[Pursuit of Diligence 6] Ambrosia Isn't As Sweet

Beep, beep, bee–!

Marianna’s large palm slapped down unceremoniously on top of the noisy digital alarm clock resting atop of his nightstand. The groggy bun turned over under his plush, cream-colored bed sheets. Not much sleep was attained the previous night due to way too many thoughts swarming in Marianna’s mind. Today was pretty important.

Not just because it was finally time to help Primrose with the final step in the journey of cultivating the Cherubuns’ precious flowers. Marianna had been hyping himself up to do something rather bold for a while. The only issue: he wasn’t sure it would remotely be a smart idea.

His train of thought was interrupted by the snooze alarm erupting from the clock, and his heart lurched into his throat. He rolled over frantically to face his nightstand with eyes that could barely open. It took a few tries for him to feel for the clock before his index finger found the ‘off’ button. The repetitive beeping finally came to a stop.

Marianna sighed and picked his phone up in a sloth-like manner from next to the alarm clock, checking to see if there were any missed calls or messages. Of course, the only one shown on the lock screen’s notification banner was from his Cherubun friend. The Pride bun’s thumb slid across the glass screen to open his messaging app. It read:

‘Good morning, Marianna. I hope you have gotten a good night’s rest and have drank plenty of water. I know I have already reminded you several times (and I… apologize for my nagging if it seems like I am doing that), but I really would like you to be present at my home today. Please be here at 8:00 AM sharp or sooner (if you wish; it is not necessary). What we are going to be doing takes a lot of preparation. Of course, we will take breaks, and I will prepare lunch for us, but no mistakes can be made as we work. I will be sure to walk you through the process before I have you do anything.’

Another message was sent 3-4 minutes later:

‘I realize that my previous message may have come off as very prudish… Please do not stress. I will not be breathing down your neck the whole time, I can assure you. I just want you to enjoy yourself today.’

Marianna’s heart fluttered and his cheeks felt warm. Even though the grammar and writing style of Primrose might come off as painfully formal to most, he could feel the kindness and encouragement through the phone. 

Ah… this only made it more difficult to think about. A Succubun… and… a Cherubun…?

Such a concept was foreign… although Marianna's brain felt like it poked itself remembering his visit to Dove and Jackal’s apartment. Those two were roommates. Well, he didn’t want to assume anything, but… They could very well just be living together; considering Dove didn’t really have anywhere else to live (the Embassy was an option, but she preferred Burrowgatory).

Maybe Marianna did have a chance after all?

After a hearty breakfast and a hot coffee, Marianna headed to the Heavenly Embassy in the nick of time. His social media feed was very intriguing today, so he admittedly got distracted by the scrolling… It was around 7:50 AM when he arrived at Primrose’s doorstep slightly out of breath as he pressed his finger to the doorbell.

Not even 5 seconds later, the door swung open firmly. A stern Primrose looked up at a sheepish Marianna. To his surprise, though, there was not a peep of scolding thrown his way; the Cherubun’s expression softened to a more neutral one (as neutral as he could get – closer to ‘resting bitch face’). 

“You made it… and 10 minutes early at that,” Primrose stated as he stepped aside for his guest; an indication that he wanted Marianna to proceed into the house.

“I’m sorry… It would have been sooner,” Marianna apologized as he went inside, wiping his hooves on the welcome mat.

“N… no, you’re fine. I wouldn’t have really been upset had you arrived 10 minutes late, anyway,” Primrose replied, almost offended that his friend assumed he would be mad.

“Oh? That’s not very in character for you…” Marianna teased.

That didn’t even warrant a response from Primrose that time; the Cherubun simply rolled his eyes and motioned his hand in a beckoning gesture.

“I have everything set up in my cellar; if you please,” Primrose stated before turning his back and walking to a hallway leading to the back of the house.

As Marianna moved forward to follow, he caught a glimpse of a little plastic display stand on the counter separating the living room from the kitchen. There, he could see some of his leftover petit fours he had baked. Out of the 10 or so that he made, only 2 were left…

The Pride bun’s chest welled with, well, pride. Perhaps Primrose was saving them to eat together?

“Marianna, are you coming?” the Cherubun called from the hallway.

“Eh– y-yes! Be right there.”

