[Comm] Final chapter

For what might turn out to be the last time for who knows how long, Ephemer was riding the elevator tower up to the Heavenly Embassy. Technically he hadn’t been ‘summoned’ or anything by Primrose, but two days had passed since Ephemer and Velvet had been to the greenhouses to help with the harvest, so Ephemer had taken it upon himself to come up on his own. 

Even if Primrose didn’t have anything for him to do today, Ephemer didn’t trust the Cherubun to take care of himself the way he’d practically forced Ephemer to. 

Ephemer got to the familiar greenhouse and pushed his way inside, calling out a greeting as he did. 

To an empty room. 

He looked around; with all those bare flower beds staring back at him, it seemed that Ephemer was the only living thing in here. “Primrose?” The Envy doll pulled out his phone, drafting up a text to the Cherubun. Wait, what if he’s sleeping, I wouldn’t want to wake him up… But what if he’s overworked himself and is passed out somewhere??

Ephemer’s anxious train of thought was derailed as a familiar voice called his name. He looked up from his phone and turned back towards the front entrance of the greenhouse to see Dove standing in the open doorway, waving at him to come closer. 

“Hi Ephemer, you’re here to check on Primrose, right?” He didn’t even have time to reply before Dove continued, answering the question that was apparently written all over his face. “There’s a separate building nearby where Primrose does all his work with turning the ambrosia into medicines. I just happened to be bringing him a snack when I saw you go into the greenhouse!” 

“So he’s okay? Thank goodness.” Ephemer sighed in relief, then chuckled a little at his own expense as Dove tilted their head in confusion. “I was really worried about him, that’s all.” 

Dove smiled up at him. “Well, Primrose is perfectly fine! Suuuuper busy, but I’ve been doing my best to make sure he takes breaks! I can bring you to see him if you want though! I don’t think he’d mind.” 

“I’d like that, thank you Dove.” 

Ephemer followed Dove out of the greenhouse and down a stone path to a building that looked like a smaller version of said greenhouse, except it didn’t have any translucent glass walls, instead built more like a normal house. The two buns went inside, and Ephemer was immediately met with Primrose pacing thoughtfully, holding a granola bar. He brought it up to his mouth just as he looked up and saw them, and froze. 

“Sorry Primrose!” Ephemer apologized immediately. “Please keep eating, I’m happy to wait.” 

Ephemer left Primrose to have his snack in peace and slowly walked around, being careful not to touch a single thing as he tried to guess what Primrose was doing just by looking at his various set-ups. It wasn’t long before the blonde Cherubun joined him, brushing imaginary specks of granola off of his pristine clothing. 

“Hello Ephemer. Dove told me you’d come to check in on me?” 

“I, um… Yes, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to imply you needed to be checked on, I just - “ 

“It’s okay Ephemer, I’m not upset.” Primrose looked up from his clothes to meet Ephemer’s gaze, face burning with blush. “Thank you… It means a lot that you care enough to come visit even when you don’t have to.” 

Ephemer blinked at him once, twice, then grinned. “Don't be silly! We’ve worked together enough that I consider you a friend.” 

Primrose’s face deepened even further and Ephemer had to hold in a chuckle. 

“Yes, okay, enough.” Primrose turned towards his myriad of seemingly random equipment, forcefully stopping the line of conversation that had turned his face bright red. “Since you’re here, you might as well help me with some of this.”

“Of course, I'd be happy to.” 

Ephemer listened carefully as Primrose gave him an overview of his processes, gesturing at each station in turn. 

“The leaves and stems of the ambrosia plants can be used to make medicines for Cherubuns. I boil the stems to extract the sap, and press the leaves to dry so I can powder them for making tea later on.” This station looked the most straightforward; a wooden press for the leaves and a free-standing element that Primrose flicked on so the pot of water on top would start heating.

“Mixing pulped petals with water and sugar results in delicious drinks that also have minor positive effects, such as curing headaches or providing extra energy.” Dove had taken this up while Primrose finished his snack; they held up the morter towards Ephemer so he could see the half-crushed petals inside. 

“And the nectar -” Primrose gestured to a set-up that Ephemer could not even begin to make sense of - “can be used to make drinks that can alter a Cherubun's physical form, similar to Beanny's experimental coffee.” 

“Or Hops’ drinks!” Dove piped in. “But of course, Cherubuns can't consume alchohol.” 

Ephemer nodded, doing his best to mentally jot down everything he was being told. “Well… I think dealing with the stems and leaves will be the hardest for me to mess up…” He walked back over to that station. “I just bring the water to boiling and put the stems in until the sap starts to come out… Right? And while I'm waiting I can lay the leaves out in the press?” 

Primrose nodded. “You turn down the temperature to ‘medium’ once the stems are in, and be ready to pick them out as soon as they start to fall apart.” He gestured at some metal tongs near the pot. “Otherwise you've got that all correct.” 

“And… you're sure you're okay with a Succubun helping with such an important step?” 

“I think you've proved yourself enough, Ephemer!” Dove turned to Primrose. “Right?”

Primrose smiled; a soft, fleeting expression that was quickly replaced with his usual proper mannerisms. “You've proved yourself more than diligent ‘enough’, Ephemer. You’ve worked hard every single time you've come up to help me, and haven't complained a single time…” 

Ephemer smiled back at the two Cherubuns and turned to his section of the counter, picking up a large leaf and gently uncurling it to prepare it for pressing. 

“And…” Primrose continued in a small voice. “We’re friends, aren't we? Of course I can trust you…” 

Ephemer didn't look back at the blonde Cherubun; he could practically feel the heat radiating off of the other's face. He just smiled, and diligently continued with his task.