#flower files

Chapter 7: Malaska

A perfectly sunny day, a light breeze, and a casual stroll through the botanical gardens with her girlfriend…what more could Alaska want on a Saturday afternoon?

She used to visit the garden often as a kid, both with her family and with her school. It was one of her favorite memories from childhood and now as an adult, she’s come to love the gardens even more. There was just something so relaxing about wandering through all the rows of flowers and trees, watching the birds and butterflies dart through and around you, sitting on one of the cozy little benches as the ducks and geese swam around the many man-made ponds. She could hardly believe it when Manila had told her that she’d never been to the gardens before!

She booked their tickets for the following weekend, excited to share the beauty of the gardens with someone for the very first time. And Manila’s first reaction didn’t disappoint. As soon as they stepped beyond the ivy covered entrance gate, her eyes went wide with glee and wonder.

Everywhere you turned there was an overflowing abundance of colorful plants, sculptures or wildlife. Butterflies flew haphazardly between the people, sampling all the flowers as they spread out their beautiful wings. Birds sang in the trees, picked seeds or bugs from the plants, or drank from the babbling bird baths scattered through the park. The air smelled absolutely fragrant and alive as you passed between all the clusters of different flowers.

She looked so blissfully dazed as she rushed from one display piece to the next, determined not to miss anything. Manila read through all the little placards she could find, learning about the history of the gardens, donation stories of particular plant species or sculptures, or simply how to identify the different animals and insects that also visited the garden.

Alaska hung back, letting Manila explore at her own pace, as she drank the iced tea she bought from the kiosk next to the Conservatory. She wanted to save the indoor portion of the garden for last; it was, in her opinion, the most impressive of everything the nature preserve had to offer. And Manila was fine with waiting until the end to see it, though it certainly did pique her curiosity.

In the meantime, they made a loop around the landscape, visiting the pollinator fields, the hedge maze and topiary section, even catching one of the fountain shows that played every hour. As they finally circled back to the Conservatory, Manila felt a rush of excitement as they opened the doors to the expansive greenhouse.

Alaska was right to save it for last, Manila thought to herself. 

The first step inside absolutely took her breath away; full grown trees greeted them, as did hanging clumps of flowers and vines. The middle of the floor was sunken in and flooded, curtesy of the miniature waterfall at the other end of the room being fed from an outdoor pond. Floating plants drifted with the man-made current, swirling gently to create a mesmerizing sight. Lily pads littered the surface in so many colors that Manila could hardly believe it; it was like seeing one of Monet’s paintings in real life!

Everywhere she looked, there was a new species of plant that she had never seen before; all of them so bright and eye catching. Manila insisted on visiting every section of the greenhouse that was open to the public, including the children’s garden. Alaska followed behind, snapping a few pictures here and there, sometimes of the flowers but most of her girlfriend’s infectious smile.

As she was trying to focus her phone’s camera on a clump of blue and purple hydrangeas, Alaska felt a pair of arms wrapping snuggly around her waist. A swift kiss was pressed to her cheek just before she heard Manila urging, “Follow me!”

“Okay,” Alaska laughed, taking a quick picture and shoving her phone back into her pocket, “Why though?”

“I found something that reminds me of you!” she boasted, a secretive little smile playing out on her lips.

Unfortunately, Alaska was all too familiar with this situation. Certain memories of childhood teasing that were best left forgotten began to creep in at the edges of her mind. Sighing heavily, she dragged her feet and warned, “Is it that statue? Because I’ve already heard that joke before.”

Too much, she thought bitterly. She could almost hear her classmates comparing her to the gangly, oversized statue once again. The one whose limbs looked stretched until they barely resembled a human’s. The one whose perfectly pale marble expression looked almost like an imitation of The Scream and whose creepy pose of outstretched arms reaching for the flowers surrounding her haunted several children’s nightmares. The one that utterly and completely towered over most kids that came to visit…except for Alaska, of course. It’s head was only a few inches higher than her own when her class had visited the gardens in elementary school but the similarities of skin tone, height, and awkward proportions were more than enough for her classmates to compare her to the disturbing looking fixture.

As Manila continued to drag Alaska towards what she had discovered, she twisted her head around to look at her girlfriend with a mild degree of confusion. “Statue?” she asked curiously.

“The one they put in the middle of the children’s garden?” Alaska explained. Upon seeing Manila’s blank face, she added in with a groan, “The creepy one that looks like a cousin of slenderman? ‘Flower girl’, it’s called, I think?”

Shaking her head, Manila replied, “No…just wait, it’s over here.” 

Rounding the last corner of the pathway, Manila led her on for another 3 yards before stopping in the small clearing surrounding a miniature fountain. Pointing proudly to the Birds of Paradise encircling the bubbling water fixture, Manila exclaimed, “These!”

Leaning heavily against her girlfriend, Manila laced their fingers together as she explained, “These remind me of you cause they’re so unique. There’s nothing else around here that looks like them, or are as colorful…And it kinda looks like they’re all facing the sun, the way you do. You always keep your head up and try to see the positive in everything.” Pressing a swift, gentle kiss to Alaska’s jawline, Manila concluded with, “They just make me happy to look at, like you do. That’s why I thought of you when I found them.”

A rush of warmth quickly spread through Alaska’s chest until it was concentrated right at the center of her heart. Her emotions felt like they were bubbling to surface only to get caught in her throat leaving her unable to truly express just how happy and loved she felt. Instead all she could do was pull Manila in for a proper kiss, passionate and deep, letting her actions explain everything her tongue couldn’t.

When they reluctantly broke apart, foreheads resting against one another and perfectly jubilant smiles stretching across both women’s lips, Alaska finally found the voice to speak. “You’re the sweetest, you know that?” she whispered low enough for only them alone to hear.

