’s deepest meaning is simple but easy to miss as most people only see it as a carrot top: a safe haven, a home.

He could feel the tears beading in his covered eye, and he blinked them away choosing instead to pick seven different perfect bloom-bunches for the bouquet. He wanted to make those the centerpiece because in Kuchinashi he had found his true home, for no other could compare… Not like that. Quickly paying and brushing off the soft urges of the storeowner to fill out his bouquet more before leaving, he continued on his way, nearly bolting from the store which had so deeply touched him. 

From there he began peeking into some of the larger shops hoping to find flowers that were larger that he could fill out the gift with, but nothing was catching his eye. He sighed. Too many of the shops were specializing in the many colors of roses for the simple fills that would speak volumes of most bun’s romantic feelings. It was almost an hour later when he got lucky. Weight lifted off his shoulders and he entered the shop making a beeline for the hydrangea blooms. He immediately saw the reds and pinks and white blossoms but those weren’t the ones he was looking for. His superiority complex tainted his thoughts for a moment as his frustration mounted: did most buns not understand the difference between hydrangea colors or were there just that many buns just assume they all meant the same thing? Taking a deep breath, he had to remind himself that they all did share an origin meaning and it was the details that were different and hidden in some of the much older books on flora in The Church of Sulfur. But finally he found them, the blue and purple blooms. 

The hydrangea blossom holds a unique and contradictory meaning which requires the surrounding blossoms to confirm its meaning. Generally they speak of perseverance, heartfelt emotion, and pride; but they can also speak loudly to frigidity and heartlessness. However, from each color comes a unique meaning. For the blue and purple of its family is gratitude of being understood and a desire to know another bun to their very core. In ways it is a request to be let in.

He smiled and picked a few of each arranging them carefully. He knew that he was often described as frigid and heartless by others; but the heartfelt emotion was also present in him for this particular PrideBun. He smiled and thought of the ways that Kuchinashi saw through him that others didn’t, the way that they had taken the time to truly know him, and how much he wanted to know them in the same ways. He was already beginning to; but he was convinced that no matter how many decades he spent with them he would still be learning more every single day. 

And when he turned, he found the perfect final piece: anemone. 

Anemone is another flower which needs extra care when being placed into a gift for loved ones due to its contradictory nature. It speaks to its receiver of fragility, sickness, fading hope, and being forsaken but in the right hands it can also convey anticipation and undying love. If chosen carefully they can also tell your loved one that you are looking forward to a future together forever and wish them to be protected against all evil and dangerous situations.

The SlothDoll smiled tenderly and paid for his last two bunches of flowers carefully arranging them as he went on his way and tying them in the golden ribbon that he’d brought from home. Being made of primarily purples and whites, it suited his love perfectly. He made his way towards their communal garden burrow and was stopped dead in his tracks at the entrance. Small pastel blue flowers caught his eye, and he once more stopped breathing. His fingers itched to pick them and add them to his bouquet. But he knew that he couldn’t, not without permission at least. Shuichi would have his head figuratively speaking if he so much as bruised a single petal of his precious flowers. So he shoved his flesh hand gripped his sleeve in a vice grip and he rushed himself through the gate. He needed to find the GreedBun and now. 

Luckily he ran into the older Succubun without running into his partner. He’d hate to have to hide the bouquet behind his back and tell them that it wasn’t finished - that they “had seen nothing”. Normally someone who composed himself before speaking and put much thought into everything expressed, Azrael surprised even himself when instead he simply blurted out his thoughts. “I need to pick some of your forget-me-nots to finish a Matentine’s bouquet for Kuchinashi. It’s a very important piece and nowhere else in Burrowgatory is selling them that I could find.” A pause. He realized just how quickly he had been speaking, and how demanding it could come across. Then he slowly added, “Please.”

The GreedBun simply looked him up and down and thought for a moment. “That’s fine. Just please don’t clear out a full bush, accents for your bouquet only yes?” He raised his eyebrow waiting patiently for the response. 

“Of course.” Azrael’s speech was back to its measured pace once more. “I may take one or two extra blooms for myself to press if that is alright, as they are a flower near and dear to my heart. If you allow it of course.” 

“That is fine. But I suggest you do it quickly. Kuchinashi’s support group adjourns in,” the blonde bun trailed off looking at the clock, “about ten minutes.” 

