Cloudy Dewdrops

    “Dove, what do we need that’s in the Embassy building for the plants…?” Yukio mumbled quietly to his small cherubun friend as he followed them through the halls. He wasn’t too thrilled to be walking in the building, not wanting to run into Primrose at all. Dove looked over their shoulder at him and gave him a smile. 

    “We need to get some watering cans. Primrose told me that they had to get them fixed after the last bunch that tried to help with the gardens.” He’ll frown slightly as he looks at his small friend, rolling one of his shoulders in the process. 

    “...Alright… Um… He’s not in the area we need to get to, right…?” The soft cherubun stopped in front of a door and turned to look at their tall friend. 

    “No, Primrose isn’t around here. He wanted to be but I told him we’d be fine without his help.” Yukio lets out a heavy sigh of relief, causing Dove to giggle lightly. 

    “Thank fuck…” Dove’s smile will widen at that, then open the door they were in front of. As the tall bluenette poked around the smaller one to look inside the room, he quickly realized this was a supply closet of sorts. “I’m sorry if this is insensitive to ask… But did Primrose leave the cans on the lower shelves? Cause I doubt he wants me to be in any of the rooms…” 

    “Yes, he did.” Though, they do reach up and lightly pat Yukio’s face. “Don’t think he hates you that much, Yukio. He’s just…” 

    “A priss boy with a stick up his ass?” Dove proceeds to give the wintery bun a disapproving look at their friend’s word choice. “What? It’s not wrong…” 

    “Sometimes, it is better to keep your thoughts to yourself.” He just shrugs at that as the cherubun retrieves two watering cans from one of the lower shelves of the closet. “Come on~ The flowers won’t water themselves!” They turn back to the taller bun, handing him one of the watering cans with a bright smile. Yukio, finding it difficult to not return the smile, takes the can and gestures for Dove to lead the way back to the gardens. As the duo began walking in the direction of the garden where the flowers Yukio had planted were located, the wintery bun quietly tilted his head as he realized something. 

    “Hey Dove?” Said bun let out a hum, acknowledging their friend. “Do you guys just use normal water for the plants?” 

    “Oh, no, we don’t. The clouds that the Embassy is built on top of have condensed water in them and it actually purifies the water while building up in them! We use the pure dew from the clouds to water all of the plants in the gardens.” 

    “Huh… Oddly specific… But then again, so are a lot of things involving cherubuns.” Dove will tilt their own head at that comment. 

    “Is that… a good or bad thing?” That’ll get the succubun to lightly pet the top of his friend’s head. 

    “I didn’t mean for it to sound like it’s a bad thing. More just… interesting, rather than bad.” He’ll glance back forward, seeing the greenhouse. “...Still shocks me how big this thing is…” The cherubun lightly giggles at him then gently pulls him in. 

    “We’ll have to go and collect the water from the area in the greenhouse first, but at least we can see the progress on your plants on the way!” 

    “They aren’t mine…” 

    “Yes they are, and don’t let Primrose, or yourself for that matter, tell you otherwise.” 

    “...Can you read me that easily or am I just that open with you?” Dove will look over their shoulder and lightly stick their tongue out at him. 

    “Could be both~” Yukio will roll his eyes, but smile nonetheless at the smaller bun. “Oh look!” He’ll follow Dove’s gaze to the spot he clearly remembers planting the seeds awhile back, now seeing a bunch of beautiful flowers. He’ll blink at the sight, quite shocked to see what these flowers look like. “Seems like the hard work and diligence is paying off~” 

    “...If I knew where they kept the damn water here, I would just start dragging you off in that direction…” They’ll giggle at his response before pulling him along towards some sheds that were a bit off to the side. 

    “They should have some jugs of it in one of these…” Dove opens the shed and walks in, quietly looking around while Yukio leaned against the doorway, watching them. “Let’s see, where are---Oh.” Their eyes landed on one of the higher shelves, where a few jugs of, what looked like to Yukio, normal water were located. The two just stared at the jugs in silence for a few minutes before the wintery bun spoke up. 

    “So… He remembered to keep the watering cans on a lower shelf, but didn’t think about the water.” They look at their friend, a sheepish smile present. “Well, can’t be helped, I guess.” 

    “Yeah… Um, do you thin---WOAH!” Before they could get their question out, Yukio lifted them up and placed them on his shoulder, giving them enough height to reach the jugs. 

    “That work for you?” Dove will be a bit shocked for a minute or so, but then just starts giggling. “What?” 

    “You could’ve reached up to grab the jugs yourself, you know that right?” 

    “Eh… Could have, yeah. But I doubt he’d be okay with me touching anything in here, so better to do this. Besides, you weigh like nothing, so it’s no strain to me.” They’ll lightly shake their head then carefully grab one of the jugs from the shelf. 

    “Alright, you can put me down now, I have it.” Yukio will gently smile and lower the cherubun back onto the ground. Once their feet touch the ground again, they take both of the watering cans and proceed to carefully fill both up with the dew water. “Okay, that should be enough for the flowers!” They’ll place the jug in an empty spot on one of the lower shelves and then hand one of the watering cans to the taller bun. “Come on, let’s go!” Dove will grab a hold of one of his arms and pull him out of the shed, back towards the flowers. 

    “Uh?? What about the shed door??” 

    “Don’t worry about it~ Not like anyone ever steals from the Embassy, so there’s nothing to worry about!” Yukio will sigh at that, a bit of an exasperated smile on his face as he lets his small friend tug him around. As soon as the duo were back in front of the flowers, Dove gently began watering some of them and, once he felt comfortable enough to do so, Yukio took over watering the rest of them. “You don’t have to be so cautious with them. I promise you’re doing well.” 

    “Easier said than done, Dove… But I appreciate it regardless.” The cherubun pouted, watching their friend. 

    “...You’re interesting yourself, you know?” That caught his attention, making him look over at them. “Your vice is pride, but you truly don’t act like it. It's like how some cherubuns view the virtues all differently.” He’ll give a small smile and return his attention to the flowers, making sure not to over-water any of them. 

    “...Our vices will always be there to haunt us… Some embrace them fully, some grow out of them. Like I’ve told you before, my vice has gotten me into trouble and caused damage to myself that… won’t ever properly heal. But! That’s okay. I am who I am, even if that’s a mess.” His head will lull to one side though as he continues, looking slightly annoyed. “...Though, I’ll hold onto my vice arou--” His sentence is caught off by Dove, who ran over and gave the taller bun a tight hug. Having been caught off guard, Yukio stood still for a few minutes before eventually relaxing. Swapping the watering can to his other hand, so that he could continue watering the flowers, he wrapped his other arm around Dove to return the hug. 

    “You’ve come far from when we first met…” His face softened at the cherubun’s words and a small smile appeared on his face. 

    “...Partially thanks to you, little angel…” He’ll tighten the hug a bit before lightly chuckling. “Now, can I get back to watering the rest of these flowers, or are you gonna stick to holding me hostage?” His question earned him a plethora of giggles, making his smile brighten. He really couldn’t be more thankful to have Dove as his friend…