“Only with you,” Manila replied coyly. “You wanna go check out the rest of the greenhouse now?”

Laughing, Alaska pulled away and took another appreciative look at the flowers. “In a minute,” she said. “I wanna look at these just a little longer.”

Chapter 8: Courtya

It took almost three full days but Katya was finally unpacked. A brand new apartment, all her own, that she could enjoy for the first time in her life. From the time she started college, moved out of her parent’s house, and all the way up until this last promotion at work, she’d always lived with at least one other person. Sometimes family, sometimes a girlfriend but usually just someone she sort of got along with and could help pay rent. She never had a place that was wholly and truly her’s…until now. 

To say she was excited would be a massive understatement; it felt like a huge milestone she’d been putting off because she never felt financially secure or even just brave enough at times to try living alone. But now that time was finally here; a chance to make this space her own. A chance to turn this apartment into a home.

Arranging the move and packing up everything had been the easy part, she soon discovered. The unpacking and reorganizing…not so much. But then again, order and discipline never really was her strong suit. Often she found herself getting so sidetracked looking for  just one specific thing among all the boxes, that she’d forget to put away anything else in the meantime. It added quite a bit of time to her unpacking and usually led to a rather large mess in most of her rooms. 

But after working almost nonstop for three days straight, everything eventually found a place in her new home. All that was left was to place the flattened boxes outside with the recyclables and dispose of all the packaging supplies. Then she could relax and settle in for this new chapter of her life.

Somewhere between the move itself on Friday and the unpacking that took over the majority of her weekend, Katya managed to spare a few minutes to answer her texts. Most were congratulatory, others offered moving tips or even to come and help. But one person actually asked if they could come over for a visit; Courtney.

A rush of giddiness swept through Katya in spite of the exhaustion seeping out from every pore. She couldn’t think of a better first houseguest than Courtney…and with any luck she can recommend a good restaurant or two nearby while Katya tried to find the energy to go grocery shopping. 

Her fingers typed out her new address at a lightning quick speed and within minutes Courtney announced that she was on her way over. 

If anyone asked, Katya would deny to her last breath that a delighted little squeal emanated from her lips as she read the message. No, she would simply say that she reviewed the text calmly , set down her phone on the kitchen counter, and walked over to the bathroom to freshen up. Because after all, who, after spending a long, exhausting day running around their apartment, moving furniture to just the right spot, arranging all of their little knickknacks and collectibles perfectly on the shelves and tucking away all of the other housing essentials, wouldn’t want to take a nice, hot shower and clean up a little? Particularly if they knew that company near and dear to their heart would be coming over very soon. 

So one quick shower and a fresh pair of clothes later, Katya was back to laying on the couch and anxiously awaiting a knock on her door. Just a few minutes after her TV show flipped to the next episode, Courtney announced her presence. 

Katya sprung from the couch and opened her front door with an exuberant smile on her face. Courtney’s excitement easily matched Katya’s own as a wide grin stretched from ear to ear, brightening the world around her. 

“Congrats on the new apartment!” she commended. Somehow her smile seemed to grow as she raised the leafy parcel in her hands. “Brought you a housewarming gift.”

Courtney held out a large, vibrant plant towards Katya, earning a muffled sound of joy. Eagerly accepting the gift, Katya wrapped her hands around the pot, letting her fingers brush against Courtney’s as they carefully exchanged ownership. 

“Thanks!” Katya exclaimed, carefully examining her new plant, “You shouldn’t ha-” Wait a minute. Her smile fell into something of a pout as the excitement quickly drained from her voice. ”…this is plastic,” she said flatly.

“Uh huh,” Courtney agreed, a pleasant smile still plastered on her face. Her eyes, however, now held a teasing glint in them. “And after you prove you can take care of this little guy, I’ll buy you a real one.” Her lips curled into a smirk as she continued on with, “You know, finding a nice sunny spot to put it, rotating the pot, dusting it every now and then. Perhaps even… weekly,” she mocked in a stage-whisper.

Chapter 5 - Rajalaskam

Step. Step. Squish.

Perfect, Willam thought to herself, Just. Fucking. Perfect.

Even before looking down, Willam knew exactly what had just happened. She had just stepped into a very mushy, very rancid pumpkin. She could feel the gooey, decomposing rind brushing against her bare toes. Gross! 

“Ugh,” she groaned out in disgust as she pulled out her foot from the mess. It was all over her beautiful heels!

“What happened?” came the distracted reply from Alaska, squatting down just a few feet away and examining yet another pumpkin.

It was her fault Willam was in this mess. Alaska had wanted to pick out pumpkins for the autumn display outside their house. Some would be carved, others merely decorative, but she needed at least one other person to help her carry them, she explained to her girlfriends earlier that week. Raja was quick to point out that she had to work that Saturday morning. It was very calm, very mild the way she said it but that slight curling of her lips, as well as the teasing glint in her eyes as she turned Willam’s way, let her know she was anything but sorry to miss this little adventure. So all that was left was Willam, who made sure never to work on weekends, especially in the early morning.

Goddamn it.

She tried to talk Alaska out of it, offering to buy her “one of those pumpkin spice crappuccinos or whatever” instead but Alaska was not having it.

“As tempting as that sounds,” she noted with a hint of sarcasm, “No.”

Willam had sighed, loudly and expressively. She knew she wasn’t going to win this; in the end she’d always end up giving into Alaska, but that didn’t mean she’d go down without a fight. Smiling back at her girlfriend, Alaska tried to entice her with, “C’mon, it’ll be fun. Don’t you remember picking out pumpkins when you were a kid?”

“No.”

