AUGUST • C.CULLEN

seventeen

Violet giggles loudly as she flops into the grass of their meadow, grinning as Puff bounds around her, chittering with glee.

"Auggie! You didn't tell me you had a kid! She's adorable!"

"Daddy! He's so cute! What's his name?"

August chuckles, sitting down on the grass next to Vi and stroking her head gently. "Well, Darling — this is Puff, and he is the most amazing little friend I've ever had—" He grins as Puff pauses in his steps to push out his chest with pride, enjoying the praise. "Puff, this is Violet, my wonderful daughter."

"Puff!" Vi squeals, gently holding Puff in her hands and raising him to her cheek, where she squishes him against herself. "I love him."

Puff peaks open one of his eyes and looks up at August, relishing in the attention he's getting from Vi, "Can we keep her?"

Violet begins to hum happily, putting Puff back onto the ground and plucking at the grass, lost in her own world.

August watches on fondly, admiring how the gentle light of the sun seems to reflect off of his daughter, feeling his heart swell with all the love he holds for her. "Yeah," He says softly, "Absolutely."

—

The bell sings as the door to the flower shop opens, and August glances up from where he's trimming some roses before turning back to his task.

"I need your help."

"Sure," August agrees, not putting down the pruning shears in his hand, scanning for any thorns or uncut roses. "With what?"

Edward hesitates. "I'm... going out. Not on a date." He moves away from the door, coming to stand on the opposite side of the counter from August.

"With Bella?"

Edward leans forward and reaches for the bunch of roses resting on the counter, pointing out a few with thorns still attached. "Yes." He tells him, "But it's not a date. We're..."

"Friends?"

"Of sorts."

August hums and picks up the last of the roses Edward pointed out, raising a brow at the man briefly before he slices the thorn off. "And you need my help, why?"

"...I don't know what to wear."

August chuckles, putting down the thornless rose and his blade and pulling off his leather glove, meeting his brother's golden eyes. "You don't know what to wear?"

Edward groans. "Shut up," He says, "If I wanted to be judged, I'd've gone to Alice."

The Nymph smiles. "Okay," He relents, "Where are you going, and when?"

"We're going to a book store that doubles as a cafe. I'm not sure when. We're thinking of something after school tomorrow."

"Okay," August smiles, "Then wear something simple. It's not a date, right? You're just getting to know her as... sort-of-friends."

"Yeah," Edward's lips twitch upwards. "But what's simple? Jeans and a shirt?"

"Yes, Ed, jeans and a shirt. No, dumbo! The weather's supposed to be getting cooler — so wear layers, unless you want to out yourself as a reanimated corpse." The Nymph lifts the ready-to-buy roses off of the counter and turns to face the back wall so he can organise them into a neat display, chuckling to himself.

Edward sighs. "This is hard. Do I have to go?"

August frowns. "Edward, at the very least, you've made a commitment to this girl. Now, nothing has to come from this — you could be friends, you could be strangers, or you could be more. But you can't bail just because it's hard. That's not how life works."