[Gift] A Different Kind of Bouquet

As the days counted down to Matentines, Azrael was seeing the changes in the store products and it was causing an itch under his skin. He couldn’t quite tell what type of itch it was at first like he’d been able to when he knew that he needed to make a bouquet for Kuchinashi. In that case, he’d known that he wanted to do it; but when it came to gifts, candies, and cards he wasn’t entirely sure for nearly the first two weeks. He’d found it sweet when Kuchi had come to him after a hard day with it, but when he looked at the isles of Matentines-specific items, Az felt like if he bought any of them for his beloved PrideBun he’d just be… He’d just be buying into the capitalistic undertones of the holiday instead of the romance he was trying so hard to convey in an unfabricated and truly genuine way.

So most days he left the shops after completing a normal errand with a sigh and shaking out his fur to get rid of the strange stim it gave him. However, there was something different today. When he’d entered The Citrusy Cream Parlor out of habit for a little bite of feel good ice cream,  there was the smallest display of  intricately detailed roses of chocolates, stems and all. The fact that Limon, especially as an independent business owner, had apparently branched out into chocolate flowers for Matentines made him feel a little less crazy about the capitalistic undertones of the holiday. Here, he could support someone he knew, appreciate their craft, and get something special for someone he loved very much all in one go. The metaphorical itch under his skin settled into a soothing warmth: he’d made up his mind. 

“May I ask if you can do more than the traditional roses?” He asked as he looked over their display not seeing any other variety of flowers. 

“A hello would be nice, Azrael.” Limon laughed while rolling her eyes. “But yes, I can do custom flowers. It’ll just cost you extra.~” She looked him up and down flirtily, and he could feel his mouth set into a straight line.

“Again. Not interested.” It was a bickering match they got into every time he came here if she was feeling randy; and it had become scripted for him by now so it was honestly pretty pleasant. She just laughed and rolled her eyes again, already having known the answer. 

Clicking her tongue she replied, “Always worth the shot. So what’s the special order?”

He wasted no time rattling off the order, “Clovers, Clover flowers, Queen-Anne’s-Lace,Hydrangea, Anemone, and Forget-Me-Nots.” He stopped and looked over the roses again. “You know what toss in a few roses as well, it’s fitting for the season I suppose.” 

“Ooooo.~ That’s a large order, Mister Medic. Got a special bun this year?~” There she was being nosey again.

“None of your business. What’s the price?”

Snickering, she tapped away at her register and hummed before telling him. “Well that would be 1.2K carats due to the specialty requests, large quantity of flowers due to it being a faux-bouquet, and the variety. Buuuuuut, I’ll downgrade the payment to 400 carats if you go get me a coffee from The Daily Grind, my usual. I got banned yesterday and it’s still not up.” She sighed dramatically and batted her eyelashes at Az. 

“I’ll be back tomorrow morning for the chocolates, and I’ll bring your abomination with me.” Then he was gone, leaving Limon to make his monstrous order. 

And he did return just as he’d promised the next morning, right at opening. He looked over the chocolates and smiled. “They’re perfect, thank you.” With that and nothing more he set down one of the three drinks he was holding, the rest of his payment, and left the store. 

From there he made a beeline toward Kuchi’s burrow. The gardens weren’t open yet; but he had a key to the front door so he let himself in. Waving at Shuichi who was already up and about getting things ready for the day. The GreedBun wasn’t surprised to see Azrael this early, it wasn’t common but sometimes he came to wake up Kuchi sweetly. Must just be one of those days. 

Easily making his way across the Communal Burrow to Kuchi’s door he didn’t knock this morning. Usually he would, but he wanted to make sure to give his darling love the best wake up he could. Slipping into the room, he sat down on the bed and smiled when he saw that the other had decided to sleep as a bun today. He set the gifts on the PrideBun’s side table. Then, Gently petting the small one with his skeletal hand he murmured out, “Good morning, my little love.” He smiled and leaned down to kiss the other’s fluffy head. 

Kuchi began to stir, blurry eyes blinking open to see who the hell had woken them up. The slightly grouchy look on the furry little face changed immediately when they saw Azrael sitting on the side of their bed. With a squeak, Kuchi became a doll and wrapped their strong arms around Azrael’s shoulders dragging him down. Laughing softly, Azrael nuzzled into the other’s tattooed neck. “Morning.” Kuchi mumbled through a yawn and kissed Az’s jaw shifting them both to get them comfortable.

After a few moments of snuggling down together, Azrael could feel himself getting drowsy in the warmth and Kuchi was definitely showing signs of falling back asleep. “Uh, uh…” Az grinned and lightly pushed himself away from the other. “If you keep me here I’m going to fall asleep.” A groan and grabby hands to try and pull him back into his love’s chest was the response he got. But he just smiled lovingly and shook his head. “No, Kuchi. The coffee I brought you will go cold.”

Immediately Kuchi’s eyes popped open, “Coffee?”

“Yeah.” Az couldn’t help but feel the warmth bubble up in his chest. God how was his lover so damn cute all the time, even fresh out of bed. “I got you the hot hazelnut cookie coffee from The Daily Grind, first cup made today.~” He chimed, passing it over to them. He let them get through a few sips of the coffee, seeing them relax into waking up with the help of warmth and caffeine. “And, I got you something else.”

The joking suspicion in Kuchi’s squinted eyes was plain, but it only made Az return it with a cheeky grin. “For you, my love.~” He flourished the “bouquet” of chocolate flowers kept safely in a box before half bowing as he presented them to the PrideDoll.

“Is that…?” Kuci trailed off, eyes wide. 

“A perfect duplicate of the forever love bouquet that I made for you except as a box of chocolates? Why yes. Yes it is.” He grinned, feeling confident despite how lame he would have felt doing this same thing even a year ago.

“Az…” Kuchi looked about ready to cry, the softest smile on their face as they reached out to take the chocolates. And that was when Az knew for certain that he’d made the right choice. He’d do anything to see that look. Anything at all.