Primrose's Supper
Despite the visit with Dove and taking some time to water the flowers he planted, Halcyon was still full of anxious jitters for his supper with Primrose later tonight. Primrose had called him “Hal”… which he’s never done before. Pet names weren’t exactly uncommon in the Heavenly Meadow - even Beanny had several for her favorite buns and customers - but for Primrose? He may as well have just confessed his love for Halcyon right then and there! If these nerves don’t settle down before supper, Halcyon isn’t sure how much of an appetite he’s going to have.
Halcyon thinks he should bring a gift… but he hasn’t prepared anything. What would make a good gift for the cherubun who wants for nothing? Halcyon digs through his cupboards and cabinets, looking for anything that might catch Primrose’s eye. He settles on a set of beautifully crafted silverware, simple enough to not be ostentatious, but elegant enough that Primrose would appreciate it. Taking a final shaky look around the room at his imps playing and lounging about, he takes another deep breath and closes the door to his room.
Just three doors up on the opposite side, but it feels like much farther than that. The smell of cooking hits Halcyon's nose almost immediately; something savory but fresh.The soft hum of music emanates from the doorway, drawing Halcyon closer. Shaking, they brings their hoof up to knock three times on Primrose's door.
"Please let yourself in!" Primrose's muffled voice calls out.
Halcyon turns the handle and steps inside Primrose's room, which though the same size as his, seems much larger due to no imps living with him. The room is neat and orderly, just like Primrose himself. Books are stacked neatly around, with ethereal works of art hung up. A small speaker sitting on the counter plays a classical arrangement of a popular sonata they listened to in the Heavenly Meadow. In his doll form Primrose's back is turned, clearly focusing on whatever it is he's pulling from the oven. He takes the tray of pasteries out and sets them on the counter. When he turns around, he sees Halcyon in bun form staring at him with huge eyes, clutching a small package in hoof. Primrose smiles.
"You're just in time Halcyon, the cream cheese spinach puffs have just finished." He gestures to the table, already set with dishes and various appetizers and entrees. "Please make yourself at home, I'll be with you shortly."
Halcyon nods silently, and scoots over to the table. Though a bit awkward in bun form, he manages to climb up the chair and sit pleasantly. Primrose hums along to the sonata playing, and before Halcyon knows it, Primrose has set the spinach puffs down as well as some sparkling water.
"Excuse me for a moment and I'll be joining you."
In a flash, Primrose leaves for the bathroom and returns, now in bun form. He sits down, clears his throat, and smiles at Halcyon.
"I'm glad you've come to have supper with me, Halcyon. I've been wanting to share a more elaborate meal with you for a while now."
That piques Halcyon's memory, as they grab the silverware package and present it to Primrose. He takes it, looking quizically.
"I know how much you value decorum, and I've brought you a gift as thanks for hosting and preparing this experience." Halcyon says.
"That's quite alright, I would've told you if you needed to bring something." Primrose coughs. "I wanted this to still be... casual. Maybe more... intimate, but not a fancy occasion." He looks away, blush tinting his pale cheeks. Returning to the package, he opens it and for the briefest of moments his face flickers with confusion. "Oh! A silverware set... thank you Halcyon, I appreciate it."
Primrose wasn't quick enough as Halcyon, laser-focused, catches his moment of wonder. "Is something the matter with it?" Halcyon asks.
"Well... it's nothing."
"Primrose, please. You can be honest with me."
Primrose scratches the back of his head and turns away sheepishly. "I think... this is the same set of silverware I gifted you for Cherubmas last year."
...
Halcyon could've died of embarassment.
Their entire face flushes, and they cover it with their hooves. Primrose panics.
"No, no, it's okay! I love this set, and it'll be very convenient to have another around, really, thank you very much!"
It takes a few more moments for Halcyon to take a deep breath and look back at Primrose.
"I... I'm so sorry. I'm glad you like it though." They clear their throat and point at the food. "Everything looks delicious, what are we having?"
"Thank you! For the appetizer we will be enjoying cream cheese spinach puffs along with a light and delicate carrot and zucchini soup. The main course is a quinoa and kale salad with croutons, peanuts, and cranberries. I've also prepared a decadent tiramisu for dessert, and arranged for Beanny to concoct some of her more popular brews for us at Paradise Cafe afterwards. We'll have to bring her the beans ourselves, but a nice evening walk should be the metaphorical cherry on top of this gathering." Primrose's genuine smile returns as Halcyon stares at everything in awe.
"Primrose, you didn't have to prepare all of this just for supper between us!"
"It's... it's the least I could do, really." Primrose looks away, blushing again. "W-would you mind passing me your plate so I can serve you?"
