[Gift] Good Sons Buy Flowers for Mom During Matentines

Judas at 11:17am
heyyy hey hey did you wanna go shopping u said u wanted a new purse didnt you
hey hey are u awake wanna go now

Ember at 11:22am
Right now?

Judas at 11:23am
Yes I just need to run a small errand first
Meet you at the centennial bldg in uhhh how much time you need

Ember at 11:27am
Half an hour, I'll be there

Judas at 11:28am
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
ok cool see u then and there gotta run

The last thing Ember expected when Judas invited her shopping was to see the bun himself with... a massive bouquet that he could barely contain in one hand, but that he was struggling through so he could wave emphatically at her from down the sidewalk. It catches her completely off guard-- was this the errand he'd needed to run? That... there was no way that could be for her, right? Last she knew he was in a serious, if open, relationship, and he wasn't interested in her that way.

 (But was he?)

 "Ember! Hi!" Judas calls as he trots over, adjusting the bouquet in both hands. Nervous energy is flowing in his veins; he does not want to stand still, and he shifts his weight between his feet. "It's so good to--"

He cuts himself off to follow Ember's gaze down to the bouquet, then back up. Her expression is one huge question mark to him. He smiles even wider, ruby eyes glittering in the sun.

"This is my errand!" He says, then hushes his voice, leaning in to avoid any prying ears. "This is for my Mom. She helped take care of me last Matentines, so I thought I'd surprise her this year as a thank you. Come on-- she won't be away for long, let's go sneak this in!!"

The wave of relief that hits Ember is a powerful one. Judas doesn't comment on it-- though whether he saw it or not is unclear, given how he's already halfway through the front doors of Io's apartment building.

Ember shakes the feeling off and hurries after him. Judas makes a valiant attempt at pressing the elevator 'up' button with his tail-- when that doesn't work, he shifts to the side and tries to hit it with a hoof, but that isn't working either, and he's about to—

"Stop, stop." Ember reaches around him and feels for the button before he even moves out of the way. "Focus on not having any casualties."

Judas fixes her with an empty, innocent look.

"I would've gotten it."
"No you wouldn't have."
"I would've."
"Not even a little."

Ding!

The elevator doors open, and Ember motions for him to go first. "This is what you invited me for, isn't it?"

Judas's mouth falls open and he gasps much more loudly than would be necessary. "Absolutely not! Ember we are going shopping. After this. The timing to get home when Mom isn't around was a little weird."

More like you didn't plan this ahead of time at all, Ember thinks, but wisely doesn't say. "Which floor?"

Judas's cheery smile comes back full force. "Top! She's in the penthouse."

Ember presses the top button, then steps back to stand next to Judas as the doors fall shut and the elevator starts to move.

It’s quiet, then. Judas hums to himself as he looks around the bouquet. He balances the vase on one of the elevator’s hand rails to fix a lily that was knocked out of place. He makes a little happy noise, then takes the bouquet back into both arms.

“… are the flowers special?” Ember asks. The flowers are all white and cream with some brilliant red roses spread throughout as pops of color. There’s a velvety red ribbon tied in a delicate bow around the vase, too. “It’s a really pretty bouquet.”

Judas looks up at her. “Thank you! Uhh… well, I don’t know if I’d say the flowers are special, exactly, but I picked them because they’re the same color as her fur. The florist didn’t have anything quite right so I actually combined two bouquets. It’s what I spent that half hour doing.”

Ember has heard Judas talk about Io before—she knows Io is an angora bun, that her fur is white and ivory, and that she wears a signature red scarf. The way the lilies are arranged look a bit like tufts of fur, now that she knows what she’s looking for—and the roses help balance the white and cream colors of the other flowers around them and make them look like they’re not competing with one another. And—the roses are wrapped in black ribbon.

“What’s this for?” she peers closer, pointing at one of the roses. “The ribbon.”

“That’s to match her horns,” Judas says. “Well, it was the best thing I could think of. And it needed to have a little bit of gothic flair, if it came from me.”

Ember smiles, warm and knowing. “Yeah,” she agrees. “It absolutely did.”

The elevator doors open and Judas heads towards the one door ahead of them. Then, his face blanks, and he looks around. “Uh, Ember…”

“Yes?”

“Can you grab my key?” he asks, looking at her sheepishly. “Shorts pocket, left side.”

Ember sighs, but she’s already sidled up next to him before he finishes explaining. “Of course.”

The apartment is dark, when Ember opens the door. She flicks on the light as Judas trots over to the coffee table in front of a wall of mirrors that look out into the Burrowgatory. He puts the arrangement there, and futzes with the angle until he gets it just so.

“Is there a reason you’re putting it there?” Ember asks.

“Yep! I made my nest here last year. Plus, she’ll see it from the door. So the best side has to be facing the door. What do you think?”

He presents the bouquet like he’s Bunna White with a grin that stretches ear to ear.

The bouquet matches Io’s décor. It’s a clear focal point, from where she’s standing—Io will see it immediately upon returning home. There’s not really a bad side of the arrangement, but Judas did pick a best side, and that’s facing her. She gives him a thumbs up.

Judas brushes off his hands. “Okay—perfect! Now let’s go, we don’t want to run into her on the elevator.” He jogs back to the entryway, flicks off the light with his tail, and pulls the door shut behind the both of them.

Immediately, he’s back to the initial topic of shopping, leaning into Ember and grinning at her. “Sooo? What kind of purse are you looking for? What are you wearing, I’ll help you pick one…”

The elevator doors close, and Judas’s voice fades, leaving the penthouse dark and quiet, ready for its owner to return.