[Pursuit of Diligence 5] Welcome Home

More than enough time had passed for Marianna to sort out his feelings and mull over how he might get the courage to face Primrose again. From writing down his thoughts in a journal to talking to himself in the bathroom mirror, it was taking a lot of hyping himself up.

There hadn’t been very much communication between the two ever since the request to deliver coffee beans to Beanny at the Paradise Café. The blonde Cherubun obviously didn’t want to push it to the point where Marianna would outright cut him off by blocking him, deleting his number, etc.

No, Marianna didn’t want to do anything of the sort. He remembered the text message regarding how the flowers that he had helped with cultivating, watering, fertilizing – he was part of the entire process. All with the assistance and guidance of Primrose. There were so many other things that the Pride bun wanted to learn about the Heavenly Embassy and the culture surrounding the mysterious Cherubuns. Marianna didn’t feel like he could continue educating himself alone. 

Would it be inappropriate to just show up unannounced? Surprisingly, Marianna felt extremely nervous at the idea of simply texting or calling Primrose out of the blue after not speaking to him for another week. There was the possibility of the Cherubun being angry about it and telling him to ‘fluff off’ (as he had heard him say before only to immediately regret allowing oh-such vulgarity escape his mouth). On the other hand, it could be a nice surprise…? 

Oh! That’s it! Marianna could bring a gift, perhaps. He was decent at baking. Cooking not so much. The Pride bun felt like a flame was ignited under his tush as he scuttled to his kitchen; pulling out a thick recipe book with all the pages being handwritten by yours truly. The book contained a collection of many, many sweets, confectionaries, and treats that Marianna had collected over the years. From breads to cookies to chocolate, he had it all. Surely there was something in here that he could make that Primrose would enjoy. 

Chocolate cake? No… Primrose said that excessive amounts of chocolate made his stomach hurt.

Cookies? Too boring.

Pastries? Too bland.

Marianna flipped through the book rather impatiently. Racking his brain for anything. Literally anything that might be–

His hoof stopped on a page and his brows raised. The top of the page read ‘Petit Four’. Known for its subtle flavor and fluffiness, it was perfect for those who enjoyed desserts but didn’t possess much of a sweet tooth.

Marianna figured that this would be easier to do if he had his doll hands, so he transformed into the 6-foot tall figure that he usually took. He set the book face-up on the kitchen counter next to the stovetop before walking over to the sink to wash his hands.

All the ingredients he needed were already in his pantry and fridge: eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, milk, butter, and frosting. They were very basic ingredients, but they could be combined to make the most wonderful things. Once all of them were retrieved, he portioned them all correctly to what the recipe called for.

The oven was preheated to the correct temperature before Marianna actually prepared to make the actual sweets. He pulled out a jellyroll pan to spread both grease and flour on it.

A large bowl was then used to beat some eggs and yolks with his trusty electric mixer. Sugar was added and beaten. 

Marianna did that for about 10 minutes before throwing in flour and baking powder into the raw mixture. Then milk. And finally, once the batter was properly mixed, the Pride bun folded in some melted butter to top it all off. 

The mixture was near perfect. Marianna smiled to himself and took the batter out to spread into the greased and floured pan. 

“I hope I did this correctly…” he muttered under his breath as he slowly slid the pan into the oven. Then he set the timer to about 14-15 minutes.

While he waited, Marianna washed his hands and began doing some preemptive cleanup within the kitchen. Not too much of a mess was made, but he wanted to get a headstart. A little voice in his head made him look over at his dark phone screen. The back and forth of deciding whether or not to at least give Primrose a heads up before inviting himself over was eating at him. 

Marianna clicked his tongue, sighed, then walked over to where his phone was laid out. He picked it up and began typing a message out:

‘Hello Primrose ૮꒰ ˶• ༝ •˶꒱ა⸝ I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to get back to you since we last messaged. I’ve been doing a lot of thinking. If you’ll still have me, I’d love to visit you at the Embassy this weekend to help with harvesting the flowers we planted together. I’ll be bringing a gift, as well. I’m certain you’ll like it. Hope I see you soon.’

