Petal spins around just in time to see Delphinum’s eyes flicker gold as the door slides shut in front of her.

Fuck.

She looks down at what she has in her hands. She… got what she came for. And more. It even sounds like Delphinium might have sorted out Petal’s pronouns for her, which is… convenient. But also maybe a bit possessive. Like she’s not even going to let Petal control her own pronouns, or something. 

Still, it was a nice gesture. Even if she did seem to be asking just to find out how to embarrass Petal. Damned Affini and their ‘good girl’ shtick. She puts her new acquisitions in her bag, and then reaches up to touch her cheek. It feels so smooth and sensitive, almost as if she hadn’t spent more than a decade having her face sprout roughness as a daily occurrence. She’ll even be able to ditch the razor. Slowly lower it into the decompiler and watch the hated thing dissolve, atom by atom.

The only thing worse than shaving, was needing to shave, and now she never needed to shave again! And she’d started on hormones! She touched her cheek again, marvelling at how smooth and tingly it was.

“Sorry about Doctor Vinia, she can be… a lot.” Petal had completely forgotten about the receptionist, and she spun to face her. “Usually not that much, though. Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, I just… she can be a lot, yeah.” Honestly, it still went better than the first two times she met Delphinium. She stayed awake the whole time, and she got the xenodrugs she came for, rather than whatever Delphinium decided to give her that day. What was she even doing on the Horizons, if she was supposed to be a ve- a doctor. She’s a doctor, even if she did make a big deal out of a ‘V’ in her credentials.

Admittedly the first two times she met Delphinium were also when she figured out her name. And remembered figuring out her name. It wasn’t all bad, at least. The ice cream was pretty good, too. And the flower was, and still is, pretty.

“Why-” Come on Petal, at least say hello first, or something.

“Why am I working for the Affini?” The receptionist sounds almost defensive. She probably gets that question a lot.

“No, no, um… why are you working, like, at all?”

“It’s better than just sitting around the house all day doing nothing, right?” Is it? The ability to just sit around the house all day doing nothing had brought Petal nothing but joy, and even after a few weeks, it wasn’t really growing old. Although she had to admit that the time she’d spent with Millie had been more fun. Maybe she should find out if Millie wanted to just hang out somewhere relaxed with her. Somewhere where they won’t get interrupted by Affini passersby, and human gawking, and the general unpleasantness of needing to be outside.

“I mean, don’t get me wrong, it was fun not having anything to do, for like a month, but then I just got bored, you know? There's not that many places still, like "hiring", I guess, but the hours are great, I get all the sick days I need, access to copious amounts of xenodrugs and the people, well, the affini, here are fine to work with, they're a bit odd, but I guess never needing to work for a living will do that to a person, right?"

Petal realises that she's been nodding along, but understanding nothing for a while. "Huh?"

"Oh, right. Don't worry about it. Most of the florets never even seem to notice that I exist."

"I'm not a floret."

"Hey, it's none of my business. I don't get paid to care." The receptionist laughs at her own joke as Petal stares at her in confusion. 

"Okay, well… I guess I need an appointment for next week?" People are still weird and confusing. Well, Millie isn't. Neither is Delphinium, really, even if Petal never knows how to act around her. The only thing weird and confusing about either of them is how interested they are in Petal, honestly. Although she wouldn’t mind if Delphinium was a bit less interested in her, she supposed.

“Uh… let me see... it looks like Doctor Vinia already booked that in for you. Same time next week.”

“Oh, uh… okay. What… uh… actually is your job here?”

“Oh, you know, greet people, let them know when they can go in, water the plants, water the plants, keep the magazines and the brochures stocked, and change out the water cooler.”

“Change the water cooler? Isn’t it just, like… compiled?”

