Diligence 2

“The flowers you planted are growing very well.” Primrose's voice was rather soft while looking at the seedlings piping up from the flower bed. It was the tone one takes when looking at a childhood photo or an old favorite toy. Words veiled in the dusty color of memories.

“You think so?” The flowers didn't bring any nostalgia to Taffy's mind, but it was practically radiating from Primrose, falling on her like the light from his halo.

Primrose turned to Taffy with the slightest of surprise, as if he had forgotten in such a short period of time that she was there as well. At once, his expression and voice hardened. The feeling of light that was gently washing over the area condensed together suddenly into a laser point that burned its object of focus. “Surprising, considering that you refused to utilize the proper tools when planting them.”

The sudden change pushed a long, exhausted sigh out of Taffy. “C’monnnn! We were having such a nice moment!”

“How unfortunate.” Primrose turned away and waved Taffy to follow him. “Since you're here, I have a different task for you. We're going to the next greenhouse over this way.”

Reluctantly, Taffy dragged herself behind Primrose. The cherubun's haughty attitude always got on her nerves, but it was the most frustrating when it was juxtaposed against moments he showed his more tender side. She was really beginning to regret that one time where she said that she was looking forward to hanging out.

When they entered the other greenhouse, Taffy was surprised to see not flowers, but… bushes?

“What are these plants? I’ve never seen them before!”

With a little ‘hah!’ that made Taffy want to smash the nearest object over his head, Primrose crossed his arms and pointed his nose to the heavens. “Indeed you haven't. These are tea bushes that originated from the heavenly meadow. Burrowgatory knows not the splendor of the tea made from them.”

Taffy walked up to one of the bushes, admiring the shine to its leaves before realizing something. “Oh! Isn't this where Dove gets their tea from? I’ve had the tea from these bushes before, then!”

“...Yes. Well, I suppose… that makes sense.” Primrose looked bummed at how quickly his assertion was proven wrong. “Speaking of that, I need you to deliver some tea to Dove. Surely there is no need for me to explain why I am entrusting this to you instead of doing it myself.”

“Yeah, I understand.” Taffy also agreed that Primrose shouldn't be the one to deliver it. Being forced to navigate Burrowgatory would hardly make him more fond of it, and the buns living down there would hardly want to share space with some disgruntled sourpuss. “I can get it handled!”

“Thank you. I will show you where the tea leaves for Dove are kept.”

Taffy followed Primrose's fluffy little tail to the storage area and watched as he gingerly picked up a tucked-away parcel.

“You have a special place for Dove’s tea? How thoughtful of you!”

“Your attempts to pry at me are unsubtle, you know,” Primrose responded as he placed the parcel in Taffy's arms. “There is no special reason for it. It is simply important to be benevolent to others, even if they are imperfect.”

Taffy should've expected that Primrose's feelings about Dove would be too complicated to tease him into revealing. “Fair enough. I’m off, then! Be back soooooon!”

Once she was past the door, she stopped and listened for just long enough to catch Primrose's sigh of relief. With a giggle, she continued her trek down into Burrowgatory.

Being a bun of many interests, Taffy was quite familiar with getting from A to B in Burrowgatory rather quickly. She had also been to Dove and Jackal's apartment before. Mapping out a good route to take was a cinch.

However, as if Burrowgatory itself heard tell of her mission and wanted to prank her, a major road she wanted to take was closed down. Something about a bun losing control of their dubiously-trained imps and imp control needing space to work.

The only other way to get where Taffy needed to go was a winding detour through a shopping area. She had plenty of time to spare, so taking a suboptimal route wasn't much of an issue, but…

…the street was lined with several places advertising sweets of endless varieties. Ice cream, macarons, cake, cookies, you name it.

Taffy could feel her sweet tooth aching, tempting her to take a quick break and indulge in her favorite vice. However, she knew full well that if she gave in, she would find it very difficult to stop. By the time she’d have her fill, it would’ve become nighttime and she would feel in no condition to make the rest of the trip to Dove and Jackal's apartment.

