Oneshots [IdentityV]

Iris [Andrew x Aesop]

It wasn't too late to go back yet, Andrew thought. He could save himself the embarrassment and also decorate his room with flowers... No, no, no. He swore to himself that he would see his plan through to the end. It was not a hard task after all, he just had to go to the Embalmer's room, knock on his door, then give him the bouquet of irises. Really, the anxiety was getting to him at the drop of a hat.

Andrew thought about why he had done such a thing and sighed. He had never had to face this kind of situation before arriving at the manor. The mansion itself was quite large, but since they couldn't escape, everyone was sort of forced to socialize with each other to some extent and avoiding someone completely was tricky.

It was by some immutable chance that Andrew had overheard a conversation between the women living in the manor. It was not his intention to spy on them at first, but they were in the way and he wanted to avoid being the subject of their piercing eyes. Most of them were tougher than they looked and Andrew did not intend to get on their bad side.

Anyway, getting back to the point, he wasn't going to turn back either so he had decided to wait for them to leave. Only, they did not speak in the most discreet way and he could not help but hear bits of their conversation. Even if the amount of his social exchanges remained limited, it didn't take him long to understand that the ladies were talking about their past love stories.

It was more interesting than he could have imagined and perhaps it was not a bad thing to take note of it. However, it was when one of them complained about the passivity of one of her romances that Andrew began to wonder. He had been dating Aesop for about a month, but one could not really say that their relationship had made any progress.

He wasn't the type to let anyone influence his mind and he knew that every couple moved at their own pace but... In all honesty, he had never confronted his partner about it until now. Was Aesop really happy with the way things were going or was it just Andrew's assumptions?

This troubled him for several days and eventually he decided to take matters into his own hands. He didn't feel like asking anyone for help though. The scope of what he could do was limited, but he did come up with an idea that seemed to be within his grasp. The garden was big and all the survivors shared it, until now he had never used the plot that was in his name and it was time to change that.

Andrew found some flower seeds in the storeroom and decided to plant them, away from prying eyes. It took a while to grow them, of course, but he was pleasantly surprised to see that he had a green thumb. Once the first buds had bloomed, he couldn't contain his excitement and hurried to pull them out before arranging them in a bouquet as best he could.

This brought us back to the present where the young man was standing in front of the Embalmer's door. He had already been standing there for five minutes so it was now or never. He took a deep breath and knocked twice with determination. A few infinitesimally long seconds passed until he heard the click of the lock and the ashen-haired one appear in the doorway.

"Andrew?"

"C-Carl."

Damn it. His old habit had kicked in again from nervousness, and the price he had to pay was more painful than he expected when he saw the man's eyebrows frown sadly.

"What happened to you to get you covered in dirt like that?"

"Ah-" Shit again. He had forgotten to change his clothes before coming to meet him. Even if he had grown flowers, Andrew wasn't nearly as talented as Emma so he was bound to make a mess. "Um... This is for you."

It was too late to rethink another way of doing things so Andrew simply handed the bouquet to Aesop, as lame as the delivery could be. The Embalmer looked surprised as he noticed by his eyes widening. He accepted the bouquet, nonetheless, then crinkled his eyes in delight as the blond breathed a sigh of relief.

"I was wondering what you were up to lately, so that was the reason."

"S-sorry."

"It wasn't a scolding don't worry. I really appreciate it, thanks, Andrew."

His cheeks pinkened a little. Aesop removed his mask and stood up on tiptoe to give the male a peck on the cheek, turning the pale complexion of his face as red as a tomato.

"Y-you're welcome!"

"I admit, I didn't expect that from you though. Is something bothering you?"

Should he tell him...? The whole thing was pretty ridiculous when he thought about it, but at the same time, he didn't feel like hiding this from Aesop. At least, that was to be expected when the Embalmer let out a chuckle upon hearing the situation.

"It's silly isn't it..."

"Not at all, I'm touched that you would go to such lengths for me Andrew." Aesop reached out his hand to his and intertwined their fingers. "You don't have to be so upset about it, I don't mind having to be patient."

"I still wanted to do something for you this time..."

"For me? Aren't you the one who always puts yourself in danger during games to save us?" There was an obvious hint of concern in the gray-eyed man's voice, but Andrew was glad to know that Aesop thought that about him. "Well, let's not stand here in the hallway, why don't you come in, I've already prepared some tea. You can also take the opportunity to use my bathroom." he added with an amused look.

"S-Sorry for the inconvenience-"

Aesop made room for Andrew to enter, closing the door to keep the privacy of their haven to themselves.