𝕨𝕚𝕤𝕙𝕗𝕦𝕝 𝕥𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕜𝕚𝕟𝕘

     for such a vibrant, pure spirit, combusting with youth and warmth, lottie had a touch of death. plant after plant, she felt cursed. instead of a green thumb, she had a cursed thumb, and as the queen themselves once said, another one bit the dust. shyly, for once, she entered the moon garden, one of her frequent check-in points. the essence of flowers in the air was enough to turn up the corners of her mouth, a scent she desired in her own home, but usually had to settle for candles over the real thing. rowan appeared, immediately, which startled her. the plant suddenly appeared behind her back, an action she couldn’t recall, but she continued to grin anyway. “ hi, “ her small voice chimed, muffled by the crowded shop. “ oh, just visiting ! saying hello to my friend. “ oh, right. that wasn’t what he asked. “ um … “ slowly, the plant appeared between their two bodies. it was a vibrant begonia, a flower lottie preferred for the aesthetics, and despite offering it ample sunlight, water, and love, it was holding on by a thin thread. “ it happened again. “ her lips turned downwards again, a sigh released through her nose. “ i’m so bad at this, rowan ! i don’t know what to do, “ she whined, ableing herself to not stomp her feet or tear up. 

✦ * · ˚ “most  people  would  think  i  did  something  like  that  on  PURPOSE  —  it’s  nice  to  see  some  people  aren’t  assuming  things  about  me  just  because  of  how  i  dress.”  xavier  says  with  a   small  chuckle,  nodding  his  head  slightly.  it  was  rare  to  have  someone  not  assume  he  was  just  some  grump.  "it  sounds  like  it  fits  in  really  well  with  the  season,  i’ll  give  you  that.“  the  crimson-haired  male  responds,  though  his  brows  knit  together  ever-so  at  the  other’s  words.  "does  it  happen  to  taste  anything  like  cinnamon  gum  or  that  red  soda  that’s  cinnamon  flavored  ?  i  was  never  a  huge  fan  of  those  growing  up  but  hey,  i  might  love  this,  who  knows.”  there’s  a  rise  &  fall  of  xavier’s  shoulders  in  a  shrug as  he  speaks,  gently  chewing  on  the  inside  of  his  cheek  as  he  listens  to  rowan.  "oh  —  no.  i  don’t  mind.  i  don’t  mind  at  all.  it’s  good  to  have  some  company.“  xav  replies,  grin  dancing  onto  his  features  almost  instantly.  "especially  when  the  weather’s  THIS  nice,  would  be  rude  to  keep  that  all  to  myself.”  he  teases,  glancing  over  that  the  other  before  his  gaze  drops  to  his  hands  which  are  situated  in  his  lap.  "thank  you  —  you  really  don’t  have  to.“  the  male  starts,  pulling  his  gaze  up  to  meet  rowan’s  with  a  small  &  slightly  shy  smile.  "if  they  have  it,  warm  apple  cider.  if  not,  a  hot  chocolate  will  do  just  fine.  would  you  like  me  to  come  in  with  you  ?”

“You don’t know that,” was all Atlas could mumble in return, looking ahead as he continued to lean his head on the other’s shoulder. The alcohol swimming through the younger male’s system was really kicking in, causing him to feel very sleeping and forcing a yawn to spill from his lips. He could barely even show how excited he was that he’d won and got his own way with how positively drained he felt. It did however intensify the flip-flop feeling dancing in his stomach as Rowan brushed some of the long strands of hair away from his face. “Can we sleep now?” Atlas questioned, tilting his head so he could somewhat make eye contact with the blonde with his cheek still resting on his shoulder, not wanting to move unless it was to lay down. 