Marianna scurried, finally catching up to his host. The two of them entered the stairway to a cellar. It didn’t feel creepy like the ones you saw in horror movies where there were cobwebs and creaky steps. It almost smelled of wood and pine, and there wasn’t a speck of dust to be found.

Upon reaching the bottom step, what looked like another home was all set up down here. The only difference was that there was a lab-like setup against the back wall.

Marianna accidentally let out a chuckle, causing Primrose to whip his head around to shoot him a concerned stare. “What? What’s the matter?”

“Nothing. Nothing… I just–” Marianna thought for a moment, wondering if the Cherubun would even understand the joke, “I didn’t think you of all people would have an entire drug making lab in your basement!”

“H-huh!?” Primrose’s face grew red with shock, “How absurd! Ambrosia is FAR from a drug. We need it to survive unlike how Succubuns indulge themselves in cheap booze and–”

Marianna’s face fell into a nervous smile, thinking he could have kept that one to himself… Only until Primrose realized how ridiculous he sounded right now. And prejudiced.

“Agh, you… You were just making a joke… I’m sorry…” Primrose sighed and groped the bridge of his nose, then looking up at Marianna with genuine guilt. ‘Rome wasn’t built in a day’... Whatever that meant.

“I-It’s fine, Prim… I’m excited for you to show me how this is done,” the Pride bun assured him, putting his hands up and then laying one of them on the other’s shoulder to guide them over to the organized setup.

The two of them ended up standing in front of the long table. On the surface, a plethora of supplies was present: what looked like a hot plate, a pot of water, 3 bowls of flower stems, dried leaves, and petals, and what almost appeared to be something similar to what you would use to whisk and brew matcha tea. 

Marianna looked extremely quizzical when examining everything, only to be snapped out of his confusion by his fellow host.

“Did you wash your hands before you came here?”

“Hm, oh, yes, but I did touch your doorbell and–”

“That doesn’t matter, as long as you did. We’re going to put these on anyway.”

Primrose handed the Succubun a pair of gloves to put on, then put on his own pair before they got to the demonstration.

To start off, Primrose showed Marianna how to gingerly extract the sticky sap from the ambrosia stems into a medium size pitcher. It looked like a creamy / milky substance along with the coloring being similar. Next, it was showcased how to grind up the dried leaves into a powdery consistency with a hefty pestle and mortar. The smell was pungent yet earthy, making Marianna scrunch his nose at the sudden scent.

The Pride bun carefully and only a little clumsily followed in Primrose’s figurative footsteps, but he didn’t make any glaring mistakes. His movements were enough to make the Cherubun feel the need to take a hold of Marianna’s hands, though, to guide them through the first part of the process. This, unfortunately, made Marianna even more distracted than focused.

“... Um, Marianna? Are you listening to me?”

“Huh? Oh, yes, sorry, you said… To… Ah…”

Primrose clicked his tongue and gave Marianna a gentle nudge with his elbow. “If you’re getting bored, all you need to do is be honest.”

“That’s not– no, not at all! I promise I’m trying to listen… This is, um, just really difficult since it’s my first time…” Marianna cleared his throat realizing how that might come off, but to his relief, a Cherubun like Primrose wouldn’t be familiar with unintentional innuendos.

“It’s okay, really… I’m just glad you’re here…” Primrose looked to the side. Not breaking out in a blush quite yet, but there was something in his eyes hidden as he turned.

“I’m glad to be here too, and I mean it,” Marianna promised, finishing up his batch of leaf grinds. “See? I’m not that terrible at this. Especially when it comes to mushing stuff up.” He jokingly put a hand over one of his biceps and flexed with a toothy grin.

Primrose made the mistake of turning his head back around when the Succubun showed off, which was what finally made his face turn red. “Y-you don’t have to do that, I’m fully aware of your physique! … I-I mean, I–”

“Pffft, hahaha! I’m kidding, I’m kidding, Prim… Do you want to show me the next steps?”

“Tsk… you…” Primrose grumbled and rolled his shoulders. “Yes, as we were…”

Getting back on track, the two of them mashed the flower petals into a pushy pulp. The smell was almost acidic in nature but it was pleasant in a strange way. Marianna had the urge to ask if they could make a scented candle out of it, but he refrained. His joke passes were running low, probably.

