diademlogs | [open!] here is a candy. for you!

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[open!] here is a candy. for you!

Who: an zhe + you
Where: here, there, everywhere
When: February
What: Mushroom Things + Candygrams + ????

Warnings: probably there'll be smoochin' of varying degrees

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 State of a Mushroom

Despite all his best efforts, all the winter snow took more out of An Zhe than he expected. A lot of time was spent being much sleepier than usual as the mushroom ended up in a semi-dormant state, much to his colonel's dismay. Not to worry though! The amount of rain that January and February has brought to the Diadem has perked the little guy right up and he's raring to go again. Crops watered. Fully hydrated. Moist Mushroom. Ready to pop wherever he was (or wasn't) needed, unexpected as it might be. That is the way of mushrooms, after all.

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 Candygrams

What a charming concept? Truly. An Zhe was very endeared to the idea of sending a friend something so cheerful after the long colds. Frankly he probably could have been asked to deliver such trinkets for free, but luckily he only got duped into that once (or twice)((or thrice)) before he realized this was meant to be a paid service he was employed for. Very convenient, considering how many extra joolies he might need for the month. He wanted to get something nice for Lu Feng, and those flowers were awfully expensive. Time! To get to work!

Delivery:
The soft knock at your door could come at any time. It could come at any door. Your hotel room? Your vehicle's window? The counter you were working at? There were possibly weirder places to get peoples' attention at. Wherever it was, whenever it was, the gentle knocks were insistent until finally enough was enough. The tiny fellow on the other side had a very tiny smile ready, earnestly holding out the tiny parcel of sweets. "Hello! I believe this is for you."

Of course this might not have gone smoothly every time. The possibility of getting hit by a door or hoisted up by the scruff of his shirt by an annoyed recipient was Extremely Real.

Deliver...ee??:
As cute and charming as he found the whole thing, An Zhe had zero expectations that he was going to receive any. Who? Would do this? No one! Any attempt at a delivery would be met with an owl-eyed stare and a polite lift of his hand to deny the sweets being offered. "I'm sorry, I think you have the wrong person. Do you need help finding them?"

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 Flowers

Nina's cart was a high point of interest from the moment An Zhe had first caught sight of it. There had always been tiny flowers here and there. Tiny, little things that were strong to prevail despite everything working against them. He was charmed by them every time, and always would be. The ones that waved to him from Nina's cart though... That was a vibrancy that was unmatched. They weren't better, but...

There were roses.

When he didn't have enough extra spending joolies yet, An Zhe could be found lingering nearby and eying the flowers intensely. A few other times he would make fumbling attempts at conversation with Nina, trying to glean what he could about how she'd raised them so well. (Her secrets were very secretive, however).

Once delivering candy was lucrative enough, then it was time to hem and haw in front of the cart as a real customer. An extremely indecisive customer that kept coming and going, his hands slowly filling with additional roses. One rose. Two rose. Three rose... How many roses did one little guy need?

Apparently he wasn't sure either, because he was going to turn to whomever was also contemplating the flowers to ask, "How many flowers would you give someone?"

𓍊𓋼𓍊𓋼𓍊 Fringes, Wildcards, Etc.

Panorama: When he isn't toitering around doing the above, there's always the chance that An Zhe could be found working his counter job at the local cafe Coffee in the Blocks or doing other odd jobs here or there. He's also been poking around a little, taking pauses near what used to be parks or other vaguely wider, emptyish spaces and simply observing them for a little while before pulling out a journal to scribble some damp notes in.

Fringes: More often than not, An Zhe has journeyed out to the Fringes with Lu Feng so there is always the chance the other is nearby. The wedding venue held a lot of interesting bits there. There were more scribbles in that journal happening as he looked around, not really paying attention to the festivities(??) until chairs started flying. Very convenient, because he was going to use one of those to climb up in the corner and see if those pretty lights could come down.

Wildcards: Feel free to hit him up with whatever else your heart may desire, this is a catch all to catch it all and I have already sat on it for way too long whoops.

Styles will be matched so follow your heart!

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Huh?

[ it takes a minute for vash to catch sight of the other behind the handful of roses, but soon enough his expression flips from contemplative to an extremely (overcompensating maybe, for his initial distractedness?) sunny smile. ]

That'd depend on how special the someone is, of course! Who's it for?

