🌹 ~ Little Phantom Rose Picking ~ 🌹

Rose Picking

Henry Clerval pulled on his coat and hat, making sure he looked alright before turning to the small kid behind him.

"Hey, little ghost, ready to go?"

The small Phantom was fiddling with his cloak clasp. He clipped it together and smiled up at Clerval, nodding. The half-faced mask clung to his skin comfortably as the small phantom ran back inside to say goodbye to Jekyll.

Henry Jekyll and Victor were in the kitchen. The smell of fresh apple pie filled the kitchen, and the boy walked into a scene of comfortable romance. Jekyll hung loosely onto Victor's frame from behind, swaying gently to an imaginary tune. Victor continued rolling out some dough, occasionally looking back to kiss Jekyll on the cheek.

Phantom walked up to them and tugged on Jekyll's pant leg, who looked down before crouching to the boys' height.

"Yes, maître?" Asked jekyll.

"Me and Clerval are gonna go pick roses!" Said The Phantom excitedly.

Jekyll scooped up the boy in his arms and chuckled.

"Is that so? Be careful not to get pricked. You might fall asleep for 100 years."

Victor nudged him. "That was a spindle, dearest."

Jekylls paused and laughed. "So it was. Which princess had the rose..."

The Phantom shrugged and wriggled out of Jekyll's grasp before running to the door, where Clerval was waiting. He yelled a quick goodbye to Jekyll and Victor, then took Clervals' hand.

Clerval opened the wooden door to reveal the white hallway of the building complex. The boy held onto Clervals' hand tightly as they turned right, then left down a flight of stairs. He almost tripped before the orange haired man lifted him up to hold him.

He held an almost empty basket on one arm and the Phantom in the other, being careful not to drop either as he walked down the stairs.

"Be careful! we can't have any injuries." He smiled softly at the Phantom, who sheepishly smiled back, nuzzling into the hold that Clerval had on him.

A minute later, they had made it outside, now to find that rose patch...

The Phantom had been let down to walk once they had gotten outside, and he was now running ahead and pointing at things excitedly. There was, of course, the stone flower meadow. A small patch of clear land with odd looking stone flowers.

Clerval took out his small journal from the basket and wrote a line to remind himself to come back here. It was the perfect place for some poetry inspiration. After that, he beckoned Phantom back over, who skipped happily back to Clerval.

After a few minutes, they reached the rose patch. a small clearing next to a lovely looking cottage covered in flowers. The Phantom squealed quietly and ran ahead into the different rows of flowers.

Clerval sighed and chuckled before running after the excitable kid. It seemed the boy had found a few perfect roses to pick. He made a gesture of grabby hands to Clerval, and he sighed.

"Now, Jekyll said you aren't allowed to use the clippers. let me cut it for you." Clerval smiled as the Phantom pouted. But the basket was passed to the ghost for him to store the roses.

Clerval slowly lined up the clippers to the stem and swiftly cut off a perfect rose, passing it to The Phantom to place in the basket.

"Be careful of the thorns, my love!"

The Phantom nodded and took the rose gently. He looked at it and smelt it softly before smiling and placing it into the basket neatly.

Clerval asked for the boys' opinion on each rose they came across. Some were too small, some were too dark, some were too light. The boys' taste in roses was sharp.

They had gotten about 20 roses so far, and The Phantom was still happily skipping along and placing them neatly in the basket. He ran ahead and Clerval smiled to himself before hearing a thud.

He got up quickly and ran to the heap of fabric on the ground. Roses were tossed everywhere but that didn't matter, all Clerval was concerned about was Phantom...

The boys head poked up, giggling, and Clerval breathed a heavy sigh of relief.

"Goodness, Angel! Are you alright?" Asked Clerval, while patting The Phantoms back and helping him up.

"Yeah I'm alright! I spilt the roses though..." The boy lifted himself back up and went to fetch all the roses that spilt.

"Dear Phantom, your cloak seems to have a hole in it." Pointed out Clerval, lifting a small section of his cloak and gesturing to a tear.

The Phantom paused and looked at his cloak. He stared at it for a few seconds. Then he pulled the ends of his cloak all together and held it like a teddy bear. The Phantom swung side to side while mumbling things and holding his cloak dear to him.

Clerval placed the clippers in the basket with the roses, tossed it onto his arm and then picked up the small boy.

"Why don't we get you back home, Victor will be able to sew it back up for you!" Clerval offered, but The Phantom just clung to his cloak and nuzzled into the warmth of Clerval.

They rushed back home. Clerval placed the boy on the ground while he opened the door. He followed the Phantom inside and called to Victor.

"Victor, where are you? There's a... slight issue."

Two heads poked out of the living room door, Jekyll and Victor. The Phantom waddled over to Jekyll and showed him the tear in the cape. Jekyll carefully unclasped the cape and invited the boy into the warm, fire-lit lounge room.

Clerval and Victor ducked into the study to grab Victor's sewing kit, while Jekyll and The Phantom had a quick talk about what had happened.

"-and then I tripped! Smack into the floor! The roses went everywhere... but I'm okay!"

Jekyll nodded along with the story while fixing up the boys hair.

"But then Clerval pointed out my cloak had a tear from the fall..." The Phantom looked away, sombre.

Jekyll took the cloak in his hands and looked around for the tear, once finding it, he set it aside.

"It's a very easy fix, do not worry my dear." He smiled comfortingly down at The Phantom.

Victor and Clerval quickly walked inside, holding a sewing kit. They sat down on the dark, carpeted flooring and Victor took the fabric, pinning it in place.

The Phantom smiled at Victor and layed on his stomach to watch the scientist work. From studying anatomy and various surgeries, Victor could make a sturdy stitch in any fabric, which proved useful.

Clerval started to remove the thorns from the roses, holding the stalk tightly and swiftly moving the blade to chip away at the pointy parts. The room soon smelt of freshly cut flowers and had a comforting warmth from the fire.

Victor handed The Phantom back his cloak, and Clerval got up to hand a rose each to Jekyll and Victor. The two men thanked them for the flowers and smiled.

The Phantom tried on his coat and attempted to look for the tear but he couldn't find it. He jumped off the couch and tackle hugged Victor, thanking him over in French and squeezing him softly.

Clerval put the rest of the roses in various vases around the house, and then one above the fire place, soon joining Jekyll on the couch for some cuddles while they watched The Phantom attack Victor with love, in a language he didn't understand.