Planting seeds

The summons came at the worst possible time.

Billie was halfway through a cigarette in one grimey alleyway when her phone buzzed, the upbeat ringtone she’d set for Dove jarring against the scene. She sighed, letting her head fall back against the rough stone wall as she flicked her cigarette away, and picked up the phone.

“Billie!” Dove’s cheerful voice came through loud and clear. Even over the phone, they radiated warmth.

“Dove,” she drawled back, feigning indifference. “Didn’t think you had my number memorized.”

“Oh, I have everyone’s number memorized.” Dove chuckled. “I was wondering… if you’re free, I could really use some help at the Heavenly Embassy.”

Billie cringed. The Heavenly Embassy? She’d heard enough about it to feel queasy; she could practically smell the floral ambrosia from here. “Help? What do I look like, a gardener?”

There was a small silence, and Billie could practically hear Dove’s pouting over the line.

“It’s not just gardening,” they said after a moment. “But the flowers are from the heavenly meadow. They’re… delicate. I need someone I can trust. And you’re always so careful with things that are… delicate.”

Billie sighed, biting back a snarky reply. Something in her softened, remembering Dove’s wide-eyed optimism about Burrowgatory, how they managed to see beauty and worth in everything. And it’s not like she had anything else on her schedule.

“Fine,” she said at last. “I’ll be there. You owe me, though.”

---

Billie arrived at the Heavenly Embassy a half-hour later, hands shoved deep into her jacket pockets as she glared up at the soft glow of the greenhouse, which stood atop the Embassy like a beacon. She was impressed despite herself; she hadn’t expected it to look so... put together. It was a strange blend of angelic elegance and Burrowgatory’s natural grit, as though someone had taken a piece of heaven and dunked it in the chaos of the underground city. She could almost feel the pureness radiating from the place.

“Billie!” Dove called out, waving enthusiastically from the doorway.

“Yeah, yeah, keep your halo on,” she muttered, reluctantly trudging over.

Inside, the air was warm, almost humid, and Billie found herself hit by the scents of flowers so intensely vibrant that it felt like she was being wrapped up in silk and honey. She scowled to keep up her disaffected image, but she couldn’t help glancing around in awe. Flowers lined every shelf and spilled out of hanging planters, filling the air with a kaleidoscope of colors and a faint, shimmering glow.

“Oh wow,” she said without meaning to, her gaze lingering on a particularly luminous patch of blossoms that seemed to pulse with a golden light. “These things… they’re really something.”

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” Dove said, all bright-eyed as they gestured for her to join them by a large, soil-filled table where rows of seed packets were laid out.

“Don’t expect me to say that,” Billie muttered. “I didn’t come here to play with flowers, Dove.”

“Good, because you’re here to plant them,” Dove replied cheerfully, pushing a small trowel into her hand.

Billie huffed. “Right, because I know so much about gardening.” She hesitated, glancing down at the delicate seeds nestled in Dove’s hands like the last remnants of something precious. Her fingers hovered over them uncertainly. “Aren’t you afraid I’ll, you know, mess it up?”

“Nope!” Dove’s grin was as confident as ever. “I believe in you, Billie.”

Billie rolled her eyes. “Yeah, yeah. Hand ‘em over, then.”

She took a seed packet Dove offered her and squinted at it. The seeds inside looked almost… alive. They glowed faintly, like they were humming with energy just waiting to be released. A weird little thrill went through her at the idea of planting something so precious.

“So,” she said, hoping to hide her awe, “what do I do?”

Dove stepped closer, leaning over the soil and scooping out a small mound with their own trowel. “It’s simple. You dig a little hole, pop a seed in, cover it with soil, and then water. They need gentle hands, though.”

Billie grunted, concentrating as she mimicked Dove’s motions. It was strangely calming, digging into the soil and feeling the cool earth against her fingers. She placed a seed in one of the holes, half-expecting it to combust under her touch, but it nestled in just fine.

“Good!” Dove encouraged her, their eyes bright with approval. “See? You’re a natural.”

“Natural,” Billie scoffed, but a small part of her felt oddly pleased.

They worked in a peaceful rhythm, Dove explaining the properties of each flower with genuine excitement, and Billie, trying her best to look disinterested, occasionally leaning in a little closer to catch Dove’s words.

“Okay, and this one?” she asked, holding up a packet marked ‘celestial bloom’.

“Oh, those are tricky,” Dove replied, nose wrinkling slightly. “They require just the right amount of light and careful watering. They used to only grow in places where the heavenly light was the purest.”

“So… like, how the heck am I supposed to keep this thing alive in a damp, underground greenhouse?” Billie grumbled, squinting down at the seeds.

Dove gave her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. “Think of it as a challenge.”

“Right, because I needed another one of those,” Billie muttered. Still, she planted the seeds anyway, feeling a flicker of satisfaction at getting them in just right.

Dove laughed softly. “See? You’re doing great.”

They worked in silence for a bit, until Dove’s voice broke the quiet. “You know, I think it’s beautiful… planting something, knowing it’ll grow.”

“Yeah, well, we’ll see about that,” Billie replied, but her tone lacked the usual bite. “Dunno if I’m really the nurturing type.”

“You don’t give yourself enough credit,” Dove murmured, scooping soil with a practiced ease. “These plants, well, they’re a lot like you.”

“Oh, great,” Billie said sarcastically. “I’m a delicate little flower now?”

“Maybe not delicate,” Dove admitted, laughing. “But rare. And capable of blooming in unexpected places.”

Billie felt her cheeks heat up and quickly looked away, focusing on the plants. “You know, Dove, I think you spend way too much time up here with these flowers.”

Dove chuckled. “They’re my friends. Just like you are, Billie.”

Billie froze, her hand poised over a row of newly planted seeds. “Yeah, well, maybe you should choose your friends more carefully.”

But Dove just smiled. “Nah. I think I made a good choice.”

For a moment, they fell into silence again, Billie concentrating on patting down the soil around a cluster of delicate blue seedlings while Dove tidied up the space around them.

“Hey, Billie?” Dove spoke up after a while.

“What?”

“You’re getting dirt everywhere.”

Billie looked down at herself, where streaks of dirt marked her clothes and face, even her horns, which looked dustier than usual. “It’s a greenhouse, Dove. I’m pretty sure dirt’s allowed.”

Dove snickered, wiping a smudge off Billie’s nose. “It’s allowed on the plants, not on you!”

Billie swatted Dove’s hand away, though she couldn’t keep the smirk off her face. “Well, maybe you should’ve mentioned that earlier.”

With a laugh, Dove passed her a small watering can. “Here, give those seedlings a drink. Just a little bit, though. We don’t want to drown them.”

Billie followed Dove’s instruction, watering the seeds carefully. “They’re lucky, I guess,” she mumbled. “Having someone like you to care about them.”

“They’re not the only ones, you know,” Dove replied softly, their gaze lingering on Billie with warmth.

Billie hesitated, feeling the weight of those words. Her usual snark was nowhere to be found, and she simply looked down, focusing on the tiny, glowing sprouts beginning to peek through the soil. 

“Thanks, Dove,” she said, her voice quieter than usual. “For, you know… this.”

Dove beamed, their face lighting up with pure, honest joy. “Anytime, Billie. Really.”

They worked until the greenhouse was filled with rows of freshly planted seeds, each one holding the promise of something beautiful. And though Billie would never admit it, she felt lighter leaving than she had when she’d arrived.