Aftershow Beauty

    Emery let out a soft sigh as she leaned against the wall of a building far from where she had started her evening. She often forgot that she had fans of her performances. Tonight was just supposed to be her doing a concert on her flute and then just going about her night, relaxing and doing whatever she wished. No, instead, the after concert was her being chased around for an hour or so. Probably didn’t help that she was dressed up in a suit and many found that enticing… The green furred bun looked down at the case, that held her flute, that was in front of her. She even had to abandon her doll form to try and get out of sight, which also meant leaving behind her suit… That’s likely been torn to shreds at this point by whatever crazed fans there were. She turned her head up, eyes closed as she took several deep breaths and made sure to wrap her tail around the instrument case, to make sure no one tried to swipe it while she relaxed. “I enjoy my job, but man… This part of it will always make me hate it a smidge. I’m still a normal bun at the end of the day, regardless of talent…”

    “Something that you will learn to deal and cope with as time progresses, my lady.” Emery let out a yelp at the sudden new voice near her and turned her gaze to see peering around the corner of the building, a pair of void black eyes looking at her from under the brim of a hat, the eyes accompanied by a lovely smile that made the green bun’s heart skip a beat. 

    “O-Oh! Piper, I…” Seeing them surprised her. She had met Piper a few times, if only as buns, due to their similar career paths. Piper was a fantastic musician, splendid and incredible with their flute. Emery always looked up to Piper as a musician and wanted to one day be as famous as they were, but as the two’s paths continued to cross, she had begun to find herself enamored with them and wanting more than just a friendship with them. But not a single soul has seen them in their doll form, even if there were rumors of one who had, so she felt any chances that existed were, well… Non-existent. “I… wasn’t aware you were there, um…” The cryptid-like bun let out a low chuckle that made Emery’s face burn and want to bury her face in her neck fluff.

    “My sweet lady, I know the feeling of running and hiding from fans very well. It was not difficult to figure out your pathing and where you’d end up after getting out of sight.” 

    “Oh, I see, well… Wait.” Despite all the flusterness she was dealing with, something about their words clicked something in her mind. “You… Were you at the concert?” The smile on the sloth bun’s face brightened at the question. 

    “Of course. It has not been the first time I’ve attended a concert of yours.” The pride bun stared wide-eyed at them, shocked and stunned to the point of silence. This was news to her. Had she known, she would’ve made sure they had VIP passes for backstage or something! Any reason to spend more quality time with them… “It would seem that my skill of keeping out of sight of fans and paparazzi has bled into keeping out of sight of the performers as well. That’s disappointing, I was expecting that my presence was obvious. Forgive me, I should’ve made my presence at your concerts known to you in private much earlier than this point.” Emery will begin to open her mouth to say something but is cut off by the sloth bun. “Here, perhaps these can help with my apology.” They finally step out from behind the wall they’d been peeking around and hold out a bouquet of flowers to the green bun, who was once again shocked. “I remember during our last meeting that you mentioned never having received flowers from someone for a fantastic performance. I wanted to remedy that.” She’ll gently take the bouquet from them, looking over all the flowers in it. Amaryllis, callas, white and red carnations, gardenias… Her eyes softened as she looked at it. 

    “...Why these flowers?” Piper cleared their throat, seeming a bit flustered or embarrassed, but Emery wasn’t entirely sure as there was no visual indication. 

    “I have kept in contact with a littermate of mine and she is quite the garden fanatic. Honestly, I wished to have added more flowers, but she believed it would’ve been too much.” They’ll look at the bouquet as well. “Amaryllis represents pride, as well… Your horns mainly. Calla represents beauty, as I do find you stunning.” The redness returned to the pride bun’s face at their words. “Gardenia represents a statement of ‘You’re lovely’ and as well as ‘secret love.’” And the redness has gotten worse. “Finally, the carnations as a whole represent fascination. White ones specifically represent sweet and lovely, while red ones represent admiration and…” They’ll take a deep breath before continuing. “...As well as a statement of ‘My heart aches for you.’” At this point, Emery has lightly buried her face partially into her neck fluff and partially into the bouquet. She wasn’t sure if they were saying what she thought they were, but if they are, she is not sleeping for the rest of the night. “I know that this is quite a lot at once, especially given the night you’ve had. But given the month it is, it feels fitting to do so. I do not know where you stand on this, but I hope it will be positive. Emery, my sweet lady, I adore you in a way I have not adored someone in a long time. If you so let me and wish for it, I would like to date and eventually court you. If you wish--” The cryptid-like bun was cut off this time. While trying to express themselves, the green bun bolted forward from her spot and pressed a quick kiss to the sloth in front of her. As soon as she backed away, Piper was stunned for the first time that night and stared at the fluffy bun they adored so much. 

    “I would love to date you, Piper. I’ve honestly liked you for a while, but wasn’t sure it was possible, so this… makes me really happy to hear and has made this night so much better.” 

    “Oh. Well, I really wish I’d done this sooner then. We could’ve been dating much sooner.” Emery giggled at their statement. “Then may I ask for you to join me at my mansion later this week?” Her eyes will widen at the question then lightly bury her face into her neck fluff again. 

    “Um… I’d be happy to. Do you want me to drop by in this form or…?”

    “My preference would be doll form, but if you’d rather not, then that is fine. It is up to you.” Her mind began to spin at that. They wanted her to be in doll form… Does that mean she’ll get to see them in their doll form then? She’ll slowly nod her head, making Piper smile brightly. “Excellent. I’ll speak to you about a specific day and time later, when we’re both at our respective homes. Until then…” They’ll bow to her then walk down the way they came from, their skeletal hooves clicking against the ground as they walk. 

    “...That really just happened… I’m really gonna be dating the bun I’ve been in love with for how long now?” Emery returned her gaze to the bouquet of beautiful flowers in her hands and take a deep breath, trying to calm her heart somehow. “This… This is real. Well. I’m not sleeping. At all. Not tonight and probably not a few times until I go to their home.” Despite her attempts to calm herself, her face turned redder as her mind wandered off to the possibilities of what would happen at their mansion. Once she got back to her house, she was absolutely going to shift back to doll form and entertain herself with all these thoughts of hers… But first, she should make sure these flowers have a nice vase to be placed in.