“It won’t even take that long, promise.”

“Bullshit.”

The back and forth went on for another five minutes but as expected, Willam eventually gave in. At least, she consoled herself, it’ll just be a quick trip to the supermarket. Alaska can pick out the pumpkins while Willam stays in the nice, warm car and then she’ll help carry them after Alaska has found her favorites. Should be done in 30 minutes. 45, tops.

Or so Willam thought.

What Alaska neglected to mention was that she intended to pick out her pumpkins directly from the patch…and that of course meant walking up and down the endless rows examining Every. Fucking. Pumpkin. 

All while Willam pulled the heavy cart behind her. In heels, no less!

She had rounded on her girlfriend with an intense glare the moment they pulled into the lot and Willam realized what was going on. Of course Alaska would want to do it the old fashioned way but why for God’s sake did she have to pull Willam into this utter ridiculousness?

“Jesus Christ,” she complained, “I’m in heels for fuck’s sake!”

“You’re always in heels,” Alaska pointed out sedately as she exited the car, “And I told you to wear comfortable shoes.”

“These are comfortable!” Willam argued, following after her, “On solid ground. Not this disgusting mess…And is that fucking manure over there?”

Alaska merely shrugged as she led them over to the wagon rental. Though she tried to hide it, a devilish little smirk was curling at the edges of her lips. Willam was so going to get her back for this! And Raja. 

Lucky little bitch!

She had little doubt Raja knew exactly what Alaska meant by picking out pumpkins. Probably arranged to be working today so she’d get out of it.

Oh, Willam was definitely going to get both of them.

She complained for the first 10 minutes, non-stop, loud and annoying as only she could but Alaska was unbothered. She paid little attention to Willam’s whining. After all, it was nothing compared to her own temper tantrums. And she knew Willam would trail off sooner or later.

As the vocal complaints turned to disgruntled mumblings, Alaska felt free to enjoy herself. She loved the thought of picking out pumpkins straight from the farm; there was something quaint and wholesome about it that reminded her of childhood. And she loved that she got to experience this with one of her girlfriends. She would have preferred both but she was sure she could rope Raja into decorating the display with her later. Maybe she could even convince Willam to carve a pumpkin or two with them…

Two hours slipped by, Willam trudging along the rough path with the wagon following behind her and Alaska constantly bending over and examining each pumpkin she thought might belong in her display. There were only two more rows left to inspect and then they could call it a day. By this point Willam was dazed and resigned to her fate. She distracted herself with lazy thoughts of how to get revenge on both of her girlfriends…maybe in bed…maybe not…but when her foot sunk deep into the rotten rind of a pumpkin left a little too close to the path, she was sharply awoken from her distracted state.

A shiver had travelled up her spine as the cold, gooey insides seeped between her toes while Alaska asked her what was wrong. It was here Willam began her complaints anew but to her slight relief, they actually worked this time. Alaska had taken a look back at the wagon and the last pumpkin in her hands and decided this would be enough to at least get her started with the display piece. She might need to pick up an extra pumpkin or two from the grocery store but they could leave the fields now. Willam was being a relatively good sport earlier so it was the least Alaska could do not to force her to continue walking with all that gunk on her foot.

As they arrived back at the stall to pay for their finds, Alaska took the opportunity to pick out a few extra gourds and mini pumpkins to accentuate her display. She was quick about it, knowing Willam’s mood was gradually growing worse, but to her surprise Willam actually picked up one of the small, dark green mini pumpkins on her own. Perhaps she wasn’t as annoyed after all?

As soon as they were in the car, Willam tore off her heels and retrieved a few napkins tucked away in the glove box to properly clean them off. Before Alaska drove off, she pressed a quick kiss to Willam’s cheek and thanked her for coming along.

Though Willam would never admit it, the kiss and heartfelt ‘Thank you’ had mollified her. But she still had a reputation to uphold and continued to act irritated all the way home.

Barefoot, she helped Alaska empty out the car of their purchases and bring a few pumpkins of choice indoors for carving. While Alaska washed them off in the sink and set down newspaper over the table, Willam scurried off to change into something much more comfortable. By the time she returned, in a pair of skimpy, skin tight shorts, a well-loved T-shirt, and her hair done up in a messy bun, she found Alaska already sketching out the first Jack-O-Lantern’s face. A few smaller pumpkins had been left off to the side, misshapen or oddly textured, just the way Raja liked them. She knew Raja would not disappoint in whatever she decided to do to decorate them.

Alaska’s pumpkins, however, were kept charmingly simple. Triangle eyes and nose, scattered teeth in a wide grin, she even sketched out ear holes on the sides.

Willam watched her for a few moments as she completely absorbed herself in creating the perfect cutesy faces for each pumpkin. Then Willam let her attention drift back to the singular pumpkin she had picked out. She knew exactly what she wanted to do with it and after the morning she had, felt it was a deserving purpose for the little gourd.

She made quick work of washing the miniature pumpkin and lightly marking where she wanted to cut. She was unusually careful not to cut too deep, Alaska noticed. Her gaze kept drifting back to her girlfriend out of both curiosity and slight concern. Willam was always a chaotic force whenever crafting was involved, and then throwing in a knife as well? Alaska’s heart never raced harder than when she saw Willam haphazardly cutting into something while ignoring all safety precautions or gentle warnings from her girlfriends.

Alaska was just about to begin carving her second pumpkin by the time Willam had removed a section off the top of hers and cleaned out the innards. She carelessly licked the pumpkin guts off the knife, making Alaska’s stomach queasy in process. But before she looked away for her own sanity, she noticed Willam’s face contorting in the cutest expression of mild disgust. Alaska couldn’t stop her lips from curling as she refocused on her own crafting. 