Thus, she fixed her eyes forward and dared not to pay the shops another look. Sweets were for after the job was done.

Once Taffy was out of the shopping area, it didn't take long at all for her to arrive at her destination. With a playfully rhythmic knock, Taffy let Dove know of her presence.

The light-haired cherubun smiled upon opening the door and seeing Taffy. “Nice to see you again! Is that a package for me?”

“Uh-huh! It's your tea from the Heavenly Embassy! I’ve been helping out with some odds and ends there!” Taffy chirped proudly.

Dove opened the door wider and stepped aside. “How lovely! Please, come in! You can set that down on the coffee table.”

Overjoyed to be in pleasant company again, Taffy eagerly entered the apartment and did as Dove said. The cherubun closed the door and followed their guest to the middle of the living room.

“I hope it wasn't too much trouble to bring this here…” Dove said as they began opening the parcel.

“It was nothing I couldn't handle! Don't worry about it!”

With the parcel opened, Dove held the tea delicately, like it was their most treasured possession. “Well, if you have some time, would you like to stay and chat? I can put the kettle on so we can share this.”

Taffy beamed. “Of course! Just for a bit, though. I oughta get back to the Embassy soon to let Primrose know I’ve made the delivery.”

A warm smile spread across Dove’s face. “Alright! I’ll be right back. Feel free to sit wherever you’d like.”

After a short wait, Dove returned with a teapot filled with the freshly-brewed tea. Unfortunately, there were no pastries this time around since it was impromptu… or perhaps it was fortunate, since pastries would have certainly made Taffy want to stay until well past evening.

“How is it with helping out Primrose?” Dove asked before taking a little sip. “I wouldn't have thought you two would get along.”

“Mm!” Taffy quickly swallowed the sip she was in the middle of. “And you would've been right! He sucks!”

“O-oh…!” Dove responded, completely caught off-guard. “I see! So are you helping him for the sake of the Embassy, then…?”

“Not primarily, no. I wanted to prove to him that I’m diligent.” Taffy thought back a little more before holding up a finger. “Also! I wanted to know why he was acting so weird around me! But I figured that out already, he just wants to hang out and be friends.”

“And you do too, right?” Dove asked, their smile returning to their face. “That's why you care about how diligent he thinks you are.”

Taffy froze in place, lips nearly about to touch the rim of her teacup. “What?”

“Maybe it's a bit rude for me to point it out,” Dove started as they set down their cup and saucer, “but it just all reminds me so much of how Jackal will come up with the most bizarre ways to circumvent having to admit she's fond of someone. Primrose is giving you tasks as an excuse to hang out, and you're saying it's to prove your diligence as an excuse to go along with it.”

A few beats of silence passed before Taffy pushed out a heavy sigh.

“Yeah. You're right.” Taffy finished the rest of her teacup and set it down on the coffee table in the most defeated manner possible. It didn't take long for her to pop back up, though. “I will say! The diligence thing isn't all made up! I’ll have you know, I passed sooooo many delicious-looking sweets shops on the way here! I honed my focus on the task at hand! My diligence has been getting the ultimate test!” Taffy's hands, which had been gesturing wildly throughout that outburst, slowly drifted into a thinking posture. “Or… would that be temperance?”

“I’d say it's both!” Dove responded. “That's a commendable feat!”

 Taffy closed her eyes and placed a hand on her chest proudly. “Why, thank you!” When she opened her eyes, the window immediately caught her attention. “I need to go! It’s starting to get dark outside!”

Dove startled. “Oh dear! I’m so sorry for keeping you! I’ll clean up all of this, you’re fine to go since you’re in a hurry!”

“You sure? Thank you so much! You’re really the best!” 

“Please, it’s my pleasure!” The cherubun walked their guest to the front door and opened it for her. “Be sure to tell Primrose I said hi!”

“I will! See you again sometime!”

With that, Taffy hurried back to the Embassy, ready to report to Primrose about her successful delivery.