         not   entirely   adept   to   kindness   ,   saint   is   taken   aback   by   ro’s   kind   nature   .   so   much   so   that   his   irritated   expression   EASED   into   a   softer   ,   friendlier   one   .   waving   his   free   hand   saint   offered   a   chuckle   as   a   response   .    ❝   total   damper   .   only   on   the   basis   that   they   think   I’M   the   type   of   person   who’d   smoke   .   ❞   he   rolled   his   eyes   at   the   thought   of   it   .   he   took   a   seat   beside   ro   ,   saint’s   eyes   fixated   downward   to   EXAMINE   his   own   attire   that   he   so   carefully   planned   out   in   the   morning   .    ❝   thank   you   ,   i   was   going   for   like   —   a   general   day   look   but   also   like   a   VERY   specific   day   look   .   ❞   he   looked   back   up   at   ro   ,   lips   pursed   after   giving   his   vague   description   .    ❝   you   look   cute   today   too   ,   ro   .   loving   the   look   .   ❞

          with   drink   in   hand   saint   united   with   the   table   .   instead   of   taking   a   seat   he   placed   his   things   down   —   his   expression   is   CERTAINLY   distressed   .    ❝   some   youth   just   asked   me   for   a   juul   .   ❞   saint   admitted   with   DISGUST   laced   in   his   tone   .    ❝   usually   ,   that’d   be   ENOUGH   for   me   to   crawl   back   into   my   safe   space   but   not   enough   people   have   seen   my   outfit   today   .   ❞

✦ * · ˚ there  wasn’t  a  day  in  xavier’s  usual  schedule  that  he  didn’t  feel  TIRED  —  though  he  blames  that  on  his  horrible  sleeping  schedule  &  the  fact  he  overworks  himself.  he  was  constantly  working  on  new  sketches  and  whatnot  for  the  shop.  today  was  thankfully  one  of  the  days  he  didn’t  have  to  stress  out  or  worry  about  anything  other  than  what  he  wanted  to  do.  today  ?  he  was  just  taking  things  slow,  going  at  his  own  pace  instead  of  having  to  worry  about  needing  to  be  somewhere,  needing  to  do  something  for  someone  else.  though  he  doesn’t  really  mind  doing  things  for  people  at  all  —  it’s  one  of  the  things  he’s  actually  good  at.  but  sometimes,  he  does  need  days  for  himself,  days  where  he  doesn’t  has  to  worry  about  any  of  it.  gets  to  enjoy  his  favorite  time  of  the  year  &  just  go  with  the  flow,  enjoy  the  weather  before  it  turns  almost  too  cold  to  be  able  to  do  anything  at  all.  yet  the  smell  that  seems  to  attack  him  left  &  right  is  almost  enough  to  make  xavier  just  want  to  go  home  and  curl  up  on  the  couch  with  his  puppy  &  watch  shows  or  movies.  he  could  make  a  decent  cup  of  hot  chocolate  —  sure  it  had  absolutely  NOTHING  on  anything  he  could  buy  at  the  brew  but  it  had  crossed  his  mind  before  he  finally  decided  that  even  though  he  wanted  to  escape  the  pumpkin  spice  craze,  he  was  craving  a  latte.

xavier  watches  as  the  other’s  steps  slow  down  &  it  begins  to  make  him  wonder  if  he’d  startled  the  other.  which  of  course  instantly  causes  his  brows  to  knit  together  in  slight  concern  because  that  is  NOT   what  he  wanted  to  do  at  all.  "oh  uh  —  sorry.  i  didn’t  mean  to  scare  or  startle  you.“  xavier  explains  gently,  a  soft  smile  starting  to  pull  on  the  edges  of  his  lips.  "you’re  probably  right  there.  i  don’t  know  if  anyone  actually  has  the  ability  to  stop  pumpkin  spice.  especially  considering  there’s  so  many  people  who  seem  to  worship  it.”  he  chuckles  with  a  nod  of  his  head.  "i  don’t  think  i’ve  even  tried  cinnamon  tea.  guess  i  haven’t  really  considered  it  since  i  tend  to  lean  more  towards  chocolate  and  peppermint  flavors  but  i  will  certainly  keep  that  in  mind  for  the  next  time  i  order.“  he  tells  the  other  with  a  shrug  of  his  shoulders,  grin  growing  wider  on  his  features  in  the  process.  "i’m  only  sitting  out  here  to  give  a  silent  protest  on  pumpkin  spice.  i  could  go  sit  inside  but  the  smell  is  pretty  strong  and  the  weather  today  is  far  too  pretty  to  miss out  on.”  xavier  explains  lightly,  cheeks  heating  up  ever-so-slightly.  "are  —  are  you  sure  ?  you  don’t  have  to  at  all.  i’ll  buy  my  own  drink.“