Her attention was soon divided again by Willam running back to the kitchen and rummaging through the drawers, then off to the bathroom and strangely towards the bedroom as well. She came back with the oddest collection of items; a cheap metal flour sifter from the dollar store, a screwdriver she picked up somewhere, one of Raja’s clogs that Willam regularly made fun of, some kind of plastic tubes, and-

Wait.

Now Alaska realized what she was doing.

She’d seen Raja demonstrate this so many times (though her efforts were always a bit more organized than this).

Willam was making a bong out of her mini pumpkin. Alaska had to laugh, because of course she would. How had she missed the gears spinning in Willam’s head as she picked out the pumpkin from the stall?

“Gonna share that when you’re done, right?” Alaska asked, amusement in her voice, as Willam tried to hammer the screwdriver into the pumpkin with Raja’s clog.

“Maybe,” Willam replied distractedly. 

Read as ‘of course,’ Alaska noted with a grin.

They continued their projects for the next hour in relative silence. The dining room table was a mess of soiled newspaper, pumpkin guts and random disassembled household products Willam had collected for her home-made bong. She was still experimenting with getting it just right when Raja arrived back home. She had immediately made her way towards the kitchen, following the sounds of clatter and clanging to find her partners each engaged in their own tasks at the table. Willam was the most focused and didn’t notice her right away until she felt Raja pressing a soft kiss to her cheek. She didn’t say anything but the hint of a grin as she worked told Raja more than enough. Though she had to wonder why one of her clogs was left laying on the table. Moving on to Alaska, she pressed a kiss to her cheek as well, wiping off some of the dried pumpkin guts Alaska had missed earlier when she tried to clean her face.

“You ladies have fun today?” she asked, arms wrapped around Alaska’s waist as they both watched Willam pouring a half-empty bottle of water into the little pumpkin.

“No,” Willam complained briefly before taking her first hit.

“I did,” Alaska countered. “Wish you were there though.”

“Yeah, you could’ve pulled the fucking wagon,” Willam muttered.

Raja chuckled lightly as she moved over to sit next to Willam and relieve her of the pumpkin. “Next time,” she promised, taking an experimental hit off Willam’s questionable-looking bong.

“Not bad,” she commented as her lips broke free. Willam made a noise of agreement as well as a few mental notes of what to do better next time. But it came out surprisingly effective for a spur of the moment decision.

The pair passed the pumpkin back and forth for another round as Alaska finished the last of her rudimentary cleaning. She laid out a fresh spread of newspaper for whenever Raja started her own carving. She motioned over to the collection of odd and unusual pumpkins before relieving Willam of her bong and taking a few well-earned hits. 

While the two continued to share the homemade bong, Raja’s gaze travelled to the other end of the table to inspect her pumpkins and begin brainstorming for ideas. A few thoughts were brewing but she’d definitely sketch them out on paper first before marking up any of the pumpkins. One thing she did notice right away brought a smile to her lips.

“They’re perfect by the way,” she complimented Alaska. “You know how much I like the weird ones.”

She glanced over to Willam, now taking another hit, and nudged her lightly in the side. Willam stared blankly for a moment, wheels turning in her head, as Alaska struggled not to outright laugh. Then, after 2 or 3 seconds, Willam’s mind caught up with what Raja had said and she immediately stuck her tongue out. “Fuck off,” she laughed out in a huff. “I hate both of you.”

“Yes, and we hate you, too,” Raja murmured, pressing a brief kiss to Willam’s grinning lips.

Chapter 6 - Witney

“Dandelions are kinda pretty, don'tcha think?” Courtney blurted out as she and Willam trekked through the park. Her gaze had been wandering around the huge open space that surrounded them. It seemed like everything was in bloom right now, whether it was the flowers on the trees or the wildflowers off in the distance, but especially noticeable was dandelions scattered in amongst the grass.

Irritably shifting their overpacked cooler from one hand to another, Willam remarked, “I think it’s a weed.”

“Still pretty,” Courtney countered, picking up one just off the dirt trail they were using and holding it out for Willam to see.

Despite Courtney’s usually infectious smile, Willam just looked at the object derisively for a moment, shifted the cooler yet again, and commented, “Still a weed…but not the useful kind.”

Laughing lightly as she bent down to pick up another long stemmed dandelion, Courtney pointed out, “Dandelions are plenty useful. Bees love them.”

“Bees love any kind of flower,” Willam muttered, trying to keep from huffing as she continued to struggle with the cooler. Maybe if she tried carrying it with both hands?

“They’re nutritious too,” Courtney chirped away, plucking up another flower, “…can even be used for medicine.”

It was here Willam stopped in her tracks for a hot second to give Courtney a look of concern. “Please tell me you don’t actually eat them,” she groaned in mild disgust.

Courtney’s laughter echoed through the park as she veered off the path again and replied, “No, but it’s still good information to know.”

“Right,” Willam grumbled sarcastically. Looking up ahead, she was relieved to find the picnic table was finally within sight. Just a few more feet.

Bending down to pick up another few dandelions growing clustered together, Courtney added in, “And it helps that they’re so easy to grow.“

“Again; because it’s a weed!” Willam shouted back as she rushed on towards the table. She dropped the cooler as soon as she was close enough and not a moment too soon; her fingers felt like they were about to break off! 

She shook her hands trying to regain some of the feeling back in her fingers before sitting down and unpacking their weighty lunch. Courtney was still off the path, about 10 or so yards away, picking the blooming dandelions with the longest stems. When she finally had a nice little bundle in her hand, she rejoined Willam at the picnic table. Renewing their conversation, one Willam had hoped was finally done, Courtney stated proudly, “They can even grow through the cracks in concrete. That’s perseverance.”

