IC CONTACT

[allgotrabies]

Hey, it's Annie, you know what to do.

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[allgotrabies]

She puts her paints away and she goes home to Godric's cabin, where she scrubs under hot water until her head feels a little clearer. She's still thinking of him, but her thoughts drift back to Gerard and the flowers in a vase on her nightstand.

She goes to the Greenhouse a little earlier than planned, and she brings only one cigarette because by then she's browsed the network and seen the concerns about rationing. So much for the joys of chain smoking.

[madaboutit]

Sweeney's already there by the time she arrives, having arrived half an hour early to see if he was even capable of being there before he had to do it with her. Nothing implies he's changed or otherwise addressed himself.

He's not at the knoll, however. Instead he's meandering through some pots and bushes of flowers, perusing them with a cigarette in one hand and his other tucked in the pocket of his jacket. Sweeney's attention seems focused, noting various species with a keener eye. Some nearby are strikingly similar to those that had been tied with blue ribbon.

[allgotrabies]

"Hey. Guess we had the same idea," she says, smiling despite the very obvious worry. She looks at the flowers and up to him, remembering what he'd said about not knowing what Gerard did.

"He gave me some of those," pointing.

[madaboutit]

Sweeney's brow furrows in confusion as he goes from processing flowers to her greeting to the confrontation of information. He looks from her to the flower and back.

"That's Devil's Flower," he answers plainly, one brow quirked as he's a bit unsure why that would be of interest to a prudish fuck like that Frenchman. Unless he's not so prudish after all.

With a tip of his head, he takes the opportunity to clarify. "Bachelor Button."

[allgotrabies]

She shakes her head slightly. "I know palm trees and papaya and orange blossoms. And roses." Other plants are a mystery. "Why do they call it Devil's Flower?"

[madaboutit]

He shrugs. "Cause humans are dumb shits that can't decide if a devil is something ta be avoided or desired."

Sweeney doesn't have an answer other than 'human's decided it so', but that doesn't mean he has to like it.

"Prob'bly why they rebranded it."

[allgotrabies]

"So 'bachelor's button' probably doesn't have a reason either," she guesses. "It's like constellations, huh? None of 'em make any sense."

But even so she brushes her fingers along the petals and can't help a little smile. "I like flowers. I don't think I'd name them, though. If I was the first person to ever see them."

[madaboutit]

"Humans have an inherent need to name things." It's a truth he knows better than most, having been born of them time and again. It's a complicated topic for him.

"Those are fer love magic." He explains without strong affect. If the Frenchman is trying ta cast some bullshit, she should at least know about it.

[allgotrabies]

"Love magic?" She looks up at him, still running her fingertips along the petals. "What d'you mean?"

[madaboutit]

Sweeney doesn't think it's that complicated.

"Like...usin' them ta make ya fall in love with someone." What else would love magic be?

[allgotrabies]

"But..." she looks at the flowers. "You mean he wants me to fall in love with him?"

[madaboutit]

"Fuck if I know." There's only the faintest edge of bitterness to the words. After all, it's his fucking body that Frenchman's been wandering around in without so much as a by your leave.

"Just know they're good fer it." Sweeney shrugs and takes a drag. "Yer the one that's seen him of late." He rolls his eyes beneath their lids before they settle back on her.

"What do you think?"

[allgotrabies]

"I don't know," she says, bewildered and now a little frightened for Sweeney. "I don't think so. He thinks you're hurting me, maybe he just wants to 'fix' that?"

[madaboutit]

Sweeney frowns. He hates himself plenty without this cockwobbler adding to the pile. He taps his ash and turns to her, stepping so they are within arms's reach while his expression smooths. His focus drops to her, his head cocked a touch.

"You think he's tryin' ta make me fall in love with ya?"

[allgotrabies]

She gives the flowers a wary look. "He can't though. Right?"

She knows the reason Sweeney has his rules around sex is to avoid catching feelings, and she knows that like a cold, feelings spread once they take hold somewhere. This is the worst place imaginable for that.

[madaboutit]

Now that is a fucking terrifying proposition.

Sweeney's lips flicker tight before his tongue slides between to ease them. He looks up past her to the flowers down the way.

"Fuck if I know." He tries to sound like he's not too concerned. "Does lots of things he shouldn't. Ne'er been in a situation like that."

[allgotrabies]

"But you know magic," she insists. She shifts her weight, subconsciously trying to draw his attention back to her. "Love magic is fake though, right? Just flowers aren't magic."

[madaboutit]

He shrugs. All of those things are true, and yet don't make the whole of the picture.

"An' a Bible's just ink on paper. Fuck--dollar bill is too." An example for a more secular mind. "Somethin's just 'til it ain't." This is not helping. "Belief. Intent. Makin' things real 'cause they are when you believe 'nough."

Sweeney takes a drag and looks back down to her.

"You tell me. How'd they make ya feel?"

[allgotrabies]

"Surprised." That's the first reaction. "I've never got flowers from anyone before. So I felt special and then when I saw it was him I felt guilty."

[madaboutit]

The beat is fleeting but noticeable.

"Who'd ya think they were from?" There's no accusation, surely she had no reason to suspect they'd be from some fucking ponce without a body of his own. He's just genuinely curious.

[allgotrabies]

She shakes her head. "I thought they were for Godric at first." Not that it's something she pictures Archer doing, but at least Godric has someone who would leave gifts.

[madaboutit]

Right. The boyfriend.

Sweeney does his best not to roll his eyes.

"So yer not used ta gettin' gifts from fellas, or just not flowers?" It'd make sense if she's not into romance. Kinda wasted if yer just looking for a good fuck.

[allgotrabies]

"Both?" Unless one counts scoring meth or heroin to share, gifts aren't something she's had a lot of either. "Plus it was around his birthday, so I just thought..."

This isn't the point. "Have you lost more time since then? Like, woken up somewhere you didn't go to sleep, that kind of thing?"

[madaboutit]

The line of thought is freed by her dismissal, and he steps back to turn to the flowers again. Sweeney takes a long drag and twists to flick the butt off into the distance behind them.

"Maybe. Not somethin' I can e'er speak ta with full certainty." He shrugs, studying the blossoms. "In my cabin more than I mean ta be." Not that that'll inherently bad, just unexpected. Still plenty logical that would be a place he'd return to, even without the fucking Frenchie.

[allgotrabies]

"Well, we can't figure out how much he's around if we don't know where you go and what you're supposed to remember," she says thoughtfully. "And you probably don't want other people to know about him. So maybe we should just come hang out here at night, see what you can remember about the day."