Heâs not certain how he musters the courage to take those steps out of his Chateau and into the city but, ah, here he is. He carries a small bouquet of his first-blooms, fresh lilies from his private garden; theyâre lovely, as all flowers at the beginning of spring are, romantic intentions masked as a friendly hope at sharing some of his pride.
  He hopes sheâs not allergic to them. Has he ever asked? Has he brought her flowers before, or brought her to his garden? His memory feels poor, sleeping muddled with nightmares of black feathers and soot, but he thinks heâd remember sharing his pride and joys with her.
 (He remembers her brushing against him well enough, and the scent of her hair seems to be imprinted onto his brain.)
 He has two coffee cups balanced in his other hand, just in case the flowers were too flirty. He used to bring her coffee, after all, taking time from PR and Council Meetings to brighten her day with offerings of chemical joy. He uses his flower-filled hand to knock on the door, chewing on his lip and trying to keep his trembling to a minimum.
 New coat, after all. It wouldnât do to spill burning coffee on himself, especially since itâs white and pale orange, something gentler than his usual blacks-and-reds.
The first knock on the door sends a jolt through the fuzzy, cotton-filled depths of her brain, and she stirs feebly, hands scrabbling along the floor to heave herself up onto her knees. The world sways a little, and so does she, blinking in the harsh sunlight streaming in through the windows.
She canât be seen like this.
Grabbing onto the edge of the sofa, she hauls herself to her feet, nearly tripping over the blanket in the process before pulling it off and draping it over the back. Scurrying over to her desk, she whips a comb out of her pocket and drags it through her hair, holding up a mirror with the other hand. Her face looks pale and drawn, bags just barely visible under her bleary eyes, but thereâs no time for her to pull the makeup out of her drawer and fix herself up now. Not without making the person on the other side of the door wait an unacceptably long time.
âComing!â she cries as she smoothes out her shirt and slacks as best she can and shakes out her lab coat. Itâs probably just a wayward student, right? She doesnât have any meetings sheâs somehow managed to forget about in her incompetence, right? Shaking her head to clear it, she pastes a warm smile on her face and bustles over to the door. âWelcome! How can Iâoh.â