A few hesitant seconds went by before the ‘send’ button was pressed. It felt like tossing a bomb and plugging your ears.

The timer for the oven went off. Marianna quickly turned his attention to that, put an oven mitt on, and pulled the tray out of the oven, waving his other hand over the sweets to waft away the burning temperature emitting from the top. 

The rest of the process became easier. All he had to do now was cool them, cut them up, and then pour some icing over them. They merely looked like plain, white squares. Marianna furrowed his brows, wondering how he could make them look nicer… He rummaged through his pantry, seeing if he had any leftover cake decor. There were some little bunny-shaped white chocolates. That should do it. He could only pray that Primrose didn’t turn his nose up to these…

The weekend came, and there was still no response from Primrose. At this point, Marianna was wondering if he would ever be able to go back to how things were before. At the very least, he wanted to deliver the petit fours he baked just for the Cherubun. He could easily just leave them at Primrose’s doorstep and hope that stealing wasn’t a thing that they did at the Embassy.

The Pride bun traveled to the Heavenly Embassy in doll form to get there quicker, having no trouble finding his way. He arrived at Primrose’s home and looked around before placing it on a tiny, round end table with small flower pots around the edges. Making sure it wouldn’t fall off. A sticky note was attached on the lid with ‘Please enjoy – M’ written on it. 

Marianna hung his head slightly, turned around, and began leaving.

“... Marianna!! Wait! Please wait!”

That voice. The sullen Pride bun perked up and immediately whipped around to see the familiar blonde booking it in his direction. 

“Ha… hhah… wait… I… Hold on…” Primrose put his hands on his knees, leaning over and trying to catch his breath. Clearly not the athletic type.

“Primrose…” Marianna was about to speak, but the Cheurbun held a finger up.

“Let me…” Primrose huffed and stood up straight. “My phone… is in repairs… so if you ever texted or called me back, I wasn’t able to respond… I…” He paused, looking flustered but obviously in too much of a slight panic to hide it well, “I was really anxious the entire time we weren’t speaking… I was on my way to the gardens but then forgot something at home… and… Saw you leaving…”

The Cherubun’s eyes were getting red; shoulders shaking and his eyes unable to meet Marianna’s. “I didn’t think you’d come back…”

Without saying anything, Primrose felt the muscular embrace of the larger doll, letting out a surprised gasp. His body went stiff and his eyes widened.

“It’s okay… I forgive you… You don’t have to say anything,” Marianna muttered near Primrose’s soft ears.

“I… y-yes I do, you fool,” Primrose griped pathetically, still processing the sudden hug, “I’m sorry I… I treated you like some personal project… I didn’t think anything of it but I realized how it made you feel, and that I was wrong for that… You really are just… You’re…”

“Not that bad?” Marianna teased lightheartedly, not letting the hug go anytime soon.

Primrose scoffed, then laughed before giving in to the affection. It was awkward; the Cherubun moving his arms around Marianna’s torso as if he’d never hugged anyone before. It was the thought that counted.

“No… you’re good… Marianna… I think you’re a good bun…” Primrose sniffled, “You have a good heart…”

Marianna’s eyes opened, becoming surprised at the praise, himself. It made him feel warm… He hugged Primrose tighter, causing the smaller doll to let out a squeak.

“M… Marianna… t-too tight–”

“Oh! Sorry… Haha.”

The larger doll let go, seeing a sheepish Primrose beneath his towering height. Marianna smiled down at him and made a bold move by taking both of his hands to make him look at him. Their faces were rather close, making Primrose become tomato-red. 

“U-um… M… Marianna?”

“Primrose… I’d love to continue helping you with the garden. If you’ll have me.”

“Wh-... Ah! Y-yes…! O-of course… That’s- what you’re here for, I’m assuming… Right…”

Marianna smiled even brighter. “Great! Oh, you should probably refrigerate these…” The Pride bun walked back over to where he left the tupperware of desserts he made for the Cherubun. 

“Those are for me?” Primrose asked, joining the other’s side and reaching out for them.

