#rathernotmyname

“When’s the last time you made something like this for your mom?” Eugene asked, as his hands delicately settled a clay flower on the already dried and baked small clay vase he’d made the week prior. 

Snafu shrugged. “Depends on what’s allowed from year to year.” 

He watched Eugene wince, but shook his head. “It’s okay. She’d appreciate it, if she was around. And I’m sure she appreciates it anyway, if she can see it. And I think she can.” 

He’d told Eugene for weeks it was fine; he was happy to participate in Mother’s Day and make a gift for his mother. He didn’t every year, depending on if he could get back to Louisiana or not. The years he could, he left a gift of some kind, some flowers, a few beans of her favorite coffee. It would be nice to do it again.

But Eugene clearly wasn’t used to it, wasn’t used to the idea of trying to make a parent happy years after they were gone from the earth. 

“No reason why that wouldn’t be, right?” 

Snafu shrugged and gave a gentle tap to the finished portion of the coiled rope basket he was making. “I’ve told the groundskeeper to take whatever he wants from her gifts that he can use at home. I figure him or his wife could use this, and they always thank me when it’s something home decor related, so this should be safe.” 

“Just be careful with that,” Eugene said, nodding towards the hot glue gun in his hand. “Pretty sure your mom doesn’t want you glued to it.” 

“You worry too much,” Snafu teased. “You’ve seen me handle an actual gun; this is nothing.” 

“Is it? Because you still have your finger pressing the trigger...” 

Snafu looked down, and winced at the glue pooling on the cover over their table. “That’ll come off.” 

“I’m sure it will,” Eugene chuckled. “Just don’t let any of it hit your hand.” 

“You really trust me less with this than an actual gun?” 

“Snaf.” 

“Eugene!” Snafu shook his head and moved his hands up in shock and frustration. “This is crafts. Would you feel better if I had a crafting ribbon from the Marines? Maybe an arts and crafts specialization training course? Combat gluing of rope to make a basket? Y’know, I’m gonna add some ribbon on this later for accent, and-” 

He felt his eye twitch as glue hit his bare foot. His first urge was to swear and yelp, but he couldn’t let Eugene know. If he was careful, he could hide this.

“And?” Eugene asked. “What other ways do you think the Marines could use hot glue guns?” 

He let his hand off the trigger, then waited for the remaining glue to drop off the gun and onto his foot before setting the gun back down on the table. “Oh. They’d find something.” 

Eugene snorted. “What sort of non-answer is that? Where’s my man with the snappy comebacks?” 

Currently wondering if he’ll have skin left on his foot after this, was what Snafu thought. Instead, he said: “Just distracted I guess. Thinkin’ about what else I could add to this that Mom would have liked.” 

Eugene gave him an odd look, but nodded. “Fair enough. I shouldn’t be distracting you when you’re holdin’ that dangerous weapon, right?” 

Snafu laughed to hide the hiss he wanted to let out as he felt the glue cooling on his skin. He didn’t even know how to treat that. Could he just pull the glue off? How bad could a burn from a glue gun even be? It sure as hell felt bad. 

They worked in silence for another few minutes before Eugene was satisfied with the additions on his vase. 

“Gonna go put this in to bake. You good on your own? Don’t need me supervising you?” 

“Funny,” Snafu winked, this time to hide a wince as he tried to move his foot further under the table so Eugene couldn’t easily see it.  “I’m good.” 

Eugene pressed a gentle kiss to his forehead, then headed off towards their oven with his vase. 

He couldn’t think of a time he’d whipped out his phone faster, searching online for what he hoped would be an easy answer. 

“Soak in cold water for at least ten minutes? What if I don’t have ten minutes?” he whispered fiercely at his phone. “Shit.” 

“What was that?” Eugene called, and Snafu had never hated how small their apartment was so much until now. 

“Almost dropped my phone!” 

“Be careful! You’re a lovable hazard, you know that?” Eugene giggled. 

“I certainly am,” Snafu muttered quietly to himself, staring at his foot, pondering his next move. 

“Need this?” 

He turned, and Eugene was stood with a bowl of water, just big enough for his foot. 

“How the hell...” Snafu grinned. “Caught.” 