Atlas nodded at the comment that came from the shorter, yet older man, an almost permanent smile on display across his own lips. This was usual for the younger, but with the alcohol it was much less willing to budge, even with his displeased the other sounded. “I know,” was all he said to both of those protests, because that was exactly the point. To get Rowan to agree to share the bed with him, because it would be much nicer and much more comfortable for the both of them. As he watched the other become deflated Atlas let out a giggle, knowing he was wearing the other down into getting his own way. He wasn’t usually so persistent but he couldn’t stop himself with the chance to sleep with his neighbor. With being a very loose word. “Because I’m right, and you’re wrong. You’re only being polite. We can both share the bed. You won’t get my cooties Ro, I promise,” Atlas breathed out, his own hand rotating to now hold onto the one that was resting on top of his own, leaning over to rest his head on the slightly shorter’s shoulder, nuzzling in.

“  what  does  this  mean  again?  ”  the  yellow  &  orange  tinted  petals  of  a  marigold  are  staring  back  at  them,  held  up  carefully  in  between  their  fingers  as  if  it  was  fragile.  the  musician  is  perched  on  top  of  the  counter  of  rowan’s  flower  shop,  fiddling  with  the  stem  of  the  flower  and  bringing  it  up  to  their  nose  every  now  and  then  to  smell  it.  MARIGOLDS  might  be  their  favorite  flower  as  of  now,  although  romeo  changes  their  mind  about  it  rather  frequently  ——  just  last  month  it  was  sunflowers.  they’re  indecisive,  but  that’s  the  beauty  of  it  ;  romeo  gets  many  options  to  explore.  “  was  it  despair?  ”  their  radiant  smile  morphs  into  a  visible  frown  and  romeo’s  gaze  drifts  off  to  meet  rowan’s.  “  how  can  something  so  beautiful  be  so  …  negative?  ”

            she laughed when he did, though her giggle was quite a bit louder than he had been.    “ honestly, me too! I don’t know what it is, but it’s so hard for me to stay clean when i’m at work, and it’s even worse when i’m at home doing art stuff. ”    it wasn’t uncommon for sunny to empathize with a complete stranger, and this conversation was no different.    “ what kind of job do you have? wait — ”    here a hand came up to stop any answer he might have given    “ — let me guess! you’re a… ”    she studied the man across from her, finger tapping lightly against her lips    “ a professor, and you get chalk on you all the time! ”    there was a very good chance she hadn’t gotten it correct, but that wasn’t about to stop her from guessing. as the conversation turned to the book on the table, she nodded in appreciation. sunny had always been interested in other people, in learning about what they liked and what they didn’t, and although she had never gotten into reading ( she’d always been either unable to focus long enough to finish or too busy doing things with family and friends to start ) she could still enjoy listening to people talk about it.    “ ooh, sounds spooky! i’m not much of a reader, to be honest, but a book sounds a lot cleaner and easier to do at a cafe, so i understand why that’s what you chose to bring. ”

their eyes lingered on the family before shifting over to the man beside them, considering.  ‘ i think that’s exactly what that means, ’  they say half seriously.  ‘ at least – i don’t know – give it a muzzle or something. ’