“Nah, we get this stuff from some icy stream in the mountains. The Affini are kinda weird like that. If I’m being honest though, it’s usually one of the affini changing the water. I tried to do it once and Doctor Vinia pulled the bottle out of my hands, apparently I was at risk of straining my back or something.” That… that does sound like Delphinium. “Anyway, it’s kind of cute, isn’t it? These giant horrifying plant monstrosities that took over all of terran space like it was nothing getting all concerned because somebody is lifting something vaguely heavy.”

“Yeah, I… I guess it is.” Petal can feel herself smiling. She can even feel her cheeks getting warm, although it’s nothing compared to what happens when she’s with Millie, or even Delphinium, for that matter. The receptionist is smiling at her now, like she’s doing something funny.

“Oh, wow, I guess that explains the way Delphi was acting. You’ve got it pretty bad, don’t you?”

“I- what?” Okay, there was the rest of the blush.

“Sorry, sorry. You can’t spend long around the Affini without joining in the teasing, or getting teased yourself. Besides, it’s none of my business.” The receptionist looks very amused, but there’s no hint of malice to her voice.

“... you don’t get paid to care?” The receptionist laughs. Petal finally managed to get a human interaction right!

“Exactly. See you next week?”

“Right, uh… see you next week.”

Petal steps out of the clinic, and sighs. Stars, of everything that happened in the last two days, why was talking to the receptionist the most exhausting? Maybe it was just everything adding up and finally hitting her all at once. Either way, she should probably head home. Maybe she should try some of that xenodrug that Delphinium gave her, somewhere she’d be safe, and maybe able to get some idea of how hard it hits.

Petal looks at her tablet. Was that a beep? Or a boop? A blip, maybe? Oh! She needs to turn the screen on! Petal turns the screen on.

RainbowSprinkles: hey petal! i c þat mistressssent you a whole lot of pics
RainbowSprinkles: wat did u þink??

It’s Millie! If it were her mistress, the spelling would be much better.

PurpleFlower: it was sso hot omfs
PurpleFlower: urso pretty

Wait. Was Petal supposed to say that? Type that?

RainbowSprinkles: u shud come ovr nxt time
RainbowSprinkles: mistress wants to meeet u
PurpleFlower: idk its kinda scary
PurpleFlower: like itssuper hot but alsoscary
PurpleFlower: butsssoohottt
RainbowSprinkles: petal r u hi?

Is she… hi? High. The xenodrugs. Right.

PurpleFlower: mmmmaybe
PurpleFlower: i got somexenodruggies from the vet lady
PurpleFlower: DOCTOR LADY

Fuck. Now she’s blushing, and the warmth in her cheeks just feels incredible.

RainbowSprinkles: o yea! how did the vet go?

Of course Millie would just say vet. If she even noticed that she was doing it, she’d probably just think it’s super hot or something.

PurpleFlower: it went well
PurpleFlower: doctor lady gave me an injection to make me a girl
PurpleFlower: and took my beard away forever
PurpleFlower: no more shanvning!
PurpleFlower: and i got some hair drugs?
PurpleFlower: and the fun drugs
RainbowSprinkles: i can tell!
RainbowSprinkles: mistrees is busy do u wanna hang out
PurpleFlower: that sonds soo good, but i dnno if i can rly move
RainbowSprinkles: how much did u take?
PurpleFlower: uh,,, some?? idk, vet lady didn’t say how much to take
PurpleFlower: a few puffs maybe?
RainbowSprinkles: o no u must loook so cute! can u send pics?
RainbowSprinkles: or tell me where you are so i can cuddle uuuu

Cuddling Millie. Cuddling Millie when she was on xenodrugs that made every gentle brush against the softness of her couch send electric shivers all the way up and down her spine. Cuddling Milling when they were both on xenodrugs that made even the gentle airflow of her own breath cascade into a wave of tactile joy.

PurpleFlower has sent a location.
RainbowSprinkles: b þere soooon!

Millie couldn’t tell if it had been seconds, or hours, or maybe even days. Maybe the universe had ended, restarted, and wrapped all the way back around again. However long it had been, Petal is utterly surprised when she hears the friendly voice of her hab announce, ““Hey cutie~! You have a visitor, lucky you!”