“Yeah. With your hands movin’ like that, I figured you’d hit some part of yourself. Plus, you got a wild tell when you’re in pain.” 

“I do not!” 

“Do so!” Eugene teased. “Honest. You don’t wink with your left eye unless you’re hurting, otherwise you use your right eye.” 

“How the fuck have you noticed that?” 

“How often have you told me some terrible pun and winked at me to get me into bed?” 

Snafu nodded. “Fair enough. Hell of a thing to pick up on though.”

“Like you haven’t picked up on the stuff like that that I do.” 

“You usually swear like a sailor, even more than usual. That’s hint enough,” Snafu said. “That, and you tap your fingers on whatever’s nearest you like you’re pissed at the pain for taking so long to go away.” 

“See?” Eugene said as he walked around the table to him. “Now, what did you...oh.” 

“Yeah,” Snafu sighed, and tried to carefully lift up his foot from the kitchen tile. “Might want to get a towel or two.” 

Eugene was on it in a flash, taking the bowl with him and returning with it and one of their few extra-thick towels to put under it, kneeling by him. “Foot up, let’s get you in this. That’s gonna hurt like a bitch once the glue is off, just so you know.” 

“Hurts now, didn’t figure it would magically stop that,” Snafu smiled grimly as he let his foot settle into the bowl. “Water feels good though. How did you know to get that anyway?” 

Eugene blushed, his head still bent just the slightest bit down, a hand on Snafu’s ankle. “I’ll give you three words.”

Snafu snickered. “Bet I can guess ‘em.” 

“Go for it.”

“Sid, dare, kids.” 

“Pretty much it,” Eugene sighed. “In all fairness, we were pretty young kids. About ten. Old enough to technically know better, but just young enough to still do something that stupid. We dared each other to drop as much hot glue as we could on part of us, a hand or foot, and-” 

“Gene!” 

“Don’t you judge me!” Eugene smiled and laughed. “I can’t really blame you though. Oh, was my mom mad. You know how she gets.”

“All deadly quiet, not sayin’ a word to you the whole time she was fixing you up,” Snafu said, wincing just slightly as Eugene started to rub at the glue, getting it to come away from his skin. “And you don’t dare say a word, or she’d start in on you.” 

Eugene nodded. “Took two days before she was calmed down enough to give a firm talking-to while she was redressing the burn on my foot. Drilled it into my head how to take care of a burn like this, and told me if I ever so much as looked at her hot glue gun again...” 

Snafu shook his head and laughed. “You little shits. Which foot?” 

“Same as you,” Eugene replied, and carefully readjusted so the top of his right foot was visible. A tiny bit of discoloration was noticeable. 

“Your mom did a hell of a job fixing it up then. Can I expect the same level of care?” Snafu asked, reaching down to ruffle Eugene’s hair. 

“We’ll see. I’ll ask you what my mom asked me, when she was first cleaning me up,” Eugene said. “You ever gonna do this again?” 

“No, I will not.”

“You ever gonna be careless with something that can burn you like this again?” 

“On my honor, I will not. The utmost care will be taken in the future.”

“You gonna be good and help me remember to keep burn cream on it?” 

Snafu nodded, then broke and giggled. “She really asked you that?” 

“I had to set alarms! She did most of it, since I was young, but I had to help her remember so we could put more cream on, change the dressing, keep it from gettin’ infected.” 

“I love your mom,” Snafu grinned. 

“Me too,” Eugene said. “And I’ll love watching you tell her all about this next weekend when we go over to visit and take my vase to her.” 

Snafu let his head drop back and rubbed at the bridge of his nose. “It won’t be healed by then?” 

Eugene shrugged. “Take a look. Glue is finally off, but...I mean, it could be worse.” 

Snafu looked down, then immediately looked back up.

“Holy...look at how grey you just got! I think you might deserve a medal or ribbon for this wound,” Eugene mused. “You just focus on taking slow breaths, don’t pass out, and let me do the rest. Call me medic until we’ve got you all fixed up.” 

“Kinky,” Snafu tried to tease, but it came out as a weak whisper. Who knew seeing his foot missing a decent layer of skin and looking gross as all hell would take him out so easily? “Want me to call you that in bed tonight too?” 

“You gonna throw up?”

“Please don’t say throw up,” Snafu murmured, and let his head gently drop to the cool surface of the table. 