At the sound that was emitted from the slightly shorter man’s lips, Atlas couldn’t help but giggle, amused that the lightness of his steps that had accidentally caused him to sneak up on Rowan. Soon followed by the other falling onto the bed behind them. God he was so fucking cute, and Atlas had no idea how he was still single when he was like this. Shaking his head, the younger soon moved to join him on the bed, sitting beside the other man and letting his hand rest on his knee. With the alcohol in his system Atlas’ eyes were almost intense, fixated and intent on keeping eye contact. “No, it’s your bed. I’m either gonna sleep on you on the couch, or you’re gonna sleep next to me in your bed. And maybe cuddle. I can’t promise I won’t cuddle you when I’m asleep.” As much as this wasn’t exactly what Atlas had in mind when he thought about sleeping with Rowan, the thought of going to bed and going to sleep right now was a very welcome one.

✦ * · ˚ NIGHTS  LIKE  THESE  are  when  xavier  seems  to  thrive,  the  air  slightly  chilly  and  the  faint  sound  of  leaves  crunching  under  his  feet.  fall  was  his  favorite  season,  after  all.  so  right  now?  he  was  practically  in  heaven.  there  was  ONE  bad  thing  about  the  season,  though  —  pumpkin  spice.  it  takes  over  everything  &  assaults  his  senses  left  &  right,  unable  to  get  AWAY  from  it  for  a  few  months  before  peppermint  takes  it’s  place.  his  favorite  place  to  go  wasn’t  free  of  it  either,  the  deja  brew  smelling  like  spices  &  everything  he  doesn’t  care  for,  hence  the  reason  he’s  sitting  outside,  trying  to  avoid  it  ever-so-slightly.  however,  when  he  sees  someone  he  knows,  he’s  quick  to  motion  them  over  to  his  little  table,  kicking  the  chair  out  for  them.  "save  me  from  the  hell  that  is  pumpkin  spice,  please.  i’ll  do  whatever  you  want  just  make  it  STOP.“  he  starts,  chuckling  lightly  as  he  pats  the  seat  next  to  him.  "i  love  fall  but  honestly  —  why  are  people  so  obsessed  with  that  stuff  that  it’s  taken  over  the  entire  universe??”  xavier  continues  with  a  slight  scoff.  "sit,  i’ll  buy  your  drink…  if  you  promise  me  you  won’t  order  pumpkin  spice  just  to  spite  me.“

Atlas moved around to tuck his feet under his butt where he was sitting on the couch after a few moments, somewhat circling in on himself as he watched his neighbor move through his very meticulous apartment. That was, until he announced that he would be sleeping on the couch, and suddenly disappeared down the hallway to where Atlas assumed his bedroom would be. He felt a little guilty taking the man’s bed from him, a small pout making it’s was across his lips even though the other couldn’t see it. Not only did he feel guilty because, well it’s his bed, but he would have much rathered another kind of sleeping arrangement between the two of them. 

Barely any time passed before Atlas couldn’t help himself, getting to his feet and swaying just a little as he tried to regain his balance again, the alcohol having settled in his system by now. His feet padded gently against the floors as he cautiously made his way down the hall to where he saw the male’s back facing him, not realizing he was practically tiptoeing. “You don’t have to do that, you know,” he spoke when he was likely a little too close, noting a small startle to the man as he appeared behind him, barely two feet away. “If you’re choosing to sleep on the couch then I will, too. I don’t want to take your bed from you.” 

the process of making his bed was something he surprisingly enjoyed. a clean and made bed always caused the room to look much more organized than a messy one. he managed to strip the bed, placing the sheets in his laundry basket, and get out a fresh set within a fair amount of time. making a bed by oneself could be time consuming, but it was necessary in the moment since he was setting atlas up in it. getting one side of the mattress sheet done, rowan was about to turn and make his way around the bed only for a voice to appear behind him first. it, of course, startled him and caused him to whirl around in with a short squeak.