“That sounds stolen from a motivational poster,” Willam countered with an eye roll. Despite her firm stance that dandelions were just a weed, she could feel a small smile tugging at the corners of her lips, especially once Courtney corrected her with a lazy, drawn out, “Maybe borrowed.”

For the next minute or two, Willam focused her energy on setting out their lunches while Courtney fiddled with all the flowers she collected. Willam didn’t pay much attention to her, instead she was sorting through what food was definitely hers so she could finally eat. She hadn’t realized just how starving she was until she could finally see the food laid out in front of her. 

She was nearly finished with her task when Courtney mused out loud once more, “And it’s fun to blow all the little seeds off and watch them float away.”

“If you say so,” Willam replied distractedly. Just about…Done!

“I do say so,” Courtney teased. When Willam looked back at her, ready to announce that they could start eating, she found herself having to pause. Those stupid little dandelions were gone and Courtney’s hands were currently behind her back. Willam eyed her up suspiciously as Courtney maneuvered her way out of her seat and circled the table until she was sitting right next to Willam. She could barely contain her grin, an act that did nothing to ease Willam’s concerns that she was up to something. Then, very carefully, Courtney withdrew her hands from behind her back and announced, “And…they’re the best flower to make a crown out of.”

No sooner had she said it than Willam found a small crown of poorly tied dandelions resting on her head. Immediately, she gave Courtney a withering look, imagining whatever little bugs that hitched a ride on those flowers now crawling in amongst hair, but Courtney just beamed back at her. She looked so pleased with herself, it was a struggle for Willam not to crack even just a little smile.

Sighing softly in defeat, Willam shook her head and shifted around to remove her phone from her pocket. As she unlocked it, she could hear Courtney giggling next to her, saying, “Alright, you can take it off.”

But to Courtney’s surprise, instead of immediately snatching the handmade crown from her head, Willam simply held up her phone, angled just so, and snapped a series of selfies. With her own cocky, satisfied little grin, Willam informed her, “After lunch I will.”

Chapter 3: Rujubee

“You’re sick,” Jujubee stated, arms crossing in the process. There was no question, no uncertainty in her voice, just a plain, simple, factual statement.

Raven, on the other hand, wholeheartedly disagreed with her. She never got sick. Her scratchy throat, foggy head, and stuffed up nose were the result of something else entirely. She was quite confident of that and immediately argued, “It’s just allergies.” Never mind how the voice she spoke with sounded nasally even to her own ears.

Jujubee merely arched her brow at her stubborn girlfriend. She glanced up and down Raven’s form bundled up on the couch and wrapped in one of their oversized fleeces before settling back on the obstinate glare Raven was sending her way. Voicing her disbelief, she replied, “Mh-mm. From what? We don’t have any pets and it’s the dead of winter. No dander, no pollen.”

Raven’s eyes narrowed at her. It seemed like she might give in, or more likely, sulk silently in defeat, but that small hope went out the door as Raven snottily retorted, “Those flowers you sent.”

“You mean the ones I sent because you were getting sick?” Jujubee countered. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s the reason.”

The couple glared at one another for another moment or two with neither side willing to concede. Raven utterly hated feeling like anything less than 100% her normal self and loathed the thought of relying on anyone’s, even her own girlfriend’s, help while she recuperated. Jujubee was annoyed that Raven couldn’t let go of that self-confident bravado and let herself be taken care of, even for a little while. She wanted to help her girlfriend get better, ached to repay her for all the times Raven had cared for her when she felt under the weather. But Raven was still too guarded, even after all these months together. 

Sighing, Jujubee decided to try a different tactic. “Alright,” Jujubee relented as she turned away and walked towards the bathroom. “Be back in a minute.”

Raven watched her suspiciously and wrapped the blanket even tighter once she was sure Jujubee was out of sight. She heard her girlfriend rattling around in the bathroom, clearly looking for something in the cabinet next to the sink. Raven found herself feeling slightly curious as to what exactly Jujubee was searching but her head was so cloudy she didn’t get very far with her wondering. Before too long, Jujubee reappeared in front of her and dropped two packets of medicine into her lap.

In a no-nonsense tone, one very unusual for Raven to hear from her, Jujubee told her, “Take whichever you think is gonna work.” 

Looking down, Raven found the two packets were quite different from one another; one marked for allergies, the other for cold and flu symptoms. She glanced back up at Jujubee. Her arms were crossed once more as she silently waited for Raven to make her choice. For too long, Raven’s eyes darted between the packages, but Jujubee remained faithfully in front of her, watching her every move. She knew what Jujubee was doing; trying to push her into making the right choice but Raven still detested that kind of not-so-subtle nudging. Still, she found herself feeling surprisingly cowed…so she decided to meet Jujubee in the middle…and make a choice neither would be entirely happy with.

She tore into both packets, selecting one tablet from each, and popped them into her mouth with a taunting little smirk. As she swallowed them down dry, Jujubee cracked a tiny grin of her own. Shaking her head, Jujubee wandered off towards the kitchen, but as she left, Raven could hear her muttering, “Stubborn bitch.”

As soon as she realized there was no real bite to the words, Raven nestled deep into the couch with a pleased little smile tugging at her lips. Off in the distance she could hear the soft clanking of dishware drifting in from the hallway and in just a few minutes, Jujubee returned with two carefully balanced mugs for the both of them. Handing Raven hers, Jujubee collapsed onto the couch next to her and claimed some portion of the fleece for herself.

Taking a tentative sip from her mug, Raven was pleased to find warm, sweet tea rushing down her throat. “Chamomile,” Jujubee replied to her unasked question, grabbing the remote from the arm of the couch, “And honey. It’s good for a sore throat.”