The adrenaline immediately hit. And though Azrael knew that he was good at hiding it, Shuichi - always too perceptive for his own good - began to chuckle and shooed the twitchy SlothDoll off. Az left Shuichi’s line of sight at a measured pace; but the moment that he was out of sight he was booking it back to the forget-me-not plant. Unlike with a flower shop where only the best blooms were put on display, here he had to make a careful selection of which ones were the right shades for his bouquet. While none of them were inadequate because of Shuichi and Kuchinashi’s constant attention, some weren’t quite the right shade. So he chose the best little sprigs of it that he could find and arranged them carefully through the piece so that they were accented and nearly hidden unless you looked just right. 

The Forget-Me-Not seems like a simple meaning to remember. It is true that the giver is asking the receiver to never forget them. But it goes deeper than that. The request stems from true love at its core. 

He wanted them to know that his love was true to the ends of Burrowgatory; but just like with his emotions, he’d rather have it seen only by those eyes that knew where to look. His need for safety in his lover’s presence was still in full force. And his thoughts were interrupted by the noise of chatter and laughter which entered the gardens. The Envy & Other’s Peer Support group must have just ended. He quickly pocketed a few other springs of the flower for his personal use and dipped further into the garden. He knew that Kuchi would stay in the group room for a bit to catch up with others and clean up; but he wanted to make sure that everyone else had left the room before he approached them. So he waited in view of the door until he saw the last of the peers exit and headed in himself. 

Just like Azrael thought they would be, Kuchi was still wandering around the room making sure no coffee cups were left behind and finishing up their normal cleaning routine. He waited and watched for a while, just enjoying being the fly on the wall to their calm processes. But when he was ready he called their name softly so that he wouldn’t startle them too badly, “Kuchi?” They still jumped a bit, turning to stare at him wide eyed for a split second before that familiar smile split their lip. 

Their hands immediately reached out to him “Az. I missed you in the support group today, are you okay, love?” Of course they had noticed that he was gone when he was habitually there, he lived by his habits.. It was sweet though. And he couldn’t help but feel the corners of his lips pull up just the slightest bit. 

“Everything’s alright, darling. I was just a bit busy today.” He could feel any of the tension from uncertainty fading away just from how they looked at him. “I was actually getting you something.” 

“Az…” He could hear the uncertainty. They’d agreed early on in their relationship that in most cases surprises were a bad idea for both of them. They had a tendency to make the SlothDoll uncomfortable, so it was easier just to cut them out than constantly have to worry about possibly heightening the glassy bun’s anxiety over nothing. 

“I know. I’m not breaking the rule more than once, but,” he stopped for a moment, making sure that he could convey the truth as openly and honestly as possible, “I had to go with my needs, Kuchinashi. And I’m not sure I could have put all the love into this that I did if I had told you beforehand. I promise it’s just for this.” He pulled the bouquet out from behind his back and held it out to them. “Happy early matentines, my dearest love.” 

“O-Oh.” Kuchi had frozen when they saw the bouquet. Azrael could see them blinking rapidly, trying to keep the tears back. So he stepped up to them and placed the flowers in their hands before pulling them to him so that he could wrap his arm around them. 

Kissing their cheek just under their eye, Azrael smiled up at them. “Hey.. No need to cry, love.” He pressed another kiss to their cheek and cupped their other with his glass hand. “I love you, and I,” he took a deep breath, “I finally wanted to make a bouquet for someone special in honor of matentines. For you. You’re just special, my darling… You always have been.” He immediately found himself smooshed to the other’s chest as the PrideDoll threw their arms around him for a crushing hug. 

He could hear their shaky breathing as their emotions crashed through them in waves. He let them get through the emotions mostly on their own, his hands running up and down their back as he whispered about how special they were to him. And eventually he could feel the signs of them calming down.

“I love you too, Azrael.” They whispered against the top of his head before they pulled back and dragged him into a long soft kiss. When they finally broke apart, the two Dolls rested their foreheads against each other and just breathed, taking one another in. Finally, Kuchi broke the silence. “What do all the flowers mean?” 

Azrael almost answered on instinct, then he began to chuckle. “Oh no you don’t. I know you know flower language.” His eyes narrowed playfully. “You’ll just have to dig up that knowledge or go get a book.” His grin made sure that they didn’t think he was angry; they knew that he just enjoyed the ‘game’ after all.