“You aren’t normally so squeamish...didn’t think I’d ever see you lookin’ like that. Guess you can’t go hurting your feet ever again, huh?” 

He wanted to respond, but he was too light-headed to lift his head up.

 Instead, he let Eugene work, feeling as Eugene’s hands helped lift his foot out of the water, drying it gently with the towel, then leaving it wrapped there for a moment on the floor. 

He heard Eugene go for the first aid kid, and closed his eyes for the rest of it. The sensation of Eugene carefully moving the towel, a shade of red that had reminded Snafu of Eugene’s hair in the sun and his whole reason for buying the towel at all, then applying burn cream so tenderly it was as if Eugene thought his foot might just break apart at the slightest touch. The sensation of the gauze made him wince, and he heard Eugene hiss at the movement. 

“I’m gonna go get you a glass of cold water,” Eugene was suddenly standing, near his other side, the bowl in his hands. “Then get you settled on the couch to elevate that. You can finish the basket later; if I let you sit up and pass out right here I am one hundred percent sure your mother will come haunt me.”

Snafu managed a chuckle. “Probably. She always told me, ‘You aren’t always gonna find someone who babies you like I do. You gotta learn to be careful.’ I don’t think I learned that last bit real well, but I found someone who babies me when I need it. She’d still show up though, give us both a lecture.”

“It would a deserved one,” Eugene said, returning with the glass of water. “And yeah, you are definitely gettin’ babied for the rest of the night, at least. You’re still awfully grey...” 

He tried to keep his head upright, his feet in a straight line, as Eugene kept one hand on his back, the other holding the glass of water, maneuvering him towards their couch. 

Once he was settled, propped up with two of their many pillows (no one couple needed six throw pillows, but they were all cute and had either a cat or dog on them, and who could say no to that?), the glass of water safely in his hands, he started to feel more steady.

“That looks better already,” Eugene smiled. “I’m gonna go check on the vase, and you stay put. Once I’ve got it out of the oven, I think we’re due for a movie night. Best thing for resting and healing is falling asleep in front of something good.”

Snafu nodded, and grinned as Eugene walked back into the kitchen. “How’d I get so lucky, Mama? He’s an angel, I’m tellin’ ya. I can’t wait to introduce you two, when I bring your present by. Without any of me or my skin accidentally attached, I promise.”

That promise he could keep, as well as one he’d made his mother years ago, when he was too young to know what it meant.

If you find someone who cares for you, really loves you? Takes care of you no matter what silly thing has happened, and the entire time, all you can think about is how you’d do the same for them? You treat them well, love them deeply, and thank your lucky stars you have them in your life.

Rose ; Who’s more romantic?

Hmm, I wanna say Krupp. He seems like the type of guy to like traditional romance.

Tulip ; Which one gives the most gifts? Do they know the other well enough to give them something they’d like?

Electra is VERY generous, but Purse is a close second. Wrench gives the best gifts, even if she doesn't give them often.

Daisy ; Which one sings while doing chores? Are they good at it?

Electra, Joule and Purse sing, especially if there's music on!!

Lily ; Who’s the “fun one”?

Joule insists that she's the most fun of them all, and like, yeah.

Dahlia ; Do they keep secrets from each other?

No! These guys literally share everything.

Poppy ; How much do they trust each other?

Completely!!!!!

Bluebell ; Who’s more emotional?

Electra > Joule > Purse > Volta > Wrench > Krupp

Peony ; Which one is the most impulsive?

Electra and Joule are always so close to doing something stupid.

Sunflower ; Which one would go to jail for the other?

Krupp has assigned himself the role of "the guy who takes the fall and goes to jail", because he's would have the easiest time spending time there while the rest figure out how to get him out.

Water Lily ; Which one cares about their appearance more?

Electra > Volta > Purse >Joule > Krupp > Wrench

Cherry Blossom ; Who takes the longest to get ready for a date?

Volta is internally stressing out about looking good so she takes even longer than Electra to get ready.

Orchid ; Who’s the big spoon and who’s the little spoon?

The only constant is that Krupp is a big spoon, everything else is totally random.

Snowdrop ; How long have they been together?

A long time!!

Forget-Me-Not ; Are they married yet?