Saintly Donation

There was a somber air to the hospital, a tension as tight as a bowstring, it carried on his shoulders and wouldn’t leave him even as Blush sat down to wait for a nurse.

He sighed heavily.

Oleander. The blood bank heist. Blush wondered if he was going mad for thinking everything felt too coincidental. Too close together, but not close enough to make sense. It was keeping him up at night, desperately trying to understand why it felt like something was at work just beyond his sight.

It was only when a familiar voice called out to him that his thoughts were broken. “…Blush?”

Blush looked up, before a wiry smile stretched over his lips. “Primrose? I must be losing my mind if I can see you outside of the embassy.”

The cherubun huffed as he carefully adjusted the empty blood bag in his hand. “Even I would help in times like this.”

Blush tried to keep his words polite, after all he wasn’t in the mood for their usual love hate banter. “I didn’t mean anything by that.”

Primrose opened mouth open until he suddenly faltered, his expression oddly blank. “You… have you been sleeping?”

“Hmm.” The priest sighed, he didn’t realize how obvious the bags under his eyes were. “Don’t worry, I made sure to be well rested enough to give blood.”

“That’s not what I meant.” If Blush didn’t know any better, he would have assumed he offended the cherubun. Especially as Primrose turned away to set up the blood drip.

“I know.” Blush looked around the room, his eyes falling on the other volunteers and their patients. “But I’m alright.”

Primrose snapped, giving the succubun little time to think as he replied, “I doubt anyone in your church is fine.”

“Careful.” Blush hissed, he wasn’t going to humor the cherubun’s feelings on succubuns. Not today.

“Again, not what I meant.” Primrose held up a hand, a gesture seeking peace.

“Right.” Blush rubbed at one of his eyes, he should have tried to see if he could have chosen his own nurse when he got here. He may have a somewhat vague friendship with the cherubun after helping with the ambrosia harvest, but they weren’t the type of friends that got along easily. “Then what did you mean?”

Primrose usually would have stomped his hoof impatiently by now, but in this moment, he was different. His voice was measured and controlled. “Everything that happened with the head priest.”

Blush flinched, “I don’t want to talk about it. Can I just donate blood already?”

Primrose hesitated, before he nodded, “Roll up your sleeve.”

There was silence as the cherubun worked, it wasn’t until the needle was in Blush’s arm that Primrose spoke again. “You’re acting different.”

“Different?” Blush kept his expression calm.

“Yes different,” Primrose watched the blood bag fill. “You would have tried to insult me at least three times by now.”

Blush couldn’t help himself, he snorted with a low laugh, “Because you deserve it.”

“And I haven’t today?”

Blush froze, his eyes flicking up to meet the cherubun’s gaze. He was concerned? The priest immediately looked down at his feet. “I don’t know what you want me to say.”

Primrose took a deep breath. “Nothing.”

The blood bag was soon enough filled and Primrose went through the process of carefully removing the needle. He placed a cotton ball against Blush’s arm, using a piece of tape to stick it on. “Hold pressure here.”

Blush raised his hand, pressing down on the tape. “And that’s it?”

Primrose nodded, “You’ll need to stay here for at least fifteen minutes, in case you faint.”

Blush leaned against the chair, rolling his head to the side before he muttered, “I’m not the best Primrose, but I will feel better eventually. Things like what happened need time.”

“Are you worried? He was a fairly large figurehead, does that put you all in danger?” Primrose didn’t want to overstep and make it seemed like he cared too much about succubuns.

“Yes? No? Who has any idea, it’s not even certain whether Oleander was attacked for being part of the church.” Blush reached over to grab Primrose’s sleeve. “We don’t often see eye to eye, but I should hope you know I’m not going to be foolish. I’ll be safe.”

Primrose scoffed, “Like I care what you do.”

But even so, the cherubun seemed a bit relieved. Blush was always an interesting succubun to him, always respectful but with a biting tongue when the priest was annoyed. Primrose would have been unnerved if he was hurt.

Blush smiled weakly, “My lover is always waiting for me at home, he’ll know immediately if something was wrong. Please don’t… look like that.”

“I don’t look like anything,” Primrose said, his shoulders dropping in relief, “Hurry up, we need this spot for more donators.”

“Better be nice to them, not every succubun likes how stuck up you are.”

“Leave before I decide your blood isn’t worth keeping.”

Blush seemed in better spirits as he stood up, nudging the cherubun with arm. “Take it easy Primrose, I’m sure you’ll have a long day ahead of you.”

The cherubun looked at the warm blood bag in his hand, “It seems so, but what else should I do?”

Blush patted Primrose once in the shoulder. “You’ll be okay, everyone will.”

He didn’t let Primrose get in another word before he left the hospital. Blush didn’t want to see that concerned look anymore or the knowledge the cherubun didn’t believe him.

What did Primrose know of succubuns anyways, why did he have to worry about this?

Blush exhaled slowly. He shouldn’t be cold to someone that cared, he would have to visit Primrose later and ask for his forgiveness. They were friends or at least Blush thought they were, he needed to remind himself of that. He needed to stop being defensive.

“Fuck,” he whispered bitterly,

The day seemed so much darker outside, but he couldn’t forget that there were some spots of light. He just needed to stop ignoring them.