[[Keeping the blooms up by his face was becoming a staple the more he lingered by the cart. The petals were soft, and they smelled really nice. A perfect little disguise to watch the way Vash's expression could change to such an extreme so rapidly. An Zhe's own shifted much more subtly, his own contemplation becoming a very faint hint of a smile.]]

Mm. They are for my most important person. I've never given someone flowers before though.

[ it's cute that an zhe's first thought is to gift the flowers to somebody else instead of keeping them for himself ... but then again, vash would do the exact same thing.

maybe livio would like some flowers?? ]

Your most important person, huh? Do they have a favourite colour, or anything like that?

[ surely that's the easiest place to start. ]

[ livio probably doesn't realize how much of his sad emo feelings are being transmitted across the connection, but since wolfwood's disappearance, it has been pretty dire. guilt, grief, and pain, pretty much non-stop ]

[ he hears a knock at the door, but the last thing he's expecting is to see an zhe, presenting a parcel to him ]

Hey, An Zhe.

... Huh? Fer me?

[ surely it's for someone else? vash, maybe ]

[[The amount that had leaked through was.... A Lot. So much so that An Zhe had been confused at first, because his heart had felt so heavy before but why would it be like that now? He could roll over, and his person would be right there.

When it dawned on him that this wasn't his own heartbreak, he felt a guilty kind of ache for taking so long to follow the feeling to where he knew it was living. No...!

So here he was, peering up at Livio with earnest intensity as he held out the colorful package insistently.]]

For you.

Hello.

[ it certainly doesn't occur to livio that his heartbreak might be disturbing other people, until astarion draws attention to it. but mumbles in timelines that hasn't happened yet, so here he is, oblivious, staring dumbly at the little package ]

Ya... got that fer me?

[ sniffles. oh no, it looks like he might cry again ]

[[we all wave our hands around. time bends to our will. we will not worry about it.

An Zhe nodded. While this was a delivery, it was entirely from the mushroom.]]

Uh-huh. I've heard that sometimes they help.

[ time bends to our will indeed. ]

I... thank ya. Ya could tell I've been feelin' off, right?

[ "off", like that's an adequate explanation of how deeply heartbroken and guilty and sadge he feels ]

[['Off' was... Well, it wasn't Wrong. There was another, smaller nod.]]

Is it alright if I stay for a while?

[ vash isn't here at the moment, which means the motel room is empty. he swings the door open ]

.... If ya want, sure.

[ as if he'd never say no to an zhe ]

Midway through the month, after having picked up plenty of extra work delivering candy and such, Lu Feng had his plans for the day set. As appealing as it would be to simply spend every hour of the day with An Zhe, there had been preparations for him to make to ensure a perfectly lovely day for the both of them. Once it was time to reunite with his beloved mushroom, he'd secured himself some gifts to present to his partner as well as a handful of other goodies to secretly tuck away in his car.

It would be a day full of treats, a perfect way to spoil An Zhe.

The first thing to present him with was a bouquet of flowers, carefully curated from Nina's cart and arranged with her expert opinion. Velvety, deep red roses, paired with elegant, snow-white lilies, all tied together at the stems with a silky green ribbon, rested delicately in the colonel's arms as he tracked down An Zhe.

Hello, Mr. Mushroom. Lu Feng has something for you.

Here was Mr. Mushroom, fidgeting by his tiny little truck just like he'd told Lu Feng he would be. There were not many other places to hide things from the colonel, and not many opportunities to sneak them out without detection.

So An Zhe had only done what was appropriate, which was to abruptly leave their room after blatantly telling the man to come meet him later. At his truck! At this time! No sooner! Definitely not later! Pointing at him as he left! Bye!

Now was the time, and Lu Feng was punctual as ever. An Zhe looked up at him, but his gaze stopped short at the bouquet that was so striking cradled in his arms.

"... Oh."

'Oh'? Truthfully, a part of Lu Feng had wondered if the roses were a choice that was in poor taste, knowing An Zhe had been in the rose garden when things had gone sideways in the Garden of Eden, though he didn't quite get the impression that the immediate problem with his offering was due to that.