That sounded… familiar. Another endless moment passes. A 

“Hey cutie~! Your visitor is still waiting for you to say hello!”

“mmrn, um… c’m’in?” Petal’s face is in a pillow, and so she’s incredibly surprised when moments later, Millie appears in front of her, before realising that Millie had rolled her over.

“Oh, my stars! You are so cute!” Petal thinks she can see Millie reaching out towards her, but the thought vanishes in an instant when her entire world is reduced to the feeling of Millie’s hand pressing against her cheek. She feels a smile form, the blessedly smooth skin of her cheek sliding effortlessly under the pressure of Millie’s hand. 

She can’t believe how good it feels to have somebody feel her face, and actually feel her face, not just the face of some strange body she’s been forced to inhabit out of convenience, but a face that actually feels connected to her. She feels blissfully at peace in a way that she never could have even conceived of a day ago, let alone back when she was on the Horizons.

Petal blinks as Millie pulls her hand away, and the intense sensation recedes, leaving pleasant tingles shooting across her face and body. Millie is right in front of her, with an adorable expression on her face. “Millie! How did you get here?” Petal tries to ask, although it comes out as more of a, “M’ll! How’d’o’ge’here?” Millie giggles as she climbs on top of Petal to sit in her lap. 

She strokes a hand down Petal’s other cheek, and waits for Petal’s awareness to come back around to her before continuing. “I came in the door, silly! How much of that xenodrug did you take?”

“Uh… wha’s a xenodrug?”

“Oh wow, that much, huh?” Millie looks like she’s having fun, and Petal can’t help but smile up at how beautiful she is, and the feeling of love that’s coming from everywhere she can feel Millie’s warmth. Millie leans closer, and when her lips lightly brush against Petal’s cheek, all sensation but the warmth, joy, and love that Petal can feel pouring into her from every part of Millie’s body vanishes from her mind.

Petal blinks. Millie is still there, even after so long. Or has it been less than a second? Either way Petal needs to tell her something very important. “Mmmnimmovmuu.”

There’s something about the way that Millie looks at her that makes Petal sure that Millie understood exactly what she said, but that doesn’t stop her from asking, “what’s that, Petal?”

“mm...mI loovve yooooou.”

Millie grins hugely, grabbing Petal’s face in both hands, and shattering what little was left of her mind with an excited “I love you too!” followed by a kiss that seemed to restart the universe for Petal. Again.

After what must have felt like an eternity to Petal, but was only a few minutes, Millie remembered that she should probably let her Mistress know what was happening. She picked up the inhaler that she guessed had probably had Petal’s xenodrugs in it. Completely empty. Millie shook her head amusedly at the folly of inexperienced drug users getting in way over their head, not that she was complaining. Petal was utterly adorable like this. And it was nice to get to hear her profess her love.

RainbowSprinkles: hey misþresss
RainbowSprinkles: so my friend maybe got, like, suuuuper high
RainbowSprinkles: i’m pretty sure she’s gonna be fine
RainbowSprinkles: but i was þinking i should stay wiþ her, and make sure she’s okay
RainbowSprinkles: for wen she wakes up and stuff
PremonitoryInsobriety: That sounds like a lovely idea, my darling.
PremonitoryInsobriety: I’m so proud to have such a dutiful, precious floret.

Millie was pretty sure that her face would be hurting from smiling so widely, if pain was something that her Mistress had allowed her to feel.

PremonitoryInsobriety: In fact, I think it’s only appropriate that I reward you for your kindness~.

Millie could feel a cold rush, starting from her Mistress’ implant along her spine, and quickly spreading throughout her body, a moment later, the air brushing against her skin was intoxicating, the gentle pressure of her dress was a warm, joyous hug, and the woman in front of her was going to delight in every single way that Millie could touch her. Well, every way that didn’t involve taking her clothes off. Millie supposed that that would still have to wait.