Diligence 3

Taffy's eyes glittered as she gazed upon the flowers. In the time since she had planted them, they had begun to bloom.

At first, she truly did not care for the Heavenly Embassy, but visiting the same place over and over and helping its local community has a way of cultivating a fondness inside of you. She never would have guessed a couple months ago that she would be making time in the morning to visit.

A clearing of the throat sounded from across the room before the voice belonging to it began speaking. “Be careful over there. The new blooms are extremely delicate.”

Taffy turned to see Primrose walking into the greenhouse. He was holding his usual prim and proper posture, walking with his hands folded neatly behind his back, but his eyes had an unmistakable shine of pleasant surprise.

On first instinct, Taffy was about to poke fun at him, smugly pointing out how happy he seemed to see her, but she held her tongue. Maybe, at least this once, it was better to let a good thing be.

“Good morning! And yeah, I wasn't touching them!” Taffy stood up and gently brushed dirt off of her knees. “They look so pretty already! Are they close to being harvestable?”

With a little hum, Primrose took a closer look at the flowers. “They will need quite a bit more time. I will continue to keep an eye on them.” As he straightened himself back up, his eyes did not leave the garden bed filled with young blooms. “You are correct that they are beautiful. Not quite perfect, though.”

“Huh! If they only got this pretty and stopped, I think they’d still be one of my favorite flowers!”

Primrose gave what sounded like a short bark in place of a laugh. “Yeah, well, I am not all that surprised.”

Taffy’s cheerful face sank into a completely done one. “Oh boy. What’s that supposed to mean this time?”

As if he was leaning into a sort of playful antagonism—could a bump on a log like him possibly do such a thing?—Primrose closed his eyes and held up his arms in a shrug. “I am not very knowledgeable about the flowers native to Burrowgatory, but I have much doubt that they hold beauty comparable to those of the Heavenly Meadow.”

“Uh-huuh… Well, you should consider seeing them in person if you get tired of being wrong!” Taffy teased, crinkling her nose. “Might be good for you to get out of this place more often.”

The apparent loose nonchalance Primrose was sporting suddenly hardened again. His arms returned to being crossed over his chest, hiding anything beneath it. “The flowers here are due for watering. Might you grab the pail?”

A bit disoriented from the stark change in topic, Taffy stumbled over her words for a few seconds before responding. “S-sure thing…?”

As she made her way over to the rack holding the gardening equipment, she contemplated why Primrose reacted that way. Was he really so disgusted by Burrowgatory that even suggesting that he visit be cause for a change in topic? Surely not. It was very easy to believe that he was repulsed by it, but if that was all there was to it, he would’ve just said so.

Taffy looked over her shoulder at him. He was staring at the floor with furrowed brows, like he was gravely considering something.

If it wasn't because of disgust… could it have been the opposite? Could it be enticement? Maybe he actually liked the idea, but admitting as much would be against the code of being perfectly virtuous that he held himself to.

Ever the fan of making other people's problems her own personal business, Taffy stashed that theory away in her back pocket for later.

“Okay, I got the pail!” she called out as she carried it back over to Primrose. “No water in it, though!”

Snapped out of whatever trance of deep thought he was having, Primrose waved his hand in that haughty but still somewhat friendly way. “That is fine. I would have told you to get freshly-pumped water instead if there was water left over in it anyway. Did you take the time to remember where to get it?”

Taffy heaved out a sigh. “I didn't…”

“Of course. With me, then.” 

Primrose turned around and began walking, essentially ordering Taffy to follow him. The two then set off to where the dew from the heavenly cloud was sourced for the greenhouses. 

Taffy smiled at the cloud beneath them as she walked. “It’s so cool that you guys get water from this. I bet it tastes amazing!” Thinking to herself, the succubun leaned back and casted her eyes upwards. “Or maybe not… I mean, so many people walk on it every day. What about all the mud and stuff people track onto it? Doesn't that affect the water?”

Primrose's voice was straining from the struggle to not completely lose his mind and chew Taffy out for her inane wonderings and questions that plagued their walk. “That is. Simply. Not how it works.”