Halcyon nods, as the two each take turns dishing out food for the other. The spinach puffs are fluffy and moist, with that sweet hint of cream cheese shining through. The soup, aromatic, savory, and crisp. They take turns making small talk and having bites of puffs and soup. After the appetizers are all finished, Halcyon volunteers to take the dishes away. They gather up the platters and bowls, passing behind Primrose.
“Thank you Hal, I appreciate you.”
Upon the second utterance of his nickname, Halcyon is thrown completely off balance. Losing his footing and yelping in a very undignified manner, the dishes clatter out of his hooves and onto the floor, one bowl spilling the final remnants of soup down Primrose’s back and smashing on the ground.
The two share a dumbstruck silence at first, Primrose staring at Halcyon in utter astonishment and Halcyon staring back with complete mortification. All at once, it seems like their senses come back to them.
“I - I - I - I’m so sorry, Primrose!” Halcyon leaps to his hooves, scrambling to pick up the shards of bowl flung onto the ground and move the other dishes somewhere safe.
“D-don’t be. Accidents happen.” Primrose gets up from his seat to help, but Halcyon quickly moves everything away from him.
“Let me get you a washcloth!”
As Halcyon rushes to the bathroom, Primrose turns to clean himself up. Upon Halcyon's return, he forgets he moved the dishes out of the way, and his hoof grazes a plate and he sidesteps, losing his balance and flinging the washcloth into Primrose's face with a loud splat. The fur on Primrose's ears pricks up a bit, but he calmly removes the washcloth. Halcyon, realizing his next mistake, stares in horror from his splayed out position on the floor. Primrose's face is inscrutable, as he takes the washcloth to his back and sponges off the soup. Folding the cloth neatly, he places it on the table and silently reaches down to help Halcyon up.
"P-Primrose, I... I should go." Halcyon says, accepting Primrose's hoof and getting back onto their feet.
"...you don't have to go, if you don't want to." He gathers up the dishes and shards and takes them to the kitchen, placing the shards in the trash can and the dishes on a small bun-sized counter. He washes his hooves and returns to Halcyon, a smile fraying at the ends of his lips.
Halcyon's normal neutral expression has long been wiped from their face due to the course of the evening's events. "I've ruined what was supposed to be a wonderful night." They quietly say.
Primrose huffs, drawing a quizzical Halcyon's eyes up to his face. "You haven't ruined anything. This night will be remembered as one we look back and laugh at. Besides," Primrose motions to the table, "we haven't started on our main course."
Taking in a shaky breath, Halcyon nods and resumes their place at the table. Primrose serves them, and they each eat the quinoa salad in relative silence. Halcyon seems much more interested in deciphering ancient languages hidden in their salad than they do engaging with Primrose after they've embarassed themselves this much. After they finish, Primrose reaches out to collect Halcyon's salad bowl and utensils and moves to the kitchen without a sound. Primrose returns with two delicate tiramisus atop small plates.
"Please enjoy, I've prepared it especially for you, Hal." Primrose says. Not even two bites into the dish and Halcyon is once again thunderstruck by Primrose's familiarity. They gasp and their bite of tiramisu catches in their throat. They try to forcibly swallow the chunk, but it's too large. Grabbing their water glass, Halcyon gulps down the sparkling liquid which just tickles their nose, causing them to cough and sputter even more. Halcyon clutches at their throat, wheezing, and stumbles off of the chair. Finally realizing what's going on, Primrose stands up abruptly and rushes to Halcyon's back, grabbing the other cherubun just beneath their sternum. A few forceful thrusts and the remnants of the dessert shoot from Halcyon's mouth and land across the room. Primrose backs up a bit while Halcyon gasps and tries to regain their breath. After a minute or two, Halcyon composes themself and sits on the floor, defeated. Primrose heaves a massive sigh, and slumps next to his friend.
"..."
"..."
The cherubuns sit like that for a long while, hearing each other's breathing. Primrose looks at the floor of his room, wondering where he went wrong. A quiet sob and a hoof place on his own, and Primrose snaps to his side.
Halcyon is... crying.
They're crying.
They're actually crying.
The weight of the event washes over Primrose, and he clasps his arms around Halcyon. "It's okay, it's okay! It's fine Hal, I'm here, just breathe, you're okay..." Primrose says. Halcyon's tears land in their white neck fluff, their halo and ophanim's glow pulsing with their breathing. A moment later and Halcyon's arms come to hug Primrose back. They bury their head into Primrose's cheek and cry.
"Why are you calling me 'Hal'?" Halcyon asks.