“Okay… now that everything is prepared, this is the most important step,” Primrose stated, “Are you ready? Pay close attention and do exactly as I do.”

Marianna nodded enthusiastically, urging his arm to stay down from saluting. “Yes, sir!”

As the ‘final act’, Primrose walked the Pride bun through taking the mushed up petal pulp, and scraped it into a fresh, clean bowl. After that, he added an exact pre-measured amount of water, half a cup of sugar, and what looked like a handful of mashed berries. It was like… making a fruity herbal tea almost?

Marianna had his own clean bowl, observing Primrose intently as the Cherubun verbally explained as he worked. Mixing the pulp, pouring in water, sugar, and then some mashed up berries. Again his hands were a bit large so it was difficult to do it as delicately as Primrose, but he still got it done. It all smelled really good!

“Really superb job for this being your first time…” Primrose complimented the Pride bun, and then shook his wrists out before grabbing another batch of stems, leaves, and petals. “Now then, we need to do this a few more times before we take a break.”

Marianna blinked and felt a drop of sweat fall down his temple, “H… How many more batches do we need to do?”

Primrose gave him a side glance with a hint of a smirk, “What, you thought this was the only one? Do you not remember my text message saying the process was going to be long?”

“Aha… right…” Marianna sighed, looking near regretfully at all of the ingredients. 

Though, the regret quickly faded when Marianna looked to Primrose, who was humming with satisfaction. This was the most content he had ever seen the Cherubun… He hoped that he would have more moments like this with him.

“Well, what are you waiting for? I thought you were big and strong enough to power through this,” Primrose teased, which came as a shock to the accompanying Succubun.

“Er– Yep…! You know it!” Marianna’s voice nearly reached a pitch that it never hit before.

The true magic eventually happened when Primrose showcased the final touch to an ambrosia mixture. Something similar to what Hops used to make seasonal spring drinks, but consumable by Cherubuns. Turning the final concoction into a green-tinted, flowery liquid. Marianna’s eyes glimmered in awe. He wanted to sing praises about the result, but all that came out was a grumble from his stomach.

That was the first time you would ever hear Primrose let out a snort, then a short laugh. “I guess that’s our queue to take a break?”

“Y… yeah.” The sweet yet herbal smell of ambrosia triggered the hunger Marianna was neglecting for the past hour or two.

It was a tedious task; breaking down all of the flower parts and repeating the process, but it was worth it to get to taste the homemade, cutely cut sandwiches that Primrose provided for their lunch break. Along with some freshly squeezed lemonade and, just when Marianna thought he’d never ask, the last two petit fours. 

As Primrose licked some of the icing from the petit four he ate off his lips, Marianna couldn’t help but stare.

“Mm… Marianna, could you pass me a napkin, plae–” Before Primrose could ask, he noticed Marianna avoiding eye contact. Though, it came across as another reason to look away.

“... You know, I could tell something was on your mind the whole time we were working,” Primrose admitted, “I get that what I had you do was a lot… I mean, everything I’ve had you do thus far. And yet you still agreed to help me… After all the, um… Unsavory things I said to you.”

Marianna perked up and willed himself to look Primrose in the eye. “Hey, I told you I forgave you, remember? You don’t need to worry about that anymore. I understand how difficult things have been for you, too… And, I’m really happy that I can call you my friend now.”

A short pause lingered between the two, then Marianna smiled to himself and couldn’t help but giggle at a thought passing through his mind.

Primrose raised an eyebrow, and Marianna shook his head. “I know you’re tired of my jokes… But, do you think if I drank one of your special-made ambrosias, I would turn into a Cherubun so you would like me more?”

Another moment of silence. Then slight anxiety within Marianna rose up like a champagne bottle ready to burst. “... Aha… a-again, completely joking, Prim!”

The Cherubun glared at the other doll with an intense aura. It was scaring him… Especially when he started to crawl over the picnic blanket towards him.

“Wh-whoa, hey! I-I said I was kidding!” Marianna leaned backwards and waved his hands frantically, then shut his eyes tightly. 

Then, a rather aggressive grip of his shirt collar caused Marianna to dare to open them. An expected punch to the face was instead replaced with a clumsy, startling, planting of quivering yet assertive lips onto his own. 

Was… there something in the ambrosia they brewed?