A little shrug. “Makes sense. You wouldn't be using it if it was gross, huh? You’d be sourcing it from one of the caverns in Burrowgatory.” With a lack of response from her conversation partner, she playfully nudged the other bun. “C’mon! Lighten up! I’m just trying to make conversation! What happened to the good attitude you had earlier?”

“Please.” Primrose stopped walking and held his hand out, palm facing Taffy to halt her as well. After a couple beats of silence, the cherubun inhaled through his nose, steadying himself. “I would appreciate some peace and quiet. I need to… think.”

Taffy donned a concerned look. No doubt this was about more than just him being annoyed by her chattering. Of course, there was also no doubt that annoyance was a factor, but usually that was all it was. This really all seemed to start at her suggesting Primrose see more of Burrowgatory. It was becoming clear that this was something that couldn't be well-addressed with teasing. She needed to handle this as delicately as she could manage.

“Okay. I’ll be quiet. Just let me know when you're ready to talk…!” Taffy responded with a nervous but patient smile.

Primrose gave a little nod and thanked Taffy before continuing their walk.

With no conversation to cause friction between them, getting water in the watering pail and the walk back to the greenhouse was rather peaceful. The glittering light that shone on the Heavenly Embassy was enough to fill the space between them.

Once they were back to where the new blooms were growing, Primrose broke the silence, though he didn't look away from the flowers whilst doing so. “We are fine to speak again.”

Taffy puffed out a long sigh as if she was holding her breath the whole time. “Man, letting your friends have peace of mind is tough!”

Primrose held up a finger and started to speak, seeming like he was going to correct her on calling him her friend, but cut himself off. Instead, he put his hands on his hips and scoffed. “Of course something that simple would be difficult for you. You haven't a single considerate thought in your vulgar little mind!”

“You're one to talk! Insults like that are rude, too, y’know!” Mirroring him, Taffy put her hands on her hips as well. “And I thought you were an expert on manners!”

To many people, this would seem like a fight, and perhaps it could have been called that. However, this was just how the two seemed to operate. A healthy part of a playfully antagonistic relationship.

The two stared each other down, keeping their stances, before Taffy eventually broke, giggling over how silly the tension was. 

“Alright, alright!” She managed to bark out amidst her laughter, “We should get to watering the poor flowers already!”

“Hmph! Agreed!” It was clear how much Primrose wanted to laugh as well; Taffy's giggling was absolutely infectious.

Once her laughter subsided, Taffy began tipping the watering pail to shower the young flowers in the dew. She soon realized that she must be doing something wrong, because Primrose started making exasperated noises and darted up beside her.

“What are you doing?!” Primrose exclaimed, “Were you not listening when I said that the blooms are delicate?! You must avoid pouring water directly on the tops!” In one swift motion, he snatched the pail from Taffy's hands. “Like so. Look.” He tilted the pail ever so slightly and weaved the gentle shower in between the flowers, moistening the soil with a minimal amount of drops falling on the new petals.

Taffy felt herself getting heated that Primrose had just ripped the pail away from her like a child, but the concern and care in his eyes as he demonstrated gave her all the information she needed. The livelihood of these flowers were of the utmost importance, not only for the wellbeing of fallen cherubuns, but also for Primrose to remember his home by.

“Okay, I think I get it now!” Gently, she took the pail back from Primrose and continued watering the flowers the same way he did. “Thank you for showing me!”

Peaceful silence once again washed over them with the soft sound of dew drops hitting the soil. 

Once the flowers were watered and Taffy rose back up to her feet, she carefully broke the silence with the same care as softly knocking on someone’s door to check on them.

“If you ever do want to see more of Burrowgatory,” she said as she handed back the watering pail, “I have a lot of favorite places I could show you…!”

Primrose opened his mouth to say something, shut it, then opened it again to finally say, “I will think about it.”

Bouncing back to her usual demeanor, Taffy clapped her hands in front of her. “Great! Just let me know whenever, okay?” She turned around and began to bound away. “I gotta go, but I’ll see you soon!”

It wasn't until after Taffy left the greenhouse that Primrose waved after her, clutching the watering pail tightly in his other hand.