Roses and Tulips (Copia x Silas)
For @can-of-pringles, Happy Valentine's Day bestie!
Pairing: Cardinal Copia x Silas Petersson (Pringles' OC)
Word Count: 1.2k
Content Warnings: none! cute little fluff-bomb
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It took all his courage just to knock on that door.
It's not the door that's intimidating, Copia reminded himself, You've knocked on worse doors. You had to knock on Sister's door before you were made Cardinal, and that was twice as scary. Three times, even. This is a piece of cake compared to that.
That helped a little. Not much.
Copia shifted his grip, feeling the waxy stems of the flowers squeak under his gloves. He wasn't sure Silas liked flowers. Especially roses- was that too presumptive? Maybe he should have stuck with chocolates. Or... were chocolates more romantic than flowers? Did he want them to be more romantic? He didn't want to overstep, but he didn't want to understep... if that was a thing.
He was overthinking this. He would open that door, give Silas the flowers, ask him to dinner... and that would be that. Easy-peasy.
In theory.
In reality, he couldn't make himself move.
You have stood before a hundred thousand people. Many times. Your band is made up of underworldly ghouls, and they live down the hall from you. This should not be as intimidating as it is.
But somehow, the thought of being disemboweled in his sleep because he'd stolen Pigeon's Sour Patch Kids was less frightening than the idea of being rejected by Silas.
Just do it, he told himself, It'll only get worse the longer you stand here and think about it. Just... knock on the door. Just lift your hand and knock. Just-
"Copia?"
He spun, a little too fast, and almost tripped over his own feet when he saw Silas standing there. He must have come straight from his shift - Copia had been so wrought with anxiety, he forgot Silas worked on Wednesdays. He had a broom in one hand... and a handful of Queen of Night tulips in the other. Silas shifted on his feet.
"I was, uh, trying to find you," he said, dark eyes flicking up and down Copia's figure before settling on the roses in his hand. Silas chewed his lip, clearly swallowing his own anxiety, and held out the tulips. "Jinx?"
"Doyouwanttogotodinner?" The words tumbled out too fast, just a blur of syllables, and he stuck out the roses almost mechanically in Silas' direction.
That went... better than expected.
Silas blinked and took the roses, though his brow furrowed as he tried to process the words. Copia bit his lip, forcing his lungs to take in a full breath of air.
Silas still held the handful of tulips out in front of them. He'd been holding them for a long time. Copia internally winced, wishing he'd taken the flowers a little sooner, but reached for the tulips. He found himself fiddling with the leaves as he tried to work through his thoughts.
"Do you want... to go to dinner?" he tried again, this time managing something almost coherent, "With me. Tonight."
There. He'd done it. He'd said it. He'd be crushed if Silas turned him down, but... at least he'd worked up the courage to ask in the first place. The hard part was over.
Well, except for all the other hard parts. Like hoping his anxiety didn't melt him into a puddle of goo while he waited for Silas to respond. Not only would that be utterly humiliating, he imagined Sister would make Silas clean it up. Some Valentine's Day for him, Copia thought.
"I'd love to," Silas said, smiling at him. Copia wondered if he'd melt anyway - not from his anxiety, but from how warm and fluttery that smile made him feel. He beamed, resisting the urge to bounce on his toes in excitement. Silas lifted a hand towards his door. "Just- um, let me get changed first? And put these in a vase... and then I'll meet you in the courtyard?"
"I'd like that." Copia managed, "I'll see you soon."
Silas' smile widened, just for a moment, and then he brushed past Copia and slipped into his apartment. Copia was frozen for another moment, flooded with too much surprise and excitement to even think. Then he kicked his mind back into gear and hustled back down to his own room.
His rats greeted him from their enclosure in the back of the room when he entered, and Copia smiled at them.
"He said yes!" he told them, "We're going to dinner!"
Clara chirruped at him, her tiny paws hooked onto the rungs of her enclosure as she stretched up to look at him. She seemed happy for him, Copia thought. He held out the tulips to them, just a few inches away from their enclosure. Rats had poor eyesight.
"And look- he brought me flowers!"
Bella wiggled her nose at him, dark eyes bright and shiny. Her tail flicked back and forth.
You brought him flowers, she seemed to say.
"You're right, I did." Copia agreed, "But I didn't expect him to bring me flowers too. Look at them, they're so pretty."
You should put them in your nice vase, Alessa seemed to suggest, wandering across her enclosure and tilting her nose at the kitchen, The one that looks like stained glass.
Then she took a drink from the water bottle in the corner of the enclosure. Maybe he'd read that wrong. But the flowers would look good in that vase, he thought.
"What should I wear?" he asked as he ran a little water into the vase, "Do you think this is good, or should I change?"
You look great! Clara told him with a squeak. He knew, logically, she was just mimicking him - he talked to her, she "talked" back. But it was cute to think that she was actually trying to communicate with him.
No, no, your other vest would look better with those pants, Alessa argued. He'd always imagined she was the fashionista of the bunch. Her fur was the shiniest, and she spent the most time grooming herself... it made sense. Alessa was the fashionable one, Clara was the down-to-earth sweetheart, and Bella was the lovable disaster who once got her head stuck in a toilet-paper tube.
"Ladies, please, you're confusing me," Copia said, setting the vase of flowers down on the table. Talking with his rats helped him calm down. He didn't feel quite so nervous about his date with Silas. Still a little nervous, of course, but... he wasn't tying himself in knots. That was good. "Should I change or not?"
He'll like you no matter what you wear, Bella promised, giving him an encouraging look with her big dark eyes. They almost reminded him of Silas' eyes, big and brown and sweet. Copia smiled.
"Thank you, Bella," he said. He reached into one of the cabinets and pulled out a box of Cheerios. All three rats chirped in excitement, dancing around on their paws. Copia sprinkled a few Cheerios into their enclosure, watching them grab the cereals with their clever little paws and nibble away.
"Happy Valentine's Day, ladies," he told them. He watched them for another moment or two, wondering if he'd have to break up any arguments - Alessa had a habit of hoarding treats away from the others - but they seemed to be in a good mood tonight. Copia finally drew himself away, giving his waistcoat a little tug as he checked his appearance in the mirror. He wanted to look his best.
After all, it was Valentine's Day. And he had a date.
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