He lifted his eyebrows a little bit, though if it was a matter of faint surprise or daring An Zhe to actually put a voice to his displeasure was unclear. "No good?"

Did he come back at a bad time, despite being exactly on time? Did An Zhe not give himself enough time to prepare with his very unsubtle instructions earlier in the day? Or was this gift truly unwelcome? Don't leave him in suspense.

It was really just absurd.

An Zhe shook his head, a little laugh falling from his lips. "Ha...! No, it's just..."

It'd be faster just to show him. The little mushroom turned away so he could pull out one of the more delicate secrets that An Wan had been keeping safe for him. When An Zhe stood face to face with him again, he was peering up sweetly over his own humble collection of white and deep red roses.

"I had wondered who wanted the rest of the roses."

Oh... Oh, well then.

Lu Feng's expression softened subtly as that second bouquet was unveiled. He understood now, and he couldn't help but feel anything besides deep fondness over the thought of An Zhe picking out those flowers. Ah... how sweet. What a silly little guy.

"They are for you," he said, just in case that wasn't crystal clear already. He was always going to get his hands on those roses! And even more! He just had to be patient, and wait for the colonel to carefully transfer them over.

Here you are, even more flowers to hold. Wow.

Wow!

Now he was just swimming in blossoms. The soft petals tickled his cheeks and his nose as An Zhe nuzzled into them just slightly. They smelled so sweet. An Zhe had to wonder if any of that sweetness was simply because they had both seen them and thought of each other. An Zhe had also briefly wondered if roses might have made the colonel uncomfortable considering everything. They suited him so well though. He was glad that didn't seem to be the case.

This was really so many though! "But these ones are yours," he quipped as he shifted the bouquet that was meant for Lu Feng. "I had wanted the others for you too."

Perhaps the flowers brought a tender little ache to his heart, a thorny reminder of the meager joys he could bring to someone trapped in a beautiful glass case, someone who could only be horrified as he slowly took away the things that she loved.

Still, he wanted to cherish these reminders of her, to treat these blossoms with diligence and care in her stead. If there were conflicting feelings tied up in those gorgeous flowers, they did not make themselves apparent as Lu Feng graciously accepted the bunch. "Thank you," he offered, the vacant crook of his arm filling up once more with those splashes of pretty whites and reds, chosen especially for him.

Don't go anywhere too fast An Zhe, because the colonel was aiming to deliver him a soft, sweet kiss right to his lips, before pulling back just a bit. "These are more than plenty."

Despite everything he may have taken, she had still wanted to share those blossoms with him. Surely those would not have been the last ones.

An Zhe made a soft noise of surprise as Lu Feng swept in over all the flowers. The sweetness of it kindled a giddy sort of feeling in the mushroom's chest, and he decided that this would not be the last flowers An Zhe gave him either.

"Mm, I'm glad. We did manage to get a lot," An Zhe replied with a breezy giggle. So many roses and...? He tilt his head gently towards the delicate sloping petals of one the white flowers in his arms. "Do you know what these ones are called?"

"This one," he said, lightly tracing the edge of one of those long petals with the tip of a finger, "is a lily."

Another bittersweet reminder of what once was, maybe, but the snowy-white flowers reminded him so much of An Zhe, and the star-like shape the petals made seemed like something the mushroom would find charming. Whether he had picked them off the cart knowing the name beforehand or not, they had felt like the right choice to fill out the bouquet.

"Oh," he breathed out, a small ache throbbing beneath his joy. "A lily."

The mushroom really did find the flowers charming. They'd caught his eye on Nina's cart, but as much as he'd admired them he hadn't been there to shop for himself. Who knew they would have actually been so familiar. He hadn't known she'd been named for a flower, but that made sense. She'd been just as charming as they were. Lily would have liked to have met a lily, he thought. The name suited them both.

"They're very pretty," An Zhe went on as he seemed to give his bouquet a small hug. "Thank you for introducing me."

"They are," very pretty flowers. "I'm glad you could meet."

There were lots of plants for An Zhe to get acquainted with, surely they'd have lots of opportunities for more and more introductions. For now, "Do you have any more surprises up your sleeve? Or would you like to come have a meal?"

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[open!] here is a candy. for you!

flowers

flowers!!

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candygram

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Date!

Date! Date! Date!

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