✎Self Indulgent

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It's that time of the day again. At around 3 pm everyday the castle gardener tends to the foliage by Average's balcony. They sing or hum the most beautiful tunes and they always look so beautiful and peaceful tending to the plants. Average always watches them from his balcony, admiring their appearance.

Today they're tending to the flower bushes and humming a pretty tune as they do so. Average wants so badly to talk to them but he's just too nervous. The last times he tried to talk to someone he liked it didn't end well.

Once the gardener is done maintaining the flower bushes, they turn around to tend to the bushes and vines underneath his balcony. They look at and notice Average watching them lovingly, which makes them blush slightly. He blushes and looks at them with wide eyes. Oh no, they saw me- His thoughts are cut off when they say something.

"Hello, Prince Avooraj!" They say with a cute smile, their chubby cheeks puffed out which makes them look even more adorable.

Average makes a flustered noise and tries to calm himself down. What should he say? What should he do? He doesn't want to annoy them with his fake confidence like the other crushes he's had. And this is the only person who's ever pronounced his name correctly! "Y-You there! Gardener! I...I demand you...h-have tea with me!" He stutters. He probably shouldn't have said demand-

"Really? I'd love to!" They gasp softly, beaming happily. Average blushes and stares at them in shock. They...actually wanted to have tea with him? "Hold on, I'll be there in a second!" They rush away towards the entrance of the castle. Average makes a flustered squeak and quickly rushes to the front door, where one of the servants is.

"You! I need you to quickly make some tea!" Average says before shutting his door and quickly getting ready.

⇜✾⇝

The servant sets a tray on the table, setting everything up nicely before leaving. Average paces around his room, trying to calm his beating heart. He's anxious, no one has ever been this nice to him. What if he makes a fool of himself? What if they aren't interested in him? Why is it taking so long for them to get here? They didn't ditch him...did they?

Knock Knock

Average quickly rushes over and opens the door, the gardener standing at the entrance of his room.

"Hello there, your Majesty! I'm so sorry I'm late, I got a little lost..." They say sheepishly with an embarrassed grin on their lips.

"Worry not, my fair lady! That just gave me time to set everything up." Average says.

They let out a snicker. "What if I came earlier when you were still setting up? That would've been funny." They say. "But I wouldn't mind helping you set everything up!" They quickly add to not seem rude.

Average blushes slightly, thinking their laugh was adorable. "C-Come in, sit down!" Average says and gestures to the table and two chairs.

"Oh, this looks lovely~!" They say and walk in, walking up to one of the chairs. Average closes the door and walks over, sliding out the chair for them. He heard that's what gentlemen do on dates, hopefully they like it.

"Oh, thank you!" They sit down and he pushes in their chair. "You didn't have to!"

"Nonsense!" Average says, sitting down in the chair in front of them. Wait, now what? What does he say?

"Thank you for inviting me for tea! It's very sweet of you~!" They beam happily. "My name is Amber, by the way! In case you didn't know." They say.

"A-Amber? That's a beautiful name...~" Average says with a love-struck sigh.

"O-Oh, thank you!" Amber blushes and grins widely. "May I ask why you invited me for tea?"

"W-Well, I..." Average blushes a bright red and glances away.

"Is this a date~?" Amber asks in a flirty tone.

Average blushes even more and lets out a flustered squeak. They're cute, kind, beautiful, AND a flirt? Are they his soulmate?

"Wait, it is? Aww, how cute~" Amber purrs in a flirty tone, grinning at him.

Average stutters out something incoherent, blushing more and glancing away, too flustered to reply.

Amber lets out an adorable giggle with a wide grin on their lips. "Aww, you're adorable when you're flustered~! Adorable, handsome, little prince~" They purr.

Average blushes and makes a flustered noise, hiding his face in his hands. Amber giggles and picks up their teacup, drinking some of the tea. Average calms down from his flustered reactions and gains back enough confidence to finally speak. "S-So, Amber. Tell me about yourself." He says.

"Hmm...oh! My dad owns a flower shop and I used to help him when I still lived with him. Let me tell you some crazy stories I have." Amber says.

⇜✾⇝

"-it was night time and we were about to close. Then, the door slams open and a vampire storms in, slamming a bag of around 50 gold onto the counter and says, "how do I passive-aggressively say "fuck you" in a flower?" Amber says as they tell one of their fun stories.

"Wait, what?" Average asks, still laughing from the previous story, though laughing even harder from this story as well.

"It's true! This vampire was so pissed off at someone that he paid us 50 gold for a bouquet of offensive flowers. I wonder who it was for and what they did." Amber says with a chuckle.

"Really?" Average laughs.

"Yes! I'm not lying, either. This actually did happen." Amber says.

"I believe you, I believe you!" Average laughs.

"Really?" Amber asks with a gasp. "No one usually believes me."

"What!? They should, though!" Average says.

"Thank you!" Amber beams happily.

Average looks at the table, noticing some cake bites on the plate. "Amber?" He starts.

"Yes Avooraj?" Amber asks and looks at him.

Average picks up one of the cake bites and holds it out to them. "Have a bite." He says.

"Oh, thank you!" Amber leans in and takes a bite out of the cake. "Mmmh~! It's so sweet~!"

"Like you?" Average asks with a grin.

"Aww~! You're so sweet~" Amber purrs and leans in. This time they put the rest of the cake in their mouth, along with his fingers that were holding the cake.

Average blushes a bright red and makes a flustered squeak, quickly leaning back from surprise. He underestimated how flirty they were...he likes it.

Amber giggles and grin at him. "Delicious~" They wink at him, making him blush more. They giggle at his flustered reaction and glance outside. "Oh hey, it's getting pretty late. Should we end this and have another date tomorrow? I know a perfect spot to go to!"

"R-Really? Y-You...want another date?" Average asks.

"Of course I do~! I love being around you~!" Amber says.

Average quickly stands up and slams his hands on the table. "How about at noon!?" He asks excitedly.

"Yes! That's perfect!" Amber says and mimics his gesture, also standing up and slamming their hands on the table. "I'll meet you underneath your balcony, by the rose bushes! You know where it is, right? I noticed you always watched me water the bushes!"

"Y-You noticed that!?" Average asks, blushing a bright red and staring at them in shock.

"Of course I did! How couldn't I notice such a handsome prince admiring me~?" They wink. Average blushes and stutters out something before they walk over and pull him in a hug. He freezes up with a small gasp. He's never been hugged before...this feels amazing. He slowly melts into the hug and hugs them back.

After a moment, they pull away and plant a quick kiss on his cheek before rushing away. "See you tomorrow, luv~!" They say.

Average blushes a bright red and squeaks when they kiss him, watching them leave with a love-struck look, his hand touching his cheek on the spot they kissed him. It's official, he's fallen in love with the castle gardener.

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