Primrose withdraws his arms from the hug and looks deeply into Halcyon's tear-stained eyes. "Is... is that what all the fuss has been about?" He replies.
Blood rises to Halcyon's cheeks, tainting them a deeper shade of black. He fiddles with his hooves. "I mean... it's just so, nice of you to do. I wasn't expecting it."
Primrose frowns. "Do you not like it?"
Halcyon's eyes shoot up to meet the white cherubun's. "No! No, I... I like it. Quite a lot."
Primrose's expression softens, and he smiles warmly. "I'm so happy to hear that. I was worried with how you'd react, but..." Primrose adjusts his whole body to face Halcyon. "...I'm glad I took the chance."
Halcyon turns into Primrose. "I... I'm sorry for everything, Prim."
Upon hearing Halcyon utter a nickname for him, Primrose's entire face turns tomato red with blush. "You don't have to be sorry!" He blurts out, a bit too loudly. "You... you've done nothing wrong. And I'd like to discuss this further, however... there's a delivery we need to make."
"Of course, let's... continue this topic another time." Both of the buns get to their feet, as they quickly work at cleaning up from supper. After every dish had been cleaned and put back in its proper place, Primrose takes Halcyon out of the room and to one of the nearby storage closets. A large sack of coffee beans rests, waiting to be put to use. Primrose and Halcyon each take one end and begin the quiet walk to Paradise Cafe.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
With it being earlier in the evening, the cafe is quiet. Beanny cleans a coffee dripper when the bell above the door chimes, signaling Primrose and Halcyon's arrival along with a large sack of beans.
"I was wonderin' when you two'd show up! What's with the long faces?" Beanny says as the two cherubuns hoist the coffee beans onto the counter. Halcyon sighs heavily as Primrose heads to the restroom to freshen up.
"I've messed up badly tonight Beanny. On a night that I thought would be special." Halcyon laments.
"Pray tell?" She asks.
Halcyon describes the night he's suffered thus far: accidentally regifting something, breaking a dish and splattering Primrose with soup and water, and then nearly choking to death on tiramisu. All because of a nickname.
Despite Halcyon's obvious sullen attitude with his tale, Beanny can't help but laugh.
"All of this because he called you Hal instead of Halcyon?" She chuckles again and wipes her hands on her apron, setting about opening the bag of coffee beans and pouring them into multiple storage containers. "No offense, but ya need ta lighten up!"
Halcyon sighs. "It's just... you know about how... I feel."
Beanny measures some of the coffee beans and deposits them into a grinder. "Hal, the entirety of the Heavenly Meadow knew about you two. Except Primrose, I don't think he figured that one out yet. Go figure!" The beans make a buzzing sound as they churn through the grinder. "Did Dove tell ya to 'just go for it'?"
Halcyon sets his head down on the counter. "Y-e-e-s."
"Well, they're right! I reckon you didn't actually tell ol' Primmy about how you feel, didja?"
"A little bit..."
"You're gonna wanna let that sink in for the both of ya before ya go any further, who knows what sort of tomfoolery you'll get into if you keep goin' at it!"
With a flick of her wrist, some careful pouring and mixing, and an anecdote about 'that one time' from Beanny and the coffee was ready for consumption. Halcyon sniffs it as the warm notes of cocoa and cream hit his nose. He takes a careful sip to not burn his tongue, and the coffee immediately warms his heart. After a few gulps, Primrose returns from the restroom, and Beanny slides his drink over to the stool next to Halcyon.
"Thank you for indulging us Beanny." Primrose says.
"Thank you for bringin' this here at this hour Primmy. I appreciate it." Primrose scoffs and rolls his eyes at that name, but the heat of the coffee changes his demeanor instantly. "See Hal," she turns to face him, "that's the power of a good nickname: it lets ya know where ya stand with people." Beanny gives an overexxagerated wink and shuffles off to the kitchen, saying something about "figure it out". Primrose and Halcyon are left with only the sound of the ambient lo-fi emitting from speakers around the cafe. Both of their hearts beat loudly, but the warmth in their bellies gives them strength.
There's a long moment of silence as the cherubuns work on their drinks. "If it's alright with you," Halcyon says, "I would like to continue discussing this topic."
Primrose takes a long sip of his coffee. "Certainly."
My original draft of this piece was 3,218 words... so I had to trim it down to fit requirements. If you wanna read the EXTENDED ORIGINAL DIRECTOR'S CUT, you can do so here!
I promised there would be comefy but then it gets sad at the end :'( I need to learn how to write things more humorously...
Submitted By Fire
for Pursuit of Diligence: Chapter 4
Submitted: 5 days and 19 hours ago ・
Last Updated: 5 days and 19 hours ago