Raven nodded her head and took a much deeper sip. She didn’t normally drink tea, she preferred black coffee instead, but it did seem like it was helping; her throat didn’t feel quite so rough and itchy as it had a few minutes ago.

For the next few minutes, the only sound that filled their living room was the program on TV and the soft sipping from their mugs. It was rather comfortable, Raven realized, Cozy, domestic silence.

Before she was even halfway done with her tea, Raven found herself readjusting her position and leaning just so into Jujubee. She told herself it was merely so she could share the blanket more easily but deep down she had to admit that right now she very much craved that extra warmth and closeness that always seemed to radiate from her girlfriend’s entire being.

When her mug was nearly empty and the pain in her throat mostly gone, Raven spoke up quietly, “Thanks…for the flowers and um…everything else, too.”

She didn’t look directly at Jujubee but still she could sense her smiling. “Anytime,” she whispered back, pressing a gentle kiss to her cheek.

Maybe, Raven thought to herself, it’s not so awful to rely on her…just a little.

Chapter 4: Shangelyssa

A proud smile tugged at the corners of Shangela’s lips as she looked around at the boring, semi-barren backyard in front of her. Today’s the day! she thought to herself. A perfectly comfortable spring morning to finally work on the landscaping of her home. She and Alyssa could truly make this house theirs…except Alyssa was a bit less excited about the prospect than Shangela. She had actually physically recoiled at the thought of a little gardening when Shangela first brought it up a few weeks ago. She actually had hoped (maybe even prayed) that Shangela would forget about the whole venture come spring time and move on to something else…or at least not rope her into it. She was not an outdoorsy girl, especially if it involves getting covered in dirt and sweat.

But Shangela was determined.

Over the course of two weeks, Shangela studied the backyard, learned what tools and plants she needed to make her dream garden, and then slowly set out to find the perfect specimens. And now today she had dragged Alyssa out of bed in the wee hours of the morning (at the purely scandalous time of 8AM) to assist with getting all of the work done. Even with Alyssa’s grumbling and whining, Shangela couldn’t help but feel giddy at the reality that everything was finally coming together today. 

The tools were already lying organized on the damp grass and all of the potted plants Shangela had splurged on lay clustered together just a few feet beyond them. Now it was time to get to work!

“Okay,” she began, excitement creeping into her voice, “So I guess first…we should make sure we have everything?”

“You weren’t sure when we bought all this shit?” Alyssa grumbled irritably as she wiped away the remaining traces of sleep from her eyes.

Shangela merely smiled back at her, her mood not dampened in the slightest, and replied cheerfully, “Won’t hurt to double check.”

Walking around slowly, Shangela carefully checked things off her mental list of gardening essentials. Just vaguely, Alyssa could hear her distracted mumbling, “Gloves, potting soil…plants are over there…shears, trowel…” Then perking back up, Shangela announced to her, “I think we’re good!”

“Great,” Alyssa spoke in a sarcasm-laden voice. The only thing missing was an eye-roll, Shangela noted.

But ignoring her girlfriend’s spoiled, prissy behavior for the time being, Shangela decided, “So let’s place everything where we want to plant it.”

Skeptically, Alyssa repeated, “'We’?”

“Yes, ‘we’. ‘We’ both own this house, don’t we?”

Alyssa looked at her with an utterly scandalized expression. No one told her she’d actually have to lift things! Immediately a flurry of protests spilled from her mouth, ranging from outright refusals to flimsy, half-baked excuses for why she couldn’t…or rather wouldn’t.

An exhausted sigh escaped as Shangela picked up the first potted plant, shifted around to face Alyssa, and told her, “Quit your bitching, it’ll only take a few hours.”

“Girl, hours? I had plans!”

“No, you didn’t!” Shangela scoffed, walking her plant towards the fenceline. Shouting back over her shoulder, she accused, “You were gonna veg out on the couch like you do every Sunday.” 

Alyssa watched her gingerly setting the pot down, her mouth gaping open like a fish’s. There was no way she could do this! It was so dirty and disgusting…and gross. Even the thought of that moist dirt against her skin completely repulsed her. But Shangela was insistent. Setting her sights on one of the largest plants she had bought, she ordered her girlfriend, “Now help me move this one.”

An hour and a half later, after a few rounds of haphazard reorganization, Shangela announced delightedly, “Well, I think we’re finally ready to start digging!”

She was practically vibrating with excitement. It’s really happening, she thought, Just a few hours and this backyard is gonna be perfect!

Alyssa on the other hand, felt quite another way. She returned to her angry grumbling as she reluctantly tugged her gloves into place and tied her hair up into a taut bun. True, it had been pulled back into a loose ponytail earlier but Alyssa was willing to do anything to delay the actual digging. Even if it was just for a few extra seconds. The instant she was done, Shangela handed her a trowel and dragged her over to the closest collection of plants sitting along the fenceline. “Gonna ruin my nails,” Alyssa grumbled, resisting every step, “Have to take another shower…Break my back.”

She groaned out as she knelt down against the grass and felt tiny little pebbles digging against her skin. She hated today. As soon as Shangela finished digging the majority of the hole with her shovel, Alyssa was set to rounding out the edges and ensuring it would actually be deep enough for the first plant. She eyed up the pot and the hole and decided Close enough, then shouted out to Shangela that it was ready. Slowly and delicately, Shangela worked the first plant from it’s cheap plastic pot and set it into the hole. Not quite a perfect fit (Shangela’s glare darting between Alyssa and the extra inch of the root ball sticking out over the top reiterated that) but Alyssa was adamant it was fine. Nevertheless, Shangela had her dig an extra two inches of depth before setting the plant back into the hole and calling it ‘acceptable.’ 

