"I got my red dress on tonight. Got my bad baby by my heavenly side. Honey, I'm on fire, I feel it everywhere. Nothing scares me anymore"

I wish there was some significant meaning to the lyrics. They just fit and went with the title. Thread the pun carefully.

"There aren't any flowers here, are there?"

The question was a little more than a surprise.

Sal hadn't seen much of Wadanohara since waking that morning, not an unusual thing as she lived a very social life interacting with the rest of the sea dwellers. She'd always return in the evening if she didn't seek him out first to play, and it wasn't as if he had to worry about anyone harming her. He'd learned firsthand that his lover was… not very delicate, per se. But of course he loved that part of her too.

She stood before him now, hands together in front of her with an innocent smile on her face. "What do you mean, dear?" he responded with another question, slightly worried for the answer.

"Something Samekichi mentioned that I never really thought about," she explained. "Nothing grows in this sea anymore, so it'd be impossible to find them. But I remembered how much I loved them too-" Wadanohara could see Sal's face beginning to fall. "-and how much I want to pick them with you! Can we find some, Sal?"

He'd never questioned how much time she spent with Samekichi. From what he had seen with her, she would only try to convince him to come out of his cage soon. He wasn't really afraid of anything influencing her, both because he knew his other half wouldn't be leaving anytime soon and Sal was confident in Wadanohara's devotion to him. They'd been this lovey dovey for quite a while now, after all!

It only fit that one of the few things Samekichi said to her would be to try and restore her to how she used to be.

How pathetic.

Still, there was reason to be slightly concerned if she was actually serious about it. He turned to face her fully, placing his hands on her shoulders with a winning smile. "Wadanohara-those things are all from a different time. This world is one of peace-anything from the other is useless, don't you think?"

"I suppose so," she agreed, albeit with a downcast expression as if disappointed by the rejection. "Still… I wish our sea had those gardens as well."

"Oh, worry not, my love!" Sal brought his hands up to her face, leaning down to press his forehead to hers endearingly. "Our sea is the most beautiful-why, you're the most beautiful flower we could ever need! Come on, let's go and play with Mikotsuhime, shall we?"

He let the conversation drop then. Wadanohara snapped from her mood immediately and perked right up, dragging him to the palace where she and Mikotsu would continue comparing magics and gossip. The two were getting along rather splendidly, far more than expected, and it only delighted him; they were, after all, the two most important girls in his life.

And that's why he wanted to keep Wadanohara here at all costs. True, he loved her no matter what-always had-but there wasn't any doubt that she was definitely best how she was now. She loved him, too! They were so happy together like this, and in a time of peace, he had just about the best life he'd been striving for since young. It was all a rather touching story, but the conclusion was things had turn out for the best.

Sal took a week to brood over it, locking the doors to Samekichi's room just for extra measure. For that time, Wadanohara only saw him during the night when they returned to bed and during a few meals. He wasn't particularly upset over anything specific-but the memories of how things became like this always took a bit of time to think over. There wasn't an ounce of regret or guilt for anything he had done and yet still he felt like there was something he should be doing.

On the tenth day since he lost his enthusiasm, Wadanohara finally confronted him out of the red. "Sal?" her voice called from behind, surprising the shark who had been busy at the moment.

He quickly turned to face her, only to be met with his lover appearing horribly upset. "Ah, darling! Whatever's the matter?"

Her frown only grew at his question. Wadanohara looked down, fidgeting with the gloves over her fingers before taking a step towards him. "That's what I was going to ask you. You've been acting strange, Sal…"

"Oh? Nonsense… come now, don't look so sad…" His arms were around her waist immediately, embracing the small girl to his chest. By reflex she returned the hug, squeezing him tightly. "Don't worry about me-here, I even got you something…"

Wadanohara pulled back to stare at him curiously, only to have him let go of her completely and reach into his jacket. She watched as he pulled out something colorful despite being a similar red to the sea, with a rarer color stemming from it. That was… green?

She gasped, quickly grabbing the object from his hands and holding it close. "A flower! It's a real flower, Sal!"

"You bet it is, sweetheart!" He laughed, delighted by her reaction. Even if she was barely paying attention to him anymore. "I thought you could study this one, and make a beautiful garden for our red sea! Flowers, fitting of our gorgeous world!"

If she was listening to him, it didn't show. Her eyes seemed glossed over staring at the slightly shriveled, dark red plant in her hands. Sal knew he had really made her happy this time. If only it wasn't with the suggestion of that other guy.

"Sal... thank you so much!" She was positively beaming, and that made him grin wide as well. Her happiness was his, and vice versa. It was why they worked so well together.

"It's no problem. As long as you're smiling, love, that's enough-"

"But I think…"

The tight grip that was suddenly holding his wrists was no good sign.

"I might need your help. I've already got a good idea of what would be the perfect material for those flowers."

And neither was the suspicious smile she wore.

Ah… Sal really did love her so much… She'd be the death of him.