come to steal my flowering heart
a/n: this was written for caesar's palace. i've never written a meetcute (or this pairing) before and probably never will again, so.
Credence was certain that his sister Chastity, dead three months now, would absolutely not want stolen flowers placed on her grave. But with a job that left him barely enough money to afford to eat, let alone purchase floral arrangements, his options were a bit limited.
So that was just what Credence did. One of the houses he would pass on the way to the cemetery had an abundance of flowers in its garden, and though he knew in his heart that it was wrong to so sneakily take another person's property, no one ever seemed to notice. The owner of the flowers never emerged from the house to chastise him, and they never waited for him to leave the cemetery before snatching them back.
(The owner, however, knew. He merely sat back and watched quietly, letting Credence take what he needed. It didn't bother him. After all, he was hardly the first to do so. And there was something to be said for the furtive way he tried to take them.)
One day, on another trip to visit his sister, Credence reached for a small bunch of flowers, only to look up and find himself face-to-face with the owner of the house.
"I-I'm so sorry, sir," he managed to stammer, eyes wide. "You see..."
"Take what you need," he replied. "Though I think I'd like to come with you. Make sure the girl is pretty enough to warrant flower theft."
That seemed a reasonable compromise...until Credence remembered that he would still have to explain to this man that he was leading him to a cemetery. But still he said, "Yes. Thank you, Mr..."
"Percy," the man answered, the name sliding effortlessly from his lips. "Not much need for formalities when I've provided you with free flowers for so long, is there?"
Credence gaped. How long had Percy...?
"We should be going. You don't want to keep her waiting, do you?"
"Yes, si - Percy," Credence found himself saying, propelling himself forward even as he realized that Percy, falling into step beside him, still had no idea where he was leading him.
He would simply have to tell him before they reached the cemetery. Probably.