Of Evening Primroses and Chrysanthemums - A Douma x Reader fic

Reap Your Rewards

You woke up early the next morning, going out to your garden wearing a basket on your side, fastened to a belt you'd made just for days like this. You picked all the flowers you would need for the week, taking care to cut them with enough stem still attached so you could make your crowns without running short on structure, and your bouquets would stand tall enough to fit in most vases.

By the time you were done, the day had just begun for you. You spent most of your time making crowns, working diligently and carefully so that each of them would turn out better than the rest. You had sparse visits from customers, and you were somewhat thankful for that since it let you finish your handwork sooner than you expected.

As you set your crowns on a display shelf behind your counter, you couldnt help but feel a little prideful about your craftsmanship, but as the sun barely started its descent into the horizon, all you could think about was Douma and if he would visit again, dare you say, you missed him.

You closed shop for the night, but as you set your closed sign down and began walking back into your home, a man had run toward the counter, slamming his fist on it and yelled at you to come back.

You turned around, and saw him. He was very obviously drunk, swaying on his feet and mumbling nonsense to you about how he needed a bouquet now.

"Im sorry, but ive already closed for the day, I will be open tomorrow at-" He cut you off, pointing his finger at you and almost getting close enough to touch you.

"You're not closin' 'till I get what I want!" He shouted at you.
"Just gimme some of those," He pointed at no particular flower, just waving his finger and all of the ones you had for display.
"Yeah, you're gonna give me some of those, 'nd I'll just pay ya tomorrow. That sound good?"

You narrowed your eyes, and got a litter firmer in your tone. You wanted to sound brave but you were scared of what he might do if you told him off.

"No, you can come back tomorrow, when you aren't drunk, and then I can give them to you after you've paid for them." You put your foot down, and he was furious.

"Why I oughta-"
He started, but suddenly fell quiet, turning his head to the side to look at something away from the shop. He looked at you, looked back to the side, and started running the other direction without a word, you heard him trip and fall a few times before the sound of his footsteps were too far to hear.

You were confused for a moment, going to your front door and peering out to where he'd looked, but saw nothing. You shrugged, and went back inside. Before you could close the door though, you felt it stop, like someone was pulling it back open.

You knew who it was, and opened it again, Douma standing close to the doorway.
"There you are my little flower, I was worried you'd close the door on me!" He chuckled, as you let him in. He was still wearing the crown you'd made him, the flowers seeming to have not whithered at all since the day you gave it to him.

"Oh Douma, I'm so glad you're here!" You said happily, holding your arms out for a hug. He picked you up in a hug, spinning you around before setting you down back on your feet.

"There was a horrible drunkard yelling at me not too long before you got here, I was a little scared and-" He cut you off with a soft shush, holding your face in his hands.

"I heard, my dear. You wont have to worry about him for much longer, flower." He said sweetly, patting your cheek gently before letting go. What did he mean by that? You didn't have much time to think about it before he spoke again.

"How is your little injury doing? Healing up nicely I would hope?" You hadnt even checked it today, and when you put your hand to your bandage, there wasn't any pain to it anymore.

"Here, let me just-" He gently started taking the bandage off, seeming to take care not to rip it off from your face. What he said next surprised you.

"Wonderful! It seems to have healed entirely!" You ran your hand over where the scrape had been, only to feel your normal cheek entirely healed, not even a scab to show what had happened.

You smiled at him. "It seems it has, hasn't it?" You said, still smoothing your hand over where it was. He suddenly pulled you into another hug, wrapping his arms around your waist and swaying you side to side. You quickly held onto him by wrapping your arms around his neck so you wouldn't fall back, not that he would let you fall that easily.

"Oh, I haven't been able to stop thinking about you while I'm away! I wish I could just pick you up and steal you away for a night or two, just you and me..." He said, pausing for a moment.

"Ah, but you've a shop to attend to, I shouldn't just take you away from that now, should I?" He said, locking eyes with you and waiting for an answer. You couldnt help but look back into his eyes, a little distracted by the beautiful colors of his iris.

You thought about it for a moment. Surely, a day or two wouldn't hurt your business that badly, would it? And you couldn't remember when you'd given yourself a day off last, you'd been working hard too, stress nagging at you always to be on top of everything in your shop and your garden.
You gave it some more thought before answering him.

"... I wouldn't be opposed to that, actually. Maybe it's about time I let myself take a break-" That was all he needed to hear. He clapped his hands together and beamed.

"Wonderful!" He exclaimed, before picking you up and carrying you in his arms. You let out a startled noise before letting yourself be carried, liking the feeling more than you thought you would, gently resting your head against him.

"No need to walk, dear, I can just carry you to our destination!" And with that, he walked out of the shop with you, and began the trip to his home,

The Eternal Paradise.