“I know you didn’t see my message, but I said I was bringing you something… Even if you didn’t want to see me.” Marianna handed the container to him.

“Will you… enjoy them with me? L-later, of course…”

“Absolutely! Let’s get to work.”

The unlikely pair finally continued where they left off. Getting dressed for the occasion by putting on gardening aprons, boots, and gloves. Marianna had a hard time finding some that fit his hands, but they made it a point to dig through the supplies they had to find some large ones for him.

The Pride bun giggled, causing Primrose to squint at him in confusion. “What’s so funny?”

“I’m sorry… It’s just I feel as if I stick out like a sore thumb when I’m here. I haven’t met any large Cherubuns yet.”

“Tsk… It doesn’t matter… your size is fine to me…”

Marianna blushed a little bit before following his friend to the gardens. His expression fell to awe when he saw how gorgeous all of the flowers looked as they glistened in the sunlight. They almost appeared to have glitter on them with how shimmery and bright they were at full bloom.

“Wow… they’re beautiful, Primrose!” Marianna exclaimed as he scurried over to gently brush his fingers across some of the petals. They were soft to the touch. And Primrose didn’t bark at him for once for touching them.

“All because you helped me,” the Cherubun admitted; his tone was gentler than usual.

The amount of compliments that Marianna had received today was making him feel some kind of way… A way that he had to shove aside for now. That warm, fuzzy feeling.

Primrose handed Marianna some gardening shears, then began explaining, “So… in order to remove the flowers safely, you have to cut as closely to the bottom of the step as possible. Make sure it’s a clean cut, too. After that we’ll put them in some water buckets to keep them fresh for a while… They’ll be used for making the ambrosia later.”

“Like this?” Marianna carefully took a hold of one of the flowers in one hand, then used the shears in the other to make a slightly angled cut of one of the stems. He placed it in a bucket of water sat next to them. 

Primrose nodded in satisfaction and mimicked his companion, cutting another flower cleanly.

The two of them carefully yet diligently harvested every single plot of the important flowers that they cultivated together. Several hours (with breaks in between) had to have passed as they worked. 

There were buckets full of the now harvested flowers, ready to be taken away to be made into something vital to the survival of Cherubuns.

Marianna sat in a chair aside the gardens after removing his gloves and apron. He was drenched in sweat and gave off an odor of dirt and labor. The Pride bun leaned his head back and breathed deeply in and out. His body was exhausted, but felt fulfilled after all of that hard work.

“Here… please hydrate yourself,” Primrose spoke up as he approached, handing him a fresh, cold bottle of water.

“Ahh… thank you very much,” Marianna gratefully accepted and immediately screwed the cap open, taking several long swigs of the liquid. 

Primrose found himself staring for reasons that didn’t click. The way Marianna’s lips gingerly touched the opening of the bottle and how the water dipped down his chin, then his neck.

“That hits the spot…” Marianna sighed, lowering the bottle and smiling at the other doll.

“Y… yes… I mean, it should. It’s water, after all,” Primrose awkwardly responded.

Marianna laughed and gave the Cherubun an amused gaze. “You’re funny.”

“I- I’m not trying to be. But… if you think so, I’m flattered.” Primrose cleared his throat and drank his water.

The tall Pride bun leaned back in his seat and looked at all of the empty garden plots. “So… I’m guessing it will be a while until you’ll be planting more?”

“Not too long. There’s always a need for more, but I wouldn’t ask you to help me again since I know it’s a lot of work,” Primrose replied plainly. 

“Haha, I mean, I wouldn’t mind. But if there are others who need to learn the ways of tending to these special flowers, I won’t take up the spotlight,” Marianna joked.

Primrose couldn’t help but smile. “I’d at least like for you to join me in the final step sometime soon… For you to see it out.”

Marianna looked to his friend and nodded, raising his water bottle as if saying ‘cheers’. “I’ll be there whenever you need me, Prim.”

The Cherubun blushed at the nickname, but was quick to respond. “Sounds good… Mary.”

The two of them laughed at each other’s silliness. Admiring their teamwork as the sun shone on them at the now empty gardens. They would soon need filling again to start the cycle over.