This pattern continued on for another half hour. The sun was truly starting to peak out and both girls were beginning to break a sweat. Despite her previous enthusiasm, Shangela was nearing her patience’s end. Between doing the heavy lifting, making all the careful adjustments, and Alyssa’s godawful whining, she felt close to snapping. She tried her best to remain calm but as she learned years ago; Alyssa’s bitching, especially when it’s this constant and insistent, can really work on your nerves.

They had switched roles for the time being; Alyssa was now in charge of the shovel and spent her short break leaning expressively against the fence as Shangela cleaned up yet another of the seemingly endless holes they had to dig. Her eyes wandered amongst the slow progress they had been making and tried to think of a new complaint to vocalize. She liked to keep her material fresh after all and if she had to be miserable during this little home improvement project…well, she was damn sure she wasn’t gonna be the only one. But then a small flurry of movement caught her attention. 

It almost looked like a bit of wind the way the tall, heavy flower began to sway but Alyssa quickly realized that wasn’t the case. It was the only one moving and instantly she felt her heart begin to hammer in her chest. She waved her hand at Shangela, the other woman too focused on the hole to notice right away, and let out a worried, “Oh…Oh-”

It was that scared vocalization that made Shangela’s head dart up in a flash. Her immediate thought was that Alyssa had hurt herself somehow but as she tried to ask what was wrong, Alyssa cut her off with a screeching, “Oh my god! Shangie!”

“Wha-”

“Kill it!” Alyssa interrupted, squirming in place as she backed herself further against the fence. Her eyes clenched shut for a moment as she pointed over to the bobbing flower and screamed,  “Killitkillitkillit!”

Shangela’s head tilted in confusion as she twisted around to find the source of Alyssa’s sudden, (and slightly hilarious) overblown fear. “What are you-it’s just a praying mantis, ‘Lyss,” she said consolingly. She was trying so hard not to laugh but so far she was not succeeding. Stepping closer to the flower the mantis had chosen as it’s perch, Shangela tried to calm her girlfriend with a soothing reiteration of, “It’s not gonna hurt you. It’s probably just curious.”

“It’s looking at me all funny!” Alyssa argued vehemently, clutching onto her shovel. “Kill it already!”

“I’m not gonna kill it,” Shangela replied mildly, shaking her head with a small smile. Offering one hand as a new platform for the mantis and using the other to carefully usher it forward, Shangela continued with, “I’ll just move it over-fuck!” The moment she touched the insect’s legs, a pair of wings appeared and the mantis took off flying directly at her. Not wasting a single second, Shangela scurried out of the landscape area, screaming, “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”

Running like a madwoman, she shouted to Alyssa, who followed hot on her heels, “Get back in the house! Back in the house!”

Chapter 1: Tatiadore

Tatiana awoke to the sound of birds distantly chirping away outside her window and the warm rays of the sun beginning to light up her room. It was all very pleasant, especially for what was supposed to be a quiet Sunday at home with her girlfriend. Groggily, she stumbled out of bed and wandered over to their shared dresser. Her mind was still sleep-addled but something was trying to capture her attention. It was a brief whiff of some strange scent but in an instant,  it was gone. No matter how hard Tatianna tried to refocus on it, it had just disappeared. 

But that caused her attention to drift to another development…elsewhere in the apartment, there was another scent arising; that of cooking food.

A soft smile arose to her lips; Adore was making breakfast and from the smell of it, something with sweet peppers, onion and egg…perhaps a western omelette, or maybe just scrambled?

Hurrying to the bathroom, Tatianna resolved to take a quicker shower than normal. Usually she would stay in there for a good 20 minutes and just let herself relax under the spray but the delicious scent of breakfast waiting for her in the kitchen made her realize that she was utterly starving. And even more so, she just wanted to pull Adore into her arms once again, especially since she didn’t have a chance to upon first waking up.

So in record time, she had her teeth brushed and the shower warming up but while the bathroom steadily filled with steam, Tatianna realized that strange scent from before was somehow in here as well. This time it was stronger and lasted long enough for Tatianna to realize it was rather floral, but soon, thanks to the fan she had turned on in anticipation of a hot shower, the smell had disappeared once again.

Oh, well.

A brief 8 minutes later and Tatianna was clean, awake, and had changed into a fresh set of clothes; a simple cami and shorts ensemble but it was comfortable and cute.

Feeling much more like her normal self, she bounded into the kitchen to greet her girlfriend. Adore was still standing in front of the stove, poking her spatula at something sizzling in the pan and a cup of steaming tea close by on the countertop. She heard Tatianna arriving and spun around halfway to shoot her a warm, cheery grin. “Hey, baby,” she called out, not sounding entirely awake herself.

Tatianna was beginning to return the greeting but something caught her attention yet again; that same scent! It was here! But where…and why?

Adore caught the shift in Tatianna’s expression; it was so sudden and such an adorable mixture of confusion and concentration that Adore had to laugh. “Tati, baby,” she asked through her laughter, “what’s with that face?”

Distractedly, Tatianna wandered around the boundaries of the kitchen, sniffing here and there, while giving a vague reply of “I smell something…In the bedroom and bathroom…now here.”

“Breakfast?” Adore offered up, gesturing to the nearly finished food in her pan.

Shaking her head, Tatianna said, “No, not that…it’s like, flowery but not flowers…” She didn’t know just how to explain it, even now she was only catching short bursts of the scent, but it didn’t smell quite natural…no, more like a man-made attempt at a floral scent…in fact, it smelled a bit like- “you!” she exclaimed, finding the scent strongest near her girlfriend.

True, the smell of food covered it up quite a bit but it was definitely originating from Adore!

Puzzled, Adore murmured a soft, “Mm?” and stirred the food in the pan one last time before turning off the heat. Remember her own deviation in routine that morning she recalled, “Oh, yeah. I got some new perfume and wanted to try it out today…Rose. Like it?”

She glanced up to her girlfriend with the brightest, proudest smile…Nothing in the world could convince Tatianna not to return the gesture. Pressing a soft kiss to Adore’s lips, she answered, “Love…you.” Adore pouted. She really thought Tatianna would like the perfume more but oh, well. To each their own.

Tatianna wrapped her arms around Adore’s waist as she began splitting up the pan’s contents between the two plates in front of her. She nuzzled into Adore’s neck, loving the feel of her girlfriend’s body melting into hers, but she couldn’t resist letting one last comment slip out. Pressing another sweet kiss to Adore’s skin, she murmured, “And I’ll love you even if you wanna smell like an old lady every day.”

Snorting, Adore nearly doubled over as she tried to brace herself against the counter. “Well, fuck you, too, bitch,” she laughed out. “I like it though.”

Chapter 2: Biaja

It was about 2 in the afternoon when Raja’s phone began to buzz. Even without looking she already guessed it’d be her girlfriend. Tonight was supposed to be one of their stay-at-home date nights. Every month or so, they picked out a Friday where they would just spend a romantic evening at home, rather than going out to fancy restaurants or even double date with another couple. It was a chance to spend some quality time together, which had gotten a bit more difficult due to hectic work schedules.

‘Heyy!’ came Bianca’s first text. ‘Want me to pick up anything special for tonight?’

Raja smiled to herself. They already had their meal planned out; Raja would pick it up on her way home. Bianca had taken charge of finding dessert and figuring out which new movie release to watch. There didn’t seem to be much else that hadn’t already planned for…except perhaps one thing they both would enjoy.

Opening the text box, Raja quickly typed out ‘Rose’ but after staring at it for a good 10 seconds, it just didn’t look right.

Oh, right , Raja mused to herself, it’s missing the little accent thingy.

Finding the symbol was easy enough in her phone, the trouble was getting it over the ‘e’. No matter how she tried typing it out, the accent would appear as its own character either before or after the ‘e’ but never above. 

How do people do this? she stressed. She’d seen Bianca figure it out before so it can’t be that difficult. Eh, whatever. She knows what I mean.

And with that, she sent off the text to her partner. In less than a minute, Bianca replied back with a simple, ‘👍🏻’. 

Smiling to herself once again, she thought, Yeah, she gets me.

With that minor detail resolved, she returned back to her work, letting her mind drift every so often to how delicious their food was going to be or how much she was looking forward to emptying out that new bottle of wine during the movie.

******

With two oversized takeout bags and her purse in hand, Raja maneuvered the front door open as carefully as she could manage. She had made it only three steps inside before Bianca came rushing from the kitchen to meet her, one hand hidden behind her back. Raja was twisted around, unable to notice the odd behavior at first, and trying to close the door behind her. In the end she found herself having to settle on merely shunting the door closed with her foot and ignoring the loud clash as it met with the doorframe. Shifting back around to face her girlfriend, they shared a brief kiss as Bianca relieved her of one of the bags.

As they parted, a grin present on both of their lips, Bianca greeted her with a rather cheerful, “Hey, how was your day?”

“Great,” Raja replied, already feeling herself beginning to relax after such a long week and returned with an interested, “Yours?”

“Perfect,” Bianca beamed back. Very casually, she added in, “Picked up what you asked for.”

The statement immediately caught Raja’s attention. Perking back up, she questioned expectantly, “Yeah?”

Looking ever so proud of herself, Bianca withdrew the hand she had kept behind her back and presented Raja with a single long-stemmed, light pink rose. Snorting and nearly doubling over with laughter, Raja muttered to herself, “Oh my god.”

“Something wrong?” Bianca asked as her head tilted just slightly. Her brow was slightly furrowed in confusion, making her look utterly adorable in Raja’s eyes.

Through her laughter, Raja managed to explain, “Yes, no- I mean…I was trying to type out rosé and I couldn’t get that little dash thing over the ‘e’. So I just gave up and sent you, well, ‘rose’ instead.”

A look of guilt washed over Bianca’s face as she apologized, “Oh…I’m sorry, honey.”

Wrapping her free arm around Bianca’s waist, Raja pulled her in close and placed a quick peck to her cheek. “Don’t be, it’s my fault,” she assured her partner in a soft, amused voice. “Should’ve just sent a couple of wine emojis.”

“Yeah, that would’ve been much clearer,” Bianca agreed as her trademark smirk reappeared on her lips. Gently pulling away, she grabbed onto Raja’s hand and began leading her towards the kitchen. “Let’s get everything on plates and then we can eat. Dessert’s already laid out and the movie is set up in the living room.”

Raja followed closely behind with an eager grin but found herself stopping just inside the entryway to their kitchen. Laid out on the counter was no less than three bottles of her favorite brand of rosé. All of it was artfully surrounded by even more of those light pink roses and a few carefully scattered petals.

“Oh my god,” Raja gasped, grinning from ear to ear at the sight. Bianca truly does understand her.

Unfortunately that realization and moment of warmth was quickly interrupted by Bianca’s cackling of, “‘Little dash thing’?”

“Shut up!” Raja joked, laughing along with Bianca as they both set their bags onto the counter. “I tried, okay!”

“I’m sure you did, honey,” Bianca teased. “Pull out your phone and I’ll show you again how to do it.”

Retrieving her phone from her purse, Raja complained despite her ever present smile, “Still don’t understand how you figured it out before me.”